Week 37

We're in the final countdown.   I have started to make a list of things to pack in our hospital bag.  Thank you to everyone who commented on my Facebook post about what to bring or what I can leave at home.  It was really beneficial.  I've washed a couple of outfits for Henry, but am leaving most of his clothes unwashed until he is born, that way we know what size he'll be.  My mom said my brother Chris was in newborn for only a week, while I was in them for over a month.  We don't expect Henry to be huge since both Brett and I were around 7 pounds, but you never know.

Brett is home from recruiting after being gone all week (I survived!), and actually said that it looked like Henry dropped a little bit.  I thought so too, but if Brett sees that, I definitely think it's true.  Henry's movements aren't really quick kicks anymore, but more like waves.  His new thing to do is push what I think is his foot into the side of my stomach so you can see it sticking out.  Sometimes it's so uncomfortable that I lightly push back, and he moves. 

He's still a pretty active little one, especially at night.  However, this afternoon, I think Piper woke him up while we were playing.  He had been really still for a while, but he started moving when she laid down on my stomach and started barking.  Both Brett and I are praying that they will be best pals.  Piper is great with the little girls across the street, so I think we'll be fine.  She's also pretty gentle with Oba, like she knows she can't be rough because of Oba's age and instability when on her feet.  Hopefully that translates to Henry when he's a baby.

We are in the weekly checkup phase now in the pregnancy.  The last two appointments, I have progressed in dilation and effacement.  I hear it's better that it gradually happens over time than real fast.  I'm getting Braxton Hicks contractions more frequently so my body is definitely gearing up for the big show.  Shouldn't be much longer until we meet our son!

Baby Showers Galore

A couple weeks ago, the Gardner-Webb football wives decided to host a baby shower in honor of our little Henry.  Brett's and my parents were wonderful enough to make a day trip to go to the shower.  I didn't expect either to come because it is at least 7 hours of driving in one day, but we are very thankful they could make it. It made the day that much more special having our parents there.

Almost all of the wives were there, along with the oldest GWU child (teen actually) and the two youngest.  In true GWU wives' fashion, there was a great spread of food.  Y'all, these women can COOK!  While I ate almost everything, I gravitated to the desserts.  So good.

The weather was so nice that we were able to eat in the screened-in back porch.  We socialized, opened presents, and played some shower games.  The wives all pitched in and bought us the Ergo carrier that was on our registry.  I was shocked!  Brett and I were going to buy it if we didn't receive it because having something to carry Henry will be really beneficial when walking Piper, during football season, and while I do household chores.  There were plenty of other cute gifts and necessities that we received too. 

Quanza came up with one of the games that we played.  She filled three sippy cups with the punch that Angel made.  Whoever drank it the fastest won the prize. As the game went on, no one could get any punch from the cup!  Little did we know that the pineapple from the punch was clogging lid.  Lots of laughs were shared over the struggle.

Thank you to the wives for hosting a wonderful shower.  I'd be hard-pressed to find a group of women who are more giving, selfless, and loving than this group of women.  We are blessed.

I may have gotten seconds...and thirds. So good!

It was a beautiful day to sit outside and socialize.

Can't believe this little boy is walking!  Henry is due a day after Daniel's 1st birthday.

Such a cute onesie from Britney: Chicks are all over me.

One of the shower games. Seeing who could drink the punch from the sippy cup the fastest.

Henry's mama, Grammy, and Nana

My GWU family

While the women were at the shower, the men (Brett, my dad, and Yogi) stayed at home. Yogi and Brett watched the Masters.  Dad ended up fixing our lawn mower, which hadn't worked this season, and mounted our monitor to the wall.  Seriously. I don't know what we do or our house would look like without him.  Plus, he has saved us a ton of money.  Before they left, we got some pictures, as this is the last time we'd see them before Henry comes!

