Pregnancy Update - 40 Weeks

So, here we are, at our due date and still waiting.  You might be saying, "Becca, it is totally normal to go past your due date.  Chill out."  True, but there are a few updates I've kept out of the blog until now that made me really think this baby was going to be here weeks ago.  Consider this fair warning if you don't want TMI about my cervix and come back later.  

The picture above was taken at 36 weeks, and I was already 2 cm dilated and 70% effaced.  My doctor gave me orders to slow down, take it easy, don't do anything that could cause labor for 2 more weeks.  I tried my best to follow those orders, but also had a huge fundraiser and a ton of other work stuff to do in the meantime.  At 37 weeks I was between 2-3 cm, and at 38 weeks I was at a 3.  I started having real contractions mixed in with Braxton Hicks (wow, there's a major difference) at 38 weeks.  A few days before I reached 39 weeks, we had a major false alarm.  I had been having pretty powerful contractions all day, and they were anywhere between 4-7 minutes apart.  Because I was already so dilated and had a nightmare about delivering the baby myself the night before, I called the doctor.  She told me to come in to get checked around 8 pm.  We waited a little while longer, then headed to the hospital thinking we might be coming home with a baby.  The strapped me down to the monitors for 3 hours, but I wasn't progressing at all so they sent us home.  It was awful.  That was 9 days ago.  

My sweet mama couldn't stand it anymore, so she and my daddy headed here the next morning.  That night I woke up with horrible contractions about 10 minutes apart from about 3:30 am to 5 am.  I didn't wake anyone up (so nice of me, right?) and just coped by bouncing on the birthing ball, walking around, etc.  I thought that once again, it might be time.  Around 5 am I was able to go back to sleep in between, and woke up 4 hours later like nothing had ever happened.  We spent the rest of the weekend with my parents helping us get stuff done around the house, going on walks twice a day, and eating lots of spicy food.  Still nothing...  

My parents went back home (5 hours away) on Sunday morning, and we went back to waiting.  

This past week was Jed's last week of teaching, so we were glad to get through it.  He is also in graduate school, so he used this week to get a little ahead.  I've had BH contractions all week, and at my 39 week appointment I was between 3-4 cm dilated and 80% effaced.  I've had several friends tell me that I'm lucky, because they spent hours in hard labor to get to 3-4 cm.  I'm so grateful things are progressing, but I'm just ready for this labor to start in earnest.

I plan to post on Twitter when things get going, so follow along if you're curious.  To keep yourself entertained in the interim, go HERE and enter to win a $100 giftcard for party and wedding supplies from Ann's Bridal Bargains.         

How do you keep yourself entertained while waiting for a big, much anticipated event (like labor) to start?  

Frugal Friday - $100 Giveaway to Ann's Bridal Bargains and Lessons Learned

We are smack in the middle of wedding and shower season, y'all.  I've been blessed to have showers thrown for me, and have gone to a ton of showers for others lately as well.  Party and wedding planning can be a MAJOR budget buster, but none of us want to miss out on making our friends feel special.  None of us are on a royal wedding/party budget, so we have to plan ahead.  I recently co-hosted a couples wedding shower that went way over budget because of major communication issues.  Several of us failed to communicate with the girls who ended up doing most of the work, and it turned into a big mess with lots of hurt feelings and pocketbooks.  The shower itself was awesome, but we all could have handled it much better and saved ourselves a lot of frustration and money.  I know I learned my lesson for sure.
How could we have done it differently?  I think it would have helped if we had met in person to discuss the budget and ideas, instead of over email.  Several of us let one or two ladies do a lot of the work and waited to hear from them before taking action.  We should have proactively offered help and taken on the work.  We should have, as a group, discussed and set a budget that we stuck to.  I would love to hear your ideas about wedding and shower budgets.  What have you learned from experience?  Check out some great advice on saving money on weddings from Ann's Bridal Bargains here.

