Unexpected Afternoon in Labor & Delivery

Yesterday, we spent an unexpected afternoon in labor and delivery. I had been having lots of cramping for a few days and my doctor advised us to go to labor & delivery to ensure that I wasn't having any contractions. 

Once we got there, the nurse took my vitals and then Molly and I spent a few hours being monitored. 

The top graphs represent our heartbeats. The bottom graph represents contractions. As you can see I was having lots of "irregular" contractions (some big ones!), but was assured that at this point in my pregnancy they were quite normal, as my body prepares for labor and delivery. 

However, my doctor was concerned I may be dehydrated, which could be causing both the cramping and the amount of irregular contractions. So, they gave me an IV with fluids for a few hours and monitored us. Since my contractions weren't progressing, the nurses determined I wasn't in labor and that I could go home and rest. They also gave me some pain medication to help relieve the discomfort from the cramping. 

Last night, I slept for 12 hours and today I have spent the day resting and having a Desperate Housewives marathon, while also drinking lots & lots of fluids. 

My husband has been the best nurse, tending to my every need. 

We're so thankful that everything with Molly is alright. The nursing staff at the hospital, were all so sweet and in a way eased a lot of my fears about labor & delivery. As we left the hospital yesterday, our excitement for her arrival only grew as we saw many families awaiting to go in and see their new family member. Although we've joked a lot about how we wish Molly would hurry up and get here, and while we're very excited for her to come-we want her to take as much time as she needs to continue growing before she arrives. We are blessed to have such a healthy, baby girl...one that will hopefully continue to bake for at least another 3 weeks! 

How To: Mesh Deco Wreath

My sweet Mom has been very into crafting lately and made a beautiful mesh deco wreath for Valentine's Day that she showcased on her blog athomewithjemma.blogspot.com  

http://athomewithjemma.blogspot.com/

I loved her wreath so much that she sent me the materials I needed to make one for my own door!

Here's what you will need:

-At least 1 roll of Mesh Deco Ribbon

-At least 1 roll of Decorative Ribbon

-Wire Wreath Frame (Any shape)

-Pipe Cleaners or Floral Wire to secure ribbon

-Decorative Accents for the Wreath 

I begun by cutting a few pipe cleaners in half and then twisting them in intervals around the wreath frame.

Then I pinched the short end of the mesh and gathered the mesh together, pinching in the middle and then securing pinched portion to the wire frame with one of the pre-attached pipe cleaners.

I continued this process around the wreath. The closer the point of attachments, the larger the loops appear. I then did this exact process a second time. 

I did the exact same thing with the heart ribbon, by weaving it in and out of the mesh and attaching with pipe cleaners.

To finish, I added the cute heart decorations my mom had sent me & attached the leftover heart ribbon to hang the wreath on my door.

The finished product. I love how our wreath looks on our door & it makes it extra special that the supplies came from my Mom! After all, Valentines is all about reminding the ones we love that we love them!

(Tip: The only thing I would have done different next time would be to paint the frame a coordinating color before adding the ribbon.)

Our Bags Are Packed...

With our due date quickly approaching, we've been busy preparing for baby Molly to arrive!

We had a beautiful baby shower in Texas in November and have spent the last few months setting up her nursery and planning for her arrival.

Now that we're only 4 1/2 weeks away from her due date (eek!) I decided it was time to get our bags packed so we'd be ready to head to the hospital. My sister, Amanda, had the cutest baby boy in May and gave me lots of good pointers of what necessities we'd need for our hospital stay.

For me I packed...

-Toiletries: Travel size tooth brush & toothpaste, pads, travel size shampoo & conditioner, & travel size hair spray

-A few nursing tank tops (in the event I feel like changing out of the hospital gown) & nursing pads

-A comfy outfit, my mom got me cute leopard print pajamas to wear. 

-A outfit to go home in, I packed leggings & a shawl to wear over a nursing tank top, I figured I'd want comfy!

-A hair brush

-A lufa & razor (I doubt I'll feel like shaving, but it's nice to have the option)

-A nursing bra

-A pack of cheap underwear

-Lanolin cream 

-A few pairs of socks

-Lip chap, since hospitals tend to be very dry

For Molly I packed...

