38 weeks

This week I've had some struggles.  Physically, I am fine.  But emotionally I've been a little overwhelmed.  I found out a week ago that one of the two midwifes I had been seeing is no longer working there, as in she was let go.  The other one is going to be on vacation for 5 days starting on my due date.  This means that should I go into labor during the time she is gone, the on-call doctor will be delivering my baby.  This is an abrupt departure from the guaranteed midwife delivery that I was expecting.  Because there were two midwives who could cover for each other during vacations, I had never even met any of the doctors in the practice, and the scheduled on-call doctor didn't have any openings for me to have an appointment to meet her.  This is not news you want to hear 3 weeks before your due date, so I was a little upset.  Fortunately they put me on a list for an appointment in case something opened up, and I was able to meet her yesterday.  She seems nice and she didn't have any objections to my birth plan, so that made me feel a little better.

We chose to go with a midwife over a doctor because I really want to try for a natural birth.  And I don't just mean no pain meds - I would be the first to take the meds if it didn't come with more risks than I am comfortable with.  I view birth as a normal process that your body knows how to handle and can accomplish without much medical help, except for emergencies of course.  I don't want to be induced, I don't want a routine IV, I don't want an episiotomy, and I really don't want a c-section.  I want to be able to walk around and labor naturally with as little intervention as possible.  Of course, I know that birth is unpredictable and never goes exactly according to plan, so I am going to try to be flexible, especially since I've never done this before. But that is my ideal birth, and midwives are generally more supportive of natural methods, and less likely to perform routine interventions.  I love my midwife and I trust her, so the possibility of having a strange doctor there instead is scary to me.  What if things aren't going exactly according to plan, and the doctor recommends a c-section?  If it were my midwife, I would know that if she were recommending a c-section, that really was the last option.  With a doctor I know nothing about, how could I be sure?

But God has been good to me.  In the midst of my little freak out, He has been so faithful to remind me that He is in control, through encouraging family and friends, through scripture and through worship songs that pop up on my iPod playlist.  I like to think that I can control my circumstances, and I try my hardest to do so, but in reality I can't control anything.  This is a little reminder that I need to surrender my "perfect birth plan" to God.  Maybe I don't trust a strange doctor, but I DO trust the Lord, and He has my best interest at heart.  He will never leave me or forsake me, He is the rock I can cling to when the storm hits.  This may sound a little silly, but there were two gorgeous rainbows last week on two separate days that seemed to say just to me, "See Kari?  I am still in control and I never break my promises.  I am with you."  It is still scary to me, and I am praying that this whole thing is moot and I won't go into labor while Brooke is away, but should it happen, I am trusting God.


Here is the obligatory belly shot.  My skin is stretched so tight that it actually hurts around my belly button like it is bruised.  If he doesn't come soon, I'm pretty sure I'll just pop like a balloon!  But I'm still carrying pretty high, and have had no signs of labor, so we shall see.

Bathroom update

Well I don't have the kitchen post yet because we are still waiting on the rest of the hardware we ordered to arrive.  It looks great though and I promise I will post pictures as soon as I can.  However, I realized that I never blogged about redoing our downstairs half bathroom.  When we moved in, the bathroom was a fairly bright blue, which actually was a pretty color, but it didn't jive with the rest of the house and I wanted something a little more calming for such a small, windowless space. 

So a month or so ago, I picked a color that I thought would look similar to the green in our living room, and painted it in a few hours.  Well, the color wasn't right.  Again, it was a pretty color, but it was brighter than I wanted and a little bit too "under the sea" for me.  So back to the store I went to get more color swatches.  After a lot of agonizing (I did NOT want to paint the room a third time), and almost quitting halfway through, I gritted my teeth and painted it again.  And this time, I love it!  It's a nice, calm green that doesn't overwhelm the small space.

I would love to update the pedestal sink and the toilet, but we don't have the budget for that, so I just switched out the builder basic mirror for a framed one, added a shelf and some decorations, and voila!  So much better.  Here are the after pictures.

Nursery Pictures

As of yesterday, the nursery is DONE!  I seriously love it, it is my favorite room in the house!  It's also the only room I've been able to completely design from scratch, and it was SO fun to do.  I go in there and just sit and look around. I wanted it to be calming and sweet but also fun and playful with pops of color, and I think it turned out just perfectly. I poured my heart and love into this room, and I can't wait for Xander to occupy it!  

