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ALMOST DONE! Nursery/Baby Update :)

Hello friends! I'm sorry I took a short hiatus from updating this blog, but I have been very busy this summer...not working lends itself to making oneself busy to keep from going insane. I got to enjoy a week at Emerald Isle with my family just a couple of weeks ago, which was marvelous as always. There is nothing like relaxing with family on the beach and just letting all of your worries slip away for a little while. Of course, hubby was working hard back here so he didn't get to go, and that sucked, but I made the most of it! Now onto the very exciting news of what is going on in the baby world...

We had another check up last week (33 weeks pregnant). We are at the point now where we are seen by a different doctor every time we go in so that we are familiar with all of them in case my Dr. Parker isn't on call when I go into labor. Other than Dr. Parker, we have seen two others and have really liked them both, so I'm feeling great about that! It was just a routine check up - weight, blood pressure, measure the belly, listen to her heartbeat, etc. Everything still looks and sounds great! I have gained about 18 pounds since I got pregnant and my belly is measuring at 32.5 cm, which is just about right. For every week of pregnancy (once you get about half way through), your belly should grow 1 cm, so I  am right on track! And of course, Avery being the little mover and shaker that she is, kicked the doctor when he was listening to her heartbeat and promptly moved away from the Doppler monitor so he had to go look for her. She is so funny already!

We also started our childbirth classes last night. They are at the hospital we will be delivering at and we go for three Monday nights in a row, two and a half hours each time. Needless to say, we are learning a lot and I think Kaylon is getting a bit anxious about the delivery!

And now the fun stuff...nursery progress!!! It is almost complete, minus a few finishing touches. All we have left to get done is curtains and wall hangings. All of her furniture is bought, assembled, and in its proper place. My best friend's mom is sewing blackout fabric into curtains for me that I am going to paint with big horizontal pink stripes...it's one of my first DIY projects, so let's just keep our fingers crossed that it turns out like I'm planning! Here are pictures of the nursery so far. Keep in mind the walls look bare because I have done no decorating besides furniture just yet, but it will come soon, I promise!

These are just various shots of her room...ENJOY :)

This is her new dresser that matches her crib and her hand-me-down changing table...freebies are the best!

Her bedding is here!!!!!!!

Yay Jungle Jill by Carter's (and we love the seaworm from our Lunceford family)

 Here is a view of her closet as best I could get. The door is at the end of the small closet, so it's hard to get a good shot. The clothes on her racks are mostly 0-3 months, with a few 6 months in there. The totes are full of clothes up to 2T. I think we're set for a while :)

And this is the view of her closet drawers. The only clothes in here are 0-3 months, with a few 6 months things. This girl has a lot of clothes...more than mommy and daddy for sure!

We are so very excited to welcome her into our loving family and home. It is only 6 weeks away from her due date, so she will be here before we know it! We are having our maternity pictures done this weekend and already have her newborn pictures lined up for after she is born. I promise to update more often from now on :)

A Little More of the Nursery Coming Together

First off, we went to the doctor Wednesday for my 30 week checkup. I'm doing great and so is Miss Avery. I have to go every 2 weeks now that I'm in my third trimester. I did my glucose test and anemia test last time and those both came back normal, so I'm not anemic and I don't have gestational diabetes!!! My aunt had that with her son, so I was concerned that it might run in the family. The doctor said I'm measuring right on track. She asked us about the activity level of our little one. I wasn't sure how to describe her constant karate kid moves, but told her that she was VERY active pretty much all the time, which is a great thing for the baby, not so much for mommy's sleep and comfort. Her heartbeat was very strong and she kicked the doctor when she was listening to her heartbeat. It was so funny because that is typical Avery, she just can't be still. I'm afraid we might have an ADHD child on our hands, but I'm praying she is just excited about coming into this world! The doctor did warn us that from the amount of activity we described and her very strong heartbeat we might be in for a wild ride with this little girl...I say "Bring It On!!!!"

This past week has been super productive in terms of Avery's nursery! I have gotten three more essential parts of her nursery and I am very excited about it because the room is finally starting to come together!

Avery's room has hardwood floors, which are beautiful, but we really wanted to soften up the look and feel of the room and thought that adding a rug would be the perfect way to do that. We are on a budget of course because I'm not working, so I searched the internet for the perfect rug...and luckily I found it! I bought it from Overstock.com and am absolutely in love with it! It is just perfect for her room and really makes it look so much more feminine.

The next item I got was a glider that I bought from a lady on Craigslist. We had originally registered for one from Babies 'R Us, but it was very expensive and I thought that this was just much more practical and would actually fit better in the room and give us more space. I haggled the price down some and was able to get this for a steal! It was used very little and I just love it! The giraffe pillow did not come with it, but I have many stuffed animals for her already and thought this would be cute in the chair. Her bedding is a girly jungle theme, so that's how the giraffe fits in.

