My follow-up to the first BF post

So this is a follow-up to this post.

We made it. We made it six months. Well, almost six months. I am saying six months because we got pretty close. I have to say that I am proud of our family of three. I say I am proud of all three of us because it took me sacrificing my body and time, Preston learning to master nursing, and Brian coping with it all :) Mostly coping with me and being supportive.

As of right now, Preston is officially weaned. It was much easier than I thought it would be, and it only took about a week. In a way, this was bad for me, or should I say Brian, because my hormones went CRAZY because we stopped fairly quickly. I have kind of been stretching out my feedings and pumpings so that it wouldn't be like that, but I don't think it can really be avoided.

My plan was to wean at 6 months, but truthfully, Preston kind of weaned himself. It got to the point where he was much more interested in the food in his highchair than he was in his mom. I am glad it went this way, because it could have been so much worse. Preston just wasn't interested in doing it anymore, and of course, I am not going to push it. In fact, I am pretty sure it was harder on me than it was him. I would bring him to me, and he would just look around and pull away, and was totally distracted. I interpreted that as, "Mom, I'm over this. I am almost 6 months old. Can I have bananas?"

I had a few friends ask me if I was sad that BFing is over. I say no, because I never really liked it that much anyway. But, then when I think about it, maybe I am a little. I think what I am sad about is that he isn't a tiny baby anymore. I think I would feel that way no matter what. So, with that said, I will definitely breastfeed again although that won't be anytime soon. Who knows what challenges with BFing our next child will face, but I can go into it with confidence because I know I conquered it the first time. However, the #1 thing having a child has taught me is that YOU CANNOT PLAN FOR EVERYTHING.

So... bring on the drinks, the caffeine, the dieting, my old wardrobe and a renewed sense of freedom!

Where is my baby?

What a week. This weekend we headed to Atlanta to celebrate our friends' wedding. We left Preston overnight for two nights. It was the first time ever we were both away from him overnight. He stayed with his Mimi and Mook. He went right out of my arms and had a fun weekend like we were never even separated.

When I first had Preston, I remember feeling an overwhelming sense of insecurity. He needed me (and his daddy) for everything. He couldn't hold up his head, he couldn't eat without us, he only drank milk, he cried and cried and our attempts to soothe him were countless. How could I possibly give him everything he needed? I remember wishing for him to grow bigger, to gain independence, to just grow past this newborn phase so that he would be more comfortable. Preston is such an active baby, I felt like we would all be happier when he could DO more.

Here I am, eating my words.

As of this weekend, Preston is crawling. Yes, he decided to crawl for the first time while we were in Atlanta. He got up in the crawling position and took a few crawls forward, lunging his body trying to go as far as he could. His eyebrows go up, and he gets this determined look on his face. From the moment he first crawled, it became an obsession with him. It is ALL he wants to do. He is a boy on a mission. When he moves, you can see such a sense of pride on his face. Of course, when he crawled the best we couldn't get it on video, but you get the idea.



In addition to the new found freedom of crawling, he is eating his food in a highchair. He looks so big in the highchair. Sitting proudly, easily opening his mouth and eating whatever we put in front of him. It doesn't matter - fruits or veggies - he loves it all. Then last night, I decided I would just hand him a sippy cup with some water in it to see what he would do. He immediately grabbed it, held it perfectly, lifted it up to his mouth and took several sips of water, in between the green peas he was taking down. I was in awe.

I looked at my baby this morning as Brian and I were getting ready for work. He was wearing a navy blue Polo shirt and khaki shorts, crawling across our bed. He just looked SO big. I know I will have more moments like these - when I look at him and can't believe how big my baby is. I was talking to Brian about this a little last night while I was rocking Preston before bed. I told him that no matter how big he gets, I want to always remember how small he once was, how dependent he was on us, and how special this time in our life was.

When he was a newborn, I used to think "How do people forget this?" Everyone says you do. Now, I am beginning to forget what it was like to have a tiny baby, nursing round the clock, that feeling of insecurity. Our boy is growing up before our very eyes. And it is so bittersweet. His belly laugh just melts my heart.



