Brainstorming the Baby's Room

When Sam and I found out the baby is going to be a girl, I set to work planning her nursery. Similar to our dining room brainstorming post, I wanted to give you an idea of how Sam and I will be decorating Molly's room.

A lot of friends and fam were asking us about what theme we'll be using in Molly's room. Until recently, a "theme" wasn't really a part of our planning process. Our biggest goal with this room is that we establish a strong base that will grow with Molly and that we won't need to change it up too much in a few years when she transitions to her "big girl" room.  With that being said, I'd like to say that there will be a unifying trend of colorful accents and safari animals, but I don't think Molly's room is going to scream theme.


Wall Color

2 gallons of Behr White Peach Semi-Gloss Zero VOC paint at $28 per gallon from The Home Depot
One coat down and touch-ups and a closet to go. We also bought a gallon on white semi-gloss paint to paint the trim.

Source: homedepot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Decor

Copper contact paper circles
The moment I saw Baby Ruby's nursery in Design*Sponge and on her mama's blog, Oh Joy, I fell in love! Using copper metallic contact paper and a circle cutter, Joy put copper dots around her daughters room, which gives it a touch of whimsy without being too baby-ish. Bonus points - the contact paper doesn't damage the walls. Woot! 

Source: designsponge.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Elephants!!!
So, somewhere in the recent past, I became slightly obsessed with elephants in decor, specifically decor for the Molly's room. Instead of going elephant CRAZY, we're planning on doing a few other safari animals, as well. So be on the look out for monkeys, giraffes, and lions, too!

Source: urbanoutfitters.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: urbanoutfitters.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: anthropologie.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: indg.ca via Rachel on Pinterest

DIY Projects
For those of you that followed my adventures in wedding planning and playing house, you know I love a good DIY project. How cool would it be if Molly was able to tell her friends in the future that her mama made her something special that she really loved. 

Chalkboard on the bedroom or closet door
I really want Molly to have a space to be creative and display her artwork and you know that I love chalkboards. LOVE THEM. So it makes perfect sense that Sam and I are going to create a magnetic chalkboard on her bedroom or closet door. Rustoleum has a that can make a space magnetic and then you paint over it with chalkboard paint.

Source: soulemama.typepad.com via Deirdre on Pinterest

Crib mobile
Ooh the options! Ribbons, paper dots, poms. . . I love the idea of making Molly her mobile, something she'd look at before and after dozing off. My only concern is that Bonnie and Clyde don't see the mobile as a hanging cat toy. . .

Source: twsst.wordpress.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: designdazzle.blogspot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Source: etsy.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Furniture

Ikea Gulliver Crib/Toddler Bed - It received good safety and quality reviews and costs just $99.
Sam purchased this crib back in February and put it together with his brother, Daniel. When we announced the pregnancy to our friends at our Chilifest, we had them bring their coats upstairs and put them in the baby's room where they noticed our newest piece of furniture before coming downstairs to see our first ultrasound picture on the dining room table. Subtle, am I right?

Source: ikea.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Ikea 6-drawer Malm Dresser and changing table in one! $179
Instead of buying a separate changing table and a dresser, we decided we wanted to multitask with a dresser that would grow with the baby that also could be used as a changing table. What do people do with changing tables once their kids outgrow them, anyways?

Source: ikea.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Bergamo Glider and Ottoman - Available at Babies R Us
Sam's sister and brother-in-law bought us this fabulous glider to help us get through late night feedings comfortably. Such an awesome gift and super comfortable on this mama in training's back!

Source: toysrus.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Ikea Expedit 4-Cube Storage for $39.99
Baby's toys and books will find a home stacked or in colorful storage bins in this shelving unit that may also double as a side table for the glider.

Source: ikea.com via Rachel on Pinterest

So that's what we're thinking for Molly's room. We've started the painting in the room, but have a loooong way to go before the room is ready for Molly to use. I might post some of the before and getting started photos and keep you apprised of our progress. Thanks for checking in and if you have any ideas for Molly's room, please send them our way!!

Getting Crafty on a Saturday - Accordion Hooks Get a Facelift

I like weekend projects and I was feeling antsy at home last weekend, so I needed a project. Insert the accordion hooks my Mom sent down a while back. I hung it over our kitchen appliance cart to hang our keys and whatnot, and while super utilitarian, the hooks weren't really adding to the aesthetics of our kitchen.  

Boring.

So my little sister and I ventured to Home Depot to pick up a fun, sunny yellow spray paint in a gloss finish and primer before heading back to the house to get our craftiness on.

