Rainy Wednesday

It's already nearly 4pm and it feels like I just woke up. Needless to say the rain certainly doesn't help with the serious fatigue that's hit me over the last few weeks.

I've been keeping busy with the house. The day planner is certainly coming in handy for keeping me in check with all the things that really should be done around the house on a daily basis. (Okay.. minus those two days were I really just wanted to sleep all day and not move). I'm happy to say that it's Wednesday and there's no laundry, no dishes, no sweeping, and no counter scrubbing that needs to be done. Our bed is even made. I can't say the same for groceries, though. Since we didn't get back home from Knoxville til Sunday night, I didn't get my usual meal planning and trip to Publix in. Guess I'll be doing that this evening.

Work has been quite busy as well. The end of the fiscal year this month brings lots of meetings and transitions not to mention the transition of my job to someone else while I'm away.

In house news, our bathroom is going to be remodeled next week! HOORAY! I'm very much looking forward to having a bathtub and a vanity that I won't have to break my back at to wash my face. It will be glorious. It will also be nice to have the guest bathroom done, which just needs a little TLC and some tile.

Last night we also had a meeting with our doula. I can't remember if I mentioned that we hired one or not, forgive me if I did. It was a really informative meeting here at the house. I think Cory and I now have a better idea of the things that we really should know and be informed of before we hit the hospital. One thing I learned, that I was a little shocked by, was the rate of natural births in the area. 3%. Yes.... just three. I looked up some other information today and found that 35% of births in Chattanooga alone are cesarean. I wasn't super surprised about the percentage of cesarean births considering the pre-registration packet for the hospital includes information about elective induction. Any who, the reason that was brought up was basically to inform us that this area is not accustomed to performing natural births and if that's the route we really want to go then we need to be prepared for the things that could possibly be offered, to talk to our doctor about her way of typically doing things, and really think about a birth plan and why we're choosing the options we are.

So that's the next task. Really write out a birth plan. Inform myself. I've done a good job of that so far, but with the way my brain has been working lately, it'll be nice to have it out on paper.

And because posts without pictures are boring... here's one of the maternity sash I made a couple of weeks ago.





My next sewing project will be my bean bag for baby photos.... Assuming I can still waller around on the floor to get the vinyl cut out correctly.

Nesting

According to good ole Wikipedia:

Nesting: In human females, the nesting instinct often occurs around the fifth month of pregnancy, but can occur as late as the eighth, or not at all. It may be strongest just before the onset of labor.

It is commonly characterized by a strong urge to clean and organize one's home and is one reason why couples who are expecting a baby often reorganize, arrange, and clean the house and surroundings.

The first signs of things on the "cons" list of pregnancy have arrived. {Mildly}. I believe the nesting instinct has come on full force in the last week which has been accompanied by stress to get things done and thereby inducing stress-related mood swings. It hasn't been terrible, I just feel like I'm in a race with myself to finish projects.

Here's a list of things I did over the past week:

• Made two hospital gowns


• Made a maternity sash (I actually ordered one from a lady on Etsy {with good reviews} a few weeks ago and that turned into a fiasco ending with a PayPal and Etsy dispute and me getting my money back and deciding to make it myself)


• Cleaned for 8 hours straight on Friday


• Shopped for 5 hours on Saturday morning for guest room #1 decor, organizational things, and cleaning supplies


• Spent the rest of Saturday putting together the guest room (with the help of Mrs. Branum THANK YOU!), making a wedding present for a friend (no detail here, I haven't sent it yet!) and setting up my DIY baby photography backdrop holder.


• Sunday was the day for meal planning, another trip to Lowe's for ceiling mount curtain rod holders, Target for cheap curtains, and grocery shopping.... And taking down closet doors and putting up a curtain instead. The good news is I don't have any issues opening the closet doors anymore. The bad news is that it's not terribly attractive.

All that, plus the usual house upkeep, dinner making, and my actual job, it was a very tiring week. And I can assure you I won't be doing that much walking for a while as it was very unpleasant to move about halfway through the cleaning spree on Friday and into the shopping event on Saturday. My pelvis, right hip and right knee where NOT HAPPY.