In other news, our first weekend away from him was actually kind of nice. People kept asking me if it was hard, and it really wasn't. I knew he was in good hands, and Brian and I needed some quality time together. We stayed in a nice hotel in the Buckhead area, spent time together and spent time with his college friends. But, when I woke up Sunday morning, my heart hurt. I really needed to see him again. I am pretty sure I could not have made it three nights. I was relieved to make it back safely to this big boy who looked fatter, longer, and more grown up. We really love him so much and Brian and I were all over him when we saw him again :)

Advice for BFing Moms

Hope this post isn't too TMI for some of you! You've been warned :)

So, I've been breastfeeding for a little over 4 months now. Recently, I have had a lot of friends ask me about it, especially those expecting little ones. I thought I would do a post for my expecting friends, or soon-to-be-expecting friends ;) with a few things that helped me when it came to breastfeeding.

First of all, let me start out by saying that breastfeeding (BFing) is one of the hardest things I have ever done. It is a huge sacrifice, it hurts, and it is not the "madonna and child" experience books and TV will have you believe it is. It took 8 days for my milk to come in... every book says it usually takes 3-5, so we had to supplement with formula from the beginning. Then, he wanted to nurse around the clock. My body couldn't handle it, so I pretty much pumped around the clock. Because I did this, it seriously affected my supply. In looking back, I should have pushed through the pain and nursed rather than pumped. To this day I still have supply issues. I have never exclusively breastfed and that is okay. Most important piece of advice - IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. Not every baby is either formula fed or breastfed. For Preston, we do both and it works for him. Formula is not poison. Crazy how some moms think that it is! And he still gets majority breastmilk, so he is still getting all the benefits.

I have to say that through all the trials of BFing, it is one of the things I am most proud of in my life. Brian is really proud of me too. Preston loves it, and those are the things that keep me going.

So, here are a few of the things you will need if you want to BF:

1) A good pump. I have this one and I love it. Couple tips about pumping in general... you will have a better result with it plugged into the wall, rather than on battery mode. Also, you have to change out the batteries A LOT, which can get pricey since it takes 8 double A batteries, so another reason to plug in. Also, I have never been a good pumper. Preston can always get more than the pump can. I mean, my pump is top of the line, but according to my pediatrician and my lactation consultant, some people just aren't good pumpers. How long do I pump at each sitting? Usually about 10-15 minutes.

2) BFing accessories. They are expensive, but unfortunately in the beginning, I found many of them necessary. The boppy pillow was a must. I still use it to nurse him when I'm at home, although I have mastered nursing him without it. Also, a nursing cover is a must. For actual feedings, I needed a nipple shield (yes, I laughed when I first heard this term too). These are great because every time Preston latched onto me, I screamed and cried in pain. Don't want to scare you... just being real. This helped take some of the pain away. I used them for about 3 weeks, because I was tough enough to let him nurse without any assistance. Also, forget the topical gels like this - I needed something stronger. There is this stuff called Dr. Brown's Nipple Ointment and your doctor can write a prescription for it. It has to be made at a compound pharmacy which takes a few days, but it is lanolin mixed with ibuprofen. It helps when there is bruising and it soothes too. It works great! If you want to store and freeze your milk, I recommend NUK storage bags. They are cheaper than others and do the job. I get mine from Target. Also, the first month I leaked a lot. I found that these pads were by far the best, but I was going through like 6 a day. It was getting to be expensive. My mom can sew, so I had her cut up the centers of some cloth diapers into round pads that I could throw in the washing machine. These were much more economical and so much more absorbent. I didn't have to change them nearly as much.

3) Last thing...nursing clothes. These tops from Target. I bought like 8 of them in different colors and still wear them almost daily. When you BF, your whole wardrobe has to accommodate it and these paired with cardigans made it easy! If I could go back in time, I would have prepared my wardrobe for nursing while I was "nesting" for Preston. Now, I try to wear things that button down or loose fitting, or these shirts also from Target.

