Bump Day: 41 weeks! (Aka Birth Day!)

Just a quick post from the hospital to let y'all know that * Forest Alexander * was born at 10:22 yesterday morning, after 5 hours of labor and 2 big pushes. He is quite a little man, weighing only 5 lbs, 15 oz. Because he's so small and seems to be spitting up a lot and not retaining blood sugars, they are taking care of him in the neonatal ward for now. 

We are hoping to supplement his colostrum with high calorie formula until my milk comes in. It's been a bit of an emotional 24 hours, but we will do whatever it takes to make sure our boy is healthy and happy. 

There's lots more to this story and I will be happy to share it with you just as soon as we get home from the hospital. Until then, your thoughts and prayers are appreciated!!

Nursery Reveal

Hey there! Yep, you guessed it…I’m still pregnant. I had a disheartening midwife appointment on Friday in which she informed me that I haven’t dilated one bit, not even one measly centimeter. So, since I don’t have any baby announcements for you, I figured I’d give you a sneak peak at our nursery reveal.

The room is basically complete except for the ‘above crib’ décor.  We plan on putting a banner or wooden letters with his name above the crib, and since he won’t officially have a name until he’s born, we are waiting to order this until after his arrival. Also, my friend April made us an amazing hot air balloon mobile for above the crib that hasn't been hung yet. It needs to be touched up after it's plane ride across the Atlantic and I just haven't had the domestic inclination to sew lately. But trust me, it's adorable. 

And now, on to the nursery photos.

From the doorway:

 The dresser/changing table:

The $90 Ikea wardrobe:

My desk, which happens to match the nursery furniture quite perfectly:

The crib:

The glider/nursing corner:

Still Pregnant...

Well, I’m still pregnant... 

I’m trying to enjoy the quality time with my mom, but for some reason, a ton of things with our house and cars have gone wrong this week, and so we’ve been mostly housebound waiting on repairmen who give you bogus timeframe windows like ‘I’ll be there sometime between 12-6’. This was made even more painful by the fact that today was a perfect fall day outside and yet we were stuck watching the minutes tick by, waiting for someone to come and fix our boiler. Sheesh. 

At least I have my mom here to keep me company, and despite our frequent episodes of house arrest, we’ve been able to get out and see some sights. We’ve been taking a walk every day, which is so nice at this time of the year.   

Autumn in Aberdeen is just spectacular. It’s always been my favorite season, but here the fall colors are just so vibrant and the air is so crisp, it is the hands down the most invigorating time of year. 

Plus, my mom brought a bunch of pumpkin flavored goodies from the States to put me in an even more festive fall mood. 

I’m so glad that baby boy will have his birthday at this time of year (though the reality that our ‘October’ baby might end up a ‘November’ baby has me on a major bummer elevator going down). Just so long as he isn’t a ‘Halloween’ baby, I’m OK.

The best thing about visitors from the States are all the goodies from America that they bring.Thanks to my mom, we are now restocked with Rotel, cornbread mix, seasonal M&Ms and low-fat popcorn . 

And, she flew through Paris and brought me these special treats.

Best. Mom. Ever.

Plus, we are two seasons behind on Dexter, which she’s helping to remedy by bringing us season 7 on DVD. 

And she brought the complete series of Dawson’s Creek (!!!!!) (Jonathan would like me to clarify that Dawson's Creek was actually a belated birthday gift from him that he had my mom transport over here since we have US DVD players). That’ll make those hours of breastfeeding and pumping go flying by, right? 

I’m so happy to have my mom here in these final days. She’s been beyond helpful already in assisting me with those chores that get a bit hard to manage at 9+ months pregnant, and she’s brought her awesome cooking skills as well. 

But, if possible, I think my pups are even more excited than I am about their Nana being in Scotland. They are getting mighty spoiled by all of the attention, praise, and belly rubs going around. 

Baby boy will be happy that his Nana is here to welcome him into the world as well. Look at these adorable goodies she brought him.

Alright friends, I'm off to eat some dinner and watch some Dexter. I'll keep you posted on any baby news. Oh, and....Geaux Cardinals!!!!

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Bump Day: 40 Weeks! (Aka. Due Date)

Happy ‘my due date’ everybody! Turns out 39 weeks wasn’t my last Bump Day photo shoot afterall, and here I am at 40 weeks, still just as pregnant as ever. 

