More Surprises for BGM

This baby has such sweet, wonderfully thoughtful people in her life. We've been receiving all sorts of surprises lately. I can't keep up.

I went to a gathering at my friend Amy's house last week, for our friend Anglea, and Amy came out with a little bag containing these:

...for no reason at all.

Then we received this sweet gift in the mail from my friend Katie:

This was an extra special surprise considering all that she has on her plate right now. She and her family can use all the prayers they can get. Her daughter Olivia just had a second bone marrow transplant to help cure her of a rare disease. She is just a 18 mths. old. What Katie, her husband and their families are going through is unimaginable and truly heart-wrenching. I'd love to show you the little one's photo, but I'm not comfortable without Katie's consent. Just trust me when I say she's a beautiful little girl who deserves this second chance as much as anyone. So please pray that her body accepts this transplant and things begin to look up for them.

Katie is very busy taking care of her little one, so it's doubtful that she'd be stopping by my blog for a visit. However, one day this struggle will be a thing of the past and I'll want her to know that I thought of her daily and am eternally grateful for her friendship. Love ya Kate!

These last three photos are gifts from my BJB Nicky. There hasn't been much junking going on around here due to weddings and babies and tons of home repairs/remodeling. Despite that, she remains my good friend (for shopping, crafting and anything else we can get ourselves into) and is otherwise known as Auntie Nicky around here. She's a spoiler. She made those shoes for BGM. How super cute are they? She packaged them in the smaller of the two fabulous hat boxes above. She gave them to me on a random day, just because. Just a few weeks later, we headed out to do some errands and there she was with another, larger hat box. That box had that super cute dress and matching shoes in it. We love it. All of it. Thank you Auntie Nicky!

In addition to all of this thoughtfulness, my summer school principal came to my room today and dropped off baby coupons that she had printed out for me. Call me crazy, but I thought that was so sweet and thoughtful. Maybe because I'm not used to that sort of treatment from a principal.

Thanks so much to all of you for being so thoughtful and loving. As I say over and over....we are blessed!

Almost there...

Josh and Brett suggested I come upstairs to take some photos of the last bit of unfinished attic before the the painter comes. I had no idea what I was getting myself into and I think they forgot that I probably shouldn't be up there breathing in drywall dust. Sooo...I snapped a few quick pictures and ran back downstairs. I'm amazed with how much they've accomplished in the past couple of weeks. And thrilled! I'm told we are moving the office up to that level within the next week and I'm overjoyed with the news. As it is just in time, with the baby's shower this weekend. We'll really be overcrowded around here. The amount of storage and square footage the attic is adding on for us is priceless. I don't know what we'd do without it.

Keep in mind when you see these pictures that I'm only showing you half of the entire space right now. The other half is already serving as storage for all of my teaching materials and a few other things. The half pictured here has two closets on either side of the media space for storage. Then there's a large open space for the craft table and all the craft storage. I can't tell you how bad we needed this space.

The dust was so thick that the photos came out looking as if it were snowing or raining up there. The good news is they clean up after themselves. It doesn't seem to matter much for the white dust spread throughout the rest of the house, but it's one less space I'll be cleaning like mad at the end of this project!

Our Sweet Baby Girl

{This photo is difficult to see and I'm clueless about how the heck to write on it and label it for you. Wish I knew. If anyone reading this does, please share. You can see her little eyes closed there. She has one hand on her left cheek and the other one just below her nose, as she's sucking on it. It was soo cute. We could see her little lips going in a sucking motion. It melts my heart. Really. Too bad she's so naughty and refused to take her hands off her face for her 3D images. It would have been so nice to get a better look at her, but she's a stubborn one and does only what she wants to. She was kicking the ultrasound tech when the tech prodded her to move her hands from her face. Nice!}

I've been waiting to share the latest baby news with all of you in order to confirm the situation. Last week to add to the excitement (read: terror) about the little one coming early, the doctor announced the baby's fundal measures were small. She said that they have been small for a while now, and she had been hoping for a growth spurt. She decided that it was time for an ultrasound to further analyze the situation.

Fast forward to today and imagine a $hitload of googling + a whole bunch worrying in between + a Mommy who has been sick to her stomach for days and a Daddy who was very seriously concerned that his daughter was going to come out a "little person", to put it politely. I've walked around here for days saying aloud to nobody and to anybody who would listen, "Our baby is fine. It's just the way I'm carrying her." Or, "She's little because I'm little. My Dad is short. We're short people." And, "Petite is good. Cute for sure." If you've ever walked in these shoes, you know that telling yourself these things only goes so far. {For no reason at all I'm tears right now, as I write this. Maybe it's the release of the build-up I have yet to succomb to??) It's hard to worry about your child and his or her well-being, no matter what the age (gestation in my case). The road we've travelled down to get here has not come close to what some women have been through and I know that. Nonetheless, it has been a long and winding one. This pregnancy alone has kept us on our toes, non-stop. All of this can make a girl sick.