4) Be prepared when you're in the hospital. When you pack your hospital bag for delivery, don't forget: boppy pillow, your pump, and a couple nursing tanks.

5) A support system. This was key for me. My mom was this person for me. She was by my side in the beginning when I would just cry and cry over nursing. But when a nursing session would go well, she would be the first person I would celebrate with. Having someone who has done it before and who you are very comfortable with, makes it so much better. Additionally, Brian was really there for me through it all. When you're BFing, it is 100% on you. So, Brian would change all the diapers, get up in the middle of the night and be with me while I nursed him, etc. He was amazing through the tough times, and it still so supportive of me in my quest to nurse.


Now, a few other pointers. My pediatrician's office has a lactation consultant on staff. This was a big plus for me, as I have visited her once, and called her a few times. This is definitely something to look into when you are looking for your pediatrician.


As for boosting your milk supply, I have talked to two different lactation consultants and learned so much, so I am excited to pass this on. If you have supply issues like me, there are ways to try to boost your supply. A few of these really worked for me!

1) Fenugreek. Buy it at GNC and take 3 pills, 3 times a day. Worked like a charm! I will warn you, fenugreek is a natural decongestant, so I have had a runny nose for like 2 months now!

2) Mother's Milk Tea or Milkmaid Tea. You can buy these at Whole Foods. I prefer Mother's Milk, because it is cheaper and has all the same ingredients. I also think the taste is a little better, although both are pretty bitter.

3) My OBGYN gave me this tip: After the last feeding of the night, and the baby is put to bed, pump. For the first week or so, you won't get anything, but after a while, you will slowly start getting more. I did this, and went from getting about an ounce every night to four to five ounces. Also, pumping in general is supposed to help boost your supply, but I never really saw the benefits from that.

4) Oatmeal and almonds. One of the lactation consultants at the children's hospital where I worked told me about these. I eat two of them a day, in between the fenugreek pills. They have everything breastfeeding moms need for a supply boost - almonds, oats, flax seed. When I was on maternity leave, I would eat a big bowl of oatmeal every morning. My friend also made me oatmeal cookies. I would also just eat raw almonds all the time. All of these helped.


BFing is hard, but it does get easier and you learn to live your life while nursing. It takes a while, but you really do. Hope this list helps some of those preparing to BF! I am also glad I got all this down, so that I will remember for next time :)

Our Fav Baby Items

I have a few favorite baby items. These are BY FAR not the necessities (aka diapers, wipes, carseat, infant seat, clothes etc.), but I thought it would be a fun to document some of the stuff we have enjoyed using with P as an infant.

1) The video monitor: For centuries (slight exaggeration), people have been using regular sound monitors if they even used monitors at all. If this isn't a budget-buster item for you (or if you have really sweet grandparents that want to purchase this for you) it is so awesome to have. We LOVE ours and now cannot imagine life without it. I can see his chest rising and falling and know he is sleeping soundly.

2) Playmat: We use this everyday. Preston loves his. I almost didn't register for one, because I thought it wasn't really a needed item. However, it is one of P's most favorite items. He does tummy time on it, is learning to grab the toys on it, and loves to look at himself in the mirror attached to it.

3) Safety 1st Diaper Pail: This pail is so much cheaper than the others, and it takes regular trash bags. It works AWESOME. Considering every time I take out the trash in P's room I almost gag, this completely masks any smells. It works great.

4) Wipes Warmer: SO many people say this is one of those stupid baby items, but I swear it makes a difference. Usually, P cries when we change his diaper.... but not when we use warm wipes!

5) Pacifier clip: Moms-to-be... buy this immediately. We went several weeks without one and after bending down to pick up pacifier after pacifier, then disinfecting it every time, we wised up and got one of these. Such a small, silly thing, but it is great.

6) Johnson's Bedtime Lotion: This lotion smells like lavender. It kind of makes P smell like a girl, but it is soothing and it smells so good. It supposedly helps them sleep, but who knows.

