Work Baby Shower

On Wednesday, August 15th, the lovely people at my work threw me my first baby shower!

We had it during the lunch hour and everyone in the office was invited - boys and girls!

The 2 girls who were "hosting" it, Joyce & Lynn, decided to try something none of us had had before - KFC Catering. It was very good! 2 different kinds of chicken, mashed potatoes, coleslaw, mac n' cheese, biscuits, etc!

Here's a look at the spread:

Funny story with the cake - According to Lynn, who was ordering the cake, Giant Eagle was supposed to put actual baby blocks on the cake and decorate it in blue. The morning of the shower, she got a phone call at 7am. A bakery clerk said that they had a meeting that morning to discuss the cake because it goes against a copyright... WHAT?! There is copyright on cake decorating??? So weird... Apparently, they would need to frost the cake with purple in order to use the blocks... to which Lynn of course replied, "We can't have purple! She's having a boy!" hahha
So we got what you see below - frosted-on baby blocks! Just as cute to me - and edible! :)
White cake with real strawberry (even had chunks of berries) filling! MMM!

Everyone enjoying their meals and cake in a conference room:

My two lovely hostesses, Lynn & Joyce (L to R)!! They did all the work in planning, shopping & setting up - couldn't have asked for more! They did a great job!

On to the gifts! I was AMAZED at the gifts they got us! I could not believe the generosity - so much more than I could've expected.
First up - the pack 'n play! Caleb picked this out - it's blue, gray & black. Very cute! And manly... according to him ;)

Secondly - An exersaucer! I was VERY excited about this gift because it has 3 stages. So, though it's expensive, it can be used for a year+! Play mat for baby, seat with toys for when baby can sit by himself, and you can take it apart and have it so that a 1-yr-old can walk around and play with the toys! (see box). Love it!

Lastly, the Bumbo seat! In blue! :) Ironically, this was the same day that Bumbo came out with a recall, saying children were falling out of the seats and needed to be belted in. So I need to send in for a belt. (*Note - I think the big problem is parents not watching their kids - not that the seat does not work appropriately, so I'm definitely keeping the Bumbo).

A BIG THANK YOU to everyone who contributed to the gifts and came to the shower! I had a wonderful time and felt VERY blessed to have you all as friends who want to celebrate Bryson with us!

33 Weeks

Pregnancy Update October 8, 2012

How far along: 33 weeks! 49 days left... 

Size of baby: 17 inches, 4.25 lbs. - A "Pineapple"

What developed this past week: Baby is gaining half a pound a week and his bones are hardening, except his skull which will need to stay soft for delivery. His skull plates don't entirely fuse until early adulthood so they can grow with his brain and other tissues.

Weight Gain: 29.8 lbs.

Maternity clothes: All maternity. I even have to wear Caleb's hoodies in order to fully cover this belly!

Gender: HE'S ALL BOY! "Bryson Nicholas"
(Bryson means "smart", Nicholas means "winner" or "victory of the people")

Movement: Still moving often -especially when I'm still - i.e. at night. During the day when I'm moving a lot, he seems to be rocked to sleep. 

Sleep: Very busy this week with something going on every single night, including a friend's wedding events (bachelorette party, rehearsal & dinner, & wedding) and my baby shower - which had both of my sisters in town, so I tried to stay up to see them as much as possible. Exhausting, but worth it! :)

What I miss: The ability to bend over to paint my nails, open gifts, reach something that fell on the floor, etc, without feeling like I'm squishing Bryson up into my ribs/lungs! OUCH!

Cravings: Nothing.

Best moment this week: We had another ultrasound! For those keeping track, yes, this is my 6th! lol 

2 of them were planned tests - 12 week genetic abnormality & 18 week gender, while the other 4 were because of "scares" or "precautions" - spotting, falling, measuring small, and because it was too early to hear the heartbeat on the doppler. 

This one was because baby measured 26 weeks when he should have been 30. Turns out he must've been laying transverse or something, because the sono measurements were all fine! At 32w3d, he measured: 33w4d head circumference (seriously?!), 31w4d abdomen circumference (skinny boy?!), and 32w2d femur length (maybe not as tall as we thought after the 18 week scan where his femur measured a few days ahead!). Overall average was at 33w2d. Seems a little big (66.1%), but with the weight coming in at 4lbs 4oz (1915 grams), he was actually a little smaller than average at the 31.9 percentile.

His pictures this time are not my favorite - he kept putting his hand in front of his face so we had a hard time seeing him, and he looks kinda globby... Here he is, nonetheless! :)

 

As I said last week, we had a one-on-one newborn care class right after our dr. appt on Wednesday. It was fun watching Caleb learn to change diapers, give baths, swaddle, dress, and calm a baby. He cracked me up - at one point, I look over and he's holding the baby doll in a sitting position on his lap and is clapping it's little feet together... I look at the teacher and laugh and say, "What is he doing?". She replies, "He's playing with him!" haha So cute. He's gonna be such a cute dad - though the kid may freeze while Caleb keeps him naked to play with his squishy feet! :) JK! There isn't a week that goes by that Caleb doesn't tell me (and Bryson) how excited he is for Bryson to be here! Love it.

The other WONDERFUL thing that happened this week - the Winn side baby shower! It was SO much fun! Everyone said how great a time they had. Again, I will eventually get to writing a post solely about the shower, complete with pictures! Suffice it to say that we were SO incredibly blessed, I can't even put it into words!

What I am looking forward to: Going to NYC for 3 days and seeing all the people I work with (via phone/email)! Always a fun conference - with lots of meetings and wining & dining - hoping not to gain 10 lbs in the process! When I get back, it will be fun to go through all the baby shower gifts with Caleb. Opening presents goes by in such a blur (even as slowly as I tried to go), it will be great to remember each gift from each person! 

Also - we're having maternity pictures done on Monday, the 8th!! So excited to see what our fabulous photographer, Rachel, can do with us! :)

Farrell Family Baby Shower

On September 8th, my husband's side of the family threw us a baby shower! They did an adorable blue/yellow/gray theme and incorporated it into everything they could! We had brunch, and the food was delicious! Muffins, fruit & dip, quiches, orange juice, etc!

Close ups of all the food:

These were the favors: Cutely patterned tissue packs with a handmade coordinating "Thank You" stuck on them! So creative!

My SIL's house was decorated so cutely!

My MIL made this precious blanket for Bryson! I love it!

So wonderfully blessed with lots of generous family/friends to love on us and our son!

My friends Meg & Nicole:

My mom and sister:

My MIL and Caleb's Aunt Mel:

Caleb's cousins Nadine and Terra:

Caleb's cousin BJ and his aunts, Char and Nancy:

Caleb and I in front of the awesome "BRYSON" banner my SIL, Laurie, made!

My gracious hosts! We are so grateful for your planning and hard work! Everything turned out wonderfully and was so fun! Thank you for showering us with love! :)