Meet the Dumpling!

On Labor Day I woke up in the wee hours to a little trickle.
The trickle continued down my legs as I waddled to the bathroom.
I went potty.  Still trickling afterwards.
I told B my water might be leaking?  Then nothing.



And then I smelled it.


I know you're probably gagging right now but I've been told that amniotic fluid sometimes smells sweet.  I had to smell it.
You would have done the same thing.  Maybe.


But it didn't smell like anything.  Not like pee.  Not sweet.  Just nothing.

So I checked in at Labor & Delivery in the afternoon where they found no traces of fluid.
So either I did leak some fluid OR it was cervical fluid OR I peed myself repeatedly.


All these options are feasible and part of the joys of pregnancy.

What I did find out was that I was dilated to 3 cm (YAY!) and having regular contractions.
I'd been having Braxton Hick's since month 7 so this was not news to me.



 BUT more importantly we solved a great mystery!!


A mystery to me and definitely to some of you who want to know how in the world I was so HUGE.
Like look at that belly, it might fall off, how many kids are you having, how are you standing up, kind of huge.



I had Polyhydramnios which is an excess of amniotic fluid!


Lots and lots of fluid in there.  Dumpling was just swimmin' around.
 
They also guessed the baby would be about 8 1/2 lbs which kinda worried me.
I'm only 4'11" you know.
They made a few appointments for extra testing in regards to the fluid
 to make sure everything was OK.



They offered to keep me in the hospital for a while but I opted to go home.
My parents were keeping Peanut over for the night so I went home to relax with B.


I spent the night going through baby names trying to come up with something that B would like.
I failed by the way and we used the name he started calling the baby about 5 months ago.

At 1:35 am I woke up to my first painful contraction.
I went back to sleep and woke 15 minutes later to another one.

*At 2 am I started timing my contractions (with an iPhone App which cracked me up).
*At 2:30 my contractions were 5 minutes apart and we started to get ready to go to the hospital.
*A little after 3 am we were getting into the car when I called L&D
to let them know we were coming in.



They very politely told me that Labor & Delivery at our hospital in Irvine was FULL.


We were being diverted to the Anaheim hospital.
I tried to breathe through a contraction while she gave me the address.
I plugged it into my phone to find it added 20 minutes to our travel time.


That seems like a long time when you are in labor.
I thought about all the stories from friends who missed the epidural because it was too late when they checked in at the hospital.  I'm a fan of pain management. 
I'm just sayin'.  I am in awe of all you women who chose to do it all naturally.


Contractions were 3 minutes apart.

We pulled into the hospital parking lot and had no idea where to go having toured a different facility.


A very nice guard directed us and offered a wheel chair.
When I said I thought I could make it, he insisted saying, "You're going to be in enough pain today, you might as well take it easy on the way up there".  He is a very wise man.


We checked in about 3:45 am.
Everything else seemed to have flown by.
I say this now but contractions seem to slow time down to a crawl.
The nurses were absolutely fantastic and supportive.
The first one talked me through breathing as she tried to wrangle someone to check me out.
Contractions were coming about a minute apart.  I was so relieved to hear I was dilated to 5 cm.


Not only because I didn't miss the epidural but also because I was in labor with Peanut for 7 hours and still only dilated to 1 cm.  It was awful. 

They moved us into a delivery room and my mom joined us while my dad stayed home with Peanut who was still sleeping.


At 7 cm dilated the anesthesiologist came in to give me the epidural.  It hurt.  Not a lot but he did numb me twice.  And then it only worked on my right side.


So I could still feel everything on my left side which made for interesting labor.


In the mean time MY WATER BROKE which I could feel and all I can say is
Thank God I Wasn't Out In Public
because it was a LOT of fluid.  Like drench the bed/table make puddles on the floor fluid.
ut in public that would have been traumatic for everyone.


And my stomach deflated.
It visually went down which is really bizarre. 
That's saying a lot because childbirth in general is just bizarre.


I felt bad for the nurse who had to clean up.
This is why I packed little thank you gifts of Burt's Bee's products and nail polish to give to the nurses I liked.  In my previous delivery I probably would have kept all the gifts because my nurses were all grumpy.  Do you remember how I made Lime Bars?  This time I wish I had brought more gifts because everyone was so awesome.

