Who is ready for Baby Artie?? We are!

Yes, our bags are packed and we are ready to go to the hospital! Even though they have been packed for a few weeks, now I can make sure I have everything ready by Sunday night. My diaper bag is the Pout diaper bag made by my very talented sister-in-law and my adorable paisley bag is from my sisters. They pretty much had it fully packed for me as a shower gift.
This is where baby Artie will sleep when he or she first gets home. It is right next to our bed and his or her big brothers beds. What a happy family we will be :).


When Artie gets a little older we will have him or her sleep in its very own beautiful crib. The bed skirt and bumper were made by my sister Brooke's mother-in-law, Bonnie Harris. She did amazing work and I just think it is so perfect!

For those of you who were worried... no I did not forget about the dogs. I had a special dog bed made just for them to share in the baby's room. The pattern is the same as the cottontail pattern on the bumper! Wow I am such a loser, but you all already knew that.

When it is diaper changing time, nap time or play time down stairs. We have the very cute monkey pack and play with a diaper changing station and a monkey bouncer where Artie can keep him or herself entertained when mommy and Daddy need to get a few things done.

Now I could not pass these items up once I saw them... a stuffed dog and ducky with a passie on the end of it. Artie will just love these and if not at least I do.

When the weather is nice we will be taking Artie out in his or her coffee colored Bob Stroller from Robby's aunt Ellen. This baby will be riding in style! When he or she gets older and we are strolling around the zoo, shopping or meeting friends for lunch he or she will be in the very sleek black liteway stroller from a few of my nursing school friends, Michelle, Gloria and Katie.

When we get home from our long walks Baby Artie can fall asleep in the soft cloud like, lamb swing that was given to him or her by the North Carolina aunts and Great Nana. Sometimes I find myself looking at it and even I start drifting off to sleep on how soft and comfy it looks.

So I believe we are pretty much ready... the car seat has been installed for a few weeks now as well and the dogs just hate getting in the car now. They can hardly fit there bottoms on their side of the car. They will just have to get used to sharing their space with Artie or Artley as my niece and nephew are now calling the baby.

I wish I could have shown all my wonderful gifts that were given to us but they are all washed and waiting to be used. Thank you all for making my pregnancy so much fun! As I have said in pretty much all of my post, Robby, Artie and I are truly lucky to have so many wonderful people in our lives! Artie is so lucky to be coming into a world with so many people that already love him or her.

We will know Monday if it is a boy or girl... oh and for those that did not know it will either be Hadley Jane or Robert Charles Jr.

Love you all

Whitney

37 Weeks and some news!!!

Size of Baby: I had my doctors appointment yesterday morning where my doctor once again was concerned about how big Baby Artie is. According to my Week by Week book Artie should be around 6.5 lbs and according to the ultrasound that we had Baby Artie's estimated weight is 8 lbs 5 oz! We were told that the ultrasound estimate could be off 1/2 lb either way but usually they over estimate. Good thing Robby and I both love chunky babies since that will be what we are having :).

Gender: Even though we had a ultrasound yesterday we still do not know the sex. The heart rate was 160 beats per minute. Still high meaning girl.

Movement: This week I have been feeling a bunch of movement on my left side which is right where a foot and hand are located. We got to see on the ultrasound Baby Artie kicking my side and reaching for its foot with it's tiny hand!

Sleep: Still not sleeping.

What I miss: Being able to walk without a waddle.

Craving: Jimmy Johns country club sandwich... This is what I will be eating in the hospital!!! I miss cold deli meat!

What I am looking forward to: Monday or Tuesday of next week... keep reading!

News: As mentioned above... Baby Artie is a big baby already. I am full term, meaning that the baby is fully developed and is now just growing in size.
After our ultrasound, Robby and I went into our doctors office, he took a look at the baby's info and looked at us and said I think we are going to have you come in Nov 1 or 2 to be induced!!!!!!!!!!!!! Robby and I just looked at each other and could not stop smiling in shock and excitement.
To understand this a little more you need to know that my doctor knows I am not wanting a C-section and with the baby being so big if I were to wait for my due date the chances of me having a C-section are increased. The baby's shoulders are measuring around what should be about 40 weeks so the earlier the baby comes out the better!
We are super excited that within a week we will finally get to meet Baby Artie and know if it is a boy or girl!

