Oh, Hey September!

Well I blinked and its the middle of September.  How did that happen? There's been a whirlwind of events over the past several weeks/months and life just got in the way of this little blog!  I do miss documenting our life and hope to make some more time for it now that things seem to be slowing a bit.  We were home for TWO weekends this summer.  TWO.  We may have been in town a couple of more, but had guests staying overnight.  It was a busy summer, and a fun one, but I am glad to see fall arrive and my car parked in the garage a little more.

Probably our biggest life event of all?

Baby Fite #2 Coming Feb, 2015!

I'm 18 weeks as of today. Craziness!

Annnnnd...

It's a GIRL!  We couldn't be more excited to be parents to TWO girls.  Caroline will be a great big sister and I can't wait to see my girls (!!) be best friends!

{ONE}

Who knew that my heart could grow so much in a year? It was already bursting at the seams when we found out we were pregnant on Valentines Day in 2012.

Then it swelled even more when we found out our babe was a girl in April.  

October 16, 2012 was the happiest day of our lives when we welcomed sweet Caroline Reese into our family. 

The last 12 months have been SO fun.  I can hardly get enough smiles, laughs, new milestones, cute outfits, and kisses.  It still amazes me how much growth and learning takes place in a year.  Our tiny newborn is now a petite ONE year old. She is full of personality and FUN. She is sweet and smart. I love her more every day.

We have had a lot of excitement over the last few weeks... our girl's first birthday party, first birthday, Halloween, moving, Thanksgiving, and in just a few days- Christmas.  We've jumped on a couple of planes in there too- one with just the husband to Vegas, and just this past weekend as a family to Austin,TX. Caroline has a mouth full of teeth, is learning new words daily, and just took her first steps this week {as an "almost" 14 month old.} I have much to catch up on, but I wanted to start with highlighting my girl's first year. She brings us so much joy and I thank God for her daily.

Nursery Reveal

I'm so excited to have FINALLY completed Caroline's nursery. Of course there are things I still want to do, but for the most part, it is ready for our baby girl. I'm really pleased with how things turned out and I'm so thankful for my sweet husband's patience and help through the whole process!

This room is pretty small so it's difficult to get pictures. This is the view from the doorway.

Her monogram... I love it. I ordered it here. .

My sweet and talented friend Nicole hand made Caroline's bedding! I should take some better close up pics, but the skirt and bumper are a beautiful champagne rosette fabric.  The bumper has white minky on the inside.  I could not be any more pleased with the bedding and it's so special that such a great friend made it custom for my baby girl.

 

The crib is a Jenny Lind and I ordered it from Overstock.com. I love that anything ships for $2.50.

 

The crib sheet is from Pottery Barn Kids and was on clearance! I ordered two so I could have an extra.

The curtains were my inspiration for the "new" nursery scheme. They are from JC Penny and were on clearance!

I knew I wanted floating shelves on the small wall between the closet and door.  I ordered these from Home Depot and they are great. They are similar to the trim in the room and can hold a lot of weight.  Husband will tell you that they are the devil. He had quite a time hanging these, but I SURE love them and love HIM for hanging them. :)  I filled the shelves with mostly stuff I had around the house, only purchasing a few picture frames. I'm not very good at "styling" shelves so I anticipate that I will change this soon.

Here is the view from the other side of the room. I got the glider from Babies R Us on clearance. It's a nice neutral color which I wanted. I almost splurged on a "Best" chair ($900+) but I'm SO glad I didn't. Nursery chairs aren't the most fashionable and I didn't want to spend that kind of money on a chair that I wouldn't use anywhere else in the house AND one that would likely be spit up on etc. This was a great fit and is very comfortable. On the glider are the blanket that Caroline's Baba gave her and a pillow in the same rosette fabric as the bed skirt. After the debacle with the dresser delivery to the store, I decided to pay extra to have the glider shipped to the house! The light fixture hanging from the ceiling is from Pottery Barn outlet in Memphis. It was the very first thing I purchased for the nursery. We had thought of replacing the ceiling fan with the fixture, but it wasn't quite bright enough to function as the only light in the room. Plus, we live in the south and it just impossible NOT to have a ceiling fan in every room so we left it. It's not beautiful, but removing it was not an option. There is a small glass table beside the rocker that is hard to see in these pics.

