Nora Kate 36 Weeks & Nursery

On Monday I began the 36th week of my pregnancy with Nora Kate.  This pregnancy has continued to be very easy and enjoyable!  I was never miserable with the previous pregnancies, but this one has been a breeze!  I'm tired and a little uncomfortable at this point, but I only have a few weeks left and it really hasn't been bad at all!! 
At my 36 week appointment, I had an ultrasound to check Nora Kate's size and she was perfect-right in the middle range of where babies are at 36 weeks.  She weighed (according to the ultrasound) 6 pounds 6 ounces.  Her heart rate, position, and measurements were great!  We do have a dvd of the ultrasound, but we didn't get any great views of her face or anything because she's in the position she should be which isn't exactly perfect for a in-utero-photo shoot!  We did however see that she has some hair-it was sticking out around her head.  I'm skeptical as to how much, as we could see Carter's hair on the 36 week ultrasound too, and then he didn't have much at all when he was born. 
Most importantly, she's healthy and everything from the ultrasound an doctor's appointment looked great!  The doctor said if I went into labor at this point they wouldn't attempt to stop labor, but we don't really think that's going to happen this early. 
Nora Kate's due date is Monday, August 12.  John's official guess is that she will be born on August 10th (two days early), and my guess (and hope!) is that she will be born on Thursday, August 15th.  If she's not born until the 15th this will give Dawson a chance to complete his first (ever!) week of school, and it will be after the 13th making her and Carter 16 months apart instead of 15!  :)  If the pregnancy continues to be this comfortable and enjoyable, I really won't mind going beyond the due date! 
I plan to attempt to update the blog each week of pregnancy from now until Nora Kate's arrival (like I did with Carter).  So check back soon for more updates!  :)
In other Nora Kate news, John and I have completed the nursery!  I am SO pleased with how it turned out!  I couldn't be happier!  Here are some pictures...

View of Nora Kate's nursery from the hallway.

John and my dad worked hard to paint over the green paint in this room making it pink!!

The view of one corner of the room.  I have a feeling I'll be spending a lot of time during the night feeding Nora Kate in that chair.  At least I'll be surrounded by pink!

Some wall décor.  The rattle on the far left has been in each of our children's nurseries.  The tiara beside the rattle was my very first tiara.  I plan to put a picture of Nora Kate with her two big brothers in the frame.  The tutu handprint canvas we made one morning using Dawson's handprint for the middle and Carter's handprints on either side.  I told the boys they were making a little gift to put in Nora Kate's room.

More wall décor.  The frame on the left is Nora Kate's signature mat.  I will put her newborn picture in the frame.  We have had people sign it at her showers and we will also take it to the hospital with us when she's born so that everyone who helps welcome her can be remembered.  We did this for Dawson and Carter, and it's neat to look at and read the messages of each person.

I made this little pillow for her room using fabric I found at Hobby Lobby.  Where her bumper pads tie onto her bed it makes a satin bow, so this satin bow pillow matches those.  It was a quick easy project!

Up close view of the chair, her feather lamp, pillow, and stuffed bear waiting on her!

One of my favorite parts of the room is this tutu table.  I wish I had taken before and after pictures of this table, but it was a fun little project.  I made the tutu style skirt to go around it and then sewed the sash/bow to match the bumper pads and pillow in the chair.  I am SO pleased with how it turned out.  I can't wait to put her little handprint and photo in the frame on the table.

Next to her closet Nora Kate has the mirror I used to have in my room in high school.  Hanging from the side are my first pair of ballet shoes.  In the box below are ALL of her hairbows!  On the wall behind the mirror we have a board for jewelry and photos.

Close-up of my first pair of ballet shoes hanging on the mirror.

I've hung some of my first jewelry pieces on the board in her room.  Three of my first rings and the charm bracelet I had growing up.

A view of one wall.  See that cool "puff" hanging over the tutu table?  Doesn't it go great with the room and the table?  It was from Nora Kate's baby shower, I love it!

Close up of Nora Kate's bed.  See the little satin bows.

I absolutely LOVE the bedding.  It was the very first thing we got for the room.  The first time I saw this bedding online I knew it would be perfect!!

I wanted Nora Kate to have her monogram above her crib, but I wasn't exactly sure how I wanted to do it.  This turned out to be another favorite part of the room and another thing I wish I had taken before and after pictures of because it was a project!  I glued each pearl on the "Z" (there are over 400 on there!)...I used hot glue, so I'm hoping my fingerprints grow back soon! haha!  The Z is mounted on a wooden plaque and the N and K are painted pink, mounted on canvases that have been painted solid pink on the sides and covered with scrapbook paper on the fronts.  The trickiest part was figuring out how to get the Z to mount on top of the canvases!  This was a rewarding project though, as I LOVE how it turned out! 

Here's a close up on the monogram over the crib!  You can see the pearls better in this picture.

The bushes outside Nora Kate's windows even got the memo...they are blooming pink right now!!!

The changing table.  Poor Carter gets changed on this table still even though it's now pink and in Nora Kate's room.  He obviously doesn't mind though.  He points to the tutu on the wall over the table and says, "pretty." 

The tutu on the wall over the changing table was my very first tutu from my first year of ballet when I was 3 and 4 years old.  This was one thing I knew I wanted to hang in Nora Kate's room from the beginning!

This sweet sign is over Nora Kate's door.

The important part is do not disturb! :)

 

And since it's been a few weeks since I uploaded any pregnancy pictures here are two from when we took my 36 week pictures. 

One more picture, this one was taken "at Nora Kate's level."  Haha!

 

So now that the nursery is done and we know Nora Kate is a healthy weight (not too big!), we are mostly done with preparing for her arrival.  I do (of course) have a to do list to complete before she gets here which I'll be working on over the next weeks, but for the most part we are ready for her arrival!