Source: homedepot.com via Rachel on Pinterest

Spray painting has a lot of fumes, which isn't safe for mamas-in-training, such as myself. So, this entire project was completed outside, where we had plenty of ventilation and I wore a face mask to be doubly safe. I layed out a flattened cardboard box that I used during my trunk spray painting project from last fall and got to work. First, I did a quick once over the hooks with a sandpaper block to rough up the smooth finish and help the primer and paint cling to the surface.

Once sanded, I did a few light coats of primer. This was my first experience with primer and I won't lie, I felt pretty legit adding that extra step to my work. DIY experts always seem to work with primer.

Priming the hooks. 

Safety first!

While waiting for the primer to dry, I decided to do some pruning in the front yard. Our azaleas were growing wide and blocking parts of our sidewalk, so I decided to do some shaping with my pruning sheers.

Pruning like a boss!

Quite the sight for the neighbors.

Not much later I was back to work spray painting the hooks my sun-shiny yellow. I tried hard to do very thin, even coats so the paint didn't drip.

Three coats and a few hours of curing later, we had this guy, which looks pretty awful here, but hanging in the kitchen?

Much better!

Bonnie digs it.

It hasn't been lost on me that my painting tee shirt matches the spray paint I chose for the hooks. However, I realized this after the project was finished. So more sun-shiny yellow for everyone!

It's a. . .

GIRL! Sam and I are pleased to introduce you to Molly Eloise!

Good golly, Miss Molly!

Sam and I had our 20 week ultrasound last Thursday, which was an exciting event because we knew there was a good chance we'd find out the gender of Baby.  Our ultrasound tech spent about 5 minutes measuring Baby's legs and looking for toes before she started looking around at Baby's bottom. At that point my heart started to race. Right before the tech said anything, I saw what I needed to see to know and I squeezed Sam's hand. The tech quickly confirmed my conclusions and said we're having a little girl, without a doubt. Queue the waterworks!

It took a while, but we got a picture of our baby girl's face.

At 20 weeks, Molly is measuring four days small, or at around 19 weeks 3 days. (The doctor said that's totally fine.) She's about 6.5 inches long and weighs about 10.5 ounces. Her heart rate was measuring at 157 beats per minute. 

Despite being so wee, like her mama, we had a hard time getting a glamour shot of Molly's face, because at various times she was squished right up or she was playing peek a boo with her hands and feet right in front of her face. 

No more pictures! Molly curled right up and put her little hands and feet in front of her face.

The excitement of finding out we were having a baby girl quickly settled in and evolved to what I can only describe as contentment. I am so incredibly happy to know that Sam and I are going to have the opportunity to raise a smart, beautiful little lady. Sam sent me messages all day saying how weird, yet awesome it was to refer to the baby as "my daughter" and that he already found a science camp in our area.* Seeing Sam's excitement and happiness over our little girl made my heart swell all the more. At 20 weeks, we're halfway to meeting her and we can't wait!

*Sam from the very beginning wanted a little girl because he doesn't think there are enough female scientists in this world.   If she is half as inquisitive as Sam is then we're well on our way to raising a little astrophysicist. ;)

19 Weeks - Surviving the First Trimester

*Baby is 19 weeks and growing! Once again, I've started these weekly pregnancy posts to keep my friends and fam in the loop.

18.5 weeks - Pointy belly and a new haircut!

I'd heard all the horror stories relating to morning (all day) sickness during the first trimester of pregnancy and I braced myself for the worst of it after we found out we were having a baby. Whatever was going to happen, I was mentally prepared for it. . . sorta

Morning Sickness
I read that morning sickness and the early symptoms of pregnancy can hit you anywhere between 5-8 weeks of your pregnancy and likely last through the end of your first trimester. Lucky for me (head shake), we were in Paris during my fifth week of pregnancy, when I was getting very little sleep, eating very rich foods, and walking around all day. I didn't feel that bad at first, despite  running on adrenaline and fumes. . . until day 4 of our trip when we visited the Louvre and my week long bout with nausea hit me with full force. Somehow, the mixture crowds of people racing to the Mona Lisa and the smells of the ancient Egyptian exhibit did not mix well for me and I started to experience cold sweats, dizziness, and nausea. I was horrified at the thought of losing it in front of the Venus de Milo, so Sam and I tried to make a bee-line for the exit/sortie. Our attempt  to find the exit took us 45 torturous minutes because part of the chateau was under construction and required significant detours to get to the exit. Man, the French were begging for a sick American on their hands. Thankfully, once we were able to get outside and breathe in the cool air, I was able to regain my composure and manage the walk to meet to my friend, Julia, her three month old son, and the Eiffel Tower for lunch.

