The Nursery – Finally!

Ask and you shall receive I guess… My parents dropped off the finished rocker yesterday so I can finally show off our Narnia nursery for Judah! We had to be very budget conscious when it came to decorating (as do most people) so I’ve included the price on some of the items. I’m so thrilled with the way it’s turned out!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So here’s the “before” color of the room. It used to be the guest room and was the same flat, beige color as the rest of the house was when we bought it. Since we were going with a Narnia theme, and I didn’t want to go with snow, I thought I’d do a green that would help establish that woodland feel.

Here’s a close-up of the color as well as one of the adorable vinyl stickers my mom picked up for me. I love how these things add some character and cuteness!

Here’s the crib (and more of the stickers). The crib is a Jenny Lind one that came from our friend Karen, the mobile came from a co-worker of my mom’s. You’ll have to excuse the foil – a furry roommate of mine loves to sleep in there unless it’s covered in foil

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is the lion we bought when we found out that Judah was a boy, I hope to use it for some of those monthly pictures I see everywhere on Pinterest. Plus, he’s our resident Aslan. On the right is the bouncy seat I found for $15 at Once Upon a Child as well as one of the bookcases from my classroom. It looks pretty messy right now (and note, more tinfoil) but I plan to come up with a better system once I have more of the small stuff we’ll be using.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are the curtains I found at Target on sale with a little custom touch. They were plain brown curtains and that was originally my plan to use…except I hung the curtain rod about an inch too high. So I used some of the extra fabric from the cushions for my rocker to add an extra hem. It’s not the most beautiful but now seeing the curtains doesn’t drive me crazy because they’re too short!

This is the rocker! It was my dad’s grandmother’s originally and used to be a rather ugly black/gold color. My mom painted it and made those custom cushions for it (can you see the lion print on the fabric?) In case you don’t know this about me, I’m a bit sentimental and so I LOVE that there’s a little story for all of Judah’s furniture. Not to mention, inheriting a lot of things is good for the budget!

Here’s another bookcase from my classroom as well as an iron lamp that my grandma gave me when I went to college. I’m hoping to replace it with a lamp post one that I’ve seen in stores around here at Christmas but it’s a good fit until then.

 

This is the changing table/dresser. My parents picked it up at a local auction last year before they even knew I was pregnant (I had been wanting one for the guest room anyway) and it was in pretty rough shape – therefore cheap. They stripped and refinished it, stained it, and replaced the handles for a beautiful dresser (that’s supposed to look a little like tree bark!) The changing pad on top my mom found at a fabric store for $4 and I picked up the cover at a consignment sale for $1.

This is pretty much the only picture in the room right now, it’s something I made at the local college using their poster printer (I get access for being a local teacher) – it cost me $5 and I LOVE the way it came out because we got to use one of our favorite quotes from the books. The frame I also scored a great deal on at Michael’s – and because I made it poster size, I didn’t have to get a custom frame (although I did look into it…and nearly passed out when they told me how much it was going to be!) so I picked up a solid wood frame that’s 24″ x 36″ for about $10.

This rug is pretty simple but adds a lot of coziness to the room and Josh and I picked it up at IKEA in Massachusetts when we went with Lyla and Jeremy. And, of course, since it’s IKEA it was also dirt cheap – $30.

Here’s the last picture and it’s of our redone closet. This was definitely the most expensive part of the nursery. Originally, all we had was the top shelf and the closet was sort of a catch-all for random stuff in the house. I moved it all up to the attic (it’s really not an attic, just an access for the AC but shhh) and Josh installed new wire shelving from Lowe’s so we could better use the space. Again, I’m still working on the organization system but I’ve got a couple more months so no judging 🙂

One last thing, if you liked some of the custom pieces my mom put together, you should check out her website on Etsy – https://www.etsy.com/shop/InnerSpringChairs?ref=shop_sugg

 

 

32 Weeks

So, I’ve procrastinated updating the blog because I’ve been hoping to include a nursery update. However, since the rocking chair isn’t finished, I don’t feel like the nursery is finished so that’ll have to be a separate post when it’s done 🙂

Total Weight Gain: 24 pounds at last Dr. appointment

Baby’s Heart Rate:  140 bpm – this is the lowest it’s ever been, I think he was napping at the last check

Movement: Again, still tons of movement! I can feel kicks and elbows and rolls. It’s fun for me to sit and feel him move and watch as my belly does all kinds of weird things on the outside. Unfortunately, Josh still hasn’t witnessed this part – it seems like as soon as I say “Watch!” Judah decides to stop.

