Her Majesty Of Bed Rest

Still in the womb and this child is already giving his mamma troubles! Tuesday's appointment brought less than stellar news...bed rest. I went in for a regular 'ole appointment at 9:15am but high blood pressure and a high fetal heart rate got me rounds of monitoring and a sonogram that kept me until about 2pm. Above is a picture of me on the morning of my second appointment where I was still hopeful to receive good news and have the sentence lifted, no such luck. So it looks like I'm doomed to finish out my pregnancy on my butt...my ever numbing butt. I actually didn't think it would be so bad because I felt I had already entered the end of pregnancy mega lazies, but man, I was really underestimating how much I was still getting done.

Now we go back in on Monday to test for Preeclampsia, oh but first another new experience, collecting a jug 'o pee in my fridge for an entire 24hrs. There's just nothing quite as humbling as pregnancy, childbirth and the embarrassments brought on by rearing children. Anywho, if I test positive then we'll be induced immediately. If I test negative then it's a waiting game. I'll go in twice a week for monitoring and I'll go with bags packed because any of those appointments could lead to the surprise news that we have to induce right away. Personally I'm saying a little prayer for negative test Monday and this baby coming on his own in a week or so!

My sentence allows me to do anything I want as long as I'm sitting or laying down, which encompasses surprisingly few activities. Thankfully I'm allowed to shower, but no housecleaning, no leaving the house and no morning cup 'o joe...gasp, no shopping for baby things, ok that one choked me up a bit. But look at my sexy help! The day before I was sentenced my fantastic husband brought me home this gorgeous apron and a rose, just because. I was really excited to wear it and get some work done, maybe even some cooking, oh well. My husband did a stellar job through the first two days of bed rest but we thought we'd better call in heavy duty reinforcements, mom-in-law! She swooped in on Thursday and by the end of the day Friday had the house back in shape. A true blessing because it was going to be torture to spend the next days or weeks glued to a chair and staring down all the things that needed picked up and cleaned!

One of the many side effects of having a giant pregnant belly and little boys is the belly is likely to be used as a ramp for cars. Hey, Spitfire is just anxious to play with Baby Brother. Actually he really really is excited and Golden Curls too. Spitfire is also my exposed belly police, he's at just the right height to be able to see my tummy peak out if my shirt rides up even the tiniest little bit. He likes to encourage me to correct this atrocity by gasping loudly, pointing at the offense, and whispering urgently "Mamma, your tummy!" A few days ago Golden Curls caught sight of my confused no longer an innie, not really an outtie belly button and disgustedly blurted out "Ewwww, that's gross!" Sweet, sweet memories.

Book Club Baby Shower

Saturday was our first baby shower, put on by my beloved book club gals. The fantastic hostesses did such a great job, just look at that adorable tub full of goodies. It had blue tulle and plastic bubbles, so cute! Baby showers make me so happy, it's a signal that the end is near and it always gets me so excited to meet my little man when he has things that were given just to him. I've been sneaking lots of peaks at all those cute things now sitting in his nursery!

I was especially honored to have my mom, mom-in-law, sis-in-law and niece there with me. I just can not believe I forgot to get a picture of all of us together! My niece is 8 and it's really the first time I've gotten to hang out with her away from the 5 boys that are usually around when she is (her 3 brothers and my two boys). She's one cool little lady. She sat so sweetly with her tea cup of punch, played with the baby and came up to me and almost whispered "I'm having fun." Then my princess niece went out into the hostess' yard, threw a ball for the dogs, kicked around in the dirt and accidentally started a fire in the old burn pile. Now that's my kind of gal!

Me with the fantastic hostesses.

Paper lover that I am, you know I was loving that banner!

Opening gifts on the throne. There is one large baby bump underneath that gift bag!

One of the faves of the day: baby eating hoodie towel

Baby Bench Warmer

A baby has moved into our bassinet, Annie cat. Spitfire found this hilarious. I think she's enjoying having found a safe haven where it's warm and cozy and the dogs can't see or reach her.

A Nusery Is Born

Six weeks on baby countdown, but who's counting? Oh yes, that would be me! The nursery is all decorated and all we lack are some baby necessities and the Little Mister himself. I can't believe all the stuff this kid has already, guess it's bound to happen when you have two older brothers and 4 out of 5 cousins are boys. A lot of these things have been in both his brothers' nurseries but it's amazing how his still looks different. There are so many special things in this baby's room.

I'm in love with the newest special handmade thing, my baby mobile, custom made by a friend of mine. I keep saying we collaborate on them but really that's an overstatement on my part. I make her the paper parts (on this one the pinwheels and carousel) but she works her magic, bending and painting her own metal, adding clay embellishments, and stringing beads, she really has a good eye. It just turned out perfectly!

The rest of the tour: the crib, handmade by my husband's grandfather, has slept all 4 of my sis-in-law's kiddos and will all 3 of ours. The bedding was made by my husband and I, the paintings above the crib and the diaper bag on the changing table were made by me. the little blue creature on the shelf was made by Spitfire and I.

The bookshelf feels like a masterpiece of giving and makes me feel loved because it and everything on it was given to our boys over the years and it makes me overwhelmed with thankfulness that there are so many people in our lives that have helped us provide for, love, and raise our most precious babies.

Spitfire made this for the baby in Sunday School months ago. On the hearts are written all the things he loves: Mamma, Pappa, Brother, Baby and himself.

Coffee Shelf

It's a perfect fit for my morning cup, but I'm glad it's temporary. We're 7 weeks away from our due date, yea! We're hoping for 2 weeks early like his brothers which means only 5 weeks, 5 weeks sounds so much better.

Office With A View

Aren't I such a lucky girl to have a view like this at work every day?! Not the beautiful snow and trees but the little boy in the snow and trees, even that silly dog. As difficult as staying at home to be a full time mamma has been financially, the pay offs are immeasurable. I will never regret the things I couldn't have during this time in my life. They can be tough in the moment, especially when I see what others around me have. Then I look at what I have and that jealousy feeling passes quickly. I have been tremendously blessed.

Baby Love

Lil' Spitfire pointed to my belly yesterday and asked "How long until our baby comes out?" "Well, we have mamma's birthday, Valentines Day and then he'll be born." I'm always describing large expanses of time by what holidays and birthdays we have to cross first and it made me realize how few there are left between us and baby. I look back and feel like I've been pregnant forever but this April 3rd due date doesn't seem ages away anymore, a realization that has me both incredibly excited and incredibly frightened all at the same time. Yep, I'm no rookie and I'm still frightened at the prospect of what lies ahead. Or maybe it's because I'm no rookie that I fear what lies ahead.

Lil' Spitfire is drawing a lot of family portraits these days and his depiction of me always includes a big 'ole scribbled baby belly. Everyone else usually gets a letter on the their tummy to show who they are. The picture below was drawn just after his 5th birthday so his letter was replaced with a 5 for his impressive age.