The Great Crib Search

Thanks to Pinterest, I had my future's baby's crib picked out before I even had a husband picked out. OK, not really, but I always knew I wanted a Jenny Lind style crib. All the cute vintage nurseries on Pinterest always have Jenny Lind cribs, and I thought it would be the perfect size for our tiny little baby room. I was tossing around the idea of getting a black one, or even a white one and painting it some fabulous, bright color. However, I guess I forgot that I have a husband who also has opinions of his own, and he was definitely not in the Jenny Lind camp. He thought they looked too "old" (isn't that the point?) and dated. We kind of went back and forth about it for a while, but eventually decided just to get one (and go against his modern design taste) because they are the cheapest cribs out there.



But then, we got some awesome news! My mom came over and told us she wanted to buy our crib, and her budget was bigger than ours. This opened a whole new can of worms and gave us many more crib possibilities. We had to start our crib search from scratch. I had a couple crib "must haves" that I wasn't willing to give on. They were:
-Crib had to be white
-Made out of real wood (not pressed wood or "wood material" like some of the cheap ones)
-Have a non-toxic finish/paint
-Convert to a toddler bed

Jacob really likes bigger, more modern furniture, so he was kind of rooting for a crib like this:



I am not fond of this style because I think the crib looks too big and would take over the little room. It also wouldn't match the vintage dresser and decor we already have purchased.

I thought maybe we could compromise and go for something modern with clean lines but that wasn't too big. We started looking at cribs like this:



But for some reason I just couldn't get over the brown legs.

We decided to bag the whole looking for cribs online thing and head out to Baby's R Us to see these suckers in person. Lo and behold, we found the perfect crib hidden between two dressers. We both freaked when we saw it... it is the perfect mixture of both of our design tastes.
It is a classic, mission style crib with clean lines and is not too big and bulky. However, it has a really modern element to it and meets every single one of our prerequisites.



Found here at Babies R Us:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11405319

It is so perfect... we can't wait for it to come!

Coming Together: Ending the Nursery Blues

For a while there, I was starting to get real worried. There's nothing worse than looking at a beautifully painted room unused and full of crap. Especially when you're married to a Type A clean freak who doesn't stop reminding you of the nursery's dire condition. Don't get me wrong--I have always been anxious to get cracking on the baby's living quarters. However, without the crib I felt like I couldn't move forward with the design (it's kind of the focal point of the room) and we didn't really have the funds to make such a big purchase. [Insert excited mother/grandmother and her generous offer to buy us our dream crib.]

We were through the roof excited, and my mom actually took us on Saturday morning to order the princess bed from Baby's R Us. It should be here in about 7-10 days, and as soon as that happens I can fill the room with beautiful vintage tchotchkes and old school fairy tale books. See next post for the big crib reveal!

In the mean time, I have still been busy with as many crafts as I can get my hands on. So far I have finished the curtains, hung them up, made the entire tissue paper flower mobile, and painted the chandelier and hung it up. I have also gathered all of the necessary knick knacks for the gallery wall. All that's left to do is purchase a changing table and get the custom crib bedding from a lovely friend who is sewing it for us.

Well, without further introduction, here are the nursery pretties I have been working on as of late. Can't wait to see the final product come together. Stay tuned!

These are the fabrics I decided on for the crib bedding. All three fabrics will be in the crib skirt, and then the two that are together in the photos will be used as big bows that I am attaching to the plain white eyelet crib bumper I purchased (3 bucks at Goodwill. SCORE!).





This is what our new and improved Ikea chandelier looks like (Thanks to my mother-in-law Sally for surprising us with it). I painted it with acrylic paint (pictured below) and then spray painted it with a high gloss clear coat. Jacob cut the wires to make it hang at the perfect height.





Can't forget the DIY no-sew curtains (thank you to Young House Love for the sweet tutorial). I don't have a sewing machine at my house, so I used hem tape to make these easy curtains with some fun fabric (that's also used in the crib skirt). I think the yellow looks awesome against the light teal walls, and these are just the perfect length. I also painted the drapery clips pink.





Check out this sweet before and after. Crazy what a can of spray paint can do! (And for those of you who are crafty DIYers out there, or at least want to try and become one, Fred Meyer has the best spray paint selection! It's a treasure trove.)





And of course, we can't forget about those tissue paper flowers. Now, these things are actually pretty snazzy. I made a bunch of colors (I made a couple practice ones with purple tissue paper, but they won't be used in the nursery). After I made 10 or so, I was starting to whip them out like hot cakes. They are so fun and easy to make.




Thanks for keeping up with these fun projects I am working on. I have turned into a major craftolholic diva, and am proud of how most of these little guys have turned out. Can't wait to keep sharing more with you!

