Excitement, Stress, and Everything In Between

We've had a couple of exciting weeks but this week has been extremely overwhelming. I'm hoping that writing about it will help ease my mind and encourage me to focus on the positive.

Baby/Pregnancy Excitement!
We have a name! I finished my secret project and surprised Mr. Merman. A quick backstory: We've had the name narrowed down to 2 for quite some time. My top name, "D" and his top name, "M." We quit talking about it because we knew there was still plenty of time to decide. As time went on, we both started to give in to one another. He would refer to Baby as "D" sometimes and had told people at work that his name would be "D." Whenever he brought this up, I'd say, "Nothing is official! We haven't talked about it." I was beginning to lean more toward "M" but didn't want to commit and definitely wasn't ready to tell him that.
One of my bosses actually helped a lot without even realizing it. I told her our top names as soon as we had them. So every morning, she would ask how "D" is doing. The next day, she'd ask how "M" is doing. I would always laugh and wave her off but it really did help to hear the names being spoken aloud by someone else. I was loving the way "M" was rolling off her tongue. Eventually, I decided to commit to "M" which led me to the surprise project. I wanted to create something that could hang in the nursery and surprise Mr. Merman with my choice. After doing a lot of Etsy research for ideas, I decided to just do my own thing. Check it out!

I hung this on the door while Mr. Merman was downstairs. Then, I had him close his eyes and stand in front of the door until I said, "OPEN!" At first, he seemed really confused (probably because he had no idea what was going on or what to expect). Then he was surprised and kept asking, "Are you sure?!" He admits that he was fully expecting the baby to be named "D."  I think it took him a while to process as he was already thinking of Baby as "D" because he didn't say much until later in the day. As we were putting nursery furniture together, he kept repeating "M" out loud and getting more excited each time. I loved it even more when I heard him saying it over and over. It feels slightly more real now that we have an official name.

Nursery
That same day, we started putting the nursery together. We built the nightstand, dresser, and crib all in one day! It took the entire day and I was exhausted beyond belief. But it feels so good to have everything put together. We ordered the recliner/swivel/rocker and it arrived within 3 days! Now I just love going in the room and sitting in the chair. Piper likes to jump up in the chair with us and look out the window. Hopefully she can still join us in the chair once baby is here. How fun and cute would it be to have both of our babies cuddling in the chair with us?

We picked out a new fan and window treatment last weekend. I'm thinking about tying some burlap around each curtain and adding an octopus to it. I ordered some wooden octopuses for the letter but didn't end up using them so maybe I can incorporate it into the windows?

Now all we need is a lamp and some decorations. I can't wait to get things going in there!


Baby Shower
I have two showers this week! Tomorrow is my friends and family shower. I have no idea what they have planned other than catered Mexican food (Mmm! Cheese) and that people are supposed to bring a book instead of a card. My friends have been working so hard and meeting up to plan for it so I know it's going to be amazing. My best friends just keeps saying, "It's so you! You're going to love it!" I can't wait to see what she means by this.

My mother-in-law flew in to attend the shower. She arrived last night and offered to go shopping with me after the shower to purchase any big items we don't get. How nice is that?!?!

My work shower is on Wednesday of next week, which also happens to be Field Day for 4th-5th grade. We're going to be a stinky bunch of shower-goers. lol! I can't decide if I should just wear my dress-down clothes from Field Day or change into something nice. It's going to be right after school in the office so I'm sure no one would think twice if I was in my Field Day attire.

It's hard to believe that these showers are for me. I keep looking at the invitations because it seems unreal that my baby shower invitation is the one hanging on the fridge. It's finally my turn!

Birthing Classes
We toured the hospital on Tuesday and then took our first birthing class that night. Why must the videos make drug-free birth seem so easy?? I'm all about getting an epidural but would also like to be able to move around and take a hot shower during contractions so I feel like my birth plan will be: "Do whatever the heck I feel like doing when I feel like doing it. Just get the baby out safely."
My favorite part of class was getting to slow dance with Mr. Merman. We've been so busy, we've hardly had time for each other. It was nice to have that few minutes where we just got to hold each other and talk. They also taught the dads how to give a good back massage during contractions. It felt so good!! I'm asking for another massage tonight. :)

Ultrasound
We tried out the 4D ultrasound last week. While it was pretty neat to see, things weren't very clear. His hands, feet, and umbilical cord were in front of his face. We were able to get a few glimpses of the cheek but that's about it. It was worth a try though! Our next appointment with the MFM is Monday. We'll get to check out his positioning, weight, growth in the last 6 weeks, umbilical cord, fluid, etc. Crossing fingers for more good news.