The anesthesiologist came back in and apparently hit me with another full dose.
The perk is that it kicked in shortly before it was pushing time!
The downside was that he gave me so much I couldn't walk until 4 pm that evening.
It was a little alarming.


The nurses came in, I pushed twice and the little Dumpling was born.


With the cord wrapped once around his neck and twice around his body!


Part of the problem with an excess in amniotic fluid is that there is the possibility of delivery issues. 
At only 7 pounds 4 ounces, 20 inches long (4 ounces and 1 inch smaller than his brother), Dumpling had lots of room to move around and get himself tangled.


A lot of things could have gone wrong, but none of them did.
We are so grateful.

September 2, 2014
I started counting contractions at 2 am,
checked into the hospital at 3:45 am
and had the baby at 7:19 am!











He's lovely and perfect and we are all very happy.
This one is spoiling me for sure.  He actually sleeps.


Big brother is doing well, much better than I expected.
He loves his little brother and takes his job very seriously.
I have noticed an increase in drama and tears lately.
Peanut also started school a few days later so there has been a lot going on
but I think we are all adjusting wonderfully!

Labor Amnesia

I often hear people say that after the baby is born a mother forgets what labor was like.

To which I say

BULL SHIT.

Yes, yes, you are overcome with love for your new little bundle of joy and that may take your mind off your battered, possibly stitched, and definitely swollen nether regions.  

Obviously I consider this all very worth it because I did try for 2 years to have another baby but

Labor Sucks.

And I don't like pain.  I'm not going to lie.

I'm not going to try and go without drugs.

And I haven't forgotten what it was like.

Seriously, I would need to suffer a special type of amnesia to forget labor.  And I had an epidural.  So perhaps I'm just remembering the first part of active labor and the aftermath.

Oh the aftermath. 

So with 19 days until due date, I'm here to say, 

I know what's coming and I'm not exactly looking forward to it.

2 weeks at a time

So I have this problem with patience.  Once I make a solid decision that I want to do something, it must be put into place immediately.  I like to plan.  I like things to happen as soon as I'm ready for them to happen.  Apparently baby-making doesn't run on that kind of schedule.

After the last miscarriage I was in absolutely no hurry to get pregnant again.  I was going to lose 10 lbs to get back down to my pre-Peanut weight.  I was going to work out.  I could not feel comfortable getting pregnant again until we dug ourselves out of debt.  Did I mention the last miscarriage and D & C cost thousands of dollars?  And then both of our vehicles needed work?  And then we found out our taxes were wrong and instead of getting $2500 back we owed $2000?  It was a really fun 2 weeks in which we received all these bills.  After that the panic subsided and we buckled down.

One day I was chatting with a friend via text message, because I often only have 30 seconds at a time to converse with people, and I was explaining why it's hard for me to maintain a pregnancy.  I was talking about my old chemo-fied eggs and how it would be like me trying to get pregnant in my late 40's and it hit me.

I don't have the time to be waiting around for the stars to align.

Sure I need to pay off bills and have more time at home and save more money and lose more weight and eat more leafy greens and align my chi and do all kinds of stuff that I can't think of right now but AIN'T NOBODY GOT TIME FOR THAT.

So here we are again and I find that despite my great efforts to not be crazy, life is once again broken into 2 week increments.

2 weeks until my period.  Will it come?  Will it not come?  Will it? Will it?  Huh?  Huh?
2 weeks until ovulation.  Then cross your fingers, your eyes and your legs and pray something sticks.
2 weeks to menstruation.  I'm sure it won't come this time.
2 weeks to ovulation.  Go! Go!  Go!
2 weeks to judgement day.  I just know I'm pregnant this month.
2 weeks to baby making time.  Do the words "I'm ovulating" make you want me?
2 weeks of crossing fingers.  Did I shave my legs for this?
2 weeks of impatiently waiting...

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Oh and the pregnancy tests.  I cannot hold on to a pregnancy test without taking it.  Do you know how much those things cost?  Like $10 each!  I'm in the wrong business.

