Baby Shower details!!

On Saturday December 3rd, I had my second baby shower.  My sister has all the pics, so I just want to write down the details now and I'll share pics as soon as she gets them to me.  This shower was absolutely AMAZING!  I was totally blown away by the amount of love for Pearce and I that filled the room.  The details that the hostesses put into the shower was just above and beyond anything I could have imagined. 

So, on Friday my mom and Ashley came into town.  My mother-in-law, Lora also came a few days early.  We all went out to lunch and did a little shopping.  Then it was time to pick up my friend, Adriana from the airport.  I have been friends with Adriana since high school and it meant so much to me that she would fly from Fayetteville, AR to come to my shower.  I dropped her and Ashley off at Babies R Us so that she could do a little shower shopping :)  I went to Hobby Lobby to get decorative accents for the nursery.  Our plan that night was to have Ashley and Adriana help me hang pictures and finish decorating the nursery.  They got right to work and I am just in love with how my nursery looks.  I can't wait to post pics!  The two of them hung pictures, the shelf, the growth chart, decided where the decorative accents should go, and organized the drawers. 

On Saturday we all slept in a little and then started getting ready for my shower!  Two other high school friends and one college friend came into town on Saturday and just met us at the shower.  The fact that all of these friends made the effort to come in from out of town, meant so much to me!!  I had to drop Ashley off early since she was one of the hostesses, so I just waited outside the restaurant.  They had it at Maudie's which is an awesome Mexican food restaurant.  Finally, it was time to go in.  The hostesses were: Ashley, Christie, Lindsay, Sarah, and Nandini.  I was blown away by the amount of guests that actually came!  My close friends from school came, other close friends, and several family members! 

The cake was sooo cute!  It was light blue with blue and brown paisley on top and a big blue on top, too!  That cake was soooo yummy, too!  It was chocolate on the inside.  Lindsay's neighbor made the cake.  I looked at the two long tables and noticed all kinds of pictures of me and Chris as babies!  Oh my gosh, all of the pics were sooo cute!  What a fun touch to add!  I kept saying to myself "Don't cry, don't cry."  I just really didn't want to cry because I wanted to really soak in everything.  I did wear waterproof mascara, though, just in case.  Well good thing, because then I saw the favors that all of the guests would get.  It was a cinnamon scented candle wrapped in blue netting with a cute bow and a tag that said:  "Thank you for coming to the shower.  From Carrie's bun in the oven.  Light this candle when you hear of Pearce's birth."  When I read that, I just lost it.  What a sweet touch and the thought of everyone lighting a candle in honor of him????  Oh my gosh, I just could not stop crying.  I thought, oh well, it's all over with now and I asked my mom to read it....she lost it too.  From then on, I was just a blubbering mess. Oh!  There was also a poster that looked just like the movie poster from Knocked Up except my face and Chris' face was on the actors!  It was soooo funny! 

Everyone got to enjoy appetizers of chips and queso, salsa, nachos, and quesadillas.  What shower food is better than that?!  Then it was time for me to start opening presents, and let me tell you, there were a TON to open!  Once again, the tears started flowing as a read the sweetest cards and received the nicest gifts.  I know I said this before, but I was just amazed at the love that all of my sweet friends and family had for Pearce and I.  Pearce is one loved little baby, and he's not even here yet!  I can't wait to show you the pictures of the wonderful gifts we received.  All I can say, is that I'm so glad Jen brought her van because otherwise, there's no way we would have fit everything in my car. 

