Best Laid Plans of Moms and Men

When you become pregnant for the first time, you immediately start imagining what your life will be like. Most of the time, you imagine an idyllic scene. The perfect adorable baby, the perfect house, the best marriage, etc. Even if those things aren't realistic, you can't help but imagine them. People can warn you that babies can be difficult, but you won't hear it, not your baby! You struggle to keep a clean house, but once your baby is here that'll change!

And if you're like me and start reading Mommy blogs you see all the other super moms out there who make it all look so easy! Especially with the nursery designs. They have fancy paint schemes, designer gliders, adorable decorations, etc. Although I don't put much effort into design normally, I thought I'd give the nursery a little more effort, within a reasonable budget. I thought I did pretty well for myself.

Then Bonnie arrived and as most mothers can attest to nothing goes to plan. Babies throw a wrench in the works. For example, Bonnie never really cared for her glider, it just didn't seem to help her. Plus whenever she wakes in the middle of the night, you don't want to be sitting straight up when trying to get her back to sleep, because heck you want some sleep too. So we moved a comfy side chair from the living room into her room, that way we can snooze while getting her back to sleep, the glider...not used.

But my biggest example of beautiful nursery plans going awry is the crib. Teething babies have their own ideas about what crib rails are for, mostly as a chew toy. Once Bonnie got her four front teeth she started knawing in the side rails. Simple solution, by some rail covers. Done. But then she started to chew on the back and front rails. Of course I could have then bought the same brand front rail cover as the sides, but I found one that had loops for adding teething toys and I liked that idea. I ordered the same color as the side covers, but of course it wasn't the same shade. Sigh. Now the problem of her chewing the back rail, it's curved, there's nothing I have that can cover it. Solution? A green bandana tied to the back, problem solved. The result? I real world crib set-up. Babies always have the last laugh.

Mission: Baby Bird in the Nest

As you know, we've had Bonnie in our room with us since day one. At first sleeping on us, but then graduating to a contour changing pad in between us. It's worked great for keeping her close and safe. She still doesn't sleep through the night, so the convenience couldn't be beat. However, as she started growing and developing, we started to see that the situation couldn't last long. I kept trying to stretch it out because, did I mention she doesn't sleep through the night?! When she learned to roll over, we started putting pillows on either side of the bed, just in case she rolled out while we weren't in the room. She never did, because she was too busy sleeping. However, there were a few instances when Johnathan woke up with a baby laying across his back in the wee morning hours. Then the other night Johnathan called me into the room. Bonnie was on her tummy on the bed, between her pad and a pillow looking back at me, faced the completely wrong direction! So not only did she roll off, she spun herself around 180 degrees. The changing pad has straps on it that we could use to hold her in place, but I was hesitant to use those when she's sleeping. As Johnathan said, "we need to do something about this."

The obvious solution is/was to use the perfectly good nursery across the hall. It's been ready for a baby since day one, but rarely been used for anything but changing diapers. Sure, there were a few times we used the crib for naps and/or baby corral but it was truly a wasted space. I tried to move her in there weeks ago after we got back from the beach when Johnathan declared he wanted his bed back. But she woke up crying several times and I declared she wasn't ready yet. So yesterday I decided to make an honest to God go at it, get serious about her sleeping in there, sacrifice my ability to doze while I get her back to sleep upon her inevitable wake-ups.

However, to make mommy feel better, I needed some supplies. After work, I went and bought a breathable baby bumper (cause she's already managed to get her limbs stuck between the bars several times), a wireless camera (so I won't have to go in and bother her if she's doing just fine), and a small fan (we use one in our room for white noise and to help keep cool, so she needed one). I had been going into our room and sitting on the bed with her, playing her CD, feeding her, and putting her to sleep with me sitting next to her to help her settle down. So I moved the process to her room, hoping she'd fall asleep during her bottle so that the transition to the crib would be easy. Of course, my luck doesn't go that way. She was wide awake once her bottle was done, so I laid her in her crib, turned on her mobile (it lights up, not the one above), and sat back down in the chair. I had her bedtime lovie and a blanket in the crib (not that she allows herself to be covered up, but it probably smelled familiar and I wanted her to be comforted by that). The new camera I bought can be watched on a phone or iPad, so I sat in the chair and watched her on the camera. Just to make sure she didn't get herself into any trouble. She stayed in place while the mobile was on, but once it stopped she started scooting around having a little crib party. Squealing, and scooting, and rolling around. She found the blanket and pulled it all of the place, I watched and made sure she didn't get wrapped up in it. At one point I stood up, and moved her back into position in the crib. A few minutes after that, she fell asleep.

