Nursery Update: decisions, anxiety and a BIG change

Our furniture was FINALLY delivered last weekend after much back and forth with the delivery company.  However, the tall dresser had a crack in it and will have to be swapped out when a new one comes in.  We also bought the bedding set, last weekend, that we had on our registry because I really needed to see it to be able to get inspiration for the rest of the room.  We had also found this really cool wall decal that we ordered and a purple chandelier.  We had also made plans to shop for the rest of the decor yesterday.  I am going to stop here to share my "bedding" anxiety because I am sure that Shawn and my sisters are about ready to kill me!  So, let's back up a few months/weeks ago.......

Before we even knew we were having a girl we had started thinking about themes for the nursery.  We were pretty set on Winnie the Pooh if it was a boy or this "Sugar Plum" set if it was a girl.  Both of these were great themes and we knew that we would be able to find all of the necessary decor to have a great room.  When we actually found out we were having a girl, I started second guessing this "Sugar Plum" set.  I decided that it was too pink/mauve looking and really didn't have a lot of purple in it.  So, I scoured the Internet and looked at so many websites with nursery bedding that I was losing my mind!  I thought that having a "cookie cutter" room was a great idea because everything would be matching.  Then I thought that I would love to have a nursery that would really "grow" with our girl.  Anyway, when we went to Babies R' Us to finish adding the gender specific things to our registry I was still not really sure what I wanted.  Shawn, Cassie and I looked at every set that they had and I actually found one that I really liked.  It was an 8 piece set, but their was not lamps, wall decor, etc. that matched it.  I thought well, this gives me the opportunity to add some of my own personality, but still have some pieces that went together.  We decided to add it to our registry and then proceeded to pick out the paint color, in the store, with the paint chips we had just gotten a few hours ago.  Cassie picked the color and I was very excited about everything.  We then painted the nursery and the furniture was delivered.  So last weekend after we bought the bedding set and brought it home I started having the anxiety.  I really loved all of the colors and different print medias in the set, but my big things were that we wouldn't be able to use the blanket at all and the bumper we could use for only a short time.  You are not allowed to cover your baby when she is sleeping due to suffocation issues and the same with the bumper.  Once the bumper would be out of the crib, I would basically lose everything that I loved about the set.  I, however, decided that this was ok and we went about finding the wall decal, light and had ideas about other decorations.  Back to present day.....

Yesterday, as we had planned, we set off to go in as many stores as it took to find curtains, a lamp, a rug, wall art, etc.  The first place that we went was Hobby Lobby and we fell in love with a piece of framed wall art.  We then went to Michael's, BedBath, Target and Wal-Mart.  Amongst all these places we found a purple closet organizer, a really cute purple flower picture frame and a few other things.  We then headed toward the Southpark area because we had dinner reservations over there.  I asked Shawn if he thought we should go to the Pottery Barn Kids store in the mall while we were there because they have a lot of really cute decor items.  He said yes, that it wouldn't be a bad idea to check it out.  So, after we ate we headed to the mall.  We walked into the store and it is set up so neat and I was in love with a lot of the items.  However, they are pretty expensive.  We finally found our way to the "nursery" section of the store and that is when it happened.  I fell absolutely IN LOVE with some purple bedding.  It was EXACTLY what I had pictured in my head from the very beginning (obviously I was in denial).  I told Shawn that I didn't think I could leave the store without getting it.  Being the wonderful husband that he is, we grabbed all the pieces and headed to the register.  As we were waiting to check out we also found the perfect lamp shade.  The kicker to all of this is that as we were leaving the mall, Shawn says, "I don't think the paint color is going to match."  I about lost it.  As soon as we got home I took everything upstairs and we put the new bedding on and put out all the accessories that we had bought.  Shawn and I were still not sure about the paint color and we needed a second opinion.  I called my sister Cassie and told her what was going on and she drove over (at 10pm!) to help us decide.  It has been determined that we will have to repaint.  I feel so bad because everyone took time out of their weekend to come over and help.  Hopefully, they will forgive me!  I woke up this morning thinking that I was going to have buyer's remorse, but I walked into the nursery and said, "Nope, this is it."  We will post pictures when it is complete.

