Ashworth Alcove

Waiting. Wondering. Walking. That's how the last week has been for me. I'm trying to be patient and savor the last few days I have before things get crazy, but I end up spending all of my time wondering what little Violet will be like. The aches and weird cramps I described in last week's post have prevailed. The good news is Violet has dropped significantly. After being monitored for a bit, it was confirmed that the menstrual feeling cramps are indeed contractions. They're just mini ones. And really irregular. Poop . At my doctor's appointment on Tuesday I was 70% thinned and 1 cm dilated. So even if they're mini, these contractions have been doing something over the last week. I'll take whatever I can get. Ben and I went to an air show last weekend. It was fun to see the old airplanes. However, I was a little bummed that I couldn't go on a helicopter ride. The full moon came and went last night. Along with the date of my crazed and pr...

With no time to go, the nursery is finally complete! The basics have been taken care of for a few weeks, but there were a few finishing touches I had to complete before I felt it was blog worthy. So here's a little tour of our nursery, with notes along the way... Tah dah! One accent wall painted light blue. Yes, we realize we're having a girl. We decided to forgo the traditional sea of pink so commonly found in little girl's nurseries. Instead, we went for a lovely mixture of delicate colors and patterns, focusing on light blue and eggplant purple. The glider was given to us by a friend of Ben's who no longer needed it. So thankful I am! The corner shelf was salvaged from my mom and dad's house. A fresh coat of white paint and it became the perfect piece to display Violet's trinkets. The crib was the only large item we purchased new. We decided to go with the traditional old-fashioned look. We also refrained from the traditional bedding sets. I li...

Only a couple more days and I'll be 38 weeks. THIRTY-EIGHT! But I'm getting ahead of myself. Here's how week 37 went... It's happened! I have a ponytail! I really took it easy this week after our beach adventure last weekend. I had another doctor's visit on Tuesday. It went fine, as usual, but I have to admit that it didn't really go how I had wanted it to. She checked at 36 weeks and I was about 50 percent effaced, so I was really hoping to be a little more this week. Unfortunately, after poking around on my belly and successfully giving Violet a full body massage, she determined that it wasn't necessary to do an exam this week. She said Violet was really high (my ribs could have told you that) and it didn't feel like she was engaged in my pelvis at all. That paired with the fact that I haven't been having any contractions or really felt any different at all made her confident that I'd see her for my normal appointment next week and not...

I recently found this "bucket list" (I hate that term). I wrote it a few years ago. Maybe 4? Some of the things on this list are big. Like climb Mt. Everest. Whaaaaaa. Then some are small. Like get a bonsai tree. As I was reading over it I was able to mentally mark off several things that I've already accomplished. And I'm not going to lie... It felt really good.  Ride in a hot air balloon Ride in a motorcycle side car Catch a fish Visit all 50 states Go to Europe Go up the Eiffel Tower Karaoke Visit a Renaissance Fair Witness a solar eclipse Complete a marathon Take music lessons Take a dance class Go scuba diving Go white water rafting Go skiing Go on a submarine Go surfing Zip line Go camping (real camping) Climb Mt. Everest Go paint balling Watch a rocket launch live Go on a safari Name a star Visit Rockefeller Center in NYC at Christmas Get my BS in a field of art (by far the best feeling I've ever had crossing something out) ...

I'm sitting in bed on my last night of my 36th week. Dog on one side, cat on the other. Tomorrow I'll be in week 37 and you know what that meeeeans. A FULL TERM VIOLET. This week has been pretty good to me. Still uncomfortable, but what's new these days. I had a doctor's appointment on Monday. She asked if I would like her to do an exam and I immediately said yes. I've been curious if my body has started preparing. No dilation (as expected) but I was happy to hear that my cervix has already thinned 50%. Violet has dropped some, but she still has a ways to go. I've carried her really high the whole pregnancy, which lost its charm weeks ago when she grew large enough to battle it out with my ribcage. I've got my hospital bag packed and ready to go. Now that I have less then a month until my due date I'm kind of twittling my thumbs a bit. I'm so ready to meet this little girl! Ben and I are only about an hour from the beach and I've r...

Holy cow. That accurately describes both how I'm feeling AND looking these days. I just rolled over into week 36, but I'm just recapping 35. The first part of the week was the same old, but then something happened on Friday and I took a sharp turn into uncomfortableness. Ben and I met with our doula Stephanie this week. Using a doula isn't really common, but I really think it should be, especially for women aiming for a natural birth. A doula is just additional labor support. She is a trained and experienced professional who provides continuous physical, emotional and informational support to the mother before, during and just after birth. We have a doula thanks to my sister. She thoughtfully covered the expense of her services for us and I'm so grateful. Family is 5-6 hours away, so it brings me a lot of peace of mind knowing that we'll have another support person here with us in the event that family doesn't make it in time. My parents and sister came do...

It's officially spring time in Alabama! The weather has been really nice, but we've also had some rain showers which I really enjoy. After living in Texas where it rarely rained I really enjoy the way everything smells after it rains here. I could probably sit out in the rain and be perfectly content, even though the neighbors would think I've lost it... A couple of weeks ago was the spring equinox and Ben and I celebrated by doing some work in our flower beds. By doing some work I mean Ben did everything and I supervised. I just laid all of the plants where I wanted them and waddled around the yard. I have such a good husband. The stork my mom gave us to represent the arrival of Violet!   We also went to Tennessee for one final visit before Violet arrives. We spent some time with family and enjoyed some Easter food and festivities. Telling these little guys goodbye as we head to Tennessee for the weekend. The Easter Bunny still comes to m...