10 Days Old

Caroline, you are 10 days old today! 

These first 10 days have been a blur. But I don't want to forget the details of this precious time...

Your favorite place to be is snuggled with mommy in my big white bathrobe. It's the one fail proof Caroline soother. I've sat awake late at night with you rocking you or walking the house while you stare up at me with wide eyes happy to be snuggled with mommy.

You are doing great with your weight, yesterday at your last pediatrician appointment you were back up to your birth weight and one ounce over. My day was made! We can now let you sleep longer between feedings which means I am also getting more sleep! 

Your premie size clothes are getting a tiny bit more snug. You still wear mostly newborn size clothes (because that's what I had) but we roll up the sleeves and feet.

Your daddy calls you "Little Miss No Butt" because you were so tiny when you were born you really had almost no butt. But you're putting on some baby fat now. 

You do not like having your diaper changed or getting a bath. You also want to be held all the time so we don't lay you down in your napper unless you're fast asleep because otherwise you start crying. You are also not a fan of the car seat so we've had to develop a method: we put you in the car seat while asleep, then tuck a blanket around you so you feel swaddled. 

We love you, sweet C! 

Announcing Caroline Faith

Announcing the arrival of Caroline Faith Schneider

Born November 18th (due December 18th, exactly a month early) at 7:12 PM

5 pounds 3 ounces

UNC Hospital Midwives

Baby Nursery DIY Project

The first thing Mike and I got for baby girl was a crib. I wanted to use white furniture in our nursery because I liked the relaxed, clean look of it. We were blessed to be given a second hand changing table in great condition, and the old rocking chair my parents used to rock me in when I was just a baby. But neither of these pieces of nursery furniture matched our nursery. 

Enter the ingenuity of my home remodeling dad and thrifty husband. 

My dad rigged up a great spray painting system: a thin rope tied between two trees, they fastened screws to the bottom legs of the changing table (doesn't matter because that part will not be seen once the changing table is reassembled), and then hung the screws to the rope with wire. This allowed Mike to get an even coat on all sides of the individual changing table pieces. It sounds complicated, but really it only took 10 minutes or less to rig this up. 

The rocking chair was too heavy to hang up to paint, so it had to be done in stages. We used Valspar Spray Paint in white with a gloss finish for both pieces of furniture. The gloss finish is best for spray painting furniture because it leaves a smooth to the touch finish. And the great thing about using spray paint instead of regular paint from a can? It's faster, more even, and you don't have to use a sealant at the end! 

The finished rocking chair in C's nursery! The seat cushion I made by putting an ugly (but oh so comfy) pillow in a sateen/cotton blend pillowcase and then folding over and fastening the extra pillowcase material on the back side. The cute butterfly mobile is courtesy of my sweet friend Chelsea. 

The whole project cost about $50 in spray paint. It might sound like a lot, but when you consider buying a brand new rocking chair/glider and changing table for the nursery $50 is a deal! I've got to admit, I was skeptical about how well the furniture would turn out. But it turned out great and was definitely worth the project! 

I'll post more pictures soon so you can see the entire finished nursery.

Family Portraits at Duke Gardens

Here's a look at some at family portraits we took in Duke Gardens early this fall. (I know, I'm a little late in posting them!)

We had a beautiful day for taking these family portraits, the weather was in the 70s, just right!  

This is one of my favorite photos from the portrait session, it's more relaxed than the typical posed style portraits, so it was fun to add a shot like this into the mix. 

And speaking of fun shots, we even got a little crazy and did a jumping photo of the entire family, I think it turned out great- look at their faces they are having a blast! 

And here's a sweet photo of mom and dad. 

While I do favor minimal editing, I do like to add in a black and white photo now and then. I like how timeless this black and white photo of the children turned out...

Here's a photo where we got creative with perspective...

And a classic family portrait pose...

I thought the bamboo in the background added texture to this photo...

I love shooting family photo sessions in Duke Gardens- there are so many different beautiful spots for photographs! 

All images copyright of Bethany Schneider Photography. Do not use without permission. 

