My birth story

I have been asked a couple times about my birth story, so I am going to share with you all.

Sunday evening after dinner I started to get these pains in my back, nothing crazy just some pain that I could notice. I went to bed and couldn’t sleep but pretty sure this was just due to me being anxious.  As the pains started to get more frequent we decided to go to the hospital.  After spending a 3 hours there and not getting home till 5 am that morning… FALSE ALARM!

Stay with me this is a 3 day long story.... 

I go home sleep half the day and that evening I was awaken by some serious pain in my back and lower abdomen.  I waited them out for a couple of hours hoping they would go away and no luck, so off we went again. On a scale of 1-10 I would say my pain was at a 7. They checked me and I had progressed from the night before so they kept me a couple hours and decided to check me again. Here is the catch; I have learned that checking the cervix is completely subjective.  Since this was all happening early in the morning we caught the staff right before they were about to be done with their shifts.  This may have made no difference when it come to the medical side of it but all I could think was the girls kept coming in and checking me then this big guys would come in and I would be 1cm smaller than what they told me an hour ago. This was so discouraging but they had us go walk around for a couple of hours and then come back. After skipping and jumping my way through Lowes and Wal-Mart at 7 am we went back and NOTHING. They gave me some pain relieves and sent me on my way.

It is now Tuesday and my moms decided to head this way since she felt we were getting close. Mom and I walked that evening and went to bed. Then it hit me again some serious pain, except for this time it was even worse. I held out at home for 3 hours and was at the point where I thought I was going to get sick with each contraction so we headed back to the hospital at 2 am. When we got there I had went from a 2 from the precious day to a loose 6 but they wanted me to wait an hour and see if there was any change.  At this point I was making the hideous noises with each contraction and was questioning if I could even do this…. like I had a choice.  After the longest hour of my life they came back in to check me and told me that I would need to wait another hour and see. I immediately broke down in tears, all I could think was they are leaving their shift and some guys with sasquatch hands was going to come in next and I would take a giant step backwards.  

The nurses and doctors left the room and 5 min later one of the nurses came back in and told me that she talked the doctor into letting me be admitted since I was at a loose 6 now.  Here exact words “We aren’t sending her home with that cervix” THANK GOD!! I wanted to jump out of the bed and kiss this nurse SERIOUSLY! They wheeled me to my room and within 10 min I had an epidural and was feeling… nothing!!!  

After having the epidural for maybe 10 min if that long, I felt a warm feeling down there. Ok, at this point I could feel nothing and just kept thinking I really hope I didn’t go to the bathroom on myself. Called the nurse and sure enough, my water broke.  Within the next hour I started to feel pressure in my bottom and 30 min later it was time to push.  After 15 min of pushing we got to meet our beautiful baby girl Hadley Gray Breland.

What the hell do I pack in my hospital bag?

Let me be honest I had absolutely no idea what to pack in mine or baby girls hospital bag, seriously CLUELESS. Between searching Pinterest, asking friends, and the list the hospital gave me I was going to need a whole luggage set.  Although I am usually a huge over packer I wanted to make sure that I didn't have a whole bunch of junk that I didn't need to lug home and put away after baby girl arrived. I am sure I still over packed to some extent but this is what I feel comfortable with, so here goes.

For me:

- Toiletries
- Makeup/hair supplies (throwing in last minuet)
- Maxi pads/Nursing pads
- Hemorrhoid and nipple cream
- Nursing Bra
- Two comfortable night outfits
- Going home outfit (yoga pants and top)
- Robe
- Granny Panties
- Slippers
- Flip flops

For baby:

-Two different outfits
- Paci and holder
- Swaddle blanket
- Mittens
- Socks/booties
- Boppy Pillow

Nate is in charge of grabbing all of the electronics (camera, computer, and chargers) before we leave. Hopefully he can handle that since everything else is ready to go.