7) Inchbug orbit labels: These were a gift from my friend's mom, and they are awesome. We have them on all of P's bottles and can keep using them over and over for stuff. Here is the link to order them... I think I might order some for a few upcoming baby showers.

8) Sleep Sacks: P sleeps in one every night. I am always nervous about him being cold at night and this solves the problem. I like these better than the swaddleme's because P always somehow squirmed out of that one, but can't get out as easily in the sacks.

9) Nightlight: You have to have one in your baby's room. Like the pacifier clip, we didn't have one right away and after turning on the lamp time after time and really waking P up, the nightlight solves the problem.

Those are just a few of the things that we have come to rely on with a newborn. Maybe they will help some of you who are expecting!

Big Day and Visiting the Grandparents

Preston now has a normal belly button! Thank goodness... that stump was gross. I took a picture of his belly, sent a text to Brian that said "Does my belly look different to you?" Brian's response back was "Wow. Big day. Now we should be able to do regular baths right?" It does, but we still haven't given him a for real bath. We have been giving him sponge baths because I am nervous I will drop him or drown him. Crazy, I know.

Here is my sweet boy sleeping in his lamb chair - another one of the "must-have" baby items. Love that cute belly.

On Sunday, Preston went to Mimi and Mook's house for the first time. We were celebrating my brother Joe's birthday. We were supposed to celebrate it January 30, but we all know why that got canceled :) Here is a little video of his visit...

What You're In For

Recently, a blog I read had a post titled What You're In For when it comes to having a baby.

I couldn't have said it better myself. The love, the exhaustion, the advice, stopping to enjoy the small things, and lastly, investing in comfortable clothes (especially if you are nursing!)

I told someone the other day that even though I have been a mom for only three weeks, I already feel like I could write my own book on my experiences. Well... on my experiences with PRESTON. So many things I have experienced in the last three weeks aren't in any books, websites or Google searches, or were a part of the HUGE amount of advice I received prior to Preston's arrival. In fact, one of the best things I did was put the books away. None of them have the answers. Babies are all so different. I just had to rely on my instinct and Brian's instinct and have the confidence that we know our little boy.

I thought I would take a minute to add to the What You're In For list based on our experiences, partly because I don't want to be one of those that hands out unsolicited advice to pregnant friends. Plus, my blog is kind of my life scrapbook and I want to remember how I felt as a new mom.

1. Enjoy your pregnancy. Seriously, enjoy it. Pregnancy is wonderful. You have all the joy and excitement of a new mom, but the freedom of a regular person. If you think you aren't sleeping now, get ready. Go out to eat as much as you can, go on dates with each other, run errands, and stay as active as possible. I stayed so busy during my pregnancy, that I swear it is the reason that three weeks post-delivery, I am back in my pre-maternity jeans. I really enjoyed pregnancy, and will always look back on it happily.

2. Labor and delivery - it is completely out of your control. Let it go. It is totally up to your baby. Think about that. When I was pregnant, I was progressing on my own, getting great reports, and thought for sure Preston was coming vaginally. When things didn't work out like I planned and I was told I would be having a c-section I was so bummed. Looking back, that was so silly. I should have never been upset. Preston wasn't coming without a c-section. Now, I don't even think about how he came into the world. He is here, he is healthy and he is ours.

3. Newborns are hard. And don't feel guilty for thinking it. Preston's first two weeks of life were some of the hardest, longest, exhausting (physically and mentally), scary, and overwhelming days of my entire life. I felt guilty because I had a beautiful, healthy baby boy... why was I not enjoying this more? People kept telling me, it will get better, it will get better, but I couldn't see the forest through the trees. Before I knew it, my body started adjusting to no sleep, my hormones calmed down, and I realized, "Hey, I CAN do this." But it took me a good two weeks to feel that way.

