Baby Shower

Warning:  This post has nothing to do with our Christmas... that will have to come later because I have been meaning to post some pictures from my first baby shower for awhile now, but I just now got them off my sister's camera!

It was a WONDERFUL time with LOTS of friends! It was put on by some of my mom's best friends!  Damon and I feel truly truly blessed... it is hard to believe that we got so much stuff... and yet there is so much still needed!! AH! WHO KNEW?!  Some key items that we received this time around... a diaper genie, pack n play, toddler car seat, diaper bag, video monitor system, and MUCH MUCH more!!

Below are some pictures of the fun times! :)

The lovely hostesses (minus Ann) and me!

The diaper bag of all diaper bags!  And yes, you should be VERY jealous!! :)

The car seat!! :)  YEAH!

Me with all the gifts! :)

Friends since 3rd grade!! My life wouldn't be the same without her!! Love you, Sarah! :)

My small group!  I have been with some of these girls since they were 5 years old!! I can't believe that they are now old enough to baby-sit my little girl! AH!

My sisters and mom... Erica (Landon's fiancee), mom, me, Abby, Jordan, and Kathrine ("adopted" sister)! :)

My beautiful mom and me!  Isn't she just GORGEOUS?!

My sisters!  Love them! :)

One of my very best friends, Magen, and her little girl, Audrey!! So excited that she will be adding a baby boy to the mix in May!! I don't know what I would do without her sweet friendship over the last several years! (not one of the best pictures of me, but definitely cute of the two of them!)

There are about 25 more photos that I could add, but it might be a little overkill! :)  Again, thanks to EVERYONE who helped and sent gifts... it was so special!

We had a check up last week and baby girl is still looking great!  He said that she is about 4lbs and 10ozs already... and her feet are 2.5in....with 8 weeks left to go, she could be a big baby girl... probably close to 9lbs or so... LORD, PLEASE LET ME GO EARLY!! Hah!  My momma was able to go with me to the last ultrasound, which was so fun, except for Collins decide to get shy on us and didn't want to show her face, feet or anything... She was just all curled up and my normally very active child, didn't want to move!  The doc did say that she had chubby little cheeks and lots of hair!! :)  I can't wait to see it when she enters this world!!  After the pre-labor earlier, we are hoping hat she stays put for at least 3 more weeks (hopefully a little longer)!

I mean, after a shower like that, how can you not feel truly blessed?!  I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!! I will post more on that later!!  Love to you all!

Hospital Visit #2

Why I should think that anything medical in my life should come easy is beyond me... I mean, nothing ever has been easy in this department. Pregnancy seems to be going this way lately too.  I mean, really? Two hospital visits in less than a month! You've gotta be kidding me!

I really hadn't felt good all week... Could feel myself contracting, but not too bad and not that often, so I just blew it off.  Then as the week progressed, I started feeling sicker and sicker... I was catching a cold (of course), so I was trying to take it as easy as I could with Christmas parties coming up on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evening!  I took extra naps, even left work early to try to rest before the parties.  I just couldn't get comfortable.  I kept waking Damon up because I was tossing and turning so much at night... I know that this is to be somewhat expected being 7 months pregnant, but I mean, I wasn't sleeping more than about 45 minutes at a time! Which was just adding to my stress.  So, Thursday night, I left Damon's company Christmas party early because I didn't feel good and definitely wasn't in the mood to smell any food.  I went home and got in bed by myself.  Damon came home really late (about 1:00am) and I woke up... and tried and tried to go back to sleep, but just couldn't.  Finally, I went downstairs (so Damon could get some rest) and fell asleep...still waking up every hour or so.

Of course the next morning, it was Friday, so all the clinics here are closed... So I called the health line to talk to the OBGYN on call.  He said that he thought I should come in to labor and delivery and get checked out, even though he thought everything was fine.  So my sweet mom came with me and we got all checked in and hooked up to the monitors.  The nurse said "we will watch you for about 45 minutes to an hour and then hopefully send you home.  Well, she came back in about a half hour later and said, "well, you're not going anywhere... you are contracting every 3-6 minutes and we have to get these stopped".  ARGH! So they gave me three rounds of shots and a pill that are supposed to stop labor.  After the first shot, I started to get really sick to my stomach so I asked for some nausea medication.  She gave me Zofran.  And we found out that I am DEFINITELY allergic to it!  Instead of making me feel better, I definitely felt worse.  I started to get the worst heart burn (de ja vu from my hospital stay in MN) and then started to throw up. Of course it didn't help that the shots they gave me make your heart race!  I felt out of control... and my contractions then started to come every 2 minutes... Not the effect they were looking for!  Finally, I was able to lay down and just sleep.  Probably the best hour of sleep I had had all week!!  After a couple hours of observing me, the nurse came back in and said that my contractions had stopped and that I could go home when I was ready!  Well, I was ready to get home and sleep!  So we left about 4 o'clock with instructions to rest and lay down most of the weekend... just take it easy! (That didn't quite go with the plans we had... mind you, we still hadn't done any Christmas shopping and we were scheduled to go to my sister's graduation and take family pictures!) 

