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Eden Rae Crain

September 17, 2010

8:34 p.m.

Weighing in at 5 lbs 13 oz and measuring 19" in length.

Eden is finally giving me a bit of rest from feedings so that I can post her birth announcement. She is such a gem and I know everyone says it, but we love her WAY more than we ever thought possible. Who knew bringing such a small life into our home would cause our hearts to burst? Bella is doing wonderfully with her and being the protective big sister that we predicted she would be. One of the biggest disappointments was coming home to bed rest once again. I had thought I was all done once the little one was born, but boy oh boy does my doctor think its fun to keep me plastered to a couch. More on that at a later time. I do plan to post the birth story...mostly for my benefit, but hey I liked reading other birth stories so I'll post it in case one of you actually cares. If not, don't read it. I'll do my best to keep it from being TMI, but I can't guarantee anything because well, I just happen to open my big mouth a lot and forget that not everyone likes to hear those things.  I think the story is kind of interesting because it basically goes against everything I ever planned...

Alright, back to feeding the newest princess. Yes, Josh is WAY outnumbered. Three females to two males...its a good thing we have a man fish named Mohawk or it would be three to one. Josh totally loves it though, I just know it.

39 Weeks

This is officially the very last time I will be making one of these weekly posts. Yes, that is correct...we are having a baby this week! Actually, we are going in to be induced in just 2 days. It is SO weird to say that. Even weirder is having a date set for when we will be seeing our baby (give or take a day or two). Here is how it happened...

Yesterday we had our 8th ultrasound to check on the amniotic fluid and make sure she was not under any stress. As usual Eden passed the test with flying colors. Despite the fact that she doesn't have much fluid in there, she sure doesn't seem to even be affected. The level had actually gone back up to a healthy level from all of the bed rest so Eden is now in a safe place!

We had our doctor's appointment today (we saw our actual doctor and not the nurse practitioner so we knew this appointment would be a big one). Our doctor was very happy with the results of the ultrasound, yet not so happy with my progress. Still only dilated to ONE STINKING CENTIMETER. Honestly body I am thinking open thoughts and everything...why can't we progress a little more? The good news is Eden is one hundred percent ready to come out as her head is right where it should be. Now if my body could understand what it is supposed to do.

So, the conclusion was that my doctor felt that now that Eden was for sure healthy and ready to come that it was time to induce. We felt good with this as the ultrasound tech that we saw on Monday said that not only was she doing a ton of practice breathing, he could see calcification of the placenta which according to him means that the lungs have matured. Sounded good enough to us! So, the date is Saturday, September 18 and the time is 6:00 p.m. They will start me on Cervadil to assist my body in making some progress and then sometime super early on Sunday start me on Pitocin to get those contractions really moving. Yes, I am super anxious and crazy nervous about the whole thing, but SO EXCITED at the same time. Next time you hear from me I will hopefully be posting pictures in the hospital of our little Eden Rae. Thank you everyone for joining us on this crazy adventure!

38 Weeks

Well, I was planning to post this 5 days ago since now I am 2 days shy of 39 weeks, but a lot has happened since then. I'll start off by saying its a good thing I had Josh take this photo in the morning before work, because otherwise we probably would never have taken it.

On Thursday we had our 38 week appointment, as well as an ultrasound (due to the fact that I was measuring MUCH smaller than before). The ultrasound went well, we got to see all of her GINORMOUS body parts (so much for her being small...) and found out that she should be weighing approximately 6 pounds right now. Not shabby for our girl at 38 weeks, especially since the doctor predicted 7 pounds at full term. Granted, ultrasounds can be off, and as we were told later they have a 15-20% margin of error. Now its anybody's guess on how big (or small) she really will be. After that ultrasound we left feeling good and assumed we would have the doctor say "all is well" and send us off. Ha. Ha. Ha.

