10.29.2012

The Nursery

Finally finished hanging artwork and putting bits and pieces away in the nursery this weekend and wanted to share photos with you!
You can see I didn't go the super girlie pink explosion route, but you probably could have guessed that it wouldn't be my style :) Instead we kept the gray walls we painted when we moved in and embraced an aqua, yellow, and peach combination to compliment them.


I made the curtains (that are entirely non-functional but just for decoration hah), the bedskirt, and the pillow covers from fabric I ordered online. The small dresser under the window holds extra cloth diaper inserts, sleeper onesies, and her crib sheets and mattress pads. The big dresser on the right holds all her bibs/towels/washclothes, pacifiers and breastfeeding supplies, carriers/wraps and stroller/car gear, and the bottom drawer is full of all her soft blankets.


The rug is from Ikea, and you can see part of the futon cover in this photo, too (I totally forgot to take a picture of that wall). It's a navy blue, which is a lot more functional than the white one we had on there before.


The poster on the left is a periodic table of 'Heavy Metal' and on the left, from the top down I framed some paint-chip art (free!), some prints of watercolor birds I found online, and a place-holder for where we will fram either her announcement or a photo from the newborn session we're going to do.


The changing table - diapers, diapers, diapers. The colorful row on the left are all the cloth diaper covers we have, and the stacks next to them in the bins are the inserts. The rest of the bins hold the disposables we'll be using at the beginning while she is still too small for cloth and while we're still getting the hang of things. The trash can is our diaper pail and you can also see the packed diaper bag hanging on the side. The turquoise thing on the top is her changing pad. I love it because it's a big piece of squishy molded foam, so no extra laundry to do if she pees while changing her diaper, just wipe down the changing pad and we're good to go.


Yes, we kep the Minor Threat poster... it matched, and this girl will be cool and have good taste in music :)
We also have her big white piggy bank, some toys, a design-snob-in-training colors book by Pantone, and a frame made by my Aunt Cy that holds a little print from Winnie the Pooh with the quote
"If ever there is a tomorrow where we are not together... there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we're apart... I'll always be with you."



I made this one, too. With a quote from my favorite Beatles song, some acrylic paint and letter stickers. I love how simple it is and it turned out better than I thought it would really. Plus it's more artwork that was like $6 to make.


This is the little bookcase to the right of the futon. It holds toys at the bottom (the bins are FULL!), her stacks of books, an air purifier, and photos of both Collin and myself when we were littles. I also have a dim lampshade clamped to it for nighttime feedings. Our friend Craig bought us the fluffy lamb rocker and it is incredibly cute. She won't ride it for a while but I couldn't resist keeping it in her room.


And we come to the closet. This is half the closet really, on the right we have our own things - a filing cabinet with all our paperwork and home-stuff we need to keep (and keep organized) topped by a TV with a VCR and DVD player attached that should help us stay sane if we're up all night with her in here. We also keep the second space-heater, our winter coats, Collin's guitars and skateboards in the back.
Her side has so many clothes hanging I can barely fit another tiny outfit in there! The organizer on the left holds all her little leggings, pants, and bloomers and the one on the right holds skirts, hats and hair accessories, and socks and mittens. The laundry basket is below and I'm sure it will fill up quickly once she arrives. Up above we have a couple big boxes of diaper storage, the swing (still in a box for now), a bouncer seat, the bumbo chair, and crib accessories she won't use for a while (bumper, and teething rail covers).


What you don't see is the shoe organizer hung on the back of the door that holds all her baby shampoo, medicine, and supplies like that, and the under-the-crib storage we use to hold the guest bedding for the futon. It's a compact little space for a tiny person who seems to need so much! But I can find everything and hopefully will still be able to in my sleep-deprived state. I am certain though that most of this will get rearranged once she is here and we are actually using the space for her. I'll have to update down the road and tell you what has changed and what I thought I needed that I totally didn't :)

10.16.2012

37 weeks

And here I am at 37 weeks, in the final stretch of this pregnancy and I keep wondering... where did this time go? Did I appreciate all of this enough? Did I take enough photos? Am I spending enough time with Collin, with Early? Am I hanging out with friends enough? Are we going out enough while we still can - just the two of us?

The answer is really that I don't know. But I am starting to feel ready. Collin is so excited - and he's ready. I'm getting there more each day, and those days are speeding right along.

Physically I am only a little uncomfortable and I think that is a big contributor to why, at this point, I could just stay pregnant a while longer. I am going to miss this belly. Feeling her wiggle and kick (even when it's straight into my ribs!). The reassurance that she is safe in there. Protected.
I am waiting for that time when I'm so big, when she is so out of room that I can't imagine waiting another day for her to arrive that I can feel like really wishing for her to be born. Otherwise part of me thinks - don't wish this away, love this for as long as you have this with you. It will be some time before you'll get to feel it again (knock on wood) so just enjoy, and the next pregnancy may be completely different. Marvel at the hiccups, at the pokes you see from the outside. Love living in this shape that makes you feel so incredibly strong. So beautiful.

One day soon I know I will grow impatient. I will want to meet her so, so badly. I'm excited to get there, too. But right now with three weeks until my official due date and with the ability for her to safely arrive any day - I'm just trying to take each one more slowly. Trying not to speed through the rest of this time I have with just her and me, with just me and Collin.


And - for documentations sake - here are some serious belly shots!