Henry's Nana, Daddy, Mommy, Pops Man, and big sister

My dad (still trying to figure out a name for him), Daddy, Mommy, and Grammy

My little family

This past Sunday, our Sunday School class at First Baptist Church - Shelby threw us another shower!  We walked in from service to such a sweet display of (amazing) food, onesies, and gifts.  The shower was so much more than Brett and I expected.  We spent the first 30 minutes or so of Sunday School eating (I see a trend here), opening gifts, and fellowshipping.  We received a lot more of the essentials, like diapers, wipes, bottles, and shampoo.  You can never have too many of those things. Thank you to the wonderful women in our class who were so thoughtful in each of the details!

Katie, one of our Sunday school leaders, said that Henry must be special.  I would have to agree with her, but not for the reason that you may think (him having awesome parents like Brett and me).  He will be extraordinary because of the people who will be in his life and their influence on him.  From actual family to our GWU football family to friends and fellow church members, I know that Henry will be taught about the Lord from an early age. He will be taught to value God's Word, think of others first, be respectful of authority, be teachable, love those who aren't like him, and cherish family and friends.  We are so thankful for everyone who has been supportive during my pregnancy and our soon-to-come little boy.  We love you!

Week 36

Holy moly. 4 weeks left. That is less than a month, y'all!  Yesterday, I looked up what to pack in our hospital bag.  That definitely made it seem real.  We have the nursery almost all set up.  Just a few details left and some organizing.  I am getting around 2-4 Braxton Hicks contractions every hour.  Thankfully, I have only had a couple that have been so intense that they have woken me up.  Henry must be moving a bit lower because I'm waking up 3-5 times during the night to go to the bathroom.  I think that's God's way of making sure my body isn't in shock for those nightly feedings. 

Last week I didn't write an update because the GWU coaches' wives threw me a shower.  I'll write about it sometime this week.  Today, Brett's and my Sunday School class hosted a shower for us as well.  Katie, one of our leaders, said, "Henry must be special."  You know, she's right.  I know he will be because of the influence all of the people who have supported us through this process will have on him.  They are some of the most Godly, loving, caring, and selfless people I know.  I have been feeling blah lately, but the overwhelming love and encouragement from friends, family, the GWU football family, and our Sunday School class have really given me a boost.  So, thank you for making these last couple of weeks more emotionally and mentally manageable for me.  I love each and every one of you!

Henry's Sports-Themed Baby Shower

On March 28th, my best friends and sisters-in-love threw me a wonderful shower.  I had mentioned that a sports-themed shower would be really neat and had pinned a couple of things on Pinterest to give them an idea.  Wow. They did not disappoint. Below are some of the amazing details.

Megan made this cute little banner. I love the colors.

Kelci had this sweet and creative cookie cake made.

I think Maggie made this banner for by the food.

Jessica and Meesh made diaper cakes! So fun.

Gail knows how much I love cupcakes from Ocean Isle, so she brought them as favors.

Because Brett's parents live pretty far from us and I would be doing the driving by myself with spring practice in gear (hello being a coach's wife), we decided to do one joint shower with my friends and family, my parents' friends, and Brett's parents' friends.  Needless to say, a ton of people were invited.  We ended up with around 25, which was a great number.  

The thing I loved most about this shower was that most of my extended family came!  We had family flying or driving from Connecticut, Boston, D.C., South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida.  It made me feel so loved that they would take the time out of their busy schedule to shower Henry and me with gifts, fellowship, and love.  Here are some pictures from before the shower.

Piper has learned what an Oba massage is from watching Sierra

Daniella and Mimi reading Goodnight Moon.

Uncle Rich and Aunt Nan seeing me with a belly for the first time. Love the reactions.

Our family patriarch. Oh, how I love him so.

Oba, because of her dementia, forgot Chris was coming. Her reaction was priceless.

The "kids" table. Just missing Brett, Kyle, Sam, Adrian, and Cassy.

My baby girl and my men, minus Brett.