The beginning of our appointment went as usual, but I definitely started squirming off the exam table when I saw the nurse come back with an armload full of equipment. I was told how the "checks" would go from coworkers and friends and I didn't remember them saying they would need a bunch of instruments to tell me if I was dilated. Turns out they thought my water had already broken (which by the way it hadn't). So the check was disappointing for us all, I hadn't dilated or effaced. BOO. That was the least of my worries. My doctor then tells us quite simply that the amniotic fluid was quite low and we needed to head to the hospital immediately. If you have Josh tell the story, he will proceed to mention that I turned into a robot saying, "MALFUNCTION. MALFUNCTION." Honestly, he is right. My face turned white. This was not what was supposed to happen. Our doctor then explained that we needed to go to the hospital for monitoring and I would need to have an IV in me all night in order to see if we could raise the fluid levels. She also dropped the bomb that if it didn't work then we would be induced (which was no good since my body wasn't doing its job yet). So, off to the hospital we went.

I truly think that hospital stay was God's way of preparing us...okay preparing me. Yes, I have had 9 full months to prepare, but the idea of birthing a baby still frightens me to the core. The hospital stay actually went quite well. It was weird to be there and not be in pain though. The nurses kept asking me if my contractions were painful or if I needed anything, and I almost felt like I needed to start screaming and writhing around in order to feel like I was normal. We had an ultrasound immediately when we got there for them to monitor her. I was hooked up to my IV quite immediately upon arrival. Let me tell you, the pain from the IV is still there. I have had IV's before and it didn't even faze me, but having one in my WRIST BONE was absolutely excruciating. My arm is still sensitive to touch. Thanks nurse, thanks a lot. Okay enough ranting. Basically by the end of the stay my fluid levels were unchanged (despite the hours and hours of IV drip and water drinking), but they didn't feel like it was unsafe enough to induce so I was sent home on bed rest. Which is where I am now.

Oh, wait. There was one thing I absolutely despised about the hospital stay.  Lets just say it is a good thing I'll be distracted by a baby when I am in the hospital for an even longer period of time, because all I wanted was my puppy. Look at that sweet face...

Okay, back to business. We had another ultrasound (that makes seven this pregnancy) yesterday and fluid levels were unchanged and our baby girl was moving all over and even was doing her practice breathing. I had dilated to ONE centimeter and was 50% effaced. I may or may not have done a happy dance because this means we should have a better success rate at our induction. We also did a non-stress test and baby girl did her thing, kicking and rolling as always. So now we are scheduled for another ultrasound tomorrow and then an appointment with our doctor Thursday to decide on our game plan. So much for an uneventful end to the pregnancy. Either way our bags are perfectly packed (that hospital stay really taught us a thing or two) and now we just wait for the word to head to the hospital. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers during this time. We can't wait to meet our baby girl...and then show her off to all of you! :)

Eden's Room: Budget Breakdown

I'm baaack! Here you were thinking I was done, but the truth is I have one more thing in store. I think many people are worried that designing a room is going to be extremely costly. I am here to say it doesn't have to cost a lot to have the room of your dreams. Honest. All it takes is a bit of extra sleuthing for perfect deals and some DIY and you have a room that fits your budget. Hang in there and see where all of our money was spent.

When we started out we did a little estimate of what we thought it might cost. Our  goal was to be under $1,000. I will say that we did have some very generous family members who gifted some of the items which gave us a little bit more money to play with in the end (this came in handy when I couldn't find a super cheap fabric that I actually liked for the closet). All larger gifts will be noted so that you can see what we spent as well as what we would have spent if we had paid for all of the items.