And maybe it has..... Today the nurse told me that I've lost weight since I was there on Friday. Huh?!

The news we received today was good, better than I expected for sure. Shocking news but, for the most part, good. The ultrasound shows the baby as anything but small. She's actually 4.2 lbs. From what I read this is at least a week ahead of where they say she is. She's in the 75th percentile for dates. This takes me back to the idea that they're damned dates are just plain wrong. I truly believe she's almost two weeks ahead of where they say she is. That's based on my calculations, but what do I know...I'm just her creator!!!! The doctor tells me she has no idea where I'm carrying the baby. I do...in my lower back. The pain there is unbearable 25 hours a day! While I don't really need to have a 10 lb. baby, I'm ok with her being a quarter of the weight I've gained so far!!

The other news, good but not that good, is that the hard head pressed against my cervix for the past three weeks turns out to be a butt. The doctor has been saying how she's right down there in position for a while now. In actuality, she's breech. That's the part that's no good. Don't get me wrong - a healthy baby is a perfect baby, but I'll do anything I can to avoid a c-section. The doctor plans to monitor me for the next four weeks to see if she changes. She's hopeful since the Peanut is very active and statistics show 2 out of every 3 babies in a breech position at this point will shift by 36 weeks. If she doesn't decide to be a good little girl herself, we will probably take matters into our own hands. The doctor talked to us about a manual shift which we know all about and are prepared to attempt, despite the pain, so long as it does not stress Baby Girl. She WILL be monitored before and during and the process will be stopped at the slightest sign of stress. Now, I know that it seems cruel but you can't say what you'd do unless you've been in my shoes. If you have been here, and you opted not to do this procedure, I respect your decision. Please respect mine. With that said, the doctor also discussed acupuncture with us. I'm looking into it and hoping to pursue that route if she hasn't moved her trouble-making butt out of her pretty little head's way by the next appointment. We'll see. I do prefer the natural route over the torturous one....for the record!

Shoe Girls

I'm a shoe lover. Always have been, always will be. It's an obsession really! I can't get over the shoes they have for babies either. Before I ever was pregnant I knew that there were two kinds of shoes I wanted my little one to have: UGG boots and Converse All-Stars. Isn't that ridiculous!! (That's rhetorical....;)

Funny thing is she has tons of shoes, none of which are either of those listed above. Nearly all of them are hand-me-downs except a few that were gifts. Now I've really practiced some restraint with this, but the urge is beginning to take over for me. I'm afraid I'm setting my daughter up for the same sick obsession.... I just bought her these from Babies R Us (but with a gift card, so they're as good as a gift and I don't feel guilty!). They have them at Puma.com, as well.

and these:

Which are ten times as cute in person...let me tell you!

Now I'm oohing and ahhing over these:

and these:
Can the baby shoes out there get any sweeter? I mean peep-toes? For an infant? OMG!!

My Sweet, Selfless Brother

I have so many things I could say right now, but this would end up being the longest blog post known to man, as I'd back waaaay up to when we were kids. I'd tell you how mean and terrible of a big sister I was. How I feel guilty for this every time I think about it. {Honestly.} My little brother has always been a sensitive kind of guy who does wonderful things for others. He has continued this as he has grown into a man. He's genuine, kind and loving. He puts others before himself and aims to please; the adjectives could go on and on. He has spent countless hours here helping Josh work on the attic, just so BGM can have her room ready before she arrives. He does so without complaint. Without requiring much more than a jug of water while he works. Taking time away from his wife and dog to be here. He joins me for lunch when I need a date, then generously picks up the tab despite the invitation being mine. All of this for a sister who has done little to deserve it and may never be able to repay it.



Then.....

Last week he announced that he had bought this:

for BGM. (Remember I talked about it here and here.)

He explained to us that he just wanted her to have it!!

This is what I mean about him. There are so many reasons he should not have done this. But he did.

This Baby Girl is loved beyond what she knows.

Thank you, Uncle Brett. We all love you very much and can't wait for BGM to meet you.....

Another Giveaway....

at Lola B's. Check it out!!

Grosgrain: Musette Bracelet GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

Grosgrain: Musette Bracelet GUEST GIVEAWAY!!!!

More 'Things' for Baby and Her Nursery

Just a few things I'm really loving for baby and her room these days...

I love this bag from Gap.

Then there's this loveseat from Ikea. Our girl has a sunporch off of her room and I'd love to have this out there for family cuddles (aka - a place for me to crash when Daddy throws us both out of our bedroom!). The wicker chairs I have out there now just aren't cutting it. I have to find a softer, comfier look.

