33 week sickness

All of my "nesting" madness finally caught up with me...33 weeks pregnant and I'm stuck in the house with a terrible head cold.  This is Day 2 of having to stay home from work from this sickness.

Luckily Aaron is also home from work and can help re-fill my water, bring me more tissues, cough drops...etc. I have not been this sick in a loonngg time and this is definitely not fun at all.  My nights have already consisted of getting up several times during the night...and the last two nights with this cold have limited me to very few hours of sleep.

Today, Aaron went to the video store and rented The Hobbit and Total Recall so we spent this dreary day inside watching movies as I went through Kleenex after Kleenex and cough drop after cough drop. No sign of relief has come in the past 48 hours.   Let's hope tomorrow I start to show signs of improvement.

Day 2 of my cold....weather was dreary and rainy so we spent the day watching movies and resting

Aaron sitting in his "thrown of pillows" as we watch The Hobbit

My Beautiful Baby Shower

On Saturday, April 20th my mom hosted a beautiful baby shower for us at our home.  We had 26 people come to our house and I am so happy with how everything turned out.  It seemed like everyone really enjoyed themselves and everything went off without a hitch :)

Aaron helped out a lot by waiting for guests to arrive outside and directing them where to park.  Since our street does not allow parking on it, we used our driveway and our neighbors.  Aaron was the unofficial valet and I think our guests appreciated him directing them where to go.  I'm such a lucky girl to have him!

My mom made sure every detail inside was taken care of and I couldn't have asked for more.

Some details from our at home baby shower....

Decorations were made by my mom and I.  I took care of the hanging decor like the tissue poms and banners.  My mom made the wreath with baby onesie for our front door and got the teal bird cage for our front step along with the fern which she tied some balloons onto.  My mom also had a small table inside with a large plastic baby bottle (filled with peanut M&M's), some flowers and a framed ultrasound picture of our baby.

We have two family rooms in our home (one of which has not yet be filled with any furniture)...which worked perfectly for this event because we rented some white folding chairs and set up that room as the gift opening room.

For food we had the following:  fruit salad, veggie tray, mini quiches, shrimp cocktail, asian tossed salad and sliced Reuben, pepperoni and sausage bread with dipping sauce.  For drinks we had coffee, tea, pink lemonade and water bottles (each specially decorated by my mom with scrapbook paper, stickers and stickers with special sayings).

Dessert consisted of: White cupcakes with 3 kinds of filling (lemon, strawberry and raspberry) from a local bakery called Dipped & Dazzled.  The cupcakes had tiny daisy's on top made of fondant...they were DELICIOUS!  And our party favors were sugar cookies shaped as onesies which were packaged in a clear bag with a ribbon and tag that said "Thank You"..also made by Dipped & Dazzled.

As people arrived to our shower I got to give them a tour of our house...including the newly completed nursery.  Once more people arrived we let everyone eat and mingle a bit and then I opened presents.  As I started to open the first couple, Aaron knocked on the front door and came in with a beautiful bouquet of pink daisy's and roses.  It was such a sweet moment and made my heart melt ;-)

As I opened gifts my two cousins (Maria and Stephanie) were there to help me out by bringing me each gift and writing down what each person got for us and Baby Girl Frye.  We were more than blessed with the amount of things Baby Girl got at our shower.  I registered at Babies R Us and got all the major items we asked for our on registry.

Below are just a few of the many many gifts that were given to us.  We also got so many sweet baby girl clothes....she will be stylin' for sure when she arrives :).

Of the items below some were purchased by us...I was lucky enough to get a great deal on the Medela breast pump from a friend at work, we purchased the Graco Pack n Play with gift cards we received and I also purchased the Ergo Sport Baby Carrier prior to the shower with gift cards we had leftover from our wedding last summer.

The most special thing for me about our Baby Shower was really just having all of our family and friends over at our house.  It was great seeing everyone and to have them in our home (many for the very first time) was beyond meaningful to me.

Another great thing about having the shower at our home....we didn't have to move anything from one place to another!....I was able to get all of our gifts put away that evening and the next morning...right from our living room into Baby Girl's nursery :)

A few other favorite photos from our celebration...

Aunt Lisa, my cousin Stephanie and cousin Maria

My mom by the dessert table before the guests arrive

Aaron and I in the nursery pre-baby shower

Lifelong friends Liz and Kristen who traveled from PA to come to our shower

College roommates Lisa, Karla and Paige showing some love to the baby bump :)

Me, Liz and Kristen and our beautiful mothers!