xoxo,
Brenda

Baby B's Nursery

I will be the first to admit as soon as I found out I was pregnant I started daydreaming about what I wanted a nursery would look like. From the very beginning I knew that I didn't want the room to have a theme. You know, I didn't want there to be flowers/pink galore or baseballs on every wall. As soon as we found out we were having a baby girl I immediately had a vision where I wanted her room to be bright, happy, airy, and full of color. When I mean full of color I mean FULL of color. Also because we live in a rent house I didn't want to spend a whole lot of money on her nursery and Nate didn't want me to either.  This is where the DIY overload set in, pretty much everything you see in the room beside the crib was made or repurposed from something that we already had bringing our total expense for the nursery to literally around $130.  If you know me I pride myself on the deals that I can find or create so I am definitely proud of how her nursery turned out.

The dresser which I have had since I can remember was being used as pretty much storage in my office. Since the office is now the nursery there was no need for the storage and now makes the perfect changing table. It really is amazing what a little bit of paint can do, before this dresser just looked old and now.... well you can see. 

For her collage wall, the frames and the pennant flag I already had on hand. I created the wall art used in the frames and added an images from our maternity session also. I found a faux deer mount on etsy that was solid pink that I loved but I did not love the price tag.  So, Nate so generously gave up one of his many that he had just laying around and I bagged/taped off the antlers and spray painted it bright pink. I did not want the wood showing on the back of the mount like you typically would see in a European mount so we improvised and drilled a piece of wood with a picture hanging hook right into the back of the skull (this this isn’t going anywhere). This is probably my favorite part of the whole room. 

Of course we had to add a little silhouette of her big brother in there :) 

This chair has been in our family for a very LONG time.  For years I have been telling my mom that I wanted the chair and now was the perfect time to take it.  As a gift my grandma took the chair and had it painted and had new fabric that I had picked out put on it. Isn't it stunning!!

My Aunt is an amazing seamstress and for every baby that is born in our family she makes a quilt for them.  Like I said before I didn’t want it to be too matchy in the room so I sent her some ideas of what I like. I don’t think this is her idea of a quilt she would like to make but I am absolutely in love with it.  She also made our wedding quilt for us and surprised me and included pieces from that quilt as well as a little piece of my great grandmother and my grandpa in there. Couldn’t of imaged anything more beautiful.

I love being able to have things in her room that have meaning behind them. Pretty much everything you see up on her self is something special that was given to baby girl or has been part of my family. It is the story behind all of these things, big or small that makes it so much better than just regular decor on a shelf.

Old frame, some spray paint, sting, and clothes pins..... bam you have a headband holder.

I found a mobile almost exactly like this on easy that I wanted but didn't want to pay the price so my sister made this for me and gave it to me as part of my baby shower gift!! It is so perfect.

  

Baby Shower #2

It is so amazing to me how much love Baby B has been shown and she isn’t even here yet. Baby shower #2 was just as amazing as the first one. This shower was held in Fayette at the gorgeous JJ Folly Bed and Breakfast located just outside of Fayette. I would recommend anyone to stay there while they are in town or to host any small events, you wont be disappointed I promise. It was the perfect day and Baby B and I had so many close friends and family around us. Some even traveled in from Louisiana, I felt loved for sure.  Two of my best friend Julie and Jennifer threw the shower for me and they blew I out of the water. They knew how much I loved COLOR and incorporated it into the shower as well as so many amazing details. My mother in law and sister in law also never seize to amaze me.  They create an awesome diaper cake, baby bouquets, and TONS of awesome onesies. Needless to say after leaving the shower Baby girl is more than ready to make her entrance. 

Thank you to Sybil my sister in law for helping me capture the day!

The cake was so gorgeous and tasted even better than it looked. 

Cake pops... need I say more!

The super crafty work of my mother in law and sister in law. The bouquets were made out of wash cloths and sock. The diaper cake.... well what wasn't it made out of. 

I mean the odds are in her favor :) 

Yes, we played the baby food tasting game at this shower as well. Most all of these were pretty tasty and I managed to only get 2 wrong and won the game. Look out motherhood I got this :)

Just a little of my excitement when I opened the gorgeous diaper bag that a group of my friend got me! TOTALLY SURPRISED

Thank you so very much to every single one of you amazing ladies who showed Baby B and I with so much love. I can't thank you all enough!