Symptoms Explained

There are some people out there who think I am deciding not to work out of pure laziness. Sorry to break it to you, but that is definitely not the case. My husband and I have decided to stick to doctor's orders and I will not be working for my health and the health of our baby. Having a healthy, on-time baby girl in our hands is absolutely worth being on a tighter budget for the time being. I have full faith in my doctor, and I believe that this is what needs to be done in order to prevent pre-term labor, and hopefully put an end to the constant bleeding and miserableness I have been struggling with through this entire pregnancy.

Here is some info on what I am currently dealing with:

High blood pressure during pregnancy poses various risks, including:

* Decreased blood flow to the placenta. This reduces the baby's supply of oxygen and nutrients, potentially slowing the baby's growth and increasing the risk of a low birth weight.
* Placental abruption. With this condition, the placenta prematurely separates from the uterus. Placental abruption can deprive the baby of oxygen and cause heavy bleeding in the mother.
* Premature delivery. Sometimes an early delivery is needed to prevent potentially life-threatening complications.

(taken from MayoClinic.com)

Now, in regards to the possible early c-section/induction:

Your doctor may have you take medicine if he or she thinks your blood pressure is too high.

The only cure for preeclampsia is having the baby. You may get medicines to lower your blood pressure and to prevent seizures. You also may get medicine to help your baby’s lungs get ready for birth. Your doctor will try to deliver your baby when the baby has grown enough to be ready for birth. But sometimes a baby has to be delivered early to protect the health of the mother or the baby as high blood pressure can be extremely dangerous. If this happens, your baby will get special care for premature babies.

(taken from webMD.com)

First diy

Since I have lots of time at home to relax, I have decided to take on a couple DIY projects to get this nursery rolling. Right now it's a painted room filled with a bunch of baby crap, so I am eager to get the decor started and turn it into a beautiful little girl oasis.

I stumbled across this amazing mobile on Pinterest and decided to give it a go. So far today I have made two pom poms, and only one looks half way decent. These DIY bloggers make it look so easy!
Well, wish me luck. Can't wait to show you guys the final project.

Isn't this so cute?



http://www.sawdustandembryos.com/2011/05/nursery-tissue-paper-mobile-and.html

Happy Belated New Year (from the three of us)

Our family (and my belly) is growing...so excited to live out God's plan for our lives during 2012. Hope you are too!

six months and feeling super!

Okay, I may not be feeling super, but I was trying to think of some great alliteration for this blog post title (fail). The past couple months have been such a whirlwind and I have been terrible about posting on here (sorry guys). I know a lot of my friends and family members have been asking me where the posts are, so here I am. It's 11:00 on a Tuesday night and I really should be cuddling in my cozy bed with my husband right now, so this probably won't be too long.

...let's see, where to start.

UMMM... FIRST OF ALL,DID I MENTION WE ARE HAVING A BABY GIRL????? WE ARE BEYOND THRILLED!!!

Second of all, I am not currently working. After lots of spotting (ick/ouch), going in to pre-term labor, crazy cramping, and passing out a couple times at work, my doctor officially cut me off. I went back to her twice asking her for a note to go back part time, but it was to no avail. She feels that with my high blood pressure and other issues I should make a conscious effort to stay off my feet. She even recommended that I don't do any sort of exercise, even walking! It was a hard adjustment at first, but I know that it is better for both my health and the health of the baby. Only a couple months til our little girl is with us.

She also mentioned the possibility of a C-section (ick/ouch again). Jacob and I kind of got married to the idea of a natural birth, but I guess it's nice that we get to mentally prepare ourselves instead of having to go into an emergency c-section and being stressed out of our minds. It's hard to have a regular labor with crazy high blood pressure, and mine has been doing nothing but going up every single week. Also, if my placenta does not move (right now it's covering part of my cervix) then there is no way I can deliver vaginally. I am praying every day though that God will heal my body, cause I am kind of dreading a giant cut in my abdomen.

Our little baby girl has been doing aerobics in my uterus lately. I just can't believe how much movement I am feeling--she must be super hyper! At my last appointment, the nurse couldn't believe how much movement she was feeling from the outside. She even called some of the others gals in just so they could feel it--I guess she's moving around a lot for it being this early.

In other news, Jacob and I are both wonderfully happy. It's kind of crazy, but even through all of this physical stress and these financial worries, God has covered our house with an amazing peace. We are both filled with so much joy and complete confidence that we are covered with God's grace, blessings, and favor as we move into this new season in our life. He has been so good to both of us, and continues to provide even when we think there is no way things will work out.

I am pretty sure we have chosen a name for the little one. We are both thrilled about it, but won't be making any official announcements until she is born. (Warning: it's the most amazing/beautiful/awesome name ever)

Thanks for reading guys. :)

Oh, and here is a quick almost-six-months pic before I forget. I refuse to post these on my facebook, so I guess i'll just slip one in here. I am actually feeling a lot smaller than I thought I would feel this far into the pregnancy.