Part of the big reveal to our parents! C/O my dear friend, Julia.
I spent this morning feeling pretty darn awful when this was taken.

Julia is a DC friend of mine that had moved to Germany a few years ago. Lucky for us, Julia, her baby, and her hubby, Josh, were in Paris for New Years, too and after Josh returned to Germany for work, Julia and her little one took Paris by storm. I let Julia in on our secret and she agreed to be our accomplice and take some pictures of us in front of the Eiffel Tower with our due date.

I told Julia about the sudden onset of nausea and my concern that my first trimester was going to hit me hard, despite my "mental preparedness". Having just gone through pregnancy herself, she said that she generally felt ok during her first trimester so long as she got enough sleep and ate what she could. I knew not all women have that experience, but I appreciated the advice and made a mental note to give it a shot. During the rest of our trip to Paris, I ate a lot of toast, drank a lot of water, and tried to get to sleep before 4 am. The nausea always hit me at inconvenient times, but Sam and I were respectful of it and took lots of breaks.

Sleep was much harder to come by in Paris. I never adjusted to the different time zone and my body was wide awake until 4 am each night. I'm sure this didn't help the nausea situation. By the time we got back home from our travels, my body was exhausted and the nausea seemed pretty constant. However/thankfully, once I got back on a normal sleep schedule (i.e. within four days after we got home), I felt like a completely different person. Yes, I still got a wave of nausea here and there, but as long as I ate a granola bar and was well rested (i.e. I went to bed at 8 pm), I was fine within a matter of minutes. Julia, you are a pregnancy genius!


Tiredness
I was definitely exhausted for several weeks of my first trimester. The extreme sleepiness was something my sister experienced during her pregnancy and I figured since we were twins, there was a good chance I'd feel that way too. And I did feel tired, but where my sister's sleepiness would hit her at any time, mine thankfully waited til I got home from work each night. There were several nights where I'd pass out on the couch, drooling into a throw pillow or be passed out for the night at 8:30 pm having only gotten home at 7 pm. Dishes and laundry were done when Sam had time to do them or on the weekends when I was feeling up to it.

Food Aversions and Cravings
It was difficult to follow Julia's advice to keep eating when no foods looked good to me for a few weeks. It's not that I was grossed out by food, but it was that I had no desire to eat it. Nothing I ate looked or tasted good. Most days I made myself eat just to stave off the nausea and make sure Baby was getting some nutrients, but the lack of enjoyment while eating was a bit of a bummer though.

I wasn't always bummed out about food; I did have a few weird cravings along the way for a variety of different foods. Sometimes, all I had to do was read about someone else eating a food to want some strange food. Scents also set me off. On our way home from Paris, a couple in front of us was eating sour cream and onion Pringles and with one whiff, I was desperate to have them. We weren't able to get a canister on our flight (sob), but they had mini canisters at the CVS next to my office, which I picked up and nommed on every day for a week.  The randomness of my cravings didn't end with Pringles. Over time, I also craved blueberry Pop-Tarts, chocolate milk, jelly beans, watermelon, and swiss cheese.

How I'm feeling now
Several weeks into my second trimester, I can happily report that I feel great!* I never got physically ill during my first trimester and while I still experience a wee bit of nausea every morning when we leave the house for work, I just eat a granola bar or crackers and move on with my day. Way to go me!

I'm definitely less tired than I was. I can now make it to 10:30 on a week night and not live to regret it the next day! Also, the dishes manage to get done. Not the laundry though. I hate laundry.

Also, my food aversions are definitely gone. Woot! I am a walking, talking Hungry, Hungry Hippo commercial. I've actually taken to calling my tum "hippo". Don't mess with the hippo when it's hungry!!  ;) Nom nom nom!

*I've probably jinxed myself by saying that, huh? Sam and I have agreed to take our family one kid at a time, but any time I mention the relative ease of my first trimester, I think of the other mamas that didn't have it so easy and understand that if we decide on Number 2, I could really be in for it. . . I'm lucky and I am so thankful for it!

17 Weeks - Nope. We're not having twins.

*I'm trying a new experiment: one new baby-related post each week. Here's hoping I can keep it up!

Baby is 17 weeks today! According to all the baby websites, its about the size of my hand and is the same weight as a turnip. (Note to self, go to the store and pick up a turnip.) My bump continues to be large and in charge. So large in fact, a former colleague of mine asked me if I was having twins earlier this week. . . um, no. Definitely not.