So we all went home and mom and Jen and Alexandra came over to see the finished nursery.  All of my friends from out of town stayed at my house:  Adriana, Marla, Meredith, and Katie.  They all got to work going through the gifts, opening them, and putting them away in the nursery.  Then, they made a list of must-haves I still needed, so off to Babies R Us we went!  We went up and down the aisles and the girls just said, "Ok, you'll need this, you'll need that, etc..." At the end of the shopping trip, I had my crib mattress, Diaper Genie, diapers, wipes, towels, a thermometer, nail clippers, files, diaper ointment, and a bunch of other stuff.  The total came out to $300.00, but with the gift cards I already had, the total came out to $100!!!  I'd say that's a pretty good shopping trip!  I treated the girls to dinner at Panera and then back to my house we went.  Oh wait!  We had to make a stop at Walgreen's because Meredith was battling a sinus infection and started feeling terrible.  So terrible that she started crying at Babies R Us :(  So, Dr. Stacey (Adriana) called in an antibiotic for her and we went to pick it up.  It took forever to get it because they were having a problem with the insurance and then the pharmacist was asking about the doctor and Marla said, "Look, we've got the doctor and the patient in the car with us, do you need to talk to them???"  It was so funny!  Here's this car full of girls and no one would ever think Adriana was an actual doctor because she still looks like she's in high school!  We finally got Meredith her medicine and went back home and the girls got to work organizing the nursery!  The finishing touch was hanging the painting Adriana did of Pearce's name.  Ahhhh...it's just perfect!!!!  It looks so cute hanging above his crib. 

We stayed up late into the night talking and gossiping just like we did in high school.  I had so much fun with these sweet girls.  It's amazing how we can all go a while without actually seeing each other, but when we do get together it's like no time has passed at all.  Ashley, Adriana, Marla, Meredith, and Katie....I love you all so much!!!  Thank you for coming for the weekend and celebrating my baby boy!!!!!

Ashley, Nandini, Christie, Lindsay, and Sarah...thank you for throwing me the most perfect baby shower!  It truly was a dream come true.  You all are so special to me and I can't tell you how touched I was at all of the time, effort, and details you put into my shower.  Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

PICS COMING SOON!!

This time last year....

It was around this time last year (actually Dec. 2) when we began our first attempt at IVF.  Here's the timeline that I wrote in my journal:

12-2 Start Follistim at 300 units in evening
12-3 A.M. Decrease Lupron to 5 units, Follistim still 300 units in A.M. and P.M.
12-6 Bloodwork in A.M. sonogram at 9:00 (showed I had 3 follicles on the left measuring 8, 8, and 9) and 2 follicles on the right measuring 8, and 4)
12-9 Blood work in A.M. and sonogram at 2:45 (showed only 4 follies that were a good size. There were others but they were way too small. We were probably going to have to convert this IVF to an IUI. I needed at least 10 good size follicles to make IVF worth it.
12-12 Blood work in A.M. and sonogram at 10:00
**My body failed me once again. I only made 4 eggs. I had to give myself the Ovidrel injection to induce ovulation of those eggs and prepare for IUI.**
12-13 and 12-14: IUI.
12-28 BFN

Oh, I remember being devastated when I found out we would not be able to go through with IVF.  I was looking so forward to it, I was so full of hope and anticipation.  I remember calling Chris and just crying to him and feeling so hopeLESS.  I have to say, through all of this, Chris was always hopeFULL.  There were so many times when I wished I could feel that way, but after so much disappointment and literally feeling my heart ache for a baby, I just kind of gave up and thought we might never be parents.  I have never wanted anything so badly in my life and the thought of it not happening was almost too much to handle for me.  I think I tried to prepare myself for the possibility of never having a baby because after everything we had gone through and tried, that was easier to believe.  In the words of Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman:  "The bad stuff is easier to believe."  I hate that that's the way I felt at the time, but it is. 

Now almost a year later, I feel my baby boy move inside of me and I just am so amazed.  God never gave up on me....even when I gave up on Him.  I remember one time I was sooooo angry at God.  I was having a pity party for myself and I went to my car and just cried and pounded my fists and yelled at Him.  I did the same to my husband.  But, they never gave up on me.

I came across a text message that was sent to me from Chris on December 29, 2010.  It said, "I am excited to move full steam ahead with IVF!!!"  We were going to attempt it a second time after I did a few things to get really healthy.  That text message made me so happy and gave me hope again.  Little did we know we would receive the shock of our lives just 5 months later in May when I found out I was pregnant...without any medical intervention. 

And now almost a year later, Chris and I are going to our first baby class and hospital tour tonight!  WOW!!!  Chris, thank you for sticking by me through all of this.  I love you.   