Baby Girl Frye's Bird & Pastel Nursery

The nursery is finally completed and all our hard work paid off because we got to show it to our family and friends who attended our baby shower this past weekend.

We got great compliments on the room.  I hope our little girl thinks it's as cozy as I do.  I can't seem to pass the room without going in there and just looking around or sitting in the glider and relaxing for a minute.

My favorites of the nursery....

• Wall color....I love that we did a light aqua blue and a non-traditional color for a baby girl's room. Blue is my favorite color and I'm glad we decided on it.  It is really such a calming color!
• Ottoman floor pillow.....I saw floor pillows on Pinterest and Project Nursery and I just loved them instantly!  I had to have one for our nursery.  I do not like the traditional gliders with matching ottomans.  I also wanted an item that had multiple uses and would last for years.  This floor pillow can be used as a little table for her as she gets older and a seat for her as well....the print on the ottoman is a great accent to the room as well.  For now it will be used to rest our feet on when we are rocking her in the glider :)
• Bird prints and tree branch and bird wall decals....I love birds and I knew I wanted something modern and sophisticated for her nursery so these were great finds...both from Etsy shops.

Because the nursery is the smallest of our 3 bedrooms, I had to think carefully about each purchase I made as to not crowd the room.  I made sure I measured everything out for the crib and dresser and glider before I ordered them....I literally took electrical tape and taped on the carpet where each piece of furniture would go so I could visually see the amount of floor space it would take up.  

Using the top of the dresser as the changing table also helped save space.  Also the wall book bin I purchased is great for holding a dozen or more children's books and takes up way less space than a separate bookshelf...a bonus of the bookshelf is the three pegs for hanging small items like clothing and towels.

I also hid a small hook n' rail behind the door for extra hanging space also and added a couple extra bird decals we had to add a special touch :)

Since I'm kinda, sorta (okay...obviously and blatantly) obsessed with organization, I did my best to maximize the closet space.  Luckily the nursery closet is fairly big for being such a small room.  Instead of buying an expensive, intricate closet system and installing it...I decided to just add a cube storage unit to the closet with some canvas bins and it really helped organize some smaller items.  I have some other smaller plastic bins and plastic drawers in the closet as well.  For hanging clothes I purchased some closet dividers which help organize the baby clothes by month.  I think the closet turned out great for not really spending a lot of money on getting it organized.

Check out all of my nursery pictures on my Project Nursery page link: http://projectnursery.com/projects/baby-girl-fryes-bird-and-pastel-nursery/

Late Night Nursery Set Up

Last night Aaron and I finished up our little girl's nursery. Family and friends attending our Baby Shower tomorrow will finally get to see this little project, that has taken over my life over the last few months :)

I must say Aaron and I work good as a team! The evening started out with Aaron mowing and trimming our front lawn while I proceeded to clean the 30 white folding chairs we rented for our shower. We had a freakishly warm day yesterday for April (high in the 80's) and our house was reading around 78 degrees. But I was determined to get this nursery finished no matter what the temperature! 

 My husband is great when it comes to anything I need done around the house (he is extremely handy), including hanging up everything I purchased for our little girl's nursery. I told him where I wanted things and he worked his magic and got everything hanging beautifully! While he hung the pictures, bookshelf, and mirror, I worked on some DYI drawer liners. I made these from wrapping paper I found at Target, clear contact paper from Michael's and a little double sided tape. 

 I was up until at 12:30AM finishing up everything but it was definitely worth it in my eyes because Baby Girl Frye's nursery is finished and it is exactly how I imagined and planned it. Even as I type up this post, I find myself in sort of "zombie" state, due to lack of sleep and exhaustion from my perfectionist ways *I'm a Virgo so perfection is in our blood*...But I know it will all be worth it! Here is a sneak peak of Baby Girl Frye's nursery. More to come after the Baby Shower tomorrow!

 

Preparing for Baby Shower

My mom is hosting a baby shower for me next weekend.  We decided to have the shower at me and Aaron's house which I'm happy about because we won't have to transport any gifts from one place to another.  However, being slightly obsessive compulsive, I wanted the house to be spotless for our guests.  Thankfully, my mom offered to come over this weekend help me get our place spic n span!  We spent allll day Saturday cleaning, organizing and even did a little bit of decorating.  I know she will make it beautiful and I'm excited to see my family and friends!