Caroline's dresser is from BRU and was really the only "splurge" in the room. I wanted a nice dresser that Caroline could use for a long time. This dresser is very well made with dovetail drawers and a nice dark finish. The mirror is from Kirklands and it is one of my favorite pieces in the room. I will totally have to refrain myself from moving this somewhere else in the house because I love it so much!

The closet. It looks really messy in this pic but is actually very organized. I've left some things in boxes until we need them. This girl has a ridiculous amount of clothes! Both of the bins up top have clothes as well. Her mom has a bit of a clothing obsession!

I'm not very crafty, but I did make this bow holder to hang inside the closet door. The frame is from Hobby Lobby and I just fastened ribbon to hang bows on and small hooks on the bottom of the frame to hang all of her headbands on. I'm thinking we will need a bigger bow holder or a second one this size before too long. I'm a bow lover. :)

Hanging on her dresser is Caroline's coming home outfit. This dress was my coming home outfit 26.5 years ago! It is a precious handmade pink dress. I of course have white ruffle socks, pink shoes, and a "sizeable" white bow to complete.  I plan to frame the dress and hang to the left of the crib after Caroline wears it home.

One last shot, I just can't wait to bring my girl home to her beautiful room! 

 

 

 

39 Weeks

I cant believe it... how is it possible that I am 38 weeks pregnant?! I feel like we just started this journey and now this part of it is closing. Of course I realize that my prize, the BEST part, is just a few days away... but  I have really enjoyed being pregnant! 

How Far Along: 38 weeks

Size of baby: baby is the size of a small watermelon, weighing 7 lbs or more

 

Gender: It's a GIRL! Caroline Reese Fite

 

Maternity Clothes: yes, although the top above is non maternity and I paired with leggings

 

Weight gain: 35 pounds

 

Movement: A lot more this week... I think shes trying to break out.

 

Sleep: For the most part I'm still sleeping well. I usually wake up at least once to use the bathroom, but go back to sleep pretty easily.

Symptoms: I am huge. I am just uncomfortable and it's hard to get into a comfortable position. FREQUENT bathroom breaks... (I mean it is seriously ridiculous), hip flexor pain, leg cramps, shoulder and back pain.

Cravings: I've been extremely thirsty and craving Mexican and other spicy foods.

Best moment this week: Husband and I went out on our last "date as a childless couple. We went to a new restaurant that opened in Fayetteville called Union Kitchen. It was delicious! Adam had the fillet and I had roasted squash ravioli.  We had a blue cheese dip as appetizer and creme brulee for desert. Afterwards we went to Walgreens to stock up on diapers that they had a sale on and Adam got a flu shot, ha!

 

Also, my last day of work is Friday... I feel like I have 1000 things to do before then, but I'm pretty pumped to wrap up work and start my "new job" as mommy.

 

This week at the Dr: At my appointment Monday I had dilated to only 1 cm and was still about 20% effaced. The heartbeat was strong and I had not gained any weight, PTL! Dr. H discussed "the plan" since she did not anticipate C coming this week. We planned to induce on Tuesday, October 16th.  I will go for my 39 week appointment (Ill be 39.5 weeks) on Monday and if I'm 3.5 cm dilated or more she will break my water and see if I go into labor on my own. If I'm not dilated to that, we will check into the hospital Monday evening and be induced first thing Tuesday morning. I will be given something Monday night to help efface more, then the Pitocin will start Tuesday morning. I'm not thrilled about the idea of being induced, but I also don't want to have a 10 lb baby. I was really looking forward to going into labor on my own... and will pray that still happens between now and Monday! Either way, I'm thankful to have an end date in sight that we will finally meet our girl!

Waiting on C

It's currently 4:45 am and I've been awake for the last hour. Actually, I've been having a tough time going to sleep at all and waking up in 3-4 hour intervals. This has happened a couple of times over the last 9 months, but since Monday night it's become the new normal. When I wake up, I'm WIDE awake. I'll lay there for a while, but have found it's best to get up, get a snack, and find something to do for a bit until I can fall back asleep. I usually find something on t.v. or peruse Pinterest, but this morning I have made a grocery list and now I'm blogging! I know that in just a few short days this new schedule will come in handy and "finding something to do" will be replaced by feeding/caring for my new love.  

