4 Weeks

Whew! That flew by WAY too fast! I know that as of the date of this post, Waylon is technically 7 weeks, but I'm running a little behind on my posts. He kind of takes up a lot of my time. ;)

Here's my little man at 4 weeks!

He takes so many cute pictures that I can't post just one....

And here's a picture of Waylon wearing his special "Okinawa" onesie. He is, after all, 1/4 Japanese...not that you can tell.

He's grown so much! At 5 weeks he weighed a little over 11lbs! He's a big eater...and a big pooper. He has big hands and long fingers, so we're all guessing he'll be a guitar player. Go figure.

I Hang Out With Rock Stars

That's right. Waylon was partying backstage with Blackberry Smoke at 3 weeks! You may remember that they played at our wedding. They are the most amazing bunch of guys and we're grateful to have them as friends. Thanks for letting us hang out!

Waylon is Here!

Yes! He finally arrived on May 4, 2011 at 9:29AM!!!!! He weighed 8lbs 13oz and was 21in long. Labor was WAY more painful and intense than I ever imagined. Yes, I had an epidural, but nothing prepared me for the pressure that came along with pushing. Yikes! At one point, Greg left the room while I was pushing because he was so overwhelmed by my pain and the fact that he couldn't do anything to help me. Don't worry, he only left for about 5 seconds and was in the room for the amazing moment our son was born.

When the doctor put Waylon on my stomach, I'd never felt so much love and amazement in all of my life. Greg and I (and our Moms, too) just cried and cried. He was so beautiful and perfect!

Motherhood is great, but it's also quite an adjustment. It's very strange to go from being so independent and then having a little guy who is completely dependent on you for everything. I've only had a couple of melt downs, which I think is pretty good. But when I look at Waylon's face...my heart just melts and everything gets better.

Let me just say that I'm stunned that I gave birth to such a white baby. I'm half Japanese, so I was totally expecting a baby with dark brown hair. Nope. I gave birth to a super white baby with blond hair. Ha! Waylon looks just like Greg. Sometimes I wonder if my genes are even a part of him because I don't see me in him at all! Ha!

Once again, the AMAZING Sharon Elaine Photography captured this special moment in our lives. I seriously don't know how Sharon manages to catch the most perfect pictures! She took the cutest pictures of Waylon when he was about 10 days old! :)

38 Weeks

We're in the home stretch now! Waylon could come at any moment!!!! Weeeeeee!!!! :)

This has probably been the most uncomfortable and bitchy I've been through this entire pregnancy. I have never been so exhausted in all of my life. It's very hard to not have the energy to do anything or to be out of breath from walking from one side of the room to the other. I'm frustrated because there are so many things I want to do, but I don't have the energy to do them. Sleeping is nearly impossible since I wake up 3-4 times a night to pee. I waddle instead of walk. My feet are swollen and hurt. I could go on and on and on...but I won't.

So far, I've had three...yes, three...baby showers. And now we're completely prepared for Waylon to arrive. We have everything we need. My friends and family are wonderful. THANK YOU to all of you!!!

And thank you to my friend, Sharon, for taking these amazing maternity photos. She also took our wedding photos and she's already scheduled to take pictures of Waylon when he gets here. Sharon, you are incredible and so very special to us. Check out my belly at 35 weeks! :)

30 Weeks

So at 29 weeks, I had my second 3D ultrasound to get a little sneak peak at our little guy. Of course his first course of action: show off his goods. What is it with this kid? Ha!

Then Waylon decided he wanted to be stubborn and not show his face. We got some good profile shots, but no amount of poking and prodding made him turn to show us his whole face. He also decided that he wanted to keep his hands in his face. He may be stubborn, but he's also got the cutest, chubbiest cheeks and Greg's nose. I'm madly, deeply in love already. Just looking at his little face makes my heart melt. I can't wait until he's here and I can hold him and kiss those cheeks!

Peace! Or...piss off.

Look at his cute, little smile!!!

He's yawning...or sticking his tongue out.