Now it's time for the giveaway!  I don't know if you have any wedding or party planning in your future, but I hope you can benefit from this giveaway.  The folks from Ann's Bridal Bargains contacted me about doing a giveaway for my readers, and I'm so excited to share it with you.  One loyal reader of Bare Feet on the Dashboard will win $100 in store credit from Ann's Bridal Bargains.  That could cover a lot of party goods, y'all.
How do you win?  It's so easy.
Mandatory Entry: Check out Ann's Bridal Bargains and tell me your favorite napkin design in a comment below. (1 entry)
Extra Entries: Leave a separate comment for each.
Follow Bare Feet on the Dashboard through Google Friend Connect (right sidebar), email, RSS feed (left sidebar), Twitter, or Facebook.  (1 entry each)
Follow Ann's Bridal Bargains through Facebook, Twitter, or their blog.  (1 entry each) Add an additional entry if you comment on their FB or blog telling them I sent you.
Tweet about this giveaway, linking to this post. (1 time only, 1 entry)
Share this giveaway on FB, linking to this post. (1 time only, 1 entry)  
Blog about this giveaway, linking to this post. (3 entries)
Add the Baby Bliss event button to your blog (left sidebar).  (1 entry)    

The giveaway will end Friday, June 10th at midnight CST.  Good luck!  Someone will win $100, but it won't be you if you don't enter.  Join in and win.



*I was not in any way compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.  Ann's Bridal Bargains is providing $100 store credit for one winner.  The store credit is a one time use code, and does not include shipping.

Giving in to Twitter

For the longest time I've fought the urge to sign up for Twitter.  My husband is on it, and many of my friends, but I just couldn't do it.  I've given in.  Jed is concerned that he's created a monster by helping me set it up, but I'm not too worried.  For those of you who want to know when this baby will arrive, I'll be sending updates.  Other than that I don't promise anything life changing, but I'd love for y'all to follow along.  Click the button above to follow me.  Are you on Twitter?  How do you use it?  

Be sure to come back tomorrow for a HUGE ($100) giveaway!

The Top Ten Things I'll Miss About Being Pregnant

I'm so ready for Baby Bun to arrive, but there are a few things I'll miss about being pregnant. Here are the top ten.

10)  Sleeping with a giant body pillow
It has become the 3rd person in our marriage and Jed likes to use it as an arm rest.

9)  Asking people to fetch things for me
I told Jed the other day that sometimes getting up or rolling over feels like trying to move a mountain.  I have to make a decision about how much I really want that glass of water or to pick up that thing I dropped.  Now I just ask someone else to get it for me.

8)  Setting the thermostat as I see fit
I have a built in space heater right now.  I am normally cold natured, so much so that I will sleep with a down comforter while Jed has just a sheet.  Now we have totally reversed roles.  Will I go back to normal?

7)  A million craft ideas inspired by pregnancy
Mobiles and onesies and decorating...

6)  Wearing very stretchy, comfy clothes 24/7
Stretchy pants rock and flowy skirts rock.  Let's be honest, I wear a lot of flowy skirts normally.

5)  Feeling my baby move inside me
I know I will miss this feeling, but I can't wait to see my sweet baby moving around on the outside.

4)  Constantly asking other people to carry things for me
Usually I just tough it out and tote things myself, but I've had to give in and ask for help.  Sometimes I think that 80% of my job is loading and unloading my car for events.  I will definitely miss people helping me all the time.

3)  Preparing daily for motherhood
I've read so many books and websites, prayed and discussed, and spent so much time and energy getting ready for Baby Bun.  The preparation and anticipation has been fun, but I'm ready for it to be over.

2)  Giving in to food cravings
Buttered popcorn - yes, please.  Garlic bread - absolutely.  Fresh fruit by the basket full - bring it on.  

1)  Knowing my body creates the perfect home for my baby
It is so comforting knowing that my body cares for my baby perfectly, and I hope I can do so once he/she is born.

What do you miss about pregnancy or another phase in life that has recently passed?


Click here to read about the upcoming Baby Bliss event.  

Baby Bliss Blog Event Preview - Awesome Giveaways and Reviews

I am so excited to announce an upcoming event here on Bare Feet on the Dashboard. In celebration of the arrival of Baby Bun (any second now), I will be hosting a HUGE round of giveaways and reviews in the month of June. I don't do very many giveaways or reviews on the blog, so you can rest assured that each of these products has been handpicked for awesomeness. The event will focus on handmade goods from Etsy sellers, because I'm obsessed. If you support handmade goods, this is the perfect event for you. I'm not the proprietor of a big giveaway blog, so your chances to win should be pretty good.

If you are a handmade artisan who creates baby or mama products, it isn't too late to jump in on the action. Email me (right sidebar) and I'll hook you up.

