Nursery sneak peak!

Robbie and I have been working hard on Baby Raybon's nursery and it is finally time to have a little "sneak peak"! There are a few items that have his name on it, so I edited those out! You will get a full viewing when we come home with him NEXT weekend! We went with a classic blue and white theme...

Chest of drawers that his Daddy hand painted

Crib

I won't even go into the trouble we had in making him custom crib bedding. Let's just say it was a huge headache and I am just glad it finally fits!!!

His creative Aunt Katie painted the blue hunting dogs on the right and a few other

personalized items - you will see the others soon!

Love my Stewart and James picture frames!

We are still waiting on the curtains...

Love love love the skirted table and swivel rocker and ottoman

We are so excited to bring our baby home to this special nursery.

Thank you Robbie for letting me make this the nicest room in our home :) HA!

Path report!

I wanted to report the GREAT news that I got my path report back today and all 3 moles came back CLEAR!!! PRAISE THE LORD!!! I am not sure why it took a whole week to get this news, but I am ecstatic!


Robbie and I are going to celebrate all weekend and focus on Baby Raybon's arrival next week :)

I am 38 weeks pregnant today. Here is a picture of me at 37 weeks:

I can't believe he is almost here!

Surgery update

Thank you thank you for your thoughts and prayers over the past week. It means more to me than you can know!

I spent the majority of weekend in bed and off my leg, which was frustrating and uncomfortable since my stomach is so huge! Thank you Robbie for being the BEST husband in the world and taking care of me. He cooked, cleaned, took care of the yard, and even did laundry...how did I get so lucky? I actually got his famous waffles served "breakfast in bed" Sunday morning. He is the best.

Finally by Monday I could walk/hobble around more and each day has gotten better and better. My sweet Mom came Monday to help me and we had fun talking about Baby Raybon's arrival and of course it was great to have her help me recuperate!

I am still waiting on the path report to come back from these 3 spots. Please keep this on your prayer list.

I am about to get out of the house for the first time since Friday and drive myself to the doctor. We will see if she has any news about Baby Raybon!!

What a week!

So much has happened in the past few days I don't know where to begin.

I went to my regular OB appointment on Tuesday and had an ultrasound. She wanted to see Baby Raybon's measurements and estimated fetal weight. The weight is approximate and could be as much as 2 lbs in either direction, but based on his measurements he is 7 lbs and 7 ozs - at 36 1/2 weeks! Wow, what a big boy.

She is more concerned that his head is in the 95th percentile and his abdomen is in the 75th percentile. This leads her to believe he could have shoulder dystocia, which basically means his shoulders could get stuck in a natural delivery. If this happened it would be too late for a c-section and they would have to pull him out, which could led to a broken shoulder, collar bone or extensive nerve damage. Unfortunately, there is no way to know if this is going to happen, but we have to weigh the risks. This is not the first time they have told me he is a big baby - we have known this all along!

Our alternative is to schedule a C-section and eliminate the risk for the shoulder complication. After much thinking and research, Robbie and I think this is the best option. It is a major surgery, which can always have complications, but it eliminates this large risk for our son, which is our main concern.

One day after learning all of this I went for a regular mole check with my dermatologist in Tallahassee. My mind was so occupied with the baby and the c-section I didn't even think he might find more suspicious moles to remove. Well, he did. He found 4. One in particular that he is very concerned about and wants removed right away with a large incision. Because of the urgency of my skin cancer history and because I will be having this baby in a couple of weeks we decided to do surgery right away, so that I could heal before the baby comes.

I went for surgery this morning and the plastic surgeon removed 3 of the moles. (The fourth mole is less of a concern and can come off down the road.) I was VERY lucky that he could fit me in on such short notice. God has truly blessed me with diligent and kind doctors to watch over me. They all get cheesestraws as a reward! The worst part was injecting the numbing medicine, which hurt like heck. I screamed like a baby. I told Robbie that was more evidence that I am not cut out for regular child birth :)

All went well with the surgery and they had me out of there in a little over an hour. Robbie brought me home where I have been laid up in bed ALL afternoon. One of the spots is on my heel, which makes it nearly impossible to walk. Not very good for a 37 week pregnant woman who needs to go to the bathroom every 30 minutes :) But I am managing. I remember from my last surgery the pain is the worst for the first 24 hours then it just gets better and easier. I am thankful I have the weekend for Robbie to take care of me!!

