8:00pm Sunday Night

Baby Wall was 2 weeks late. I know that this is something most women dread. Not I.

Since Dave and I just moved into a new house, there is not a lack of things to be done. Every day past my due date I would say, "Okay, I just want to get this done, and then I can have this baby". Well, it worked apparently. In fact, it worked so well that I ended up having to be induced.

All throughout pregnancy you are terrified of when you go into labor (or I was anyway). You think your water could break anywhere (really only about 10% of women have the water break at the beginning of labor), or contractions could just start out of nowhere. You hear horror stories of babies born in 3 hours, and you think, "Will I make it to the hospital in time"? While you are terrified by all things labor, you also start to mentally prepare yourself for the unexpected to occur at any moment.

When someone says to you, "Come to the hospital at 8:00pm on Sunday night and we will induce you," it's a jolt to the system. I was so prepared to be unprepared for labor that this scheduling of induction was not so welcomed. I held off doing many of the things suggested to induce labor because I thought that my baby would be born when it felt like it was ready. Come Sunday May 1st, I tried anything I could think of. Well, almost anything. I even went and got acupuncture in hopes that I wouldn't have to be induced. None of it worked.

Dave and I made it to the hospital around 8:30pm. (Hey, if this baby can be late then so can I.) We met my parents in the lobby. My dad was nervously chatting, and my mom said, "Have you been crying"? Yes, mom. All day.

They led us upstairs and I met with the first of many Doctors. I was checked internally (this is, in my opinion, one of the worst parts of childbirth) and I was hardly dilated. Sparing most of the unpleasant details, I was given Cytotec (which sounds like a supplement you buy at GNC). If you feel so inclined you can google what this does. I started having infrequent contractions, some fairly painful. After being monitored for a while I was given the option of going home or staying at the hospital. Who wants to be at a hospital if they don't need to be? Shortly thereafter Dave and I made the trek home. Home, might I add, is about 45 minutes away.

I had contractions the whole way home. I got into bed and tried to catch some Z's, and spend a little quality time with our cat, Wee Wee, before she became a big sister. The contractions kept coming, and getting more painful so Dave started timing them - they ranged from 2 to 5 minutes apart. He called the hospital and they told us to come back in. I was writhing in discomfort for the entire trip back to the hospital, and Dave made sure to hit every pothole on the way just to make me suffer. (Not really, but it seemed that way!) Apparently this induction had worked (not all of them do).

My mom and Dave came upstairs with me into the labor and delivery room, and my Dad stayed downstairs in the lobby. Once upstairs I was checked again, and still was not dilated. And so the longest night in the world began . . .

I Am the Bargain Hunter of the Century!

I AM AWESOME.

I told Dave I am going to turn into one of those women that will only buy things on sale - and it started yesterday. I went to the Burlington Mall specifically to look at refrigerators at Sears. I struck out big time there - the unhelpful salesman showed me 2 options - one for $3000+ and another for about $2500 and said those were the only models that would work for me. I think you're lying to me, dude. Scram.

I decided to head over to Pottery Barn to look at lighting. And then I stumbled upon this little beauty:

This is the "Hyde" table by Pottery Barn. It originally retailed for $700. I got it for the amazing price of $384.97. It was considered damaged because it was a floor model. I tell you in absolute confidence that there is nothing wrong with this table. Pottery Barn's loss, my gain.

Dave and I had been hunting for a farm table, and I was getting a little resistance from him. I wanted an antique one, but Dave thinks that I only like things that look like they have been beaten to hell for the last 50 or so years. This may be true, but only half true. Why buy an antique in perfect condition? I like things well-loved. Anyway, he was super stoked on the table. Now I just have to figure out how to get it to the house . . .

It will look so good with our Tolix chairs!

Who's In There?

Forty weeks is a long time to wait!

Dave and I decided to not find out the gender of our baby - in fact, that was a decision we made long before I was ever pregnant. My mom didn't find out what my brothers and I were going to be, so in the name of tradition I didn't want to know either. It's been really fun to guess who this little baby is.

Initially I think we all thought that it was a girl - that is all we could ever imagine having. Then we switched to thinking it was a boy, and now I am back to thinking it is a girl. We don't care one way or the other if it is a boy or a girl, as long as Baby Wall is happy and healthy.

In case you haven't noticed I really like buying things for Baby Wall on Etsy. Not knowing the gender of our baby has made it very hard for me to buy clothing. Vintage baby clothing can be super cute - especially for girls. Older boys clothing seems to be primarily made of polyester, and include vests and ties. Not really my cup of tea (unless it include anchors or sailboats in some way).

If we end up having a girl, you can be sure you will see at least one of these on her:

And these are adorable and will work either way . . .

Seriously, that denim vest KILLS me. It will look so good with the baby checkered Vans that our friends Brittain and Finkle gave us!