I had to hide the tests from myself, make them hard to reach, try to forget where they are because it's just so easy to take the tests.  I must know!  It says you can detect it 6 days before you even miss your period!

So a good friend of mine got some pregnancy tests from a co-op she belongs to.  They are just the little tests you use at the doctor.  Just dip them in your pee and wish that second line into developing.  I paid less than a quarter a piece.  I feel like I won the lottery.  I had 40 of them.  40!  I'm going to start some black market for pregnancy tests.  I send my friends messages offering them up to people I know who are trying.  But who knows, in 2 weeks I might have blown through the whole batch.

Breastfeeding is hard

I started this post months ago and am now just getting back to it. These types of posts take me some time to sit and write... which doesn't happen often.

I know breastfeeding is a hot topic so here is my disclaimer: I am just sharing my experience. I believe that breastfeeding, how to do it, how long to do it and whether or not it works for you is a personal decision.

Of all the things that come along with motherhood, breastfeeding was the most surprising. For something that is so natural, something that has been done forever, it just didn't seem to come that naturally. I mentioned the trouble with breastfeeding briefly in a post and was amazed and grateful for the comments and emails I received regarding the process.

First off, I'd like to shake the people that say it doesn't hurt if you get a proper latch. I mean, like pick-up and really shake them. As if it's my fault that it hurts in the beginning.

Come on people, there is an industrial strength Hoover vacuum disguised as an innocent looking baby trying to suck liquid out of my body through my nipples.

Tell me how that doesn't hurt?

All those nurses popping in and asking me if he has a good latch. Um, I think so, I mean my toes curl and I have to hold my breathe while he sucks but he seems to have my nipple half-way down his throat... does that count?

Eventually a pediatrician came by the hospital room and told me it would hurt for a few weeks until my nipples toughened up. He was right.

I never thought I would pray to lose the feeling in my nipples.



We weren't really sure how the whole breastfeeding was going to go because of my breast cancer history. I received 35 rounds of radiation to the left breast and didn't know if any milk would come in on that side. There isn't a lot of info for women who have cancer treatments and then have babies afterwards as it isn't that common.

At the hospital I diligently nursed on both sides and quickly noticed how incredibly painful it was on the left. Eventually it was dread-the-next-feeding, stifle-a-shriek type of painful.

By the first day I had my suspicions that nothing was coming out. I worried that the poor kid was putting all this effort in with no reward. I know this is a common fear for many moms. I knew that if he didn't nurse on the left, no matter what the milk wouldn't come in, so I kept plugging away.

The first few days were the normal blur but I was constantly worried that he wasn't getting enough to eat. In the hospital we documented every time he nursed, every time he went potty and I crossed my fingers things were going well.

By the 4th day I was positive nothing was coming out on the left and unsure if enough was coming out of the right. He was constantly crying and always wanted to eat. I mean, non-stop fussing and rooting around. He would latch on like a starved animal, suck voraciously and then slowly slow down. I would nurse until he fell asleep and start the process again 15-30 minutes later. He seemed hungry all the time and his tummy was making funny little noises. He kept giving this high-pitched cry and I was at my wits end.

Peanut had urinated only once since he was born. I made a few frantic calls to the nurses who would tell me that he was getting everything he needed. Then I would explain how he wasn't going to the bathroom. Nothing, no bowel movement, no urination. They told me to get ahold of the doctor as soon as his office opened in the morning.

I spent most of the night in tears and completely sick to my stomach that Peanut was hungry and I wasn't feeding him. B stood in front of me looking completely helpless and trying to comfort me. I didn't sleep at all that night. Not a wink.

I remember wondering how long this would last. I was so tired I was shaky.

It's an incredible responsibility being the sole provider of that which keeps your child alive.

When we went to the doctor in the morning it took her 2 seconds to tell me that he was dehydrated and that I needed to give him a bottle immediately. She popped one open right there in the office and he sucked down 2 ounces in record time.

I have never felt so relieved. I wanted to cry I was so happy. She explained that it might not have been my plan but I needed to supplement with formula until my milk came in and I produced enough.

My thought was screw the plan.. my plan is to feed my baby. Thats the plan. I was on the verge of having a complete breakdown. She loaded me up with formula and sent us on our way.