4. Breastfeeding - this is the one that I could really go on about. But of course, I won't. All I will say is that I'm still not really enjoying breastfeeding yet. It's painful, time consuming, and left me with a lonely feeling. It's not something anyone can help me with. How long I will breastfeed, I don't know, but I don't plan on giving up anytime soon. I feel too invested, because Preston and I both have worked hard at it and are slowly getting better. No part of breastfeeding comes easily or quickly. It requires patience, which for those of you that know me, is not a personality characteristic of mine. Preston and I faced our own challenges with breastfeeding. My body couldn't (and still can't) keep up with his incessant need to eat and we still have to supplement with formula occasionally. Brian was awesome through this, because at first, I was bummed because breastfeeding didn't go like I envisioned and we were having to give him formula. But, my husband, in his infinite wisdom said, "Cami, it's the difference between steak and cheeseburger." He is really right. If it doesn't go like you plan, it's fine. In the words of our pediatrician, "It doesn't matter what you do. He is going to grow up. That's what humans do."

I do want to say that while being a new mom is scary, I see this face and I melt.

This may sound silly, but he looks at me with those big blue eyes and I see so much love for his mommy. Sometimes I feel so inadequate... I think, "Preston, you are so precious to me. How can your dad and I ever give you what you deserve?" But then I think about all the people that love him and know that he has so many things in his life to look forward to. I think we're doing a pretty good job so far and through the trials of raising a newborn, I've learned that I have more patience than I thought I had, more love than I knew I could give, and am a lot stronger than I thought I was.

Preston - you are HARD, but your daddy and I love you more than you will ever know.

39 Weeks

Preston is the size of a watermelon... WHOA

Preston is ready to meet the world. Just continuing to fatten up. His movements have slowed a lot since he officially has no more room to move, but he is still active enough for me to know he is okay.

Here's what he looks like in there:

Cramped and uncomfortable. Me too, bud.

My contractions have really picked up and we have been timing them, but they are never close together enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. My body has broken out into an awful rash called PUPPP. It is totally unbearable. I've been using steroids and topical treatments, but the only real cure is delivery, so we wait. I constantly pray to go into labor. Last time I went to the doc (Tuesday 1/25), I am still fully effaced and was 2.5 cm dilated. I am so over pregnancy and so ready to be a mom. The discomfort in having a huge stomach, the itching from the rash, and the painful contractions are enough to make anyone go crazy. I take comfort in knowing that at the most, I only have 5 more days of this and we can finally meet our son.

This is our last Saturday as Brian, Cami and Brother. It is a BEAUTIFUL 65 degrees and sunny here in Memphis, so we plan to spend some time doing a few chores, going on a long walk, and spending some time on our new screened-in patio. :)

Here's what I look like at 39 weeks:

39 down, 1 to go!!!!!

38 Weeks

Preston is the length of a leek!

We know from our last appointment that he's getting close to 7 lbs. This week, he can firmly grasp objects with his hands. Can't wait to hold his little hand!



I am feeling good and am just so ready for him to come! I have really enjoyed pregnancy in so many ways and feel so blessed to have gotten pregnant. Brian and I both have a feeling he isn't coming until his due date and will be forced out :) I just haven't felt any noticeable changes lately and I still feel well, so I can't imagine him coming any sooner. We did confirm with our doc and the hospital that we have to be at the hospital at 4 a.m. the morning of the 4th. I don't know how we are going to get any sleep the night before... we will be way too excited.

We have everything ready to go. His room is completely finished, the pack-n-play and swing are set up, our hospital bags are packed.... not to mention that we are mentally ready for sleepless nights, diaper changing, and feedings. I guess as mentally ready as you can be :)

Here I am at 38 weeks:

38 down, 2 to go!

Memphis Baby Shower

A few weekends ago, the Keller's, Coughlin's, Stringer's and Owen's threw us a baby shower. We got so much great stuff for Preston. Clothes, diapers, a carseat, stroller, pack-n-play and all kinds of great books and toys. We had so many friends and family there and it was a day we will always remember. It was awesome and Brian and I are so thankful!

Us with our parents

Us with Preston's godparents, Robyn and Robert.