House Under Construction Madness
Dining room construction has begun! In fact, they are pretty close to being finished with it. However, it has been a stressful week which has caused quite a bit of anxiety on my part. There have been some issues with scheduling and communication. For example, we were told someone would be arriving between 8-9 on Tuesday morning to replace the main support beam, plywood, insulation, etc. That person didn't arrive til after 11. The electrician and plumber were supposed to come that day, as well but were pushed back to Wednesday (since the other guy was so late). I was told they'd be in the house from 8-5 on Wednesday. Therefore, we made arrangements for my dad to stay at the house with the dog and oversee everything... no one showed up! That's right. NO ONE SHOWED UP! My dad spent an entire day at my house waiting for people who never came. I called about it when I got home and was told that the plumber was on his way but the electrician had to cancel. I waited over an hour for the plumber before calling again, only to find out that he was stuck on another job and wouldn't be able to make it at all. The drywall was supposed to be replaced yesterday but they weren't able to do it because the electrician and plumber hadn't done their jobs yet. So, everything was pushed back another day.

Just the beginning...

This is just a quick example of what we've been dealing with. We've been cancelled on more than twice and have had the job pushed back several times. It is all so overwhelming! Living in a house that's under construction is not fun at all. I hate how our furniture and wall decor is crammed into the kitchen right now. I hate that all of these random people have access to my house when I'm not home and have no idea what's going on. I also hate having to make plans for dog-care everyday. Thank goodness my dad is retired and so willing to help. If he's not at our house, he's allowing me to drop Piper off with him each day. He's weird about dogs so she just stays in her crate but it's better than having her locked up at home with strangers coming in and out of our house all day.

I honestly think the hardest part for me is making sure the dog is taken care of. She is my baby and I want her to be happy! Monday was one of the days they cancelled on us so my dad turned the house alarm on and left. Then the contractor called a few hours later saying that the electrician was having trouble getting in because of the alarm being set. But this was after he told me no one would be coming. Luckily, my dad was able to get back over there to turn the alarm off and stay while they worked but when he called to update me I could hear Piper yelping in the background. It broke my heart so much! I have no idea how long the alarm had been going off but I do know that she was probably scared to death, especially once she heard all these voices in the house. I made my dad take her out of the crate to let her sniff around and see what was happening. Then I rushed home as fast as I could to hold and comfort her.

Needless to say, it has been chaotic and on Wednesday, I just had to get my frustrations out. I cried good and hard then made a dated log of everything that has happened with the schedule and cancellations over the past week. I was able to talk with the project manager to convey my frustrations yesterday. He explained how scheduling works, which has really eased my mind. I've had to convince myself that it will all get done in due time and that my stressing about it isn't going to help. They are currently putting the drywall up and will be ready to paint on Tuesday. Then the dining room will be done for good!

Bathroom construction should start next week. We were able to work with a designer at Floor and Decor to pick out new tile, floors, caulking, etc. Check out what we picked! It's going to be so pretty when we're finished with it.

Vinyl "wood" floors with pebble stone tile in shower floor
Tile and accent to go on shower wall

More Fun Stuff
I'm currently 33 weeks! Which means we only have 7 more to go... what?!?!?!
I still feel great and think that Yoga has a lot to do with that. I've gained about 27 lbs at this point so I'll probably be hitting the 30 lb. mark soon.
Merbaby (ha) seems to be stuck under the right side of my ribs. I have a feeling he's still breech as I constantly feel kicks on my cervix (so freaking weird!). When I try to bend over or lean to the right, I'll get a nice little punch to remind me that he's getting squished. Sometimes it's so hard, it shocks me. And I love it!
We can actually see the movements from the outside now. I absolutely love sitting on the couch at night watching and feeling him move. It is the craziest thing. I often want to cry thinking about how I was so close to never having this opportunity. It's not at all what I imagined or expected and I feel so lucky to be experiencing this.
I am so thankful for science and the doctors who dedicate their lives to make this dream a reality for some couples. It's unreal to think that couples in the past didn't have what we do today.

PS: We're getting our new family car today! I'll be driving the SUV we currently own and my husband will be driving the new 4-door Sedan. I'll be telling my sporty 2-door coupe goodbye soon!

Just had to include our sweet girl. She's pooped
from the chaos in the house