It was like having a new baby. He stopped fussing and crying. He ate, he slept and I felt like I could breathe again. Just typing this out, thinking about that night made my stomach flip.



For the record, do you know what happens when a baby continues to try to nurse while nothing is coming out? Your entire nipple turns into a blood blister and eventually a big scab. It's not pretty. It also doesn't feel very good. Poor little Peanut, he sure tried, but I never got milk on my left side.

I continued to breastfeed and eventually my toes didn't curl whenever he latched on. It would have been nice to have two working breasts to give the right one a break but you gotta work with what you've got. I would breastfeed, then bottle feed, then pump. Totally exhausting.

I'm exhausted re-capping those few days. The first week is just pure craziness. If I ever have another baby I'd like to skip the first couple of weeks please.

Rest assured that there are a lot of things I really love about breastfeeding and I'll post about those soon. Peanut is thriving and a happy baby now that we're feeding him. :) We've gotten into our own groove and the Peanut gets a combination of breastmilk, formula, bottle and breast.

The kid is like his father... he doesn't care what type of food it is or how he gets it, he just likes to eat. Thank God.

All photos taken by Adrienne Gunde

The mesh undies say it all.

If you recognize what that picture is than you've felt my pain. That first week after having a baby is a doozy.

Not only do you have this tiny, fragile being to take care of but it's now become a 12 step and 40 minute process to do things that were once very easy. Things like urinating. That's right, I'm talking about urination on the blog.

It's OK because I've given birth which means I've been initated into this group of women who share information that involve words like stitches and tearing without feeling faint. Actually, sometimes thinking about it does make me feel faint. My point? After words like episiotomy, words like urination are nothing.



In the hospital you are accompanied by a nurse who takes you thru this entire process to go potty. That is, after you've somehow scooted to the edge of the bed and very gingerly walked/waddled/winced your way to the bathroom.

You are provided with a number of things to use in a very specific order. There are the sexy mesh underwear which are also used as a way to make sure your husband doesn't even think about making any advances...ever. The fact that countless women told me to take all the mesh underwear from the hospital is a testament to how life has changed. I mean, I trying to get my hands on mesh underwear... and I don't mean mesh in the cute, sexy way.

Also in your new arsenal is the water bottle squirty thing (don't even think about wiping), the Tucks and the spray that is supposed to help with pain and discomfort. Oh and the pads. When the nurse handed one to me I laughed because I might as well be wearing Depends... then she handed me a second one.

You have to learn to sit on the toilet in a way that doesn't feel like you are going to further break/pull/tear something that has already been broken. Eventually the process begins and you swear to yourself that you will be forever grateful when and if you ever, ever feel normal again.

Not that you really have hopes of ever feeling normal again.

I just wanted to be able to sit without having to evaluate how I was going to do it. Of course, after trying 38 different positions of sitting towards my hip I realized I was never going to sit comfortably. I don't even want to think about the time I sneezed without realizing how it jolts your entire body. I lived in fear of coughing or sneezing for weeks.

The healing process is crazy (and odd and painful) to say the least. Even more bizarre is the fact that we ever consider going thru this process again.

That, my friends, is why God made babies so cute. It's amazing how an adorable little peanut will make breaking your hoo-hoo all worth while.


"Daddy says this outfit makes me look like an Alaskan gnome."

Porn For New Moms

This is the kind of quality reading I've been doing! I received this book from the sweetest lady at one of my showers. I have to admit that when I saw the title I did a double take and looked at her sideways. I would never have expected her to pick up a book with porn in the title. I've known her for years as I went to grade school with her son. We worked together for years when I was a secretary at the parish center and she was the pastor's secretary.

The fact that I got this book from the sweet church lady makes it even better.



"Let's not have sex tonight. Let me just rub your feet while you tell me about the baby's day."



This book sits on my coffee table and everyone who picks it up laughs out loud. It's the perfect gift for a shower or visit to a new mom.



Sweatpants are the only pants that fit. I find that although the pounds are falling off my body it a crazy mushy mass and nothing fits.

I appreciate a man who knows the beauty of yoga pants.



