Makin' Progress....

So the nursery has come together nicely... it's so cozy, and I'm really pleased with the way it all came together. Here's a close up of the bedding installed in the crib:

Here's a view from the door leading into the nursery. The rug was a steal at Ikea, and it's pretty plush. Seeing it the room made the entire debacle of Ikea Atlanta worth it. (Let's just keep it at 30,000 people + swine flu fears + 27 week pregnant lady + little air conditioning does NOT equal a happy experience).

The other side of the room. (Note that the artwork for the walls still isn't quite ready):

Closer view:

And the bed in the room. Because this will still be our guest room when we have visitors, I wanted the bed to be super-comfortable. I also anticipate that there could potentially be nights where I will be sleeping in the bed as well. SO, off I went to purchase a feather-topper to make the older mattress a little more plush. I wish I'd done it years ago, it lifted the bed to a better height (I prefer higher beds) and made it much more cozy.

And a view of my letter-painting expertise along with the crib bedding:

So there it is folks. All ready for our baby boy to arrive in around 10 weeks or so. I keep telling myself 10 weeks, because I'm not counting the week that he'll arrive. Since my last day of work is October 31st and Franklin will not arrive until the following Friday, I fully intend to do lots of sleeping, eating, resting, manicuring, pedicuring, etc. during the week leading up to his birth. Lets hope (for my sake) that works out.

Note that crib bedding was purchased from Javis Davis, www.javisdavis.com, and is beautiful in person! Extra plus - only took 2 1/2 weeks from order to delivery at my door. I was super-impressed.

In other extremely happy news, CONGRATS to my friends Marina and Luke on the birth of their daughter Olivia Grace this week. I hope to meet her in person very soon!!

Nursery Updates

We've finally made progress on the nursery. I'm pretty pleased so far, but we have a ways to go. I'm glad that we started this process early, fatigue has started to return this week and I'm feeling like I'll be headed towards an 8:30 PM bedtime anyday now. I suppose that I should've expected it, my first trimester was one long blur of sleepy days. Since this is the last week of my 2nd trimester I guess it was time.

In happier news, the artwork for Franklin's room is absolutely beautiful! I have a feeling these will become treasured family keepsakes (hopefully) that will hang in my grandchildren's rooms one day. They are being framed at the moment, and look great in the nursery. All nursery rhyme prints, the first is "Dish Ran Away With the Spoon":

Followed by "Cow Jumped Over the Moon:"

And we can't leave out Humpty Dumpty:

And my favorite, "Little Boy Blue:"

There's still more updating to do, but here's a peek at the nursery so far:

The changing table cover:

The name "Franklin" was a little long to put the whole thing on the wall, so I opted instead for a monogram. Frank sanded and painted the base coat on the letters, and I added the detail. I'm fairly pleased with the turnout - they are by no means professional looking, but I think they'll do.

Awhile back in the mail we received an ad from Huggies with a diaper enclosed (I suppose to give you an idea of what the diapers look/feel like). I was shocked when I opened the package and pulled out the diaper - it was so tiny!! It looks like the diapers I used to put on my cabbage patch kids - seriously. To give you an idea of the size, I placed it next to a super-cute bootie that our friends Jeff & Julianna gave Frank and I for our birthdays:

I can hardly believe that Franklin will be that tiny! (I can also hardly believe that he'll be here in about 13 weeks, but anyway). Last, but not least, Franklin's baby book arrived today. I was determined to find something that I loved, something that I could keep and that would stand the test of time. I found a personalized book that I adore, and in person it's even better than I'd hoped:

It covers the first five years, all the way through his first day of school! The pages are Beatrix Potter themed, and they are softly hued and very sweet. I can't wait to add in all of the special moments he'll experience! So yes, I am finally starting to relax as things are coming together.

In other news, the pain in my ribcage/back is still bothering me and Dr. Straughn said that sometimes her patients can develop inflammation in their ribcage during pregnancy. I've finished a 3-4 day motrin prescription to try and ease the inflammation, but it looks as though it's not going to help much. At least we tried! I shouldn't complain, I have been blessed with a fairly easy pregnancy - but I certainly need to get a jump start on some of the laundry I have to do for the little man. Standing up ironing/ washing will only get harder from here! We've also scheduled our 3D/4D ultrasound for August 24th. It will be our first glimpse at what Franklin will really look like when he arrives, and I can't wait!

Yes, I am an over-achiever...