It's amazing to me how your body knows what is about to happen and starts preparing for it. I have been fortunate enough to have mostly uninterrupted sleep over the course of the pregnancy. Like I said, this waking up thing just started this week. I know many women deal with sleep loss much earlier in the pregnancy and I'm thankful that I have had full nights of sleep 90% of the time. I'm also thankful that about the time that my new sleep schedule took over, I started working from home exclusively. As of Oct 1 I have been cleared to work from home every day until Caroline makes her entry into the world.  This has proved to be extremely helpful for both parties. I get a lot done from home with calls and emails and can spend time getting everything in order for someone else to handle my workload for the next 10-12 weeks. For me, it means being able to take it easy each day and even lie down for a bit if needed which is helpful when I'm running on a lot less sleep. Work slowing down means a lot less stress and working an 8 hour day instead of a 10-12 like I'm guilty of putting in with my travel schedule. I'm so thankful I have this flexibility!

Gus and I napping- this happens several times a day lately :)

I am 38 weeks pregnant. I can still remember finding out I was pregnant on Valentines Day this year. That seems like SO long ago! I remember thinking this day would never come and now we are literally in the daily countdown until our baby girl arrives. I'm getting a little anxious to meet Caroline and get the show on the road, but overall I am enjoying the quiet and relaxing that I know will be replaced with an increase in stress and activity once she arrives. I'm trying to remember that our lives are about to be forever changed and that while that is extremely exciting, we literally only have a few days left of "just" Adam and I. I want to soak up every moment... and we've been doing just that!

We finished the nursery last weekend. FINISHED. I consider this a huge accomplish since I'm really bad about starting a project and not quite finishing. We are only awaiting a monogram that I ordered from Etsy for above the crib and then I will share pictures. We've also worked hard on getting the house clean and organized inside and out. Adam worked hard on the yard over the last couple of weeks, I got the front porch set up with a beautiful "fall scene," and we cleaned out the garage. As for the inside, I got a little extra help by hiring someone to do some deep cleaning. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that, but I want to document it so I'll remember one day. It was money well spent and freed Adam and I up to do some other things as well as just spend some quality time together. We've been going on lots of walks, cooking at home (rarity, ha!), going to our Bible Studies, and Adam has been playing softball with some guys. The weather is getting cooler (it's supposed to be in the 50's today and we're expecting the first freeze on Sunday night!)

Lee has helped out a lot to help us get ready for C. Last weekend he helped Ryan and Adam install the dimmer for her room.

Gus enjoying the nursery

I came in to check out the new shelves that Adam and Lee were supposed to be hanging to find they had Gus in the infant carrier.Gus loved it and it was hilarious!

I did go to the ER on Tuesday of this week. Everything was completely fine, and I figured it was, but I was concerned that the baby was moving differently than she had been and I felt like I might be having contractions. As I suspected, everything was completely fine. I got to hear her sweet heartbeat for about an hour assuring me everything was just fine. I wasn't having contractions, but was dehydrated which was causing some uterine "spasms." As for the movement, I think sweet girl is just out of room and the slightest movement is very detectable and forceful. I felt kind of silly going to the ER, but it was going to be a whole week before I went back to the doctor and I knew I would drive myself crazy thinking something was wrong. Overall, I'm glad I went and got the peace of mind that I wanted.

My prediction is Caroline will come on the 14th. I don't think she's in any big hurry to get out, but at the same time I can't imagine her staying until the 18th! She feels huge inside of me and I can feel my body changing to accommodate her arrival... sleep schedule, hip flexor pain, low back pain, general discomfort, etc. We shall see how my prediction pans out. The 14th would be neat since that was my late grandfather's birthday.  Either way, we are ready for Caroline to come when she is ready. The bags are packed, the car loaded, nursery ready, and a mom and dad that are ready to love on this precious gift.

Happy Fall Y'all! Now... I'm hopefully headed back to bed for a while! 