17 weeks/Just over 4 months - I call this my "If Lana Del Ray was pregnant and a little person" look

Thrown by this question, I really pondered why my colleague, a mother herself, would ask me such a question. (Aren't there etiquette books out there that have a list of things you never say to someone expecting a child?!) My rationalization process took me to two conclusions:

1. For those of you that are close to me, you know that I have an identical twin sister; so I initially ventured to guess that my twin status is what my colleague had in mind when she asked if I was having twins as opposed to me looking like I am carrying twins. 
   
2. I have been telling myself that people tend to forget is that I am a wee person carrying a normal-sized baby. At 5'2 on a tall day and with a short little torso, there is no place for my normal-sized baby to go but out. It is because of my relative wee-ness that my bump might look bigger than a normal-sized mama's. 

These conclusions have become my daily mantras that I repeat whenever I get a little overwhelmed by my changing body. . .so everyday.

Next week, I'll give you some insight into how the dreaded first trimester went. ;)

Spilling the beans!

Allo! So. . . it's been a while since I've done an update on our house projects and, to be perfectly honest, the house looks a lot like it did in January. (Except for the hole in the dining room ceiling, which we got fixed the DAY before our First Annual Chilifest!) House projects have generally been at a standstill because we've been focused on our latest crafty endeavor, our first child!

Oh hey there! Baby at 12 weeks 5 days
It looks like he or she is sticking out their tongue, doesn't it? :)

Sam and I received an early Christmas gift when we found out about the baby and since I am the worst at keeping private things private (huge oversharer), I avoided Facebook and the blog to prevent myself from spilling the beans.

I'm currently navigating my way through the second trimester with the fastest growing bump known to man! Baby is due at the end of August, but there are days where I feel like he or she looks like they could get here much, much sooner. The nurse practitioner at my doctor's office says that the baby is growing just fine and attributes my bump to how small I am, but someone should let my avocado-sized kid on that information.

My bump 3 weeks ago at 13.5 weeks!

Sam and I are sharing the baby news on the interwebs now, but I must say that this decision comes with a lot of hesitation and debate. There is a thin line between keeping our family and friends informed about our lives and over-sharing our lives. I want to make sure that I protect the baby's privacy since he or she doesn't have a say in what we put on the web. You might catch a glimpse here and there of what our kiddo is up to as he or she grows, but for the most part, we'll be sharing baby's pictures in private photo albums on Picasa or another photo-sharing site to keep our closest family and friends in the baby loop. I do plan to update the blog with our plans for the baby's room, baby-proofing the house, and how our lives are changing to make space for our little one though, so keep your eyes out for those posts!

I can explain!

It's been a while. Lo siento. I promise there are good reasons beyond the holidays, traveling to Paris over New Years, and catching a gnarly cold literally a week after we got back. For one thing, it's been difficult to get back into a groove this month, which means house projects have been non-starters/stalled. I had big plans of getting the hole in the dining room patched before our first annual Chili Fest next month and I have serious doubts that will actually happen in the near future. Sad.

In an effort to jumpstart my motivation, Sam and I took a trip to Ikea this morning to pick up a gift for our friends, Ryan and Mari, whom are expecting a wee one come March and to get a for real TV stand for us. That's right, friends! Goodbye to the bookshelves that have been. . .er, gracing our living room since we moved in. No longer will we have a shelf-less bookshelf be the focal point of our living room!

Somewhere, there is a baby looking at this picture and wailing.

What did we pick up to replace it with, pray tell? We got the handy, dandy Expedit bookshelf for $70. We like that it has lots of space for storage for our DVDs and board games and since its so open, we won't have any problems accessing it. Win! I suppose the irony kicks in when you realize that its a bookshelf and that we tipped it on its side to be the tv stand. . . whatevs.

Source: ikea.com via Rachel on Pinterest

I'll post a picture of the new set-up soon, but right now the lighting isn't great in the living room, so it would be a waste of a picture. Also, I have some organizing and de-cluttering to do. We store most of our DVDs in binders, a project we did years ago, and I want to pick up a new binder so we can organize some of our stray DVDs and clear more space on the shelves.

Source: google.com via Rachel on Pinterest

The old bookshelves are on Craigslist right now and will be given to the first person that can get them out of my sight. Since its midnight, I won't be responding to any of the emails that come in until morning, but I do love seeing lots of interested people are ready to take them off our hands. One person even said they would treat the shelves "preciously". I appreciate their buyer tactics, but really? I put them on craigslist for free. I could care less how you treat them. Just take them away!!