Us with the hosts of the shower

Opening gifts for P

Love The Giving Tree!

Cute onesie from my brother Joe... he plays the drums :)

Us with my brothers and Brian's sisters

Preston has more stuff than we know what to do with. Thanks family and friends!

Weekly Doc Appointment

Went to the doctor today. I was pleasantly surprised to get to SEE Mr. P! My doctor wanted to know his size so that we could make sure there wasn't a need to induce sooner. I was super excited to get an ultrasound. Of course, Brian was super upset that he missed it! He hates when they spring stuff on us at the doc, because he never knows when to go to an appointment or when to stay at work.

So, according to the ultrasound where they measure everything, today Preston is 6 lb., 14 oz!

Can't believe I am walking around with an almost 7 pound baby in my belly. They think that at his delivery date, Feb. 4 (we aren't changing it), he'll be about 7 and a half pounds. Amazing!

I asked if I could see his face, knowing it would be hard to see it because he is SO LOW. The ultrasound tech worked her magic and I got to see his profile again, this time with a much chubbier face :) He was chewing on his fingers. Seeing him chew his little fingers made my heart melt. The ultrasound tech also said that he has got some legs! Apparently, they were measuring a little long... how funny, because Brian and I are both not the tallest people :) Maybe he will grow into them. I did get a couple pictures, but they really aren't great.. you can't see anything.

After I left and got in my car, I wish I had asked if she could see any hair on his head. Oh well, some things have to wait for the big day!

37 Weeks... Full Term

Preston is 37 weeks and the length of swiss chard...

His estimated weight is over 6 lbs and he should be over 19 inches long. His lungs are developed and if he came tomorrow, he should not have to spend any extra time in the hospital. It's great to get to this point. He also SHOULD have hair on his head, but we'll have to wait until he is born to know for sure. Here is what his scrunched-self looks like this week:


As for me, sleeping has officially stopped. I am up multiple times throughout the night. I can get comfortable, I am just running to the bathroom lots these days. Nesting mode has set in for us. Brian and I are trying to finish up all the last minute stuff before P comes... running errands, stocking our house with basic essentials for us, etc. I think once he is here, I will be holed up in our house with him, so having extra of all our basic living items has to help, right? I am feeling noticeable changes to my body... won't go into detail, but I can definitely tell I am close to having this baby.

And because this is an exciting day (according to my fortune cookie) Brian went all out on the photos of me this week. Here are a few angles of the full term belly! (Also, can you tell I am 9 months pregnant???? There is snow outside and I am wearing a tank top!)

My stomach will probably never be the same. But who cares?!

37 down, 3 to go!!!!!!

Fortune Cookie

Brian picked up chinese take-out for us last night. This was my fortune cookie... could it be a sign?!

I braved the snow...

for my weekly appointment and got some great news! I am 100% effaced and 2 cm dilated. Go Preston! In case he doesn't decide to come on his own in the next few weeks, we scheduled his induction for Friday, February 4, his due date. Pretty exciting to know that I am NOT going past my due date and I've started labor on my own :)

Very worth the drive to the doctor's office in several inches of Memphis snow.

Happy Snow Day everyone!

36 Weeks & Progress

Preston is the size of a crenshaw melon... whatever that is.

Basically, he weighs almost 6 lbs and is 18.5 in long. P is head down and very low. He is still moving like crazy though. We go to the doctor once a week and hear his heartbeat. It never gets old :) Just one more week and he will be full term. Pretty exciting!



As for me, I'm 9 months pregnant! I am feeling okay for being so pregnant I guess... for some reason, I threw up yesterday morning right when I woke up. It was my first time to get sick through the whole 9 months. I have heard about 3rd trimester nausea, so I know it's nothing to be alarmed about. I am feeling lots of pressure very low. I am going to the doctor weekly now for check-ups, and at my check-up on Thursday, I was already 50% effaced, which was great news for 36 weeks! That explains some of the pressure I have been feeling. I almost feel like I am walking around with a bowling ball between my legs (sorry if that is a little graphic - it's the only thing I can compare it to!)

