Our Nursery Furniture!

As you read in my last post (hopefully you read it!) we bought a good bit of nursery furniture this past weekend. After a lot of research, a lot of online shopping and browsing, and a lot of compromise we finally took the plunge! We knew walking into the store (for the second time) that we most likely wanted white and raised back for the crib and we had a few favorites from our last visit. After a quick walk through we had it narrowed down to 3. Then I consulted my fabulous Baby Bargains book for safety ratings and whatnot and we made a decision. We ended up mixing pieces from two collections in the Baby's Dream family.

First, the Renaissance Convertible Crib and Book Case in Snowdrift (its not so white white in person):



Second, the Generation Next Double Dresser and Hutch in Snowdrift (which will be used as a changing station) and Toy Chest (pictured in maple but purchased in Snowdrift): 

 We are waiting to purchase the Glider until we are set on wall colors and crib bedding colors but we do have an idea of what we want.  The nursery is not going to have a "theme" per se. The colors will be purple and green, with Green walls (probably somewhere between lime and sage) and purple and green accessories. I really like paisley so I'm sure we will be using that. This is an idea of what we are thinking for the glider (with white piping instead of pink...I would like to do purple but we want to be able to use the Glider for the next baby which could very well be a little boy!)

I have looked and looked for crib bedding that fits my criteria: purple and green (this is the biggest issue...if only I wanted pink and green!), paisley or damask or some other similar print, and NO animals or large florals. We have decided we are probably going to have our bedding made and we are lucky enough to have a friend's mother in law that can probably do it for a good cost.

I can't wait to set up the nursery and Eric is ready to start painting!

23 Weeks

How the baby is growing:

This week Baby Girl W weighs just over a pound and measures a whopping 11 inches, about the size of a large mango! (Or the size of an over-inflated football for the next 2 weeks!)

How I am changing:

I am happy to report that I felt great all week...no sick days! I am feeling EXHAUSTED every day around 2 or 3 so that's no fun. All those liars who told me I would have so much energy and feel like super woman during the second trimester... :)

I am still growing like crazy in the belly department. (and thankfully only in the belly department!)

The Fun Stuff:

We were so productive last weekend! My good friend Chrisoula came to visit from Florida and we spent all day Saturday registering and shopping! We started the day at Buy Buy Baby where we finished registering for all of our new baby needs! This was quite a process. I had done a lot of research online and I brought my trusty Baby Bargains book but there is nothing like the real thing baby! We looked at so much and took the philosophy of register for anything you could possibly need. We certainly will not be buying everything off of our registry that isn't purchased for us but why not register for it. We had a few heated debates...I think it is absolutely necessary that we register for the Purple Babyjogger...Eric did not feel the same! ( I did compromise as he wanted the red one and I didn't like that...so we went with the mint Green...I will find a way to "girly" it up...don't worry!) The whole process actually took a few hours but Eric was really a good sport...he only had one mini meltdown. (For those of you who personally know Eric you know he LOATHES shopping...even grocery shopping...)

We then headed to the Baby Furniture Plus Kids Clearance Center and then to the showroom. In a much quicker process than I anticipated we actually picked out and purchased MOST of our nursery furniture! (Furniture post to follow)

After a very long and tiring day of registering and shopping we ended up at my moms house. Chrisoula wasn't our only visitor this weekend, Stephanie, Shawn, Josh, Jonathon, Jerilyn and Skylor made the long drive down from Iowa for a 5 day visit! We all packed into my moms house for a fish fry and BBQ. It was delicious and so nice to see some family!



22 Weeks

How the baby is growing:

This week Baby Girl W should weigh almost 1 pound (Again I say should as according to our ultrasound she was a little bigger than what the website I usually reference said she would be, not too much and the tech said she was perfect!) and measures about 11 inches, the length of a Spaghetti Squash! (Or about the size of an overinflated football for the next three weeks!)

This week our baby girl is really starting to look like a mini newborn!

How I am changing:

THANK YOU LORD JESUS I seem to be over the sickness hump! (knock on wood repeatedly!) For the last week I have genuinley felt BETTER! I don't feel instant nausea when I get out of bed, I have only had 1 random visit to the porcelan gods, I just feel BETTER! I also really feel like I am starting to gain weight much more rapidly, I am fully aware that this is going to happen it has just felt a little strange since I didnt gain a single pound in the first 14 weeks of my pregnancy! I just hope that now that Im gaining I am gaining an appropriate amount at an appropriate rate...I guess Ill find out when I go to the doctor today!



No other serious changes to report! (Although I did get a haircut yesterday!)