One of the adjectives I’d use to describe myself is ‘punctual’. Perhaps baby boy will take after me and be one of the 5 % of babies who are born right on schedule. My body is showing a few positive signs that labor is imminent, but I also have a ‘membrane sweep’ scheduled for Friday to help move things along. In the meantime, I’m going for long walks, drinking raspberry leaf tea, and a myriad of other home induction remedies that are too personal to share;) 

My mom arrived in Scotland on Monday, so I’m simultaneously feeling more relaxed and also more pressure about baby boy’s arrival. She traveled a long way to see his sweet face and I know she is anxious to meet him and also learn her newest grandson’s name, but for now she’ll have to settle for playing photographer for my Bump Day pics. 

Baby boy is still measuring small, but his growth is about 2 weeks behind the average baby, which seems to be par for the course for him personally. We had an ultrasound on Friday which showed him measuring about the same size as a 37 week gestation baby. This could have him weighing potentially over 6 pounds at this point, so those premie clothes we were told to buy might not get used after all. 

I do feel like my bump is quite small compared to most women at this point in pregnancy, but I’m trying not to dwell on it too much. Most babies have really stopped growing at this point anyway and instead are just packing on the pounds. Plus, my midwife said that since my baby has dropped so much, it's natural for my bump to look and measure smaller than it actually is. Here is what my bump looks like 40 weeks in. 

I won't jinx it this week by saying 'maybe this will be my last bump day'. I'll just promise to keep you posted if we meet baby sooner than 41 weeks! 

The Last Supper

For those of you on baby watch, sorry to disappoint, but Baby Boy has yet to make his entrance into the world. My instincts that he would arrive a bit early are slowly turning into worries that he might come late. In Scotland, they won’t induce you until you are 12 days past your due date (Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…) which would put my induction date the day before my dad is supposed to leave Scotland to return to Louisiana. And since the preferred method of induction here in Scotland can take up to 48 hours to go into effect (Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change…), that means my dad could quite possibly come and go without even meeting his newest grandson.   

On the other hand, my mother arrives TODAY!!! Lord willing, her flight will arrive at ABZ airport around 4 pm today, and she’ll be staying until November 10. My hope is that baby boy will take her presence as his cue to come on out already! 

In the meantime, my mommy friends have all instructed me to enjoy these last days of peace and quiet as much as I can. I’m trying to heed their advice by taking naps, playing plenty of mahjong, snuggling with the pups, going for walks waddles, and spending quality time with my hubby. 

On Saturday we had a relentlessly rainy day. It was strange to lay in bed during a lazy morning and think ‘This could very well be our last Saturday as just the two of us.’. 

We decided to take the stormy weather as an opportunity to go on one last movie date. I am a HUMONGOUS Tom Hanks fan, and have been anticipating the release of his newest film, Captain Phillips, for quite some time. I was excited when I saw that the UK release date was October 9 because I thought for sure we’d be able to see it before baby boy’s birth. We made plans to see it opening week but I was crushed to learn that the October 9^th date was for its release in London. Up here in the boondocks of the UK (aka Northern Scotland) we’d have to wait until October 18 to be able to see it. 

It all worked out, and we were still able to go without my waters breaking in the theater or anything (though I did get Jon to agree that if I went into labor during the movie, we could name our baby the previously vetoed ‘Phillip’ after the captain…). It was a great film, but definitely intense and quite stressful. I’m actually surprised it didn’t induce labor. I love me some Tom Hanks, and to see him in distress is enough to send this hormonal pregnant lady over an emotional cliff. 

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Speaking of Tom Hanks, previews before Captain Phillips showed a trailer for his next film in which he plays *Walt Disney*. I doubt we’ll be seeing that one in the theaters but I am so excited to see my favorite actor play one of the favorite people in history. What a perfect casting job!! 

After the movie, we decided to go for late lunch/early dinner at wagamama which is an Asian noodle house right next the Union Square movie theater. 

After our date, Jon went to the gym while I hibernated for about 2 hours. I will surely miss those pregnancy naps comas! Well I am off to do some last minute nesting before Momma Diane gets here. I'll keep you posted if Baby Boy makes any sudden movements.