Da Crib

I always knew that I would be super picky when it came to choosing the decor for my baby's nursery. Before I got pregnant, I was already scouring the Pottery Barn Kids, Serena & Lily, & Posh Tots websites for ideas on bedding, color schemes, etc. What I found was a revelation: baby stuff is freaking expensive, expansive, and confusing. Some of the websites feature ornate furniture for amazing amounts of money...amazing meaning, oh my gosh, people can actually afford that??? I received a Posh Tots "design inspiration catalog" and it was full of beautiful children in beautiful rooms that were nicer than anything I could ever imagine. Like the hand crafted Cinderella coach carriage bed. Or the pirate ship play house. Or the hand painted crib and dresser sets. Or the $1000 chandeliers.

My husband and I don't even have a "real" bedroom suite. What we have is a dresser and nightstand that was mine when I was 19 and another nightstand that doesn't match exactly, but works, which was purchased (on clearance) at the Bombay Company before it went out of business. We also have several lamps. And no headboard. But our bedding is from Pottery Barn and is beautiful, so that makes me feel better about the whole situation.

Anyway, back to the nursery. I bought a book called "Baby Bargains 2011" the week after I found out I was pregnant. I love this book and would recommend it to any and all mamas to be out there. (It's also been featured on Oprah, that probably makes it more legit.) Among other things, the book lists furniture manufactuers with ratings, where the furniture is made, etc. It's really helpful, but it makes a decision filled with choices even more confusing.

My mom wanted me to go ahead and pick out a set for a boy and a girl so we went to Kids Furniture Plus because they have some of the best brands available (Young America, Romina, etc). However, unless you are prepared to spend about $2500 on baby furniture, you should probably look elsewhere. In my case (and at the request of Mama), elsewhere turned out to be a furniture wholesale store. I found two sets that both Chad and I like, that are made in the U.S.A. and are good quality by a manufacturer called Legacy Classic. It's not exactly cheap, but it's cheap-ER than buying from a baby boutique. My decision was sealed when I saw the EXACT furniture set on the Posh Tots website. The crib was retailing for around $900. Yeah, SOOOO not paying that! Price quote from the furniture store? $499. Oh another discovered secret - those fabulous overstuffed fabric gliders and matching ottomans that are prominently on display at places like Buy Buy Baby? They look like they are from Pottery Barn (which, by the way, got a very poor rating in the Baby Bargains book on their furniture) and have a price tag of about $500-600 for just the chair? Those chairs are made by Best Home Furnishings and you can get them at furniture wholesalers for $200-300 cheaper (and you can still choose your own fabric). You can't beat me baby furniture mercenaries!

So anyway...the point of this post is this: don't let the baby superstores and boutiques fool you. Do your homework, do some research, and listen to your mama. You can find exactly what you want at a price that won't hinder your baby from going to college one day. I'm excited to know which set I get to order - boy or girl!

Snoogle Me

So I'm still feeling good and I am 11 weeks today - the first trimester is about to be a distant memory and I am excited about all the fun the second trimester will bring. I think the second trimester will be the most fun, honestly. You get to feel the baby move, find out what the baby is, and start shopping and decorating without the responsibility of actually taking care of said baby. The third trimester will just be me in a virtual state of panic, I'm sure. Also, my child was compared to the size of a lime on thebump.com. I wonder when we will graduate to vegetables?

Things going on with us (me) at the moment:

1. I am IN LOVE with my pregnancy pillow, the Snoogle. I bought it right after I got pregnant and tried to use it while I had strep, but was so uncomfortable in general that I banished it to another room. After a few days of random insomnia this past week, I decided to give it another try. HEAVEN is a SNOOGLE. I hope our love affair lasts and would like the opportunity to pimp out the Snoogle to any other pregnant peeps out there. Go buy it.

2. I crave cereal and milk. I wish I could eat it 24/7 and have been all about some Honey Bunches of Oats. Last week it was Honey Nut Cheerios, before that Corn Flakes with bananas, and before THAT, Frosted Mini Wheats. I have no idea what will come after HBoO.

3. Sometimes my prenatal vitamin makes me gag. It has a wierd after taste, which goes away. I was told it was the amount of iron in the pill. Also, the bathroom at work makes me gag and Chad saying "rotten" almost made me vomit. SO STRANGE. 

4. I think my dogs know I'm pregnant. I don't know how they know, but I just think they know something is up. Jake follows me around more than usual (we live in a 1200 sq ft house, so I'm never really away from Jake, but if I'm not RIGHTTHERE, he will come find me. He also like to stretch out right beside me and sleep. Bless him.

5. I think I have decided on a crib set if it's a girl. Not so sure about the boy set yet. And don't even get me started on bedding/paint color/decorations. I am totally lost.