Here is the 'before' picture.  We were using it as a catch-all junk room after we moved in.

And here it is now!

The view from the door

Left wall

Right wall

There is no overhead light in the room, so we had to bring in a lamp

I love the meaning of his name and I hope he grows up to fulfill it.

This is James' child, superheroes are a given :-)

Most of you probably don't care, but for my records, and for the select few who might, here is a breakdown of the items in the room.

Crib - Craigslist, $40

Dresser - Babies R Us, a gift from James' grandma

Glider chair - Babies R Us, a gift from my parents

Storage ottoman - Kohls, $24

Accent table - already owned, free

Lamps - Target, $60

Curtains - DIY using plain white panels from Target and green paint, $45

Bookshelves - Ikea, $30

All art - frames from Ikea and Target, $45, all the art was DIY that I printed from home for free

Changing pad cover - Etsy, $23, a bit of a splurge but it was too perfect to pass up

Xander letters - DIY using wood letters, scrapbook paper, and Mod Podge, ~$45

Pom pom mobile - DIY using yarn I already had, a crosstitch hoop, and ribbon, $8

The little superhero toys, the wooden miniature rocking horse, the blue teddy bear, most of the books, and the ABC blocks were gifts.  

37 weeks

I can't believe I'm full term already!  It seems so surreal that my due date is in 3 short weeks.  We get to meet our little boy so soon!  He is an active one already; my belly is visibly moving and grooving as I type.  We are very excited (and a little scared) to enter this new stage of life.

Everyone talks about how miserable the last few weeks of pregnancy are, and they are right.  Miserable is kind of a strong word, but I am definitely ready to get my body back.  I don't have the stamina that I used to; everything takes longer to accomplish and tires me out more than it normally would, so I am not as productive as I would like to be.  My hips hurt, my back hurts, my belly hurts, and my feet hurt and are in a constant state of being slightly swollen.  Thank goodness for flip flops!  It's very hard to get comfortable so I'm constantly shifting positions, and tossing and turning in bed, despite the fact that it takes a huge effort to do so.  Rolling from one side to the other is no easy task when you have a watermelon attached to your abdomen and blocking your abs from working correctly!  

I also do not enjoy the extra attention that my belly attracts.  For some reason, people seem to think that the rules of politeness don't apply when talking to or about a pregnant woman, and suddenly all questions about your body are appropriate topics of conversation.  I'm not talking about friends and family of course, I don't mind getting more personal with them.  I'm talking about complete strangers who somehow think it's acceptable to ask how much weight I've gained.  Or the people who walk past me in the mall and remark to their friends that "that lady is very pregnant!"  Or the people who immediately say "I would hate to be you right now" because of the heat.  I have A/C and I'm from Texas, it's really not that bad.  And anyway, I'm having a baby, it's a happy thing, maybe you could focus on that.  I guess the good thing about all this is that in the future I will be much more careful what I say to pregnant women!

Mentally, I am almost ready to have this baby.  I have a few more things on my list to do before he comes, but every time I check something off the list I feel a little more prepared.  Our kitchen is 95% done (I'm waiting on some hardware to arrive), the nursery is done, I have almost everything I need for the baby, and my bag is mostly packed.  Next week if I can get some cleaning done, some freezer meals ready, and some baby clothes washed, I will feel pretty prepared.  It is very nice to be nearing the end of my gargantuan to-do list.  I know that I made it a lot worse by insisting on doing some major house projects, but it was stressing me out.  Xander, we are almost ready for you and can't wait to meet you!

Baby Shower

Last weekend, a sweet friend from church threw me a baby shower!  It was such a blessing to me to have my friends here come support me and celebrate Xander!  We had a great time, and I received lots of great gifts.  It was also my birthday, and I think everyone should plan their baby showers on their birthday, it was so much fun!.  Here are some pictures.

Really adorable tissue paper pom poms that Nicole handmade!

We painted/decorated alphabet blocks for our activity!

They turned out really cute.

Thank you to everyone who came (and those who wanted to come but couldn't) for making me feel so special and loved!  

Maternity Photos

Last week, we had the privilege of having some maternity pictures taken by a photographer friend here in MD.  We had a great time, and the pictures turned out wonderfully!  Thanks so much Layne, we love them!

The obligatory superhero shot :-)

I'm kicking myself for forgetting to take off the ever-present hair tie.  Oh well.

We love you Xander!

Baby cowboy boots are adorable.