A Nerd Like Me

It just got real.

Thanks for all of the votes on the rug for the nursery! I knew you lurkers were out there. The vast majority chose the yellow striped rug, which Drew actually likes as well (shocker). Yay for bright colors!

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Big things are happening this morning. My third trimester starts this Saturday, so I had my sugar test today. (I totally passed!) While there, I filled out preregistration forms for the hospital. I’ve never stayed overnight at a hospital before. Just filling out the paperwork made it feel more real and more a part of my future.

Then, when I got home, I began filling out Westley’s registration form for his Montessori school. Now THAT felt strange…labeling myself as a “mother” and Drew as a “father.” What a crazy thought! And reading the rules about parent involvement and no sick children at school? Whoa. I started picturing getting a call at work and being told that my son is sick and needs to go home right away. Then I would of course rush out of work and take care of my sick little boy. Its like I already know that feeling…that urgency when it comes to my child, and the fact that I will do anything for him.

So yeah, it got real real today.

P.S. Fast food is in my very near future. It doesn’t happen often, but it’s my way of celebrating the fact that me and little W can totally handle it because I PASSED!!!

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Help!

Dear loyal blog readers (and mostly lurkers…I see you’ve been here, but you stay eerily quiet), I need your help! I can’t decide on a rug for the nursery and every time I make a decision, the Hubs just knocks it back down. I would like to think that I have a vision that he just doesn’t see, but he could be totally right in the end. So if you could give me your opinion, that would really help me out a ton.

First, here’s the nursery as is…

The decor is pretty plain and will mostly remain that way, with the exception of a yellow blanket on the crib (white sheet) and a very colorful abstract painting above the crib, similar to this one here:

This means that the rug can either be colorful and patterned to bring an extra pop to the room, or kinda plain. I could go both ways here. Rugs are expensive and I don’t want to spend the money on something ridiculous looking. One last thing before I show you my choices – I want the rug to be round, because of all of the angles and hard edges in the room. So here they are, starting with my most favorite of the moment (it changes every day):

5′ aztec rug from Urban Ourfitters, $59

The pattern in this rug not only appeals to me on an aesthetic level, but it just screams “boy.” I also LOVE the price. Cannot beat that for a 5 foot rug.

6′ yellow striped rug from Overstock, $139

I just found this today. It caught my eye because it has a subtle pattern, is not girly and will bring more of that yellow element into the room.

6′ off-white shag rug from Overstock, $170

For a plain rug, I’m a fan of this one. It’s soft and understated and will do a great job of covering up the stains in the carpet. I’m not a huge fan of the price, but that comes with the territory, I suppose.

6′ gray patterned rug from Overstock, $199

The price may have something to do with why this one is close to the bottom of my list. I like that the colors don’t pop much, but there’s still a pattern in there to offset the plainness of the room.

5′ gray shag rug from Overstock, $115

I love the price, but is it too plain? It’s definitely soft and fluffy, which I’m sure my little man will love during play time.

Ok, time to cast your vote! Which one will it be? (Geez, I’m spending way too much brain power on this. Just help a girl out, mkay?)

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A Weekend Away

We were the lucky recipients of a fantastic apartment in New Orleans last weekend. While we didn’t go to Jazz Fest (because *someone* thinks its a bad idea for a pregnant lady), we did enjoy the amazing food NOLA had to offer…and Drew enjoyed the drinks.

There were many trips to Magazine Street (my absolute favorite), a couple of parking tickets, and a random peacock involved. Also included: a rousing game of Clue and a lovely brunch with Joy the Baker.

In all honesty, after spending a mere 3 hours in the heat at the zoo and complaining of aching feet and swollen legs, I’m pretty sure Jazz Fest would have been a terrible idea. Glad the Hubs is looking out for me.

In other news, there are only 100 days until Westley arrives! This may very well have been our last little getaway until we become a family of 3.

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Are you nervous?

Last weekend, our friends Amanda and Matt visited from the Smokey Mountains to help us finish the nursery. Matt was Drew’s heavy-lifting buddy and Amanda was my giggling partner in crime. We really had a great time seeing our old friends!

About 10 minutes before they left to go back home, Matt stood in my kitchen, eating a gloriously warm cinnamon roll, and asked, “Are you nervous? About the baby?”

Oddly enough, nobody has asked me this yet. I started thinking about it and quickly answered in the negative. No, I am not nervous about the responsibility of becoming a parent, as I’m sure most first-timers are. Somehow, my mind is at ease when it comes to thinking about holding that little boy in my arms, feeding him in a way that only I can, and loving him more than I ever thought I could. I’m not even nervous about how little sleep I will get or how busy my life will become, or how those cloth diapers aren’t going to wash themselves. Those everyday responsibility issues? Not a problem.

But I am nervous. I’m scared out of my mind about the bad stuff that can happen. My thoughts linger on the morbid side of things a bit too often, so you can imagine the possibilities running through my head. Basically, it’s the uncontrollable things in this world that make me nervous.

But that’s ok. We’ll get through it. I can already tell that Westley is a strong little boy, and he does have the most amazing parents ever (totally kidding). We’ll get through it.

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On Choosing Cloth Diapers

{photo credit}

I’ve been going back and forth on which cloth diapers to buy, because even though they will save us so much money in the long run, they are also quite an investment up front. I wanted to be sure that I was making the right decision. Finally, I think I’ve registered for an assortment of cloth diapers and accessories that will get little Westley through his first year. Total cost: $160. That’s a steal for a year’s worth of diapers, don’t you agree?

