Only 17 days....
 

.....until my due date, and we've just finished the nursery, bar a few pictures on the wall and a rug of some kind...

My Mum made the curtains and all the frills etc for the Moses basket and we fashioned the matching wall stickers by photocopying sections of the curtain fabric onto self adhesive paper - clever eh?!

Anyway, I just needed to share my excitement with someone!

:D

I am sooooooo excited for the both of you... :p

Reflecting here ---- I think that this is amazing. You have shared yourself with us in many ways - we all watched as you and Fussy became friends.. flirted and finally hooking up.. getting married and now a baby.

Congrats and ((((HUGS)))) to the both of you!

*verklempt* I am really so incredibly happy for you both. And for all of us who have watched your love grow.

Congratulations! I'm excited to make the acquaintence of Baby Pucker. :)

Loulabelle,

Patience is a virtue, but I suspect that you are ready now!

Really excited for you, Loulabelle! Best of luck! (((( HUGS ))))

best of luck with everything Lou

OOOOOOOOOOO isnt it exciting.

Congrats to you two again

Wooot Lou and Fussy!

Pssst... now I know what colors of yarn I need to get to crochet a baby blankie

sucha peaceful room.

It's so cute!!! So exciting!!! (((((((((((((((Fussy & Lou)))))))))))

Awwwww it's so cozy!!!!

Hugs to you both and baby too.

Thanks for all the good wishes, lovely people - it's funny but I can't quite believe how far we've come from first chatting on Pixies either. It's been quite an incredible journey.

I'm glad the room looks cosy, sodaklostsoul, it's actually freezing in there at the moment, as the heating needs to be fixed! The plumber is coming on Friday to sort that though - at last!

OOooo I am just so excited for you lovely people! :line: YAY!

Awwwwwwww! That's such a comfy/lovey room! Cudos to your mum and the curtains...and the chair looks so inviting when you hear the babe calling for when you or Fussy and you still need to rest.

^^^Please notice I included Fussy so he knows it won't always be you going to get the weeping one! *giggle*

Do you do as we do here in the states and have a baby shower before the birth? Or, did I miss a note on you having already having one? Or, do you wait to meet and greet the wee one?

TY for sharing Lou...you did good!

Love and hugs to you both (and baby makes 3)!!!

Hehehe thanks Lixy.

And from such an experienced seamstress, I'll take the compliment to my Mum's curtain making as a huge one!

We don't really do baby showers in the UK, but when I was in Cardiff with my sister and my cousins, they did throw me a kind of baby shower, where I received a beautiful "Nappy Cake". We've had loads of gifts for baby already, mainly clothes etc from family and a bouncy chair from my work colleagues on the day I left. My Grandmother gave me a contribution to the nursing chair and bought the baby changer, which you can't really see in the pictures, so one way and another I've done very well for gifts.

It seems everyone just loves buying baby stuff!

Oh it's so nice! That chair will get a lot of use too! You're about to have the most incredible journey of your life and feel a love that you never thought possible.

Hugs

Awwww the nursery is really beautiful and so very sweet. Congrats to all three of you.


--kathy1

Best of luck with everything Lou...

:yikes:


I know what a nappy is, and it ain't used in baking! :eew:

For the uninitiated:

http://www.thenappycakeco.co.uk/

Your nursery is adorable!! And what a good idea to do the photo copying for the decorations. :thumb: I so wished you lived in Georgia so I could offer to babysit. I did child care for 20 years in my home and since moving here and starting a new life I haven't held a newborn in over a year. I miss them!!! :nod:

TinglingTess - I wish you were closer too - I need all the support I can get - I've only held a newborn once in my life for about 5 minutes!

I have a hunch you will get to change that soon ..... and at the oddest hours. :rofl:

You will be fantastic! They are really much sturdier than they look so don't worry about breakage. ;)

Loulabelle, I never held a baby either until my first was born, never changed a nappy either - but I changed my daughter's first one (and one or two more over the next few years, whenever she needed it). Never thought I'd be much of a Dad either, but I surprised a few people, including myself.

