Part V

The 32 week bleeding scare was behind us and my showers were over. I think I received 3 gifts that were off my registries (Target and BRU). I had more blankets and 0-3 month clothes than I knew what to do with and absolutely none of the essentials to bring our baby girl home. Our little scare had us really wanting to nest and be prepared for our little one to arrive. We did a huge, HUGE shopping trip to BRU, completed my registry and began the process of assembling, cutting off tags and all the laundry, folding, laundry, folding that comes with nesting. By the time I was 34 weeks along, we were ready. All we had left to do was sit and wait.

During this period of time, the drywall was being taped, mudded and sanded. We visited the house a couple of times to check out he progress and the windows were all fogged up with the moisture from the mud. I was getting huge by this point and it was getting harder and harder for me to make my way up and down the temporary stairs. My husband went more often to check in on things since he was sporting an awkward belly around. Aside from getting less mobile, I was also tired and with my due date fast approaching (Feb 6)-trying to finish up work projects before I took off for an unknown amount of time. I'm a consultant and had decided not to say exactly when I would be back. I figured I would wait until the new house was finished. 

Kitchen:

Dining Room Ceiling:

At 36 weeks, I started my weekly doctor visits and it turned out that I was effacing and dilating. Whoa! I wasn't expecting that. It was mid January and i wasn't due for 4 more weeks. At my 37 week visit, I had progressed from 50-70% effaced and a fingertip - 1cm dilated. On January 19th, 37.5 weeks into my pregnancy, my water broke. Our sweet Baby girl, Baby K, was born after 22 hours of labor on January 20, 2010 at 6:15 am. My actual doctor was the doc on call and delivered our 6lb 9oz gorgeous baby.

Last photo of me pregnant at 36 weeks:

A very "cheesy" Baby K:

Mom & Daughter:

The truth is that after she was born, I lost all interest in what was going on at the house. She was it. My world had changed and things like floors and fireplaces and paint colors didn't seem all that significant. But the stress of the house building would continue and I didn't handle it well. Blame it on sleep deprivation, hormones or just the stress of learning to be a new mom, whatever it was, those 3.5 months between having Baby K and moving into our new home were by far the most stressful of my life. I felt crazy, went off at the drop of a hat and could simply not deal with any of the issues that would arise. And there were issues. When you're building a house, the devil is definitely in the details. With so many moving parts, even with a contractor in charge, there are bound to be issues when things all start coming together. My husband did his best to handle things on his own, but there were times when I needed to get involved and they almost always ended with a meltdown on my part or a fight between us. It sucked.

Even after we moved in, the stress continued with landscaping interrupting our baby's naps and subs still coming in to handle finishing details. Not to mention unpacking and cleaning up all the construction dust while simultaneously caring for a nearly 4 month old baby. Ugh. Most days I wanted to run away and my husband and I were at each other's throats constantly. I honestly started to get scared. We had a long talk one night and after that I knew that I had to cool my jets a little. Stressed or not, I couldn't keep jumping his shit every time something went wrong or I got frustrated.

We're here now, over a month after moving in and we are back to the harmonious life that we've always had. We love each other, our baby girl and our new home. The world is as it should be.

Baby K during our Memorial Day BBQ in our new home:

Stay tuned for the finished product....

Part IV

Once the foundation was poured, the framing began. It was so much fun to see an actual structure begin to go up. Since we had almost purchased the exact same home that we were now building, we knew exactly how the home flowed. If you've ever been through a home that is being framed, you know that it can be difficult to imagine it with walls and all the rooms seem tiny for some reason. Once the drywall goes up, things really start to take shape and it's incredibly fun to watch.

Having hit and passed the mid-way point of our pregnancy, we were settling in. I was feeling the baby move and starting to plan a med-free hospital birth. We started our birthing classes at the hospital and had hired a doula. My mind was on baby, baby baby. My husband's mind was house, budget, house. I think this is the part that was the hardest for me. I felt like he didn't quite

grasp what was about to happen. While I was dealing with fears about being a good mother and trying to deal with my overly involved mother-in-law, he was worrying about the house. It made me feel very alone. I was sad that he didn't seem as into the pregnancy as I was. Sad that he was distracted during this awesome time - a first that we will never get back. I think now that it's all over, he feels sad about that too. Things were scooting along with the house and by early December, everything was framed and all the windows were in. Plumbing, low voltage and electrical rough ins took place and drywall went up.