Biggest Craving This Week:  Still any and all things sweet but lately I’ve been really craving fruit flavored/sour stuff too. Luckily this translates to actual fruit as well like apples and grapes. I’ve also been craving hot drinks before bed – tea, cocoa, coffee (though I usually pass on this one). Strange craving for the end of August in the South…

How Clothes Fit: I’ve been thinking about taking this section out because it doesn’t seem to change much – still all maternity wear (t-shirts are now too short to leave the house in) and my biggest thought is “boring.” Have you noticed that they seem to think pregnant women only want to wear dark colors? And maternity clothes are almost never on sale for stuff in season – they know you can’t wait to buy it for next year because you only have 9 months. I think it’s a conspiracy. Although, the shorts in the picture above have been my favorite purchase. I love how cute they are and how they make me feel like I’m wearing “normal” clothes again.

Energy Level: Some days good, some days bad. I’m still having quite a bit of joint pain which makes sleep difficult and I can tell what time of night it is without looking up at the clock based on when I wake up to go to the bathroom (1:00, 3:30, and 5:30. Every morning. Without fail.) Though normally Josh and I are super extroverts and love to hang out with people, I’m finding that it drains me a lot quicker than it used to.

Rants/Random: So I think I’ve hit some sort of hormonal change this week. I’ve been nesting like crazy and far more weepy than usual. Poor Josh has me wanting to cling to him all the time (I keep having dreams that he leaves me) and instead of hanging out with people, I really REALLY enjoy hanging out at home with him. It probably doesn’t hurt that we’ve discovered the show Sherlock on Netflix. Maybe that also contributes to my wanting things like tea at night…

Looking forward to: Fall. It’s my most favorite season and I’m so glad I get have Judah in October (if he cooperates). I miss the change in weather like we get in New England but still looking forward to pumpkins and cider and sweaters 🙂

29 Weeks

Total Weight Gain:  Got the official number from the doctor this week – 22 pounds!

Baby’s Heart Rate: Still holding steady at 150 bpm

Movement: Holy cow, movement! In addition to the playful kicks I keep feeling, I’ve started feeling him roll around in there. Sometimes the kicks aren’t quite so “aww!” anymore either…last Thursday night I got two distinct kicks under my ribs which, if you’ve never been pregnant, hurt just as much as someone hitting you in the ribs on the outside! It’s also the most bizarre feeling to feel him roll or drag some body part across my body – it feel s sort of like if all of a  sudden one of your kidney’s just floated to the other side for a visit (if you can imagine that).

Biggest Craving This Week:  A couple of random ones – cinnamon sugar for instance. I made two batches of cinnamon rolls and had a cinnamon sugar pretzel at the mall this week. I also badly wanted French Onion soup on Friday for supper – something I have never desired in my life! And Saturday and Sunday all I could think about was getting a giant ice cream in a chocolate dipped sprinkle waffle bowl. I think my sister and mom will be thrilled that Josh and I, who are not big fans of dessert in general, are producing a kid with a serious sweet tooth!

How clothes fit: I got some new shorts and a new top from Old Navy (redeeming the previous shorts fiasco) and I absolutely LOVE them! In general though, my wardrobe continues to shrink as I inflate 🙂

Energy Level:  Most days still low. I’ve accepted the fact that this is probably just how my body handles being pregnant. I’m actually extremely thankful to be not working because that means I can take my 45 minute naps in the afternoon! Sometimes I get frustrated with having things to do around the house and feeling like I can barely get off the couch, but I work with what I can and recognize that my energy levels will return to normal eventually.

Rants/Random:  Lots of things this week! Firstly, Josh officially got a new job with Carolina Donor Services! This means a raise, health benefits AND NO MORE TAX SEASON! Sometimes it seems like we’ve had to wait forever for this job but it has been a complete blessing. Second, I’ve had to deal with some body image issues with this pregnancy that I wasn’t expecting. Mostly because no matter how well meaning people are saying “You’re not fat, you’re pregnant!” doesn’t usually take away the feeling of being fat. Having always been slender, my body suddenly feels out of control when I look into a mirror and see that big belly or try to put on clothes that just don’t fit. Thankfully, I’ve seemed to come to grips with it mostly although once in awhile I’ll catch my reflection and think “Goodness, when did I get SO preggers?” Also this week, I felt my very first Braxton Hicks contractions – I happened to be driving over to Rachel’s house and suddenly, low in my abdomen, it sort of felt like someone was tightening a blood pressure cuff. It only lasted a few seconds but it was a little intense!

Looking Forward To: A lunch date with Susan and Donna next week as well as a breastfeeding class at the birth center. That may seem a little strange, but I feel like that chick in “What to Expect” – “Research soothes me” 🙂 I hope it answers some of my questions and is just another step closer to bringing Judah home!