I don't know which part of this one makes me laugh harder.... the thought of B getting rid of his bikes to make room for a jogging stroller or the thought of me jogging, let alone jogging with a stroller!



There was a time when I regularly got 8 hours of sleep. It's really too bad you can't store up that energy and save it for later.



This one is just scary because we really do discuss things like poop consistency.



This is some porn I can support and spread without hesitation.

This is the good stuff.

So very tired

Although I'm not looking at the camera, my eyes accurately describe what it feels like during that first week with a newborn.

During the first 4 days I got approximately 7 hours of sleep. The second night in the hospital and first night at home I didn't sleep at all. At all. In fact, most of one of those nights I was so worried sick that thinking about it makes me cringe even now. There was crying and that belly filling anxiety. All was fixed in the end but the mixture of anxiety, excitement, lack of sleep and raging hormones are an interesting, if not dangerous, mix in that first week.



We were all tired. You run the risk of falling asleep whenever you are still for more than 30 seconds.

I fell asleep while using a breast pump. The suction sound woke me up as my hand started to drop. It's quite startling waking up to your breast being tugged by a machine making an awful noise.



It's hard to get used to that off and on sleep pattern that is required when you have a child. Somehow we've seemed to make it thru to week 3 and have maintained some semblance of sanity.

I can still feel these hormones raging as the emotions flit by throughout the day with no rhyme or reason. I'm not sure if I'm getting used to less sleep or I'm getting a higher quality hour but things seem to be getting easier.

I'm trying to learn to sleep when Peanut sleeps. In those first days him sleeping meant I had the chance to go to the bathroom (which seemed to be a process in itself), waking at every sound or move he made and doing something really exciting like shower. Now it means washing the bottles and nipples and pumping and staring at the ceiling wondering why I'm not asleep.

I'm so glad B & I took the time to really appreciate those late afternoon naps and lazy mornings together. It seems like such a very long time ago.

Post-baby belly

Alternative Titles:

~Mushy McMusherson

~Living like Buddha: Channeling His Physical Being

~Wait, when does the second baby come out?

~Dude, is that your uterus or are you just happy to see me?



May I just say that the lovely picture above shows my post-baby belly looking about half the size it did the day after Peanut's birth. I really wish I would have taken a day-after picture but I was too tired to think.

I love this picture because you can tell just by my posture how comfortable I am.

Why am I posting this? Well, you just don't see it very often. I never expected to lose my belly right after the baby but I certainly didn't expect a stomach twice this size. It even felt like I was still pregnant because the uterus was still fairly solid/firm and I was having regular contractions.

On Wednesday I bought one of those post-partum support bands. I pulled it out of the package and thought to myself that it was too big, despite the 2 rows of velcro.

I couldn't get it on.

Fortunately, we're past all that and I can get it securely on with the first velcro row. I sort of squish it and pack it into the wrap.

We won't even get into what the skin looks like. Stretch marks are weird enough when they are stretched out and seriously odd when they aren't.



Of course it's all worth while when you end up with a Peanut of your very own.

My baby belly has continued to deflate daily. Unfortunately, what is left is the oddest mass of skin and certain softness I cannot fully explain. Jello is just too solid to be accurate... I need help with the description. Whatever it is, it hangs over my pants and I can't stop squishing it with my fingers as I sit. Fascinating. Weird, kinda gross, definitely unattractive and fascinating.

Who can describe what a postpartum belly feels like?

Peanut, where are you? IMPORTANT UPDATE!

Can you see the Peanut in the picture above?

There he is content to be in his mommy's tummy.


But that didn't last forever...

CAPTAINS LOG:

3:05 am

I woke up with contractions that were definitely different then the Braxton Hicks I've been experiencing. I think we're going to be having a Halloween baby after all. I guess B wins the bet, he thought so all along.

4:13 am

I can't go back to sleep, contractions are coming every 6 minutes or so. We're supposed to wait until they are 5 minutes apart for at least an hour before we leave for the hospital. They are getting so intense and I'm getting a little nervous. We're about 20 minutes from the hospital here as long as we don't need to go during traffic. I'm debating waking B up and heading to my parents who are only a few minutes from the hospital. But then everyone will be up and waiting for something to happen. Then again, I baked lime bars and set some aside for the nurses. I could make up a plate while we waited. Or I could have someone else make up the plate. Am I talking about lime bars right now?