Most of my family came in before lunch so I was able to hang out with them before the shower.  After lunch, most of the guys went to take naps since a lot of them had to get up early to make it by lunch time, while the women attended the shower.  The shower was so much fun!  Laura had planned a game where people filled out if Brett or I would want Henry to have an attribute from Brett or me.  For example, who did we want Henry to get his personality from?  Daddy. How about teeth?  Mommy.  Brett and I had filled out the answer key together.  There were some things where we said, "Oh definitely not Daddy" or "Definitely not Mommy."  We had a lot of laughs and fun thinking about what our little guy is going to look and be like.

There was also a there was a present with multiple layers of wrapping.  Each layer had a phrase from a poem that described a person in the room, like who has on clothing with the most buttons.  The person that matched the description would tear off one layer of wrapping, read the next line, and pass the gift to the person it matched.  At the end, the gift came back to me.  Inside was an NFL football that became the guest book!  I loved it.  The football, with names that would mean so much to Henry throughout his life, is sitting on his dresser in his nursery.  I'll treasure it forever. 

Guests also filled out little silver stars where they wrote wishes for me.  I've been a little anxious recently so reading them has given me a lot of encouragement.  They also wrote funny things on some diapers for some comic relief for me during those middle-of-the-night changings.  I haven't looked at those yet, as I want them to be a surprise.

Then came the gifts, which were more than I ever dreamed.  There were some really practical gifts, and also some really creative and heartfelt gifts.  After the gifts, we got some group pictures.

Me with the hostesses: Henry's aunts and honorary aunts (my besties)

Hickman women (and two little Hickman fellas too)

Fantastic four

Girl cousins!

The cousins that made the trek to Mom and Dad's

Silly picture

Grandchildren with Mimi and Pappaw

Henry and his great grandmothers. Such a special moment to treasure in my heart.

Laura and Weston. Me and Henry.

Henry with his Grammy (my mom) and Nana (Brett's mom).

My family stayed until the next morning, since we don't get to see each other much.  We just enjoyed each other's company and ate more food.  Isn't that what happens when all families get together?  One cute moment was when Mimi and Pappaw gave Daniella an Easter dress.  Daniella loved it!  She kept twirling around.  Growing up, Mimi always bought me a birthday dress for my birthday pictures. She still had great taste in little girl clothes. 

My bro

Daniella modeling her new dress

Excuse the tired looks. This was early in the morning.

Henry's first Easter basket (and some candy for Brett and me)

Thank you Megan, Meesh, Jessica, Laura, Maggie, and Kelci for hosting an amazing shower, and to my family and friends who made the weekend unforgettable.  I love y'all!

Inspiration for Henry's Nursery

The Theme
Henry's nursery continues to be a work in progress, but I'm hoping to get a lot of things done the next two weeks.  I wasn't sure what I wanted for Henry's nursery.  Do I do a neutral color or blue?  Animals or sports?  So many choices.  Brett settled this one for me though.  For a couple of weeks after Christmas, Brett kept asking when I would start Henry's nursery.  I would respond that we had time.  Finally, I asked if he had any input, to which he replied that he didn't.  He followed that statement with, "Well it has to be sports. Maybe footballs all over the walls. You know, something like that."  So there you go: a sports-themed nursery.

The Bedding
I started to look at bedding and kept on coming back to a set I saw at Pottery Barn Kids.  I was drawn in by the all American feel and the representation of different sports.  There wasn't a piece in the set that I didn't like.  We finally bit the bullet after weeks of talking about it.  I couldn't be more excited about the product.  Here are the pictures below of the set and the quilt.