And thank you to these ladies (next two pics) who made my baby shower everything I could of imagined and more. I am so thankful for each one of you and don't know what I would do without you!

xoxo, 

Brenda 

Free closet divider download

Hello mommies or soon to be. I went back and fourth trying to decide if I should just purchase closest dividers or to make them myself. Well, lucky for you I decided to go ahead and make them myself as I did so many DIY's for baby girls room why stop now. This fun, full of color, and unisex design will be perfect in any baby girl or boys closet. I ordered the actually closet hangers from amazon and after shipping cost me $5.56 and arrived in just a couple of days.

(click on image to view item)

After reading some of the reviews I was a little nervous they wouldn't fit our closet rod but after getting them in they fit perfectly.  My closet has the the wooden rod and is about 4 inches in diameter so if you are close to this you should be good to go. 

To download all you have to do is click on the image below and save. From there you can print directly to some card stock and glue or modgepodge to the hangers. 

Enjoy, 

Brenda

Baby Shower number 1

Ever since we set the date for my shower in February I have been looking forward to it ever since.  I had no idea how special and thankful I would feel after going to my very first baby shower. Baby B received so many wonderful gifts I can't even being to explain how awesome all of them were. You will see some of them in my nursery post in a couple of week... be super excited for that post. My sister, best friend, and Aunt worked very hard to put this baby shower together and it all turned out absolutely perfect. Here is a little look at some of the details. 

Cake pops of course... they knew the way to my heart! 

Kirsten made these cookies for my bachelorette party and every since them I have been IN LOVE with them. I might have eaten 3....4.... or 5 of them at the baby shower. UGH they were so good I couldn't stop. 

Yes, we did the baby food tasting game and I got 3 of them correct. Not too bad if you ask me but...... do you see number 6 up there? That is the worst thing that I have ever tasted in my life. There was actually some gagging going on during this game all because of number 6. My was Tuna but it smelled and looked a lot like wet dog food. I can't remember exactly what it was but I do remember it was a mix of a whole meal including meat.... GROSS!

The favors and the bank were the most adorable things ever. I was so excited when I saw that the "guest book" was the little bank and that I would be able to display it in Baby B's room. 

A couple of fun presents... My sister had a hard time focusing the camera during present opening :) 

The guess had to tare off a piece of streamer to the length they though would fit around my belly. This game made for quite a few laughs and was not as easy as it looked. I tried it and failed big time. 

Thank you so so much to these lovely ladies for putting so much times into my shower. I couldn't of imagined it to be any better love you all so much!

28 weeks

This week has been a crazy week. I had my glucose test yesterday, it was a busy day and my phone died at 2pm. I got home at 7 plugged my phone in and had a voice mail from my doctor. I knew this wasn't a good sign as she told me they would only call if something was wrong. I have low iron and very high glucose levels (mines was 180 below 130 is normal). They told me to take iron tablets every day and I will have to start checking my blood sugar regularly. I am hoping that I will be able to manage this though diet and exercise. I looked today to see how many days we had left till we get to meet our baby girl, 12 weeks or 84 days WOW. I feel like time is quickly approaching and the readiness I thought I had is slowly slipping away. Lots to do!

On a more exciting note we leave for our first Breland family vacation.  We are headed to Dauphin Island Alabama on Wednesday of next week, but not before a couple of pit stops. We will leave on Wednesday and take Charlie to stay with my grandma where he will get to stay and run free (well more than normal) for 9 whole days. From there we are going to go see Nate's Grandma Red. I got to meet Red 2 years ago on her 89th birthday and loved every moment I spent with her. So I am so excited to get to see her again and spend the fourth with the whole family there.

I really don't plan on doing a whole lot besides laying in my lawn chair on the beach the whole time we are gone. SERIOUSLY NOTHING!!! We are going to get family pictures and maternity pictures done while we are there so I am just a tad bit excited about that. I found Jennie Tewell Photography after a long search for the perfect photographer, I defiantly think I found her. I LOVE getting pictures done while I am visiting a different state. Its so much fun to get to work with different photographers with all different styles. 

