Nursery Reveal!

The blog world can finally see our baby boy's nursery!!! It is complete except for the mobile; I planned to make it the last weekend before my due date, but Gabriel was born that Friday!

View from the hallway

Sitting area for Mommy & Daddy

This bookshelf was built by Perry's grandfather, Byron Turner, for his dad's bedroom as a little boy. Perry gave it a fresh look to match the crib and we are happy to be able to incorporate a sentimental piece into Gabe's room. We chose 'Turner' for Gabriel's middle name as a tribute to his great-grandfather!

I painted an old mat green and printed numbers & Gabe's name on photo paper- who wants to look at an empty frame for months?

The ultrasound picture of Gabe will be replaced with one of his sweet face now that he's here!

{The stroller isn't always there...}

A close-up of the crib bedding

Paint: Lagoon by Behr, color-matched to Olympic Zero-VOC

Crib: Walmart.com, Baby Mod Modena 3-in-1 in Cool Grey

Dresser/Changing Table: flea market

Bookshelf: family piece

Recliner: Craigslist

Glider & Ottoman: TJ Maxx-Home Goods

Side Table: Ross

Crib Bedding & Changing Pad Cover: Buy Buy Baby, Dwell Studio Owls Sky
Metal "G": Ross
"W Is For Whitaker" Owl Print: Etsy, MissPrint Design
White Picture Frames: Michael's
US Map Print: Etsy, Rachel Austin
Abstract Canvas Painting: Made just for Gabriel by my talented husband!!
Clock: Ross
Floor Lamp: Target
Table Lamp: Marshall's
Hamper: TJ Maxx-Home Goods
Baskets: Michael's, TJ Maxx-Home Goods, gift
Owl Pillow: Pier 1 Imports, gift from my Mom
Owl Humidifier: Target.com, gift
Spaceship Owl Birdhouse: Michael's, decorated by Perry
Wooden Owl: TJ Maxx-Home Goods
Ceramic Owl: gift from my Mom

And The BabyHunch Pool Winner Is...

Jennifer & Marc Cornell. Way to go!!! We will have a prize for you the next time we see you!

Thank you to everyone who participated! We had fun seeing who guessed what. Here are the results for those interested in seeing where they stood. Daddy (Perry) came in 5th place! Mommy placed way down the list.

What Would Have Been 40 Weeks

On January 19, my due date, Perry & I did a celebratory Releasing of The Balloons. You might be wondering why we chose to do such an odd thing... of course, there is a story behind it!

At my first baby shower, which was on October 30, 2011, my Mom put a helium balloon at the mailbox. After the shower, I took it home with me and it has been tied to Gabriel's highchair in the corner of our dining room ever since. Perry & I were surprised that even after a few weeks, it had not yet started to look deflated. Thanksgiving passed (almost 4 weeks after my shower) with no change to the balloon. Christmas passed (8 weeks since my shower) but still the balloon was tight and not hovering any lower like most helium balloons I've ever seen do!

Once January was here, our excitement about Gabe's arrival grew and we read into every little thing looked for any indication that he might be on his way. Perry made a comment once that maybe one day we will wake up to find the balloon hovering lower & starting to lose air - and that would be the day Gabriel was born!!

It didn't happen exactly like that, but close. When we came home from the hospital with our newborn son, sure enough, The Balloon {as we referred to it} was floating lower!!! After almost 11 weeks!

 

Perry came up with the cute idea to release all of the balloons outside on my due date.

We looked for the best spot in our yard to avoid the balloons getting stuck in one of our many pine trees. I waited for the wind to die off and let go!

 At this moment, we both are saying "Oh no!!" as the balloons headed towards a tree...

But more wind came in and blew them to the left, just missing the branch. I actually cheered (jumped up & down with my arms up- I was so excited I forgot about how sore I was!)

We watched them until we couldn't see them anymore. It was a special, silly moment that I'll never forget.

Happy Birthday, Gabriel!!!!!

