Don’t think for one second that as soon as we found out we were having a girl, I wasn’t already blueprinting the baby’s nursery in my head! We saw the lady bits on the monitor and BAM! My brain was already deciding what piece of furniture goes on which wall and which shade of paint should be painted on it. It was like wedding planning all over again, but the final product would last more than eight hours and I was making decisions for another person (okay, so the lats part is exactly like wedding planning! Womp womp…).

Bryan and I both agreed we wanted our baby girl’s room to be girly. Modern, unisex, and contemporary styles — although cool — just aren’t our taste. I also didn’t love the idea of a baby-ish themed nursery either. I know, a baby would be living in there, but little, cartoonish duckies or teddy bears or kitty cats around the room just wasn’t my idea of girly sophistication. I dabbled with the shabby chic theme because to me that speaks girly and delicate, but the stores that I’d already registered with didn’t carry any true shabby chic bedding which, to me, is the starting point for nursery decor. Plus, shabby chic patterns, while gorgeous, are usually soft and muted in color and my eye always goes to color (hello, pink and orange wedding colors!). So with shabby chic as a trampoline of inspiration, I began my nursery decor and ended up selecting a lot of pieces from Pottery Barn Kids and Baby, lending the room to become girly sophistication.

Before owning all the pieces, we first had to paint the walls. It took me forever to decide on the colors and Bryan was anxiously waiting for me to make a decision so he could purchase the paints and begin painting his daughter’s room. But I threw a wrench in the plans when I decided to take a personal design risk and choose three colors! Three walls would be painted a soft, buttery yellow and the wall that would house the crib would be accent wall with two shades of pink in stripes. Bryan heard me say stripes and he immediately dialed our inexpensive, but talented painter, Alvaro. A few days later, Alvaro and his team painted the baby’s room and executed the stripes perfectly!

My fabulous baby showers were so much fun and many of our generous friends and family also contributed pieces to the room to complete the nursery. It was fun to tie it all up and complete the finishing touches. I wanted the room to be a space that our daughter would love, but also be a haven for us, her parents. We knew we’d be spending a lot of time in there (hence the purchase of Apple TV next to the mini flat screen), so it was important that it was comfortable, relaxing, and beautiful.

The finished product was complete a couple weeks before Madelyn was born, but I didn’t have a chance to take and share photos until now. Oops. Here’s a little tour of the sweet baby suite!

It took me forever to fall in love with crib bedding. I may as well have made a JDate profile for sheets and gone on dates to be courted by dream bedding because I spent many sleepless nights crying over patterns and colors gone wrong. I did fall in love with an ensemble from Pottery Barn Baby that kept getting back ordered. I was promised a May arrival, then July, then August (cutting it close…) and then September. I was sick and tired of being led on and decided to break up with the bedding that couldn’t make a commitment. Broken hearted, I began the search all over again and found a set that would lift my spirits and help me believe in love again. (Sidenote: I was in PB Baby a few weeks ago, and saw that the original first love was back in stock and showcased in their crib room. I had pangs of nostalgia and for a second, thought about making contact again, but knew the right choice was to remain with my current and forever crib bedding because it treats my baby right, it’s beautiful, and it’s reliable.).

I’m not much of a DIY-er because I don’t have patience or the space to store arts and crafts. However, on rare occasion when I do get crafty and I haven’t drained my creativity in blogging, I really do enjoy being artsy fartsy. The one thing I absolutely wanted to make myself was the baby’s name wall hanging over her crib. I had specific criteria so it was just easier for me to make it instead of purchasing it. I wanted it to be safely hung over the crib so I knew I couldn’t use wooden letters. We live in earthquake country, and I didn’t trust myself to create anything that would be heavy and earthquake-safe, so I knew the letters from Michael’s would be out. I also wanted to be able to control the colors and patterns, and while I found some letters I liked in Anthropologie, my.favorite.store.ever., I also didn’t want to spend 20-something dollars a letter. Madelyn is a long name. ‘Nuff said.

So I went to Paper Source to brew some creativity and lo and behold, they had hollow cardboard letters in the most perfect font and beautiful papers with which to decoupage. I made my purchases and as soon as I got home, I got gluin’! I carefully cut and glued papers all around the letters, intertwining some of the patterns across all the letters to create a loose theme. After everything dried, I super glued the backs of the letters to a green polka-dot ribbon, tied bows at the end, and under the bows, I hid tacks to secure to the wall. It was actually a really easy project, super fun to make, and left my wallet in tact. Best part, I’m really proud of how it turned out and love that it’s a centerpiece of the wall.

