Happy St. Patricks Day

Today is the day that three people guessed baby Harrison would be born.  My boss, myself, and my mom! I don't know why, but I just felt the 17th.  It's still early in the day, but I hope you all have a fabulous day and may the luck of the Irish be with you!

Baby Brown - Week 38

*disclaimer - this is crazy that this could be my last bumpdate! Here's to hoping (and not hoping for D.J.'s sake) that baby boy will be here soon! *

How far along: 38 weeks and 3 days! 

Due date: March 27, 2016 - EASTER DAY!

Baby Size: the size of a pumpkin and getting bigger and bigger by the day. 

Weight gain: I know this is all a process, but still trying to picture how I'm ever going to get back to pre baby weight! 

Maternity Clothes: if they even fit anymore.

Stretch Marks: got some love marks under this big ole belly! 

Sleep: not happening.  With the time change, I've had such a hard time falling asleep and then once I do, I feel like I wake up 20 minutes later having to pee. Ahhhh, the joys of pregnancy.

Gender: BOY!!! 

Name:  Harrison Cole Brown !

Movement: Oh for sure.  Even though he is running out of space, he still manages to make some dramatic movements.  Check out my instagram for the latest video! 

Best moment this week: paying my ER bill.  Just kidding.  That was probably the worst part.  However - silver lining is that this will make the delivery cheaper :) Seriously though, I'm just trying to embrace the last few kicks. AND finally got to catch up with one of the besties and got some great news from her! <3 

Looking forward to: Baby's birth day! Lots of people at work have chosen days that have passed, and i think everyone has their day on the calendar.  Only two people put after the due date, so we will see! 

Husband is: having a good Spring Training so far.  We are about a week and a half in and I'm just hoping Harrison holds out a little longer so daddy can get some more days in out there.  I feel confident that when the time comes, D.J. will make it back in time! 

Cravings: nothing really.

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope.

Labor Signs: At my 38 week appointment on Monday, I was 1-2 cm, 50% effaced and baby was in the -3 position.  So things are moving along, but nothing changed from 37 to 38 weeks.  I still haven't figured out if I'm having contractions.  People say it's when your belly gets tight.  I'm not sure if I feel that.  I have lots of pressure since he is head down, some serious back pain every now and then, but nothing timeable. 

Missing Most: being able to get comfortable. driving. sleep. D.J. and I'm sure more, but everything is so worth it!

Symptoms: anything and everything at 38 weeks pregnant. 

Nursery: DONE! Just waiting for Harrison to take his place in there! In case you missed it yesterday, check it out.

Belly Button in or out? flouting.  I had a serious innie y'all.  

Wedding rings on or off? they still fit, but I don't want to push it. 

Mood: lots of emotions this week.  Happy, excited, nervous, anxious, wondering how it will all happen, embracing the unknown! 

Workouts: walking around at school is a simple workout for me :) haha!

Harrison's Nursery Reveal

When I thought we were having a girl, I knew exactly what I wanted the nursery to look like. I had lots of ideas on Pinterest and knew the direction I wanted to go right away.  Pink, gold, white, and light colors.

Little did we know that Harrison would throw that for a loop.  My boy nursery Pinterest page was a hot mess.  I didn't have any idea of what way I wanted to go.  I didn't want a theme.  No sports, no animals, no cars.

I found a few items along the way that shaped the direction we went with the nursery. The soft fishy blanket, the wood "HC" letters, and the fact that I knew we were going to have the chair from my cousins. Here's a look at the nursery!

This is the view standing from the door.  We decided not to put blinds up for now because the windows have a frosting built into them.  Once baby boy starts taking naps in his room we will have to reevaluate the situation and see if we need to put them up!

We have been so fortunate to have so many things passed down to us or things that we have refurbished. The chair, which rocks, glides, reclines and is in great condition, was given to us from my cousin.  The crib used to be one of the people I babysat for and when they moved, I snatched it up.  Yes - we had a crib and a mattress sitting in our attic 2+ years before we were even pregnant!
The dresser was in my room growing up and I love the way it turned out once we painted it.

The dresser is on the wall right inside the room.  We decided that the best way to have the dresser set up was with the changing table on top and some hand sanitizer and diapers in the top drawer. The knobs are from Hobby Lobby and I am obsessed with them! They have the gold/wood accent that I was looking for.

We decided to paint the dresser with an Annie Sloan Chalk Paint - Old Antique - if I remember correctly. I will do another post later on the way I decided to organize the dresser.  We snatched the mirror up from Home Goods for a steal of $40! It's solid wood and looks PERFECT!

