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"]

Pre-Baby Bucket List

The time has come to get all of our ducks in a row. And by ducks in a row, I mean a list of all the things that need to be done around the house before Baby Taylor arrives in November. Most of these things have been on the list since we moved in almost exactly one year ago, but now it's time to hop to it.

And here it is:

• Remodel Master Bathroom - Time to say goodbye to the blue tub and toilet, the faded old linoleum, and the popcorn walls.

• Finish the Remodel of the Guest Bathroom - The shower has been re-tiled, but they left the grout haze which is seemingly impossible to remove. And the small space outside the shower needs to be tiled. And the walls need a splash of paint.

• Landscaping - The monkey grass is out of control. All the beds around the house need to be cleaned out and the hedges need to be trimmed.

• Critter Removal and Blockage - Squirrels, groundhogs, squirrels, raccoons, an army of squirrels... You name it and it probably lives in our attic or crawl space. It's a bit unnerving to be sitting in the office and hear scratching and jumping above you.

• Rewiring - We live in a very old house. We have one three-pronged outlet. Yes, I said one. And, let's be honest, almost everything electronic in this house has three prongs. Not to mention the wiring itself is old and probably half-eaten by the critters mentioned above.

• Find a New Home for the Office - Ahh. I spend more than half of everyday in the office because I work from home. Unfortunately the office is the closest room to the master bedroom and is really the only nursery option. But where to put all of our work stations?! We need to keep the other guest rooms open because we like to have company over. I've been tempted to put my office in my newly remodeled studio but with that comes the need for new windows and some way to heat and cool out there. Something to look into and ponder.

• Hang Smoke Detectors - I didn't even realize we didn't have any up until my mom asked me if I needed any. I have one up now, but need to get the rest up.

• Clean Out and Organize the Garage - Certainly not an easy feat. So much furniture and junk. Of course, I say junk, but as I'm a bit of a hoarder, it's all junk I want to keep. Somewhere along the lines I have to rid myself of that mentality and purge.

• Clean Out and Organize Everything Else - Closet spaces and such in the house. Must buy more plastic bins so I can store more things in the attic. Or maybe I just throw everything into the burn pile out side and get rid of it that way. :)

• BURN THE BURN PILE - It's more of a mountain of collected limbs and branches that have fallen over the last few years. It's huge. And it's probably home to a billion snakes. But the key to getting it all burned... is doing it without burning down the well house simultaneously.

• Hang New Eaves Around the Porch - Our front porch is being destroyed by boaring bees. Time for them to find a new home. Not to mention they interrupt my front porch swinging time.

• New Doors - It's possibly time to update a couple of our flimsy doors.

And last but certainly not least,

• The Nursery - It needs new paint, furniture, and of course, Baby Taylor.

That is a huge, and quite ambitious list we have there. And it's a big list of thing I really can't do myself. (Except the smoke detectors... totally got that one.) But alas, it's in writing now. If you're interested in helping, let me know ;)