So on May 15th, we bought Makaela’s nursery paint! I have dreamed of having my own light purple with white or cream trim & furniture since I was little, but the closest I got was a welcome home surprise by Jay a little over a year ago. In the Anderson Hall dorm apartment he had repainted the tiny bathroom into a bright purple & white bathroom with a beige shower curtain. Red is one of my favorite colors, but I was SO glad to be rid of the BLOOD-red in that tiny bathroom! It was one of the BEST surprises! Our master bedroom has one of the most relaxing blues on the walls. It was supposed to be white on the frames & baseboards but we never got around to painting that before moving our furniture in so it’s the still the old tired-looking beige, but it works with room. I considered several gender-neutral painted nursery ideas for long-term use, just as the crib, bassinet, stroller, & carrier/car seat were all "a must" to be gender-neutral, but I just couldn't help dreaming of a purple room again as I considered our baby girl’s nursery J
Thankfully, Jay & I have had very similar tastes as far as decorating & furniture go, at least in this house. Almost before I could say anything about a particular room before we moved in, Jay would mention a very similar--if not the same--way or method of furnishing or decorating the room as I would have done it on my own. He accepted the idea for Makaela's room very quickly & loved the small rug I found that incorporated all the colors we could want in her room; the picture is fairly accurate.
The main wall color will be light but cheery--Purple Dragon; the end-wall of built-ins is darker--French Violet; and the thick trim that's around the 3 doors, 3 windows, & ceiling/floors (& we’re thinking of the crib & dresser too ;) is an off-white--Heritage Lace. On facebook, I told our friends Chelsea Harper & Nadine EuGene (who each were a roommate in this room in years past), "your old crisp Pure White & Navy Blue room is soon to be no longer!"
In my old dream, very little pink would have been found but in this nursery vision, I have found myself incorporating more & more pink touches. One sister, Virginia, has liked pink all her life, while I tended to avoid it, though I was the one who liked wearing dresses & playing with dolls. I have always liked baby girls & little girls wearing pink, but their clothes are small so the pink is in small doses! Over the past 10 years, I think about how many pink things Jay has given to or made for me & how many times I get compliments from others & Jay when I venture out in a pink top or dress. I think it has finally grown a little on me, but I still don't want pink on the walls of any room in my house (yet anyway; MAYBE by the time we have our second girl I could do our version of one of the many lovely pink nurseries I’ve seen).
After looking at many coordinating purple bedding collections, it seems you cannot find one in stores that are not all about butterflies or ladybugs, and while I do like many of the playful butterflies it’s not really what I had in mind. I have always loved many things reminiscent of the Victorian era and I found some crib bedding that’s perfect for bringing both the vintage romantic floral feel & a subtle touch of pink to the room, but it’s too expensive & so I keep dreaming J We did, however, find a nursery on HGTV’s Rate My Space that did not have butterflies everywhere, but had painted large white outlines of flowers on each wall. Jay immediately said he wanted to do something like it for his daughter’s room. I loved the idea!
I have thought of pink sheers for the windows, or more likely, pink (blackout) panels with white/cream sheers (I’m not sold on the idea, but I found some white sheers with tiny pink embroidered flowers). One popular idea I do love is a beaded or crystal-look chandelier but we already have a working ceiling light/fan in there that is obviously more functional, and in this house, necessary. I found a small cream lampshade at a friend’s garage sale so that might be spruced up with some beading/ribbons instead.
I can’t wait to unpack some of my old children’s books & toys onto the many shelves of the built-ins. I know Makaela can hear now (we’re 23 weeks & 4 days) so I’ve been more conscious of singing & talking to her. It’s funny but sweet how Jay talks to Makaela & wants to rub my belly. She has SUCH a good Daddy already. For the dresser he found at Junk-It, he could have paid the full price & had the store do the stripping & staining, but he wanted to do it himself, “for our daughter.” J
Last July, my dad came to help move my sister up to her new house in Oklahoma. After I cut & rolled up the carpet & swept up the literally falling-to-pieces foam under it, then ripped up the linoleum, my dad started scraping the goop of underlayment off the wood floors of what will be Makaela’s room. In August, Jay & I moved in & Jay finished the second half of the underlayment & sanded the whole floor down. It remained in this state until a month ago when Jay stained & sealed the floor. A few weeks ago, he bought, cut, & nailed the base trim around the room. Once we got the paint, he wanted a sprayer so he traded in his weight bench for one at Wild Bills & has painted the cream, & will be starting the dark purple on the shelves this week.
Other topics regarding Makaela:
1.
As she & my belly grow, it is becoming harder NOT to notice her activity level & since I’ve been starting to feel her movements with my hand over the outside, when she kicked two times fairly close together on May 16th around 9:15pm, I had Jay rush over so he could feel the next one. She kicked right on cue but only that one time & he’s not sure if he actually felt it or not.
2.
That was also the night I noticed my belly button, which had seemed to be ever widening, is now very shallow! My preggie outie might be showing up sooner than I had originally thought :/
3.
I think especially since we didn’t get the outdoor engagement photo shoot I had dreamed of, I’m starting to get excited about our pregnancy photo shoot in June with friend (& EPiA sister) Krystal Maestas!
