Nursery Time

Great news, everyone!  The nursery is finally complete.  I know I’ve talked about how we are “almost there” in completing the nursery about 23 times, but the time has come.  I owe huge props to Mike and our parents for helping make this nursery possible.  We certainly could not have done it without them.  From the furniture, chair, painting and decorations, they have all helped us tremendously.  We are very grateful and fortunate to have such wonderful parents!   We have been searching for THE picture to hang in Bryson’s room and haven’t had any success.  This is what we have been waiting for to make his room complete.  We got THE picture at the shower.  It is perfect, and matches his room completely.

The wall quote says "Angels danced the day you were born".

It’s definitely been a fun and challenging journey getting everything ready for Bryson.  I cannot count the loads of laundry I have finished already, and he is not even here yet.  Getting the closet organized has been the biggest challenge.  I couldn’t decide if I wanted to hang ALL of his clothes, including onesies and jammies, or just outfits.  I went with everything.  That may change if I realize that wasn’t a very practical decision.  Time will tell.

We had our first baby shower last Saturday.  It was definitely the best baby shower EVER!   Everything was decorated so sweet with animals (his nursery theme) and baby items.  The diaper cake was the coolest one I’ve ever seen.  It had so many goodies on there that I kept discovering new ones every time I would walk past it.  I was also told there are hidden bottles on the inside which hold it up.  We will use every bit of this diaper cake, but hopefully not too soon because I don’t want to take it apart.  For now, it’s strictly decoration.  

Still finding things...

I can’t begin to describe how many wonderful gifts we received.  It took two cars and an SUV to get us home after the shower.  I couldn’t believe it.  We got more than we could have ever wished for.  Some main items included the travel system (car seat, stroller and base), and extra base for Mike’s car, the high chair, the pack n play, the swing, tons of clothes, diapers, bath and bedding items and the list goes on.  I wish I would have taken a picture of Bryson’s room once we piled everything in there.  It was insane.  I was so excited about everything when we got home that I had to get it all out and play with it.  Mike put together all the stuff that required building and Amanda, Amber and I unpacked, de-tagged and organized the rest.  That’s where all the laundry came in to play.  I was exhausted by the time I sat down for dinner, but I was on such a baby shower high that I wanted to keep going.  Mike had to talk me off the ledge and had me stop for the rest of the night.  I’m glad he did, because I felt the effects of non-stop action on Sunday.  

 

I want to give a great big THANK YOU to all of you who came to the shower, especially those who threw the shower, because it was one of the best days of this pregnancy.  It is always such a blessing to be surrounded by family and friends who care so much to share in our excitement.  I cannot express in words how much each of you mean to me and Mike.  Thank you all for being there for us and for all the wonderful things you have blessed us with.  We love each of you very much, and I can’t wait for Bryson to receive as much love as you give to us. 

Pregnancy and I have a love / hate relationship

We have been having extreme snow conditions here for the past week or so…again.  It’s so pretty, but I sure hate driving in it, so I don’t.  I was really looking forward to my doctor’s appointment on Monday since I haven’t been since December 20.  I’m arranged to be on a two week schedule, but the snow has interfered with that since I’ve already had to cancel one appointment due to their office closing from the snow.  So after not going for three weeks, I was determined to go this Monday.  But then it snowed Sunday night, and snowed and snowed and snowed.  The doctor’s office closed.   Surprise, surprise.  I finally got to go today (Thursday).  Hooray! 

Everything went well at the much anticipated doctor’s appointment.  I had lots of fun pregnancy questions I couldn’t wait to ask, so I got all that cleared up.  When the doctor went to listen to Bryson’s heartbeat (a solid 156), he was moving around like crazy.  My belly turned into all kinds of fun shapes.  Such a show off.  The doc joked that she didn’t need to measure his heartbeat because he was clearly enjoying himself in there.  But she went on to listen anyway so I could hear him.  That never gets old.   I was also concerned I was gaining WAY too much weight.  I’ve been adding a good 6-7 pounds between each visit, which is quite speedy.  Since I hadn’t been since the Monday before Christmas (and you all know how much we eat at Christmas time!), then add two more weeks after that, I was sure I gained 83 pounds.  Wrong.  I gained 2.  I have no idea how that is feasibly possible, but I got on the scale two more times to make sure.  I must say, I was very excited!  So to date, I’m up 29 pounds. 

