Nursery Plans

I am so so so excited about the babe's room!! I have been searching & searching for the perfect item to get my plans in place... and then one day.. I found the most perfect fabric in the whole wide world! Amy Butler Honeycomb in Linen... BEYOND! :) I wanted to go very simple with the bedding, white bed sheets since they will need changed often & a fun crib skirt. The fabric I chose is a pale pink & off white linen pattern, very modern. Mixed with the white Jenny Lind crib, it will make the most perfect bed skirt!! I also ordered a matching baby blanket with white chenille on the other side. LOVE!! 

Here is my vision for the nursery so far:

 Along with the white crib & Amy Butler fabric for the bedding - we chose a pale grey for the walls, just enough to make the white trim & furniture pop. The color is "Toasted White" by Glidden. We then chose a charcoal grey glider - so obsessed - which has a very vintage yet modern feel... which is exactly what I want for the room! It was much pricier than we had hoped, but I was in love with the style & Brandon was in love with the comfort. Win Win! Convincing him to buy anything expensive is a chore and a half... so when he said yes... mama had to just roll with it! :) The glider can be found here  if you are interested.

Last, in order to bring in some fun colors, I went with this custom paper banner, 15' in length incorporating all the shades of white, grey & pink that I am using in the room, with some old book pages and some teal & yellow as well! I LOVE it! I am planning on putting a mirror above the changing table, so the plan is to drape the garland over top.

I also want to make some more fun nursery prints to make a small collage on the other wall with some modern white ikea frames & fun prints like the one below.. available in my etsy shop!

  

Right now I am giving myself a pat on the back for not using only black, white & grey in the room! I know, mom, you're proud too! :) 

Now, a question for all of the mama's out there, what other items are MUST HAVES for the nursery? Any favorite products out there that I should know of? 

I tried convincing my husband that we needed a $60 porcelain gnome night light ... he decided that I was only in love with it because the product was called "Gnome Alone." Bahahahahahahah! He might be right.

But I still might get it.

18 Weeks

How far along? 18 Weeks, 5 Days
Total weight gain/loss: 8lbs gained - weighed myself on the giant grocery store scale at Publix like a ass since I don't have a scale at home
Maternity clothes? I work from home, so my wardrobe consists of sweatpants, yogapants & (maternity) leggings. When I have to go places, I rock the bella band over my unbuttoned jeans.. or a dress.
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Still sleeping great - minus the frequent trips to the bathroom and the bizarre dreams
Best moment this week: feeling babygirl kicking from the outside!!!! She is soooo active, I feel her many times a day.
Miss Anything? I will state the obvious - beer. But I would like to add lunchmeat. There is a pound of boar's head turkey in our fridge that I would like to demolish right now... this is coming from the girl who hated deli sandwiches with a passion.
Movement: and lots of it!
Food cravings: Sweets! This week's favorites include Cinnabon & jelly filled donuts. Bring on the THARMS.
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nada.
Have you started to show yet: My baby belly has officially surpassed my sophomore year beer belly.
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Other than Thanksgiving... my 20 week ultrasound! :)

Chalkboard Questions

Thank you to everyone for all of the super sweet comments - especially those offering advice for me as a first time mom & compulsive shopper... and to those offering condolences as I make my way through a sober football season.

I wanted to quickly answer all of the questions I have received about my chalkboard. I made it a few years ago, here is the *updated* TUTORIAL. I am in the process of making another one for my kitchen too so I will post that once it is finished. I miss drawing on it for all of the seasons & holidays! 

I use regular Crayola chalk, I find that it works the best of all brands. I even use sidewalk chalk too sometimes because it has more color options :) I have never used chalk pens or markers - although I suppose that might be a little less messy. To deal with the dust & erase marks, I use a regular dry dish towel to erase the board and then a damp one to clear it off before drawing on it again. My best advice for keeping the chalkboard looking good is to slap on a new coat of chalkboard paint every few weeks, that will keep the board black & looking great. Also, regular paint seems to work much better than spray paint if you want a durable chalkboard. I originally made the board with spray paint & you can tell in the pictures above how much harder it was to keep it looking nice. 

