Effacement! Swaddling! Baby bedding!

Just a few days after my last post, and I want to update again! THAT's a record! Or am I forgetting another boost of motivation I had?

For starters, at my doc appointment yesterday, dilation hadn't changed....still at 1 cm, but I am 80 percent effaced. I know these don't really mean anything in terms of gauging WHEN I'll go into labor, but at least it's progress of SOME sort. Better than nothing.

My doc said she doesn't think I'll come as early as originally thought though. Not sure why she says it, but she's saying probably closer to the due date. She gave me the option to induce a bit earlier than Jan. 24 because I told her my back pain is increasing (it's now starting at 11 a.m. and comes on fast and jolts right to a 6 on the pain scale. Yay. What joy.)... but I turned her down. I said I'm fine with inducing AFTER my due date, but that I really want to see if I can go naturally to increase chances of a vaginal birth. Being induced before the due date doubles a woman's chances of a c-section.  BUT, because of the risks involved with going beyond 41 weeks, my doctor strongly urges (and might even require) getting induced 8 days after the due date. And I'm okay with THAT. So we set a date, just to have one on the calendar IN CASE the lil' Dubber-butt doesn't decide to go easy on his mama. Jan 30 is the day. It's my mom's dad's b-day. Grandpa Sy. He passed away a few years ago. But if I have to go really late, I think sharing a birthday with him would be cool for my son. :) I told my grandma today on the phone (and tried to make it clear that I *most likely* will go earlier than that...) but she teared up anyway and said she was touched. Thought that was cute.


Last night, I practiced swaddling. We had learned it in our newborn care class, and Neil got so frustrated that he actually tossed the baby doll against the wall. One other guy saw it and cracked up. Neil had been trying to be funny, sort of, but I was a bit embarrassed. So I was bound to learn how to do it so I can teach him. The key is to not use those twerpy receiving blankets they give you at the hospital. I think these will look NEATER when I have an actual baby to wrap up. Plus animals don't offer enough sturdiness to wrap against.

And then on to the most exciting news. The baby room is as done as it can be for now....we still have to get a cushion for the window seat and then curtains....but I think we'll do that this spring. Just too much $$ being shelled out elsewhere.

Here are links to a few of the people that made what is in the baby room.

1. The Abacus (this was actually made by my brother and my dad. They were awesome for doing it for us. I originally got the idea from CB2.com because they sell an abacus for $149. But it looks cheap and I'd have had to paint the beads anyway. But then my friend sent me a link to her friend's baby blog and she and her husband had made their own abacus after seeing the same CB2 one! So Dad and Troy followed the directions and made one for us!!!! SO grateful to Jenny for posting her directions. THOUGH...I do want to note, dad and Troy said after doing it, they could have probably done it an easier way...so if any of you end up trying to do it, let me know and I'll ask them what they'd have done differently.

2. The baby bedding. I struggled to find something I liked. When I decided on the original color scheme of white, grey and orange, I couldn't find ANYTHING that matched it that wasn't either too babyish or way to expensive. And even then, I didn't find anything that matched anyway. I could find orange and browns, but not the grey. All the stuff I liked that wasn't in that color scheme was a good $600 or more! For 3-4 pieces! That's ridiculous in my opinion. So when I came across this shop on Etsy.com, I was smitten with not only her quality, but the prices. We paid about $300 and got 7 pieces...and all of it is custom. I decided to branch out a tad with the colors and we also brought in some yellow and aqua. We got 2 bedding sheets, 2 changing pad covers, a bed skirt, a small quilt and a bumper, Now, granted, the bumper won't really be used for awhile, but for photos, it's darling right now. :)  And the quality of hte fabric is killer. SO soft and durable. I was pleasantly surprised.

3. The bookends... my only complaint is I wish I'd have noticed the price on the shipping beforehand. They were $30 , and then another nearly $20 to ship cuz the maker is in Canada. But they are cute. However, they aren't very heavy, so they kinda suck at actually holding up a lot of books. So we're just doing a few at a time on the dresser.

4. The W on the door, and the two lil' initials on the dresser...special shout out to Lara for using those at our baby shower and then we are reusing them for decor. :) LOVE THEM.

5. The prints above the crib and on the closet wall and abacus wall are from this talented artist. (Only warning: the actual prints on the 8.5x11 paper are an odd size....since it doesn't fill the 8.5x11, I got an 11x14 frame and then an 8x10 opening and just cut off a portion of the sides. Or maybe I did something other than that...but I had to improvise because even an custom matt would have been so odd with the fact that there are weird margins around the actual image.

6. The baby book that Neil got me for Christmas... is from this shop. I can't wait to have info to actually put in it.

7. I've ordered a reversible storage container to go on top of the dresser/changing table, but it won't be here for another 2 weeks. I will update when I get it, but it's from this shop and is the grey chevron on the outside and then an orange and white design inside. It kinda looks like the one at the link, but no dividers.

8. The rocker is from USA BABY, but is the brand BEST CHAIR. We love it. Tons of fabric options. :)

9. The light switch cover is a gift from Neil's mom... from here.  It matches our changing table fabric. :)

The lamp is from Gordman's... the crib is from Walmart (the Lauren model of the Graco line....the dressers are Ashley furniture, but discounted....let me know if I left anything else off??? 

So I'll stop yapping and just post pics now already.











Now all we need is the baby!! WOOOOOHOOOOOOO!!!!!