I also finally went out and purchased the black out fabric for her curtains, now I just have to wait for my friend's mom to sew them for me and then I get the fun task of painting them...I can't wait for that project! It's definitely going to test my patience, but I'm hoping it will go well. It looks pretty easy from what I have seen online. Check out this tutorial...DIY Striped Blackout Curtains. I got the fabric for a steal!!! It was originally $6.99 per yard, but it was 50% off, so only $3.49 per yard. Then I used my Teacher Rewards card to get an additional 15% off, making it only $2.97 per yard...talk about a deal!

I have had this diaper bag since before we knew we were having a girl. I bought it with the anticipation that we would have a girl because even though we didn't know, I had a gut feeling that we were going to be bringing a little girl into the world. Another me...oh joy! Anyways, its a Thirty One bag with a darling hot pink scarf and a matching zipper tote for diapers and wipes for quick diaper changes on the go! I love it, and of course I got it for a steal too because I hosted a party and sold a lot to earn freebies and 1/2 priced items. Of course, we had to register for a separate one for Kaylon because he refuses to take this out with him if he ever has her out on his own...I'm not sure why he wouldn't want to carry this, it's very chic!

That's all for now. We only need the dresser and changing table to have all of the elements of her room in place. I can't wait to do final nursery pictures and to have her here with us so we can spoil her rotten with love and affection! Until next time...

Pictures of Me Getting Bigger and Bigger...

I have had people asking for pictures of my belly throughout this pregnancy...well to be honest, I don't really like taking pictures of myself at all. For some reason, I just don't feel that I photograph well. However, to apease those who want pictures, here are some pictures of me since my pregnancy began. I didn't take a picture until about 22 weeks because I really didn't start to show until then. So enjoy, and I'm sorry for not being very photogenic :(

This is me at 22 weeks...not much going on, but a little pooch beginning to show.

This one was at 23 weeks. The shirt kinda disguises my tummy, but I promise she was growing!

And this one is of me at 27 weeks when Kaylon and I took our anniversary mini-vacation to the beach! In those 4 weeks she really popped out a lot!

And here is one of me today, at 29 weeks. I don't look much bigger than the one at 27 weeks, but I promise I feel much bigger!

I really wish I had been taking more pictures all along, but I just don't like being photographed. I hope you have enjoyed these...I certainly dread taking them! While I love the little child growing in there, I hate thinking of how big I am getting!!! Granted, I'm doing very well in the weight gain department, so hopefully it won't take too long to get back to my pre-baby size (if not smaller)!

Avery's Nursery (the beginning) and Other Cute Stuff

We have finally got started on Avery's nursery. It is going to be a work in progress (to be honest, probably one that won't be finished even when she arrives). It's not that I don't have the motivation because that is the least of my problems. However, babies are expensive! Everything for her nursery costs money, and so we are doing it little by little as we can get things. With me not working, this has certainly been an eye opener! We have been blessed by friends and family who have given us clothes and other items. Kaylon's mom bought Avery's crib and mattress and we FINALLY got it put together last week. It is bare now because we don't have the bedding yet, but I'm hoping to get that in the next month or so. This is one of those great cribs that converts to a toddler bed and eventually a full sized bed. We are hoping to get the matching dresser to go with it, but that will be a purchase that has to wait as it is expensive!!! But Kaylon will only have the best for his little girl and won't let me buy a dresser that doesn't match. She is daddy's little girl already! Here are pictures of the crib...I'll post more when we get the bedding on it.

Daddy working on getting that monster out of the box...

All put together!

I have been trying to decide what kind of hamper to get for her room. I was thinking a dark wicker hamper, but when I was at TJ Maxx/HomeGoods today I saw this ADORABLE hamper that was just perfect for her room (and a good deal at only $15)! Take a look!!!

My creative juices have been flowing the past few days...some may call it nesting, but I think it's just boredom! Anyways, I have been on this kick of wanting to make tutus for Avery. An amazing person in Charlotte is going to be doing my maternity AND Avery's newborn pictures for free! It's unbelievable really, I feel extremely blessed and so lucky. I went to grad school with her, and some of you may remember me begging people to like this girl's Facebook page so I could win a free photo session. Well, thanks to my many friends (and those annoyed by me constantly bugging them), I won so I am using this session for my maternity pictures. She then extended the opportunity to have my newborn pictures done for free too because she had vendors who wanted her to use their products as props in pictures and she needed models. Check her out at W Images! Well, I'm sure Miss Avery is going to be a great model and mommy is very happy because that saves us more money!!!! Anyways, I thought I must have a tutu for her pictures and I found some online tutorials to make them so easy with no sewing. All it takes is a rubber head band (or ribbon) and some tulle. That's it. It took 20 minutes, if that and it was so easy! I have other colors and plan to make more but this is all I have made so far. Now I just need to find/make a matching headband :)