My Baby Gear Prediction Winners

When registering, I found I became extremely overwhelmed very fast. When I went to Babies R Us for the first time, it was just mom and I while I was in central AR for something and husband was busy with a work event over the weekend. I thought it was ok to check out things for myself since I suddenly had nightmares of our wedding registering. As fun as registering "sounds" its extremely overwhelming. I didn't want to be that lady that registered for EVERY single item in the store and wanted to do my research to find out what babies "REALLY" needed. Needless to say, I completely melted down after being in the store for about an hour and not having registered for a single thing. I took the advice of a friend the second time around and went back and registered for a couple of different brands in each "category" based on the floor models, then did more in depth research online after I got home. The research is easier when you can just click on the link to the item on your registry  You can simply delete the one that like the least and also explore what other colors/patterns might be available online. Like most stores, there are WAY more options online, but it is important to travel to the store to look at things like strollers, car seats, high- chairs, bouncers, cribs etc and "play" with the floor models to see what you like best.

I quickly remembered that babies don't need half the stuff that we think they do. I can imagine that there are certain items that probably make it easier to raise your child, but that ultimately, a safe place, some diapers, and love and willingness from a caregiver are really all that is necessary. But, since we had some showers on the books, I took to the BRU, Target, and a family owned gift store in our home town with the list that I had compiled from talking to real and blog mom friends.

 Here is the list of things I think we will use the most. I am interested in evaluating this list in 6 months or so.

1. Rock N Play- My Little Snugabunny

I registered for this without having talked to anyone first. It's a fairly "new" baby item that none of my mom friends seemed to know about. I wanted something compact for Caroline to sleep in our room. We don't have a lot of room for a Pack N Play and I didn't want to spend the money on a fancy bassinet. This seemed a perfect solution. It looks very comfy and is at a slight incline. It is compact and perfect bed height which I think will come in handy during late night feedings. It's also very light-weight and easily could be moved around the house or packed for travel. I have since talked to a few mothers that have swore by this product and said that their baby wouldn't sleep anywhere but here! The packaging says they can sleep in it up to 22 pounds but I'm not sure she would still be comfortable past a few weeks in this thing. Either way, its less expensive than both a pack-n-play and bassinet both and I'm excited to try it out.

2. Swing- My Little Snugabunny

I heard great reviews on this Fisher Price swing. When I first saw it in the store I thought it looked like something from Outer Space with the wide base... but I liked the muted colors. I can't stand all the crazy bright baby gear. A bit is ok and expected, but for something that's going to be parked in my living room for several months, I wanted something less obtrusive. This swing functions in a side-to-side as well as front-to-back motion. The fabrics are all very lush and can be removed for cleaning. This swing plugs in which was a big deal to me... I was surprised that not all swings had plug- in- option. I know all babies don't love swings, but it seems like most do. I can imagine that a lot of time is spent in a swing if they do prefer it and I wanted one that had great reviews from Internet and real life moms.

3. City Mini Baby Jogger Stroller

This was our first purchase when we found out we were pregnant. I was probably only 6 or 8 weeks along. Adam's company owns a store called thebabyhabit.com that sold this stroller as well as tons of other baby gear. Unfortunately, they are phasing out the store, but before they did I scored this stroller for WAY cheap. Like... basically fo free. Normally, I wouldn't have probably purchased a jogging stroller, since, well, I don't really jog regularly... but after a couple of customers bought this stroller during one of Acumen's warehouse sales and raved about it's every day use, I decided it was necessary to snag the last one.  This stroller weights 17 lbs compared to the 27 pounder that came in our travel system.  It truly can be opened/closed with one hand and lays extremely flat.  It isn't recommended to put a small baby in these strollers so we will definitely be using our large travel system stroller for the first couple of months with the infant carrier, but Ill be really excited to break this out for daily use after we pass the 3 month mark. And who knows... maybe I'll take up jogging??

4. Infant Carrier

This is the only thing that husband insisted on registering for... which really cracked me up. He thinks we will use this a lot, and after researching all of the other carrier options, I do too.  I love the idea of the Moby wrap, but it seems impractical. Plus, most of my mom friends said they used it a few times, but that it was more trouble than it was worth. Babies can only stay in the Moby wrap while they are itty bitty (technical term, right there) but an "backpack style" infant carrier can accommodate a 25 lb infant. Plus, it just seems safer to me. I saw a mom with a newborn and a mom with a 12 week old baby at the store just this week utilizing this and baby was so content. Plus, mom had her hands free to do the shopping. I can also picture us using this for walks/hikes when the stoller isn't an option. Most importantly, I can't wait to get a pic of husband with sweet Caroline in this thing. Brother tried it out this past week with our dog, Gus and it was hilarious. All he needed was his "One Man Wolf pack" shirt and he would have been the spitting image of Alan off the The Hangover.