At this point, I could have him any day, although most first time moms go past their due date. I'm feeling scared and anxious. I am getting really scared about the birth. I know people do it everyday, but I think it is pretty normal to feel scared. I just really want Preston to be okay. Brian and I were talking the other night and he was saying how he couldn't wait to hold him for the first time. I told him that I was excited for that moment too, but I feel like I have a mountain to climb before I can get to that point :) My goal for the next few weeks is to relax, have Brian give me lots of back rubs, put my feet up, and enjoy these last few weeks of pregnancy.

Here I am at 36 weeks:

36 down, 4 to go!

Nursery Progress: Chapter 3

We have been working HARD at our new house. I can't believe how much we have accomplished in one month! Specifically on our master bedroom and P's room. I will post some before and after pictures of the master bedroom soon. We still need to hang some things on the wall and move out a workshop full of tools that is set up next to our bed :) BUT I do have a nursery update.

This is what the nursery looked like before we moved in.

This is the old owners stuff. I am not sure if you can tell by the picture, but the walls are dingy, off-white and the trim around the windows and floor is mustard. (Yes, mustard. It's everywhere in our house. We think the old owners must have gotten a deal on mustard paint.) BUT, what Brian and I saw when we walked into the room was the POTENTIAL for a beautiful nursery for our first born. We saw the three pretty windows and how light flowed into the room. When you look out the windows, it feels like you are in a tree canopy since it is on the 2nd floor. Then we saw this:

Chaos? Yes, but really it's a huge walk-in closet that Preston can grow into with a window inside.

The first thing we tackled was the paint. Here is daddy-to-be putting on the first coat. You can get a good look at the trim all over our house in this pic :)

We even had a little help from our friends the Pela's :) I cannot thank Robyn and JM enough for helping us with P's room. They are like family to us! I am sure JM will love that I posted this pic of him, haha.

As for the color, we went with Benjamin Moore's Gray Horse. I wrote a little post on the paint we chose - Natura. Turns out it is awesome! It has no smell to it at all, and since it is chemical free, I could even help paint the nursery. For the trim and windows, we chose Ben Moore's White Dove. It is white with just a hint of tan to it, although it looks very white in person. We also painted the ceilings and the closet a basic white to freshen everything up. We are big Benjamin Moore fans now and plan on using it throughout.

I am going to wait to show you the total picture when we are finished (which should be very soon!), but here are a few accessories we've picked out for the nursery.

The first is the rug... this was a tough one. In fact, we even lived with a rug from Capel Rugs in there for a day before deciding that it wasn't what we wanted. Finally, we decided on this one from Pottery Barn Kids in a 7 x 9 in navy.

We love the idea of gray, yellow and navy as the prominent colors for the nursery. We'll also be throwing in small amounts of green. These colors blend with our plans for the rest of the house. We liked this rug, because we thought he could grow into it. It isn't too baby, but it is still soft enough to play on and crawl around on.

Now for fabrics. I didn't want a traditional bed-in-a-bag for the crib. I relied on the efforts of my mom, who is an expert sewer to make us custom bedding for the crib. On a side note, it means a lot that she did this for us. It makes his crib so special and we can't thank her enough. For the crib skirt, we used this fabric from Ikea and I really love it!

We put it with a white crib sheet, a white super soft bumper, and a monogrammed blanket to hang over the side. It's perfect and I love it. Every night I look at his crib and I can't wait to have him in there!

Then we are using other miscellaneous Ikea fabrics for projects like an ottoman, window treatments, pillows, etc. Here are a few of those:

Next are picture frames from Ikea to brighten up the gray walls... we went with the navy, sky blue, and white.

Also, I have to say, what did I do before Etsy came along? Thanks to that website, we have found lots of cute things for P's room. Here are a few of them...

I didn't want a traditional mobile for his room, so what is more fun than these hanging from the ceiling above the crib?! For the colors, we went with white, gray and yellow. They are SO FUN and are much more interesting than a regular mobile.

