Ryleigh Erin has Arrived

Our little early bird arrived on Feb 16th at 5:58 pm. She was thirteen days ahead of schedule which made her uncomfortable mama very happy. She weighed in at 6 lbs 8 oz and was 19.5" long-a dainty little lady. She has a full head of blonde hair and is a fantastic baby. I'll be back with the details of her arrival soon, but for now here's a pic of our girl.

38 Weeks

Today marks 38 weeks...exactly two weeks to go until I reach my due date, and no more than 3 weeks to go at the most before this whole pregnancy thing comes to an end! It can't come soon enough! I know we should be enjoying these last moments of peace and quiet, but it is all overshadowed by the anticipation and complete discomfort! I had a visit with the doc yesterday and he told me that he will induce me next week if I am dilated at all by my next appt (on Tue). I was not dilated at all yesterday, but baby's head is very low, which he said will help dilate my cervix faster, which is nice. But it also is what is contributing to all the uncomfortableness in my lower regions. So, we shall see...next week would be very convenient since John will be out of town on my actual due date. He will be somewhat local, working a trade show in San Diego, but it would be a relief for him to know that I won't go into labor at any time while he is 2 hours away.

On a non babe note, yesterday was V-Day, and what a lovely day it was. I had a doc appt in the am, followed by a little lunch outing with John. After work, we got all dolled up and headed to Taps, one of my fav places that I always manage to forget about. Since it was Valentine's Day, they had a fixed menu, and my all time fav dessert, their chocolate souffle, was not on it. I knew about this ahead of time, but I was still hoping by some miracle that it would be on the menu when we arrived. Well, it wasn't, but good ol John asked our server if they could prepare a souffle for a desperate pregnant lady, and they did! John, who has a thing about menu alterations and asking for special things at a restaurant, was my hero last night! Anyway, we had a delish meal of crabcakes for me, oysters (ew) for him, lobster pot pie, and some amazing souffle. I couldn't really move by the end of the night since I was so stuffed, but it was worth every last calorie!

OUCH!

Over the past 9 months, I have to say that I haven't had any of the stereotypical emotional side effects of pregnancy. My husband will even vouch for me on that one! No meltdowns, no yelling fits or sudden, unexplained crying. Not even any strange food cravings. I've felt just like a larger (and sicker) version of myself! I've been in good spirits despite all the sickness in the first half, and overall have felt pretty good. But over the past week or two, I have hit a wall people! I am so done with being pregnant, and I can feel the grumpiness setting in. My entire body hurts all day long. And sleep? Forget it! Everyone warns you that by this point in pregnancy, you don't feel good, and man are they right on this one. It hurts to sit on the couch. Lying down in bed is somehow even worse, and when I walk (or waddle) around, oh the pressure-I feel like something is about to fall out of my lady parts! Let's hope it doesn't go down like that! I have also been extremely spacey, which John can def vouch for. I guess my mind is officially occupied by all things baby and has no room for anything else.

Despite all this discomfort, it does come with a few perks, like being able to work from home since week 35. My Doc actually asked at my 35 wk appt if I had to keep working. I thought that was a strange question because there are no complications going on that would cause him to put me on bedrest or to suggest not being active. He said that he recommends that his patients who don't have to work the last few weeks of pregnancy should not. My work situation is unique, but it got me thinking-what normal, working lady has the luxury of beginning their maternity leave 5 wks before baby? Wouldn't you want to save all that time for after baby is born? Anyway, almost 3 wks later I can see what good ol Doc Buchanan is talking about. Being this prego is HARD on your body. I sit at a desk all day, and even that got to be painful. So, I am now working from the home office, and it is bliss. I shower each morning and then change into a fresh pair of pjs. I actually get annoyed when I have to venture into public and wear real clothes. I tell myself that trend will end when my "real clothes" fit comfortably again.

In an effort to cut this pregnancy a week or two short, I have been walking like a mad woman and drinking red leaf raspberry tea like crazy. I know that she will come when she's good n ready, but if the fact that I'm good and ready is taken remotely into consideration, I want her to know! I have been having a lot of contractions over the past week, and they are getting more frequent and intense, but nothing timeable. I am also adamant that I will not be going to the hospital and leaving w/out a baby, so I plan to wait until I KNOW I am in full-blown labor before I leave the house. Hoping it won't be much longer now...

