Baby

Our Home: James Walker’s Nursery

Filed Under: Baby, Family, Home, Home Tour, James Walker

Apr22015

I had so much fun nesting and preparing for James Walker. We moved into our house in December 2013 and this room was Hayes’s room. We never decorated it, though, because he was still in a crib and we knew he’d transition to a big boy bed soon anyway. And then I got pregnant with James Walker, so Hudson and Hayes moved in to a shared brother room and this room became the nursery.

We had all of the furniture, so it was great that we didn’t have to make any big purchases. I chose a simple, soft color scheme because I just love blues and wanted a soothing nursery. I wanted a lot of linen and pale blue with some fun pattern mixed in. The rocking chair was the same chair we had for Hudson and Hayes, but I got some great fabric from Fabric 101 here in Columbia for $8 a yard during an after-Christmas sale and had the chair and ottoman recovered.

A local friend of mine recently moved and was selling some of her home accessories, and she gave me the table skirt and I bought the table lamp and trumeau mirror from her for a steal!

The shelf on the wall was in Hudson’s room and before that it was in our study before Hudson was born. I bought a set of three of those from Ballard Designs right after Todd and I got married.

I did get all new crib bedding. My dear friend, Nina, was selling her white linen bumpers and crib skirt and it was exactly what I wanted for the bumpers, so I bought those from her. And I had the buffalo check crib skirt made from beautiful fabric from Calico Corners.

The “little boys” sign is from Aedriel and House of Belonging. I originally bought that to go in the playroom, but the more I looked at it, I knew it had to go in James Walker’s nursery. Maybe someday all three boys will share a bunk room and it can go in there!

The You Are My Sunshine sign was in our guest room in our old house and it is from Sugarboo Designs. I love seeing those lyrics on the wall. It’s impossible not to sing along!

The nest painting was something I’ve wanted forever and it was a gift to James Walker from my mom. The artist is Deann out of Nashville- she’s incredible!

On the shelves, we used a lot of things that were mine or Todd’s from our childhood. Books, Bibles, Beatrix Potter plates and piggy banks.

It was fun to take things we already had and move things around to create his nursery. I absolutely love sitting in this room and feeding and rocking my sweet boy. I hope he has many sweet dreams (and good sleep!) in this room!

Sources:

Crib: Newport Cottages

Changing Table/Dresser: Newport Cottages

Giraffe: Melissa and Doug

Rug: Overstock

Elephant Hamper: Home Decorators

Bookshelf: Pottery Barn Kids

Cafe Shelf: Ballard Designs

Nest Painting: Deann Designs

Little Boys Sign: House of Belonging

You Are My Sunshine Sign: Sugarboo Designs

Buffalo Check Fabric: Calico Corners

Bumpers: Cottage and Cabin on Etsy

Bunny Pillow and Blanket: Pom Pom at Home

James Walker’s Newborn Photos

Filed Under: Baby, Family, James Walker

Mar312015

When James Walker was six days old, the amazing Jordan of Landon Jacob photography came over to do his newborn photos. It was such a relaxing time. I just love Jordan and she is so easy to work with and relaxed, and it made all of us relaxed, too. You can imagine that photographing a family of three boys isn’t exactly easy, but she made it so fun. And it did seem easy!

She worked so fast- and with a hungry, nursing baby and a post c-section mama, that was very much appreciated.

My mom was with us, too, so we were able to get her in a few of the photos as well. I’m so happy with how they turned out and how they just feel like us!

I’ve admired Jordan’s work for a long long time, and I’m so happy she was able to document our sweet James Walker in his first days.

this time…

Filed Under: Baby, Family, Heart, James Walker, Motherhood

Mar272015

We loaded up in the car to leave the hospital like old pros. It’s our third baby boy. He screamed almost the whole way home as he experienced the car seat for the first time. And while he screamed, I could feel this look of peace cover my face.

All of my babies have screamed the whole way home in the car. And I don’t remember that look of peace on my face. The screaming in the car led me to panic and made me sweat and made my heart race. I wanted to pull over and hold him and try again before. But this time I knew that our baby boy was fine. He’d be home in a few minutes where I could snuggle him and remind him that he’s safe. And just the overwhelming feeling of gratitude for having a baby in our car, coming home with us, was enough to make me feel that peace this time.

This time we know that it’s our last baby. Our third baby boy is our last baby. So this time I’m going to hold him for all of his naps. I’m going to nap when he naps. I’m going to breathe in that smell of baby shampoo and let my senses memorize how that smells and how that feels and what his little grunts sound like.

This time I’m going to smile when I lift him out of his crib in the middle of the night. I’m going to stop watching the clock at 3:00 a.m. and see each moment as time that I can spend with him that I’ll never get back. Not because I’m superhuman or because I don’t love sleep, but because the thought of never feeding a baby in the middle of the night again makes my heart break.