I'm very glad we're back to Monday. Monday means actual job and lots of sitting. It was a very productive day at work as well. Lots of things to get done before I take maternity leave.

I also spent a little time in the nursery last week, basically just moving things around and thinking about all the things we still have to get.. which is just about everything that isn't clothes. (Diapers, car seat, stroller, diaper bag, more diapers, wipes, pack'n'play, and possibly some socks.)

I think Cory and I will need to get the car seat/stroller and pack'n'play in the next week or so. I like to be ready for the unexpected and since "full term" is a measly 6 weeks away, I'd just like to go ahead and have those two things ready. I'd like to pack my hospital bag too. I've already made the list of things I need to pack and plan to print it out and put it on the fridge in the event I don't get to pack it myself.

So now we're down to just 2 or 3 hundred more things to do before baby Colette arrives in the next 0-9 weeks.

A nap is needed.

Oh and here's a couple more maternity photos from Brittany Mauldin! If you've landed here via Facebook, you've already seen them :)

[gallery type="square" ids="617,618,619,620"]

A Fancy Hospital Gown

Completely impractical. I imagine I'm not going to give a hoot what I'm wearing when labor is happening, but I thought I might like to have one anyway. I first saw them on {*surprise*} Pinterest, which linked me over to Etsy. The variety I like the most is from Milk Threads Maternity. I love the designs and color combinations. The only thing I really couldn't wrap my head around was paying a $60 price tag for something that will only be worn once and likely be completely gross after birth.

And then, like most crafty things that I don't want to pay a million dollars for, I thought I would just make one myself. I went with a more simplistic design than the gowns from Milk Threads. This is mainly because I'm a novice seamstress *at best.*

I perused the fabrics at JoAnn until I found something super soft yet durable. It's basically a nursery fabric. It feels like a cross between flannel and jersey. Very nice. I bought 3 yards at 40% off and some nice ribbon and paid less than half the price of the pre-made gowns on Etsy.

With all that fabric I was able to make 2 gowns (one for delivery and one for post delivery) and still have enough left over to make a nursing cover.

And here's what I came up with: (Please, forgive the terrible iPhone pictures)

[caption id="attachment_612" align="aligncenter" width="532"] The front[/caption]

Super simple with ties at the shoulders for easy nursing access. I would still like to possibly change up the ties and use something a little more like the Milk Thread gowns. Those are a little more sturdy and seem more practical than bows that could possibly just irritate me.

[caption id="attachment_611" align="aligncenter" width="472"] The very fashionable backside[/caption]

And, what hospital gown would be complete without a slit up the backside. For modesty's sake, I also put in snaps so my rear-end doesn't completely hang out at all times.

I haven't made the nursing cover yet, we'll see how that goes another day.

The First Baby Shower

We had our first baby shower this past weekend! This one was in my hometown with my side of the family (and Cory's mom and grandma as well!) and my very much missed friends. I started the day getting breakfast downtown my BFF then heading to get my hair done curtesy of my sister-in-law and Douglas J. Aveda Institute. After a morning of pampering I was whisked away to my mom's to finish getting ready while the rest of the shower was being set up. Setup is generally the most stressful part of any event, but it seems everyone made it out okay.

The shower was excellent. My mom, sister and sister-in-law turned the house into baby shower heaven.

The menu:

• Roasted veggie and orzo salad


• Lots of fresh veggies and dip


• Mini Pigs'n a blanket


• Sliders


• Mac'n Cheese Cups


• Cotton candy cupcakes


• Vanilla bean cupcakes


• Vanilla cake with strawberry filling


• Donut holes


• Chocolate dipped rice krispy treats


• Homemade butter pecan ice cream


• Pickles :)


• And a variety of candy to make up a lovely candy bar

All delicious like all of our family gatherings.

It was so nice to see everyone that I rarely get to see since moving south. I'm a very blessed girl to have the family and friends that I do and I can't thank you all enough for coming to the shower!

Below you'll find some pictures of the big event!

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