23 Weeks!

Yeah, yeah I know I still owe my 22 week picture.  But it was just taken on Sunday so can I have a little slack?  I will try to post it tomorrow.

How far along?: 23 Weeks

How big is baby?:   Your baby is the size of a grapefruit!  Baby is starting to fill out this week with extra fat deposits.  And with her sense of movement well developed by now, your baby can feel you dance.  Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that your baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world.  She can now open her eyes and ears, fingernails and finger prints are fully developed.

Any appointments or updates this week?:  The next appointment is coming up on Monday!  As far as updates, I think I might have had my first Braxton Hicks contraction.  It was a few inches to the right of my belly button and felt like a muscle cramp.  I tried to massage it a little bit but that didn't do much good.  It hurt some but it went away after an hour or two.

Body changes?:  Just getting a little bit bigger. 

Maternity clothes?:  Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law I have a bunch of new clothes to wear!  She sent me some really cute things and I am excited to wear them all :)

Best moment last week?: Feeling the baby kicking a lot.  She loves hearing her daddy's voice.

Food cravings?: Still sweets!  Chocolate and ice cream and candy, oh my!

Symptoms?: Leg cramps, thirsty, hungry, trouble sleeping.

Exercise?: I went for a walk around my neighborhood on Sunday.  The weather outside was gorgeous and it felt great to get outside. 

What I miss?:  Not much.

What I'm looking forward to?: Getting the nursery painted and crib and furniture delivered.

What our little girl looks like this week:

 

Fixing Up Baby's Bathroom

Yes, you read that right.  Our baby girl is so spoiled that she already has her own bathroom.  Technically it will be the "Kids bathroom" once we have more kids, but for now it is just hers.  The other bedroom next door is currently my craft room.

I've been waiting to decorate it because I knew I would want to do some cute kid decorating.  The other day when I was in Target I found the most adorable furnishings and they were pink and green so they will match her nursery!  I was in love.

So on Saturday while my husband was at work I got busy decorating:

Pink and green owl soap dispenser

Adorable shower curtain

And then I broke out my pink tool kit:

The beauty of pink tools: they are cute and your husband is guaranteed to never use (or misplace) them!

Now why would I need tools to decorate a bathroom?  Well because I had bought a towel ring long ago for this bathroom and Saturday seemed like the perfect time to go ahead and install it.

The instructions said to use a drill to make the holes in the drywall but I just did the old fashioned pilot hole with a nail trick and it worked great!  I'm not very confident with power tools yet.

The finished product:

Baby's beautiful and girly bathroom!

Hello my name is Erin and I'm a Shopaholic

Haha at least I feel like one these days!  Between maternity clothes, craft supplies and and baby stuff I am wearing that AMEX out!  Good thing I'm pregnant so I basically get a free pass from the hubby :)

I am SO excited to share my latest purchase, it is seriously my favorite piece of maternity clothing that I have bought so far.  It all started when I was looking at all the different boutiques on Zulily and I stumbled on the Rosie Pope boutique.  I immediately loved all of the preppy, adorable clothes!  They were way more stylish than most maternity stuff I've seen.  I especially loved the style of this shirt:

Rosie Pope Palm Beach Tee

Unfortunately it was completely sold out!  So I tried looking on the Rosie Pope website...oh sure, it was there but only in size Large and for $48!  

I may be a shopaholic but I am always in search of a deal and there is no way that I would ever pay $48 for a maternity shirt, no matter how cute.

Luckily, with some additional searching I found the exact same shirt on Amazon for $24!  This time it was only in size XS and there was only one left.  What to do?  I rarely fit into an XS but Amazon has free returns so I went for it!  

I got the shirt today...

It fits and I love it!  It is really comfortable and cute at the same time.  The only thing that was different from what I expected was that the color was definitely more of a hot pink than a coral, but I still think it will look great with dress pants at work or jeans on the weekends.  (PS it looks a little weird in the picture around my stomach because I am wearing leggings.  My regular maternity pants have a smoother band.)  

Yay for at least one piece of maternity clothing that actually looks stylish!  Now does anyone want to buy me more Rosie Pope clothes?  (The website is www.rosiepope.com ... you will see what I mean about the ridiculous prices, unfortunately!)  