Office Inspiration

As you know our office is moving to the attic.

My mind has been reeling with ideas as to what I'd like to do.

These photographs are the closest I can come to sharing some of my thoughts with you. They're from Better Homes and Gardens.com.

I'm not necessarily using them for inspiration, so this title is slightly misleading. I'm already inspired by random things I've come up with in my head. I just struggle to explain them to others.

This is simply an attempt to share the general idea. Now where can I find those amazing file cabinets up there????? Love those and desperately need them. Anybody know??

A table, for a desk is a must. I could kick myself because I spotted the perfect table on craigslist one day. I came home and pondered it. Then I went back on there for it and it was nowhere to be found. Ugghhh!

gDiapers

This is an AWESOME concept. Now don't go thinking I given up on these, because I haven't! I still have every intention of using them. I just couldn't wrap my brain around how to schedule getting the starter kit immediately after birth (you may remember the trial run goes for week long segments, so having them delivered ahead of time is not an option). I feel like it would be the last thing I'll have on my mind and since who knows when The Peanut plans to arrive, it's best that we have a back up plan. You know how I feel about the environmental effects of diapers, but I also know that when we travel the Luvaboos may not be our best option. My friend Terra gave me an article from a magazine on gDiapers. She thought I may be interested and all I can say is I LOVE THESE THINGS! I had heard of them before, but I didn't really know anything about them then. They are Flushable, Compostable, Plastic-Free, have Chlorine-Free Absorbent Materials, No Oil-Based Plastics, Eco-Friendly, and are Latex-Free. I added some to our registry already. This way I can bring them with us to the hospital and not have to stress out about how to get the Luvaboos starter kit until we're settled back at home.

My one complaint is that they have sizes small-large and the small accomodates 8-14 lbs. So I'm thinking it will be a tad big on BGM. Oh well.

These photos are of the outer liners. They're called gPants and they are CUTE! I put up my favorites here, but they have some solid browns and blacks and one called Vanilla Bean that I also hope to buy eventually.

Negative For Now

The doctor called and told us that the test came back negative for fetal fibronectin. That is good news. Apparently this will now be closely monitored and tested again in a week or two to stay on top of things. I'm hoping she's decided to be a good girl and enjoy the last ten weeks in her current home. The healthier she is when she moves into ours, the better off we'll all be! Thanks for your thoughts and comments.

A mind of her own...

(BGM's newest outfit. From her Mommy, because I wish they sold it in my size!! Don't you love the matching shades!!)

So it's no secret that I've had more than your "normal" amount of contractions for a loong while now. Today we went to the doctor and she decided that they've simply escalated to too many, too often. It's an all day, everyday sort of occurance with as many as five or six in an hour. She felt it necessary to do some testing to see what might be on BGM's mind. She is checking to see if there is any trace of a certain something that I can't pronounce (my SIL will tell you what it is when she comments!!) and apparently if that test is positive this baby may very well be planning her escape within the next two weeks. We won't know much until tomorrow and probably more on Friday.

Is she kidding me? This is NOT an option! She is not done cooking by any means. Why would she be wanting to escape? Isn't it cozy enough for her in there? She should understand right now that if she's trying to get out of there to sport some of these cute little outfits, none of them - and I MEAN NONE of them - are going to fit. We don't have preemie clothes, because we are not having a preemie.

So listen up BGM - STAY PUT! Stop acting like your Daddy and trying to make your own rules around here. Be a good little girl and sit tight until September. We love you and can't wait to see you. It's just that we want you delivered to us as healthy and safely as possible.

Can you believe she already has two bathing suits in her closet. She had a brand new one piece from Baby Gap that was handed down to us with the tags still attached. Then I got her this a while ago because it was on clearance at Old Navy. Her Auntie Nicky bought her one for St. Thomas since both of the ones she has are for next summer and I put the sweetest one piece with ruffles on the butt on our Buy Buy Baby registry long ago just because I simply could not resist. Every little girl needs a swimsuit with butt ruffles. Don't you think?! We are going to need to register for a pool now, in order to get use out of all of these suits!

**Make that three bathing suits in her closet. I just remembered the leopard print one that I shared with you here. My gosh! What was I thinking with so many of these?!

Check it out....

Yet another great giveaway at Babes and Kids!

A Giveaway That I'd Love To Win...

There's another giveaway going on at Grosgrain. Fun stuff people. It's a gift certificate from Rock Paper Scissors Invitations (I cannot get this link to work right now, so I hope to add it later). I haven't won anything in a loong time, and aside from a million dollars this would be wonderful.