Hope that is helpful & answers all of your questions! :)

Week 17

How far along? 17 Weeks, 4 Days
Total weight gain/loss: 6 pounds gained
Maternity clothes? still just rocking the maternity leggings so far
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping great
Best moment this week: feeling lots of movement every day!
Miss Anything? have I mentioned that I miss drinking beer?? :)
Movement: I feel big waves of movement (maybe somersaults?) and kicks on and off all day.. I love it!
Food cravings: sweets!! We discovered a new frozen yogurt place that serves wedding cake flavor... wedding cake fro yo in a waffle cone with kit kat & rainbow sprinkles on top... sign me up!!
Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing lately! I have been easing my way back into coffee even.. just in time for pumpkin spice lattes.
Have you started to show yet: I'm gonna go with yes - had the first stranger ask me when my baby is due this week!
Gender: Girl
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Feeling the baby move on the outside so daddy can finally feel it... and Thanksgiving.

Shopping for Baby Girl

  Holy cow, you guys weren't kidding when you said shopping for baby girls is so much fun! :) I'm especially in love with nontraditional baby girl clothes, less with the pink ruffles & more bold, funky outfits. I've always been drawn to all things black & white, so I have a feeling babygirl's closet will closely resemble mine! Here is a little sample of a few of the goodies I have picked up so far.

 The Cream & Black Striped Onesie is from BabyGap, Gold Headband is from Etsy, Gold Sandals are from Marshalls, and the Chevron Bib & Black Headband are from Etsy

And now for my serious baby obsession - BABY LEGS! I love love loooooove leg warmers & tights on babies!! Plus I am a sucker for anything festive, my husband raised an eyebrow at me the other day when I told him that "I can't wait to decorate our baby for the holidays!" :) These are the ones I bought so far, two for Fall/Halloween and then a pair of Christmas tights. And you better believe if we weren't having a girl, I would be squeezing into those tights myself. LOVE!!

Seriously, itsy bitsy spider leg warmers on chubby baby legs at Halloween?! I die. I will continue to post all of my good finds for baby girl clothes... turns out I have lots of time on my hands when I'm not polishing off a bottle of wine on any given Tuesday night.

16 Weeks

Found out Wednesday, September 7th that we are having a baby GIRL!! Can't even begin to describe my excitement.... We are SO happy & love knowing more about the little person that we are so excited to meet! Boys run in my family so I thought I might have a boy first... but I had a hunch all along that it was a girl. So excited to start buying headbands & nursery decor!! :)

How far along? 16 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 6 pounds gained - up from 111 to 117
Maternity clothes? still just rocking the maternity leggings so far
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping great, minus waking up to pee every night at 3 am.
Best moment this week: finding out that baby G is a SHE! :)
Miss Anything? being pregnant & not able to drink during football season should be a crime... I am pretty sure I drooled all over myself picking up a 12 pack of Oktoberfest for my husband the other day
Movement: Feeling it just a little each day!
Food cravings: Fruits & sweets still ... guessing all the sugar is contributing to my weight gain more than the growing babe in my belly... what you're not supposed to eat four bowls of chocolate cherios for breakfast??
Anything making you queasy or sick: Coffee.. what a shame.. I can't wait to enjoy it again.
Have you started to show yet: still just a little bump
Gender prediction: Girl.. and I was right! I have had so many dreams recently having a baby girl who looks just like me when I was a baby... weird but I always wake up so happy!
Labor Signs: No (I will shit when I finally say yes to this question.. so nervous!!)
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Feeling more movement & finally being able to do some shopping!

15 Weeks

First things first, I just want to say THANK YOU to all of you for your super sweet comments & all of the encouragement!! Everyone has been so sweet & I really appreciate all of the comments, each one of them makes my day! Also, for anyone who as asked about where the chalkboard came from,  here is the updated tutorial for how I made it! :)

And now for 15 Weeks....

How far along? 15 Weeks
Total weight gain/loss: 3.5 lbs (Probably more by now, we'll find out later this week!)
Maternity clothes? Bought a few things, but not wearing any yet
Stretch marks? No
Sleep: Sleeping great, minus waking up to pee every night at 3 am.
Best moment this week: no headaches ALL week & more baby movement!!
Miss Anything? Pounding beer during football games... first Iowa Hawkeye game in six years that I wasn't blacking out by third quarter. Classy lady! :)
Movement: Feeling it just a little each day!
Food cravings: Fruits & sweets still... bought Chewy Sprees at the movie theatre instead of popcorn...who AM I?
Anything making you queasy or sick: Coffee
Have you started to show yet: more this week for sure
Gender prediction: Girl
Labor Signs: No
Belly Button in or out? In
Wedding rings on or off? On
Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!
Looking forward to: Finding out if we are having a boy or a girl in just a few days!! What do you think it is?! :)