Nursery and an Update

We spent the last several weekends putting the finishing touches on little Ry's room. I am so happy with how it turned out. I don't have the best pics to share since these are all courtesy of my iPhone, but you'll get the idea.

Crib and Wall Letters

Another Shot


Bench and Glider...and her animal menagerie courtesy of her daddy. The custom bench cushion was made by The Baby Guy, who also did her bedding

Bad lighting, but her little R courtesy of her auntie Brooke, Meg, and Ash

Dresser

Letters made by Auntie Brooke

In addition to the finishing touches to the room, all of the washing is done and her little clothes are folded and ready to go! All we need is baby now...

Speaking of baby, I had my 37 week U/S this morning, and caught one last glimpse of the babe before we meet in person. I have not had much luck in the U/S dept and today wasn't much different. This girl is definitely camera shy! Our tech today was pretty awesome and she was determined to catch a shot of her face before the end of the scan. Baby cooperated slightly and moved her hands out of the way, and we got a small preview of her chubby cheeks. We also found out that she somehow has a full head of hair, which leads me to wonder just whose baby this is! I never knew you could see hair in an U/S, but sure enough, we were able to see those locks blowing in the wind (or floating in the fluid!). I guess that explains all the heartburn I've been having! The tech predicted what I suspected-that this is one tiny little lady. She weighs in at approximately 5.5 lbs right now with three ish more weeks to grow. They estimated that she will be about 6.5 lbs by her birthday, and I hope they're right considering her dad was nearly a 9 pounder! Other than that, they confirmed that she is indeed head down and ready to go, so I'll be spending these next couple of weeks walking and walking and walking trying to get this kiddo to make her debut. I don't think I can face the thought of being pregnant for another 3 weeks, or 4, God forbid, if she comes late! So, wish me luck in my labor inducing endeavors!

Here's a little shot of our dainty lady

Baby Shower

On Jan 21st, my wonderful amazing talented amazing, amazing, amazing friends threw me the most beautiful baby shower. I still can't believe how much thought and work they put into this shower. I felt like I was walking into a Pinterest board when I entered the house! The shower was at my parents house, and was hosted by my three best girls, Brooke, Megan, and Ashlee. The food was catered by La Creperie and it was delicious! La Creperie staff set up crepe stations in the kitchen and made fresh crepe carbonara for lunch and then some delicious dessert crepes afterwards. Scrumptious!

Be prepared for some pic overload!

Cupcake Table & Candy Station

Candy Details

Onsies strung throughout the house

Another shot of the dessert table

Diaper Cake and Name Blocks

Onsie Decorating Station

Brooke made tutus for every occasion for little Ry's 1st year, starting with St Patrick's Day! The tutu's were displayed around the house. What an amazing idea!

More Tutus...

Table Decor

Another diaper cake shot

Every detail was just gorgeous!

Check out the little hair clips that accented each centerpiece

It wouldn't be a party without Ashlee's cookies!

The girls made a dinner sign up sheet for people to volunteer to bring us dinner during the first month. I guess John will get fed afterall! ; )

Crepe Maker Extraordinaire setting up

One of the games involved me being blindfolded and having to guess what each different baby item placed in my hand was. I scored a 100%, thank you very much!

The presies!


Everyone knew what a big deal St P's Day is in the Hall household, and little R is going to fit right in!

Little Cousin Zoe helping with the presents. This is right before she told me that she's sorry my stomach will have to get ripped out in order to get the baby out. Hahahaha


We got several handmade sweaters from my Granny. Love them!




More St P's loot


The Grandma-to-Be's

The beautiful flowers John delivered to the shower. We are lucky girls

Jen and I-both expecting little ladies. It has been so fun to be pregnant at the same time as all of my best friends!

The moms and I again

Admiring my Bugaboo! Isn't she beautiful?! Thanks Mom and Dad!

Party Planners taking a breather

The soon-to-be GREAT Grannies!

Karen and I

Party Planners of the Year-My Best Friends = )


We had such a wonderful day. John enjoyed his "man shower" at Roscoes w/ the guys. His day basically consisted of hanging at the bar all day and NOT having to be anywhere near the estrogen packed house!

