Hunky Dory

I have decided to make Lilly's quilt and crib skirt and decorate with Moda's Hunky Dory fabric. It is fun and twirly and soft and floral. And most of all Greg likes it too, so all and all a win! I am making a quick simple top with square piecing of each of the prints in the Hunky Dory line of fabric and using a neutral sashing. Then the plan is to back it with a bigger print of the fabric here are some of my favorites from the line for a taste ....click this link to see the whole line. I seriously have a special relationship with fabric. It makes me happy :)

Twirly...

I like this one, or this one in pink for the back.

Girly...Floral...

I also had the brainstorm to make the letters for the wall. I like it in nurseries where they spell the name on the wall, I know it is the "thing" right now but I think it is cute and since we don't plan on painting I figure it is a way to bring some of the decorating to the walls. So, I have a couple ideas on how to make up letters and cut it out of fabric and then iron it on to another fun fabric and get that on the wall (either frame, or staple to canvas, or use a sewing form and ribbon, or....) but I think it will be fun and fabric-y. More to come on that later.

Here is another line called Nicey Jane that I just love and am going to have to make something out of, maybe something with Minky on it. I like the blues and greens and oranges more than the pinks but it is fun in a retro kinda way.

As you can probably tell I am excited to have tomorrow off and I can spend the day finishing up my 2 gift baby quilts (HOPEFULLY) they are so cute, and I am glad they are almost done so I can focus on Lilly's room while I can still fit behind the machine.

Funny.. Pregnancy Q &A

Q: Should I have a baby after 35?
A: No, 35 children is enough.
Q: I'm two months pregnant now. When will my baby move?
A: With any luck, right after he finishes college.
Q: What is the most reliable method to determine a baby's sex?
A: Childbirth.
Q: My childbirth instructor says it's not pain I'll feel during labor, but pressure. Is she right?
A: Yes, in the same way that a tornado might be called an air current.
Q: When is the best time to get an epidural?
A: Right after you find out you're pregnant.
Q: Is there any reason I have to be in the delivery room while my wife is in labor?
A: Not unless the word "alimony" means anything to you.
Q: Is there anything I should avoid while recovering from childbirth?
A: Yes, pregnancy.
Q: Do I have to have a baby shower?
A: Not if you change the baby's diaper very quickly.
Q: Our baby was born last week. When will my wife begin to feel and act normal again?
A: When the kids are in college.

baby brain

Until recently I thought baby brain was just something pregnant women made up to make themselves look better. But, no, in actuality it does exist. What is baby brain you might ask? Well in my case it is the inability for my brain to move fast enough to keep up with my mouth. I try and carry on a normal conversation and I either say words that are totally wrong or I have to take long pauses to allow my brain to catch up. Yesterday I even called some one's scapula (shoulder) their scaphoid (hand), and I am sure the athletes think I am off my rocker. It is quite frustrating at times to, I pride myself on my quick and witty come backs and as of late they are all falling short. Oh well, baby brain, believe it, it is real and it is coming to a city near you!

Another fun feature of baby brain is loss of filter. I am keeping my "filter" (as Greg calls it) in check pretty well at work but when I am home it is no filter time. The filter that has gone missing is the one that tells me not to use certain words. You know, the ones that normally need to be bleeped out or written #@!*. Some of you might think I had no filter to begin with but trust me I DO, but before I made the conscious decision to use those words, now they just flow from some deep realm I did not know existed. It is so un-lady like, but then again I have never been accused of being a lady before. Greg just looks at me, half laughs, says WOW, you have no filter, and then I think what? what did I just say...Oops. Baby brain I am telling you!

I need control

This weekend we had the amazing opportunity to get OUT OF WPB! So we took it and headed up to Orlando for the night. We stayed and a great hotel for really cheap and just that little break was so refreshing. We were able to head to St. Petersburg Saturday morning and get my dad, and head back to Orlando for the day. A day of downtown Disney and bus hopping to different Disney hotels. All in all a way to enjoy Disney for FREE. Except of course the few items we HAD to get for Lilly (a Minnie doll that had a rattle in the body, and a pretty onsie with Minnie on it).

It was a good weekend of getting away without being far away, but back to reality and I am beginning to worry about things. I would not consider myself a "worrier" as much as a "planner." I like to know what I going on, and when I don't, I try and figure it out, which very quickly turns into something that looks and feels like worry. I like to solve problems and think of solutions, I get very uneasy when life is just lingering in the middle ground of no direction. Greg and I go back and forth between what to do when Lilly gets here. Will Lilly make it here? Do I take more than the 3 months off? Will work let me? What do we do for child care? Can Greg work from home? Are we supposed to stay at PBA? Do we stay in West Palm? Do we try and move closer to family? What would we do for jobs up north? Can Greg find something that would allow me to work part time or not at all? What are we thinking moving back to the snow? There are just so many things to think about and I just feel like I am ready for a change. One would think having a baby would be enough change but I feel like it needs to be more. It is hard in the stress to really see God's hand in it all, where he wants us to go or stay. I know it was his plan for us to come here, but I think so many things are happening here that God is making the decision to walk away an easy one. The stressful part is that we don't know where we are walking to or when it is going to happen. UG, for a planner, one who likes control of a situation, just relying on God and waiting to see what will happen next can be pure torture!

