The cocktail...

So here we are, about 11 days past due. Apparently little Addison has very little interest in coming out into the world...ha. I had another midwife appointment yesterday, and overall, I'd say it went pretty well. I'm finally dilated (woohoo!!), and after going in to get a sonogram, baby boy is doing great. Here's the thing, according to the sonogram, he's about 10 1/2 pounds!!! Now, everyone has informed me that sonograms are incredibly in-accurate at this stage. So there's a good chance he isn't weighing that much (although it really kinda feels like he is...ha). Both our midwife and the sonogram technician thought he was at least 9lbs, so still a biggin. They've gone ahead and scheduled an induction for next Monday, the 29th at 9pm. At this point, it really has felt like this baby is never coming out, so to actually see a an end in site, less then a week away is kinda crazy. Ultimately though, best case scenario is for me to go into labor all myself...hence, the cocktail!

We saw Sojale (I have no idea how to spell her name...ha) yesterday, and she recommended an interesting cocktail to possibly help speed the process up...and yes, it involves castor oil!! I've NEVER had any intention of drinking castor oil, cause I have heard how much it just plain wrecks you, but at this point, I'm willing to try anything....so here's the cocktail:

4 Tbl Almond Butter
4 Tbl Castor Oil
Glass of Champagne

I gathered my ingredients yesterday, and am ready to get this show on the road!

This should be interesting...
Come on Addison!

I'll let you know how it goes!!!

Change...

Today is a bittersweet day. It is my last day here at my job of 5 years and 3 months! I've loved it here. The people I work with are amazing, and have been so good to me. This truly has been a blessing of a job as long as I've been here, and although I'm excited to be a stay at home mom, I truly am sad to say goodbye to this place. I'm not too good with change. Whether it's good or bad, moving on to something out of my normal routine is hard for me to do.

But, I am doing my best to embrace this change with all of the amazing things to come, it's on to a new chapter for me...the mommy-hood chapter. I'm nervous and scared, yet excited and hopeful all at the same time. So if I seem a little weepy next time you see me, you know why. There is about to be TONS of change with the impending arrival of our new little one. The only thing I can do at this point is rely on the the God I serve for every need whether emotional, spiritual, or physical, for He is always giving of those things in abundance.

I had a midwife appointment yesterday morning, and unfortunately there really hasn't been any progression (meaning no dilation yet). I know anything can still happen, but I couldn't help but be a bit disappointed yesterday...all day. Although I'm nervous about what's to come, I am totally over this pregnancy right now....just being honest.

But with all of the sadness, there is a bright spot! Today is a new day! It's bright and beautiful outside, and the temperatures keep climbing. Plus it's the weekend...and I love weekends. And tomorrow is supposed to be just as amazing as today! So instead of being bummed that we STILL HAVE NO BABY (hehe), and worrying about change, I am choosing to be positive and happy today. I'm going to take a walk, with a smile on my face, because today is a good day! And who knows...maybe we'll have ourselves a little man by the end of the weekend ;)

Happy St. Patty's Day!

I'm not Irish or anything...but Happy St. Patty's Day everyone!! And yes...still no baby!! I've taken long walks, gotten a foot massage, eaten spicy chicken and hot wings, did lunges and squats, bounced on an exercise ball for 45 min, drank red raspberry leaf tea, and other things of a more personal nature ;) and STILL NO BABY!!! It's getting really uncomfortable little buddy, and we really want to see your face, so please come out soon!!!

On to other things, non-baby related...saw this great post on Design*Sponge this morning on organizing and displaying your notions!

{Image and tutorial found HERE}

Now, I don't really know that I'd want to make these for that purpose, to be honest. I just think it would be a great little crafting art piece. Man I wish I had a little craft room!! I mean, not to complain, cause I LOVE our little house, but all crafting and arts are squished into a small space in this back room/hall of our house. I think that will definitely be on my list whenever it's time to move into a new house...Must have a craft room!

Enjoy your St. Patty's Day everyone...and drink a green beer for me :)

And the wait continues...