I can't believe how lucky we are to have such amazing friends in our lives!

36 Weeks

How far along?: 36 Weeks

Total Weight Gain/Loss: + 16.5 lbs as of this morning. Gone are the days of no weight gain! Side note-being pregnant during the winter months comes with an unforeseen problem-cold weather clothes just weigh more! I feel the urge to completely strip down every time I step on the Doc's scale since I'm wearing what I feel is an extra 5 lbs of clothing. Oh well, at least we've had a very warm Jan and I've been skipping off to my last couple doc appts in tank tops and flip flops = )

Maternity Clothes?: Yes, although I have somehow been making most of my pre-preg shirts work. These days, nothing is comfortable, so my go to outfit has been yoga pants and Target tank tops. Very sexy

Sleep: You would think that your body would somehow know that your days of peaceful sleeping are numbered, and that it would throw you a bone over the last few weeks of pregnancy so you can actually sleep, but no. I don't remember that last night I slept well, and it's just getting worse. The most comfortable place for me to sleep is on my reclining couch and not in bed.

Best moment this week: Buying the FINAL items that we needed for baby. I had an amazing baby shower last weekend (post coming soon), and we got so many amazing things. We spent the next two weekends organizing all of our new things and purchasing the remaining necessities off our registry. We are officially ready!!

Food Cravings: Dessert. I've really been craving pie, although I have not indulged that craving.

Gender: Girl

Labor Signs: Lots of contractions, and some of them are pretty painful. Hoping that means that it's close, but I also know that it's totally normal for this point in pregnancy

Belly Button in or out?: Out and weird. I've been very lucky (knock on wood) in the stretch mark dept. I haven't had any yet to date with exception for a weird mark right over where my belly button piercing used to be. I guess I should have listened to my mom afterall and not pierced the damn thing!

What I miss: Being comfortable, my old clothes, and my body. I feel like it has been taken over completely, and I am ready to get it back to normal!

What I am looking forward to: Meeting the baby and seeing what she looks like!

Weekly Wisdom: Move. Even though sitting on the couch is all I feel like I have energy for, I feel so much better when I move. Walking, running errands, housework, etc all help my aching bones, and I sleep better.

Milestone: Doc telling my at my last appt that I can officially go into labor now and they wouldn't try to stop it. I've made it full term!

34 Weeks

Things around here have calmed down a bit after the whirlwind of the holidays. That means I have been in nest mode for the past couple of weekends. Most people feel the need to completely clean, organize, and rearrange their nests, but my desires are a step above that-I want a NEW NEST. But, since that's not on the table for at least a year, I am making due with our current nest. I spent last weekend making lists, doing laundry for the little one (I can't believe we all started off that tiny!), shopping for some items needed for the hospital, etc. 40 weeks is a long time, and the whole baby arriving thing seemed so far away that I hadn't really thought about any of this stuff until my early visit to L&D. That little scare made me realize that she will be here anywhere between 3-7 weeks from now (and hopefully not any sooner than that), so I'd better get my butt into gear! So, carpet cleaning has been done, newborn onsies have been purchased and washed, copious amounts of hats and headbands have been ordered from Etsy, and other necessities have been organized. My baby shower is next weekend, and I can't wait to see what my wonderful friends have put together.

Other than that, life has been grand. I am really starting to feel uncomfortable, tired, and worn out as the ends draws near, but I know it will all be over soon! I asked my doc at my last appointment what he policy on inducing labor is, and he confirmed that the longest he'll make me go overdue is one week. So that means this little babe will be in our arms no later than March 7th. Even though 1st babies are typically late, I've had a feeling that she'll be early. But, it's nice to know that if she does decide to follow in my never punctual footsteps, I won't have to be miserable any longer than 7 days.

In some strange way, I feel like we will get some of our normal life back when the baby comes. Even though everyone warns me that things will never, ever ever ever be the same, it will be nice to slip back into some of my normal, pre-pregnancy routines like working out, feeling good, wearing normal clothes again, etc. Come on time, speed up!

Here's a glimpse of a 34 week belly. Out of nowhere, my belly doubled in size. It really feels like it happened over night!