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....