Sunday, July 27, 2008

Baby Shower with friends and family!





















My wonderful friend, Christy, threw me a baby shower this weekend for friends and family. We had such a good time. She is so detail oriented and definitely has the gift of hospitality. She made everything herself down to the small candy bar wrappers that said "Bundle of Boy, Bundle of Joy" She also made all of the food from scratch and used a lot of her vegetables from her personal garden. We had cucumber dip, hummus, cucumber sandwiches, corn/bean salsa, chicken salad with walnuts and grapes, triple chocolate chip cake and angel food cake with stawberries and cream cheese sauce. (all with cute labels!)
She had the cutest decorations ever! For each table, she rolled up washclothes and put wrappers over them with a polka dotted bow around them to look like lollipops. She of course also had the confetti type "its a boy" each table. She had napkins that were shaped like diapers with a gold pin in each of them. She also had flowers on each table from her garden. Did I mention she did all of this by herself and that this is the first shower she has ever thrown?
We had a good turnout from my mom, sister, sister in law to previous co-workers and past church members, former youth, community group friends, etc. I felt so blessed, humbled, and loved. We played a lot of really fun games from baby word scramble to writing cards of encouragement and advice for Brian and I. She had gift bags for each of the winners with such cute gifts in them. She also had a guest book that she created for a keepsake. Oh yeah, she even had the guests fill out their addresses on thank you cards she provided! She just did such a good job and I am so grateful for a friend like her. We received all types of wonderful gifts from hooded towels (so cute) to fun toys (really love playing with these!) a few monogrammed bibs (yipee!) and our high chair and travel system we registered for. This weekend, we felt so loved and blessed to have all of these people in our lives to share this special time with. Thank you all so much!

Friday, July 25, 2008

Mural time!

Liz came in today and has been working on the mural for the nursery. It is going to be so cute. She is painting the animals from the bedding onto the walls....colors and all. Here are a few pics of the process. She still has to outline them and finish up the touches. Of course, I will be posting pics of the finished product but wanted to post these as well. Enjoy!













Wednesday, July 23, 2008

32 weeks! (WOAH MOMMA!)





Its that time again!! It has been four weeks and we are growing by the day! Here are a few pics....one silly pic with Baby Hume's "going home from the hospital" outfit on my belly.(which I must say is very cute...it is hard to see in this pic but it has pleats in the top of it down to the middle of it....beautiful fabric as well...the top with the ribbon goes over the jumper which also has a yellow duck on it-the only thing that would make it better would be monogramming which I may have done before his arrival) Brian thought it was very odd that I took this pic (lol) and I was taking him away from his TV time! (as you can tell from they way the crib looks like it is sliding down the room...he wasn't in a hurry-was he?)



Baby’s Development



The baby keeps maturing as weeks go by. The baby can change its position to a head down position at this time getting ready for the delivery. The baby’s length is around 16 inches and the weight about 4 ½ pounds. The skin is red and wrinkly with less of downy hair and more of vernix which is the protective layer covering your baby. The baby’s brain is developing well so be sure that you eat well at this stage. The baby will gain at least two pounds before the end of the eight month. The movements of the baby might reduce because of its increasing size and its tight fit in the uterus. The baby’s lungs are still developing though the rest of the body is pretty well formed by now. The eyes start functioning and are able to focus and blink by now. The umbilical cord is coated with a gelatinous substance so even if the baby turns and twists the cord is protected from kinks and knots. The baby’s skeleton is completely formed by now but the bones are soft and flexible and will harden later. The baby’s toenails and fingernails have formed and the baby might even scratch itself. Experts have found that the baby now develops sensitivity to temperature and you can a swift kick if you place a hot pad on your growing belly.





Changes with your body



You will feel the Braxton Hicks contractions quite regularly now but there is no reason to worry as the uterus muscles are exercising to get stronger for the actual delivery. The baby might have dropped into the pelvis in preparation for the birth. This could cause the pelvis to stretch and increase the pressure in the lower abdomen. The increasing size of the baby might be pushing it in your ribcage making you rather uncomfortable. Your estrogen levels keep rising making your uterus more sensitive to oxytocin which is the hormone needed by your body to cause contractions. The top of the uterus will be about 5 inches above the belly and this can cause difficulty in breathing due the pressure of the uterus on the diaphragm and can even create heartburn. The most common symptoms of pregnancy felt by women by this stage would be fatigue, breathlessness, backache, constipation, faintness, leg cramps, insomnia, and mood changes, swelling in breasts, leaking breasts, bleeding gums, contractions, vaginal discharge, nosebleeds, stretch marks, frequent urination, varicose veins, hemorrhoids, heartburn and indigestion. You will mostly be gaining about a pound per week and your blood volume must have increased by 40% to 50% by now to allow your body to accommodate your baby and you. This increased volume of blood is important at this stage considering the amount of blood you will be losing during delivery. You will also be concerned about the oncoming labor and start reading or finding out more about labor skills and the method of dealing with them.