We really wanted fun art to dress up the gray walls, and when I found these on etsy, I could not resist. I mean, how sweet is that?

Next up, I found this Italian alphabet poster that seemed to fit the color scheme perfectly. I love the idea of hanging this in P's room, because he has a little Italian in him and I studied Italian as a music major in college.

Some of the things I am most excited about are the very meaningful pieces we are adding to his nursery. We are hanging a piece of art that hung in Brian's nursery, family pictures, a few quotes that I have always loved, and lots of other items to make it more personal.

His closet has also gotten a huge makeover and we have some fun plans for it, since it is soooo big. I did five loads of laundry this weekend for Preston and put away all his little clothes, blankets, and burp clothes. I set up his changing table with all the stuff needed to change diapers and keep him clean :) While Brian was at the Liberty Bowl cheering on the Dawgs (pathetic game), I even put together his Little Lamb Infant Seat. It is so precious and I can see him snuggling in it.

It is all coming together so nicely and we should be done very soon so stay tuned!

35 Weeks on NYE

Preston is the size of a honeydew melon!

He is over 18 inches long and weighs around 5 and 1/4 lbs. His kidneys and liver are fully developed and working like they will outside of my belly. Most of his physical developments are complete. Now it's all about gaining weight. Here is what he looks like in there:

I had a great week and am feeling good. My blood pressure is still in the low-normal range, still haven't felt any contractions (false or real), still a little anemic, and still not getting a solid night's sleep. I am up about every 3 hours. My heartburn is not as bad (thank goodness - hope that keeps up!) Just feeling big, clumsy and awkward, but that is to be expected. From here on out, I am at the doctor every week getting "checked". This pregnancy is just flying by! We spent some of Christmas day with my family watching him move around in my belly. His movements are so big now, you can see little elbows, hands, knees and feet jabbing out just by looking at my stomach.

Speaking of Christmas day, for a child that is not even here yet, Preston was seriously spoiled by his family. Everyone from grandparents, great-grandparents, cousins, aunts, and uncles got him stuff. I didn't really think about this until this past weekend, but Preston is the first boy born in Brian's family since Brian! I think all the little girl cousins are excited :)

Here I am at 35 weeks:

35 down, 5 to go!

Merry Christmas from the Fields Fam

As we prepare to welcome
our little blessing in early February,
we wish you many blessings for the Christmas season
and 2011.

Thanks to Candice Tate for the beautiful photos :)

34 Weeks on Christmas Eve

Preston is the size of a cantaloupe at 34 weeks!

This week, he is weighing in at 4 and 3/4 lbs and is almost 18 inches long. His fat layers are filling out, making him rounder. His nervous system and lungs are maturing. He is still sooo active! I went to the doctor this week and he is measuring right on track and had a heartbeat in the 150s! The BEST part of the appointment was when she went to hear his heartbeat, she put the wand on my belly and suddenly, Preston got the hiccups! So we heard WOMP, WOMP, HICCUP! WOMP, WOMP, HICCUP! You could actually HEAR him hiccup. It was so cool and made us all laugh. I was so glad Brian was there to hear it. Preston feels so big in my stomach, like he has absolutely no room in there at all. I even had the doctor double check that he was normal size... haha! I am sure that is a total first-time mom thing. All his jabs and pokes to my ribs really made me think he was bigger in there. I was happy to hear he is right on track though :)

This week, I'm feeling pretty good. Just growing! Still doing well with the weight gain at 22 lbs so far. Also, no stretch marks at all so far (thank goodness!) Putting on socks and shoes is hard! I envy summer pregnancies where women get to wear flip flops everyday! But then you would have to deal with the heat, which would be no fun (especially with my swelling issues!) People always ask me, "Are you ready for him to be here???" I am excited to meet him, but am perfectly happy if he stays in there a little while longer :) It would be nice for him to grow a little bit bigger and for Brian and I to prepare a little bit more.

Here I am at 34 weeks:

34 down, 6 to go!! (Wow, only 6?!?!)