5. Breast pump and bra

I am praying my dad skips over this post on my blog as I doubt he would enjoy seeing a woman wearing a breast pump and hands free bra. But, for the sake of the post I had to post it! I am making the breast pump and ancillary items, specifically the hands free bustier #5 on the most used list.  I REALLY want to nurse. I've gone to class and ready up a whole lot and I'm definitely going to give it my best effort. Since I also plan to return to my full time corporate job at 10 weeks,  I knew I would need an efficient pump to continue to feed Caroline breast milk while she is at daycare. The Medela "Freestyle" pump is one of the most expensive pumps, but the most efficient. It is a double electric pump which is recommended for moms that will be pumping several times a day. There are 100 different "other items" that can/should be purchased, but a close mom friend got a lot of use out of her "hands free bra" also made by Medela that, as the picture suggests, frees mom up to do other items while pumping. Since I am the queen of multi- tasking, this seemed like a no- brainer and I think I'll get a lot of use out of it, especially after I return to work.

There are a ton of other items that we registered for and plan to use, but I wanted to be particular in the items that I predict we use the most. Of course things like car seat, crib, monitor, are things that everyone generally gets and I plan to be more specific on my "ratings" of the items we chose after we've had a chance to really evaluate them. 

I can't believe I'm 37 weeks pregnant! I'm excited for my 37 week check up tomorrow and an upcoming post where I'll finally share nursery pics! We've been working on it like mad and it's 100% ready except for her monogram which I ordered from Etsy that should be here any day. 

36 Weeks and Bunco Finale

This picture was taken at 36.5 weeks. This is one of my favorite maternity dresses from Motherhood Maternity. I wish I would have purchased it sooner and plan to be able to wear it well into Fall even after Miss C arrives.

How Far Along: 36 weeks

Size of baby: baby is the size of a bowling ball and weighs about 6 pounds

Gender: It's a GIRL! Caroline Reese Fite

Maternity Clothes: yes

Weight gain: 35 pounds

Movement: Yes but decreased. She's running out of room. Movement feels like more of a sliding motion

Sleep: For the most part I'm still sleeping well. I am definitely zonked by the end of the day and I think with all of the running around I have been doing it helps me sleep.

Symptoms: I'm tired, but not exhausted. I have some at times severe hip flexor pain and pain in my mid back. I think it has to do with the weight of my belly pulling me forward. I'm trying to have good posture, but its getting tough! I'm hoping the hip pain means little miss is moving into the right position!  I do not believe that I have had any Braxton Hicks contractions.

Cravings: None really. I just feel like I eat ALL the time.

Best moment this week: Husband surprised me with a beautiful Pandora bracelet. He picked it and 3 charms out all by himself. A turtle (DZ mascot), a cross, and a "C."

This week at the Dr: I'm adding this part since I started weekly Dr visits this week. When "checked" I had not dilated or effaced at all. I wasn't all that surprised since I don't feel like my body is ready to have a baby. I know a lot of people are miserable at this point, but fortunately I'm still feeling great and honestly feel like I'm finally used to being pregnant, ha! I haven't had any contractions like some of my other pregnant friends so I wasn't surprised when Dr. H didn't send me to labor and delivery. :)  Hilariously enough, I was actually asking for her permission for a little "unplanned travel" that I did. It was only to Springfield but I had planned to quit traveling more than 30 minutes from home the week previous. The trip was sort of work related... but something else too that I'll share later. I never want to forget that I made this "trip" at 36 weeks preg.

A fun belly pic of husband.  He's put on a few pregnancy pounds too thanks to our increase in eating out, high fat dinners, and lack thereof of the gym. I'm looking forward to getting our walking schedule back to normal this week since I'm no longer traveling and getting back to the gym asap.