This time I’m not going to force the baby on my big boys. I’m going to wait for them to ask to hold him and love on him. When they rush home from school and want to see their baby brother before they do anything else, I’ll know that taking the pressure off of them was a good thing.

This time I’m going to cry as I watch friend after friend stop by to check on me and meet our newest addition. When I see them hold him and welcome him to the world, I see a future full of friendship and the support we receive from our amazing village. The meals they bring are the icing on the cake, but the kindness and love and grace they extend to our whole family are the real deal.

This time I know what stuff to sweat over and what stuff to just let go. The stress of nursing a big baby was gone because I knew what I was getting into and I could effectively communicate with our doctors and nurses. This time I knew that being a couple of ounces away from his birth weight wasn’t something to panic about. This time I know that holding him all day right now is good for me. This time I know that staying in my pajamas and missing a shower (or two) is okay- even if people are coming over. This time I know that feeling relaxed is the most important thing. Everything else can wait.

This time I know that my soft belly will return to normal again, so I just wait and enjoy the pajamas and yoga pants and extended wear of maternity pants.

This time I sing the same hymns over and over again at bedtime and sometimes find myself unable to choke out the words as I sing to my baby boy about God’s grace. This time I know that there’s no more important thing that I could ever sing about.

This time I’m praying that I don’t rush my big boys into growing up too much because my hands are full with their baby brother. They are all still babies in my eyes and each of their feelings and emotions and life stages are all important.

This time will fly by. He’ll be a month old in just a few days. I’ll wonder where the days went. So this last baby boy of ours is being fussed over and cherished in the best ways we know how to do that. We are so, so grateful for this time.

James Walker’s birth story

Filed Under: Baby, Family, James Walker, Pregnancy

Mar92015

On Tuesday morning, March 3, I got up around 6:00 a.m. I didn’t sleep great the night before. I was up a lot of the night to use the restroom and my belly was so big that I just couldn’t get comfortable at night. So I was ready to get up and get the day going. I got a shower and dried my hair. We packed lunches for the boys. I took one last belly pic to document 40 weeks pregnant with James Walker. (I had an ultrasound at 38 weeks and they predicted his weight at that time would be 9 lbs 8 oz, so we knew we had a sizable baby in there.)

And then Todd and I took the Hudson and Hayes to school together.

We grabbed our bags and hugged my parents goodbye, and drove to the hospital. I was a little more nervous this time for my c-section than I was with Hayes. I think just the idea of having surgery and thinking about my kids made me nervous. But we got to the hospital and had the sweetest nurses. They did everything they could to make me feel comfortable and make me laugh. And stuck me with a lot of needles! I got my IV, got hooked up to fluids, and just waited until our scheduled surgery time.

Todd changed into his scrubs and I got wheeled to the OR. Everyone was so reassuring while I was in there without Todd- just talking to me and making sure I was comfortable. The nurses talked me through the whole thing. (And even offered to be on camera duty to get pictures of James Walker’s arrival.) Once my spinal block was set and my blood pressure was under control, Todd came in and held my hand. And I knew it was getting closer. I felt a few tugs and then I heard James Walker cry. And then I cried and cried.

The doctor and all the nurses were going on and on about how big he was and how squishy he was, and I just couldn’t wait to see him!

There is nothing, nothing, nothing like seeing your baby for the first time. After nearly 10 months of waiting and praying and just putting so much faith and trust in knowing that everything is going to be okay, finally seeing his sweet little face is the greatest feeling.

Todd went with him to the bassinet and helped get him cleaned up. And then they brought James Walker to me and I got to kiss his cheeks and hold him for a minute.

While they were finishing up my surgery, Todd got to do skin-to-skin with James Walker and they sat right by my head. I was able to talk to Todd and look at the baby – and that made the full experience for me. When Hayes was born, they rushed him off to the nursery and Todd went with him so I was left without my people in the OR. But this time I got to stare at my baby and talk to my husband and it was just such a sweet time.

They took us to recovery where they weighed James Walker. They told me he weighed 11 lbs 2 oz and I said, “No way!” I felt all 11 pounds of him over the last few months. Just so much belly and so heavy!

I was able to nurse him in recovery and got great attention from the nurses. We made our way to our room and James Walker never left my arms. It was just heavenly. Then all the grandparents got there and they all got to hold him and kiss those sweet cheeks.

I have lots of pictures of Hudson and Hayes meeting their brother and I’ll post those later this week. We’re just loving being home with our baby boy and doing our best to get into a routine and find our new normal. My mom and dad have been here. My dad left yesterday and my mom is staying for a while- until I can drive again. Their help has been wonderful for Todd and me! I’m feeling pretty good. I’d even say the second c-section is easier than the first. We’re sleepy, but nothing that I didn’t expect from having a newborn. We’re just so thankful!

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