As you have probably guessed...no baby just yet. Russ and I have tried pretty much everything over the weekend to get this baby boy moving...but he doesn't seem that interested. Thanks to my dear friend Ms Holly, I have something else to try...Raspberry Leaf tea! Hopefully this will speed up the process...I guess we'll see!

This little boy could come any day now, so Russ and I are really trying to nail down exactly how we feel about all of those procedures hospitals have for newborns...Here's kinda what we're thinking:

Eye Ointment: Although there really isn't harm in getting the ointment (besides the fact that your little one will have goopy eyes, and may not be able to focus well at first), for us, it's just unnecessary. Eye ointment is strictly to prevent infant blindness in little ones whose mothers have tested positive for chlamydia, syphilis, or gonorrhea. So if you don't have any of those STDs, there really is no point in getting the goop.

Vitamin K: This is the one that Russ and I are still battling over. There is a rare (5 in 100,000 births) genetic disorder where bleeding in the brain can occur in newborns. Because of this, it's pretty routine for hospitals to administer a vitamin K shot within the first hours of birth. Now, it would seem like this would be a great preventative measure to take, but there are also some risks. Because the vitamin K shot that is given is so high in concentration, there have been some links to childhood cancer. The statistics on this are very low as wel, which makes the decision even harder to make. Do we get the shot to prevent a disease that little guy may not even have? Or do we not give the shot to lower his chances of childhood cancer? To add to these questions, we do plan on circumcising (which could cause this rare disease to flare up if he were to have it). However after talking to our midwife, I think we've come up with a good middle of the ground solution. As of right now, our plan is to wait until he is a week or so old before we get little man circumcised. Mavis suggested going this route for a couple reasons. First, Addi will be able to get all of the vitamin K he will need by me taking a Vitamin K supplement, and breastfeeding. This way he gets the vitamin K he needs gradually and in a smaller more manageable dose, before he gets circumcised, lowering the risk of bleeding. Also, being a first time mom, and he obviously being a first time baby (hehe), neither of us really have a clue how this whole breast feeding thing works. Mavis suggested it could be beneficial to get used to the whole breast feeding thing before introducing something traumatic such as a circumcision. Our pediatrician also does circumcisions in their office, so no worries there. So as of right now, and pending a relatively normal non-tramatic birth, that's kind of our plan on the vitamin K subject. There are lots of great resources out there though. One article I read that I thought was really fair and balanced can be found Here.

PKU Test: We are ok with doing these tests. The procedure consists of a small prick to the heel to collect a blood sample. They use that blood sample to detect conditions that can possibly be prevented or treated. Other then the pain of the prick, I haven't found any other reason to decline this procedure.

Hep B: Vanderbilt doesn't do routine Hep B shots anymore for newborns. If they did though, we probably wouldn't be doing this. It is virtually impossible for newborns to contract this disease unless their mothers are infected with the Hep B virus...and being that I'm not, I think we're in the clear here.

I think that's it on the newborn procedures at Vanderbilt. These are just our personal choices, which we are still thinking and praying about.

Would love to know your thoughts as well!

Baby Day...

So...we've reached the end of the countdown, and still no baby :(

All good though. Little Addi will get here whenever he decides it's time...let's just hope it's sooner rather then later...ha.

Hope you guys are getting a chance to relax this weekend!

Un Giorno!

One Day!
One day till the weekend (much needed at that), and one day til we've reached baby's due date! Russ is pretty convinced that this baby is coming tomorrow...but as we all know, baby will come when baby wants to :)

As promised I have a little tutorial to share with you (the pictures aren't great...I really need a new camera...haha.)

Contour Changing Pad Cover Tutorial!

Here's what you'll need:

1 yd fabric comfy cozy fabric that is at least 44" wide. I chose flannel for the softness and durability. Most fabric is 44/45" wide, but to be on the safe side, I'd check the bolt your fabric is on to make sure. If your fabric is not at least 44" wide, get 1 1/4 yds of fabric.
Four 6” pieces of ¾ “ elastic
Sewing thread
Scissors
Pins

Step 1: Prewash and iron your fabric!