I fell in love with a shelf at Pottery Barn Kids that I knew would house special trinkets, pictures, and, most importantly, shoes! This shelf would definitely be for more decorative than practical purposes, but I really felt like it helped complete this corner of the room.

On the shelf sits a trinket box that my best friend’s mom made for me when I was a teenager, a musical teddy bear that I loved as a baby (the wind-up is overwound. This makes me sad), beautiful booties that were a gift from one of Madelyn’s Auntie Phis, an owl that brings out the colors in the room and is the other half of a set of bookends, and one of my favorite photos of Madelyn taken by our cousin Sara, which is inside a frame from my mom that coincidentally mimics the striped wall! My own ballet shoes from when I was a toddler hang on the peg as well as other cute shoes and a ballerina outfit from Auntie Pattie.

Instead of buying a whole new wall unit, we decided to use an Ikea bookcase we had from our married-without-kids days. It used to be in the office/guest room, which was the room before it became the nursery (pour a little out for the office/guest room) and it held old college text books, wedding planning documents circa 2008, picture frames, and ashamedly, overall clutter. It was the perfect piece to hold the new baby’s books, stuffed animals, frames, and her our TV.

I thought the baby should also have her own little corner of her own little room (thanks, Rodgers and Hammerstein for the inspiration), so thanks to Auntie Harmony, she has a baby-sized chair that matches the rest of the decor. This chair may look familiar as the monthiversary photo chair! It’s tucked away between the crib and the bookcase and next to a basket of toys, so she has her own special place in the corner. Yes, somebody puts baby in the corner, and it’s me.

Opposite of her bookcase is a wall with another important piece of furniture, the dresser and changing table. I like that it’s placed under a bank of windows so we can enjoy natural light as we change diapers, get dressed, and play. Madelyn loves to play on the changing table and there’s no better time with my girl than nudey time: we sing songs, play with toys, and babble on about the day.

I have all the supplies right next to me on the top of the changing table, and all of the must-have clothes and diapers are in the drawers. On the wall, two shelves from my college days are home to some photos and keepsakes for Madelyn to look at while we change and play.

The changing table shares a wall with a toy chest and a basket of amazing blankets that were gifts, some of them handmade, like the yummy ones by Auntie Alison. I like that this space is light and uncluttered but is home to necessary items.

I spent almost as much time researching upholstered glider chairs as I did going on dates with crib bedding. We went to so many stores and sat in so many beat up floor samples. Starting a relationship with a chair was frustrating and seemed fruitless. No store had exactly what I wanted — the chair’s make and model and with an ottoman — so it was really hard to sample this combination. As a last straw attempt to test drive my dream chair ensemble, I stumbled across Joseph Wahl Arts in Woodland Hills and finally felt I could enter a marriage with my Little Castle Cottage chair and ottoman. I highly recommend this adorable store for babies and kids of all ages and the owner, Joseph, was extremely helpful and nice.

I placed my order and couldn’t wait for the chair to arrive so I could sink into it and pretend to read to my baby (thank you, Princeton, for helping me rehearse before the baby came). I wanted a neutral color so that it could be used in any room of the house when Bryan and I are old and gray and past the child-rearing years. I also didn’t want it to fight with the other colors in the room so as much as I love all the Little Castle swatches and colors, I decided that a neutral sandy color would mesh with the entire space. I also wanted a little table next to the chair so I could set a bottle down or put my own refreshments on a steady surface. I found this little green table at Home Goods and liked that it brought out the desired green for the accent color. Sometimes I just sit in the chair and look around and thank my baby for completing our home.

Bryan and I made a video for Madelyn just a few days before she was born that gave her a tour of her newly designed room. Prepare to see a whale-ish female figure also known as pregnant me. Also, we are overall dorks. Oh, and Bryan intends to pan down on my belly in the beginning, but instead it’s a boob shot. Awesomeness. My favorite part of the whole thing is the nanosecond before it ends where I say, “Please be nice.” Oh Pregnant Alison of August 2011, if only you knew. If only you knew.

We are getting our baby sooner rather than later? How much sooner? Like, within the next 48 hours-sooner!

