He's Here!

He's Here!

Kai is here and I couldn't be more thrilled. He is such an amazing little person and the fact that he is ours is such a humbling experience. I have waited so long for him that now that he's here it feels almost surreal. Although I haven't gotten a wink of sleep since he has arrived I am terrified that something will happen to him, crazy I know but I'm a FTM so I can be crazy. Here are a few pictures from right after he was born and a few that were taken in the days after.

Daddy and Son

Dreaming sweet dreams

Daddy and son

Hey good looking!

Somebody is sleepy

Nursery Reveal

Nursery Reveal

 After gathering ideas for months (thank you Pinterest), Dave and I worked together to get started on the room the week of Christmas. Kai's room is everything I hoped it would be and his Formula 1 race car theme is epic. There were some aspects of his nursery that I was not willing to compromise on

• Modern sleek look
• Reading nook
• Accent circle wall

There are a few little odds and ends that need to come together to officially finish his room, but for the most part it is complete. Overall I am in love with his room and hope that one day he will understand all the preparation and love that went into completing it.  

                    

Late Baby

Late Baby

"He's late, he's late, he's late!"

Kai is officially 4 days past his estimated due date, estimated being the key word here. I'm over being pregnant there I said it, I want to be a mom. Dave and I have waited three years to meet our baby and now I'm dealing with the most stubborn kid ever. Never mind the fact that I am stubborn it's irrelevant. 

Last week at my appointment my doctor stated that Kai was -3 station which threw me for a loop, because he was just -2 two weeks before. I knew my son was sitting high but I didn't think he was that high up. My doctor expressed her concerned for his station by dropping the lovely c-section bomb. "Maybe there is a medical reason as to why he is so high up and if that is the case we may need to c-section him out." The horror of that sentence must have shown on my face as she quickly stated that a c-section wasn't a definite but she did want to let me know the what ifs. So what have I spent the last few days doing???? Trying to have a baby that's what. I have tried all of the following and still Kai has not shown his cute chubby little face...

• Sex 
• Waking 2 miles each day instead of 1
• Nipple stimulation 
• Squatting
• Drinking 2-3 cups of red raspberry tea
• Taking EPO orally and vaginally
• Bouncing/rolling on the ball hourly
• Spinning baby methods 

I honestly don't know what else to do. I have a BPP/NST ultrasound appointment later on today. The biophysical profile looks to see if Kai is moving appropriately. Whereas the non stress test looks to see if his amniotic fluid levels are good. I must admit I am getting nervous, because I know these test can derail my natural birth plan that I had my heart set on. I know that a natural birth is not THAT important in the grand scheme of things, I mean having a healthy baby in my arms is what my end goal is. I will update later on as to what my doctor decides in regards to my appointment today.

Maternity Pictures

Maternity Pictures

I am a terrible person <gasp> I waited until the very last minute to schedule and take my maternity pictures. To be honest as I got bigger and bigger and the weeks kept climbing I was debating whether or not to even take pictures. I kept going back and forth and Dave was just as bad as I was about "caring" about such mundane things. In the end I am really glad that I went ahead and scheduled the shoot as our pictures turned out fabulous.

I chose to use the same photographer my sorority sisters and I used to take our 10 year AKAversarry pictures Daniel T. Davis Photography in Houston, TX. I One of my biggest fears was the weather, January maternity pictures just didn't appeal to me and I figured they would turn out blah. However, Sunday Jan 12th was the perfect day to take pictures as the weather really cooperated with us and it was not too cold or windy. Even though I am 37 weeks in the pictures, I will go ahead and toot my own horn by saying that I look really good to be so far along in my pregnancy. I remember various women, Dave's mom and mine, saying how my nose would spread and how I would be enormous (which is the perfect thing to say to a pregnant woman).

The location of Herman Park was chosen by Dave and if I do say so myself it was a really lovely location.

Belly Cast DONE!

Belly Cast DONE!

My mom and I finally got around to making my belly cast last night and I think it turned out great. I wanted something tangible to commemorate my pregnancy and the birth of my son and I am so glad I came across belly casting on Pinterest. Overall it did not take very long to do, around 45min start to finish. My mom and I had a hard time keeping the linen strips straight and not knotted together, but once you get into the groove things got smoother for us. I got my belly casting kit from Zulily for $15 but it can be purchased at Amazon as well. I will post pictures after I paint it, but for now here is a look at my cast. I must say it is pretty amazing to see what everyone else sees when they look at me.

Linen Strips and Warm Water

Finished Product!!

My Mom and helper

Gifts, Gifts, Gifts, and More Gifts: My Book Theme Baby Shower

Sister and Cousin Please excuse background it was time to clean up

Gifts, Gifts, Gifts, and More Gifts: My Book Theme Baby Shower

As a stated in a previous post I had my shower on November 9, 2013 and both my mother and sister were hosting the event. My sister doesn't live in my city anymore and therefore most of the planning took place by phone and email, which lead to loots of frustration and tears on my part. In my family, especially on my mothers side, there is a running joke that I may be just a tad too boogie (high class) for my own good. My sister constantly wants to remind that my champagne taste don't go with my beer budget.  So long story short we had many fights over what I wanted for my shower. 