3D!!!

Yesterday we got to see Lilly again. The US tech surprised us all by busting out the 3D, and we were able to see her little face. It was a very nice surprise. She was 1 pound 1 oz, the US tech seemed to think that was big but I am doing really good on my weight so I am ok with a big baby.

She was being a little bashful. And below you can see her big belly, although how big can it really be at 1 pound.

In addition to getting to see the ultrasound I got to go out shopping with Grandma, and the clothing sales at Baby r Us were too good for her to resist. So I think the bambino will be well dressed for a while. And the crib we ordered should be in tomorrow (see below)! It is all coming together.

The Bump

This weekend I got to attend a baby shower for Dawn who is having a boy. So I figured it was a good time for Greg to snap a few shots while I was looking half way decent to give the folks at home what they have been asking for. The in laws arrived shortly after the shower and we get to be graced with their presence this week. Week 21 by the way, Lilly is the length of a large banana, and I get to see her again tomorrow, so excited.

Cheese...I know, your impressed I am wearing a skirt aren't you! Well you should be and I actually enjoyed it.

Other than looking HUGE in this photo...It was a mad hatter tea party shower, so I made my hat adorned with binkies and diapers. I of course won :)

Melons

Speaking of HUGE MELONS, Lilly is the size of a cantelope this week, and she is also half way there! Hooray for week 20. I am finding myself starting to really enjoy being pregnant, just when the morning sickness is trickling off to about 3 days a week, and I can feel the peanut moving around in there it is all becoming more real. I never understood why pregnant ladies could not keep their hands off their bumps, but I now find myself rubbing my bump from time to time, seeing if it is still there for one, and secondly it is just kinda cool to finally have some proof of what I have known is happening the past 20 weeks.

Speaking of HUGE MELONS, we have a class tonight at the hospital on breastfeeding. That should be interesting, hopefully we don't have to watch another video from the 80's. Apparently I have been thinking about it a lot because last night I had a very sweet dream that Lilly was in my arms while I was feeding her. My first dream where she was actually a baby and not a platypus, or a boy, or well basically terrifying. We shall see if Greg learns anything or starts to squirm.

Deciding what to do for the nursery is proving to be more difficult than I had hoped. I have made many a baby quilt up to this point but somehow when it is your own it is SO MUCH HARDER so decide what to do. We have registered for something, but I still think I am going to make it all in the end if I feel up to it this summer. The quilt store is letting me down, they have not gotten anything new in a year it seems, and there are so many cool prints online, but you never know if those pictures are true or not...dilemma.

St. Mary's

We got to go on a tour last night of the maternity ward at St. Mary's Hospital where I will be delivering. It was nice to finally see everything since it is a hospital we are not familiar with. The labor and delivery room looks just like a hotel room with a few extra gizmos, and the recovery room is exactly like the l&D room except the gizmos are removed. So it looks very private and comfortable. At St. Mary's the baby is with you 100% of the time, unless you have a C-section and then it has to be in nursery for 4 hours before being returned to mom. All the nurses and doctors we were able to meet seemed in good spirits which is a pleasant surprise.

One funny thing, we watched a video straight out of the 80's on epidurals. They did a good job of not showing anything until the end when they went straight for the money shot, and this guy (soon to be dad) right in front of us about fell out of his chair. He shortly then after left the room, and then proceeded to ask the RN conducting the tour what they do when the dad passes out. Looks like his wife is on her own.

Week 19...

Lilly is now a large mango. I can really tell some changes are happening. It has been a busy holiday weekend for us but first here are the changes I am feeling. I can feel her moving on and off, her little pokes feel like popcorn popping in my belly it is a very fun sensation at this time, my belly is starting to pop out more my shirts are tight and my pants wont button, I can lean back and my belly button pops out (gross). Its all fun and I am sure the changes are going to be coming at me a little more quickly now. Here is my bump shot (I feel really silly posing for these for some reason and they all came out with me squinty so don't judge just look at the bump:)

Friday Greg and I went to the store to register, it was very quickly that Greg came to the realization that he can not handle all the pink. As if I am picking everything pink on purpose I mean it is a girl, most of the choices are either blue or pink and I am not going to pick blue, that is why we found out the sex after all isn't it? He really wanted to go with the pirate bedding (it was cute) but most definite BOY, sorry hunny, no pirates. I think we came up with a pretty good list of items, apparently I really like ORANGE! Here is an action shots in the bathing isle...

Emily is in town and this week we got to spend a lot of time in the sun at the pool, I tried out my new suit and got my base tan building up (takes a lot of build up for this white girl). On Easter some of our friends came over and I made a pork tenderloin (GOOD!) and the usual holiday items and we had a great day painting eggs and eating! Well, Greg wouldn't paint any eggs so I made a bright pink one just for him :) Should be a fun week, we get to tour the hospital tomorrow and see where Lilly will be born, and on Friday if I get out of work in time we are going to a huge second hand sale for new moms,to hopefully score some cheap essential baby items, that is if I get there in time. Should be a fun week.