My next visit on January 24 begins the start of weekly visits.  Mike will be coming with me to the remaining visits, so he will finally get to hear our little guy’s heartbeat for the first time.  Very cool!  The doctor said I have now reached the time where if I went into labor, they wouldn’t take any precautions to stop it.  She said a few weeks ago, they would have stopped the labor.  Now, I’m free to have the baby whenever he decides to come.  She said now is the time to sit back and relax and let Bryson do all the work until labor.  I’m still ok for him to bake a bit longer, but that was definitely good news to know he’s a healthy boy in there.

Her favorite spot

She stares at my belly when Bryson kicks her.

I am continuously asked, almost on a daily basis, if I’m ready for Bryson to arrive.  Up until this past week, I’ve been saying no.  That may seem a bit harsh, but I’m still somewhat terrified of being a parent.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m super excited to meet our little man, but I’m nervous at the same time.  There are so many “what if’s” that wander through my mind that it becomes slightly intimidating.  What if I can’t figure out this diaper changing thing…What if I drop him…What if I can’t function on no sleep for several days at a time.  See what I mean?  It’s kind of scary.  But then came the turning point which everyone said would happen.  I am finally ready to meet Bryson and introduce him to you all.  You may be wondering what brought on this turning point.  It’s simple, really.

 

1.  I have to go to the bathroom at all hours of the night. 

2.  My feet hurt when I walk for a while (this includes shopping, which makes me sad)

3.  I get these extremely sharp pains at random intervals – the doc says it’s Bryson moving into the birth canal.  Way to go, Bryson!

4.  My fingers are a bit swollen so I can’t wear my wedding ring.

5.  And last, but most certainly not least, I’m ready to see my son!

Mike and I were discussing what features we thought Bryson would have when he arrives, like what color his eyes and hair will be, how tall he will be, and so on.  It makes it feel so real to discuss what he will look like, because we’re so close to finding out.  I’m sure he will be beautiful, and I can’t wait to show him off to the world.  He has six more weeks to go if he stays on track.  Coming soon! 

You can’t really see it from this picture, but the sign says Bryson Road.  I thought it was cute.

I’m sure most of you know the major dilemma Mike and I have about Bryson.  We don’t know how to solve it, and we may never until Bryson reaches a certain age and he solves it for us.  This may seem a bit dramatic, but it’s all about football.  Yes, football.  Mike is a Tennessee fan.  I’m an Auburn fan.  So what do we do?  I’ve been trying to be a supportive team sport about this situation, so I’ve purchased two – TWO – UT outfits for Bryson.  It was extremely difficult to give my money to the cashier for these outfits, but out of my love for Mike, I did it.  However, I have yet to have him reciprocate this love by buying Auburn outfits.  So I stopped my kindness at two outfits.  Now it’s all Auburn from here on out.  Speaking of Auburn, they WON the National Championship this Monday – the year of Bryson’s birth.  See where I’m going with this? You can call it a coincidence if you want, but I call it fate.  Auburn hasn’t won a Nat’l Championship since ’57.  But they won in 2011.  What are the odds?  They did it for Bryson.  I’m confident he is destined to be an Auburn Tiger!

My family and friends are throwing Mike and I a baby shower this Saturday.  It will be our first one, and I’m soooo excited about it.  I can’t wait to see all the baby things we get.  His room is almost ready (I know, I know, I’ve been saying that forever), but I promise it’s true.  We just need a couple of small things to go on the walls, and we’re all set.  So I can’t wait to fill it up with all his little things.  Mike’s family is throwing us another shower the following Saturday, so we are going to be overwhelmed with baby stuff.  I sure hope we know what to do with all of it.  My fear is that I’m going to open something and have no clue what it is or what it does.  Maybe I should give a brief disclaimer about how I know nothing about baby stuff before Mike and I open presents and that questions may follow directly after opening.  Yeah, that seems like a good idea.  To top it off, my work is throwing me a shower the following Friday.  Three weeks of showers, coming right up!  We are certainly blessed to have such amazing people in our lives to show us how much we mean to them.  I hope each of you know we couldn’t do this without you!  Thank you for all your love and support while we transition into parenthood.  Also a big thanks to everyone for answering my never ending pregnancy and baby questions.  I’m glad I’m surrounded by mommies!