Also, I am wearing a maternity dress today, but it doesn't look like a maternity dress. I feel like it's too early to break out the maternity clothes, but my work pants are getting rather tight, so I'm focused on dresses at the moment. Which means I need to shave my legs all the time. I didn't shave my legs today.

Annnd that's about it. OH - Mother's Day...I actually got a present! My sweet husband bought me a gift certificate for a prenatal massage at Urban Nirvana! I will be using that sucker some time in the next few months! :)

A Wave

This has been such an exciting week for us. Chad graduated (magna cum laude, let me add) on Tuesday. He is the offical holder of a Bachelor's Degree and I could not be more proud. I would say that him going to school full time was easy as pie, but that would be a lie. It's been a hard couple of years, emotionally and finacially. There were many, many times when I thought (and said) how much easier it would be on everyone if he just found a job and forgot school. But my husband is the patient, perservering one in the relationship and I am so thankful for that. His work has paid off and I know that he is going to be an excellent teacher.

I believe that Baby Butler believes that, too. We got to see Baby B on Monday at our first OB appointment. The baby is healthy and thriving, although a little bit younger than I had originally calculated. I am 9 weeks pregnant today, instead of 11 weeks! Our due date has been moved from Thanksgiving week to December 8 - our Christmas miracle. As we were watching our little tadpole, he/she stuck an arm out and waved to us! I took that as a personal congratulations to Baby B's Baby Daddy. The little booger moved around the whole time and we heard the heart beating, which was amazing.

I was disappointed that my due date calculations were off because it feels like I'm moving backwards instead of forwards, but I have been so blessed during this pregnancy. I started on some prenatal vitamins (Flintstones are a thing of the past!) and I feel like they have increased my energy levels and even helped with the insane amount of hunger I was feeling. Even though I function better with a nap, I can also function without one. Amazing! I have not graduated to maternity gear yet, but a shout out to my sister-in-law who unloaded her whole maternity wardrobe on me last night. I am so thankful for her!

Even though it's unbelievable to me that there is a baby on the way, it's starting to become more and more real and less and less shocking. I'm still terrified, but know that this is part of God's plan for us. So thankful for a healthy baby!

Beastly

So I have been reading some blogs as of late and have come to realize how incredibly blessed Chad and I are to have had such an easy time getting pregnant. So many people have had such a hard time, even in their 20's & early 30's and my sexy husband and I just randomly did it and voila, I'm knocked up. And have been complaining about ever since. Which makes me feel like an ass. But I have reasons for it...let me explain.

When I hit the age of 24ish, I got fat for some reason. I had always had a really high metabolism, never worried about my weight, but for whatever reason, my metabolism decided to peace out, leaving me gaining all kinds of extra poundage and causing me to go from a cute size 4-6 to a not so cute 10-12. I went to the doctor to find out if I had some kind of tapeworm or thyroid problem, but the doc just said to exercise and eat right. BITE ME DOC. My husband proposed in '08 and I frantically lost about 30 lbs before the wedding, which left me smaller, yes, but still a good 20 lbs over my ideal weight.
The weight got really out of control and I finally decided that 2011 was the year of Baby Butler and I needed to be back at my goal weight prior to getting preggers. I was put on weight loss meds and supplements and was down 15 lbs by early March of this year. And then that little pink line appeared and I had to stop taking the meds (duh) and began to be hungry ALL THE TIME.

Long story short - I am overweight and pregnant. And that is not a good combo, not only because of the health risks, but because it generally makes you feel yucky and gross and pretty much like the most unattractive person on the planet. To top it off, I can't exercise right now due to instructions from my doctor to wait until our next ultrasound next week (due to some spotting during week 7).

I am trying my best to not eat the world, but it's hard. I'm so thankful that I don't have horrid morning sickness, but perhaps losing 10 or 40 lbs during the first trimester wouldn't be so bad. As of now, Week 9 is tomorrow and I've gained 4 lbs since quitting the meds after finding out I was pregnant March 23. Really, I don't know if I've actually gained any weight since I weighed myself after lunch one day and I have pretty bad pregnancy bloat. As soon as I'm given the okay by the doctor, I'm going on the elliptical as much as possible and doing some free weights. Hopefully that will help clear up my bloated self, too!

Luckily, other than vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup, I have been wanting mostly fresh fruits and veggies. We stopped by the produce stand on Saturday and bought some of the best strawberries I've had in a LOOONG time! I tore into those suckers - they are gone. Sorry Chad! :) I am very much looking forward to peach season!

This past week, my nephew turned a year old. I can't believe he's no longer a tiny preemie infant that I was a little scared to hold, but a toddler who is independent, stubborn, and pretty fearless. I love this kid to pieces...so much that I shared my ice cream cone with him yesterday. Actually, he stole it from me, but he's so cute, I just let him have it (and I had another one in the freezer).