-Her baby book, so the nurse can stamp her footprints in it (:

-2 Blankets

-A few outfits & pjs, I had a hard time deciding which to pack & probably overpacked on this item...and so it begins!

-2 size small swaddle wraps

-Boppy 

-Bows (it's never too early to accessorize!)

-A few newborn caps

-Diapers & wipes, the hospital will have them-but just in case!

-Mittens, so she doesn't scratch herself

-A pacifier

-Socks

-Her first love-ey

-We are also going to be installing her car seat in one of our vehicles soon!

Things I plan to pack:

There are also a few things I haven't packed yet, but plan to before we head to the hospital. These are items that I know I'll need, but don't have double of & still am using right now. I've made a list and left the list with the bags, so if need be my husband can come home and get them for me. 

-A robe & slippers

-Blow dryer

-Phone Charger

-My camera 

-Face wash

-My purse with proper ID

-Eyeglasses

-Speakers for iPhone

-I also plan on picking up an assortment of snacks to bring with us as well

Although we hope we don't have to scramble around frantically before Molly arrives, it's comforting knowing that now that our bags are packed, we're ready to go whenever she's ready to make her entrance into the world. Plus packing our bag satisfied my "nesting need" for the day! (:

Good news is, if we forget anything my hubby can drive home...since he has to tend to our fur baby anyways!

Dressing Your Bump

One of my most favorite indulgences in all the world, is a good outfit.

http://pinterest.com/pin/2040762302552472/

However, when you're pregnant outfits like this become harder to pull off as the weeks go by.

Here are the two most common mistakes I made and noticed other pregnant women make when dressing their bump:

1.Wearing too loose of clothing. While most pregnant women want to disguise their bump, they commonly hide their whole body-arms, legs, etc. which makes them lose their figure all together and the distinctiveness of the baby bump. 

Solution: If you're not comfortable wearing form fitting bump couture, opt for something that is form fitting in the chest and arms or legs and loose in the stomach. 

2. Buying maternity clothes too quickly. (Oops, was guilty of this one!) While it may be easy to get overly excited about dressing your new shape! You likely won't need a new wardrobe in the first trimester. You'll first notice a snugness in your pants. You can extend the life of your regular pants, by investing in a belly band. Once that becomes uncomfortable, invest in a few pairs of maternity jeans (or shorts depending on season). Get some you really like, because these will be staples throughout your pregnancy. Buy too many clothes too early-you'll be sick of wearing them long before your pregnancy is over!

Solution: Shop your own closet! Start organizing your longer tops, tanks, tunics so you know what you have already. If you're pregnant in the warmer months, set aside maxis (ones that are shape friendly, see mistake #1) and longer skirts you may already have with a stretch waist band.

Now once you avoid these two mistakes, you can move on to dressing that cute new figure!

The First Trimester:

Although you may notice your belly starting to bow out towards the end, you likely won't have a full bump yet. Stick to wearing loose fitting tops, until your bump takes on a more distinct shape.

The Second Trimester:

Ah, the honeymoon trimester. This is likely when your bump will be at its cutest and you'll still feel like dressing it! 

Show off your bump by belting it...

http://pinterest.com/pin/61783826109987868/

 http://pinterest.com/pin/24488391695719541/

Wearing maxi's or dresses that are form fitting, so your shape is not lost.

http://pinterest.com/pin/68257750573313241/

Embrace current trends. Just because you're pregnant doesn't mean you can't wear the latest fad! Just make your sure your wardrobe is mostly staples, with a few trendy pieces too!

http://pinterest.com/pin/235876099203768260/

Layering. Layers always make an outfit look more composed, just don't hide all your limbs under a huge mumu inspired frock.

Here's a great example of maternity layering, she's layered up top in fitted garments and is still showing off her legs.

http://pinterest.com/pin/252623860319501401/

Third Trimester:

In the beginning of your third trimester, you can carry over a lot of the second trimester style tips. However, the bigger you get the more comfy you'll want to be. 

Opt for leggings, jeggings-basically anything that ends in "ings". Your growing belly will help your legs look like slim.