Recent Acquisitions

I was starting to feel a bit of panic because we didn't have a stroller or car seat for Baby Wall. When my mom came to visit 2 weekends ago we made this one of our missions. We went to Isis in the Prudential Mall and they gave us a small crash course in strollers. Initially I thought I wanted a 3-wheeled one, perhaps the B.O.B. - I was quickly redirected. We ended up with this bad boy below. It's easy to function, has a bassinet which can also be used for travel, and lots of attachments once the Davis-Wall family grows. I won't lie - strollers are really expensive, and this one seems to be no exception. We will just have to get lots of use out of it with Baby Wall #1, and all Baby Walls to come.What parent doesn't love a Bumbo? We are stoked on the color.
We didn't have a globe before I bought this awesome one on Etsy. I tried to go for half practicality and half aesthetics. I love how it looks so mid-century, but it is definitely showing its age. It still has the USSR on it. Dave kept asking my mom to find countries on it that had yet to be established . . . Also, Massachusetts is about the size of a pinhead, so we might have to get a big state map or atlas down the line.
My co-worker, Shailah, and I have been discussing a mutual love of old school charts recently. A while back I had been pining over one of birds, but it sold before I had a chance to get it. This one was still available so I scooped it up. Baby Wall has a woodland theme going on, so this will fit in perfectly. It's in amazing condition, still has the original metal bar at the top, and is from the 1960's. I'm a big fan of the raccoon down there in the bottom corner.

Almost There

Baby Wall is almost here! I am at about 38 weeks, getting bigger by the day, and my feet and hands are more swollen by the hour. We are getting prepared for everything to come. We finally bought a stroller and car seat (thanks Mom & Dad!), the hardwood floors are being installed in our new house this week (which means we can move in by the end of the week!), all baby classes have been taken, and I am meeting with a pediatrician on Wednesday.

If you asked me about a month ago if this was all going to work out, I would have most likely said no. It has been hard for us to find the time to do anything. Between lots of Dr's appointments, trying to figure out what is going on at the new house, and both Dave and I working full time - it doesn't leave time for anything else. We have been running around like crazy people. Most days conclude with one, or both of us, falling asleep on the sofa.

Yesterday was my last day of work for a while, so it feels good to know that I can focus on essential things from here on out. You know, like the birth of my child. No biggie.

Here is how things are looking (although this was actually a few weeks ago, so I am definitely bigger now):

On a side note; do we think I could make this work as a baby bag? I mean, it's really cute - but I'm not sure how organized it will keep me. You really can't go wrong with a stripe though.Also - I really want to get these for Baby Wall. The fox is named Liam and the raccoon is named Reginald. They can both be found on Etsy, made by Sleepy King. Adorable!
More to come soon!

Lighting!

Really, I never thought I would be the kind of person to get excited about lighting.

But recently I am all about some industrial looking lighting. I find that porcelain or enameled industrial lights in green or white are pretty easy to come by. When I stumbled upon these copper beauties on Etsy, and I was smitten. The copper is just a touch different, and a little warmer.

I will need to have the light rewired, but it will be so nice with a wood table, and our birch wallpaper! It is officially the first new purchase for our new house!

Oh, and yay! We got the house! It was a long, drawn-out process, but everything is settled now. Electrical is updated, the oil line is soon to be fixed, and hopefully the radon will be no more by the time we move in. We will close at the end of February, but for now there will be lots of meetings, signings, and many questions to be answered. First order of business once we own this house: Goodbye mauve carpet, hello hardwoods.

Hard Ball

Trying to buy a house is tough business.

Dave and I have been home hunting for months - at first passively, then actively. We looked all over - Beverly, Salem, Marblehead, Newburyport (which is a dream but too far from the city), Hingham, Belmont, Arlington, Concord (too expensive), and then finally Maynard.

I accidentally stumbled upon Maynard on a trip to an apple orchard in Stow, which is one town over from Maynard. I loved the area. There are lots of farms and orchards, lots of nature, a cute little town center. I took Dave out there one day so we could look at a few open houses, and to my surprise he loved it too. We met with a realtor and started looking much more seriously.

At first our realtor sent us to a few open houses, wanting to know our feedback so we could give her a solid idea of what we were looking for. After that she took us out to see a handful of homes in a single day, which left our heads spinning a bit. One of the homes we looked at we really liked, but it seemed like too much of a project.

The home in question has mauve and baby blue carpeting, a baby blue bathroom, old lady wallpaper, oil heat, and a lovely original 80's kitchen. But it also has a lot of things we have been looking for. It is a single family ranch with 3 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, well-maintained, and central air!

The home in question also has an offer on it - made by Dave and I. The process has been like pulling teeth so far, primarily because this house is an estate. Three children are dealing with the sale of a home that their parents built in the 80's as their retirement home. I would only expect this to be an emotional sale for these kids, but good lord . . .

We have gone through inspections, and there were a few red flags waived - which we anticipated. The roof, hot water heater, a furnace are all near the end of their life span. Hello, Big Money. There were also some issues raised with out of date electrical, some small leaks, and an out-of-date oil line that MUST be updated. Oh, and our radon test? Terrible. The results were 14.4 and 14.6 pCi/L. Now, I don't really know what the hell this means as far as measurements go, but the EPA limit on radon in households is 4.0pCi/L. EEK!

The problem is that the estate holders are fighting us every step of the way. Everything we ask them to repair they somehow take as a personal jab at their deceased parents. First it was the amount of money we offered them for the home ("an insult to [their] parents"), then it was asking them to fix the electrical. From what I understand, their father was an electrician. Therefore, asking them to fix electrical problems that were raised by the home inspector is also a slight towards their father.

Oh, bother.

We are in a bit of a holding pattern now. Who knows what will happen. We have tried very hard to not get emotionally involved in this home, because you never know what will happen. But of course, I already started picking things out for our house:

Cute things for Baby Wall's room . . .

And some nice lighting . . .

Perhaps a Julia Child inspired pegboard in the kitchen . . .

This wallpaper for the dining room . . .

With this table (minus the bench) . . .

Fingers crossed.