Then there's the Crane Humidifier giveaway at Babies and Kids. I've been looking at these for BGM's room. Unsure of which one to get, but it would be a real blessing to win one rather than buy it.

They have some other fun giveaways there actually. Like this one: Aden + Anais Sleeping Bag and this one: The Ear Doc.

Hope everyone is enjoying their 4th of July!

Not Your Average Bouncey Seat

Our girl is a 'kicker', there's no doubt about it. She has strong legs already, but this little device can make them even stronger. As I said before, she's destined to have a case of the thunder-thighs based on her parents and what we've seen in the ultrasounds. We figure we might as well capitalize on them.

I received an email to check out this bouncey seat. This is definitely not your every day bouncer. This bad boy glides. It's called the Kickin' Coaster and the seat literally moves up and down as your child pushes off the bottom. Don't fret, it still has your usual lights, sound, visuals and vibration. It's just that I've never seen one that glides like this. You can also lock it into place when you don't want the gliding to go on. It has multiple positions, as well. Like 8 of them. That's definitely not a feature all bouncers have.

It is the same price as the one we registered for; maybe I should reconsider. I don't care for the color/look of the thing, but I think our girl will LOVE it! The one I'm registered for now is the Graco Sooth and Swaddle. I liked the idea of the built in blanket to swaddle her early on when she may need more soothing. Then again, if I want to swaddle her I could just use one of her swaddle blankets and then put her in it.

These are the things I spend hours figuring out these days!!!!!!!!

Hmmm....to switch or not to switch?! What are your thoughts?

Daddy's Day

So Father's Day came and went without me posting it on here. My excuse is really just that we were away all weekend on a camping trip, then we went down to have dinner with my father and didn't get back until late on Sunday.

That doesn't mean that we didn't celebrate or do anything special. We treated my Dad to a GC from Gander Mountain and a Play Nine game. This is a FUN game. We take ours down there when we visit and he loves it.

As for the Daddy-to-be, he wasn't short on gifts either. I didn't spend a ton of money, but I did put some thought into them. I got him Ladderball, which he spotted in my car before I could wrap it. I had planned to give it to him a few days early anyway so he could bring it camping. Danny and BGM got him some tshirts, as well.

This one is fitting because when we decided to tell my parents, we made dinner for them one night while visiting. We baked buns and stuck tiny flags in each one announcing there was a 'bun in the oven'!

This one is just to remind him, just in case he forgets, I didn't get to this point alone!!

And this is a little joke between us. The photo is different because it was a special request order and she was sending me some design options to choose from. I ordered him the one in the middle. All of these shirts came from Jellybean Apparel on Etsy. I highly recommend her work. She's very flexible to work with and does a really nice job. She also made me a tank top and him another tshirt a while back that both say, "What Happens in Vegas Does not ALWAYS Stay in Vegas". I'll have to get a pic of us in those. They're very cute if you understand them at all!

And I also bought him a new wallet, which he's been wanting/needing for a while. He seemed happy with his gifts and gets good use out of his tshirts. He's not one to become exxtremely excited over too much but I think he was content. Hope so!

Now we have a few more surprises in store for Daddy. Father's Day is behind us, but he's been working very hard on the attic and he deserves something extra special. Sooo....I made some super cute onesies in his honor.

You may need to click to enlarge. The photos are awful due to the low/bad lighting our house provides. This is a problem 24/7, but even more so at 9 pm! You get the idea though!

I made this one, as well. It's not so much for Daddy, but when we don't refer to her as Baby Girl we call her our Peanut. I saw this design and the one above about Daddy being TAKEN on etsy. Unfortunately, I didn't love the colors they chose, nor was I willing to pay those prices for something I could make myself. These won't get enough use to make it worth the $ the seller wanted, but they cost nearly nothing for me to make since I had brand new onesies and iron-on transfers already. The other two transfers are from the same clearance bin at Joanns that I bought the 'Baby On Board' decal at. I have one more of those I want to get to. I just need to find another shirt. I also have three more onesie decals I need to use, but will have to get some more onesies and one more idea for a maternity shirt that I also saw on etsy. I can't get enough of that darn website! I promise though, when I'm done with those few that really will be the end of decal-mania around here!


In addition to the onesies, we have another, more serious announcement for Daddy. We've been back and forth about names for months trying to make up our minds. Lately there hasn't been much discussion about it because 1) he is too busy with the attic and 2) he has given his input and is just waiting for me to make a decision based on the choices we've agreed upon. I've put a ton of thought into this. Every.Single.Day I think about it and I've finally made my mind up. This means we are finally ready to share the decision with Daddy. I've planned a sweet little surprise for him that I may or may not share with you later.

I can't decide whether we let the rest of the world in on this or not.........hmmm!