How far along?  28 weeks

Total weight gain/measurements: 20 lbs

Maternity clothes: Yes, I took advantage of the Motherhood by one get one half off sale and I am pretty pleased with my purchase. Although I am not a fan of the boob covering band that comes on the pants and shorts but I can live with it. (that crap is hot)

Stretch marks: None

Sleep: one word AWKWARD. I feel like I roll to my side and back to my back about a million times in one night. 

Best moment this week: Starting work on Baby B's dresser   

Miss anything? I am sure I am going to have a major withdrawal from sweets since I can no longer have them. 

Movement: When is she not moving?   

Food cravings: The same ole cherry limeade as usual 

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nothing out of the norm

Gender: GIRL!!

Labour signs: no thank you

Symptoms: No symptoms.  

Wedding rings on or off? Off, I can still get it on but leave a little too much pudge around my fingers for my liking. 

Happy or moody most of the time: Moody, my poor husband doesn't know what to do. 

Looking forward to: Family vacation 8 DAYS!!

WALL ART SALE

Since I am busy filling my baby girls nursery walls with all kinds of custom wall art I want to share the love with you all. So for this month only I will have the lowest price marked possible on all wall art and custom wall art starting at only $8 WOAH...

Pictured are a couple of the pre made options all prices can be found on the B.B Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/bbphotographystudio 

Gender Reveal

Gender reveal parties are all the craze right now thanks to Pinterest... at least I think so. But what if you are like me and live away from your family and just can't make an actual party work? These gender reveal scratch off cards are a perfect option.  Simply place them in the mail or add a little note and have a big Skype date while your family and friends all scratch at the same time.  

These cards along with custom options can be found here: https://www.etsy.com/shop/BBDEZINE?ref=hdr_shop_menu

Don't like these designs? No problem a custom card can be designed for you for as little as $5.

24 weeks

Wow it has been a crazy last couple of weeks. Last week I went back to my home town to celebrate my sisters bachelorette party. We had so much fun and I have so many pictures to share but we will save that for another post. On top of that I got to see one of my best friends Kirsten who just got back from Rome and I hadn't seen in over 6 months. Let me tell you this pregnant girl can still hang with the best of them. We partied till 3 am for my sisters bachelorette party and then I went out the next night and go my dance on with Kirsten. Of course I was DD both nights but I had the most fun I have had in a long time, not to mention I didn't have to worry about not feeling good the next morning. SCORE 

On Thursday Kirsten and I spend ALL DAY shopping and I finally found a swimsuit. Needless to say there was lots of laughs along the way but it all worked out. Found the suit pictured below at Victorias Secrets. 

Baby girl is now taking tumbling lessons, at least that is what it looks and feels like. She is moving around like crazy and pushing whatever body party she can at the time up against the most uncomfortable spots. I thought the tiny kicks were awesome now I see her moving in there and I am amazed. I came home from my trip to her crib all put together in her room. Nate didn't even tell me it had come in so as soon as I saw it I had to hold back the tears.  So, in love with the crib can't wait for her room to come together. Aside from the increase movement and cravings for sonic everything else seems pretty normal. Kind of feel like I am a boring pregnant person. :)

How far along?  24 weeks! 

Total weight gain/measurements: 18 lbs WOW

Maternity clothes: Nope 

Stretch marks: None

Sleep: ugh.... thats all I have to say

Best moment this week: Coming home to find baby B's crib all put together   

Miss anything? Nothing   

Movement: Lots of tumbling and flipping going on in there.   

Food cravings: SONIC!! Chicago dog, cheddar bites, and a cherry limeade please

Anything making you queasy or sick? Nothing out of the norm

Gender: GIRL!!

Labour signs: no thank you

Symptoms: No symptoms.  

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or moody most of the time: Happy

Looking forward to: My sister wedding June 15th :)

xoxo, 

Brenda