Shower # 4... Last shower!

Our last shower was thrown by our wonderful neighbors, Ted and Cathy Colburn. Two years ago we threw them a shower and Ted and Cathy were not going to let their chance go by for showering us. The house was so beautifully decorated for our very nice couples shower. Cathy had pictures up of both Robby and I when we were babies and it was so much fun to try and guess what our little one will look like!

For dinner: Cathy and Ted served mouth watering beef and pork tenderloin that was cooked to perfection with homemade horseradish sauce and mustard's. We had brochette, rice and apples with toffee apple dip. For dessert we had Cathy's famous toffee bars and apple bars.
Gifts: We got so many wonderful gifts from our friends and family at this shower, including the gift I have been waiting for... my monkey pack and play!! Wow who would have known the day would come when I would get so excited about a pack and play? Some of the other gifts that we got were our diaper changing station, Christmas outfit, bucket of goodies, bedding, stuffed animals, Diaper Gene, toys, diapers and wipes that I think will last a whole year but will probably only last a month and so much more! Robby and I could hardly believe how much we got. Again we were reminded of how lucky we are to have such wonderful family and friends.

Games Played: Instead of playing a game our host sent a little card for all the guest to write down some advice for Robby and I as new parents. We had many laughs while reading all the thoughtful and comical advice!

At the end of the night Cathy read me her advice while using fun props while Ted played a funny video of "Dad's Life" while dancing and making us all laugh. I really don't think we could have been luckier to have such great neighbors:).

Thank you all!

36 Weeks!

(this picture is from our friends wedding this weekend. They had a photo booth full of props and this is what we came up with.)

Size of Baby: Baby should be around 6 lbs and 20 3/4 inches long. The other night I could feel pretty much the whole baby when I was laying on my back. I could trace the back, to the bottom, to the knees, to the feet. It was so crazy being able to trace everything! I then started trying to figure out how big the baby really is... obvious that was not possible but what an amazing thing!

Gender: Still feeling girl and still have no idea! Heart rate today was 150 beats per minute.


Movement: This week Baby Artie has been really pushing his or her body outward against me is the only way I can explain it. The little legs keep kicking and the feet keep pushing back at me when I push in at them. I think we are going to have an active baby on our hands!


Sleep: Hmmm worse than last week. I just can not get comfortable and some nights when I lay down I kind of feel like I am laying down only because it is 10:30 pm instead of being because I am tired. Maybe I should try to be more busy during the day to completely tire myself out so I can sleep... haha mom and Kathy I am just kidding... well kind of :)


What I miss: Still sleep, being able to work out and that is probably it. Of course I would miss all these things for years if that meant I got to have a sweet little Baby Artie at the end of it.


Cravings: I am sure you can all guess.


Best moment of the week: This weekend we had our last baby shower at our wondeful neighbors house, Cathy and Ted Colburns! We had such a wonderful time with our family and friends and feel pretty prepared to have this baby now. Pictures and more info on the party will follow in the next couple days.



What I am looking forward to: I keep having an image pop in my head of me in the hospital bed looking up at Robby holding our baby. Oh man I just can not wait for that moment!!

Baby Shower #3

A few weeks ago my dear friends Liz, Heather, Shae and Kaitlin threw me an all girls baby shower! Once again my friends went above and beyond what they should have done for me. I feel so luck to have such wonderful people in my life.

The party was hosted at Shae's house, which was decorated in a adorable fall/baby theme. When we walked in you could smell the delicious apple cider simmering in the crock pot while looking at the beautifully decorated home of fun games, onsies and little pumpkins.

The Menu: For brunch we had mini cinnamon rolls, salad, the option of chicken tortilla, tomato and ministrone soup and bread... all which were homemade by the hostessess. I of course had to try all three soups, so not to play favorites. And surprise, surprise all were equally delicious and I was able to take jar of each home with me! Yum, yum!

Games Played: My clever friends had fun games for all to play. First was to take a starbucks coffee cup and write a boy and girl name suggestion, guess the date the baby will arrive and then of course what they thought the weight of Baby Artie would be. I am pretty sure everyone guessed over 8 lbs 5 oz... so pretty much everyone thinks Baby Artie will be a big, adorable chunky baby :).