4:43 am

Still 6 minutes apart. If I were like my mom I'd already given birth by now. Her labors last about an hour after the first pain. When she had me, she went in to her check up and was already dilated to 5 without having felt any contractions at all.

4:58 am

I'm tired and keep thinking I can take a little nap but napping thru contractions just isn't happening. That's it- that one really hurt. I'm waking B up.

5:26 am

Still about 6 minutes apart but they are getting stronger. Heading to my parents and continuing to count to that 5 minute apart mark.

This better not be a false alarm... wish me luck!

We have a deadline people

We went to the doctor's office yesterday in which I was only 1 1/2 centimeters dilated. She still managed to stick a finger thru and touch the baby's head. That's just odd to me and really not very comfortable. Did you hear that, she stuck a finger through and touched the baby's head. You see the kinds of things we say when we're pregnant. There are no boundaries.

She asked if I wanted to have the baby as soon as Monday. I must have had a deer in headlights look because I was totally unprepared for that question. I just feel odd about picking the baby's birthday. If I were super uncomfortable I might have just gone with Monday but I didn't feel like my increasily angry stretch marks were a good enough reason to force the child out. I may come to regret that decision :)

We talked it over and decided to schedule an induction on Thursday which puts me a full week past my due date. This gives Peanut a chance to come on his own which is supposedly a faster process than being induced. Come on Peanut!

This child is already roughly 7 lbs, 5 oz so he doesn't need to keep growing. I hope he;s all feet and tiny little head. Hee, OK maybe that would be a bit freaky.

Either way, something is happening by Thursday the 4th! We check in that morning at 5 am.

Thanks to LStewart I'm now able to tweet via text message and so I plan on giving some updates on Twitter. I feel so fancy! The updates are up on the right side of the blog or you can just follow DandyClaps on Twitter.

Down to the nitty gritty here. I have had some of the most HILARIOUS comments on my facebook page on how to induce labor. I might just have to try some of these, ha!

They include but are not limited to:
*Eating pineapple/pizza/eggplant/spicy foods
*walking
*jumping jacks
*railroad tracks
*raspberry leaf tea
*membrane sweeping
*doing "it", how doing "it" helps and very specific forms of anatomical manipulation

and my personal favorite...

*Ok sounds like you're going to have to jump up and down while 'sweeping' as you're eating spicy pizza all while doing it. Try it!



This video makes me laugh, I wish they would have kept the camera rolling. If you want to see something crazy check out the next video where the kid scares the mom into labor.

I love old wives tales.... any others I may have left out?

40 weeks and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g

Well, I'm officially 40 weeks pregnant. If Peanut is anything like his father he feels no need to change what seems to be a very comfortable existence. Why mess with things when he is so happy where he is?

I still feel pretty darn good. I'm a bit tired, my skin feels like it might stretch apart in places and there is a lot of pressure so I waddle a lot.

The following pictures are for those of you who think I look just beautiful and hardly pregnant at all. :)

Viewer Discretion Advised: If the site of a naked mama belly freaks you out, turn back now.



My pajamas don't quite fit anymore. I still like to make an effort to be sexy for B. Can you tell? I mean, we are still kinda newlyweds.

Adding to my sex appeal are the 2 innies and 1 outie that I currently have. How does that happen? This really freakish thing happened to what was previously my belly button piercing. Despite the fact that I haven't worn a ring in years the scar tissue stretched and stretched and stretched. My belly button popped out but the piercing holes just kept getting angrier and angrier until they started sprouting stretch marks- straight out of the scar tissue.

If you look closely you can see what is a perfect X shape on the top one and the bottom one has more of a circular pattern. The X shape is quite evil looking, it freaks people out. It's actually a bit painful.



Despite thoughts that I was getting stretch marks previously I didn't actually get any (besides the evil X) until 37 1/2 weeks when all of a sudden I've started sprouting them all over the underside of my belly. They are still fairly light and it's not to bad because at this point I can't really see them under there.