Update: I just found this same shirt available in white on Gilt for $24!  It's there in size XS and M right now.  I'm sooo tempted to buy another one, that's how much I love this one!

Baby Burp Cloths: How To

If you have a sewing machine, you can make these fun and easy baby burp cloths.  They are perfect for a homemade gift for someone who is expecting or just had a baby, or for yourself. 

This style and shape of burp cloth is perfect for putting on your shoulder while you burp the baby, but of course they are also great rags for all the cleaning up that you will surely do with a little one.

What you need:
1 yard of flannel fabric, any cute pattern is great
coordinating color of thread
sewing machine
scissors
pins

Step 1: Fold your flannel fabric in half, so that the pattern is on the inside.  Pin the pattern to both pieces of fabric, so that you will be cutting out two pieces.

I used some already cut pieces as a new "pattern" because the flannel sticks together.

You can usually get 3-4 burp cloths out of 1 yard of fabric.

Step 2: Sew around the edge of the fabric, about 1/4" in from the edge.  Leave an opening 4-5" long on one side of the fabric.  *I like to put a pin in each side of the opening to remind myself to stop in the right spot where I am sewing.

You can see my pins in the top center of the fabric.  This is where the opening is.

Close up of this step

 Step 3: Flip the fabric inside out so that the right side is facing out. 

You can see the open side is on the bottom now.

 Step 4:  Turn under the raw edges of the open side and pin them together to close the opening.  Try to turn in as much fabric as possible, to make it easier to sew it together. 

Step 5: Sew the edge of the fabric, starting with the pinned opening.  Be sure to sew close to the edge to catch the fabric and close up the opening.  Then sew 1/4" around the rest of the burp cloth.

Sew close to the edge when you are closing the opening, so the fabric stays closed.

If you are using a more simple pattern or just want a fun look, you can try other stitches such as a zig zag on the top stitching part.

Zig zags make this polka dot pattern more fun

The finished product!  A simple, cute burp cloth.

You can really have fun with all the different prints and patterns available at the fabric store.  I recommend buying at least 2 different prints so that you can mix and match and give out a few of each. 

Tons of cute fabrics!

These are so easy and quick to make, I turned these all around in a few hours.

I typically give these away in a pack of three, along with a shower gift or cute baby outfit.  You can tie a ribbon around them to dress them up:

For a baby boy

For a girly girl

 If you want to try these, the pattern is available here along with basic instructions.  If you want to use the cute chevron gift tags, you can download a free printable here.  I recommend printing them on card stock.

22 Weeks!

One more week has flown by, can you believe it?

How far along?: 22 Weeks

How big is baby?:   Your baby is the size of a banana squash (what is that?) or a papaya.  At 11 inches  and almost 1 pound, your baby is starting to look like a miniature newborn. Her lips, eyelids, and eyebrows are becoming more distinct, and she's even developing tiny tooth buds beneath her gums.  Her eyes have formed, but her irises (the colored part of the eye) still lack pigment.  Her pancreas is developing steadily this week.

Any appointments or updates this week?:  No, the next one isn't until a week from Monday.

Body changes?:  Not much.

Maternity clothes?:  Oh yes!  They are way more comfortable and fit better than any of my regular clothes at this point.  Even most of my pre-pregnancy sweaters and camis just aren't long enough. 

Best moment last week?:  On Sunday we went to the furniture store and ordered the baby's crib, dresser and night stand.  It should be here in 3-4 weeks!

Food cravings?: Too many sweets.  I think I might have overdosed the other night!  I had Oreos, cake and ice cream all in one evening.  Oops...

Symptoms?: Still having some trouble sleeping comfortably all night.  Leg/foot cramps don't help.

Exercise?: I went to a yoga class on Saturday, but unfortunately the class was a little too intense, even though I did some modifications and took breaks.  I ended up with a lot of soreness later that day.  Luckily it went away by the next day but from now on I guess I have to take it easier. 

What I miss?:  Having a glass of red wine if I want one. 

What I'm looking forward to?: Working on the nursery and other craft projects!  

What our little girl looks like this week:

Belated Bump Pics!

I've been terrible about keeping up with my "official" weekly bump pictures!  I do have a reason though...Art recently set up my rebuilt computer (yes, he is a computer geek and whenever my computer dies he rebuilds it for me) and my photo processing software is all still on his computer.  So I have to remember to get on his computer to upload and edit my pictures.  But anyway, the main thing is that I finally have some to share!

