4 Month Favorites

i can NOT believe my wee babe is 1/3 of a year old! this month it was a little difficult to remember some "must haves" as we are settling in to a routine and i'm taking for granted that things are getting easier. nonetheless, i remembered these lovelies!

Playtex Drop-Ins Variable Flow Y-cut nipples: this last month, Olivia started to take FOREVER to finish a 7 ounce bottle. like, 30 minutes which is a little ridiculous at 4 months old, in my opinion (got to set the bar high, you know?). i went ahead and bought the medium flow because i thought that was the next step up, and it ended up half in her mouth and half down her face. the hole must be huge on those things because it hardly requires any sucking and would just drip out. while it was nice to finish a bottle in 7 minutes, she ended up puking half of what she ingested. these variable flow nipples are AMAZING! i could only find them on Amazon and they require some effort in the sucking department. no more medium flow for us for awhile.

Gerber pre-fold Cloth diapers:- speaking of puking, these cloth diapers have greatly saved my furniture and changing table covers. they are great at catching puke, drool, and other baby fluids that tend to leak. they wash well and are decently priced so i don't care if they get destroyed.

Beco Gemini 4 in 1 baby carrier: this is yet another product that i swore i would never own or use, but here i am thoroughly enjoying it! i did a bit of research on which baby carrier would be the best for me and talked to other mommas. this one is great for shorter ladies, such as myself, and has the best designs of any carrier i've seen. it has safety clasps on each buckle for extra protection, has the option for a wide or narrow seat for smaller babies, and can be used 4 different ways.

GroVia Magic Stick: i received this as a gift from a friend who claimed it was a miracle product. LW didn't really have any diaper rash issues until a few weeks ago when she started going #2 about 3 times a day and needed some soothing on her tush.  this worked wonders! it smells very herbal and is not messy at all. i use it anytime things look a little red and it's usually gone by the end of the day!

AngelCare Baby Movement and Sound Monitor: we live in a smallish apartment and i didn't think i would need a monitor to hear Olivia. but now that deep, uninterrupted sleep is a foreign concept and LW is in her own room, we decided to get a monitor. i picked this one because i'm a worry wort and was constantly checking LW to make sure she's breathing and this monitor has a sensor pad that will alert you if baby stops breathing. I LOVE IT. yes, there are false alarms (that scare the bejeezus out of you) if baby is in a super deep sleep, but it is SO worth it. there are about 20 different settings, and i especially like that you can set a high and low temperature max that will alert you if the room is too warm or cold- contributors to SIDS. this was under $100 and is worth a million dollars for piece of mind.

Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Milk Feeding Bibs: LW is in a major drooling phase and we can't go anywhere without a few bibs in tow. these are awesome for bottle feeding (especially with those darn medium flow nipples) because the neckline is extra thick and catches dripping milk. they are very absorbent and soft and i love them. for some reason, the washing instructions say not to dry them, but i do anyways and don't notice a difference.

and there you have our 4 month favorites!

nursery update

i've made some more headway on Little Wood's nursery in the last two weeks, and i'm pretty much done with furniture purchases. yay! i'm very blessed to have a part time job on the side that allows me a little extra money so we can buy some things for the wee babe and not have it impact our budget (especially because we are preparing for a reduced income in the next 2 months!). that being said, i still try my best to get reasonably priced items when i can because a) little wood won't know the difference and b) i don't plan on her using this furniture her entire life like some people might. it just won't happen.

now, on to the updates! first up, the dresser. it's definitely nothing fancy (aka, from Ikea), but i like that it's simple and has a wide enough top to double as a changing table. i don't plan on getting a separate one due to space and the fact that i've never liked the idea of a changing table, because it has such a short lifespan (i.e. no more diapers= no more using it).  it also has a separate top i can buy for only $30 that would add edges so i could put the changing pad inside. but i'm not sure if i need it so am waiting to purchase. i like that the top has an open space for baskets for diapers etc., and that the the first drawer has another smaller drawer inside for some smaller items like bibs, hats, and rattles. don't be fooled however- this thing was a bit of a beast to put together. really Ikea, 40 steps? thank goodness my dad helped me! the husband would have had a heart attack!

i also picked up some picture ledge shelves from Ikea because i wanted something understated, but also decorative enough that the nursery didn't look barren. my handy dandy dad did me a solid and helped hang these as well. these shelves also come in a size that's about twice as long, but they didn't have them when i went and i kinda liked the small size of these anyways. kind of like "baby" sized shelves, if you will. i've bought 2 prints from Etsy (see below) and some white frames (hi-yo, penny sale at Aaron Bros!) and will lean them on the shelves once i get them.