Me at 28 weeks in the Nursery

Framing Progresses:

Heated basement floor is poured:

In mid-December, I had a bleeding scare and spent two separate days in the maternity triage area of the hospital. My mom was in town for my baby shower, and I was visiting her at my aunt's where she was staying. I went to go pee, wiped and there was blood. I wiped again to make sure I actually saw blood, and it was definitely there. I walked out as calmly as I could and told my mom what was going on, called the doctor, who told me to get to the hospital and then called my husband. We got in the car (I drove because I wasn't having any cramping and I knew that having something else to focus on would keep me calm). It took us over an hour to get to the hospital in the rush hour traffic. My husband was waiting there when we got there. He ended up having to take a cab because I had the garage door opener in our SUV and he couldn't get in to get his car. We got up to triage and they got me in the gown and on the monitors. I was 32 weeks and so incredibly scared that I was going to have our baby girl early. We had absolutely nothing done, weren't ready at all. Both of my showers were being held that weekend and we were waiting until after to see what else we needed. They checked me, and my cervix was fine, there was no blood on the glove. I was having some contractions, but nothing in a regular pattern or strong enough for me to really feel them. I was sent home and told to take it easy.

The next day was my first shower of the weekend. I got up, got ready, was just about to leave, and decided to pee before I got in the car, wiped and there was blood again. Back to the hospital we went. They checked me again, no blood on the glove. I had thrown on a pad before we left and there was blood on the pad, so they believed me that I was bleeding. After hours of being monitored, and ultrasound, and countless other tests, the nurse asked to see my nethers one last time because she suspected that there may be a superficial wound of some kind that was causing the bleeding. That was it. I had either cut myself while attempting to groom myself, had a skin tag or my undies irritated me somehow. We'll never know what exactly it was, but I was so embarrassed! I missed my shower, had everyone worried and spent a total of 6 hours in a hospital bed. Seriously! Oddly enough, the nurse who discovered my wound, was also one of my nurses during my 22 hours of labor. I was way too busy dealing with back labor to be worried about whether she remembered me or not. My birth story is one for another time...stay tuned.

Part III

The little white house was demolished and soon all that remained of her was a huge hole in the ground. It was quite the sight and so hard to believe that things were finally getting underway. Remember, the housing search started way back in May and we're into September now. Not long after the debris was cleared and the foundation hole was dug, the footings went in. We started the long process of picking out finishes, spending every Saturday for two months, visiting tile, carpet, granite, plumbing and lighting stores. Luckily, we had the beautiful finishes that were selected for the spec home that we almost purchased, to use as a base. We were so in love with how that home came together, so we used a lot of the same items, but also put our own spin on things. Selecting tile was one of the harder items. There is so much to choose from. Also selecting plumbing fixtures took us about 8 hours total, with additional time spent fixing items that the consultant didn't properly measure for. One of the items that was difficult was the free-standing soaking tub. I had always wanted one and somehow, my husband managed to make the process way more difficult than it had to be.

He would do this often throughout the building process, walking away during discussions to figure things out and then coming back into the mix needing the whole thing repeated and then having an opinion(usually the opposite of the one we had come to during the discussions). It drove me absolutely nuts. By early, October, the foundation had been poured. It was incredibly exciting to see some real "concrete" progress taking place. I hit the midway point of my pregnancy and we found out that we were having a little girl! At this point, I was starting to feel a little sad that I wouldn't get the chance to create an actual nursery for her. Decorating a nursery is a nesting right of passage and I was missing out. Sure I would have a beautiful home to show for it in the end, but my hormones were raging and at the time and I was terribly sad that our little girl wouldn't have a proper room to come home too. My hubs felt bad about this too and gave in to my desire to purchase a crib and changing station/dresser, rocking club chair and bedding. In the end it all worked out and the nursery turned out just as I had imagined it. One month after moving, I still have a couple of things left to do - like have a cushion made for the window seat and hang some drapes, but the bulk of it is finished. It's creamy, serene and completely gender neutral since it will always be the nursery for any additional babies that come our way (hopefully 2 more), and I can honestly say that it is my favorite room in the house. Maybe it's because my favorite little girl in the whole wide world sleeps in there.