I love these blue jeggings I scored from Motherhood Maternity.

Embrace stretchy tops and tunics. If you're pregnant in the summer, you can wear basic long tees and tanks. In the winter, pair a cute long tee with a cardigan for a polished look. 

http://pinterest.com/pin/111253053266754052/

http://pinterest.com/pin/135952482472810582/

And don't forget the footwear and accessories! With so many cute flat shoe choices, it's easy to jazz up a dull outfit with a pair of cheetah loafers or bold ballet flat. 

I hope these tips help you. When you're pregnant it's easy to envy all the girls who seem to have bagel waists, but embrace dressing your figure for the next few months! At 35 weeks pregnant, I find I feel a lot better about myself when I make the effort to put my best dressed foot forward. And yes, it's okay if you want to sit at home in your tights, UGGS and  husbands sweatshirt some days too! 

We're Having A Baby!

July seemed to fly by even faster than June. We've been staying pretty busy and enjoying whats left of our summer. July also affirmed some suspicions we've been having and we're thrilled to announce to the world that we're indeed pregnant! We will always remember this summer as the summer we began expanding our young family. 

This is our little blueberry, as we like to call him/her, at 10 weeks and 3 days. We've already been to our first OB appointment and got to hear/see the heartbeat on the ultrasound. It was definitely the most amazing thing we had ever seen! Our due date is estimated to be Feb. 17, 2013. Our OB told us we might be able to find out the gender at our next appointment! We're so excited to find out, so we can start decorating and getting ready for our little one to arrive! We both think it's a girl, which the Chinese Gender Chart confirmed (ha!). Josh really wants a little mini me boy and I am hoping for a girl! But either way we'll be so excited by the blessing God has given us. 

I'll be 13 weeks on Sunday, Josh ordered me these cute bump stickers off Amazon. He's such a thoughtful husband! No bump yet..but this picture will be fun to look back at in a few months!

How far along: Almost 13 weeks!

Total weight gain: about 3-4 pounds.

Maternity clothes: None yet!

Sleep: Doing okay with sleeping, minus all the midnight potty breaks!

Stretch marks: Nope!

Best moment of the week: Announcing to our friends and family the news!

Miss anything: I feel like I have the nose of a blood hound, so sometimes I wish I could not smell certain things so well!

Movement: Nothing yet!

Food Craving: Sweets, sweets, and some more sweets! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not this week!

Have you started to show yet: Not really...

Gender: Can't wait to find out!

Labor Signs: Not yet.

Belly button in or out: Still in!

Wedding rings on or off: On (: 

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Looking forward to: Finding out the gender!!

Besides being over the moon about baby Wheeler, we've also been busy around the house!

When we moved in, we had as we like to call it... a "rock garden..."

One day we finally gathered up the determination to tackle this mess. After a few hours of picking weeds and moving rocks, we finally had a real flower bed...

We planted zinnias, a few types of pumpkins, and a few types of sunflowers. Thanks to the strong heat and tropical storms we get in Shreveport, in combination with some Miracle Grow a few weeks later and our plants began to grow!

This is our garden now, with beautiful zinnias that attract tons of butterflies. Our pumpkins are blooming and their expanding all over our sidewalk like the plant in Jumanji! Our sunflowers haven't bloomed yet, but they've started growing really tall. 

In addition to gardening, we've also been restoring and redecorating our living room-pictures to come soon!

Josh had a three day weekend in July, so we headed to Texas and spent time with my mom, dad, sister and nieces, && my brother and his new baby!

July was filled with so many wonderful summer memories as well as accomplishments.

Josh was promoted to Staff Sergeant, received an award for Airman of the Month AND Airman of the Quarter, and was also named Top Performer for the Air Force Assistance Fund. I am beyond proud of him!!!

I've been finishing up summer school and will begin my last fall semester as a college student in a few weeks! I also received an internship at the Sci-Port (our local science museum) as a marketing/public relations intern for the semester. Josh and I spent one Saturday checking out my new workplace and had so much fun going to the IMAX and checking out the cool science exhibits. 

What a great summer we've had! And of course Leyla and Leo have been along every step of the way...they can't wait to meet their new baby sibling!