 

this is what it looks like, big picture:

i'm still trying to decide if i want to hang anything over the crib, since it sits on the biggest wall. however i would hate for anything to fall and hit Little Wood! i guess i could search for some canvas prints, but i haven't found anything i like yet. speaking of prints, these are the two that i have bought so far:

(from this shop)

 and this one i just bought yesterday:

(from this shop)

i just LOVE this ee cummings poem and thought it would be a beautiful piece for LW's room. both prints are 8x10's and i plan on putting this one in a larger frame with a matte because i love it so much.

i still have a few things left to purchase:
new floor lamp
mattress for crib
some drawer and closet organizers
a few more pieces of art

i'm definitely enjoying this part of nesting, but have to say that i'll be glad when this is all finished and the only thing i'll be missing is Little Wood!

welcome to my crib!

last weekend, my good friend and i spent about 4 hours repainting LW's nursery. i've never painted before and while i certainly enjoyed myself, it was hard work! i'm so thankful my friend is an experienced painter, because i never would have been able to do with without her! Here are some shots of our work:

 

the paint fairies definitely visited us because we had JUST enough paint to cover the two walls we painted. i was a little perturbed because i had even used a handy "paint calculator" on the Glidden website that told me i would have more than enough paint. luckily, i still had my leftover paint sample because we had to scrape every drop of paint to finish up. i'm also thankful we used duo paint + primer. it cut down on a ton of grunt work!

now to my newest advancement in the nursery, our crib! i want to give a shout out to Walmart for not only having a crib i loved, but also because of their customer service. i ordered the crib this past Tuesday, and when i got home from work on Wednesday, it was already at my door! That's even faster than the ship to store option! i don't have to explain to most of you that this is not a typical Walmart situation. they have redeemed themselves in the slightest in my eyes. here she is, the Baby Mod Modena!

 i love this crib for many reasons:

• the color. it's not easy to find cribs in non-traditional colors. since dave and i couldn't agree on white vs. black cribs, this was the perfect compromise. 
• it comes with a free toddler conversion rail and parts. this usually costs an extra $100+ dollars, but not-so with this baby! i'm not sure if i will ever use it, because i feel like the conversion beds look a little silly, but at least i didn't have to pay extra for the option.
• it's unique. i love the solid sides and that it doesn't look uber babyish.
• it's the perfect size. it's not humongous looking, and doesn't overwhelm the nursery.
• it's quality. oh walmart, you've surprised me again! i was super shocked to receive the box in perfect condition, as well as the crib itself. there's not a scratch on it, and we didn't nick it at all whilst putting it together.

i'm loving this process of preparing for my little one on the way. i know she won't understand all that it took to make way for her, but she is the first thing on my mind most days and i just pray she will feel as loved as she is! i have a ways to still go, but i think my pink and grey nursery is coming along quite nicely:

nursery planning

i've never considered myself much of a designer. i like to steal inspiration from others, or buy complete sets of furniture so i don't have to put much thought into decorating, for fear that it will look awful if i don't. because while i never consider myself "cutting edge" i can definitely recognize when people CLEARLY have no idea what they are doing in the design department. i like simple but nice pieces, and nothing too trendy because i don't want to have to buy furniture or change everything in 2 years.

all that being said, i definitely know my tastes when it comes to baby design. it's most likely my love of simple that keeps me away from all the cutesy "baby" designs that many people cherish. i have a very fond memory book to remind me of my childhood Winnie the Pooh nursery and wouldn't have it any other way. but my style, circa 2012-13 is different from 1981 (yes, i'm dating myself here). i have absolutely NO problem with other people going for the full-on butterfly, teddy bear, Winnie the Pooh designs- they just aren't for me.

once i decided on light pink and grey for Little Wood's nursery colors, it made it a little easier to start designing. with my color choices, we couldn't stay with the brown that came with the wee babe's room. not to mention, the previous painters did an AWFUL job of touching up, and ended up using a different shade all together. it is VERY obvious, which you'll see in just a moment. i've never painted before, much less picked out my own colors so my first trip to Home Depot was a litle overwelming! i came back with these:

if you've ever painted before you know that at first glance they all look very similar. however every single one is super different in the right light. so i decided to pick two and see how they looked:

see there IS a difference! The one on the left is "mulberry white" by Glidden and has a pink tinge.

the one on the right is "pink petal white," and is definitely more white than anything else.

i decided to go with the Mulberry White because i wanted a pale, pale, pink that was almost white and this fit the bill. my friend Gwin is going to help me paint next weekend and we will be moving right along. Oh! and my glider came this week and it's even more gorgeous than i thought. it will be perfect in the corner. i left the plastic on until we're done painting, even though i'll probably have the Husband move it out of the room anyways, just to be safe. here's the room as it looks now (p.s., if you look to the right of the paint samples you can see the completely discolored walls and the lovely "touch up" job the leasing dept did):

next up: Little Wood's crib!