I have not been eagerly anticipating today's test date. I've read horror stories about the dreaded gestational diabetes test, and figured the same would go for my experience. Luckily, I was wrong! The worst part about the test was fasting before-hand. Not being able to drink water since midnight last night was NO FUN, and I woke up this morning parched. By the end of the test (around 10:30 this morning) I really wasn't all that hungry, but wanted a tall glass of water REALLY BAD. For those non-preggos, essentially they make you drink a really sugary drink, wait an hour, and then they test your blood sugar to see how your body responds to the insulin rush caused by the sugary drink.

Many people have tried to describe what the sugary drink tastes like. I've heard koolaid, those orange drinks we used to get from Sam's when we were kids, etc. - The drink that I was offered, however, wasn't orange, and tasted like this:

And it was cold. God bless my doctor. After not having anything to drink, it actually tasted pretty darn good to me. A little sweet, but hey, I gulped it down. Fastforward an hour later, and I passed! Sugar needed to be under 140 to pass the test, and mine was 116. Yes, I have always been an over-achiever.

And apparently I over-achieve in most things to do with this pregnancy, including weight gain. The scale was not my friend today. Even the nurse raised her eyebrows and said, "Well, Dr. Straughn might not say too much to you today....". As in, "Hey fatty, lay off the cookies already!" So, I will reluctantly put down the pint of Ben and Jerry's and will try to tie my running shoes in order to prevent becoming a beached whale in the next 3 months or so. However, passing the diabetes test means that if I HAVE to have a bag of chocolate double-stuffed oreos, or a few bites of Stephen Colbert's AmeriCone Dream (you know, because the baybee wants it) then it won't HURT the baby like it would've done if I had NOT passed the test. Yes, round of applause for myself.

In other news, I happily purchased a crib mattress this weekend that fit perfectly into our crib (as in, you can't even slide your hand in between the mattress and rails - SCORE!), and ordered all of the crib bedding and artwork for the nursery. The first part of the crib bedding arrives today - covers for the changing pad, a diaper stacker and sheets. The art for the nursery should be in later this week. I also think I found a pretty good deal on a diaper bag. I purchased this:

In chocolate brown, and had Franklin's initials monogrammed in light blue on it. Total with shipping, monogramming and tax: under $50. The cradle bedding will also be in this week (according to the people that I have purchased it from, ahem), and Frank is nearly done priming, sanding, and painting the cradle and wooden monogram. So, crossed off the list of to-do's in the last week and half have included:

1. Install Glider
2. Purchase Crib Bedding
3. Purchase Crib Mattress
4. Purchase Changing Table Pad
5. Purchase Art Work for Nursery
6. Purchase Sheers/Drapes for Nursery
7. Clean out closet
8. Clean out dresser to be used as changing table
9. Purchase Diaper Bag

(Err, that's a lot of purchasing?!?) Now we just have a few things left to do to finish the nursery! I can't wait to see it all come together!

Creating the Nursery....

After the initial misgivings of being pregnant faded away, I slowly began to dream about what I'd want this LO's nursery to look like... Luckily, our guest room is large enough to keep a queen size bed in the room and just add in the crib and glider. The website http://www.javisdavis.com/ became a great resource for dreaming up beautiful nurseries, and to my surprise they had the exact fabrics for a girl or boy that I would have chosen if I'd had my pick of any fabric in the world... after our news last week that this LO is a BOY!, here are my choices:

This crib converts to a toddler bed and a day bed, and will work for a girl or boy - so we can use it for future children. I foresee Baby Long #2 will come along right around the time that Franklin, III transitions to a toddler bed, which will work perfectly - I don't think I'd put an iron toddler bed in a little boy's room.

Our house is pretty traditional, and I wanted something soft and traditional for the nursery fabric-wise as well. Since the baby is a boy, we won't even have to paint the room or change the drapes that are already hanging! The fabrics I've chosen match the drapes perfectly, and I think it will all fit together just right:

This fabric will be used for the outside of the crib bumpers and the sheet, as well as throw pillows for the bed in the room and a lampshade:

This fabric will line the inside of the crib bumpers, it's extra soft and will feel good against the baby's skin:

This fabric will be the crib skirt and the welting along the top of the crib bumpers. I'll also use it on the backs of pillows, I'm sure, and potentially for Euro Squares on the bed in the room.

And lastly, this fabric will be used for the ties on the crib bumpers. It will blend with the antique white crib and is softer than the initial striped fabric that I chose.

We'll wait for a 100% confirmation that Franklin is, in fact, a boy before we purchase any bedding... but I'm already excited about creating a room for my little man! I'm sure November will be here before I know it!