We ended up going to the graduation.  I am still contracting some, but not nearly as much as I was, so that is good!  And my sweet hubby is doing all the Christmas shopping!  I just gave him a list and off he went in the crowds!  Isn't he the sweetest?

I am feeling better, but now I think I have had a reaction to the medication they gave me... I have little ulcers all over the back of my throat... Probably from throwing up medicine.  And my nose is really stuffed... so I could just have strep or something... WHO KNOWS?!  I will make an appointment for tomorrow to get checked out because I am just ready to feel really good again!!!  Please pray for me and my spirits... I am just pretty down right now.  I love being pregnant and feeling my little girl move around, but I really just want some of my energy back... at least enough that I can enjoy all the fun that comes with the holidays, Christmas, my favorite time of the year!!

Here is a picture of me for Damon's Christmas party...at 31 weeks! :)  Enjoy!!

Nursery!

Well, here is the BIG reveal of the nursery! It is pretty much finished... with the exception of a side table, lamp, and rug!

Before I start posting the pictures... I must take a minute to brag on my hubby and dad. Damon did a great job painting the walls!! And he had to listen to me as I ran a million ideas by him in trying to decide what to do! Damon also painted the dresser the white color (the crib was already that color, thank goodness)! And my precious dad took a lot of time distressing the crib and dresser (and letters) and staining them for the antiqued look! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE how it turned out and know that it is so special to have these items MADE by people I love! I am thanking God that I have such wonderful men in my life to help assist with all my crazy projects!! :)  If you don't have any wonderful men like these, I would gladly loan you mine, at times, to help out!  They really are the best! :)

Speaking of made, my sweet grandma made baby bedding-- but not the one you see. Unfortunately, when we got it home, it didn't fit! :( I fell on the ground and started bawling (mind you, we had just driven in 12 hours from MN and after being in the hospital, it was the one thing I couldn't wait to do!!). I could have fixed it and made it work, but on top of it not fitting right, I decided I just didn't like the fabrics all together enough to invest more money in it... I know, shocker... I picked out something I didn't like the first time around! Now if any of you family members who read this say anything about this bedding situation to Grandma, consider yourself dead! I am still trying to figure out when, how and if to break the news to her!  So thanks to my sweet mom, my sister, and selling some clothes from our closet, we were able to but the new bedding you see!!

Without further ado, here is our baby wonderland! :)

First up, a close up of the furniture my dad and hubby worked on.  I love the little details that my dad added to make it extra special!  See the GLC-- well, that stands for "Grandpa Loves Collins"-- such a sweet touch that about makes me cry!!!

View of the crib as you walk in the nursery...

Do you LOVE the bedding as much as I do?! :)  I wanted something that just went with my house-- not a room you walked into that felt like a totally different place!!!

Close up of the wreaths I did as the focal point in the room... so easy! (AND VERY INEXPENSIVE)  The whole project was less that $20 and I had my dad paint the letters to make the furniture!  I LOVE the way they turned out!

Corner of the room with the tree! I have now added a couple red birds to the tree as well, which bring in the red ribbon!  Keep with the "woodsie" theme!

The windows and chair!  I already had the frame, which went PERFECTLY!  And the lanterns are one of my favorite parts of the nursery! :)  (Though they were not as easy to hang as I thought they would be... probably because I am a sick perfectionist!)

Close up of the chair... Damon insisted that we get a really comfortable one... and I am so glad that he did!  I already LOVE sitting in it and can't wait until I am going to sit there with my little girl!

Now, a brown round rug in the middle of the room, a side table complete with lamp and picture frame, probably a standing lamp in the corner, maybe a couple frames for the walls... and a flat screen tv across from the chair so I can watch it while feeding!! :)  I know, I know... so not necessary, but heck, why not spoil myself, right?! :)

So for all of you who have been asking... there you have it! Hope you LOVE it!!  I think that I could do this forever... think through ideas, design rooms... AHH... Heaven!

Here is the most recent belly shot... 29 weeks! Had another appointment this week... gaid 1/2 a pound over the last 3 weeks, which the doc said was perfect and that my weight and belly size are EXACTLY where they need to be! :)  Collins keeps moving and growing just like she should as well!! 

