Family Shower

The shower was amazing. Being surrounded by such love from our family and friends was wonderful. People were more than generous. We are so blessed. Once I get some pictures uploaded, I will share a few. Some hard work went into this and it truly made us feel special. Of course, I broke down and started crying in front of everyone as I was trying to thank my mom and sister. =/

After the shower, B and I came home and sorted everything. We received some duplicates of things, and some extras of things we already had (really, how many tub thermometers does one family need?) , so we made a "keep" and "return" pile. Then we went through the return pile and separated by store and if we had a gift receipt. Both Target and BabiesRUs will not return items without a gift receipt. Sooooooo...we have some things that will be kept for future gifts or donated. I can understand not taking back items that could have been purchased elsewhere, but if it has your tag (or is your store brand), why wouldn't you take it back?
Anyway, now I know to always get a gift receipt when giving a gift. =)

Last night, we were so tired, we were both asleep by 9ish. I woke up 3 times to go to the bathroom and never fell back asleep after 3. I just kept thinking of all we have to do before she arrives. I figured I'd make a list and then feel better. So here is my list, for our benefit (feel free to skip).

In no particular order:
Finish making/write out/send thank you cards
wash bedding/put on
buy a new vacuum (We bought one, but when we got it home it had already been used. We tried it anyway and it was not good. We need to take it back)
clean out cars
install car seat bases
put together bassinet
laundry...it's already never ending (Getting there, but I'm guessing this will never fully get crossed off the list)
buy cloth diapers (anyone selling any used?)(We bought 4 so far and we bought a couple packages of newborn disposables)
rearrange office
put all the gifts away
return gifts
try to figure out loss of pay for 3 weeks off (if anyone understands this, please message me. Payroll clerk told me what I make per day, but clearly, that is not what I bring home)
pay bills
buy a Boppy cover
investigate buying/renting breast pump
get pumping supplies
buy new checks with our new address (yes, we have been living here for almost a year now)
upload pictures to facebook
update blog with new bellyshot

I'm sure there is more to this list, but that is all I can think of right now. I'll be happy to see some things crossed off that list by this weekend. =) Oh, and it's the end of the trimester-so I have a ton of things to do for school as well! Eek. Deep breath.

Shower, Hospital Visit, Nursery Pics

My work shower was on Friday and it was absolutely perfect. There were just the right amount of people (around 20) and some pretty awesome food. (including pickles and buckeyes!) Again, people were more than generous and we received our travel system. B and I were worried we were going to have to purchase it ourselves, since it was such a big ticket item, but we got it! BFF said they didn't have it in the color we registered for (green), so she got it in pink. =) If the store by our house doesn't have it in green either, than we will just keep the pink. It's cute! We received an abundance of clothes and blankets, and we actually received some diapers! (Not cloth, but that's ok...we will use the disposable ones too!) Handmade gifts are super special and one of my coworkers made a shelf for the nursery. It is already hanging up and you will be able to see it in the pictures below. I love it. Overall, it was a wonderful party. I am so grateful for my friends.

On Saturday, we took a tour of our hospital. We visited the labor and delivery unit as well as the mother and baby unit. We drove by a different hospital yesterday and I said to B, "Can you imagine delivering THERE?" She replied, "No way. We are delivering at the Ritz Carlton of hospitals." It truly felt that way. Everyone was so nice and everything is up to date. It is a teaching hospital and highly acclaimed in our neck of the woods. People come from all over to deliver here. We are blessed to live less than 2 miles away. At the end of the tour, they even had snacks for us, including sugar free cookies. (Not that I had anything, but I did manage to spill water all over myself.) I spoke with the nurse after the tour about our fear of induction and how to avoid it. She said, just be sure to eat some spice foods, do lots of walking, bounce on the birth ball, etc. She had full confidence that she would see me before the induction at 39w4d. =)

B and I have been trying to stay current on laundry and presents by putting them away when possible. We have been spending some time getting the nursery ready and I am prepared to share some pictures. We live in a bungalow, so as soon as you walk upstairs, you would walk into Nuggette's room. Directly off her room is two doors. One heads to a half bath (that also has a door to our bedroom) and one heads to our bedroom.

Changing table/dresser (Clearly, things will be moved off the top of this and we will get a changing pad to go on top):

Crib with wall art and Nuggette's real name. (The crib has a net over it, so the cats don't jump in it):

Built-in book shelf and other shelves:

Corner next to changing table. This is the shelf my co-worker made. It's hard to see its beauty in this picture, but it's truly precious:

We got pounded with another 10 inches of snow, so B is out there shoveling all by herself. I wish I could help her. I have a Dr. appointment at 2 today, so she needs to clear a path in our driveway. Not fun for her. I am spending the morning inside writing out and making thank you notes. I have finished about 20 of them and have about 20 more to go. Then, I am going to pre-address some cards for our even bigger shower that is happening this Sunday.

Shower

Well, we have a date for the shower. March 6th. I will be 33 weeks along. I think that will be just perfect timing. My sister is hosting it at her house. I am very grateful. Since it is at her house, she wants to keep the number around 40. Truth is, our list is a wee bit over 50. I'm thinking not everyone will come though. We will see.

I am not inviting anyone from work (since my sister lives over an hour away from where I work) and usually when teachers are pregnant they do something after school, so I wouldn't want my school friends to feel obligated. B is inviting people from her work, but she does not think many will come. People at church keep asking about a shower, but we just don't have the room to accommodate. I don't want people to feel offended, but I also don't want people to think we just want presents. Ya know?

Speaking of presents....we went to one of those big box stores yesterday, in search for a crib tent (to keep the kitties out of her crib for the time being). It is a store that many, many, women register at, but not one we are interested in due to HRC rating scales. However, while we were there, I fell in love with a blanket (not so in love that I wanted to spend $22 on it though!). I could only find a small picture online.

As far as I can tell, they do not carry the brand at either of the other two stores we are registering at, so maybe I will go back and get it in the future...we will see.

We will register next Saturday. I have already created a spreadsheet with 6 columns (need/want, description, price, Store A, Store B, and received?) This way we can keep track of which store we registered for each item and keep a good balance of price items at each store. I used the web, mom message boards, and my own brains to figure out what to put on the list. If you have any must-haves that I may have forgotten, feel free to let me know!

A poke here, a jab there.

I promise to post the pictures of the beautiful ornaments soon! (Man, I feel like such a slacker lately). Good news is, mine went out yesterday, so my recipient should receive the box on Monday.

In Nuggette news, I felt her move from the outside a couple of days ago. I tried to get B to feel it, but of course, she couldn't. Until yesterday! She felt her and it was awesome. I love that she can share more of this pregnancy now. Woot!

I can't believe our little one is receiving gifts already and she's not even born! Aunt Sarah sent another package full of different kinds of pacis, a bib, paci holder, and a thirsties diaper. Last night, I was at a small Christmas gathering with friends. Typically, we only buy for the kids...well apparently my little kiddo counts! I received 2 beautiful and soft blankets from my friends. People's generosity is truly amazing.

Gifts

Yesterday we received our first gifts for our little one in the mail.

Aunt Sarah (B's best friend who is stationed over in Afghanistan) sent us an adorable pink camo crib hat and this beautiful receiving blanket:

How perfect is that?!