Bumpdate- 25 Weeks

How far along: 25 weeks, 6 days

Baby is the size of: an eggplant, but bigger than last week's eggplant. Supposedly, LW is nearly 2 lbs by now!

Extra poundage: eeek! stepped on the scale and i'm up 13 lbs! wasn't expecting that. i'm ok with it, just still a surprise!

Bump status: ok, i'm starting to look big. 1 stranger asked how far along i was (only the 2nd stranger to ask me if i'm pregnant) and a friend commented that i'm finally showing!

Favorite food of the week: omg i made the most amazing pumpkin, frosted cookies and they were delicious! and because they were so good, they are now gone because my husband couldn't keep his hands off them. :(

Heartburn worthy foods: no heartburn in a few weeks and i'm loving it.

Favorite piece of clothing this week: my maternity jeans. it's so nice to wear a pair of pants that fit! separate post to come on my thoughts on spending a ton of money on maternity clothes, especially jeans.

Movement: the wee babe is going CARAZY! i swear, the other night she was doing somersaults. 

Sleep: i get some good stretches of sleep, but wake up more frequently. side sleeping is becoming more comfortable, but i usually have a bit of a time going back to sleep because LW starts to dance at night.
Pee trips in the night: 2-3.

Guilty pleasure:  probably those pumpkin spice cookies...

Baby purchases this week:  i made some inadvertent purchases relating to the nursery this week- painting supplies!

Looking forward to: painting the nursery. i've never painted before and am excited to make some progress so i can feel like i'm getting ready. Only 99 more days until my due date!

rockers, gliders, recliners, oh my!

i've just passed my 6 month mark and have yet to make any headway on preparing for this baby outside the womb. sure, i've taken care of myself, exercised, ate and slept well. but come look at my barren nursery and baby clothes and you'll know i should probably get crack-a-lackin'.

i had a really hard time deciding what i wanted Little Wood's nursery colors to be. i was pretty dead set on avoiding pink. but i found some ridiculously gorgeous swaddling blankets that i fell in love with and decided to use them to tie my colors together. sooo... pink and grey it is! a very light pink, that is.

i've known for quite some time that Babies 'r us would not have the look i was going for in terms of bedding and since i chose Aden + Anais blankets with unique patterns, i knew i would have to piece this room together on my own. thank the Lord for Pinterest!

i wanted white furniture desperately, but husband nixed that idea right away. sad day for me. so i decided to go with black, though i thought it was a tad boring, what with all our other black furniture, and not very nursery-ish. ::sigh:: since i couldn't decide on a crib, i opted to start picking out room essentials by selecting a glider. i truly HATE the 90's style rockers that are part wood, part cushion. they just are not me. i wanted more of an armchair look that i could actually use after the wee babe was grown. holy cow those things are expensive! I could barely find one under $800, much less lower that $500. not only that, but how hard is it to find one in grey that looks decent? hard, let me tell you:

but alas, 99% of these were still out of my price range. until one day last week i hit the jackpot and found the chair i've been looking for!

it is the ONLY dark grey glider i've been able to find and i couldn't believe i found it on sale at Target! i knew this was not a likely registry gift from someone, so i bought it myself and left the ottoman as a potential gift for the future. don't get me wrong, i wouldn't call this "cheap" by any means, but it was still way less expensive than anything else i've found. and my favorite one so far. now all i need is Little Wood to complete the picture!

a new home for the wee babe

two weeks ago, Dave and I did something we've been wanting to do for years. we MOVED! yes, after 7 1/2 years in our apartment we decided the time had come. so we looked for condos to rent, since we aren't ready to buy yet, but came up short. as in, there was nothing i was willing to drop $5K on for a security deposit.

so we lamed out and moved next door. yes, i know. anticlimactic. but truly, i can't even tell you how much I HATE MOVING. and moving while pregnant, even early on, is no fun. i dread packing and purging and risking the beauty of my items to nicks and dents. but next door offered a two bedroom, totally remodeled, and for not much more than what we were paying for our 1 bedroom. and it had been vacant for over three months. so i kinda figured it was meant to be. it took the pressure off finding a new place in our price range, and definitely relieved me from moving anxiety.

so here's to our new home! the wee babe will have her own room (and bathroom- ooo, schnazzy!). here's the tour:

our bedroom, complete with accent wall. luckily, the people before us had decent taste and kept the walls nice. so when they moved out, they left them painted for us!

kitchen. newly refaced cabinets, even though they are a tad smaller than our old ones.

living room- new entertainment unit!

my "desk area" in our bedroom. this is before i got a chair :)

dining room

and finally, the wee babe's room! see our lovely decorations? a light and Dave's old Care Bear. i'm not sure what color the nursery will be the current color ain't half bad. i'm really excited to have room to nest now, and will keep you posted on what nursery plans i come up with!