Source: Pottery Barn Kids

Source: Pottery Barn Kids

The Furniture

We had a dresser from Brett's grandmother that we weren't using, and Mimi gave us a little bookshelf for Henry's growing library, so we saved a lot of money by not having to buy those items. Over Christmas, Mom and I went to register at buybuy baby, and we found the crib that I liked.  Below are the crib and changing table that we registered for (Child Craft Wadsworth Collection).  The cherry-colored crib converts into a toddler bed and a full-size bed.  I love that it can grow with Henry as he gets older.  We also received a glider with an ottoman.  I wasn't able to sit in the chair before it arrived, but I was pleasantly surprised that it is extremely comfortable.  That's really important to me since I've had some back problems in the past.  Goes to show that you don't have to spend an enormous amount of money for a high quality, comfortable glider.  All the pieces of furniture were really easy to put together too, which was a plus given that Brett just got done with spring practice. 

Source: buybuy Baby

Source: buybuy Baby

Source: Walmart

The Decor
We didn't have to paint the room because it is already a beige with a hint of green or blue depending on the light.  Because we have hardwood floors throughout the house, I knew that we would need a rug for Henry's nursery.  I looked at the bedding and decided to pull out the navy for the rug, curtains, and changing pad cover.  I searched high and low for a rug with a subtle design that wouldn't overpower any of the other details in Henry's room.  Gail, my mother-in-love, found the one when they were visiting a couple weekends ago.  My mom's best friend, Gina, was so generous and purchased it for us as our baby shower gift.  I really love the color, design, and texture.  It's thick enough that it doesn't need a rug pad underneath, and I think it will withstand some of Piper's crazy habits like chasing her tail.

Source: Amazon

As for wall decorations, I think we have those picked out but I'm not sure where to put everything quite yet.  I'm hoping to figure that out this weekend.  Thankfully, a lot of the wall decor came from my shower two weekends ago.  I did purchase one piece that I LOVE.  My neighbors are extremely talented working with wood and made a sign that is even more beautiful than I imagined.

Made by Jody and Jes Raduly of J4 Creations

This saying has so much meaning to me.  For as long as I can remember, my mom said this to me every night before I went to bed.  Even when I'd come home from college, she would say it to me.  She probably said it until I moved into my own place after college.  I get a little teary-eyed knowing that I can continue that tradition with Henry. Like it says, I'm still her baby; and Henry will always be my baby boy.

I hope you have enjoyed getting a little sneak peak into what is going on in Henry's nursery.  I plan to write a post with pictures of his actual nursery once it's completed. 

Week 34

Before I start this post, I want to say Happy Easter.  Today marks the day that we celebrate the Risen Savior.  Today is the day that the tomb was found empty.  Today is the day that we celebrate that we can receive the free gift of salvation and relationship with God because Jesus conquered sin and death once and for all.  Today is a celebration of LIFE!  Today is a good day.

With that being said, Henry has been pretty full of life the past two weeks since my last update. The past couple of weeks, I have said that Henry likes to press out against my stomach really hard.  Little did I know that it was something else.  Hang with me for a sec. 

Last week, we had our first baby shower, which was amazing.  I hope to write a blog post about that this week.  If not, I'll get to it eventually.  Well I told Laura about Henry's pushing.  She felt my belly and said, "Girl, those are Braxton Hicks contractions!"  I seriously had no idea that's what it was.  I try not to read much about my symptoms online because I undoubtedly think I'm dying, have cancer, or Henry isn't doing well (I learned that early in my pregnancy).  I had no idea what contractions felt like.  I told our doctor at the last appointment that I haven't been experiencing any contractions.  Now I can say that I am, and have been for about two weeks.  They seem to come around when I eat or when I am still then get really active, especially when I'm playing with Piper.   

Aside from the contractions, Henry's been moving around a lot, getting hiccups, and starting to stick legs and arms under my ribs.  His sleep patterns seem to be a little more distinct, but he likes to move around at night after I go to the bathroom.  Makes falling back to sleep a little more difficult.  I still seem to be carrying him high, but I'm sure he will be dropping a little soon.  We are only 6 weeks away from his due date!  The days are long but the weeks seem to fly by. 

Enjoy my update and weekly progression below.  Have a blessed Easter y'all!