And one of our very best friends, Geneva, bought this precious piggy bank for Miss Avery at HomeGoods too. It has a tutu on it, which was our theme today when out shopping for tulle, so it seemed perfect for the princess. Now to start adding money to her piggy bank :)

I promise to keep updating and I plan to keep on going until this nursery is ready for the princess. Her rug is on its way from Overstock.com. I still need to get the dresser, changing table, and glider to complete the room, but that will all have to come with time. It's going to be just precious! Thanks for reading and leave comments!!!

Welcome!!!

Welcome to my blog I have decided to start to document Miss Avery's life! I hope you find it enjoyable and please look over my rambling as being pregnant and not working leaves lots of time to think and do meaningless stuff! And please forgive me, but this will probably be a long blog as I have lots of catching up to do! I was such a slack pregnant lady that I really didn't document a lot of my thoughts, feelings, and experiences being pregnant so this may just be the place for that to happen.

It all became real on February 18, 2012. I had this feeling for a couple of weeks that I might be pregnant, but I was scared to face the reality and take a test. Finally, after Kaylon begging and pleading with me, I finally took the test on the Saturday after Valentine's Day. Kaylon and I had planned to go stay at a nice hotel in uptown Charlotte to celebrate Valentine's Day, and since we would be drinking some, I thought it was best if I went ahead and took the test just to be safe. I peed on the stick (great image, I know) and almost immediately the infamous + sign appeared. I started crying, but they weren't tears of joy at the time. I was terrified. I didn't have a job, I didn't have insurance, we lived in a 3rd floor apartment. It just wasn't what we had planned. But being the great husband he is, Kaylon assured me everything would be fine and I tried my hardest to make him believe that I believed him, although I was still very unsure in the back of my mind. It put a little damper on our romantic evening as it went from being about the two of us to the three of us. We had a lot of work to do before she came, and we were well aware of that. It would involve financial strains as well as mental and emotional strains. We would have to move, which we had wanted to do anyways. But it was something we were getting excited about and when Kaylon got me added to his insurance a couple of days later, my worries turned to sheer joy and excitement.


Since I found out I was pregnant, my wonderful husband and I have had to make a lot of choices. The one that has been the most rewarding, but also the cause of a lot of stress, is for me to be a stay-at-home mommy. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely thrilled to have the chance to be home with my little angel and help mold her into the precious little girl I know she will be. However, the financial toll this is going to take on our family is significant and definitely not something we decided on overnight. We prayed and it just seems like the thing to do. With me being due in September, the likelihood of me finding a school that would hire a new teacher who would have to be out for 6-8 weeks at the beginning of the school year for maternity leave was slim to none. So we just decided that I would stay home, which has always been a dream for me and Kaylon anyways. I'm excited, a little bit bored (for now), and anxious for her to be here!


To start the blog off, I want to share our first experience at the OB/GYN.


We had our first appointment at Midtown OB/GYN (LOVE) on April 2nd. This visit had many special moments because it was such a huge blessing to be able to actually see what God had blessed us with!


Funny story about that visit...I got the recommendation for Dr. Parket at Midtown OB/GYN from a friend who was seeing him for her pregnancy as well. While Kaylon and I were in the waiting room before our appointment, a handsome, tall doctor walked out to another area of the office. I made the funny remark, "I hope that's my doctor!" Kaylon just laughed at me because he loves me and knows I was anxious about the appointment. Well, who walks in to the exam room while I'm lying there exposed on the table but Mr. Handsome Himself! Kaylon just gave me that sideways grin and sat there enjoying my embarrassment as the visit proceeded.


Possibly my favorite part of the appointment was when Dr. Parker was examining my belly. Kaylon, being nervous and not sure of whether or not he was supposed to stand by me or stay diligently in his chair, was sitting against the wall as Dr. Parker was pressing on my belly doing the routine exam and trying to estimate how far along I was. Dr. Parker was standing so that Kaylon could not really see what he was doing, but I could see Kaylon from where I was laying. Dr. Parker got out the Doppler stethoscope (what they use to hear the baby's heartbeat) and placed it on my belly. The sound of her heartbeat came out immediately, strong and fast. Kaylon had no idea that the doctor was doing that at the time and when he heard that sound tears immediately came to his eyes and began running down his cheeks. As his wife and the mother of this precious life we created, that was the most touching moment we have had together. I wish I could have captured it on camera, but the picture will always be in my mind.


