Nursery

Hello!

We finally finished the nursery, except for window valances that are being made. Here are pictures of the (almost) final product!

Here is the view from the door. We left a bookshelve and desk in the room. They are being used mostly for baby stuff, except inside the desk, which has files for bills, etc. It made a nice spot for a small tv for late night nursings!:

Here is my glider. Boppy pillows are ready to go, and there is a night light lamp on the baby dresser for us to turn on at night for a bit of light if needed:

The crib and changing table. We put the comforter from the crib bedding on the wall, and you can see the majority of the wall stickers are on this big wall. They are adorable, and add a lot of color!:

Here is a picture of us in the nursery. This was taken today, 2 days before we hit week 37!:

So that is the nursery! We are excited to have it done. All of the baby's clothes, blankets, etc. are washed, and we are stocked with all of the essentials (diapers, wipes, etc.). Now we just need our little guy to arrive! :)

We had a doctor appointment last Thursday, and I was 1 cm dilated but not very effaced. We go again on Wednesday Sept 2, so we will see if anything has changed!

Till then,

Beth and Adam

35 Week Belly Pictures!

Hello!

Here are the 35 week belly pictures:

Belly is so heavy!!! :

Is it a beach ball? A planet? No...that would be my belly:

So as you can see, I'm getting pretty big! Only a few weeks to go, thank goodness! I used to think that I didn't know how I could be any bigger, but now I really think that there isn't much room left for this kid to grow any larger!

We are almost done with the nursery, and will post pictures soon!

Until then,

Beth and Adam

Baby Shower and Update

Hi everyone!

Last Saturday was my big baby shower, and it was a blast! My mom and sisters did a great job planning and decorating! Thanks ladies! :)

Here are a few pictures:

Me with the adorable/delicious cake:

Mary (baby's grandma, Adam's mom) playing the guess what's in the diaper game:

Theresa (baby's other grandma, my mom) measuring me for the guess how big Beth's belly is game:

The room full of ladies (sorry to those of you that aren't in this picture):

We had a great time! I got tons of stuff for the baby, lots of cute outfits, the crib bedding (which looks adorable), an awesome swing (that also vibrates! bonus!), a baby monitor, a baby bathtub, boppy pillows, toys, blankets, and tons of other fun gizmos and gadgets. We do have a few other things to pick up, and I have one more smaller shower with my coworkers where I might get a few of those items. We have been blessed to have so many people provide things that we need!

Here is Adam putting the swing together:

And this is a funny picture of me and my dad comparing belly size (I'm totally winning):

This week we've had a marathon of baby-related things: Tuesday we started our childbirth class (which runs for 4 weeks), Wednesday doctor appointment, Thursday breastfeeding class, and tomorrow morning Adam goes to Baby Basics for Expectant Fathers (a class I coordinate through work). At our 34 week doctor visit this week everything was still great! Blood pressure is good, weight gain is good, baby's heartbeat is good, my tummy measurements are good, so it seems that my body is still handling pregnancy without a problem! :) Our next appointment is at 36 weeks, on August 27. That is the first appointment where they will check me to see if I'm dialated, effaced, etc. We'll see what they say!

I'm still feeling good, I just get tired a bit more easily. When I could normally shop for a long time without needing a break, I'm now finding that walking around Target for 30-45 minutes is more than enough for me. I don't have as much energy, but I think that is to be expected when I'm carrying a watermelon sized tummy with me everywhere I go! We are still out and about all the time, we just have to take it at a slower pace.

Also, sleeping has become a bit more of a challenge. I now use four normal pillows and a body pillow every night in order to get comfortable. Poor Adam doesn't have much room anymore! I'm also finding it difficult to get up when I am in certain positions (lying on the couch, sitting on the floor, etc.). I'm certain that this will continue to be a challenge over the next few weeks...lets just hope I don't reach a point where I am really stuck and can't get up!

Well, that's about all for now...

Until next week (belly pictures!),

Beth

Nursery Work Part One: The Battle of the Crib

Hello all!

We decided to start work on the nursery a little earlier than planned...we were excited to start and figured, why not? So here is our preparation for the office to nursery switch (including the Battle of the Crib):

As stated above, we are turning our office/guest bedroom into our nursery. We decided that we should move our computer to a different spot, and decided our bedroom would be the best place (it was either that or the basement, which I'm not a huge fan of). On Friday we got a small computer desk and made that switch. We had some internet problems once the computer was in its new home, and Adam had a blast figuring how what was wrong with it. Its a good thing he's a patient guy...

So here's our little computer nook:



Saturday was the big work day. Adam and I went to my parent's house in Appleton, picked up their truck, drove to my sister Jenny's house, dropped off a "big girl" dresser for Katie (my niece) that was in the truck and loaded in the baby dresser and changing table that Jenny and Brian are loaning us, and drove back to Neenah to start work on the nursery. Thanks to Jenny and Brian for loaning us lots of baby stuff!

Brian, my brother-in-law, helped Adam carry furniture in and out at his house, then came to Neenah with us to help Adam with carrying furniture up and down the stairs, putting the crib together, etc. They had to take down the futon that had been in the nursery and store it in the garage, then carry up the crib (still in its box) from our basement and the baby dresser and changing table.

Then came the epic Battle of the Crib. I enjoyed sitting and watching as Adam and Brian tried to figure out how to put it together. There was minimal confusion throughout, and they mastered it pretty quickly. It took about 45 minutes from start to finish. I think that as far as putting cribs together goes, they are both "the man" (or "the men"). They showed that crib a thing or two!

Adam getting it out of the box:

Sorting through it all:

Growling at and threatening to destroy the directions (to put them in their place):

Getting it figured out:

Getting close!:

Almost there...

Just about done...

Finished! :

Here is the nursery as it now looks:

After the baby shower this Saturday, we will be able to put up the wall appliques and other fun things to finish it off! I'll post pictures once its all done.

Yay for getting ready for baby! :)

Bye for now,

Beth (and Adam)