Thanksgiving 2011

This year, I went to Dallas for Thanksgiving.  Chris would have gone with me, but the Razorbacks were playing against LSU in Baton Rouge, so of course he had to go cheer them on!  We ended up losing, but I know Chris had fun with his cousin, Darien.  I went on Tuesday after school with both dogs.  The traffic was horrible going to Dallas, but I finally made it there Tuesday night.  Nathan and Charlotte were both still up waiting on me.  I loved seeing both of them!  Wednesday we got dressed and went to Target.  I promised Nathan some light-up tennis shoes and he was sooo excited to pick some out.  He looked so cute in them :)  We ran a few more errands and then Mom, Jen, Robert, and Alexandra came over to Ashley's house to pick up Nathan to go to Lego-Land.  Alexandra stayed with me and Ash and Charlotte.  I just could not believe how tall Alexandra was and how grown up looking she looked.  She is the PRETTIEST girl!  That night we went to mom and dad's for dinner.  On Thursday, we had a great Thanksgiving lunch.  Ashley cooked the turkey all by herself and it turned out perfectly!!  I ate so much during lunch that I absolutely could not eat another bite the rest of the day....I almost could not even drink water!!  Here are some pics from Thanksgiving 2011:

My little buddy waited up for me :)

Charlotte sure did enjoy giving the dogs scraps of food...they loved it too! 

This is what Otis looks like after a full day of play with Nathan and Charlotte...ha! 

Getting ready for Thanksgiving lunch.  What a pretty baby!  She loves to look pretty.  Mama made this dress.  Is it not the cutest?! 

And here is the cook!  Look at that turkey!  It was as delicious as it looks.  Good job Ash! 

Nathan had so much fun with Robert!  Here they are making guns out of legos...typical boys :) 

Here's Jen's family with one bonus family member :)  Alexandra, Jen, and Robert. 

Mama...aka "Baby Hog."  

Grandma and Nathan.  Grandma looked so pretty!! 

My beautiful 15 year old niece!  Look how cute and stylish she is!!   

Wayne and Daddy 

Sisters :) 

Grandma loved holding Charlotte.  She just slept and slept on Grandma. 

This is how we all felt after eating our Thanksgiving lunch!! 

Nathan and Grandmother (Wayne's mom) 

The Birthday Girls!  Alexandra's birthday was on the 22nd and Mom's was on the 24th...Thanksgiving Day! 

Daddy got mom a new iPhone 4!!!!!!!!  We were all a little jealous. 

Look who woke up! 

Money for shopping...always a good choice of gift for a teenager! 

Here are the dogs eating their Thanksgiving dinner.  I put little pieces of turkey in each of their bowls and boy, were they in HEAVEN!! 

Friday me, Ash, Jen, and Alexandra went to The Dry Bar.  It's a hair place where all they do is wash and then style your hair.  You can choose from several different looks.  We all went with some type of curl.  I never wear my hair that way, so it was fun to do something completely different.

The finished product!  I looked totally different with curls in my hair!  What a fun thing to do with the girls! 

Daisy is WORN out!  Nathan loved chasing Daisy around the house and Daisy loved having someone to run after and play with!  On the way home, she slept the WHOLE way and even when we got home she slept the rest of the day.  Nathan is so great with my two dogs....even naughty Daisy :) 

Charlotte used to be a little unsure about the dogs, but she has definitely warmed up to them now.  Daisy of course, loves her! 

Two cute little girls! 

I had such a fun time seeing everyone.  It was kind of weird thinking this was the last time I would travel anywhere until after Pearce comes :)

30 Weeks!!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 30 weeks, 6 days 

Size of baby:  Pearce weighs almost 3 pounds and is a little over 15.7 inches long from head to heels. 

Weight gain:  I'm up about 24 pounds so far...geeze, that seems like a lot! 

Maternity Clothes: LOVING them.   
Gender: BOY!  Pearce Matthew

Movement: YES!  I feel more and more of his body parts now.  I'm not sure what they are, but I think I can feel his bottom sometimes and I also feel something pointy...maybe a foot or knee or elbow.  He still gets the hiccups every day, several times a day!  Ashley got to see him in action and she was amazed at how much he moved around.   