  

Today, Sunday, I finished up all of our laundry, washed the baby bedding and all the baby clothes I already have.  We have the furniture delivering this Wednesday so we will be busy once it arrives getting the nursery set up.  Another reason I wanted the baby shower at our house is so our guests could see the nursery and our new home (which we just purchased last spring).  

Aaron and I made a trip to Lowes today to get a small cabinet to organize s a few things in the garage and he is finishing putting it together now.  This evenig calls for some pizza and relaxation with my husband!

Busy in the garage as always

Nursery Inspiration

I will post pictures of the nursery in it's entirety once we get the furniture.  Above are some of my inspiration photos I used for the nursery.

I wanted soft colors, and a modern/contemporary (but sweet and sophisticated) feel for our little girl's room.  Birds and pastels are the "theme" I tell people when they ask.  But basically I just wanted it to feel cozy and warm, but not overly "babyish".  Even though we are having a girl, pink is not my absolute favorite color so we went with Buoyant Blue for the walls from Sherwin Williams.  In my opinion it is a "girly" aqua blue and really makes the room feel comfortable.

How did I get ideas for the nursery?  Websites like Pinterest, Etsy and Project Nursery really helped me to get a focus on what I was trying to do and narrow down all the ideas initially running through my head.

Pregnancy Recap

Now that I am nearing the end of my pregnancy (8 weeks to go!), I'd like to share a little bit about my pregnancy journey.

First Trimester.....

October 15, 2012.... Morning sickness began and I didn't see relief until the beginning of December, so about 8-9 weeks of terrible nausea, throwing up and horrible food aversions.  Nothing tasted good and food was hard to keep down. I was prescribed Zophran, which helped some days and other days not so much.  I actually lost a few pounds during the first trimester and was almost sent to the hospital a couple times due to dehydration and not being able to keep anything down.  All in all...NOT FUN!

November 12, 2012.... I heard the baby's heartbeat for the first time today!  What an absolute amazing sound!   The heart rate was 150 bpm and the doctor said it sounded "girly"...he then told me that over 140 bpm makes him think it may be a girl.

December 4, 2012.... Aaron came with me to the doctor appointment   This was the first time we heard the baby's heartbeat together at the doctor.  We heard it clear as day!  The heart rate was 160 bpm.  I am finally starting to feel better now that I am nearing the end of my first trimester and my appetite is returning to normal...thank goodness!  I haven't felt like myself for the last couple of months and this relief is much needed.

After running the 2012 Akron Marathon-9/29/12-4 weeks pregnant

At our niece Bella's 1st Birthday party-about 10 weeks pregnant

Second Trimester.....

January 25, 2013....we have our 20 week ultrasound to check to make sure baby is healthy and find out the gender. We were so nervous, excited, anxious....just so many emotions were going through both Aaron and I before this ultrasound.  More than anything, we just wanted to be reassured that the baby was healthy, growing, and everything was normal.  The sonographer was very nice, her name was Ginger, and she talked to us throughout the ultrasound.  We watched everything on a big tv screen on the wall.  The baby was very active while she was looking at all the organs, bones and the heart.  Of course Aaron (being the RN he is) was talking to the sonographer in medical terms I couldn't understand.  My heart was racing so fast the entire time....at the end the sonographer told us we were expecting a BABY GIRL!  I cried...I was so happy.  Tears of joy, and just so relieved that the baby was healthy and everything was okay!  After the ultrasound I had a regular check up with the doctor.  Needless to say, my blood pressure was very high when the nurse took it....but only from all the excitement that had just occurred :)  Aaron and I decided on what we were going to name our little girl at the doctor's office, but agree we want to keep it a secret until after the baby is born.

20 weeks...Baby Girl Frye 1/25/13

2nd Trimester Highlights....

IT'S A GIRL!!!!