35 Weeks

Size of baby: 5 pounds

Baby is: She's fully formed, just adding fat to her little body. She's also getting a little squished in there, which I can tell by her movements. No more big kicks, just wiggles and readjustments which are very visible from the outside and hilarious. She also gets hiccups often and because she's already head down (good job, baby girl!) I feel like I get hiccups in my right hip. 

Maternity Clothes: I've stopped buying maternity clothes since I'm so close to baby's arrival. But I have been discovering some non-maternity clothes I can wear now and hopefully after baby comes too. Like the dress in the picture above. It's non-maternity, but fits me great as maternity, I just went up a size. Plus I can wear it comfortably with my post-baby body. 

Sleep: I'm definitely needing more of it! Still waking up every 2 to 3 hours for a bathroom break or to walk out the occasional leg cramp. 

Gender: Girl! 

Cravings: Cheese...extra sharp cheddar cheese is delicious to me with anything- grilled cheese, on crackers, plain, thinly sliced on tart apples, oh yum!  And strawberry keifer with vanilla whey protein mixed in...somehow that combo of vanilla and strawberry and tartness from the keifer is so yummy to me!  

Week's highlights: Every little wiggle and every little hiccup is a highlight! I also got really excited to get to start going to the midwives every week as well as go ahead and schedule the rest of my weekly midwife appointments. While the receptionist was scheduling the rest of my appointments I think I told her half a dozen times "This is so exciting!". 

"For this child I have prayed"

- Samuel 1:27

Weekly Recap: Preggers Edition

1) Washing the last load of Caroline's laundry before her arrival. Baby detergent smells sooooo good!

2) Been admiring this mirror at Target lately. Noticed them on sale for $15/each over the weekend gave in and bought two. #nesting

3) Watching the election results at my parents' house (we don't have cable or a TV). Mike as usual was getting some work done at the same time while I propped my feet up. 

4) I am super into leopard print right now. I'm admiring it everywhere I go. This week my mom came over and gave me a few leopard print outfits for C she found on sale and that girl is gonna be stylin'!

6) You know you're a mom when...you stop by Babies R Us just to admire the latest model of the Graco Snap & Go Strollers. 

7) Thank you Whole Foods Chapel Hill for remembering that preggers ladies and hauling heavy bags of groceries (or trying to navigate crazy drivers while walking to your car) does not mix well.

8) Cupcake leftover from my baby shower, straight out of the freezer. Frozen cupcakes are delicious! 

9) A friend gave me a set of Eucerin Aquaphor products and they're amazing, so good at moisturizing and I like that it's fragrance free. Have you ever tried it? 

10) Now I check Target's baby clothes aisle sales racks a couple times a week. Found this dress for little C, pink and ruffles simply adorable. And $5 is not a bad price. 

A Sweet Southern Baby Shower

My sweet friend Chelsea and her sweet mom Paige hosted a lovely baby shower for me and little C at the Weathervane at A Southern Season in Chapel Hill. 

The room was beautiful, I especially liked the chiavari chairs and the big windows which let in lots of natural light. 

Who doesn't love a Pinterest worthy DIY diaper cake- adorable baby shower decor and super useful come baby girl's arrival. 

My mom and Chelsea's mom, Paige. 

The food was delicious! Chelsea chose to do some traditional Carolina southern cuisine such as bite sized chicken biscuits and corn bread with pecan honey butter alongside some lighter fair such as a fruit tray and pita bread squares and hummus. And we all got to take home a box of leftover eats, which Mike definitely appreciated! 

C's Grandma Osborne. And we totally didn't match on purpose but I think it's adorable that we ended up matching! 

Lovely blue and white hydrangea centerpiece. 

Hostess CHELSEA! 

Unwrapping Brooke's gift. She gave me an adorable birthday book from PB kids. Each year you ask your child certain questions, like "what does Daddy do at work all day?" or "what ingredients went into your birthday cake?" and write them down. I'm bound to get some funny responses from Caroline. 

Unwrapping a nursing cover Ashley from my small group made for me, it's cute! 

Ashley, Paige T., and Kristen from small group. 

Caroline is a lucky little girl to come into the world with so many women who love her and support her mama. Thank you, Chelsea & Paige for such a lovely and meaningful afternoon. And thank you to the ladies who came, it meant so much to have you each there!