The fun stuff:

We are heading out again this weekend to look at furniture and HOPEFULLY we will at least purchase the big items. I think I have decided that I am going to try to have my crib bedding made. I am just not happy with the selection that is available to me and I have a friend whose mother in law made bedding for another friend at a totally reasonable price. Now I just have to find the right fabric! :)

The big question...

Since the day we found out that our little baby is a girl the first question out of everyones mouths has been: "Have you picked out a name?" The short answer is no...but there is also a long answer. We do have the name narrowed down to three choices. We love each one and we are working on adressesing the baby by each name to see which one fits. However....when we decide we are not going to share. We have decided to keep the babys name to ourselves until she is born. I have been persuaded to share the initials so my monogramming loving friends and family can buy fun personalized gifts (at their request!) but that is it! I am excited to have this special secret between just me and Eric and it will be so fun to announce her to the world for the first time when she is born! Sorry guys! :)

21 Weeks

How the baby is growing:

This week Baby GIRL W should weigh about 12 ounces ( I say should because we were told at the Ultrasound last Wednesday that she already weighs 13!) and measures about 10 1/2 inches long, about the length of a carrot! (or as long as a beer bottle!)

How I am changing:

Baby Girl W is really moving now. At first when I thought I felt the baby move it would be one little flutter and then nothing for a few days. Then I started feeling something everyday but only at night when I was laying down. Now I am feeling her move all day, whether I am laying down or standing up! It is so wonderful! Eric was finally able to feel her move as well and I am so happy I am able to share the experience with him.

(Waving Hi to Mom and Dad!)

There's an old wives's tale that says little girls steal your beauty...well...lets just say I should have known I was having a girl when I started teenager style breaking out the day I found out I was pregnant. Thankfully it has calmed down quite a bit now that my body is much more used to the surge of hormones but I am still breaking out way more than I used to. I guess its a small price to pay to have a beautiful little girl!

My belly is still growing strong! I think I have reached the point where there is no mistaking my pregnant belly! (which is nice since I previously just looked like I had a big lunch...)

Fun stuff:

We started shopping for nursery furniture last weekend and it was more than a little stressful! It seems like there are just so many options of styles and colors! We ran into a little roadblock immediately as Eric wanted raised back with dark wood and I wanted raised sides with white or off white finish. We didn't end up leaving the store with any purchases but we got a good idea of prices and we hope to make a final decision soon. We also came to a compromise that we would go with a raised back crib in a white or off white finish! Team work!

Drumroll please....

Baby W is.....a GIRL! We had our anatomy ultrasound last Wednesday and the tech felt very confident to tell us we are having a girl. We are so excited and I can't wait to start buying adorable little girl clothes and accessories...bring on the hair bows and headbands! We were able to get a lot of really great shots during the ultrasound but she was being a little stubborn so we were not really able to get a face shot. We aren't worried though, we know she will be beautiful! We are now narrowing down our name selections. We have it down to two but once we decide we are keeping it a secret! We are going to share the initials because it is a very big thing in the South to buy monogrammed baby gifts but that's it! We can't wait to meet you BABY GIRL W!



20 Weeks - halfway there!

How the baby is growing:

This week Baby W weighs about 10 1/2 ounces and measures around 6 1/2 inches from head to bottom and about 10 inches from head to heel, about the length of a banana (or apparently the size of one nice boob!). Up until week 20 babies legs are curled up against his or her torso and hard to measure so measurements are taken from head to rump, now that Baby W has more room to spread out we can measure from head to heal! Baby W is swallowing more and more and can now recognize different tastes! Baby W is starting to recognize tastes and will more easily eat things outside the womb that he or she tasted inside the womb...guess I better start eating more vegetables! ;)

How I am changing:

I felt pretty good this week, I think I only got sick once. My belly is still growing like crazy, I really need to find some maternity shorts that fit. I had one non-maternity pair that was low rise enough that I could still wear it...um...not anymore.

I'm feeling the Baby move more and more, hopefully Eric will feel it move soon!

We have our anatomy ultrasound tomorrow so assuming Baby W cooperates we will know the sex tomorrow! We started our Baby Registry at Babies R Us yesterday but we left a lot of things off because we wanted to wait to find out the sex before we picked a color or style. Next weekend we plan to register at Target and hopefully buy our nursery furniture.

We had a fabulous Fourth of July weekend. Although it did not include any boat or beach time like I would have liked we did get to spend some great quality time with friends and get a lot done around the house. Eric even got to feel his first baby in belly movement, our friend Jenye is 35 weeks and Baby Z was kicking like crazy at the baseball game...must be a fan!