Step 2: Cut out a rectangle from your fabric. Because there are different sized changing pads, be sure to measure you’re changing pad and jot down the measurements…

L + Hx2 + 4 inches
W + Hx2 + 4 inches

Most contour changing pads are approximately 16”W x 32”L x 4”H, so the piece you will cut should be 44” x 28”.

Step 3: Cut out a 6” square from each corner (the 6” measurement comes from the height of your changing pad + 2”). You can save the squares for another fun project :)


Step 4: Take the two 6” sides at the corner and pin them right sides together then sew ¼ inch seam from corner to end.

Zig zag along the edge to prevent fraying

Repeat at each corner

Step 6: Fold the edges under about a ¼ of an inch and iron. Fold ironed edges under again, about ¼ inch, then sew a ¼ inch seam around entire edge


Step 7: Take one of your 6" pieces of elastic, and fold in half. Pin the middle of it to the bottom of the corner seam you just made.

Stretch the elastic as far as you can along edge of cover and pin elastic to fabric. (when you let go, the fabric will be all bunched up. Repeat with the other side of the elastic


Step 8: Set your machine to a stretch stitch, or if you don't have that, a zig zag stitch will do just fine.

Put the pinned end of the elastic and fabric into your machine, lower the presser foot and turn the wheel to get the needle into it to hold it in place.

Now stretch the elastic all the way out so it is flush with the fabric, and hold it taught as you sew it in place.
When you're finished sewing across the entire piece of elastic, your corner should look like this...

Repeat on all 4 corners.

Voila…you’ve finished your custom changing pad cover!!

Hope this tutorial has been helpful! I'd love to see how your changing pad covers turn out!! If you're not very sew savvy, but would like a cute unique cover for your little munchkin, I'd love to make one for you! Just shoot an email to justdandyjill@gmail.com.

Happy Friday my friends...Fingers crossed I won't be blogging tomorrow, and will be having a baby instead ;)

Strangers...

...are really friendly and talkative when you're pregnant. I've found that people in the South are generally nicer then the North. They usually will smile back at you or say hey, but when you're pregnant, they actually talk to you, ask you when you're due, what you're having, etc, and then say super nice and encouraging things as well! Although this pregnancy really has been relatively easy, I wouldn't say that I've loved being pregnant. Gaining weight, and the limited mobility is no fun. But the kind words from strangers, and awesome friends have definitely been a huge bright spot for me. So thanks to all of you for your encouragement and sweet words...they have been more appreciated then you could possibly know!!!

Deux jours!

Ok folks, we're getting REALLY close to this baby's due date...just 2 days! I went and saw Mavis, our midwife, this morning, and everything is looking great! I'm measuring at 40 weeks, baby boy is still "in position" and his little heart beat is just where it should be (I just love the sound of his little thumping heart!). Only bummer is that there is no dilation...boo!! Now, I know that's just information, and anything can happen, but I couldn't help but be slightly disappointed about the news. On an encouraging note, my dear sister Tamara called me right before my appointment to tell me that even if I'm not dialated, anything can happen. With her little boy Drew, she wasn't dialated at all when she went to her last appointment before her due date, and then went into labor the very next day! That's definitely what I'm going for...I've got my fingers crossed ;)

My top 5 reasons for wanting to go into labor this weekend are...

1.) I'm dying to see what this little man looks like, and hold him, kiss him, and love on him!!!

2.) I just want to get the whole labor and delivery over with! ha.

3.) I feel like I'm in a holding pattern in my life right now...I'm ready to get into a routine with this little nugget.

4.) Our midwife is actually on call this weekend...I would LOVE for Mavis to be able to deliver our baby!!

5.) I'm sick of not being able to feel my fingers! ha.

So, I think I've mentioned in the past that I've been obsessing over the silliest things, like the nursery and what to bring our little guy home in. Well, the nursery is done (woohoo!), with the exception of the space above the changing dresser. But we've finally decided what we're doing there and that will hopefully be finished today or tomorrow. I also have picked out little man's going home outfit...

