Oh Happy Day!

I just got the good news that I PASSED MY (2nd) ONE HOUR GLUCOSE CHALLENGE TEST with a score of 99!


GLUCOSE TOLERANCE TEST, GESTATIONAL, 1HR 09/06/2012 (#80357, Final, 9/5/2012 10:15am)

Note to Patient	Your recent labs were normal. Please feel free to call our office with any questions you may have. We look forward to seeing you at your next appt

Happiest alert I could have hoped to receive. 

Baby Girl- we have lots of sweets in our gestational future together!

Also? I've been getting my craft on for the first time in years. I was very artistic & crafty as a kid- writing endless stories, drawing all the time, and doing lots and lots of sewing. I would sew clothes for my barbies, slippers for myself, and even made DOLLS. I know, right? Super crafty. My first doll was named "Lana" and was constructed out of an old pair of my mom's pantyhose. From there I got all high tech and got an actual Cabbage Patch-esque body pattern to hand sew. That doll went over so well I was commissioned to make one for each of my cousins.

I MADE this, when I was all of like 9-10 years old. The dolls must have taken the steam out of me because I really haven't sewn anything since. Or maybe it was just the tormented teen years that took over, when making dolls wasn't quite so cool....

And for your entertainment, this is what I looked like roughly around the peak of my sewing years. Dolls = cute. Me? Not so much.

I can't believe my mom let me try out for a FASHION SHOW looking like this. 

Can you say MULLET? I didn't make the call-backs... shocking, I know.

Which brings us back to my recent crafting endeavors. About 2 years ago I found this white washed branch on the shores of a local lake and was inspired to bring it home:

Babycakes has never been fond of it, so it has sat all this time in our garage attic. About a month ago I unearthed it, thinking that maybe, just maybe, there might be a way to incorporate it into our nursery. BC still wasn't into it, mumbling things along the lines of "it's a dead branch" blah blah blah. However, my good friend- who also happens to be an architect AND a designer, was as inspired as I was by it and together we envisioned hanging it from the nursery ceiling & creating some kind of mobile out of it.

Sorry BC- if a legit designer agrees this idea is golden, it is HAPPENING.

The only "theme" I have really come up with for our nursery so far is one with subtle hints of nature & birds (starting with my groovy crib bedding set from Dwell Studio). So I thought a homemade bird mobile might be a great way to utilize this branch!

Cue me to not having ANY idea where to start with this ambitious endeavor.

So I went to a local fabric store. And seriously stood there like a deer in headlights for a good 20 minutes. It wasn't the type of place where people helped you, and I have NEVER bought fabric or sewing supplies in my life (back in the good 'ole sewing days of my youth I would raid my mom's sewing kit and just use old pieces of fabric we had around the house).

I slowly but surely filled my cart with a mini sewing kit, a couple spools of thread, stuffing, and a scissors. But the rows upon rows of fabric freaked.me.out. I watched others who seemed to know the drill choose a pack of fabrics and bring them to a special counter to get cut. How would I know how much to get? What types to use? Good gracious.

And then I saw them- a special wall of fabrics "by the piece"- 18"x 21" samples that were arranged by colors.

YES! I could handle that.

Here is what ended up coming home with me:

I googled "bird mobiles" on the internet & printed out several patterns. This is the pattern that seemed cute AND relatively easy, so off I went:

And here is the first little bird! Far from perfect, but what bird (or person, for that matter) is?

I have been trying to sew 2 birds each day, so I have a good flock to pick and choose from for the final mobile. The count as of today includes these 5 little guys:

I have seriously messed up in a completely unique way on each one- you'd think by the 5th bird I'd have it down pat, but oh no... this pregnancy brain seems to re-kick in fresh with every stitch. I really hope I still like the final mobile- but am totally open to the possibility that I will think it all looks awful and too busy & that I have to go ahead and just buy a fancy store bought mobile. But I hope not. I hope this urge to craft turns into something good!