Now I need your prayers that the path report comes back clear so they don't have to take more tissue and I can be cancer free.

That is the Raybon update for the week! Hopefully next week will be much less eventful. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers as we go through this difficult hurdle right before we met our son.

Love,
Frances

Getting closer...

Do you ever wonder what it is like to be 36 weeks pregnant in one of the hottest months of the year?

Let me help explain. It's really really hot, and I am really really swollen. I haven't been able to wear my weddings rings in over a month, and I'm lucky if my feet can fit into plain ole flip flops. I was doing so good going to the YMCA a few times a week and walking away stress and lbs on the treadmill...well I can't remember the last time I paid a visit there. My feet can barely fit into my tennis shoes much less walk this huge body more than 20 minutes or so. My feet are not used to holding up all this weight! Oh, and one word for you - cankles. We will just leave it at that.

I am 36 weeks and 3 days pregnant (not that I am counting). It sounds so close, yet so far away. I could still be another month or it could be today! I know it will go by fast, but I just can't wait! This will all be worth it when I met my son.

I have been blessed with such an easy and enjoyable pregnancy, but I am over it now. I can't get comfortable to sleep or move around well at all. I get my best sleep during the day in hour intervals - maybe God is preparing me for motherhood and middle of the night feedings?

Oh, and no one ever mentions how stuffy pregnancy makes you. I can barely breathe, which makes sleeping impossible. When I do sleep I snore Robbie right out of the room - literally. Fun times. Ok - enough complaining. I just want to document these feelings so I remember what it was like to be pregnant in the summer :)

Fourth of July

We spent the fourth of July in the comfort of our own home! Since we are on baby countdown it just wasn't worth it to travel anywhere to celebrate the holiday. So of course, I made my family come to me! My parents and sister came to visit and see our new house and new town. We had about as many dogs as people as usual :)

We had a great time showing them Thomasville and it actually wasn't as hot as it has been. We went in the cute stores downtown and ate several great meals. I really didn't miss the beach at all - probably because it is so hot! Thanks Mom, Dad and Virginia for coming to visit!

Comparing bellies! I am 35 weeks in this picture.

Me and Robbie before church

Me and Virginia

Me with my parents

Molly, Beau, Belle and Lady sitting for their treat

Robbie with his new grill!

First Atlanta Visitors!

This was actually a few weeks ago, but I am behind in updating my pictures. We had our first out of town vistors drive through Thomasville to see us! Katie, Dan and Samantha dropped in on their way to the beach - so sweet of them!

Here is Samantha with Beau. Maybe this means our dogs will be good with Baby Raybon!

So cute!

Here is my baby bump at 34 weeks. I promise the picture does not to the belly justice - it is HUGE!

and 35 weeks:

more to come...

Nesting

I have heard of this phenomenon called "nesting" that you get during late pregnancy. Apparently you get the urge to clean and organize everything in your house and have bursts of energy to accomplish this task. I have even heard a story of someone scrubbing their shower with a toothbrush (not sure how you can bend over that far with this big of a belly...). Well, I have not gotten the toothbrush out as a cleaning tool yet, but the nesting is definitely kicking in!

We painted Baby Raybon's nursery last week, so we have been busy filling it with precious baby furniture, clothes, diapers, bibs, burp cloths, booties, etc etc. You name it and this child has got it! I have washed and washed getting prepared for this little ones arrival.

Back to nesting - I could not sleep this morning, so I got up at 5:30 and started doing chores. Yes, chores - laundry, folding baby clothes and organizing his closet - not to mention "dustbusting" the house. Robbie got up at 6:30 and thought I had gone insane. He loves a clean house though!

I am 35 weeks today! Wow, that sounds so pregnant. I have GOT to pack my hospital bag! We made one last Atlanta trip last weekend, and I have to say we are pretty ready for the little guy's arrival. I can't wait to meet him!

Happy Fourth of July!