I'm super into stripes and nautically (don't think that's really a word, but I'm goin with it) looking things these days, if you can't tell. I found the uber cute hoodie at BabyGap...on sale!! Then we have his little anchor onesie I made using a freezer paper stencil, some super comfy knit pants, and of course navy and lime green button loafers :) This outfit says, "I'm a sailor, and I like to be comfy"...haha. (wow, I'm ridiculous)

Have any of you pregger mommies been obsessing or have obsessed about little things like a going home outfit?! Please tell me that I'm not crazy!!

Happy Thursday!

Drei Taga

Anyone guess what language that is?! If you said German...you're right! ha. When we were given the choice to pick what language we wanted to learn in Junior High, I picked German...what was I thinking?!?! I mean, if you love the language, all the more power to you, but unless you plan on moving over there one day, or you have German heritage, it's kinda useless. Looking back I wish I would have taken French! It's such a romantic, beautiful language! Or maybe even Italian. Although, I don't really think they offered that at my school. Oh well, such is life.

So we're just 3 days away from Addison's due date!! I have an appointment with our midwife tomorrow morning, and we'll see if there is any dialation. Man I really hope there is, cause I am definitely ready for this little bean to get here!! We packed up our hospital bag last night, which makes this whole thing even more real. AND I've been having dreams about breastfeeding...haha. Addi wasn't taking to it very well...I really hope that's just me being worried, and not an actual prediction of what's to come!

That's it for this dreary Wednesday morning, but I shall not complain...at least we're in the 60's!!

PS - Love these babies, and their mommas...

Maren Elinor McTague

Grace Anne Verne

Nola James Smith

Londyn Zoe Thrasher

Boone Christian Zuehlke

Madilyn Sailor Dudley

Cuatro dias...

One more day of pregnancy completed...4 more until the due date! Countdowns can get kinda boring, so to spice it up, I'm going to start posting the days to go in different languages..ha.

I'm convinced the nursery won't ever be "finished", as I'm pretty sure I'll always be thinking of additional projects, but we are pretty darn close to being "finished" with the nursery, so I decided to fill all of you lovely people in on our little man's first room :)

I am SO happy with how this room has evolved into what it is. Both Russ and I have put more work into just this one room then I think we've put into our whole house in the almost 2 yrs we've lived here...ha.

So without further a due, my little virtual tour of the nursery...
Hope you like it!

We just finished the nest lamp last night, and it turned out more perfect then I could have imagined. We made the decision to put a string of Christmas lights in the shade for some soft night time lighting. It's so sparkly, and the shadows it casts at night are amazing! I found a DIY tutorial on creating these cute nest like shades on Craftynest.com. It's actually a rather simple process, and I'm a little embarrassed to admit that I started my first shade almost a year ago. I never actually finished it because I ran out of hemp, and then the ball I used to wrap the hemp had deflated, and we had to throw it out...ha. However, this time around the shade was completed in just a couple days, and I'm so happy with how it just pulls the room together!

I found this little bedside table at the Goodwill Outlet for $3!!! Slap a coat of paint on it, and a cute little knob from anthropologie, and voila! The paint color was a total experiment. We have tons of 1/2 cans of paints from painting rooms and what not...so to save a little moola, we decided to combine some colors, and this is what we got! It wasn't exactly the color I was going for, but I love it!

I decidede to made a couple different pillows for the chair cause I wasn't really feeling the initial one. And there's that baby blanket I finished at 4am yesterday morning...haha.


The tree stump ottoman continues to be one of my favorite pieces about the room. Thanks hubs for such a great idea!!!

I made the curtains out of a pretty little fabric from Heather Bailey. Please go check out her fabric...it'll brighten your day for sure!

We were on a pretty tight budget for this room, so we decided to utilize some pieces we already had around the house. Russ found this amazing wooden bench awhile ago. We LOVE rustic wood pieces, and I love it even more in the context of this room! I also love having this vintage style record player along with our record collection on display. Russ and I have a true love and passion for music, and we plan on sharing that love with our little one as much as possible. The blocks were made by my good friend Jenny of Liberty and Lace...are they not the cutest?!