I need your help to spread the word. If you post the event button on your blog main page and comment on this post to let me know, you'll receive FIVE extra entries in each giveaway. Please leave the button up through the duration of the event.

<center><a href="http://www.barefeetonthedashboard.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i31.photobucket.com/albums/c388/princessbeccayl/babyblissbutton.jpg" /></a></center>

Here's a preview of the goodness to come. You can visit the shops by clicking on their name or logo.              

featuring unique cloth diapers...

Hope Springs

featuring burp cloths and nursing covers...

featuring baby blocks and other fun stuff...

featuring reversible car seat straps...

featuring nursing covers...

featuring Boppy covers...

featuring multi-use cloth diapers (burp cloths, etc) and onesies...

 featuring super cute onesies...

featuring monthly onesie stickers...

featuring car seat covers and lots of surprises...

I'm expecting a few more surprises before the event begins.  Be sure to check out these great shops and post the event button.  Any of these products would be perfect baby shower gifts, so please join in the fun.  

The Nursery Part 4: The End

Remember this?  This quilt (made by my great-grandmother) was the inspiration for my bright vintage nursery.  You can see the first three installments of the nursery reveal by clicking Part 1, Part 2, or Part 3.  Why did I divide it up so much?  Because 28 pictures was far too much for one blog post.    

I created this ribbon mobile to go over the crib to keep the wee one entertained.  You can read about the creation of it here.  We got the crib on clearance at Target, and the crib sheets, Sleep Sheep, and sweet turtle blanket were shower gifts.  The curtains are also from Target, and I got the Boppy (complete with the organic cover) on clearance at Amazon.  Don't worry, it is only staying in there temporarily.  The rugs lived in our bedroom for a while, and came from the Second Saturday Sale in Little Rock.  I've seen them at boutiques here in town for over $200, but I got them for $20 each.  The crib skirt is my favorite.  It was made by my grandmother for my crib 32 years ago, and is still in great shape.  It is too long, but I just folded it up under the mattress to make it work.  I should have taken a close up picture so you could see the lovely eyelet lace.      

This "bookcase" was a gold plate holder given to me by Michelle, my sister-in-law.  I spray painted it yellow to match the room, and am using it to hold some of the books we've received as gifts.  Below you can see the ring full of family tradition ideas that my Dallas shower guests wrote down for me.

And finally, here is Jed's favorite part of the nursery, the Twilight Turtle.  When you turn it on it projects stars onto the ceiling using real constellations.  He likes to show it off when we bring people back to the nursery.

What is your favorite decorating item?  

What do you like to show off to visitors? 

I'm sharing this post at some great parties.

Check them out on my right sidebar and join in.   

The Nursery Part 3: More Vintage and Hand Painted Touches

Today I'm showing you another little corner of the nursery.  You can see part 1 of the nursery reveal here, and part 2 here.  I love this little corner.  We used a regular dresser that we already owned, and created a diaper station on top of it.  The changing pad is waaaay bigger than I though it would be, but I guess it is kind of important.  The little canvas basket was a shower gift, and I'm using it to hold diapers, cream, and wipes.

These paintings are my favorite part of the whole nursery.  My friend Crystal, who painted the letters and buckets, also did all three of these for me.  Bunnies and ducks have been inexplicably irresistible to me throughout the whole pregnancy.  These paintings fulfill that craving, but without looking too babyish.  I love them so much.

One of my other favorite touches is this retro fan that I found at an estate sale.  It is totally vintage, fits the color scheme, and is functional.  Isn't it the cutest?!  

Come back tomorrow for more scenes from the nursery.  

I'm sharing this post at some fun parties.  

Check them out on my right sidebar and join in.  

The Nursery Part 2: Hand Painted Letters

Can you imagine my surprise and delight when my sweet and creative friend Crystal presented me with these hand painted letters at my Little Rock baby shower?  She matched the paint colors to the bright, vintage theme of the nursery, and attached matching ribbon for hanging.  She even gave me all the leftover ribbon.  Amazing.  Here's one of the inspiration quilts to compare the color scheme.  

I love how each letter is unique.  I hung them above the closet to divert attention from the mirrored door and weird gold trim.  Oh, rent house weirdness...

You can see part 1 of the nursery here.  

Stay tuned for more tomorrow.  

I'm sharing these fun letters at some great parties you can find on my right sidebar.  Click away and join the fun.