We are proud to announce the birth of

Gabriel Turner Whitaker

01 - 13 - 2012

8:11am

7 pounds, 14 ounces

19 3/4 inches

39 Weeks

How far along: 39 weeks (January 12, 2012)

Size of baby:

Photo Credit: Baby Center

Interesting Facts: Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds (a mini watermelon^). Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls. The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.
       Credit: Baby Center

Total Weight Gain: 27-28 lbs.
 
Gender: BOY!!! Gabriel Turner.

Movement: He seems a lot less active this week. It's tight quarters in there. Maybe he's saving his energy for the big day?

Sleep: I've slept horribly this past week. Most nights I fall asleep okay but wake up just a couple hours later and have a hard time getting comfortable to fall back asleep. Up for an hour or two, sleep for an hour or two, repeat. This leaves me exhausted during the day = naps! My back and hips are sore (in a different way than earlier in the pregnancy) so comfort is short-lived before I need to change positions again. And typically I'm up about 4-7 times/night to pee and drink. Poor Perry has had to get used to me moving all around in bed {and grunting!}

Symptoms: Fatigue!! Headaches. Having to pee every 30 minutes.


Other Notes: After it being high again at my doc's appt, I checked my blood pressure at work on Tuesday night/Wednesday morning- 132/85. My "usual" is 115/60-70's... that explains why I'm getting more frequent and sustained headaches lately. I'm praying I don't become hypertensive or have problems with BP when D-day is here!; I lost my mucous plug this morning!!! (Sorry if that's TMI, I want to document everything here!)

Cravings: Water, water, water.

Best moment this week: Date night at Outback {thanks Dad & Kar for the gift card for Christmas!}; Touring the labor & delivery unit at the hospital. Perry said he feels better knowing where to drop me off, park, check-in, and what the rooms look like. Although I had nursing school clinical there, it was nice to see it all again and get information from a patient's point-of-view! 

What we are looking forward to: Gabriel's birth day!!!! When's it gonna be?!

Doctors Appointment at 39 Weeks

{Technically I'm at 38 weeks and 5 days for this appointment}

A Few Stats

Baby
Heart Rate: 136 to 139
Position: Still head down. Good boy!

Mom
Progress: 1.5cm dilated, 70% effaced, station -2. YAY!!!
Weight Gain: I asked the nurse what my total weight gain is now (because I'm not really concerned with it and have lost track) and she said 27 pounds. I thought I was at 27 last week, but it's around that!
Vital Signs: My blood pressure was high which concerns me (especially since I've been having more headaches lately). BP 148/80-something the first time, so the nurse rechecked it. The second time it was better but still high at 138/80-something. HR in the 80's.

My next appointment is scheduled for Tuesday 1/17 if I make it. As she was walking out the door, the doctor said "maybe we'll have a baby by the weekend!". Oh wouldn't that be nice!!

Annual Whitaker Family Picture, 2011 Edition

Perry & I started the tradition of taking an annual family picture. Each year, around November, we'll have a photo shoot, and oh, how nice it will be to see how our family changes & grows over the years!!! In 2009, we had just gotten married (and had plenty of pictures taken then!) so our first year doing this was 2010. I think we waited a little late- it was December and freezing outside- but the pictures turned out great! I shared several "bloopers" in this post. It really is a family affair- we enlisted my mother-in-law, Debra, as our photographer! She was willing to take pictures of us again for 2011; I'm so glad we didn't scare her away! Here's a little recap:

2009: Our Wedding Day
Lake Wheeler
Photo by Story Photographers (http://www.storyphotographers.com/)

2010: Perry & Lauren
Yates Mill Pond

2011: Perry & Lauren plus 1-on-the-way!!!
White Deer Park

Blurry but still cute

It was tickling him!

I love this picture that I caught of my hot hubby

Perry might have been getting tired at this point...

But he was still his silly self!

And that's a wrap!

Perry found an owl (the "theme" in the nursery!) on a park sign

Watch for "2012: Perry, Lauren & 10-month old Gabriel"!!