What to expect



You can expect to find out more about the signs to look out for in case of true labor. Your body might already be going through periods of contractions that can be regular or irregular. These contractions can be mild or strong and some women might not even notice them. The major difference is that true labor contractions will not slow down or space out when you change activities and will in fact increase with a change in activity. In true labor the contractions will build in intensity and length and will become shorter in durations or frequency. There are some self tests which can be done by you to find out if you are experiencing true labor. Sometimes hunger or dehydration tends to increase the intensity of contractions so you can try drinking water or eating food to see if the symptoms reduce. Try to change your activities to see if there is a change in the intensity of the contractions. Try and watch the contraction pattern and if the patterns are not regular or getting closer then there is no reason to panic as yet. You can follow several techniques to keep you relaxed for the oncoming delivery. Meditation, breathing techniques, aromatherapy, basic gentle massage, pedicure and manicure can help you feel relaxed as well as give you the chance to pamper yourself before the due date arrive.

Friday, July 18, 2008

Personalities!

I was reading another blog and she posted a link to a Myers-Briggs test. I thought it would be fun to take it and post the link for you to take. Brian and I are almost complete opposites with one letter only being the same. Take the test and enjoy! Here are my results... I am an ESFP.....What is funny is in the jobs I would be good at, I have tried like ten of those things...lol


PS After you take the test, leave a comment and let me know what you are.

http://www.personalitytest.net/cgi-bin/q.pl


ESFP's-Radiates attractive warmth and optimism. Smooth, witty, charming, clever. Fun to be with. Very generous. They make good performers, they like public relations, and they love the phone. 13% of the total population................


Careers

This lists represent careers and jobs people of your type tend to enjoy doing. The job requirements are similar to the personality tendencies of your personality type. It is important to remember that this is not a list of all the jobs possible. And it is very important to remember that people can, and frequently do, fill jobs that are dissimilar to their personality... this happens all the time...and sometimes works out quite well.

veterinarian
flight attendant
floral designer
real estate agent
child care provider
social worker
fundraiser
athletic coach
musician
secretary
receptionist
special events producer
teacher: preschool
teacher: elementary
emergency room nurse
occupational therapist
exercise physiologist
team trainer
travel sales
public relations specialist
waiter/waitress
labor relations mediator

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Gratitude

I have been thinking a lot about this lately and felt I needed to write a post about the gratitude I feel. I feel so grateful to God for blessing us with the miracle of pregnancy/baby. When I really think about it, how long we have waited, the tears I have cried, the pain and loss I have felt over the years, the ways I tried to "fix" it, I think of the verse that "joy comes in the morning"

This feeling I have cannot even be put into words. Thank you Lord for being such a faithful father. Thank you for never letting me go when I chose to not walk in trust, when I rebelled against your plan, when I got lost in hopelessness. You held me that entire time in your love and faithfulness. That is what I love about you....who you are. ....your character-that NEVER changes....even when we do and so flippantly.

I can't wait to meet this baby. We have waited for him and we can't wait to see his face, touch his fingers and toes, and whisper in his ear. We love you baby. Thank you God for blessing us with this perfect gift. Thank you for your incredible love manifested in your provision for our family. .....for a wonderful husband who I am convinced is an angel sent into my life just to show me how deep your love really is, for a beautiful momma's boy, Tayler, who makes me smile everyday and makes me so proud, and for this beautiful baby who will be here soon...who has already brought such joy and restoration into our lives. We love you Jesus and are so thankful for our inheritance in you!

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

30 week ultrasound

Here are some pics of our beautiful boy! It was so awesome seeing him. He was all scrunched up down low as I suspected. I don't believe he ever turned! (still head down) His legs were straight out but right by his ears as were his arms...(see last pic-face in distance) In the 2nd pic, he is opening his eyes....We will post the video soon! This made us want to meet him now!!

PS Look at his cute lips! And, he has Tayler's nose!






Monday, July 07, 2008

Nursery Part I






So, we have been somewhat working on getting the nursery together. I say somewhat b/c it has been slow in the process. However, our crib arrived today and we (I mean Brian) set that up. I was there for moral support.:) The other day we also (again, I mean Brian) also began the process of painting the furniture black (the dresser, shelf, etc) Brian was so excited about the crib coming. He has been watching it online as it was shipped from city to city. Setting up the room reminded me of setting up for Tayler's room before he was born....aww! We still have a lot to do to get the nursery ready but we will be picking up the pace here shortly. Here are a few pics of our time spent. There is also a pic of a cute bib my sister had made for the baby. It says Little Humie...(they called Brian "Humie" in college)

To do list:

Finish painting edging in room
Paint shelf
Put hardware on dresser
Replace light fixture in room
Paint glider
Replace fabric on glider
Have mural painted
Paint changing table
Put up clothes/wash clothes
What am I missing?