In May, I decided I was going to stop "talking" about hosting a Bunco group, and get serious about doing it. I have 5 close college girlfriends that have relocated to NWA in the last year, plus ladies from small group/church that were all interested in playing Bunco. I was nervous to organize since I was the only common denominator between 12 ladies and I had never played before, but decided to commit to hosting a summer Bunco group. I'm so glad I did because we had 4 months of TOO much fun. I had actually only planned to host 3 months, but we decided to continue in September. Obviously, I could not commit to hosting in Oct with the arrival of a new family member, but another girl picked it up for at least another month. It was a blast introducing "old" friends to "new" ones and the way that everyone just meshed together.

Gus, of course, was a part of every Bunco night. 

Jill, Jessica, Heather, and Katie

In September, the weather was finally cool enough that we were able to play outside on our gorgeous new patio/deck that I have GOT to do a blog post on! It's our most recent DIY and its fantastic.

Jessica was HOT with 2 BIG Buncos. FYI Bunco is the easiest game ever. Dont stress if you get invited to play and have not ever done so. 

Nicole, Kait, Britney, and Jessica

Becca handing out the winnings. We played for cash each time which was way fun.

Jessica celebrating her big win of the night... 3 big buncos!

Our group pic for Sept Bunco. We usually played with 12 but played with 8 this last time. We had a blast over the last 4 months and I so enjoyed hosting.  I can't believe I didn't take pictures of all of the delicious food that we had each time!

I can't believe the time is near for Caroline to arrive. I remember thinking that the "weekly appointments" meant the time was very near. It's also weird that  2/4 couples in our birthing class have had their babies already (both due after us) and my friends Ally and Molly who were due just 1 and 2 weeks ahead of me are scheduled to have their babies this week too! I'm still not quite "physically" ready for Caroline to come, but plan to get some things finished up this weekend... i.e. nursery, packing, cleaning up my work stuff out of the car, install car seat and a few other things. I am looking forward to working strictly from home starting Oct 1 until she comes and taking it "easy" for the first time in a long time. I've been doing a lot of travel and a lot of working because work is crazy busy (which is good for business!) but I'm glad for the suggestions from my managers to slow.it.down.  I think I will happily take their advice.

Conway Shower

On September 9th, my sweet pledge sisters (Delta Zeta Spring 06) hosted a shower for Caroline and I in Conway. The theme was "Pickles and Ice Cream" and once again my baby girl was showered with love from some of my dearest friends.  Here are a few pics from the shower:

Becca, Jessica, Tyler, me, and Julianna

me and the hostess with the mostest- Lizzy Beth

 Lizzy's mom and one of my favorite people in the world- Mrs. Michelle. She was gracious to host our shower at her gorgeous home in Conway

mom and I. I look like I could eat her for lunch. :)

Stationary that Adam created for all of our hostess gifts. He created in photo shop and we customized for each hostess.

Diaper cake made my one of my best college friends, Brittany (b-lew)

Thank you cards- also created by Adam.

The "spread" there were several different kinds of pickles (including my fav- FRIED!) spinach dip, chicken salad sandwiches, fruit, ice cream cake and Mexico Chiquito punch (my fav!!)

Sweet Mason and I.

All of the hostesses and me. 

Lauren, Britney, Jessica, Becca, Liz, Tyler, Julianna, and Courtney

I was so honored that these ladies did this for me! We had a great time and received many wonderful things for our sweet girl (and future Delta Zeta.)

33 Weeks

 

I'm 33 weeks pregnant!

 

How Far Along: 36 weeks

Size of baby: baby is the size of a pinapple, 17 inches long and about 4.25 pounds

Gender: It's a GIRL! Caroline Reese Fite

Maternity Clothes: yes

Weight gain: 30 pounds

Movement: All the time! Movement feels different now... less fluttering and more jabs. I can physically feel her head and see her move in my belly which is totally cool and weird at the same time.

Sleep: For the most time I'm still sleeping well. I am pretty tired at the end of the day but am guilty of nesting/internet surfing a little too close to bedtime which keeps me awake sometimes.

Symptoms: I'm tired, but not exhausted. I am starting to get a little bit uncomfortable, but not anything unbearable. I have the CRAZIEST dreams almost every night.

Cravings: None really. I just feel like I eat ALL the time.

Best moment this week: Really working on the nursery. We got the walls painted and all of the furniture in place. It's starting to feel real that she will be here in 6 weeks or less!