When I found out my sister-in-law was pregnant with Brayden, I went through an array of emotions ranging from "yay!" to "she beat me to it!" Christy had my niece at a young age, so getting pregnant with Brayden was like a brand new experience for her. And THANK YOU JESUS that she went through it before me or I wouldn't have someone to turn to share my deep pregnancy fears (mostly involving whether or not I'm already a bad mother because I don't like being pregnant to gaining a couple of pounds already and crying on the phone to her about it) or answer questions about which wipes are the best. She has done nothing but reassure me, encourage me, and validate me. So thank you, my darling sister-in-law. I promise not to cry during my lunch break anymore. :)

Which brings me to my next point...when do the hormones shut off already? I have been pretty even tempered this whole time (yes, there have been some irrational moments, I'll take credit for those), but over the past few days, the hormones have kicked in BIG TIME. And by BIG TIME I mean HOLY CRAP. The littlest thing can set me off on a crying jag that would make Tammy Faye Baker look like a sane woman. That's one thing the pregnancy books don't really go into about expecting...that you should EXPECT some hormonal insanity! Or that you should EXPECT your boobs to blossom into something both frightful and painful. I have given up hugging indefinitely, y'all, in favor of a handshake. Or maybe a nice wave!

Week 8 has been an adventure...and Week 9 begins on Thursday. Help us Lord.

Morning sickness. It is week 8 and I have not barfed. And I can't tell you how thankful I am about this. After hearing horror stories from friends and relatives about terrible morning sickness, it was honestly my biggest fear about being pregnant. Other than the whole "being a mom forever thing." Oh and the delivery part.

Yes, I have gagged SEVERAL times over random things, but mostly my tummy has stayed pretty stable. The only things I seem to have an aversion to are my perfume, cigarette smoke, and French fries. I have been craving Frosted Mini Wheats and lemons, although not at the same time. I actually considered running into Bilo last Sunday morning with no bra to pick up some Frosted Mini Wheats. But my shame stopped me. I still have some of that left, even though I'm not sure how long it will last as my love for cereal grows to unknown proportions.

The fact that this whole post has been about food will show you what's on my mind all the time. Food and sleep. I went to bed at 7:15 last night (after eating, of course). I don't even think the geriatric crowd goes to bed that early but I couldn't help it. I did wake up for about an hour to read and eat a couple of mini Hershey bars, but then it was back to bed. I didn't know I could sleep that long without the aid of Benadryl! It's like my body wants to go into hibernation or something. Thankfully, I have a husband who is so understanding that he lets me sleep when I need to and takes care of everything else, including cleaning up the kitchen and the laundry.

Did I mention that I love love LOVE my husband? He is the best man ever and I am so proud of him...he graduates WITH HONORS in just a couple of weeks and then it's on to teaching some very lucky middle schoolers. I am very much looking forward to spending the next few days with him and going to look at some houses.

Oh, I didn't tell you? We're moving. More on that later...

It Only Takes One

Well...it is official. The saying "if you want to laugh, tell God your plans" is true. Chad and I planned on starting a family later in the summer, but obviously our timing was off...by 4 months according to my life calendar which is officially being thrown in the trash.
We found out on March 24 that I was pregnant with our first child! According to my possibly wrong due date program found online, I am due the week of Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Day to be more precise. Of course I am beyond thrilled but I hope I hold out to the week after Thanksgiving which will give me the opportunity to eat until I pass out on Turkey Day and then get up the next morning and push people around with my giant belly while Black Friday shopping. MAKE WAY FOR THE PREGNANT WOMAN!
The first couple of weeks of this pregnancy have been good. I have not suffered one bout of morning sickness, I have not exploded out of my current wardrobe into maternity clothes (I was worried), and despite a few cases of irrational anger directed towards the innocent, I have remained mostly even keel. Thank you Zoloft. Yes, I am still taking my daily meds. Judge me all you want. I did come down with a nasty case of strep last week, but am pretty much over it, thanks to a very sweet nurse practitioner, who also happens to be my cousin-in-law.

However...being pregnant is not all that fun. Despite worrying constantly about the little tadpole inside of you being okay and healthy, you also:

- have terrible gas
- have random narcolepsy
- have the energy level of Jabba the Hut
- get really hungry for random things...and you must eat the random things IMMEDIATELY or become incredibly nauseous...BUT don't eat too fast or too much or you will become nauseous as well
- have some serious mood swings
- end up with teenage pizza face (acne)
- turn into the most airheaded person imaginable
- read too many baby books and then freak out because you're doing everything wrong and the kid isn't even HERE yet

I know the bright side of all of this is a baby at the end. You know, after the painful labor and delivery. I'm just trying to survive until my next meal!

I hope to keep everyone updated of this next journey of Chad and me...and of course Baby B! ;)