Saw Dr. Fiiiiine today who did a little checky-poo to see if anything progressed. Believe it or not, the cervie did not really move more forward despite my nasty letter and the subsequent and ridiculous-looking ball exercises I did all weekend. However, I increased a centimeter in dilation and effaced a little more, so we got the greenlight to safely induce tomorrow, Tuesday, August 9th. She was about to walk out the door and say “See ya tomorrow!” but of course I wouldn’t be me without an arsenal of questions. So I fired away, asking if it was safe, what the risk for a c-section would be, if there’s any benefit to waiting for natural labor to occur on its own… and if our daughter would come out with special talents that would get her a scholarship to college.

Just kidding on the last one, but how cool would that be to know that in advance?!

So, in a nutshell, she said that even the slightest increase in dilation does help. She also said it’s less risky to induce tomorrow than to induce next week, when the baby will have grown even more. At 40 weeks, 3 days, she thinks we’re more than ready, so if I go into labor naturally before tomorrow morning, great! If not, pitocin it is!

During the exam, I noticed there was a little more tugging than usual. So as I was mid-shriek, Dr. Fiiiine casually mentioned, “Oh yeah, I’m stripping your membranes right now.” Um, psshya that explained it! It’s like picking at the edge of a scab; by stripping the membranes, she’s suggesting a wink-wink, nudge-nudge to the bag of water to get the show on the road. So that’s another reason why I could go into labor sooner than the pitocin hook-up.

Bryan and I have the rest of the day today to be a twosome and drench our doggie with lots of two-on-one love. We’ll go to “sleep” tonight (because, really, who’s sleeping?) and wake up super early to be at the hospital by 7 a.m. to check in. And then, it’s just time, time, time.

I’m excited to begin this transition to becoming a mommy. I’m nervous about this transition to becoming a mommy. I’m looking forward to not being pregnant anymore. I’m sad I’ll miss her whirlwind of movements inside me. I’m curious to know what it’s like to be in labor and give birth. I’m scared out of my mind to know what it’s like to be in labor and give birth. I’m jumping for joy to see my handsome husband hold his beautiful daughter in his arms. I’m craving to bond and feel my daughter in my everything.

This blog is about to change and I suspect it’s the last update about pregnancy. The next time we write in, it will be with sleepy eyes and very full hearts.

AH! OMG!

Dear Cervie,
Pardon the Mama Bear attitude and lip service, but you are a really big pain in my… cervix. Do you understand that you’re throwing a wrench in an otherwise perfectly easy and routine pregnancy? Let me explain to you why I am angry with you.

You are not to imitate a political viewpoint. Leaning back and a little to the right — not acceptable. I don’t care what side of the aisle you associate with. This is not an election; it is a gestation. Therefore, for ultimate birthing conditions, you are supposed to tip forward — as the doctors say, in an anterior position — and allow your roomie, otherwise known as my child — through your doors and into my world. Leaning backward in the posterior position? Not okay.

Here’s why: Kiddo is due this Friday. Mommy and Daddy are ready for her as soon as the clock strikes midnight on August 5th. We know timing isn’t always perfect (thanks, Mother Nature. Your nasty letter is coming up next) but at our doctor’s appointment Wednesday morning, we discussed inducing labor and that it’s not a good fit for us because of your positioning! If we induced in your current state, it would be very likely that we would end up with a C-section, and that is something we’d like to avoid.

So, next week on Monday, we will see Dr. Fiiiine again, at which point she will poke you — ha! You can’t hide from her! — and determine if we can do an induction next Tuesday. Why Tuesday? BECAUSE SHE IS LEAVING FOR VACATION ON THURSDAY! Do you see why if you just cooperated, we wouldn’t have to race against you and the calendar?!

But, if on Monday Dr. Fiiiine calls “Places please!” and you are still not in place, we cannot go on with the induction the next day. And we will just have to wait for natural labor and risk the chance of our baby girl entering the world into a stranger’s hands while Dr. Fiiiine is on vacation. I’m sure the alternate doctor would be skilled and nice and doctor-y, but I am a perfectionist and strive for the ideal scenario.

And if this baby is cooked but still not exiting the oven a few days past 41 weeks by the time Dr. Fiiiine gets back, we’re most likely looking at a C-section regardless. Do you really want to be close to that knife? Do ya? DO YA?!?!

So, Cervie, here’s what you’re going to do: you are going to tilt yourself ever so slightly toward the front, embrace our kid, and spit her out naturally, so that we don’t even have to induce in the first place! I’d ask you and Utey to work together to also make it as quick and pain-free as possible, but I realize that’s a tall order. So I’m willing to compromise. Just tilt and we can forget about our troubles together and move on with our lives.