The next game was a fun way of everyone to make fun of how much I love my dogs.. The first poster was "You know the baby has joined the pack when..." Top answers were, Whitney stops working at a dog bakery and works at a human bakery, Whitney stops making the dogs new dishes every month and instead is making stuff for the baby and when Whitney stops feeding her dogs better food than the humans in her house. The second poster was "Now that Robby is a father..." the absolute best response was by his mother! She yelled out, " Robby wont be the biggest baby in the house". It was amazing how true that is.

Gifts: From this shower I got so many wonderful things... stroller, hand made green blanket, books, stuffed animals, clothes, photo session for new baby, Moses basket full of goodies, hospital bag with all the things I will need when the time comes to leave for the hospital and so much more!!!!!

Thank you all so much for everything you have done for me! I love you all so much!

35 weeks!!!

Size of Baby: Baby should be over 5 1/2 lbs with a total length around 20 inches long. When I look down at my belly I can not believe there is a little person in there!

Gender: All I know is that I am carrying this baby really low. My sister Brooke carried her son, Jackson high so maybe that means it is a girl. Who knows though.

Movement: This week has been very interesting with movement! A week ago I felt hiccups very low which was because the baby was head down. The middle of this week Robby and I woke up and it looked like I had a camel hump in my stomach and the top hump felt like a head. Minutes later I felt the hiccups up high... the baby had flipped in the middle the night. I of course start thinking about how I am going to have to have a C-section and the baby will be breach. Then on Sunday my stomach was killing me and Baby Artie was pushing out against me really hard. I took a nice long nap on my left side and tried to not freak out about what could be going on. When I woke up I felt better and today at my doctor's appointment the baby was head down again!!! What a crazy week for Baby Artie. I am not dilated yet though so hopefully Artie will stay put until it is time.

Sleep: Not happening!

Symptoms/ Cravings: Sleeplessness and sweets again... or did the sweets ever go away??? All I know is I have started baking chocolate chip cookies and ginger snap cookies almost everyother day and made pumpkin ice cream sandwiches with them... Yum Yum I love fall flavors!

What I miss: I really want to sleep and go on a nice long run or do a hardcore workout class!

Best Moment of the Week: Robby and I laughing at the camel in my tummy. It was so strange becuase both round humps would move around... if you are wondering what the humps were... it was the bottom and the head. Next best moment was finding it was back to head down position!

What I am looking forward to: My next appointment to see if I am dilated at all and my last baby shower at our wonderful neighbors house, Cathy and Ted Colburn.

34 Weeks!

This is a picture of me with Oliver and Chuck at my nephews soccer game

Size of Baby: Baby is over 5lbs and total length is around 19 3/4 inches.

Gender: Only time will tell.... Robby and I are still thinking girl though!

Movement: The baby has made the move down, or as many of us have heard, the baby has dropped and is in position! The lungs are not fully developed so we are hoping it stays in to cook for at least two more weeks. Also a new fun thing that I have noticed with the baby is when I push down on an area for a few seconds I will then feel a push back. This is so cool and makes me feel so connected with Baby Artie... I can not wait to meet him or her!

Sleep: Haha not happening! So now both my hips cramp up when I lay on them and sleeping on my back is not supposed to be an option. Sometimes you have to just do what you are not supposed to do I guess.

What I miss: hmmm sleeping... but more than anything, what I can not wait for is to see the face of our sweet little baby!! I can't believe how close it is. I could miss sleep for the next month knowing that soon we will be holding our baby.

Cravings: I really don't have any anymore.

Best Moment of the week: This week, aside from being excited about all the work we are having done at our house before baby arrives, I had the best time at my shower this weekend! My friends Shae Paradise, Kaitlin McInerney, Heather Greenlaw and Liz Wallace all got together and threw me such a fun girls shower this weekend. It was so fun to have many of my girlfriends and family members in one room laughing and talking about my obsession with my dogs and how we all hope I love this baby as much as I love them. Mom don't worry I will love our sweet little bundle more than my dogs.

What I am looking forward to: This week I am going to wash all the clothes, towels and blankets so they are fresh and clean for Baby Artie!

Pictures from the baby shower today will be up soon!