The Nursery

Last weekend Matt and I finished up Ellis' nursery. The weekend before when we went to Conway, Matt & my dad worked on stripping and sanding a wardrobe for Ellis' room. Matt spent his evenings for the next week priming, painting, attaching a rail and attaching hardware to the wardrobe. The only thing left to put on it is the door, which my mom will be bringing up this coming weekend.

Here are pictures of the dresser and the rest of the room. All we need now is a little girl!

35 weeks!

Well, we made it to 35 weeks! Yay! Last Tuesday we went to see Dr. Fry and she said that the goal was 35 weeks and Saturday was that milestone! When we went to the doctor on Tuesday we got to see our sweet little girl on the ultrasound (yes, she's still a girl). She was measuring 5 pounds, 6 ounces, give or take a pound. Dr. Fry said that if she's born early and needs to go to the NICU that Northwest (where we will be delivering) isn't equipped for babies that are younger than 35 weeks so she'd be transferred to Willow Creek, which is 20 minutes away. But since we've hit this milestone then whenever she's born she should be able to stay at Northwest.

Dr. Fry checked me on Tuesday and I was still at 1 cm but Ellis is very low. Dr. Fry had to reach around Ellis' head to check to see if I was dilated. (That explains all the pressure I've been feeling lately!) Also at the appointment on Tuesday she increased my medicine to every 4 hours and recommended no more work for the rest of the week. I was only supposed to work one day so it worked out well. I do have to say that it's been kind of hard hanging around the house and laying low but it's completely worth it! It's been a lot easier with Matt around because he's taken on more than his share of the cooking, cleaning and laundry this week. (He's such a great husband!)

Here's a 35 week belly picture!

Conway Baby Shower

This past weekend we went to Conway for a baby shower for Miss Ellis. It was so much fun to see friends and family. We are so blessed to have people in our lives that care about our baby girl so much already!  Here are some pictures of the shower:

Cute decorations that Brittany made. She is so talented!

Cristina, Laura, Me, Megan & Mom

Just the Solberg girls

Kaye, Me & Adrienne

Brittany, Me & Sarah

I'm so glad that these two girls are my friends! I just love them!

The Hostesses: Pam, Brittany, Debra, Peggy and Judith

Two other hostesses aren't in the picture, Sandy and Betty

We had a great day on Saturday and I'm still trying to find a place for all of the goodies that we got!  Also, while us girls had fun at the shower Matt and my dad were working hard on refinishing a children's wardrobe for Ellis' room. It just needs some hardware and the door and then it'll be finished. I'll post pictures of the finished product later! 

32/33 Weeks

Last Wednesday afternoon, April 25, we went to the doctor for our 32 week check up. The appointment started out well with good blood pressure and Ellis' heart rate between 147 and 152. The doctor asked how things were going and I told her, "I'm sure it's nothing but those Braxton Hicks I've been having are becoming more frequent."  She asked, "How frequent?" I told her that I'm having about 5 to 6 contractions per hour.  After telling her that, Dr. Fry decided to check me and I was dilated to 1 cm. So, she prescribed me Procardia, which is blood pressure medicine that relaxes the heart but is also effective at relaxing the uterus. So far I've been taking the medicine every 6 hours and it's reduced the contractions to 1 or 2 per hour.  I've had my moments of being emotional about it and have worried plenty but have decided that I'm doing what the doctor recommended and it seems to be working. I'm just thankful for every extra day that she stays put! We'll go back to the doctor on Tuesday for an ultrasound to check Ellis' weight and for another check up.

The only pictures that I have from 32/33 weeks are from my shower so I'll put one below but it's not the best "belly" pic! 

Fun Facts about Ellis:  At 33 weeks, Ellis weighed a little over 4 pounds and has passed the 17 inch mark. She still moves around all the time and her little kicks are getting stronger!

30/31 Weeks

So as of yesterday we are 31 weeks! We are down to single digits in the weeks left before Ellis arrives, yay! Last Wednesday we went to the doctor for our 30 week appointment. From now on we'll go to the doctor every 2 weeks. She said that everything looked good and Ellis' heart rate ranged from 130 to 150. I guess she was excited! I didn't take a picture last week so a 31 week picture will have to do! (I'm posting this from the app on my phone so hopefully the picture will load)

Here's some fun facts about Ellis at 31 weeks!
She's should be a little over 16 inches long and weigh about 3.3 pounds. She gets the hiccups pretty regularly. She also LOVES to move around, especially once her momma is ready to lay down and rest!

Little by Little

So the nursery is coming along a little bit at a time. We still have a lot to do but over spring break I was able to complete 2/3 of the bedding (yay)! My friend, Erica, and I got together the first Sunday afternoon of break and took on the crib skirt. I'm so thankful that Erica is talented on the sewing machine and can make things without needing a pattern. After sewing with Erica, I was encouraged to get out my own machine. So, I decided that I would make the crib sheet and I have to admit it was a complete FAIL. I cut the fabric exactly to the tutorials measurements and it ended up being too small. I was a little disappointed but quickly decided that since I had left over material that I could make crib bumpers instead. After looking at tutorials online I pulled out my machine and got to work.  I have to say that the hardest part was turning the ties inside out but fortunately my wonderful husband was a whiz at it! I'm also thankful to my mother-in-law for ironing and manning the machine to make the ties while I cut out the remaining fabric. The process went so much faster with my sewing wenches!

Here's the finished crib skirt and bumpers: (All I have to do now is make a blanket)

Here are a few pictures of some other fun things that will be going in the nursery...

Decoupaged "E" that sits on the shelves above the crib

Mobile to hang above the crib

My great-grandpa made this cross for me for my baptism.  It needed some TLC so my grandma took it home when she visited in February.  She repainted it and put new pink & green strings on it.  I really love how it turned out and it will be a special item for Ellis' room.  

That's all for now on the nursery. It's been so much fun getting ready for Miss Ellis! We can't wait for her to get here!

28 Weeks

It's crazy to think that we're already 28 weeks this week! I know that technically 12 more weeks is still a long time but I can't help but think about the fact that my mom had me 3 weeks early and my grandma had her a month early! That perspective makes it seem like we really don't have that much time. Not to mention that I've been working on the nursery but it's not anywhere close to being done! (More on that in the next post)  So here's the belly picture you've all been waiting for... I don't think it really does justice to how much I've grown in the past month but I'll let you be the judge.

28 Weeks

Saturday March 24, 2012

• Ellis weighs about 2 1/4 pounds and measures approximately 14.8 inches
• She can blink her eyes & may be able to see light
• She moves around constantly, which can sometimes be uncomfortable but for the most part is comforting to this momma!

Last Wednesday I went to the doctor for my 27 week check up. I had only gained 3 pound this month and I passed my glucose test (YAY!)! I've been having some dizzy spells lately but the doctor said that my blood pressure was on the low side of normal so if anything she thinks it's caused by low blood pressure when I stand up after sitting. So she said to just get up slowly and if I get dizzy to sit down for another minute. Ellis' heart rate was 143 bpm, which is pretty consistent with what it has been. I'll go back in 2 weeks for a 30 week appointment and then after that I'll go every 2 weeks.