The theme of the shower was a Co-ed Children's Book theme and thanks to Pinterest I had so many ideas, maybe too many, for my hostesses to execute. Below are a few pictures from the event. We had family travel from ear and far and all in all I think the shower was great. We didn't start on time, which was a huge problem for me. However, many of  my guests were super late so I guess it all worked out. My sister also decided to use the tinniest voice in her hosting duties and the teacher in me had me jumping up to assist a lot more than I probably should have. Yes I probably ran many of the shower games, oh well. Overall I believe my shower was a success I had family and friends come from all over the US to spend the day with us, Dave sister even flew in from Canada. We had lots of great food, that I didn't get to eat at the shower because I was so busy. We also received a lot of great gifts and books for Kai, surprisingly no duplicates.  Here are a few pictures from the event.

Little guest

Give a Mouse a Cookie display

Gifts Kai is so loved

Where the wild things are table display

The Hubby and I with his parents

My baby brother and I outside the event

Mommy, Me, and my sister, they hosted the event

Cousin Jessica and I 

Me making a onsie for Kai

One of the many shirts guest made at the shower

Opening gifts 

Nursery Ideas Galore

Nursery Ideas Galore

Time has really flown and I am currently 31 weeks. I am finally starting to get Kai's room together. My husband cousin is staying with us and is the nursery room so that was holding us back from decorating. We asked that he move out of the particular room, we have a guest room he can stay in, by December 1st. However, that day has come and gone and he is still in the room. I have left his whole move in my husbands hands as it is his cousin, but now I will speak to my special house guest and tell him to pack his crap so my son has a place to sleep when he gets here. MY fear is my husband can be a tad bit LAZY and although he feels comfortable putting off decorating the nursery I don't think that will be wise. If his cousin stays in the room we will have less time to complete the nursery and Dave will become overwhelmed and start cutting corners. He will insist not everything needs to be put up and that we don't need this or that all because he is too lazy to build it.
The theme of the nursery is a Formula 1 race car theme, not to be confused with NASCAR. This theme has been exceptionally hard to get decor for, but I feel I have a few key pieces that will bring the room together nicely. I also have several DIY projects I will be starting this weekend. Below are a few of the items I have purchased and some of the ideas I will use to execute in his room.

None of the pictures below belong to me, but I did take inspiration from them in creating Kai's room.

28 Weeks

Baby Kai and I

28 Weeks

How far along? 28+4 Weeks (3rd trimester I am sooo blessed)
Total weight gain/loss: 196
Maternity clothes? Yes
Stretch marks? Yes on the lower parts of back :(
Sleep: Lower back issues
Best moment this week:Taking photos with my sorority sisters for our 10 yr AKAversary
Miss Anything? I want a glass a wine
Movement: Kai kicks all the time
Food cravings: Beef its what's for dinner LOL
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nope
Have you started to show yet: Yes!
Gender: Boy!
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? Out and its so cute
Wedding rings on or off? Off :(
Happy or Moody most of the time: Nervous
Looking forward to: meeting the new man in my life come on Jan 2014

Yesterday I had my baby shower, will post about my big day later on, and today I took pictures with my sorority sisters. I can't wait to get the photos back, because we came up with some cute and unique ways to capture our time together as sisters. I am also so happy that they all traveled near and far to be in Houston for my baby shower and spend time with me. Even after all these years I have nothing but love for my sorors and cant wait to see what the next 10 years have in store for us.

UPDATE: Our pictures are back and they look AMAZING...

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc
Kappa Nu Fall 2003

Celebrating the moms to be, my Link and I are 5 weeks apart

My LSs

Being goofy and still cute

Baby Shower Invite

Baby Shower Invite

So now that we know our baby boy is coming in January, Dave and I have started to register for our upcoming co-ed baby shower. FYI registering with Dave took all the patients in the world, he kept making me want to smack him because he had a question for almost every item we scanned. I never knew one little person could need so much and after an hour at Babies R' Us I was ready to throw in the towel. Luckily my husband realized this and made the day go smoother with jokes and an Olive Garden lunch.
Since we are in the process of registering and will be having a shower on November 9th, I got my links husband to create he invite to our festive party. The invites came back looking amazing and after placing our registry information inside I  sent them off ASAP. In total I mailed around 85 invites to family and friends, and look forward to celebrating my pregnancy with everyone. The theme of my baby shower is Children books and we have asked everyone to bring a book in lieu of a card. My mom and sister are hosting the event and after shedding many a tear and even yelling at my sister over this event  (call it pregnancy hormones or her lazy ass behavior) I can't wait to see what they come up with. 

Gender Reveal!!!!!

Gender Reveal!!!!

Our baby is a boy and Dave and I are both over the moon with excitement and cant wait to meet him in 2014. I really couldn't hide how happy I was at finding out about the sex of the baby I had been carrying for the past 5 months. The gender reveal box was a real labor of love as it took me around 2 hours to make, my photographer loved it so much I told her she could have it. When we have our next child I will make a new box. Here are a few pictures from the gender reveal we did Sunday September 22nd in Dallas, I am 21 weeks in these pictures.