 The crib is the Kendall Crib from Pottery Barn Kids. However, we got it a while back and it's in great condition! Only thing I tried to replace was the teething rails, but they don't sell those individually. All the stuffed animals, pillow and light blue blanket were gifts.  I decided to purchase our own bedding from The Land of Nod and love the way the orange looks in the room.  The fish blanket was one of the first items I got for the nursery.  It's so soft and I love the colors.  It was the starting point for the room.  The hamper to the left of the crib was a shower gift as well.

We scored the carpet at Home Goods the same day we got the mirror.  I was in LOVE with the soft feeling and bought it with the thought that we can always return it.  I'm not in love with the grey, but I think there is enough grey throughout the room that it all ties together with the colors.

The side table next to the chair was $9 from Goodwill.  We painted it the same as the dresser and added the same arrow pulls on it.  Right now I have a basket with all the toys we received from showers in the space at the bottom.  I have some things stored behind the chair - tummy time mat and another storage big. The pillow was TJMAXX purchase that looked perfect with the wall color - which is Sherwin Williams "Tidewater".

These awesome and easy to install shelves are from Target and these cute baby shoes are to die for! We decided to put the baby monitor on the shelves because we didn't want to mount it to the wall yet.  The two prints on the top shelf were made for Harrison by my friend, Kendall.  We orderer the "HARRSION" blocks from Little Sapling Toys on Etsy. 

On the wall behind the door, we hopped on the Ikea spice rack band wagon and spray painted the wooden racks white and they are perfect for the books. 

The closet is still an organizational work in progress, but my dad knocked it out the park with the shelves he installed.  After a long time of deciding what I wanted the closet to look like, he put the shelves up and now all I have to do is figure out how I want to organize it.  As of now, the blue bin on the bottom contains all of his books.  Orange bin is the next few clothe sizes up.  And the two orange metal bins have extra crib sheets and the baby carriers. 

The other side of the closet has the diaper wreath that we will eventually use, the Boppy pillow and a bin full of blankets. In the shelves below are all the unopened diapers that we got from the shower.  

 And to top off the room, I made a little book of all the cards Harrison received from the showers!

 The nursery has been a labor of love and we love sitting in his room on the soft, cuddly carpet.  I cannot wait for him to make his arrival and rock him in that big comfy chair.  His room has such a special smell to it.  (Side note - even before pregnancy, I had a very strong sense of smell)  I love the way the smell of his nursery will always remind me of him and getting his room all ready.

We are so thankful to all our friends and family that have helped us put this room together. He will be here before we know it and baby boy, we are ready for you!

Sources

Curtains - Pottery Barn Kids 

Dresser - Previously owned

Chair - Previously owned

Knobs on Dresser - Hobby Lobby 

Crib - Pottery Barn Kids

Bedding - The Land of Nod

Changing pad cover - The Land of Nod

Side Table - Good Will

Wall Color - Sherwin Williams "Tidewater"

Shelves - Target

Book Holders - Ikea

Harrison blocks - Etsy

Boppy pillow cover - Etsy

Spring Break at 37 Weeks

To say getting up for work this morning was hard is an understatement.  Having Spring Break during your 37th week of pregnancy is such a tease.  It was great to have the time at home nesting before baby boy turns our world upside down, but in the same breath, not being able to go to Arizona with D.J. for the first week of Spring Training was a major buzz kill.  So throughout the week, I had to find things to keep me occupied.  Here's what Spring Break looks like through the eyes (and iPhone camera) of a 37 week pregnant girl.

Friday night we celebrated D.J.'s last supper at a local pizza place with a party of 24 people.  IT was overwhelming to say the least.  Saturday we did some last minute work around the house and then hit up the Lantern Asia at Norfolk Botanical Gardens that night, followed by DQ! 

Sunday we spend the day relaxing and D.J. packed his things.  Monday morning D.J. left pretty early and I was back to the single life (until Harrison arrives!).  I got a massage that afternoon and just spent the day relaxing. 

Tuesday I had my 37 week appointment.

Wednesday I took a walk with my mom.  I pushed the stroller and she walked the dog.  We had great weather! 

Thursday I did nothing.  

Somewhere throughout the week I watched about 36295 episodes of Grey's Anatomy, watched all my TV shows that were recorded, mopped the kitchen floor, vacuumed the house, bleached the bathrooms, and dusted the entire house.  Needless to say the house is clean and will probably need one more cleaning before baby comes. 

Friday I was supposed to head to Richmond with a friend to visit a friend, but her daughter got sick and going that far was questionable in the first place.  So Kate and I decided to run some errands.  Nordstroms Rack, Target, Michaels, Motherhood Maternity and Anthropologie.  I'm tired from typing that, let alone walking all those stores.  It was fine though - we topped it off with Chick-fil-A fries and milkshakes! 