No need to write back. Just do your job. Time is ticking. Consider your warning Cerved.

Kind Regards,
Alison

Why, hello, August. It’s nice to see you. July came and went, leaving us without an outside baby. We did not get a July baby after all, like so many had hoped or predicted based on belly size and readiness. I’m okay with that. I actually secretly wanted an August baby because that’s what I was told we’d have when this whole thing started ten (yeah, not nine, but TEN) months ago. But then a little something called “hype” began toward the middle-end of July that drove the baby-daddy and grandparents into a frenzy of “LET’S DO THIS” (I’m talking to you, Stuart Siegel).

At 37 weeks, we went to see Dr. Fiiiiine as part of our regular now-weekly checkups. She inspected the nooks and crannies and declared that I was 2 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. With raised eyebrows and a smile, she gave us the thumbs up that we could be seeing a baby “any day now.” WHOA! And then followed it with, “See you soon. Probably sooner than your next appointment.” DOUBLE WHOA!

Okay, well, a week came and went. No baby. All right. It had only been 6 days between appointments so “any day now” was wrong. But surely we’d have news at the 38 week appointment, yes?

So last Wednesday, Dr. Fiiiiine inspected the nooks and crannies and said again that we are still the same as the week before, remaining 2 centimeters dilated and 50% effaced. She looked at us with excitement on her face and said, “this is it! Any day now! See you at the next appointment, if not sooner!”

What do rookie parents do when they are told for 14 days in a row that it could be “any day now?” They sit. At home. And stare. At walls. Watch movies. Eat. Sleep. Watch TV. Eat. Eat. Stare. Twiddle thumbs. We are professional thumb twiddlers.

It’s a cruel, cruel world when “any day now” does not mean “Within the week,” and instead could mean “Week or two? Or more? Oh, I don’t know.” I am writing a letter to the board of, what, medicine?, whatever The Board is, and demanding that doctors not use “any day now” unless they absolutely know without a thin speck of doubt in their minds that it really is any. day. now.

To me, “any day now” has a 72 hour expiration. You get 3 days to be correct. Then “any day now” becomes a tease. I mean, at what point might “any day now” mean “oh, ya know, before 2013, for SURE.”? And if that really were the case, no problem! That would hold up in “any day now” court because this pregnancy is not lasting another 2 years and therefore, the assessment would be correct. But as a people, as humankind, it is imperative we come together for the sake of pregnant women everywhere (and their overanxious husbands and fathers), and decide on something that affects us all. No, not the stupid debt ceiling. I’m talking about the phrase “any day now.”

Let’s redefine what “any day now” means. If it’s more than 3 days, then we don’t utter a word. Because here’s what happens: perfectly calm and normal-excited first-time parents hear it and then freeze themselves while time stands still.

Is it now?

Now?

Now?

How about now?

Is it going to happen………. now?

Now?

N-n-n-n-n-n now?

And you do that for 3 days which is not only ridiculously annoying, but also a giant waste of time. Because once a “now” happens and nothing occurs, you’ve wasted a perfectly good “now.” And before you know it, you’ve wasted so many “now”s that it’s been three days of “now”ing and there’s no baby to show for it. The frustration and anticipation rise to all new levels.

Also, 2 weeks of “any day now” mania trickles beyond to non baby-carrying relatives: it causes my dad to cancel a multi-day business trip, Bryan to hazily dawdle through work, and the grandmas to check in at every minute with a detailed explanation of their plans and phone numbers of where they can be reached in case cell phone towers decide to crumble on the actual “any day now.”

The best part of this is that Baby Girl isn’t even late! Her due date is this Friday, August 5th. Technically, she has til then before we can really get on her case about this. But see? This is what happens when you’re told “any day now.” You throw the calendar out the window and hold on to the doctor’s words. Don’t get me wrong — I love Dr. Fiiiine and don’t think she’s purposely trying to drive us all insane. She made a guess. And by my 3-day expiration of “any day now” expectations, she was wrong. So this Wednesday, we will go to our usual weekly appointment and she will check my nooks and crannies. And we shall see what she declares.

But if she sing-songy says, “any day now” I’m seriously going to ask her to brand my belly with a time stamp and sign off on the eviction papers I will be sending to Baby at 12:01 a.m. on August 6th. Read ’em and weep, kid.

