He's Here: Benson Bryce Jolley

Benson Bryce Jolley

May 24th 3:37 am
8 lbs 10 oz
22 inches
Lots of light brown hair! - NO red.

Grandma Jolley and Aunt Kailey

Sweet sleeping boy. Love him love him.

Tired Mom and tired baby.

Happy baby hanging out with Dad as he spreads the news.

Cameron came to visit and needed a little rest in the infant car seat. Take a load off Cam.

Aunt Holly saying hello to the new addition.

Look at those legs and feet. Woah.

One handsome new Dad.

Dr. Jolley checking out my I.V.

Oxygen needed for me and a tired baby who is ready to make his appearance.

They say that all that work is worth it in the end. After 30+ hours in the hospital, and a very scary delivery, I can say that it really is worth it in the end!

Portable Changing Pad

A little changing pad to put in the diaper bag so the little one has a soft space for a little bummy. Cotton on one side and fleece on the other. A little ribbon to tie it all together so it stays in a little bundle in the diaper bag.

All rolled up and ready for travel.

Lovely and soft red fleece. I quilted it and that took the longest in this project. Oh, and the stinking binding. I am terrible at the binding, but it is presentable for little babies bottoms right?

Pretty top of the pad. Yes, a little obsessed with sewing lately!

Car Seat Canopy/Cover

Another sewing project to keep myself busy. Yes, I might be a little obsessed with my sewing machine lately. This was SOOO easy to make and took such a short amount of time. The ironing and pinning took the most time.

Plaid on the outside and a cute (No! Not cute. Let's say manly. Bryce would like that better:) green on the inside.

All tied together with brown ribbons to keep in all in its place. Fun and easy as pie project.

Mei Tia Style Baby Wrap/Carrier

I have seen these carriers all over the internet and in all of my baby/pregnancy magazines. They looked simple enough so I decided to sew one. I looked at about a dozen or more websites to try and get a feel for how to make one. After seeing how a few were designed, I came up with this little bugger. It took me pretty much all day, but I think it was worth it.

I had to have my sister in law Haley try this out on my nephew Hunter. Hunter is 9 1/2 months and he fit in the carrier pretty nicely. The coolest thing about the carrier is that I made it for $0.00. Yes that is right. Zip. Zero. The body is made of an old scrub top of my husbands that is too big for him. The ties are made from an old sheet that was fraying at the ends. And the padding in the head support and straps is made from an old fleece blanket I got when I was in high school. Pretty inexpensive considering that these carriers range from $50-$100.

A back view of Haley wearing Hunter on the front.

I also had my sis in law Mary try this out with my nephew Peyton who is 14 months. He also fit nicely. Mary is wearing Peyton on her back.

A view of the back carry. You can also wear the carrier on your hip.

One more view of the carrier with Mary wearing Peyton on her back. I think I will make another Mei Tai and add some pockets, a hood, and an extra strap/hook around the middle. Come back soon and I guess we'll see how that one turns out!

Bobby Cover

This Bobby cover is the newest of my sewing project to keep me busy before the baby comes. My sister sent me a bunch of baby things in the mail and one of them was this Bobby. It is in good shape, but it is quite an ugly, no offense Emmers, pattern. So I sewed a cover for it. The cover is black fleece on the back and a cotton top. NO ZIPPER! I hate to sew on zippers and I have never been good at it. So I found a way to do it without a zipper.

Showing the two different sides of the cover.

Front of Bobby,

I had to show the original pattern that I covered up. It was a bright red with a bunch of animals on it. I like the new look better.

Welcome Home Mother Goose

When I was little, I had a very special friend. Her name was Mother Goose. She was special because she would tell me stories, sing me songs, and illuminate the dark night. She wasn't only one of my favorite friends, but all of my family loved Mother Goose. Now, she is mine again. My dear, sweet, thoughtful husband found this treasure on Craigslist in Florida. He had her shipped here and gave her to me for my birthday. I couldn't love her more and I can't thank Bryce enough for getting her for me. She is so special. I am SO excited for my little one to be able to have her be a part of his life, just like she was mine.

I found her a place of honor right next to my little man's pack and play. As you can see, she is ready to read some stories to anyone who wants to listen. She has a tape player in the back of her and her head is a lamp. When the tape turns off, the lamp slowly dims and turns off. She put me to sleep many a night with her songs and stories.

Welcome Home Mother Goose. I missed you so.

Family Fun BBQ

Zack and Tyler glued to the tube

Bryce and I wanted to share a little time with our family and decided to have a BBQ on Sunday. The food was wonderful but the company was even more wonderful. Thanks everyone for coming and sharing the evening with us. Luckily, we were able to reserve our apartment complex lounge. The boys had plenty of toys to play with and movies to watch.

Cameron, Tyler and Zack having fun and saying cheese for the camera.

Peyton and Mary. What an beautiful Mom and the cutest baby!

Shon and Bryce getting ready to play a game of Bohnanza. One of our favorites.

Bryce gave me an early birthday present that night and I was shocked. It is my Mother Goose Lamp. I had of one of these when I was little. I have the best husband ever.

I couldn't have been more surprised and excited.

Wowee Wow!

A BOX, what I always wanted!

