Archives for 2005

Okay, so we’re finally going to get our butts moving on the baby’s room. So far, we’ve been trying to tie up loose ends around the rest of the house, but I finally realized yesterday that the general house list is much too long to finish before starting on the baby’s room. So, I started my frantic mission yesterday, searching the Web for everything from cribs to wall art.

So far, the only thing we have is the baby’s bedding (courtesy of Grandma and Grandpa Bernard), which is a good start. I have the crib sheet, crib skirt, and window valence, but I am on a waiting list for the bumper still. That’s supposed to come in next week. The bumper is actually the “inspiration” for the room, so I’ll feel much better once I have it in hand. You can check it out at Pottery Barn Kids.

As some of you may have already heard me say, the room won’t really have a theme, but be more of a primary color “hodgepodge” of everything baby. That’s my goal at least. So, I’m only doing the Kasey bumper and some mix and match bedding. The sheet is green gingham, which matches one of the stripes in the bumper, and the crib skirt and window valence are primary color animals that are just adorable — a lion, a chicken, and my favorite, a green frog with a yellow crown. He’s so cute!

Paint colors will most likely be yellow and denim blue. Yellow on top with a chair rail separating it from the blue paint on the bottom. We’re going to attempt Ralph Lauren’s denim finish, but we’ll see what happens. Our experience with faux painting hasn’t been so great…

The rest is, well, still up for grabs. I know I want to do wooden crib and armoire cabinet and possibly a white changing table and glider. My struggle has been to find affordable, cute furniture that is also safe. It’s a little stressful buying this stuff, knowing that it is going to hold your little one. Do I get a drop-side crib for convenience and take the chance that the hardware might loosen? Do I get a crib that converts to a toddler bed or is it a waste of money? Everyone has their opinions — and I’ve heard them all — but we have to figure out what ours is. It’s just so much to think about.

Accessories will most likely be the fun part, although I feel like I can’t focus on those until the big stuff is finished. I know I want lots of red in there and some fun lamps. I may even get creative and make a lamp shade I saw on the Web that I’m too cheap to buy. We’ll see how that goes. I guess I can blame that on the whole nesting thing (and all the HGTV shows I can’t seem to get enough of!) ;o)

Well, I’ll keep you posted on our progress, but I can assure you something will be finalized by this weekend! Just pray that Jeff survives my very determined agenda!!!

Well, we hit the 6-month mark this week, which is just crazy. It seems like just yesterday I was (very!) anxiously waiting for a positive PG test, and here we are — only 16 weeks away from meeting our baby. It’s strange because at the same time, I don’t remember what it’s like to not be PG anymore. I’ve forgotten what it’s like to have more than three pairs of pants, what it means to not stress about the nutritional aspect of every morsel I put in my mouth (not to mention what won’t give me heartburn), and how to sleep through a whole night (yeah, yeah, I know, just wait…)

That doesn’t even account for the fact that my “charming” tendency toward clumsiness has somehow exponentially multiplied. You should have seen me shaving this morning! As my sister and mother can attest, this is one task I have NEVER been good at (with the scars to show), but me trying to hike my leg up on the (very) high shelf in the shower was quite entertaining. What’s even scarier is the fact that I will have to do this ALL SUMMER LONG!!! Oh, to be pregnant in October…

The only thing that might have been equally as entertaining was me trying to teach 11 little girls how to do a chaîné turn at ribbon dancing practice the other night. I’m sure you can imagine what a perfect picture of balance and grace I was… The good news is that 10-12 year olds can be pretty sweet when they want to (although my loving and, um, sympathetic sister-in-law had more than a few good laughs!)

So that’s physically. Now the mental part. I swear this week the baby must have pressed some hormone button in my belly because I’m beyond bipolar. I’ve gone from crying for joy (literally) because one of my good friends mailed me an early Mother’s Day card (thanks, Katie!) to yelling my head off because Jeff and I are disagreeing about credit cards (sorry, Jeff!) — all in like 5 minutes flat. And yesterday I was exhausted to the point of hallucination, and today I was wide awake at 5:45am cleaning every inch of our bedroom. I’m a little afraid of what the next 12 hours will bring… :o)

Well, I know I’ve been bad about posting pictures, but if my energy levels maintain high until tonight, I will definitely post some updated photos. I’m due since my last round was at 19 weeks. I’m not sure how well it will translate in photos, but I have to say I feel like twice the size lately. And the baby is kicking and moving like crazy now. Last night I swear he (or she!) was doing flip-flops. I could feel him (or her) rolling around. It’s the most amazing feeling in the world.

Okay, I could probably babble on forever, but I guess I’ll spear you all the risk of a major mood swing mid-sentence! :o) Have a happy Thursday!

Well, we had our 23-week doctor’s appointment last night and all is well with Baby B. Our doctor (Dr. Doah) went over our ultrasound results with us and said everything looks great, and there are absolutely no developmental abnormalities. Praise God! Even though the ultrasound technician pretty much told us the same thing, it’s always nice to be reassured.

In fact, that’s one of the qualities we like most about our OB — he is very reassuring and knows that expectant parents want to hear that their baby is doing great as much as possible. For instance, when we were listening to the heartbeat last night (Jeff’s favorite part — he glows every time!), the heart rate kept going up and down. Jeff and I were a little confused, but Dr. D smiled and said that’s actually a good sign. It means that the baby is really active. Just like a grown human, the baby’s heart races when it is active and slows down when it rests. You can imagine our, um, surprise to find out that our baby likes to wiggle. (Our parents will quickly recognize the sarcasm in this sentence…) Jeff and I aren’t ones to sit still — although I’m definitely a little slower these days! :o)

Nothing else too exciting happened at the appointment, except for that we will now see the doctor every 3 weeks (instead of 4), which means I will definitely meet the other practicing doctor, Dr. F. Anyway, we’ve never met him in person, but he is actually the doctor that I spoke with during our “emergency” at 13 weeks, so I already know I like him. Still, it’ll be nice to meet him in person just in case he’s on call when Baby B. arrives.

We also decided to deliver for sure at Palos Hospital. The next step will be signing up for pre-natal classes. I’m going to hopefully get that scheduled in the coming weeks. Basically, this will be our “Parenting 101” course, and it will also allow us to tour the maternity ward, which will be comforting to me (always the planner!). One of the great things about Palos (besides the location) is that you stay in the room you deliver in — there’s no moving around.

Well, next week we will hit the 6-month mark, which is amazing to me. A half of a year seems so long, yet there’s still 16 weeks left. Jeff and I aren’t sure how much bigger this belly can get, but I guess that’s where God comes in. In terms of physics, it just doesn’t seem possible! :o)

I guess that’s enough for now, but I’ll be posting some updated belly pix over the weekend. Hopefully I can figure out this new photo program that will allow me to do a spread of my 5 to 23 week “progress.” We’ll see how patient I am!

Speaking of patience, pray that I am able to make it through a long night tonight. Jeff and I are sponsoring our youth group’s lock-in, which usually involves little to no sleep. We’ll see how long I last!

Love you all!

Lisa, Cara and Bellies, April 2005