Thanksgiving and The Following Days

Normally Thanksgiving can be described as a time of thanks, a good time with family and friends, cold weather, turkey, green bean bundles, mashed potatoes, and by far one of my favorite times of the year. This year, however, there was none of that for me. This Thanksgiving goes down as one of the worst I have ever had. This Thanksgiving could be described as, cold, IV fluids, hospital stay, throw up, and DEFINITELY no turkey, potatoes or green beans... A 12 hour drive to check myself into the hospital for 2 days. BLAH!

So what happened you ask? The stomach flu... just a little stomach bug... Damon, my sister and I drove all day Tuesday to arrive in Sioux Falls, SD at about 9:00pm. I didn't feel great all day, but I thought that was just the result of being about 7 months pregnant and traveling 12 hours in the car. And food never settles quite right in the car (plus, it is all crap food). Went to bed that night feeling fine, but glad to be in a bed and get some good sleep! Woke up the next morning to ice storms! I love the cold when I am up north! We then got on the road to go visit my grandparents (about a 30 minute drive). Got there, still felt great! We arrived and gave everyone big hugs and then my grandparents told us we had 3 options for food 1)McDonald's 2) Burger King or 3) Hardees... BIG SPENDERS! :) Hehe! So, we went to Hardees (for those of you southerners, Hardees is MUCH better up north!). Damon and I had about another half hour drive to Jackson, MN where we were going to be staying for the remainder of the holiday with my aunt and uncle. We hung out with them the rest of the day and my other aunt and her boyfriend, along with my cousin arrived later and we all went to dinner! Steak tips and twice baked potatoes! YUM! :) We laughed and laughed the whole time! So, the next morning was Thanksgiving. I woke up and didn't feel great, but I thought, I will just take a shower and get ready (we had family pictures) and I will be fine. We got a call that my uncle was sick with the flu so pictures were cancelled. I was excited because that meant that I could take my time getting ready since I wasn't feeling great, but I started to feel worse and worse. At about 11:00, everyone left to go to Thanksgiving lunch, but I told Damon that I needed to stay behind and sleep a little longer. That's when it hit! I started throwing up. After the first time, I knew that it would be easiest if I just went into the hospital to nip it in the bud, get some fluids and nausea meds and enjoy the rest of the time we had with family! Little did I know... Got to the ER, got all the meds, started to feel better, got ready to be discharged (even had the IV taken out). Then, as we were signing the papers, I started to feel HORRIBLE again! I told them that I wanted to wait for a little bit so I didn't have to come back in later. In a half hours time, I got sick again. They decided to admit me overnight. Got my upstairs and hooked me up to fetal monitors. (They wanted to check on Collins since I was getting dehydrated.) When they did this, the nurse said to me, "Did you know that you are contracting every 2 minutes?!". I said... "umm.. no". I just thought that was my stomach cramping from being sick! They weren't really worried because you can contract when you are dehydrated, but everyone was relieved that they didn't send me home! Slept the entire night (well, as much as you can with nurses coming in every hour) and was ready to go home the next morning. Ate something, felt good... and then about 2 hours later, got the most horrible heartburn I have EVER had (it felt like my food didn't go past my chest and my throat was on FIRE)! And I got sick again... so they wanted to try again at lunch before discharging me. Same thing happened... Finally, I put it together and told them about the heartburn. They gave me some meds, but they take 24 hours to kick in, so I had to stay the next night as well. Saturday morning, woke up, felt good and was discharged at about noon. (I didn't eat anything because I just wanted to get out of there). We got right on the road to head back to Little Rock-- drive 6 hours to Kansas City, checked into the hotel and finally I ate something (noodles and baked potatoe)... and kept it down! Then promptly, I asked for a piece of chocolate cake! :) Finished the drive on Sunday... and returned to work on Monday.

So, as you can see, pretty much the worst Thanksgiving ever. However, now that I am out of it, I can look back and see what I was thankful for. I am so thankful that I have a husband who loves me so much, was willing to be there with me and even hold my hair back when I was sick! I am so thankful for my family, who was willing to come and sit by my side in the hospital, when I know that is not where they wanted to be. I am so thankful for the doctors and nurses who took great care of me and Collins. And I am SO grateful that God protected both Collins and I. Things could have been much, much worse.

And the great thing was, I already had my high risk ultrasound follow up scheduled for Monday when I got back, so we were able to check on Collins after the whole ordeal! She is growing like a weed! She is about 3lbs, 3ozs right now. Her little feet are about 2 inches long! And she is measuring about 1 week ahead of her expected due date, which means we may get to meet her sooner than we think!! :) YEAH! I can't believe how much this little girl is already changing our lives!

No matter what you are going through, I hope that you can see God's blessings in the midst of your life. Let's remember not to skip over Thanksgiving and go right to Christmas. We have so much to be thankful for!