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: Still having reflux, swollen feet, a little back pain, and a few Braxton Hicks contractions.     

Cravings:  Lately, it's been Starbucks:  Decaf Mocha.  I drink a ton of water all the time, so Starbucks is my little treat :) 

What I miss:  Honestly, nothing.  I am just so thankful.   

Best moment this week:  I got to hear his heartbeat on Monday AND my doctor set his birthdate:  January 25!!   

What I am looking forward to:  My second baby shower is coming up on December 3!!  I am so excited to see everyone and celebrate my baby boy! 
How's that scar looking? It's gonna be a doozy at the end.  It feels really hard...I just don't see how it can stretch more than it has already.  But, I don't care! 

Belly Button: Pretty flat now.

 

Right now, I am still in Dallas for Thanksgiving Break.  Just for fun, here is a picture of Otis.  Do you see that long string of drool hanging off his mouth?  That's because he was watching Charlotte eat her peanut butter sandwich :)

And here is my beautiful niece who turned 15 on the 22nd.  She's way taller than me and oh so stylish!  I just can't believe she is growing up so fast!  Charlotte LOVED being with Alexandra. 

29 weeks!

Pregnancy Highlights

How Far Along: 29 weeks, 3 days (in the picture)

Size of baby:  Pearce weighs about 2 1/2 pounds, about the size of a butternut squash.  He is a little over 15 inches long from head to heels. 

Weight gain:  I'm up about 24 pounds so far...geeze, that seems like a lot! 

Maternity Clothes: LOVING them.   
Gender: BOY!  Pearce Matthew

Movement: YES!  He is moving SO much.  He doesn't roll around as much now...it's mostly like little kicks and stretches.  Sometimes his little jabs catch me off guard because they are so strong.  I can feel more little parts from my stomach now.  I just absolutely love it when he gets the hiccups which are quite often.   

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: Reflux....YUCK!  I've been experiencing a little bit of heartburn, but not too bad.  I think the cankles are here to stay!  I've been pretty tired lately, too.   

Cravings:  Really just food.  But, I do feel like I get fuller much faster.  I guess my stomach is starting to get cramped. 

What I miss:  Honestly, nothing.  I am just so thankful.   

Best moment this week:  Knowing I am officially in the THIRD TRIMESTER!!!  Also, when I walked into Starbucks, a man held the door for me and said "Come on in...both of you."  Ha! 

What I am looking forward to:  Getting the window treatments attached to the window as well as the hutch on his changing table.  Then, just putting finishing touches on his nursery. 
How's that scar looking? It's gonna be a doozy at the end.  It feels really hard...I just don't see how it can stretch more than it has already.  But, I don't care! 

Belly Button: There is still a slight indentation, but it's pretty much flat now.  Chris saw it last night and was totally surprised, maybe slightly grossed out that it was flat :)  I kept trying to get him to touch it because it's so smooth and he said NO WAY...ha!  



28 weeks and my first baby shower!!!

How Far Along: 28 weeks, 4 days (in the picture)

Size of baby:  Pearce is 14 .8 inches long from head to heels, he weighs about 2 and a quarter pounds, about the size of a Chinese cabbage (once again, what is this?). 

Weight gain:  I'm up about 24 pounds so far. 

Maternity Clothes: LOVING them.  I've started wearing my Fall tops and I love that because that means it's getting closer to winter time which also means closer to baby! 
Gender: BOY!  Pearce Matthew

Movement: YES!  He is moving SO much.  It feels like he just rolls around and does flips.  Sometimes his little jabs catch me off guard because they are so strong.  I can feel more little parts from my stomach now.  I just absolutely love it when he gets the hiccups which are quite often.  As I type right now, he has them :)  

Sleep: I have to get up several times to go to the bathroom, but I can always go back to sleep.

Symptoms: Reflux....YUCK!  No heartburn yet.  I also have a spot in my upper back that gets sore as the day goes on.  It doesn't hurt too bad, just annoying.  I think the cankles are here to stay!  