She woke up at 12 and 4. I think I could have stretched the 12 out, she looked like she would have fallen back asleep, but I felt like I needed to feed her for my own comfort (if you catch my drift). But the big news story is that she slept until 7:30 which is 30 to 45 minutes later then she normally sleeps. Honestly, going in there to feed her 2 times wasn't that bad. The chair we have in there is comfy, and if I can just figure out how to cushion my head, maybe I can even doze a little bit. I have hopes that once she's used to being in there and isn't being disturbed by our sleep sounds she may even sleep through the night. I could be dreaming though (nice pun Wendy!). So at the risk of George W. Bushing it, I'll say, "Mission Accomplished!"

Finally, the nursery is revealed

Although most women have their nursery finished before the baby is born, I suppose I'm not like most women. Although it was painted and the furniture was set-up we hadn't completed the wall "art" yet. Honestly once Bonnie came, it was hard to find time and Johnathan and I would have probably gotten on each others nerves doing it together. At this point she doesn't really use the nursery anyway, except for a changing station. I've even caught myself calling it the changing room. However, this week Johnathan's father has been visiting so I gave them the job of finishing the wall art. It took them hours, but they had a good time doing it and are really happy with the results. I'm really happy with the results too.

Other than picking out the furniture and decor I haven't been able to contribute to the creation of the nursery. Johnathan wouldn't let me paint when I was pregnant. He wouldn't let me help put the furniture together because I was pregnant (his step-father helped). And today I didn't really help with the wall art because I was taking care of baby. I did throw in a few opinions and I was able to put up THREE leaves!

I'm excited for Bonnie to grow up in this room.

I liked the changing table because it had a clothes hamper in it.

I think the boys are most proud of this wall.

Because reading is so important to me, I want it to be important to her too. Therefore, the alphabet is a must!

Baby B's birthday will be...

With the news that Baby B would definitely be here soon, Johnathan and I got our butts in gear. This past weekend the nursery was pulled together: cleaned out, furniture put together (crib, changing table, glider), and rug placed. Although she won't spend that much time in there right away, it's nice to know it's there. There are a few wall decals that we won't to put up, so I'll wait to share pictures until it's complete. We also installed our baby seat in the Honda and had it inspected. The hospital bags are packed with things we could go ahead and pack, just waiting for a few last minute rush to the hospital additions. We also bought the baby swing I had my eye on at a discount because it was a floor display. It didn't have the power cord, but I reached out to Fisher Price and they're going to send me one. Yay!

Had another ultrasound/NST today, we were kinda hoping I'd show up and they would say oh you have to deliver today! We're ready for this little girl to be here! But no such luck. The ultrasound went well, she was moving like she should and she sure is crammed in there. She's still head down and she's now facing the right way, so no back labor for me! She had her hands in front of her face, and gave me a thumbs up at one point. Dr. N and I agreed to an induction date, the evening of Jan. 24th. which puts delivery at some time Jan. 25th. I have to wait for the hospital to verify, but it looks like if Baby B doesn't come sooner, then her birthday will be 1/25/2012.

Due Date: January 30, 2012. 20 more days! However, we'll be induced on January 24th if she doesn't come before then.

Weight Gain: I've gained about 20 lbs.

Symptoms: My back pain has gotten worse and tends to develop even when I'm not sleeping. I think my curses and groans scare Johnathan sometimes. I ran out of my Gaviscon the other night and had awful acid reflux. I had to sleep sitting up the rest of the night and get my airplane pillow so my head wouldn't flop over. Make no mistake, I bought Gaviscon the very next day.

Cravings/Aversions: You know how when you're about to be on vacation your motivation at work flags? Well my diabetes maintenance willpower has started to flag. I'm still doing what I should, but I can feel the call of some bad food more and more. Dr. S wants me to have my a1c tested shortly after I have Baby B and I'm afraid the results may not be very good. I have a list of foods called Freedom Foods that I plan to enjoy after the baby is born. Sorry endorincologist friend who reads this blog! I'll get back to healthy once I've sown my wild oats.

Sleep: Not only do I wake up regularly to go to the bathroom and/or test my blood sugar, but I deal with the acid reflux waking me up and/or just not being able to sleep. Anyone who says catch up on your sleep now, must not remember how hard that can be.

I am loving: Knowing that the end is near and we'll have a beautiful baby soon.

I miss: Pre-pregnancy me

I am looking forward to: January 24th

Best thing about this week: Getting my induction date

Milestones: 2 more weeks to delivery

Movement: Her movements are less kicks and more just moving around. I guess she doesn't have much room to kick or punch.

It's a...: girl!

Heart Burn: Ugh, so much!

Belly button in or out?: Eh, it's a weird hybrid. I will admit to putting band aids on my belly button to keep the poke out down to a minimum :).

Labor signs?: I've started having some Braxton Hicks contractions, I'm 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced

This and that

While I wallowed in my grumpy mood yesterday (and worked) Johnathan worked really hard all day to get the nursery painted. It's about 98% complete, but looks fantastic. We're patting ourselves on the backs for choosing such a nice color.

It's Behr- Potentially Purple.

We're planning ahead! Figured we'd take advantage of after Halloween sales to snag a costume for Baby B next year. It's a surprise, but I'll give you a hint!