• WalMart Crib: $300 (gift)
• Overstock Rocker: $166
• Sherwin Williams paint (wall, ceiling, primer, trim, and dresser): $50 (used less than half of each gallon, the rest was used in other rooms)
• Dresser: $25 (dresser $20 on Craigslist, $5 on supplies)
• Serta Organic Crib Mattress: $200 (gift)
• Ikea Knappa Pendant Light: $30
• Gap Organic Crib Sheet: $15
• Changing pad and cover: $42 (gift)
• Crib skirt (made by me): $24
• Closet curtains (made by me): $50
• JC Penney roman shades (2): $53
• TJ Maxx ottoman and footstool: $25
• HomeGoods rug (we bought two and attached them together): $80
• Paper Lantern Mobiles (Ikea and World Market): $20
• Target Lampshade: $15
• World Market pillow: $13
• Mirror (we took an Ikea frame and had a mirror custom made): $55
• Ikea frames (various sizes): $11
• Ikea shelves: $30
• Ikea baskets: $24
• Accessories (most were already owned or gifts)
• White Dresser, bookshelf, lamp, 2 large frames: already owned

      Total (not including gifts): $686     ~     Total (including gifts): $1,228

Even if your budget needs to be even smaller, it is definitely doable! A big way to save is to go to thrift stores and just fix items up with some paint as needed. Any budget can get you a great room. This is Josh and I saying go out and fix up a room that you LOVE on a budget. It can be done and it will make you feel fabulous in the end.

**Thank you so much for all of your super kind feedback on Eden's room. You make Josh and I feel like superstars and we totally appreciate it! It makes us encouraged to keep on renovating and sharing each step of the process with you. So from the bottom of our itty bitty hearts, thank you!

Eden's Room: The Reveal

Welcome to the FINAL edition of Eden's Room! Can you believe we actually finished? I sometimes can't. It was a lot of blood, sweat, and tears, but so very worth it. We are IN LOVE with the result. Before I show you around the room, let me start with "Before" photos so you can see what we were working with when we first moved in...
 

BEFORE

Looking at the pictures of this room just stuns me. Hopefully seeing the after photos will stun you as well...

AFTER

Some details about the crib corner. The paper lanterns were bought at Ikea and World Market. I chose to leave two plain and DIY the third one to give Eden a little something to catch her eye. All it took was a super cheap flower garland and some white pom poms. The frame next to the crib was actually a print that my mom had given me years ago. I just spray painted the frame and added in my own art which says, "You are my starshine." Yes, we do realize that it is supposed to be sunshine, but ever since Josh and I were married I have always sang it with starshine. The 'E' was a fun find from Anthropologie which we fell in love with.

The shelves were accessorized with items that were either gifted or something that we already had. I had a lot of fun putting it together. Oh and see the top shelf there? Yes, Eden has her very own set of Minnie ears thanks to her grandma.

Here is a close-up of the crib skirt. I made this using some hem tape (really...like I could sew!) and added some velcro so we can take it off to clean it or adjust it as needed. The great thing is we saved a TON of money by doing this. A lot of the crib bedding sets that we had looked at ranged from $160-300. Our total for crib bedding (since we had chosen not to do a crib bumper) was a mere $39. Seriously.

I couldn't resist a photo of our lovely pendant light shining in all its glory. I am in love with this thing.

Yes, the frames are empty, but not for long. We have plans for the empty frames, but we have to wait for a certain little girl to show up first. Oh and you can only see a tiny little bit of the corner next to the changing table, but it houses the diaper pail and the laundry basket. The basket on top of the changing table holds diapers and the jar next to that has a whole bunch of pacifiers in it (you know, just in case she needs a little something to calm her while getting her diapers changed).

I could not resist a photo of her shoe drawer. I love them. Oh and I added a piece of scrapbook paper into each drawer to add a little extra pizazz...it is just one of those details that I couldn't resist.

I would rather shop for a baby girl than myself any day...good thing I can now!

A close-up of the closet fabric. Again, I went ahead and made them myself. We decided early on that we wanted to get rid of the doors on the closet since the room is so small and the closet doors were NOT functional. I once again used hem tape and it really wasn't too difficult at all. Honestly it makes the room feel so much larger.