Cravings:  Really just food.  But, I do feel like I get fuller much faster.  I guess my stomach is starting to get cramped. 

What I miss:  Honestly, nothing.  I am just so thankful.   

Best moment this week:  I went to the doctor on Monday and got to hear this heartbeat.  I have started going every two weeks now, which I LOVE!  Also, my very first baby shower was Wednesday!!

What I am looking forward to:  Putting his things away in the nursery.  I have another baby shower in December, too!

How's that scar looking? It's kind of reddish now.  I can't wait to see what it looks like in 3 more months.  My stomach is going to be one heck of a road map! 

Belly Button: It's pretty flat now.  I don't think I'll have any type of "button" by the time he comes.  

Yesterday I had my first baby shower!  It was thrown by my First Grade Team at school.  I was so excited for this, not because of all of the gifts I would get, but for the experience of having a baby shower.  There were times in the past that I wondered if I would ever get to have a baby shower, and now here I am at my own baby shower.  My team did such an awesome job planning it!!

Here's my belly up close and personal...thanks Christie!! 

My sweet mom came for just the day.  She had something going on the day before and the day after, so my dad drove her down.  Only my mommy would do that...she said she wouldn't miss this for the world :)  I love you, mom!!!  

While I opened presents, everyone played a cute game.  The theme was "Movies" since I love going to the movie.  My teammate, Ashley, read "baby movie quotes" and you had to guess the movie.  Whoever won got the coveted "Golden Prego Award."  Ha!  I knew my friend, Christie, would win because she is a movie GENIUS!!!   

And the Golden Prego Award goes to....CHRISTIE!!!  I think she got 6 or 7 out of 10 right....some of them were really hard and she got them!  

Every table had sacks of popcorn and candy.  They also had nachos and soft drinks.  My kind of food!!!

Here are all of the sweets.  Tons of cute blue cupcakes and my teammate Erin made the cutest alphabet sugar cookies with blue icing drizzled on top.  The cookies all spelled his name, PEARCE.  So CUTE!!!  I wish I had gotten a close up of the cookies.  Erin also made the diaper cake.  It's filled with all things that I registered for:  bottles, pacifiers, toys, and blankets.  Isn't it so cute?! 

Another unique touch was this tree.  The guests made a green thumb print on the branches and then signed their name next to their "leaf."  What a neat idea!  I can't wait to frame it and hang it in Pearce's nursery! 

Time to open presents.  When I first started opening, I was holding back tears.  I just couldn't believe I was opening presents at MY baby shower!  I kept telling myself, "Don't cry, don't cry." 

Then I get to this gift...my mom and dad's.  As soon as I opened it, I just lost it.  My mom had sewn two beautiful day gowns for Pearce.  They were so sweet and soft and made with love, I just couldn't hold back the tears anymore.  From then on, I cried off and on.  Tears of pure JOY and HAPPINESS and THANKFULNESS! 

Terrible picture of me, but out of all of the gifts we received, Chris was most excited about this outfit!!  He thought this little Nike running suit was awesome...ha!    

After I finished opening presents, we played one more game.  Melanie, our librarian, asked if my mom was easily offended....ummmm NO!  So this is how she started it:  "Erika was at Carrie and Chris' house the night Pearce was conceived and this is what she heard through the walls:  Awww, it's so cute!  Oh, look how little!  Oh! Why do I keep crying? Oooh, this is nice!  Oh my gosh!"  There were lots more, but we were all rolling with laughter!!  She wrote down all the things I said while opening presents...just in case you didn't quite catch on to the game.  It was so funny!! 

My sweet First Grade Team:  Tammy, Marjan, Ashley, Me, Rachel, and Erin.  Thank you so much for all you did to make this day special for me.  I love you girls so much!!!! 



We got so many wonderful things for our baby boy.  We got a bouncy seat, Bjorn baby carrier, Baby Einstein activity jumper, closet organizer, blankets, clothes, sound machine, gift cards, and several other things!  Wow....I am so lucky to work with such sweet people who are genuinely happy for us.  What a wonderful day it was!!!!