The Hempler Family: Big Changes for Robert

This weekend, on top of celebrating Father's Day, we started to get Robert ready for his new sister. On Friday I stopped at a couple of stores on my way home from work to prepare our lil' guy for his role of Big Brother. My first stop was at Barnes and Noble to pick up a couple of kids books on a new baby coming home and being a big brother. The second stop was at a dollar store to hopefully find a baby...well I found one but it is kind of beat up and has a permanent dent in it's head but when you only pay a dollar I guess one can't be too picky (I did get the least damaged one at the store too!) and it will serve its purpose. Along with the dented doll I also got a bottle for Robert to practice feeding the baby. I wasn't sure how this would go but he love feeding the baby and then to burp the baby he throws it on the floor. Okay so we still have some work but it was at least a start!

Saturday morning we went to Cottage Grove to see their parade and visit with one of Eric's friends who was in town helping out with CG's Strawberry Festival. Robert had a great time watching the parade, sampling the candy, and amazed us by sitting in his stroller for so long. After the parade we went to lunch with Eric's friend and then headed home hoping to get Robert a nap. Well he did sleep in the car for about 20 minutes but that was all the nap he thought he needed for the day.

Later in the afternoon Eric and I were both bored so we decided to start moving the extra stuff in Robert's big boy room (don't worry Eric moved stuff while I pointed) so that we could get his room set up. Awhile ago in shopping at Target I came across a bunch of kid's bedroom stuff on clearance and quickly bought a rug and two curtains in a sports theme that were all 75% off! It was such a great bargain but when we brought it home I didn't think the room's color (a bluish/purple) would match the stuff we bought and planned on painting it another shade of blue. Well I decided to hang the curtains last night to see if the color might work and it did! So we ended up getting the room completely cleared of the stuff little boys shouldn't play with, made up his toddler bed, and brought his tent up from the living room. We still need to get some pictures for the walls, a toy storage unit for the room, and the right size bedding but for now it is a good enough start. With the progress we had made we didn't see any reason not to let Robert try sleeping in his big boy bed for the night.

So last night we put him in his bed and by the time we got back downstairs we heard him running around the room but within 10 minutes the room was quiet. When we went up to bed we were pleasantly surprised to find him sound asleep in his bed. He slept great all night but woke up at 6am but I think it was more because of me needing to go to the bathroom and his dad waking up and going downstairs rather than the bed. Naptime today was a little more of a challenge. For his morning nap he ran around and played in his room for about 30 minutes and then finally all was quiet. When I went to check on him I found him asleep in his tent rather than the bed. Afternoon nap was all playtime and no rest but after about 20 minutes of playing tonight it is quiet upstairs and I'm hoping to find him in his bed and not in the tent.

With him out of the nursery I spent a good portion of today in the nursery going through clothes, blankets, and bedding to be washed and then slowly started the transition of making the room more baby friendly and not toddler friendly. We are still debating over the theme of the nursery. Before we knew if we were having a boy or a girl I knew I wanted a fish theme room and threw a fit after we found out it was a boy when Eric wanted to do a sports or racing car theme for the room. My main argument was that the stuff I picked out was gender neutral and we were sticking with it. Well this has come back to bite me because whenever I suggest switching the theme of the nursury Eric reminds me that it is gender neutral. I think my biggest problem with the room is that it is painted blue but in looking at paint colors today at Home Depot I can't find a color that I like more. I thought yellow but after looking at the colors and then spending a couple of hours in the room today I'm not too sure anymore. Maybe I'll just change out the sheets from blues to yellows/oranges and find some extra stuff to put on the walls to make it a little more feminine or keep looking at paints. Oh what to do?!

This week we'll keep working on the transitioning from crib to bed and hopefully come to a decision about the nursery. On Tuesday I'll go in for my 34-week check up. I'm shocked that I'm already at 34 weeks but not sure I can make another 6 weeks. for me Well obviously I know I can but I'm really hoping my daughter will make an early appearance and allow to have a longer time off of work before the school year starts. My doctor is convinced that this time around I'll go earlier (or at least not late like with Robert), be in labor a shorter time, an epidural will work, and only need to do a few pushes rather than the almost 3 hours of pushing I did with Robert. When he told me this at my last appointment I laughed at him and told him it wasn't nice to get my hopes up but if he is right one even 1 of the above statements I will not mind in the least. But if I learned anything from Robert it is to not get my hopes up with when I'll deliver and/or how easy of a delivery it will be.

Hope everyone has a great week!