Here is my very belated official 20 week pic:

I can't believe how big I am!  

And here is week 21, from tonight.  It has been a very chilly weekend (I won't say cold so I don't offend any Northerners!) and this was right after we went to a Magic basketball game.

I did some other fun stuff this weekend, like make 8 burp cloths (pictures and a tutorial coming later this week!) and we also went to the store and ordered our baby's bedroom set!  We are getting the crib, dresser and a nightstand to go next to the glider.  It should be arriving in 3-4 weeks, I can't wait!  So now the pressure's on to pick out paint colors so that we can get the room painted before the furniture gets here.  I can't believe things are actually coming together, it doesn't feel real.  Oh and I picked up some cute decorations for her bathroom too!  Pictures coming soon, I can't wait to get it all set up.  

Much love!

So Much To Do!

I'm 21 weeks and 3 days, only 130 days to go!  It might seem like a lot of time left but I know it's going to fly by.  I have so many things that I've been wanting to do before the baby comes; both fun things and things that will help us to be more organized when she arrives.  I know once she gets here we will be so busy there is no way we will get to a lot of this stuff. 

Here's my to-do list so far.  I completely realize that I will probably be lucky to get half of this stuff done.  Hopefully posting it here will help me get a handle on it and I can keep chipping away at it in the next 130 days.

Home Stuff
-Finish organizing my closet
-Finish unpacking/decorating the bedroom (since we just moved in December it's still a bit disheveled)
-Unpack/organize/decorate the guest room
-Install IKEA shelves in the office and unpack the rest of the office stuff
-Clean up the formal living/dining room area (currently being used as a storage/furniture building area)
-Organize the craft room
-Finish organizing the baby's bathroom
-Install a utility sink in the laundry room and possibly a counter and shelves

Preparing for the Baby
-Create our baby registry
-Order the crib and dresser
-Get the nursery painted and decorated, with everything set up and organized
-Sew crib bedding and window treatment
-Read 1-2 baby care books (Baby 411 and What to Expect: The First Year)
-Read 1-2 breastfeeding books
-Do 1-2 freezer cooking sessions so that we will have a month's worth of meals on hand and already prepared (I have done this before, so I know I am capable of it, as long as I don't get too tired of being on my feet)

That's all I can think of so far.  What else am I forgetting?

And, here's my weekly update:

How far along?: 21 Weeks

How big is baby?:   Your baby is the size of a butternut squash! Your baby now weighs about 15 ounces and is 11" long.  You may soon feel like she's practicing martial arts as her initial fluttering movements turn into full-fledged kicks and nudges. You may also discover a pattern to her activity as you get to know her better. In other developments, your baby's eyebrows and lids are present now, and her vagina has begun to form as well.

Any appointments or updates this week?:  No

Body changes?: The bump is still growing :)

Maternity clothes?:  Yep, it's pretty much all I wear now.  I love my new Gap maternity jeans!  I can still wear some pre-pregnancy sweaters but everything else isn't quite long enough for my belly. 

Best moment last week?:  Deciding on our crib and bedroom set

Food cravings?:  Ice cream, girl scout cookies and all kinds of chocolate candy!  Oh and fettucini alfredo...yummmm!

Symptoms?: I haven't had any acid reflux this week, thank goodness.  I've been avoiding spicy food and marinara sauce.  My leg cramps are still waking me up at night.  And the numbness in my left leg really bothers me sometimes.  All of a sudden it can feel like water is running down my leg or worse, a burning sensation.  Art googled it and we found out that this is something called meralgia paresthetica.  Apparently it is caused by compression of a nerve that supplies sensation to the skin surface of the thigh.   I have been trying to sleep on my right side to see if it helps shift the baby away from that side, but it's hard to sleep that way.  I've noticed it's been getting harder and harder to get comfortable at night.

Exercise?: I didn't get a chance to go to yoga this week but I did go for a walk.  I'm hoping to go to a yoga class this weekend.

What I miss?:  Sleeping all the way through the night - yep, still this from last time.

What I'm looking forward to?: Getting my fabric swatches in the mail and getting to start working on my craft/sewing projects!

Have a great weekend, everyone!