I've decided that there really isn't anything you can do about them so I'm just not going to worry about it. I will be very curious to see what will happen to the angry purple X after Peanut is born.



Huh, whaddya do?

Speaking of sexy, last month my mom and I went to Target to get some post-baby underwear. I don't think wearing thongs or my cutesy boy shorts is going to work. It makes me laugh that I'm buying full butt underwear for post-baby that looks exactly like the underwear I wore in grade school. What's up with the patterns on these things? AND I had to get pads, which I think I've only used a handful of times in my life. Big diaper-like pads. Sexy.

Anyway, as I was looking at the wall of briefs, bikinis and other unknowns, a very pregnant lady was asking me a bunch of questions. What should she get? What size should she get? Will she need pads too? What am I getting?

I gave her all the second hand information I knew of and then my mom asked her when she was due. Her answer? She was being induced the next day... because she was 2 weeks past due!

The woman was due 2 weeks ago and had a cart full of necessities and very little information. People are crazy.

So here I am, as prepared as I'll ever be... just waitin' for this little boy to make his appearance! If possible I plan on giving an update on here before I go in. If you don't hear from me for a couple of days... well then you know I'm in the hospital. Can you believe B & I don't have internet access on our ancient phones?

I have a check up this afternoon so everyone cross your fingers for some dilation or something! I'll keep you posted!

Peanut's Room, Part Two

I've only showed you one wall of Peanut's room in my previous post but I didn't forget about the tour!



OK so I forgot to take before picture until after I had already started to take everything apart. Originally this wall held two of these bookshelves stacked with books. It doesn't look like it but the 2nd shelf fit to the right under the overhang from the blinds.



Thank you B's parents for the dresser! It's also from Ikea and fit well into the style I was looking for. I decided against a changing table and opted to put a changing pad on this dresser as it was the right height.



Before I had even cleared out this room I knew I wanted to decorate it with some interesting bicycle art.

So I got on etsy and really the rest is all history. Things got a bit out of control and we nearly ran the risk of being able to make wallpaper out of all the prints I wanted to buy. Luckily I lost my job when I did.

I have a hard time editing out cute things.



Do you know that Peanut has an entire drawer of cute hats and shoes?!



Baby boy clothes and accessories really have come a long way. I've been lucky enough to inherit a good amount of clothes from friends and family. Yay for boys older than mine!




After a lot of going back and forth we ended up getting rid of B's old bed. Guests who come will have to rough it on our deluxe air mattresses and couch space. We promise it's comfortable! Really, the only people that stay over are B's friends and they could roll a sleeping bag out on the porch and be fine. Not that I would do that, I'm just sayin'.



Here is the after...

Lovely crib, compliments of my parents! It's one of those convertibles that becomes a toddler bed with a railing and then a full size bed frame later on.



More artwork purchased from etsy, pictures from our engagement session and possibly my favorite piece of art... the bee made by a very special little girl.

My dad glued it to foam board and then cut it out with an exacto knife.



Do you remember the trip China Town for paper lanterns? Well, here they are. I just bought a ton and then my mom and I stood there asking my very patient dad to switch them around until we came to a decision on what looked good.



On the other side of the room we have more storage for Peanut's books, some of his toys and his DVD collection. Yes, he already has DVDs.

I love that when he gets older I can display his favorite books in hopes that he'll make his way over and pick one out for us to read.



Wow. Sometimes I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and this belly just doesn't seem real.

Hello, Peanut are you ready to come out?



Our apartment is actually a dual master so Peanut has his own bathroom. This is the blah-before.



Here is the revised Peanut potty room. The curtain came from Urban Outfitters, the B washcloths we found at Home Goods and the rubber ducky was a gift and it says hot on the bottom if the water is too hot for the baby.

Oh and I love the Skip Hop Hare set which is the little bunny whose ears are actually a brush and a comb and whose face is mirrored underneath.



That concludes Peanut's room tour! The above mirror and Farmgirl Paints original artwork is in the hallway between our two rooms. The mirror was already up and the peanut picture was just so perfect below it, announcing the entrance to Peanut's wing.

For now it's just sitting and waiting for it's ruler!