This wall is was the very first project Russ and I completed for the nursery. I love that while sitting in the rocker, this is what I'm looking at! Russ did an amazing job on the tree murals, and of course the crib just makes it perfect! The drawers under the crib are filled with toys and other various treasures our little one will surely be getting in to one day. Each drawer has felt on the bottom for easy sliding, while still protecting our floors!

You've already seen these, but I couldn't help but do another close up...Love these birds!

Addison's little buddies! I can't wait to see Addi running around dragging these little guys behind him :)

This is the wall that still puzzles me. I'm trying my hardest to figure out what to do with that wall!! Until I figure it out, it'll just have to do as is.

I really wanted something bright, cheery and soft for the changing pad cover, but couldn't find a thing that would do...so I made one :) (I plan on posting a tutorial on how to create your own changing pad cover soon!).

I love Terrariums, and have been wanting to make one for FOREVER! I finally did it, and now I want to have them all over my house! haha. The little wooden birds are from West Elm, I want these all over my house as well.

This is little buddie's reading nook! He's got his books, a nice cushy pillow, and a little buddy to read to. The only thing missing is our sweet boy!

Another of Russ' contributions to the nursery is this AMAZING A he designed and made! Seriously...how lucky am I that I have a husband who loves to create just as much as I do?! He is so talented, and this A couldn't be more perfect! The idea for the book shelf display came off of a post on Ohdeedoh (a daily read for me for the last few months). I just thought it was such a fun way to display our little book collection.

So I ended up just redoing the turtle head, and per my lovely sister's suggestion, put a couple eyes on him :)

And this concludes the tour of Addison Nolan Hickman's room.
Now all we need is a baby!!!

39 weeks and 3 days...can't wait to finally meet you my sweet little man!!!

5!!!

I was planning on continuing my countdown over the weekend, but it was just so beautiful warm and sunny outside here in Nashville, there was no way I could allow myself to stay indoors.

So here we are at 5 days away from our due date!!! I know it's not probable that this baby will make his way into this world in 5 days, but I still cannot believe how close we are getting to little man being here!! At church yesterday I kept thinking "How crazy is it that this time next week, I may not be pregnant anymore?!". It's such a crazy feeling but I am definitely ready for our little boy to get here!

I had another insomnia filled night last night (up from about 12a - 4:30a this morning...ugh). My mind was just racing about anything and everything baby, including imagining all of the inconvenient place my water could possibly break...ha. I have such a wild imagination. I totally imagined taking a walk on my lunch break from work and my water breaking while I walked down the sidewalk. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?! haha! I've decided that I'm going to stock both of our cars with towels, just in case something unfortunate like that actually happens.

At about 2:30a, and my eyes wide awake, I figured I might as well be productive, so I tip toed myself to the couch and finally finished that baby blanket I've been painstakingly working on for the last few weeks! It's a little smaller...partially because I want to use it as a stroller/car seat blanket, but also because my poor fingers just couldn't take the beating. I'm so glad to have it finished though! I still need to make him a couple pairs of baby booties to bring him home in...I'm truly shocked I haven't made him a pair yet! Oh yea, and I should have pictures for all of you of the finished nursery this week! Just a couple last minute finishing touches, and we're done!

I meant to post a picture of the belly this morning...but for some reason my computer decided it wanted to delete them, and me being the absent minded person that I have been the last few weeks, deleted them off of my camera...ugh! So you'll just have to imagine what I look like these days...it's quite the site. The belly continues to just get bigger and bigger, and surprisingly my legs are staying about the same. Russ says I look like an orange on a toothpick...ha. I'll post something for you as soon as I get a chance and you can be the judge :)

Happy Monday!

I love him!

I was looking through old pictures, remembering all of the amazing times Russ and I have had since we've been together. He's my very best friend, and I am so excited that we get to share this next step of parenthood together! He's seriously going to be the best Dad! These are just a few of my favorites...can't wait to add a picture of our happy little family once little Addi gets here!!

Kissin at the Eiffel Tower

Happily Engaged!

One of the best days of my life!

Honeymooners

One year of wedded bliss!

Our first Home!

Hickmans!

One last trip pre-parenthood

8...

