Nesting: 21 Weeks

My favorite gentleman caller--the UPS man--has visited me a few times over the last couple of days.  I thought I would put up some pictures of the treasures he has delivered, as well as some other things I actually left my house to obtain.  Most of it is for the baby's nursery, which actually won't exist until later this year when I put Apartment Life behind me, and move into a house.  It doesn't hurt to get ready now, and nesting is supposed to be an important part of pregnancy. 

My first find is actually something I stumbled across at Babies-R-Us while I was putting together my baby registry.  It's called Moby wrap, and it is one of the most awesome baby carriers I have found--and there are A LOT of baby carriers on the market. 

**Sidenote: Babywearing**
I don't consider myself to be a hippie by any means (I've become well-known for my Pro-vaccination rant in some circles).  However, I do think that a lot of the modern conveniences available today deter people from actually "parenting" their children.  I read an article a few weeks ago about the dangers of infant car seats.  Now, the seat itself is an absolute necessity, obviously.  The problem arises when parents let their infant spend his or her entire day in the damn carseat.  Since I read the article, I've noticed it more and more.  People take those car seats everywhere, so I have to assume that they also take it into the house with them when they get home.  This article was claiming that when baby spends the whole day in the carseat, it can actually cause malformation of the bones in the skull.  I'm not sure how prevalent this problem is, or exactly how much truth there is to this article--I read a lot of things about pregnancy and parenting and I try to take most of it at face value.  Either way, I don't plan to tote a 30-pound carseat everywhere that I go, which brings me to my point:  I'm going to be one of those hippie moms who promotes "Babywearing."  It's exactly what it sounds like.  Instead of pushing the baby in a stroller, or carrying around a carseat, I plan on strapping this child to the front of my abdomen and toting her around that way.  "Studies have shown" that it is soothing to the baby because she can feel Mommy's heartbeat, breathing, body heat, etc... which makes perfect sense to me.  On top of that, I have both hands free to do whatever I need to do--Yay for Babywearing.
**End sidenote**

Moby makes Babywearing super easy with their awesome baby carrier, which costs only $40 (compared to $80-$90 for some others I looked at), AND comes in a wide array of fashionable colors.  Guess what color I chose?

I can't wait until she gets here so I can try it out!!

Next we have somethings for the nursery.  When we found out she was a girl, Baby Daddy and I decided we wanted a pink John Deere nursery.  I, of course, hit the internet to see what I could find as far as bedding was concerned.  I found a lot of stuff--but they were asking A LOT of money for it (like $268 for just a set of crib bumpers).  Since I got a sewing machine for Christmas, I decided I would make the bedding instead of buying.  Plus, it seems like the ultimate form of nesting to me.  I did some looking, and found this beautiful fabric on HobbyLobby.com.

I haven't found the fabric (or fabrics) to accompany it yet, nor have I started working on it since I'm preparing for a move, but I can't wait.  She's going to have the prettiest Redneck nursery in town! 

To go with the bedding, I picked up one of those Closet Maid storage units--20% off at Bed Bath and Beyond--and some pink drawers to go with it.  It will serve as a dresser of sorts until we get the baby furniture once we're in a house.

Now we have a project that has sort of gone on the back burner.  Partly because of the move, partly because I really don't have an appropriate place to sew right now.  Also, making a diaper bag was probably a little ambitious for my first back-to-sewing project, and I get frustrated with it rather quickly.  It is finished enough for you to see what it is though, and I think it will actually turn out alright.

I also picked up a backpack--sort of a mini diaper bag that is easier to tote around with me, especially while I'm out mall walking!

 And last (but not least), we have this adorable little onesie and ballcap.  I intentionally picked a 6-month size so she will outgrow it quickly, and then I am going to frame it and put it on the wall.  I don't know how much she will wear the ballcap, but I mostly want it to sit on a shelf.  I was actually amazed at how much pink John Deere stuff I was able to find at my favorite "mall"--the interweb.

Stay tuned for more—I have plenty of nesting to go before she arrives!!

Decorating the new apartment!!!

Alright so I am moving in about three weeks, and I have been gathering things for my new apartment over the past few weeks.  I am pretty excited, so I thought I would share some pictures.  First, we have the layout of the new apartment:

**Note the GIANT master closet.  It's about 2x the size of the one I have now.  

Next we have my awesome new bed-in-a-bag.  For a while now I have just had 800 thread count grey sheets, and a muted purple Ralph Lauren down throw.  It's not even a comforter, because it's not all that thick.  I hadn't been able to find anything I really like until a couple weeks ago.  Without further ado...

I LOVE IT!! And it matches the aforementioned down throw!!  I stumbled across it at Bed Bath & Beyond, and I had to have it.  Also, I had a 20%-off coupon, so I got it at a huge discount.  I can't wait to get moved and put it on the bed!!

Now for my next purchase.  I have started "mall-walking."  (I know, I know, I'm waaay too young.  But it's cold outside, and the gym is like 20 miles away.  Give me a break.)  In some ways it's good because I'm at the mall every day, so I know when and where the sales are happening.  It's also bad, because I tend to shop a lot more.  I try to go before they actually open, but I woke up late yesterday.  I'm kind of glad because I stumbled across some excellent curtains--50% off!!!  