Saturday I went to my little cousins soccer game and snuggled up on the couch the rest of the day.  My sister got back from her Spring Break trip and we grabbed a late dinner.

Then Sunday I got excited about my 38 week check up today and decided to get the process moving by racking all these pine needles.  Don't worry - my mom came over and bagged it all up! My yard is pretty much ready for spring and new flowers! There is already new growth coming from the flowers that were planted a few years ago! 

Here's to what could be my last Monday until Harrison makes his big debut! 

Lantern Asia

Our city has the honor of hosting Lantern Asia- Art by Day, Magic by Night -  for the next two months at Norfolk Botanical Gardens.  This is the first time that Lantern Asia has been to the western hemisphere and what a cool opportunity to go see it in person! 

I had no idea what to expect.  I just knew that I wanted to go either before baby gets here or at some point once he can be pushed in a stroller.  I may have pushed it a little bit with going at 37 weeks pregnant, but it was so worth it.  D.J. was able to go as well, so it was even more special! 

All of the exhibits are made of a silky material lit from the inside by lights .

Each exhibit had a different history message that went along with it.

Mr. Dragon was definitely one of my favorites.

The Taj Mahal was HUGE! It was a little different because of the size and how big the silk pieces were that made this masterpiece.

One of the exhibits was made of these colorful vials of water that made the piece really stand out.

One of the first displays when you walk in is this beauty. It is made up of 1 million plates, cups and spoons!

If you are in the Norfolk area, or Virginia for that matter, you should definitely make a trip to Norfolk Botanical Gardens to see LAntern Asia!

Maternity Photos

Back at the beginning of February, we had the amazing opportunity to work with Chelsea Lyn Photography and we could not have been happier with the choice we made.  I had heard about Chelsea through a colleague at work who had nothing but great things to say about Chelsea and her work.  I love the way she works with light and she was so helpful in directing us how to pose! We started off at our house for a little lifestyle session in the nursery.  Then we headed to Norfolk Botanical Gardens for some fun outside. Chelsea's work with the lighting is AMAZING!

And on a day that D.J. heads out to Arizona for Spring Training, I figured what better day to embrace our love as a couple before we welcome baby Harrison into this world. Next time D.J. will be back here we will be having a baby!

Stryker got to be in on some of the fun. 

Aren't these photos beautiful?! You can see more pictures on her blog!

Baby Brown : 36 Weeks

How far along: 36 weeks (and 4 days) Every day counts at this point. 

Due date: March 27, 2016, and still right on track

Baby Size: we had our growth scan on Tuesday and baby is measuring in right on track weighing around 6 pounds 8 ounces. 

Weight gain: duh.

Maternity Clothes: duh.

Stretch Marks: oh lord, so I looked at myself in the mirror the other day, and I'm pretty sure the "belly line" is now a belly stretch mark.  EEK!

Sleep: terrible.  Baby is kicking my ribs all night, I have to pee every hour, and rolling from one side to the other is the hardest thing in the world! Ok, dramatic, but still, it's hard!

Gender: BOY!!! 

Name:  Harrison Cole Brown !

Movement: Bubba is definitely running out of room in there to move. His legs and knees are rolling around and making my stomach distort in the craziest ways! 

Best moment this week: Seeing our baby one more time on the ultrasound before he makes his big arrival into our arms. 

Looking forward to: Spring Break and RELAXING.  Even though D.J. leaves, I am excited to just have a week off and prepare for maternity leave.  It's going to be super close to my leave, so it's almost like an extra week of leave! People at work keep saying "will we see you after Spring Break?!"

Husband is: AMAZING.  Has almost done everything on his "honey-do before you leave for AZ" list! House looks spick and span, screen porch is almost complete, and he even bought me new tennis shoes last night!! <3 <3 

Cravings: nothing really.  Craving a smaller belly HAHA! 

Anything making you queasy or sick: nope.

Labor Signs: nothing yet.  I was checked on Tuesday, and everything was getting "ready" but no progress yet.  I can definitely tell the difference between pregnancy pains and Braxton Hicks now.  When the BH's start, they are more in the back and move to the front of my belly and typically happen when I'm laying down at night or being too active during the day.  

Missing Most: having clothes that fit me other than big ole sweatpants and t-shirts. 

Symptoms: shortness of breath, sciatica nerve pain, starting to get the swollen fingers! 

Nursery: ALMOST DONE! Spring Break will be my blog planning time and hopefully will have it up by then!

Belly Button in or out? still an innie, but sometimes it goes flat and sometimes it pops a bit! Just depends on the day!

Wedding rings on or off? just wearing my band for now. 

Mood: feeling so excited/nervous/anxious for baby Brown to be here!!! 

Workouts: nope