Yep...just 8 short days before our due date! It's pretty crazy to think that this little man could literally be here any day now! I had another midwife appointment this morning. Everything is looking great! My blood pressure is right where it should be, little man is head down and has dropped into position, and his heart rate looks great. He decided he needed to show Ms Margret how good he was at moving around and kicking...haha. So there you have it! We're truly in the last stretch of a pregnancy that really has just flown by! I have a feeling today is going to be a good one...the sun is shining, and we are SO close to the weekend (and a beautiful one at that).

Enjoy your day!

9 days...

{picture via designspongeonline.com}

I wasn't kidding when I said I was counting down to the due date..ha. One day down, 9 more until the due date, and who knows how long until he actually gets here :)

Russ and I got SO excited this morning when we looked up the 10 day forecast, because the warmer weather is FINALLY making it's way to Nashville...Hallelujah!!! I can't tell you how excited I am for sunshine, and the opportunity to put away my winter coat (that BARELY buttons up these days)! I'm looking forward to a beautiful weekend of walks, spending quality time with my best friend and hubby Russell, and finishing up all of those last minute things on our to-do list. Oh spring...how I love thee and have been waiting for you to get here for what seems like FOREVER!!

Tomorrow we see our midwife again! I'm feeling like little buddy has finally dropped (due to feeling like I have to pee every minute, and being able to eat large quantities of food that I shouldn't...haha), but I guess we'll see what they say!

Have a lovely day!

10 days and counting...

I'm starting the official baby day countdown today! I don't know what switched in my head, but I'm finally at the point where I am ready as ever to have this baby!! Ha. Prior to today, I've been stressing about the silliest little things, like what we'll bring little man home in, what I want to wear home, having the nursery completely put together, the list goes on and on. I've seriously been obsessing over these things in my head, so much so that I've been terrified that I'd go into labor without it all figured out! Well those days are over, and I just cannot wait for our little mister to get here!!

Finding Joy...

I have to be honest, the last couple of weeks it's been somewhat of a challenge to find joy in every day life, and especially on a day like today where it's cold and slushy, it's easy for me to give in to feeling sorry for myself. My emotions are literally all over the place (poor husband...if you know him, give him a pat on the back, cause he's been a trooper!), and I've been feeling a tad overwhelmed with various things, some including the thought of birthing a child, and then knowing what to do with said child when we bring him home, plus a random assortment of other things like cleaning, finishing the nursery, finances, etc. But I'm officially putting a stop to all of these sad thoughts, because I have A LOT to be thankful for and to find joy in...

1. Having faith and hope in a God who has always, and promises to always take care of our every need! We have a roof over our head, food in our bellies, and clothes on our back...God has truly blessed us!

2. I am married to one of the most amazing men on the planet. He is my very best friend, and has been so incredibly loving and supportive through all of these changes!

3. God chose Russ and I to be parents!! And not just to any kid...but to this little baby boy growing inside of my belly! Not everyone is blessed with this kind of gift. I know it will be hard. There will be sleepless nights, tears, and frustrations, but I can only imagine what it will be like to hold him, and to stare in amazement at his beautiful tiny face! I can only imagine that raising him, will be one of the greatest joys I've ever known!

4. I have 3 beautiful, wonderful sisters (all who have just recently had babies) and an amazing mom (who birthed 6 children...I think she's had her share of experience). Although I don't live near them (boo), they are only a phone call away, no matter what silly little questions I may have about what to do with a newborn :)

5. We have amazing friends who have been so supportive and helpful already, and the baby isn't even here yet. Not to mention my little brother and his girlfriend who do live here in Nashville. It's truly a blessing to have such enthusiastic, loving family nearby!

6. I know this may be a little silly to be thankful for, but we have the cutest, most affectionate pups! It's a special feeling coming home, knowing that there are 2 little buddies that are just DYING to see you! They love us unconditionally!

7. It's almost Spring!! I love to be outdoors, and I am thrilled that we've pretty much made it through winter, and we're on to spring, summer and the outdoors!

There are a million other things out there for me to find joy in...these are just at the top of my list.

What are you finding joy in today?