I have two girlfriends who have been helping me choose, thanks to their own experiences. In the end, I’ve chosen 6 Thirsties covers, 2 dozen organic cotton prefolds, and 1 dozen stay-dry inserts. The great thing about the covers is that you can reuse them a few times before having to wash them, you just change out the insert. The prefolds will be fantastic during the day (and double as burp cloths), but the stay-dry inserts will be great at night to help baby sleep through the night and/or get out of the house without feeling so wet. I’ll be sure to do a full review of my choices after I’ve actually had the chance to try them out for a while. To see exactly what I chose, check out my registry: Baby List.

Bonus: I found a brand of disposable diapers at Target (online only) that are biodegradeable, vegetable-based, CO2 neutral and hypoallergenic. These will be perfect for that newborn stage when the cloth diapers will be just a bit too bulky for the little one. The diapers are called “Attitude” and you can find them here.

Do you have any cloth diapering advice for a newbie?

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Nursery – Phase II

Just as I was concerned that we wouldn’t have anywhere to put all of the crap that was in the nursery closet, I was also worried that turning our guest bedroom into a bedroom/office combo would just not work.

Our office space was so perfect. It was the first room in our home that we ever fully furnished and decorated. However, the location of the office made it the prime destination for Westley’s room, so changes had to be made. Our guest bedroom, a.k.a. “the junk room,” pretty much consisted of a bed…and junk. The room is quite small, with 2 large windows and 3 doors, so I was concerned with how everything would fit. But I was just not willing to give up the only spare bed in the house right before we have our first kid. People might actually want to visit us now!

But look how it turned out!

It’s a bit of a tight squeeze, but I actually LOVE it! I love all of the natural light that comes in from the windows in the morning (my favorite internet-roaming time). I love that we now have a bed to lay in when we want to watch something on Netflix. I love that, for the first time ever, our guest room actually feels like a completely put together guest room. I’m definitely a happy camper!

Next weekend, our friends from Tennessee are coming into town to visit and help us move Westley’s furniture in (Phase III). I can’t wait to see my old friends! We even gave them (almost) a blank slate to start with for the nursery:

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Dear Baby

4.19.2012

Dear Westley,

I’ve been feeling your little kicks and jabs for a while now, but yesterday marked a turning point for us. You must be getting bigger by the minute because your movements went from random little hits to crazy, full-body kickboxing sessions ALL DAY LONG. You’re so sneaky when your dad tries to feel you, but last night you really let him have it. Thanks for that, buddy. I knew we would get him eventually!

This morning, something insane happened. I felt your head. In. My. BELLY! It was the strangest feeling ever. I knew it was your head because I just felt this big mass move under my skin. Wow. You amaze me every single day, you know that?

I’ve been told to enjoy these moments before you get a foot caught in my poor ribs, so I’m doing just that – enjoying every minute that you can hear my heartbeat from the inside.

Love,

Mom

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Nursery – Phase I

This picture makes me so happy! We’ll be turning the office into the nursery over the course of 3 weekends, beginning with yesterday’s closet organizing. 24 hours ago, this closet was filled to the top with storage boxes and did not have that shelving system. Now, I can’t stop smiling every time I walk into the office and see those sweet little clothes hanging there. And as you can see, we’ve been given so much already. Best part? About 90% of what you see (clothes, car seat, etc) have been previously owned. This is way more fun than I thought it would be!

I’ll keep you posted on the progress. Until then, “Rest well, and dream of large women.”

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Positivity

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately, preparing myself for what I hope and plan to be a natural birth experience. Thanks to a recommendation from a dear friend who recently accomplished this lofty goal, I picked up Ina May Gaskin’s “Guide to Childbirth” and am hooked on the concept that positivity and encouragement can go a very long way during childbirth, replacing medication completely. Which leads me to my rant about negativity…

1) I don’t want to hear about how miserable I will be this summer. I’ve lived on the Gulf Coast for almost 10 years and I know what it’s like. Please spare me the details about your baby that was due in September and how your body swelled and blah blah blah. I can handle it in my own way.

2) It is not your responsibility to warn me about the pains of childbirth, especially if you have not had a natural birth yourself. I have a pretty good idea that it won’t be the most wonderful feeling in the world, but I’m going to use mental techniques to try to make it the most beautiful experience I’ve ever had. Mind over matter, people. Please don’t tell me about how much it will hurt. If you say something hurts then, guess what? It’s going to hurt! I’m trying to avoid that train of thought completely. Mind. Over. Matter.

The point is this: if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. I know people are trying to be so helpful and can’t wait to talk about their own experience and I want to welcome that, but I just can’t listen to the negativity anymore. However, if you would like to tell me about all of the good parts along the way, I’d be more than delighted to hear it!

And if you are expecting and want to try for a natural birth yourself, I highly encourage you to pick up Ina May’s book. There are some strange, hippie moments in there, but the overall message is that we CAN do this. Our bodies were built specifically for this task. We are superwomen! That book makes me want to move to Ina’s farm in Tennessee, live off the land and give birth around others who have been through the same thing.

P.S. Notice how I say I’m going to “try.” I’m not completely dissing pain meds – I just want to test my own strengths and abilities. If I end up getting drugs, I won’t beat myself up about it. I’ll know that I did the absolute best that I could. I’ll know that I tried.

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Sweet Moments

Seeing our handsome little boy wave at us during the ultrasound.(I can’t believe I’m breaking my own rule of showing people the inside of my uterus, but he’s so cute!)

Feeling his little hiccups and ninja moves all day and night.

Saying his name over and over, because I just can’t get enough of that sweet sound…Westley…Westley….

The look on Drew’s face when he felt Westley move, eyes wide with shock and awe. It was beautiful.

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