Since you're going to get all kinds of advice from everyone anyway, here's my tuppence worth:

Babies aren't as fragile as we think they are. They wouldn't survive the birth canal if they were.
The perfect parent hasn't been born yet.
Sometime during the first year or two you will probably open your mouth and hear your own mum come out of it.
Its amazing how something so cute can produce nappies so vile.
That being said, its not the wee one's fault.
It is impossible to spoil a baby with too much love, affection, and cuddling.
Its never too early to start talking to the little one. Your baby will love the sound of your voice.
Everyone knows more about being a parent than you do - rubbish!
Trust your heart and your intuition. If something feels wrong its probably worth exploring.
You will feel depressed, maybe overwhelmed, hopefully it will pass quickly, if it doesn't, talk to your doctor (speaking from experience here). (Fussy, you might want to read up on post partum depression too, if you haven't already)
Don't be afraid to ask for help, don't be too noble to accept it when its offered.
Some people will act offended if you don't automatically follow their advice, they're not worth worrying about.
Every child is unique. They each unfold at their own rate. It doesn't work like a bus schedule.
Enjoy it while it lasts, they DO grow quickly.

Thats about it, I think tuppence might be a bit inflated.

Hope Fussy is holding up - will he be in the delivery room with you? Will he be passing out cigars, or just passing out?

Thrushbeard, thanks for the wise words.

I think I'm pretty much sorted in terms of the theory of child rearing. My background in educational psychology helps with that, and the reason I studied that in the first place was because I have a natural intuition when it comes to how people think/develop, but it's the day to day practicalities that I've no idea about yet!

Fussy and my Mum will be with me, but if either of them feel they can't cope with the situation, I'm not going to pressurise them into staying. Fussy is pretty good with guts and gore (unlike me) so I don't think he'll be passing out, and hopefully he'll be there with me the whole time, as he's always my strength when I'm frightened or unsure. We're going to just go with the flow, since there are so many variables that can change at any given moment, it's hard to plan something in stone.

He certainly won't be handing out cigars - haven't you heard the stats on smoking related cot deaths?!?!?!?!?! LOL - told you I was up on the theory of it all, didn't I?!

"theory" being the key word in all this is the only footnote I can add. :sad:


It seems to work though or where did the (6.5) (10^13) come from? ;)

Hi Lou & Fussy

I hope everything stays on track, there's nothing worse that being over due and waiting for the happy event. Parenting isn't an exact science, what works for one won't for someone else. I'm sure you'll both work it out together & be great.

BTW excellent idea to have the comfy chair in the nursery for Fussy to nap in while you try to keep the baby quiet ~lol~

LMAO @ Glyndwr - It's actually a nursing chair, so unless Fussy suddenly develops the ability to lactate, it's off limits to him! There is a matching footstool for it too, which also glides so I can sit in it and read him stories in perfect comfort. :D


Only 9 days 'til my due date now, and I've noticed everyone being a lot more anxious around me, like they're worried my waters are going to break any moment! LOL

((((Lou))))) ~~ Be well

How are you feeling Lou? Has the baby "dropped" yet...into position? Any "show" noticable? Baby hand hanging out and a faint voice yelling, "Get me out of here"?

*giggle*

You mean we had those seances for nothing. :yikes:

... oh ...

... you said "science." Sorry, you can go back to posting. :)

This is WAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY too true!!!

Thinking of you and hoping you keep the excitement you're feeling right now with you always! :loveshowe

Thanks for the good thoughts everyone!

To answer Lixy's question, no show yet, but the baby has indeed engaged. He's at about three fifths and apparently the fourth and fifth stages aren't reached until labour. I'm very relieved as my mother's first child was breach as her pelvis was too narrow and had to be born by caesarean, so the fact that baby has room to be in that position now, is hopefully a good sign that I'll be able to do this the old fashioned way.

imaginewithme, I'm hoping that the excitement will stay, but the trepidation will leave me! I do feel as though I just want to get on with it now though...no matter how painful labour is, I'll be pleased when I finally get there.

Why is it as soon as I sit down at the keyboard and start typing about him, he starts kicking me in the ribs?!

OOooo I am so excited for you all! You know that I am watching this thread like a hawk!

Now with babe being engaged, besides the kicks to the ribs, I bet breathing has been a bit easier of late. I know that with my 2nd, when babe dropped, breathing became a joy again. (Babe also dropped when I was at a KISS concert which made cheering easier, because I could breathe easier, LOL)

Is the heartburn any better? I am hoping that with the little extra room that it is.

I really do wish you the best of luck and an easy labor and delivery!

(((((Lou, Fussy, and Baby)))))

He wants his own userid and a chance to look at the pics. :boink:


;)

hey, what can you say.....the kid is already blessed with awesome Pixie genetics!

less than ten days now right? i remember buying milk and sausage and stuff at the store around this time and thinking - huh, this'll still be good after the baby's born. :D