Baby Showers!

By Natalie

I had two wonderful baby showers. I had a work shower and a shower at Brandi's. My hostesses really outdid themselves, and made me and the baby feel loved. I got so many wonderful things. Everything is ready for baby, now he just needs to arrive.

Work Decos:

 Friends & Family Decos:

There were non-alcoholic mimosas and cappuccino milkshakes. Very tasty!

Work Cake:

 My mom came to the shower!

 Costco cakes, they are truly the best!

Family & Friends Cupcakes, made by cousin Katy:

Favors made by Jennie: home-made caramels, they were delicious! I was able to take home all the extras!

Hostesses from Work:

 Whitney hard at work, not pictured Kim, Shirley, Phyllis, Cindi, Yessica, Connie, Susana, Maria Elena

Hostesses from family and friends shower:

Shannon, me, Jennie & Brandi

A big thank you to everyone who attended and of course to the wonderful hostesses!

Just Jack

By Natalie

We have finally come to a decision on a name. Jack Sullivan!

We are choosing Sullivan as a nod to A&M. Lawrence Sullivan Ross, or Sul Ross was a former president of A&M. He has a statue on campus, where students put a penny at his feet for good luck before an exam. I like the nickname Sully too.

P.S. If you have a negative opinion keep it to yourself. ;)

Nursery

By Natalie

I had big plans to work on the nursery during spring break, but it's pretty much complete. My mom is still working on some turtle art. It's awesome to have such a crafty mom. I'm pleased as punch on how it turned out.

We bought the furniture from Lone Star Baby. This is the Ragazzi collection. I bought the knobs from Target. I didn't like the clunky brown knobs it came with.

The bedding is CoCaLo, which my mom bought from Buy Buy Baby. Thanks mom! I hear that you can find the same bedding at Burlington Coat Factory.

I love the ABC wall! I bought all the letters from Hobby Lobby. The wooden ones I painted the edges, then modge podged the scrapbook paper on there. One layer of modge podge to glue the paper, and then one thin top coat. I added buttons and ribbon that I had on hand. The biggest problem was how to keep the letters from falling off. First, I tried command strips, I probably spent over $20. They stayed for a few weeks, until we had a humid day. Then they were falling off left and right. Then I tried industrial strength velcro. Finally, I drilled tiny holes through the letters and nailed all of them up there.

We bought this organization system at Target first, and then found it much cheaper at Home Depot.

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby

By Natalie

Last week I had an ultrasound and found out the baby is head up. This is bad news, but I'm trying to stay positive.  I'm planning on delivering at a birthing center. If the baby is breeched, then I will have to go to a hospital and deliver at a place I'm unfamiliar with. Even worse, I'll have to have a C-section.

Good thing, I have my entire spring break to dedicate to turning this baby. I've been going to the gym at least once a day to hang upside down from the workout bench. I went and did some handstands in the pool at the gym. And I've had Micah do the Rebozo Sifting. I've also been doing some inversions, which look like the dolphin pose, except you are on a couch or raised surface. I found all of these ideas at spinning babies.

In addition I'm going to go to a chiropractor three times this week. The chiropractor will perform the Webster technique. According to Fit Pregnancy the Webster technique is 82% effective. Read this article for some interesting facts about breeched babies and other methodologies. It is interesting how doctor's knowledge of delivering breeched babies has changed over the course of time.

I'm 35 weeks today, and I need him to turn by 36 weeks. After 36 weeks it becomes much more difficult, because there is less room. Thinking spinning thoughts for me!

32 Weeks

By the time this posts I'll be 34 weeks. Hey, I'm only 2 weeks late on posting this picture! The baby is as big as a squash at 32 weeks, and weighs around 3 lbs.

I think the third trimester tiredness is catching up to me. I'm trying to do too much!  I came down with a cold on Friday. The heartburn seems to not be as severe, but the insomnia is back!

My foot is not doing so well. I'm wearing compression stockings 24/7 and elevating it when I'm at home and during the night. It's not going down as much as it needs to by the morning. And then I start the routine all over again standing on my feet at work. I have lymphedema in my left foot, I knew that it would be exacerbated by pregnancy. My family doctor has put in a referral to a lymphedema physical therapist. I'm anxiously awaiting to hear back from them. Hopefully I can get an appointment over spring break.

Pinterest- Maps project

By Natalie

A co-worker suggested a map Pinterest project for my friend, Shannon's 30th birthday. This project documents the places that Shannon and I have traveled to together. It was fairly easy to put together. I printed out the maps on the computer, but it would be awesome to use actual maps. I was running short on time, and wasn't sure where I would get all the correct state maps. I used an actual subway map for the New York tag. I found the shadow box at Aaron Brothers. I love the shadow box, it isn't very deep, which I preferred. I found the pearl stick pins at a fabric store. I used some ribbon that I had around the house. I had a luggage tag stencil already and drew that on the maps.

Easy, peasy!

Happy 30th Birthday, Shannon!

P.S. Sorry for the poor photo quality!