I will be at 31 weeks this Thursday. Waylon is moving around like crazy! And he's discovered how to sit on my bladder just right so that I almost pee myself. He's going to be a handful when he comes out!

Still no complaints aside from the usual heartburn and not being able to sleep. I'm definitely beginning to get tired more easily. I still feel so lucky that this pregnancy has been so amazing for me.

I've started taking a prenatal yoga class on Saturdays. It's kind of nice being surrounded by so many pregnant women at different stages but who all have similar gripes and pains. The class is incredibly relaxing and I love it. Then after Waylon is here...there's a Baby & Mom yoga class! And lucky for me, my BFF Jenelle is already taking that class, so we'll be able to take it together. Woohoo!

Nursery

From the moment I knew I was pregnant, I started looking at crib bedding. Unfortunately, I didn't like much of anything I saw. Look, I'm not your typical girl, so I need something that's different, funky and cute. I don't want teddy bears and Disney characters. When I helped my friend, Jenelle, make her crib bedding, I decided to make my own, too. So the hunt was on for the perfect fabric.

And I found it. I fell in love with it the moment I saw it and there was nothing that was going to change my mind. Before ordering it online, I went to my locally owned fabric store, Sew to Speak, to see if they had it or if they could order it. To my surprise, the lady at the store told me the fabric was Australian and they didn't order Australian fabric because it was much too expensive. Uh oh. When I took a closer look at the website, it was indeed an Australian site and the price was per half meter. Gulp. I needed at least 4 yards (approx 4 meters) and that was going to cost me a small fortune, not including shipping. But I said to hell with it and ordered it anyway because my kid is totally worth it. I bought enough for one half of the crib bumper and a little extra for other projects. And seriously...the fabric couldn't be anymore me and my husband. It's the freaking cutest thing on the planet and I think Waylon will LOVE it.

So his nursery is based on this fabric. We decided to paint one wall orange and the the other three walls turquoise and have navy blue accents (curtains, rug, etc.).

The first task was to empty the room. We were using it as a closet, so we had a lot of clothes to move and get rid of. Then a close friend of ours, who just happens to be a professional painter, painted Waylon's room as a gift. How awesome, is that?

Now it was a matter of getting the motivation and finding the time to put the crib and dresser together. I'll be honest...I'm in TOTAL nesting mode, so I was SO ready to get this room together ASAP. Unfortunately, my husband did not have the same sense of urgency as I did. But I really didn't have to wait too long because he knew I was getting antsy. So this weekend was it!

And of course after everything was set up...I realized that I didn't really have as much room as I thought I did. I still need to get a changing table and glider. We also still need to paint the bookcase, get some pictures/paintings on the walls, and sew the curtains. I'm sure I'm forgetting something...but the room is about 80% finished and I'm excited about it!

24 Weeks

Today, I'm officially at 24 weeks. That's 6 months. I'm more than half way there!

Aside from not sleeping as well as I used to, vicious heartburn and charlie horses, this mama has no complaints. People are constantly asking me, "How are you feeling?" My reply is always, "Great!" Because honestly...I do feel great. Aside from Waylon moving around in there, I don't even feel pregnant. I'm SO lucky!

Speaking of Waylon moving...Greg finally got to feel Waylon kick last week! He was so happy and had the biggest smile on his face. He'd been trying for a couple of weeks to feel Waylon kick, but whenever he put his hand on my belly, Waylon would just stop. My Mom was actually the first person to feel Waylon kick, and needless to say, she was super excited!

I try to play Waylon as music as possible. Music is a HUGE part of our lives (obviously...we're naming our kid after a musical legend), and we want our son to be exposed to and love as much music as possible. I play him Waylon Jennings (of course), Elvis, Johnny Cash, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Blackberry Smoke and even a little Motley Crue. I also throw in a little classical because it's beautiful and because I play the violin (or used to).

I wish I could explain to you how incredible it is to feel Waylon moving around inside my belly or to sit and watch my belly move when I play him "Home Sweet Home." It brings tears to my eyes because it's seriously one of the most amazing things I've ever experienced in my life. It's magical and breathtaking.

Check out the belly at 23 weeks!