4th Doctor's Appointment and 21 week update

I had my 21 week baby check up with the doctor today.  He said that everything is going very well!  My blood pressure, heart rate and weight all checked in normal.  The babies heart beat was strong at 155 beats.  I did not have to give any blood today (yea!), but I will next time.  In about 8 weeks I will have to have the sugar/gestational diabetes testing.  However, the doctor said that he feels that I will pass everything just fine.  Other than that, nothing else to report!

21 Week Update:

Size of baby: A banana! At 10.5 inches long and weighing about 12.2 ounces

Organ development: The digestive system is prepping for the outside world, she's manufacturing meconium -- the tarry black substance we will find in her first dirty diaper (ew)!  She also already has got a lifetime's supply of eggs in her womb -- about six million of them!

Movement:  I should be able to start feeling her moving/kicking any day now

Cravings:  Still no strong cravings at this time, but Shawn just went to get me a piece of cheesecake because I really had a taste for it!

Aches/Pains: None for the past few weeks

Painting Baby Anderson's Room

Yesterday, Shawn, Ashley, Cassie and my sister's boyfriend David came over to paint the baby's room.  We really lucked out because it was 70 degrees here yesterday and we were able to open a lot of the windows upstairs to get the paint smell out quickly!  Shawn had taped the room the night before so they got down to business right away.  Since I could not help the dog and I supervised from the other bedroom.  Ashley joined us about a half hour later because she said that she was messing it up and didn't really know what she was doing.  She insisted that someone needed to come and sit with me anyway.  The painting really didn't take that long and I am so appreciative of all the help!  Cassie also wanted me to point out (and it will be included in the baby book) that she picked out the color, whipped plum, of the room.  See pictures below!  The furniture will be delivered this week and I promise to post pics of it when we get it set up!

Baby Anderson's clothes....already!

This baby is well on her way to having a clothes shopping addiction like her mama...haha!  She has accumulated a lot of things over the past two weeks.  However, as you all know I am a bargain shopper and pretty much everything that has been bought was marked down or a really good sale price.  We even have some Christmas stuff for her that I got either 50 or 70% off!

First outfit from Aunt Heather

 First outfit from Grandma Joan

Outfits that I got

Sleeper says it all!

Daddy's Sweetheart

Ralph Lauren Set

Purple Tutu Oufit

Some of her clothes hanging up

"My Auntie Loves Me"

"My Auntie Loves Me"

Newborn outfit and blankets from Shawn's Aunt & Uncle

 "Very Merry" Christmas tutu dress



"Snow Princess" Dress

"Snowflake" Dress

Christmas bib and onesies

Baby Anderson's Christmas

Baby Anderson had a great spoiled for Christmas this year; wonder what next year will bring??

Belly Pics!

I have been waiting to post belly pics on here until I get a couple of weeks worth.  Here are weeks 17, 18 and 19!



17 Weeks



18 Weeks

19 Weeks

Gender Reveal......IT'S A ??????

GIRL!!!!!

We revealed the gender of our baby over the Christmas holiday.  It was a very exciting time and we revealed it different ways for each side of our families.  For Shawns side of the family we did a reveal cake (see pics below).  I had Harris Teeter create a special "Christmas Cake" that had pink icing in between each of the 3 layers.  The ladies at the bakery were so excited and said that they had never done anything like this before.  I told them to "Christmas up" the outside, so no one would be the wiser.  It came out beautifully and I would not have changed a thing about it.  The only person on in Shawn's family who thought something was up with it was his sister.  She had a feeling that the inside was going to reveal whether we were having a boy or girl.

For my side of the family we decided to get three "It's a Girl" balloons and stuff them in a big bag and then when the bag was untied the balloons would come popping out.  Well, the balloons would not fit in the bag that we bought, so we had to improvise with a suitcase but it actually turned out much better this way because the balloons really "popped out."  We were able to face time on my sisters iPad with family that was not near us and it was really cool to have everyone in on the action.