Baby Projects Revealed

I'm finally finished with all my baby projects! I decided to make as much as I could this time around. I didn't know how to sew or have a sewing machine when James was born and ended up paying some ridiculous amounts of money for silly things like boppy covers and bedding sets. I only had to purchase a few yards of fabric for all of this since I had most of it in my stash already. There is something to be said for a good stash of fabric.

 I'm so happy with how everything has turned out and I'm so excited to be ready for the baby!

 The necessities! 

 The color is sort of off in this, but I really love how it turned out! Plus it cost me a fraction of what a good quilt would cost at the store.

I love this ruffle crib skirt! I followed this tutorial here for the most part. I decided to save myself a little fabric and tie it to the crib instead of the traditional bed panel.

I made a TON of these nursing pads using this tutorial. I used the color fabric I had because no one sees these anyway. I also made them much larger than the ones I bought last time. They are soft flannel on the bottom and I used cloth diapers for the absorbent part.

 I did a couple makeovers for some older things I was given. The picture doesn't really show it, but the playmat was filthy and old. It had some sort of plastic or cardboard in it that made it impossible to wash. I had had these cute fabric squares pre-cut and sitting in my stash for years just waiting for a purpose. So glad I finally found one! I lined the back with fleece so it doubles as a blanket when not connected to the poles!

The cover on the swing was plastic and not very comfy looking, so I made a slip cover and got this JJ Cole body pillow from Kid to Kid for only $4!

I got the pillow idea from this pin on pinterest.

Not the best picture, but I used this tutorial here (it's kinda confusing) to make this super awesome nursing shawl from knit! I love that it covers the back and both sides. I had one of those Udder Covers with James and trying to stay covered in public was quite stressful. Got the fabric at Hobby Lobby for $4!

I followed this tutorial here to make these super cute hats. It didn't take that much time and I had all the fabric on hand (I never toss t-shirts into the DI pile anymore)

We drove out to Round Rock so we could go to Ikea and get this super awesome changing table. We picked up their super cheap changing pad (saved $20 right there!) and I made this cover for it. I wasn't able to find any tutorials online for Ikea changing pad covers so I just came up with it myself.

I really loved the pottery barn mobile I saw here, but was totally unwilling to pay that sort of money for it. I made my own pattern for this project and am pleased that it turned out looked decent. I decided I didn't want a mobile that you attach to the crib or have to crank, so I just hung this from the ceiling. It's constantly moving from normal air flow in the house. Love that.

The crib all put together

Splurged and got the homecoming/newborn picture outfit at Target.

I bought the pattern for these Ruby Lou dolls years ago but never got around to making them. I FINALLY did it! They are so cute and I made all three in a couple of hours (my sister, Rachel, is having a baby girl in March so she'll be getting one of these in the mail soon).

It feels so good to be done! 

31 Weeks & Nesting

Most days I can't believe that we are down to a single digit weekly countdown to when this baby is slated to arrive! But then we start nearing bedtime and I realize that 8 weeks and 3 days cannot come soon enough. Just the thought of "resting" my hips on my mattress makes the tears well up. This part- the part where I'm so over being pregnant yet have two months left- sucks.

Sleeping is all I think about all day long...and all night long I can't wait for the morning so that I can finally end the misery that I have come to know as sleep.  It's going to be a very long two months.

On the plus side, we had an ultrasound to check on the baby yesterday.  We're rockin' a marginal cord insertion and the Doctor wanted to make sure that the baby was growing ok and that there were no cord complications. Everything looks great. She's measuring a full 9 days ahead (scratch the previous countdown to 7 weeks, woo hoo!) and is weighing in at 4.5 pounds already. She is sitting SUPER low, which I obviously had already figured out. I was just glad that she didn't have any growth problems and that after all the work I've put into her nursery, she is still a she. Oh, and her head is not in the 99th percentile. This is excellent news.

We didn't pay for a 3D/4D ultrasound, but the tech was nice enough to switch it over so we could see her face. She's got cheeks. Big squishy ones. Just like her big brother. And, surprisingly, hair. I'm still skeptical about this though. It could just be an enormous amount of peach fuzz. The tech was convinced it's hair. Blonde babies are bald though and the odds of us having anything other than a blonde baby are pretty slim, so I'm not going to set my heart on her having hair. It all falls out anyway, right?

Paul has put his foot down and forced me to stop overdoing it after I pulled a major stomach muscle bending over and pushing an empty cardboard box. Now I just kick stuff around instead. I'm not going to lie, I don't enjoy the physical limitations. If my body would keep up with me, I'd be cleaning constantly...even the things that are already clean. I'm just...nesting.

I've almost finished the nursery. There is just ONE LAST thing I need to do. I've been telling Paul that I've had one more project at least 5 projects ago. But seriously, I just need to do this one last thing and then I'm done. Paul's uncle is driving down from Detroit to visit for Thanksgiving. I think I'll hold off on the deep cleaning until then. I mean, why deep clean a stove that is obviously going to get very dirty in the creation of Thanksgiving dinner? Exactly.

That's what tired looks like.

This was the first appointment where my doctor didn't lecture me about my weight gain. 1 1/2 pounds in the last month. My secret? Well, first I starved for 3 days and then I gave up and ate normally and only gained 1 1/2 pounds. I have no idea.

And here is our baby girl again. If you look closely you can see her tooth buds! Craziness. Also, those lips. 

I honestly can't wait for her to be here and out of my stomach. I very much look forward to that.