I know it's not a great picture--stupid JC Penney website and your flash-player photos!  The ones I bought are actually purple with brown at the bottom, not blue.  They are about the same color as the lightest shade of purple in the comforter.  Lucky find!!

Next, we have the shower curtain.  Keep in mind that until about a week ago, I was supposed to be moving into a 2 bedroom, 2 bath apartment.  That fell through, so now I will only have the 1 bath.  I wanted the master bathroom colors to coordinate with the bedroom, so there will be a lot of purple.  But it is my favorite color, and it makes me happy so I can have as much of it as I want!

Of course, we also have new towels, and a bathmat...guess what color?

Yay!! Purple!!

Alright.  I did buy some things that aren't purple.  Another thing I am excited about is my coat rack.  I was trying to find a stand-up coat rack, but they are really expensive, and it would kind of be in the way.  The main reason I want one is that every day, Baby Daddy comes home from work and throws his stupid blouse-top over the stool at the kitchen table, or on the back of the computer chair.  In the winter, his jacket is there too.  It drives me crazy.  Why he can't walk to the bedroom and put it on the futon with the rest of our uniforms is beyond me.  So I'm hoping if I get the coat rack, I can hang up the blouse-top and coat every day.  God knows he won't do it because I can't even get him to hang his keys on the damn key hook that has been hanging by the front door since we moved here.  Whatever, at least I always know where MY keys are.  Anyway, I found this set of hooks instead:

It matches the living room decor perfectly, and it's just the right size to go on this little, useless wall.

I also plan to buy a baker's rack to put in the dining room which will add some much-needed storage space, and a giant table to put in the extra bedroom which will serve as my craft table.  I have an awesome set of shelves for the bedroom that I got from Hobby Lobby, but I can't find a picture online, and it's in storage right now so I can't take a picture of it.  I'm basically trying to create as much storage space as possible since I will be getting rid of my storage unit after the move.  I have bought a ridiculous amount of plastic storage containers over the past few weeks.  But I do love to organize, so it actually makes me really happy to think about having a place to put everything without it feeling cluttered--I think pregnancy is actually making my OCD worse.  Additional ideas are welcome!!

Only 138 More days to go...

Recently someone suggested that I should start a pregnancy blog.  At first I thought, "Well that's pretty one-dimensional.  There is more to life than just being pregnant."  But tonight I realized that right now, it seems like there really isn't that much in my life except for this child (who still remains nameless).  I know that is just my perception, but seriously.  I spend my whole day trying to eat the 25 different things I am supposed to eat every day, remembering to take my vitamin, wishing I could go on a shopping spree to Babies-R-Us, drooling at the thought of eating bleu cheese again, and wondering where she gets the energy to flop around all evening when she only weighs 10-11 ounces.  So I guess I will go with it for the time being. 

I'm now 20 weeks pregnant, which is literally half way.  I don't know how much I count those first four weeks, since there were no symptoms and no changes, but the doctors all say that time counts.  When I first found out about her (on October 29th, when I was actually 1 day shy of 8 weeks pregnant), it seemed like 9 months was soooo much time.  IT'S NOT.  I am starting to feel more and more that I have done nothing to prepare for this life-changing event that is supposed to happen in 138 days.  Since I am a compulsive list maker, I figured I could make a list of all the things I haven't done and maybe I will stop freaking out about them.

1.  I haven't named this child.  In fact, I haven't even talked with Daddy about the names I like.  I made a list of them (duh) but my favorite keeps varying from day to day.  Hopefully when Daddy gets home he will fall in love with Harper, Teagan, Eden, Macy, Ellis, Fiona, or Maura.  Yes, I know that list isn't very long.  Suggestions are welcome.

2.  I haven't read the books that tell you what to do when the baby gets here.  Oh, I know all about being pregnant.  I would challenge anyone alive in a contest of who can list the most pregnancy symptoms and their causes.  I know more than I ever wanted to know about contractions, episiotomies, bloodclots the size of lemons, epidurals, and ruptured membranes.  But what do I do once she is here?  No idea.  Didn't read the baby book.

3.  I haven't bought any of the "big stuff."  I have no crib, no car seat, no breast pump, no pack-and-play--nothing except for some onesies, and a few clearance Christmas outfits from Target.  OMG.

4.  I have no idea who is going to take care of this child when I am at work.  

5.  I haven't bought a new car.  This may seem like it doesn't apply, but it really does.  For the last 10 years, I have insisted that I would only own cars with manual transmissions.  I always loved driving my 5-speed Mazda3.  Then I moved to the land of the perpetual traffic jam.  I challenge you to clutch-and-break the 18 miles from my apartment to work and see how many days you can last.  Just try it.  Now throw a screaming newborn in the backseat (which is really not big enough for a car seat).  Sounds like fun, Right?  I need a new car.

I guess the list isn't as long as I thought, which was sort of the point of this exercise.  Either way, I'm exhausted now.  Time to get some rest so maybe I can whittle away at that list tomorrow.