Dr. Parker estimated we were about 16 weeks along from feeling my belly, but since we weren't sure and actually thought we were only about 13 weeks along, we had our first ultrasound. To our surprise we were actually 16 weeks and 1 day already (good guess Dr. Parker!) and our wonderful ultrasound tech was able to determine the sex of the baby then! Here are the pictures from that day...

The first two are of her profile. She was really moving a lot that day so our ultrasound tech was able to get several great shots!

A little diva already, Miss Avery had her hand up to her head almost the entire time as if to say, "I've had enough, leave me alone!"

Being the big Tar Heel fans that we are, Kaylon and I loved this shot of her foot :)

And here is the first photo to embarrass her...that is her little Choochi right there haha!

And here she is waving good bye :)

At that appointment, I had blood drawn to test for all sorts of genetic disorders. It is very standard procedure, so I really thought nothing of it. The next morning, I got a call from Dr. Parker who left a voicemail asking me to call him back as soon as possible to discuss my results. Of course, I panicked! I was home alone because Kaylon was at work, so I called Dr. Parker and he knew it was me as soon as he picked up the phone, which made me even more nervous. He began explaining that the tests they ran measures for various things, including the risk of having a child with Down's Syndrome. I can't remember the exact numbers he told me, but I believe he said 1:5000 is the normal ratio of the risk of your child having Down's if the results come back normal. My results came back with a 1:150 chance, meaning that the chance my little girl would be born with Down's was 1 out of 150, which is significantly higher than the 1 out of 5,000 but still less than a 1% chance. Regardless of the very small risk she would be born with it, I was freaking out! Dr. Parker scheduled me an ultrasound with maternal fetal medicine for the following week to have a Level 2 ultrasound, where they use machines that are more advanced than the normal ultrasound machine and can pick up the exact due date better as well as measure the anatomy of the fetus better, which will give more insight into the health of the baby. I called Kaylon, freaking. I called my mom, freaking. I called my dad, freaking. And then I cried. A lot. How scary is it to be told your child might have Down's? Of course, I know Kaylon and I would love her the same but you want everything to be perfect and when that fantasy is put into question, it just turns your world upside down. My brother, JR, called and gave me the most reassuring words I could have heard at that time, especially coming from the stoic person that he is. He told me (and I am paraphrasing), "Jessica, I really don't think anything is wrong with her. We were told a lot of scary stuff with the twins and they are just fine, but even if she does have Down's, our family will love her no matter what." Coming from my big brother that meant a lot and it brought me to tears...again. But he was right, the love we all felt for that child would not change regardless of anything that could go wrong. The next week went by so slow as I awaited that appointment. I researched and read a lot of stories of people in my same situation who had no problems, but I was still uneasy.


The following week, we went to our appointment. After waiting an eternity (or at least it felt that way), we were finally called back. While we were there for a scary reason, it was so good to get to see our little girl on that screen again! And this time, the screen was huge! It was not like some old 9" black and white television, this was the mac daddy 47" HDTV flat screen, so we got to see her in all of her glory!! She had the hiccups, which was so funny to watch. Obviously I couldn't feel her at this point, so  it was funny to think that was going on inside my belly and I had no clue! The ultrasound tech looked at various parts of our baby and measured everything...I mean everything! Arms, legs, fingers, toes, neck, head, you get the point? She was telling us about all of the indicators of having downs that can be seen from an anatomy standpoint and our little girl looked completely healthy and normal. She did reaffirm that it was a girl at Kaylon's request (he was really hoping for a boy, but he is thrilled with the girl)! The doctor then came in and did his own measuring and looking. He said that she looked healthy, but that the chance was still 1:150 and that wouldn't change. He gave us the option of scheduling an amniocentesis, which is where they draw amniotic fluid from around the baby with a HUGE needle and test it, which is a definite yes or no as to whether she has Down's. We chose to not have that done, simply for the fact that it wouldn't change anything about the pregnancy. We are having this baby regardless, delivery would be the same, so what was the point of putting her at risk? Granted the risk was very low that anything could go wrong, but we just did not want to chance it. We pray that she is healthy, but we really won't know until we get to meet her in September. The good thing about that appointment...we got more pictures!!! Most of them were just of her arms, legs, hands, and feet. They did get one of her profile, but I thought she looked kinda like a gorilla lol. I'll share it anyways :)

Our beautiful baby girl (gorilla looking or not!)

Well, that is all I am going to write for now. I think I gave you plenty to read and if you made it all the way to the end, I'm sure you are bored by now! I will post more about my pregnancy and hopefully get caught up to being current. Don't worry, I'm not going to do a day-by-day, just the important things that happened along the way! Thanks for reading and please pray for us as we embark on this exciting, life changing journey!!!