Happy Mothers Day Cupcakes

I have a lot of time on my hands recently and I like to find ways to keep myself busy. Bryce and I had a BBQ on Mothers Day and I wanted to make a little something special for those Mom's who are so wonderful. So I made these lovely cupcakes. The decorations on top are a royal frosting that I piped out into letters and shapes onto wax paper. I let them dry overnight and then decorated the cupcakes with them. They turned out quite adorable.

I made 24 of these puppies. Each cupcake is a little different from the others.

Close up. It was a fun and rewarding project.

38 Weeks and As Big As the Ark

A few friends and family members have been asking for an updated picture of me and my pregnant self. I haven't wanted to because I am a giantess. But, I swallowed my pride today and took a pic of me in all my glory.

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How am I feeling? Tired and swollen. I feel like my body has no more room for this little guy, but every day I seem to see more and more of that big baby belly.

Do you have a name picked out? No. But we do have three names that we like and we will decide from there.

Any stretch marks? YES! Holy Moly Yes. I didn't have a single one until about week 35 and they popped up out of nowhere. Every day I swear there are more. My belly itches constantly and it takes all my concentration not to scratch at it. There are more stretch marks on the right side of my belly because that is where the little man hangs out most the time.

Are you being induced? No.

Natural or Epidural? Epidural. My husband absolutely insists. He says that it is more for him than for me because he has to deal with me being in pain and he doesn't really want to do that. I haven't really wanted to do an epidural mostly because of my fear of needles and shots. I hear so many horror stories about 10 foot needles that are as thick as a drinking straw. Give me a break people! I saw a video of the epidural and it isn't that BIG a deal. Honestly, and that is a lot coming from a girl who used to faint at the sight a the littlest needle.

How swollen are your hands and feet? I think that on a scale from 1-10 I would rate myself a 10 most the time and 11+ on bad days. I can't even recognize my own hands, feet, ankles, neck, face etc. Those are just the places that the swelling has really taken a liking to.

How much weight have you gained? Forget it! No way that I am publishing that information.

Any strange cravings? Not really. I just like food and I eat a lot of ice cream but lets be honest. I ate a lot of ice cream before I had this little one cooking inside me. I can't really blame him for that.

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Other Fun Facts:
-I stole this little questionnaire from my friend Char's blog. Thanks Char.
-Every week I see the doctor I am a little disappointed that I am not dilated AT ALL. But I guess my little man needs more time to grow and develop so I'll be patient and let him take his time.
-Even though it stinks to have woken up this morning and snow was on the ground, it is a nice break from being sweaty and super hot all the time.
-My sister did my nails last week and it makes me feel a little pretty. I don't feel pretty very often lately but I can look at my beautiful nails and feel pretty. Thanks Holly!
-I still have a few freak out sessions a week and cry like a baby to Bryce. Labor and delivery is not something that I have been at ease with ever. Hopefully I can calm down when the time actually comes.
-If my baby is born close to his due date we will have three May birthdays in the Jolley family. My birthday is the 18th, the baby's due date is the 23rd, and Bryce's birthday is the 26th.
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Things To Look Forward To:
-Being able to wake up at night not because I can't breath and my hips ache like crazy but because I have some one to take care of and hold.
-Finally being able to use all the fun baby clothes and things that are in the bedroom.
-Seeing how well my cloth diapers work!
-Being able to fit into clothes that aren't made for overweight Bigfoot.
-Running again! I can't bear to see the sun shining and not be able to put on my trusty running shoes for a refreshing run.
-Seeing Bryce as a Dad.
-Seeing what my little guy looks like. Whose nose, ears, hair, lips, forehead, hands, and feet he has.

Bryce likes to watch movies and get BORED of movies and I always want to do something else. There aren't that many two person games that I haven't totally worn out so I pulled out this trusty puzzle the other night. It is over 600 pieces and I figured that we would get it out, start on it, and then finish throughout the next few days. Nope. 10:00 p.m. this puppy got spilled out of its box and by 3:00 a.m. it was completed. I about gave up a few times and went to bed, but I didn't want to be left out and Bryce was not about to leave the puzzle unfinished. So, we both stayed up until the wee small hours of the morning to make sure Noah got all the animals safely on the Ark before the floods came.

Pocket All-In-One Diaper

This is mostly for my Mother so she can see how I altered the pattern to make this new diaper. Here is the finished product, without the velcro because I don't have any right now. This is also without the cute flannel on the outside. I wanted to make a prototype before I dove head first into making more.

The main difference between this and my other diapers is that this has an opening that allows you to take the insert in and out for quicker drying.

I altered the soaker a little as well. This soaker, rather than being sewn all the way around is only sewn right down the middle and then on the corners to keep the soaker stable. Each individual piece is zig-zagged around to keep from fraying. This is so much easier than sewing around the whole soaker and it will also dry quicker than the original.

This shows the three layers of the soaker and how they are sewn down the middle an zig-zagged around the edge. (Look at that big fatty hand. My hands are very swollen as of late. Go figure)

Diaper and soaker. The soaker looks quite a bit longer than the diaper, but remember than the diaper has elastic in the legs and once the soaker is inserted into the diaper it fits perfectly.

Diaper with soaker in place. It was a fun project figuring how to alter my original pattern to make this one. Fun stuff.