My final "Oh Happy Day!" news? I got a call that the Little Castle glider & ottoman I ordered months back are READY FOR DELIVERY. TOMORROW!!! Oddly I think BC is almost more excited about this than I am. He has been asking me almost every other day if the chair has come in yet, and I think plans to claim it as his new reading spot. Glad he is excited to break it in, b/c I want him to be spending LOTS of time in that chair with our little one once she arrives! Like during the night when I need to sleep. He can sit there rocking our baby & luxuriating in the comfy chair while admiring my fancy bird mobile-- telling himself how WRONG he was about that old 'dead' branch and appreciating how amazingly crafty his wife is. ; )

25 Weeks, Boobs, & Baby Items

I went to get fitted again for a new bra today. Those 32D's I picked up a few months back have been leaving deep grooves in my sides, taunting me as the girls continue to grow. I picked up a 34D, which apparently is the equivalent of a DD cup! And I have to say, it fits like a glove. Can't wait to see what happens once the baby is here and my milk comes in.... oy!

Our first registry item also arrived today, compliments of my parents (thanks Mom & Dad!) An official Graco Pack N' Play. A must for weekend visits to see family in Houston, and also likely what we'll keep in our room for the baby to sleep in when she first joins us.

These things are serious business- there are soooo many on the market to choose from, and it took me a long time to finally settle on the model that seemed best for us. The first one I fell in love with was based purely on looks- an Eddie Bauer version:

However, the reviews were so-so, and when I went to see a similar one at the store I had to agree it seemed flimsy & the changing pad did tilt a bit to the side.

The next contender was a cute Graco version with a groovy print:

I really liked the pattern on this one. I then came to find out that one needs to cover the bottom mattress with a sheet (naive new mom alert!), so that the bulk of this pattern would be hidden. Between that and the fact that all of our other furniture is wood/brown, this model got vetoed.

Which brought me to THE ONE. It is gender neutral enough for a boy or girl (should our next child be a boy), and is also the only Pack N' Play with an MP3 holder/set up, where we can play our own music mixes for the baby! How cool is that?

And I am totally going to girl it up with these base sheets:

I also ordered the first of the baby's crib bedding. I had been planning to just put it all on our registry, but when I went to the Dwell Studio site that makes it, I saw that most of the set was being heavily discounted and many pieces were already out of stock! *Cue panic attack.* I thought for sure this meant the pattern was being discontinued. I ordered up what was still available (for great prices too!) and ran over to a local boutique here in Austin I knew carried the set. They were almost out as well, but were able to call the Dwell Studio company & confirm that no, the set had NOT been discontinued, they were just extremely low on inventory. Now everything on the site is out of stock! I am so glad I grabbed what I could and am on email alert lists for the remaining items we need.

This is the set I fell in love with- the "Vintage Blossom:"

Our nursery has neutral buttery yellow walls, and I envision the final decor having a few small accents of pale pink along with lots of white and maybe an occasional splash of orange. I've been keeping all my ideas on my Pinterest board, and hope with the arrival of our glider/rocker (due by September 20th!) and these sheets the final color scheme will start coming together.

On to my 25 week updates!

How far along? 25 weeks

How big is baby?  The baby websites say she is around 13.6 inches long and 1.5lbs- about the size of a cauliflower. This week her brainwave patterns are beginning to develop, meaning she will start being able to remember things!

Weight gain? Not much after last week's huge climb... about another .2 of a pound, for a total of 11.2 lbs up from my pre-pregnancy weight.

25 week belly shot taken from the Nordstrom lingerie dressing room

Sleep? Still doing well there. I did have some crazy round ligament pain a couple times this week while turning over in bed, but was able to fall back asleep pretty quickly.

Symptoms? I had 2 migraines this week- boo. I've also been really tired- notably so. Trying my best to take naps when able and otherwise power through my days.

When I first get up from sitting there is a really weird somewhat uncomfortable swooshing feeling as everything in my stomach shifts up and back again. If I am feeling that swoosh sensation this much already, I can't even imagine how it will feel 2-3 months from now!

Movement? I feel her moving on and off throughout the day pretty consistently, usually every 2-3 hours. She is usually active about 5 minutes after I lay down, and also wakes up with me at night when I get up to use the bathroom. I was feeling a lot of kicking way up by my ribs the other night- it is amazing that my uterus now stretches up that far!

Cravings/Aversions? I still have quite a sweet tooth for bakery items- cookies really hit the spot in the late afternoon. Trying to be good about that & sub the cravings with something like an apple or chocolate milk instead.

Most looking forward to? Leaving tomorrow morning for our Babymoon vacation to New Mexico! Perhaps our little girl will remember this as her first vacation, now that she has all that brainwave activity going on.