Mission: Nursery

It was a late-pregnancy surprise that Addie was going to be able to come to Memphis and help me put the nursery together (read: do it all herself because I was so indecisive).  I was SO excited to have her help because before she got here this is what the nursery looked like:

And I was pretty sure it was going to just stay that way, plus a crib, because I had too many competing ideas in my head.  And I was pretty much at the point where I was thinking, "if I can't have an amazing nursery, why waste any money on it at all".   To prepare her for my crazy state, I sent her several rooms that I loved, none of which seemed to have anything in common.  Here were a few of our inspiration rooms:

I also handed her about a dozen fabric swatches.  Addie kept telling me if I liked something it would work, but I just wasn't seeing it.  How do you get a classic, modern, elegant, whimsical, cheery, airy nursery?  Oh and not spend a fortune.  I was confident it was an unachievable mission.  Thankfully, Addie's brain wasn't suffering from third-trimester-shrinking hormones. Excluding the changing table, crib and mattress (which had all already been purchased), I told her we couldn't spend more than $600 (was this possible???).  When all was said and done we had about a quarter of our budget left over!  I had forgotten how frugal Addie could be. How did it all shake out?

Nursing chair and pillow- $220
Rug-  shower gift
crib art- shower gift, embroidery hoops from Kaye, fabric scraps
mobile- embroidery hoops and thread from Kaye, fabric scraps
fabric- $80
end table- repurposed from another room and spray painted
paint and supplies- $40
cornice boards- $20
misc. accessories and required supplies- $40
sweet ikea chandelier- $50

All-in-all I'd say it's pretty impressive.  Particularly if you drop out the price of the chair.  Talk about design on a dime!  Thank you Addie for designing one amazing looking room!  When all was said and done, here was the finished product:

Oh, and did I mention this transformation happened over 2 and a half days, which also included attending my baby shower for the better part of Saturday mid-morning/early-afternoon?  It was quite a whirlwind! And it would have been quite impossible without my sweet husband.

He painted the nursery all day on Friday, and then while we were at the shower he put together the crib and changing table and  hung the chandelier with Uncle Michael's help. By the end of the weekend he had also installed all new electrical outlets in the room and swapped out nasty old air return covers for nice, new, white ones.  Oh- I shouldn't leave out the cornice boards...  it was quite a snug fit getting them up onto the wall. What a man! 

My mom was also invaluable:  making the crib skirt, helping me with the black-out curtains and fabric bookcases, making the sweet baby pillow for Papaw's chair, and about a million other things.  I have the best mom. 

What did I do, you may be wondering-  a whole lot of not very much.  Let's see- I shopped, stapled fabric to the cornice boards, transformed some cheap dollar store baskets with some hot glue and leftover fabric, and hacksawed---

that's right.  Beware the crazy pregnant lady with a saw!  After Addie left I also made the fabric bookcases and black-out curtains. 

I'm blessed to have such amazing people in my life.  And this little one is blessed too!

Here are some of the details you couldn't see in other photos: 

Baby love!

We have been so blessed throughout this entire pregnancy.  God has provided for us in so many ways.  One of the ways He has provided for Baby Stewart has definitely been through the generosity of our friends and family.  In December, my sweet friends Cameron, Christie, and Alyssa threw a baby shower for our little one.  It was so much fun!  Check out some of these great pictures Christie took:









The food was amazing and everything was beautiful.  Cameron's mom graciously hosted the shower, she also made this sweet diaper cake:



Here are a few (not as nice) pics from my camera too:

In January the excited grandmas-to-be threw us another shower.  It was a sweet time to catch up with old friends!  Thank you Melody for hosting and finding some fun shower games for us to play!

 

blanket crocheted by Nathan's grandmother

Kaye made one of her signature pound cakes:

And Addie even flew in from Georgia:

We are so blessed!

Thanksgiving

Leaving our ultrasound appointment, I felt at peace.  The next week at our high risk appointment I realized what a struggle resting in the knowledge that God was in control  would be.  I guess I'll politely decline to name this doctor's name.  Let's suffice it to say he was horrible and has no business talking to pregnant women who have something wrong with their unborn children-- unfortunately that is his entire business.  Anyone will tell you that a pregnant woman researching potential complications on the internet is a bad idea.  Everything  I read on the internet was more comforting than this doctor.  In fact, if I hadn't read anything before walking into his office I probably would have fallen to pieces after talking with him.  He basically spent several minutes telling us that our baby had a 1 in 300 chance of not even surviving gestation, but if it did there were about 6 other horrendously awful things that were most likely to happen.  He then spent a while discussing the importance of getting an amnio despite the fact that there are no in-utero treatments for any of the complications he discussed with us.  He also did not discuss any of the risks of an amnio.  When I expressed my desire to take a wait and see approach he immediately sent me off for extra blood tests as though I had made some risky choice.  In short, he is a fear-mongering, insurance money grabbing doctor.  I was in tears after this doctor's appointment-- not tears of fear but anger!  He made me so mad!  Needless to say, we did not go back to this doctor.  We found another high-risk doctor who was much more rational and willing to discuss both the chances of complications and the chances of there being no complications.  As much as I loved Dr. Schneider, those monthly visits never came without those whispers and lies that the devil so often likes to spew.  This is what got me through those:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

~Phil 4:6-7

I think the key to this passage is with thanksgiving.  Peace comes from a thankful heart.  It is easy to pray those quick prayers asking for help or healing, but now I notice that those prayers rarely make me feel any better.  When I pause and reflect on what God has already done, that is when the peace comes.  Suddenly whatever is driving me crazy in that moment is put into perspective.  Also the peace of God isn't something that you just get automatically- only after prayer, petition, and thanksgiving.  Interesting stuff.

After 4 high risk appointments we got the news we knew was coming:  there's nothing wrong with our baby!  He or she is perfect (with all 10 fingers and 10 toes no less)!  What we didn't realize was that we wouldn't have to go back to the high risk doctor anymore.  What an unexpected blessing!  As nice as it was to see our sweet baby's face, the visits were long and the ultrasounds were uncomfortable-  our little one is so stubborn and never cooperated.  I'm pretty sure tamale will have sensitive ears like Nathan.  Baby always hid from the ultrasounds, and it's only been these last couple of visits that they haven't had to chase the baby's heartbeat around with the doppler (presumably because the baby is out of room with nowhere to hide)! 

Here is my favorite shot from our last ultrasound:

Baby's little face smashed up against the uterus sucking on his or her fingers! I love it because you can really tell the difference a month makes.  Check out this similar shot from the month before:

The baby has no fat at all!  And looks a bit creepy and alienish :)

We can't wait for tamale to come on out so we can kiss those sweet chubby cheeks!