• Nursery planning begins as soon as we find out we are having a little girl....we end up deciding on a pastel and bird theme for the room
• Clean out and paint nursery...we choose Buoyant Blue from Sherwin Williams
• I start feeling baby movements!  Around week 18-19 I feel movements.  At first they feel like bubbles popping in my stomach.  By week 20 the movements are more distinct and I feel them more often....more noticeable at night.
• My mom and I start thinking of Baby Shower ideas, choose a date, pick out invitations and send them out to family and friends.
• We pick out and order nursery furniture from Wayside Furniture in Akron.  We picked out a crib and dresser made by Young America.
• I have to start buying more maternity clothes! I start showing around week 15 once my morning sickness passed and I start putting back the weight that I lost during my first trimester.  Luckily my good friend Lisa let me borrow a bunch of her maternity tops from when she was pregnant a year ago. 
• Appetite is fairly normal, nausea is gone and I have a lot of energy!
• Baby Registry time....my friend Lisa went to Babies R Us with me one day and we spent about 2-3 hours registering for baby items. All I can say is.. THANK GOODNESS she was there to guide me...I still left the store slightly overwhelmed but thanks to her help, it made it much easier and I think we registered for all the main necessities.  My favorite item on our Baby Registry is probably the Graco Jogger stroller...I am hoping we can get a lot of use out of it and go for walks and runs together this summer & fall :)
• Signed up for 2 baby classes at Akron General....Baby Care for Beginners and a Childbirth class.
• "Nesting" has kicked in and I want to organize EVERYTHING (not completely out of the the ordinary for me) but I find the need to want to purge items we don't need to make room for baby stuff.  My main priority is the nursery at this point but that doesn't stop me from re-organizing the entire kitchen, spare bedroom, pantry and every other closet and drawer in our house.

Freshly painted nursery...We chose Buoyant Blue (Sherwin Williams)

15 weeks

17 weeks

20 weeks...wearing my favorite shirts of the 2nd trimester (one my friend Lisa let me borrow)...it so cozy and I wear it often in my 2nd trimester

23 weeks

25 weeks

My best friend Liz and I at her baby shower on March 2, 2013---she is due 4 weeks before me.  It has been great going through this experience together!  Her shower was adorable...Very Hungry Caterpillar themed.  Her and her husband are waiting to find out the gender.

Third Trimester....

March 16, 2013....We attend our Baby Care for Beginners Class, a 3 hour class on a weekend. This class was extremely helpful in my opinion and helped ease some anxiety I start to feel as I enter into my third and final trimester.  We learned things like how to properly bathe a newborn, swaddle, diaper and basic first aid. The instructor also touched on things like what to expect before, during and after delivery at the hospital.  Aaron agreed the class was helpful and we were glad we took it.  He looked like a natural holding and diapering the "fake baby" we were given for the class.

28, 29, 30 and 31 week pictures

The one outside was a warm April evening after a little tennis playing in the driveway with Aaron.  I'm loving the weather getting warmer and things getting greener outside...it means the baby is close and I'm getting excited!  The picture of Aaron playing guitar was from Easter Sunday, we had dinner at my parents (who just moved to Ohio) and him and my dad played some guitar and banjo post dinner :)

My baby shower is next weekend, April 20th, at our house---my mom is hosting it for us. There are about 30 people that RSVP'd. Our nursery furniture gets delivered next week so I'm excited to get the nursery completely set up before everyone comes to our house.  The room has been painted since early in my 2nd trimester and we have a wall decal, 3 prints and wall bookshelf to hang.  We already have the glider and ottoman so we are just waiting on the crib and dresser. I have also made tissue poms and hung them from the one corner in the nursery to add some color and dimension to the room. I have loved decorating and designing our little girl's nursery :)

Baby Shower invitation created and printed from Shutterfly.com

2 months to go until my due date of June 12!  I have been measuring right on schedule and baby girl is SUPER active...and with the lack of space in my belly, the movements are more pronounced and stronger than ever!  I love feeling her kick, squirm and roll around in there though and wouldn't trade this feeling for anything.  We are truly blessed to have had a healthy pregnancy up to now.  Of course I am starting to get a bit uncomfortable at times....and I make Aaron very aware of this ;-)...but then again I am not one to hide my feelings...good or bad... and I never have been....he knows this and has been so supportive.  For the most part I feel good though.  No swelling yet (been checking my wedding rings every day to make sure I can still get them on and off)...and still wearing my heels.  However I have only worn my Clarks shoes for the majority of my 2nd and 3rd trimester which are amazingly comfortable and still give me some height, which I need only being 5'1".  Still able to wear some of my non-maternity shirts, although the selection of those that still fit are spare but I still have enough options for work every day.