Makaela looks more “Hawaiian” than Makayla, but they’re pronounced the same. Makaela & Michelle are both feminine forms of Michael (which means, ‘who is like God?’); one is American, the other French. Part of our choosing Makaela as our baby girl’s name is in honor of my cousin, Michelle, (sister to Dexter Blancett) who would be 20 today-- Happy Heavenly Birthday, Michelle! :) We love & miss you! :)
(Even their middle names both begin with R; my middle name is Renee & it will be Makaela's: Makaela Renee; that part was unplanned but adds an extra-nice touch:)
2/1/11: 4 weeks after finding out, my heart still does this somersault-feeling thing when I just THINK about telling anyone (immediate family already knows). I have my first appt with Dr. Whitney Mascarro (not her Nurse Practitioner) on 2/10/11 @ 2:30pm. Baby heart rate: 186 bpm
I've lived with headaches from allergies, sinus, stress, you name it, off & on most of my life, but they weren't migraines. I had migraines every day from 1/20/11 until 2/10/11. I started a new nosespray, got off Sudafed, & started taking a Rx for when I had a migraine so they were managable through the rest of February. Migraines returned with a vengence the first week of March, after my Rx had run out. Back on migraine meds.
Week 10: I have always loved cheese & gotten plenty of dairy but I think this is my first craving--I feel like I can't get enough Sargenta String Cheese & Mini Babybel original. I've only been REALLY queasy & that was from Day 1 of Week 7 until yesterday, the end of Week 9; now the nausea is mostly when I'm in the car or get too warm. I've been mainly on cheese & ritz crackers, my slimfast shake (for the extra nutrients because I have so many allergies including foods--NOT for weight loss) & pepperoni pizza at least once a week (another thing I never could resist before being pregnant).
13 weeks: baby heart rate: 164bpm
3/31/11: People have been asking so I tried laying REALLY still for a while with my hands spread out over my belly & I felt the baby move (inside)!
4/1/11-4/3/11: got to see my Mom! She helped Chris drive down from Portland to live with V for the summer. Starting to research carseats, strollers, etc.
4/7/11: I was working & outside at a playground when my stomach started feeling funny; I suddenly felt sweaty & weak & my vision got shadowy & shaky & my heart seemed to be pounding so loudly. I walked to a bench and propped up one leg next to me, the other still on the ground to keep me balanced, while I prayed I would not faint. I didn't & eventually felt better though the headache stayed. I have been careful to stayed extrahydrated & eat a snack so my stomach is never on "empty." I talked with my mom, called the Dr, then called a friend & sorority sister who is a Labor & Delivery Nurse. It took the Dr-on-call more than 5 hours later to call me back. After asking several questions, she determined I had severe sinus problems (my thoughts were, 'well I could've told you that years ago!'). She said it was safe for me to begin sudafed again so I picked some up that night & though I've needed tylenol on some days, I haven't used the migraine meds since!
4/12/11: baby heart rate 150s bpm
4/13/11: noticed my first stretch marks :( lol
4/15/11, 12:25am: first time I'm SURE I felt baby kick without trying to feel it!
4/19/11, 11:30ish: more flutter kicks
4/21/11, 8:14-8:24 felt 2 kicks w/in 10 minutes. 11:09pm-golly! there's 3 more close together!
4/24/11 3:35am: Yow! those ligaments are loosening up! It seriously felt like someone standing next to my bed just jabbed me in the left side of my stomach.
4/26/11: another painful kick or loose ligament as I got ready for work this morning. After the part about the Actual Delivery, I'm most nervous about bathing & breastfeeding my newborn--2 major things I've never done before.
4/27/11, 20 weeks: Ultrasound with Dr. Maberry: 155bpm, 12 oz, 10 in., "everything looks perfect...definitely a GIRL!" I should note that before today, Jay had a total of 5 dreams that we' were having a little girl! The first one came while we were still living in the dorms but we had been talking about when to start a family. We had a short conversation discussing names at Cracker Barrell shortly a few days after finding out. Basically, in less time than it takes me to look over the menu & decide what to order, we had a girl's name picked & a very narrowed boy's name list! We agreed not to share names right away.
5/4/11, my dad's bday: Makaela's been moving around all day!
5/6/11: I came home to find the house clean & a gift bag & card on the bed from Jay. Inside the giftbag was the Home figurine from Willow Tree & a Winnie the Pooh baby book along with a Little Princess photo album. Both books had Makaela's 20 weeks U/S photo up front.
5/8/11: My First Mother's Day with a baby inside me! Several people wished me a Happy Mother's Day & I got to spend it in Oklahoma with my Granny, some aunts, uncles, cousins & their children, & my sister Virginia!
So, I finally took the bait. I started a blog because we're having a baby! We are just SO excited & I don't think Facebook statuses will be enough, plus several family members & friends of family are not on Facebook & this will be easier for them to stay updated than me remembering to send them an email for Facebook Notes.
It still feels weird to write it out, but I kept reading about starting a pregnancy journal, and being a scrapbooker & bookworm, I kind of started one by writing in my iPhone Notes.
Jay asked almost every day; finally on January 11, 2011, I agreed we could take another test, THE test. At about 7:15am, the home test showed 2 pink lines...+baby! Jay was getting dressed for work & though I had thought about different ways to surprise him with the news, I was just too excited! I called him to the hallway by the bathroom & showed it to him, asking what he saw. He said "2 lines--" I interrupted him with, "I see a baby!" We laughed, we hugged; Jay did a little dance. I set the test down and just stared at it for awhile, realizing our dream was really coming true, yet still not wanting to believe it just yet. I don't really know why I chose a week, but on January 17, 2011, I took the second test (a different brand) and it also showed 2 pink lines, confirming a BABY was on the way!
