Back to the Home blog

I will be posting again on our regular home blog now that the pregnancy is over. If you have just been following this blog and not my original, here is the link to our regular blog.
http://alyssandustin.blogspot.com
I will use my pregnancy blog again someday to journal any other pregnancies of mine in the future...
Hope you have enjoyed reading my journey through pregnancy.  :)

Baby Room Pics

Here is our baby room with a grey and yellow theme with teal accents. We reserved the empty wall space for pictures we will take of her and wooden letters of her name above the crib.

 Here is my rocking chair that my dad bought for me through craigslist. It was a great deal! Great condition and it is verrry comfy :) Thanks Dad!

I'm Ready...

I don’t think it’s REALLY sunk in yet... maybe a little at times; when I feel her kick, or when I’m with Alyssa and all of a sudden I think, she’s pregnant! With my Baby! I’m going to be a dad! Sometimes I think, I helped make a PERSON! It’s weird, but really cool!  I’ve also had the thought that I can’t believe that I’m allowed to have my own child. I still feel like one and yet I’m going to be responsible for another. Haha

I can’t wait for the moment she is out and we hear her cry. I remember being in the room when Dallin, our nephew, was born. It was something I had never felt before and he wasn’t even mine. I can only imagine... I already know I’m going to cry.

Some emotions.
I’m afraid. I’m afraid that I won’t be a good dad and that I won’t know what to do. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to provide for my family the way I want. I’m afraid.
I’m proud. I’m proud she is joining our family. I’m proud that she will have God in her life, that she will know where she came from and where she’s going. I’m proud of her. I’m proud of Alyssa. I’m proud.
I’m excited! I’m excited for bedtime stories. I’m excited for messes. I’m excited for laughing and crying.  I’m excited for MY family to grow. I’m excited for the unknown. I’m excited to teach her. I’m excited to learn from her. I’m excited for her to call me dad. I’m excited to watch Alyssa be a mom. I’m excited to be a dad. I’m excited for her. I’m excited!
I’m sad. Actually... no I’m not.
I’m happy. I’m happy she’s a she. I’m happy she’s healthy. I’m happy she’s mine. I’m happy that Alyssa is her mom. I’m happy it’s now. I’m happy.
I’m ready. I’m ready to show her off. I’m ready to change diapers. I’m ready for little fingers. I’m ready for no sleep. I’m ready to be protective. I’m ready for new baby smell. I’m ready for daddy-daughter time. I’m ready to be a pushover. I’m ready for her.  I’m ready. I think...


Ready or not, here she comes.

-Dustin

Last maternity photos before the big hurrah

These first photos were taken at our new cottage house just messing around for fun. I don't really like showing my stomach but I knew I had to get some pictures of it because most likely I will want them later I guess...

 I wanted to do something symbolic of the fact that we are doing a water birth. I found a few maternity photos online of women laying/sitting in the water but I didn't really feel like doing that. First of all because lakes and stuff are dirty/nasty and they are cold unless you are in Hawaii or something. So I just stood up to my knees instead :)

Latest week bump photos

30 Week Photo:

Here we are in San Francisco where we celebrated our 4 year anniversary in August. We ate a very nice dinner at The Melting Pot thanks to my mom as a gift :)

 35 Week Photo:

This photo is in front of our new old country house out in the country surrounded by vineyards and it is just the right size for us.

 37 Week Photo:

Here is my family at Doran beach one Sunday after church. It was verrry warm that day and Jelina flew her little kite she was excited about haha. We had a little picnic and hung out.

39 Week Photo:

Dustin and I went walking another Sunday at Spring Lake and I wanted to take a "symbolic" photo of me having a water birth.... Dustin obviously doesn't have enough fingers for the number 39 so we will try for a 40 week photo next week if I am still pregnant :)

Name tease...

So we have the baby name narrowed down to 2 names, and one of them we are leaning more towards, but thought we would keep the runner up just in case it just doesn't fit the day of haha.
That's all for now.
Just thought I'd share that we basically know but we aren't telling anyone yet. Nobody gets to tell us what we shouldn't or should name our child. :) Because the name we choose is the name we choose. HA!
Seriously though. you better like it. Because SHE will make the name awesome. The name won't make her awesome. :)

Hangin' Out

The first part of my maternity leave we were busy getting the house ready, finishing projects, and driving around a lot to get stuff basically which made time go by and we felt busy. I wanted the baby room done, our living room done (since I know people will be coming over and I know I would be dying inside with it not finished), and the storage stuff done. It's not perfect yet but its livable and doesn't look like a tornado went through. I know once you have a baby you shouldn't worry about messes or stuff like that. But I know I would. I HATE it when my home is messy and not looking good/organized for when people come over. That is something I will definitely need to work on. But its more the feng shui of the furniture, pictures on the walls and the organization of the house that I am more crazy about. Don't get me wrong shoes and clothes laying around the house twist my insides but I like it when the decor flows.
I may or may not have mentioned this before, but our new house has basically no storage minus a small shed outside, a small tiny closet in the babies room, and a pantry off the kitchen. SO. We made the pantry our walk-in closet because it drove me crazy originally having our closet seen by the world every time you walked in the back door (Dustin drilled a pole against a wall to hang our clothes on). It was madness.
The shed is packed with stuff we don't normally use like suitcases, holiday stuff, Dustin's bajillion cords/techy stuff, binders of stuff/memorabilia, etc.
Annnnd the tiny baby closet is packed to the rim with all sorts of randoms. I hate dressers and I wasn't planning on it, but we may have to get one for the babies room.
So anyway, now that a lot of stuff is done and we have organized our house for the most part, I can relax at home and not have to waste $5 a gallon driving around Sonoma County. It's like pins and needles every time I look at the level of gas we have left in our car. I think there is a little elf stealing our gas over night. Stupid gas.
I keep trying to tell myself to "make sure I relax" before this baby comes. And not just lay about the house. That part is easy, but to relax my mind and enjoy the quiet alone time I have to myself. To take in these last alone moments with Dustin, to mentally prepare myself for the reality and not take up my thinking time of what I need to do around the house or errands.
 For example, when a girl is getting engaged, a lot of the time she is so focused on the planning part leading up to the wedding that she forgets to really take it all in and enjoy the moment. We did a wedding photo shoot a couple weeks ago and the bride was rushing us taking pictures and worrying about this or that and not enjoying her day as much as we thought she should have. And that is what I am trying to do these last couple weeks I have before this little girl comes and changes EVERYTHING. 
The only thing I wish we would have had time and money to do before that day comes, is to get away with Dustin and stay somewhere for a weekend with just us. But, moving is expensive, preparing a house for a baby is expensive, and freaking gas costs are outrageous!!!!!! So no getaway for us.
All I have to do as far as errands go are to chill, make freezer meals, go on walks more, and sleep.

Picking a name

I am thinking a little too hard about this picking a name I think. But it is going to be this girls name for the rest of her life. Shouldn't it be important??? I like research every name based on popularity, what the general public has to say about it, the name meaning, if it gets mispronounced/misspelled too easily and if it goes well with our last name.
There are only like 4-5 middle names to choose from. And how often do people really hear the middle name anyway? How many people really know what my middle name is?