Well, there is the room! I hope you all like it because we certainly do. Oh and for fun, let me tell you about our inspiration for this room. We came up with the style and colors using our diaper bag, Amy Butler fabric, and a pair of my pj shorts. Honestly, inspiration can come from anywhere! Here is our diaper bag for reference...

Well, that's all folks! Hope you are all still alive out there after that long post. For some laughs here is an old post that I did before I knew I was pregnant.

If you want to look back at all of the chapters of Eden's room here they are: Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4, Chapter 5

Maternity Photo Shoot

We just got our maternity photos back from the photo shoot we did last week and can I say that I am IN LOVE with them. The lovely Charissa Bernard took them for us using my Canon Rebel XTI and a 50 mm lens. We didn't have much in terms of expectations, we just wanted something to document the pregnancy, but wow she had some fabulous shots!

This photo was my brilliant (aka not so brilliant) idea. I was inspired after watching the ending of Notting Hill where Julia Roberts is pregnant and laying on that super sweet bench with Hugh Grant...just darling. Anyway, in case you were wondering, laying on your back (something I haven't done since finding out I was pregnant) on a concrete bench with my feet in a bush...well basically I was wincing in pain. Poor Charissa had to try to muster a shot where I wasn't cringing. Yes, she is that good that she even got me smiling through the pain...good practice for labor!

Yes people, my husband can climb walls. Oh and if you haven't figured out, we are crazy.

If you don't know that I am a lover of all things Disney than you don't know me at all. Eden needs her first pair of ears before she is born...case closed. Oh and she will be wearing these on her first trip which will hopefully be next summer or fall for her birthday.

Didn't Charissa do a fantastic job? We were so very happy with the results. I love having these as a little memory for years and years to come. I thought I might regret taking the photos in my 9th month of pregnancy, but besides me waddling like a whale, I think it is kind of fun to have the last stage documented. If you are pregnant, I highly recommend getting at least a couple of pictures...it is well worth it!

37 Weeks

Where did time go?! We are officially full-term! I am still waiting for 9 months to feel like a lifetime, because honestly that went so fast. I am still feeling great and actually think I might miss pregnancy...well, maybe for a split second because I have the feeling once Eden is in my arms I will have forgotten the whole thing. Sometimes I feel a little crazy because I think I'm the first person who isn't in a hurry to get this little one out. I can't wait to see her, but I think I am letting fears get in the way. Fear of labor, fear that I won't be good enough...but at the same time I can't wait to go through it all. I know God is in control of all of this!

This week's doctor's appointment was a little more than I had bargained for. I expected the typical weigh, measure, listen to heartbeat (with a Group B Strep test thrown in for good measure--um, no one told me how unpleasant that would be!) appointment. Well, all those things did happen, but let's just say I left crying and we all know crying is not something I do very often. I think I am the most unemotional pregnant person in history. Basically, Eden has been measuring small since day one and that has not been a concern. My doctor had mentioned that if she started measuring 2 cm. behind (she has always been consistent at 1 cm.) then there was more of a need for concern. Well, this week she was THREE centimeters behind and that's all it took for me to have a panic attack. So, an ultrasound is scheduled for Thursday to see why she is not growing. Now I will say I have been doing my homework on this (what paranoid mom wouldn't?!) and I am feeling a lot better because everything I read said a sudden decrease in size at this stage of pregnancy is normal because the baby has dropped (and trust me...she is boots with the fur LOW). Sorry, I just can't say low without thinking of that song...no idea who sings it, just gets stuck in my head. My conclusion was that yes, there is cause for concern, but I am not letting it stress me out because I think she is just low and that's why she is measuring smaller. Either way we will have an update for you next week and maybe even an ultrasound picture!

Alright Eden, it is safe for you to come out. Our bags have been packed for weeks, your carseat is ready for your little behind, your room really wants to meet you...who knows, maybe I'll go into labor on LABOR day. How funny would that be?!

Thank you all for joining us on this journey...be back with an update unless she decides to show her little face sooner.