It’s July now. Sunny, hot, and dry. But what was the weather like in June? It was full of showers. No, not wet, umbrella-bearing showers. Baby showers!

I was lucky enough to be surrounded by some pretty amazing women throughout the month of June who seem to like this soon-to-be Friedman Baby a lot! When it comes to good company, yummy food, and baby talk, I don’t say no.

The fabulous group of teachers and staff at Walnut Elementary School came together for a lunchtime shower filled with good conversation and yummy cake. They are such a great bunch and I was so lucky to not only student teach in kindergarten at this school, but work with the 1st graders in reading and math and teach art school-wide. I will miss working with everyone and learning under their expertise. I’m a lucky almost-mom, yes, but I’m also a lucky teacher!

My super fun and sweet sister-in-law, Alison, and our creative and thoughtful cousin, Chrissy, planned a perfect afternoon at my mother-in-law Ellen’s house. It was a beautiful day! The house looked great, the games were really fun (really!!), and the company was filled with some of our Friedman Family Favorites! I was so touched by everyone’s kindness and can’t wait for Baby Friedman to meet all of Ellen’s friends and family. She’s lucky to have such a great inner-circle of ladies who have known me only a small amount of time, but have embraced me as part of the gang! I thought it was so special that our daughter’s only Auntie helped put together such a lovely day. I know that this kid will be surrounded by love, but Auntie Alison is definitely going to top everyone else in the love department. It’ll be nice for our baby to have such a fun and, well, entertaining family member and they can claim each other as their own!

Speaking of the aunt and niece relationship, my Aunt Laura and my mom’s childhood friend Angela co-hosted a quilt-themed baby shower at El Caballero Country Club and it was threaded together beautifully! My sorority sisters and best friends from college came to be with me and it was so fun to see and reconnect with girlfriends from other parts of my life, like camp, high school, and the wedding planning days. Celebrating with family friends and ladies related to my mom’s side of the tree was also special, since they’ve been with me throughout all my milestones. Angela and Aunt Laura organized a quilt-making center, where everyone contributed a piece of fabric that will be made into a quilt as a memento from this amazing time in my life. I can’t wait to see the finished piece! Crumbs cupcakes in a zillion different flavors were arranged into a quilt pattern and no one left craving any sweets! The day was so enjoyable and I appreciate the memory more than words can express.

My talented cousin Sara of Sara Marie Photography, created this slideshow from the photos she shot!

Part of the fun of this pregnancy has been sharing it with my cousin, Jaimie. Our due dates are 3 weeks apart and I’ve enjoyed comparing notes! We’ve always had a great relationship but we’ve always been so different. She’s tall. I’m short. She’s blonde. I’m brunette. She does sciencey things. I … don’t. But we are now going through something together that’s the same and I can’t wait until her son and my daughter can play and grow up together! So it was even cooler when our Aunt Debbie, the SoCal Martha Stewart, planned a luncheon for our side of the family at the Cheesecake Factory in Marina del Rey. We sat outside on a gorgeous sunny afternoon, played games, chatted, scratched Lottery tickets, opened presents, munched, and shared stories about pregnancies, babies, and growing up. It was absolutely perfect. Jaimie and I were lucky to share this day together and we had the best time!

I’ve also been sharing the pregnancy ride with one of my favorite gals from our theater family! Becky and I are also due weeks apart, and she’s expecting a little girl, too! Becky is someone I’ve always admired, not only as a choreographer, but as a person. She’s so kind and smart and thoughtful and she and her husband, George, are going to be amazing parents. Bryan and I are excited to have this parenting adventure with them! Welles Miller, one of the coolest and sweetest theater moms ever threw us a Hot Mama Shower! This was a wild party complete with spiked tea (not for Becky and me) and a roundtable reading of “Go the F*ck to Sleep” which is too entertaining when performed by 50 of your theater friends. Welles didn’t miss a beat: fun games, onesie and bib decorating, food from our favorite restaurant, Viva La Pasta, and a marathon of gifts that were so organized! The Baby Daddies joined the party after a day of golf, and we all had a blast!

So when I say I’m surrounded by so many fantastic people in my life, I’m not kidding. From Bryan’s side of the family to my mom’s side to my dad’s side to our theater friends and my teacher friends, this kid is going to be showered with even more love after she gets here. There’s no umbrella large enough, and I’m definitely okay with that. And trust me, the showers of love made me feel a steady and stormy downpour of appreciation and gratitude.

Thank you!