Feeling like a Mum!

This week has been interesting!

Zoey has been very congested for about 3 weeks.  It started with just a little bit of a stuffy nose, and then two weeks ago it got pretty bad.  She was having trouble breathing through her nose (babies are "obligate nose breathers" so they won't breath through their mouth except when crying or when they are forced to), which made sleeping a huge challenge.  She would fall asleep, and then wake up soon after because she'd choke on her snot or not be able to breath at all.  We asked the midwives, who gave us some solutions and then told us to follow up with my doctor since we were "graduating" from their care a few days later.  We then followed up with another doctor from the office (since mine wasn't working that day), and he gave us the same advice and told us to follow up in a week. (The advice was saline drops in her nose, suck out the mucous with a bulb thing, and use a humidifier).  Everyone agreed that she wasn't sick, just congested.

When I followed up again with my doctor this Tuesday, she was immediately concerned with how much she had to struggle to breathe.  (Side note: I love my doctor.  She is amazing.  She always takes things seriously, she has called me from her own home twice, she asks opinions, and is generally awesome.)  She brought another doctor from the office in for a second opinion, and they both thought I should go to emergency to make sure there wasn't a blockage in her airway.  At this point, I wasn't really TOO worried, and to be honest I was a little relived that I could take action to find a solution.  It has been exhausting dealing with Zoey in terms of sleep.  Otherwise, she is happy, but to hear her breathe just breaks my heart.

In Emergency

So off to the Children's Hospital we went.  I sat in emergency for a while, and at one point a nurse walked by, heard Zoey breathing, and brought me back to super suck the mucous out of her nose.  It involved tubes right up her nose and down her throat, vacuuming, and blood.  Oh and lots of crying by Zoey.  We eventually got into a room, and they hooked her up to a monitor to make sure she was getting enough oxygen and breathing out enough carbon dioxide.  Everyone who saw her was amazed at how healthy she was, but had never heard a baby so congested.  They were all puzzled.  After a while, they decided to keep her overnight for observation.  That was when I started thinking that maybe things were a little more serious than I thought.  Matt joined us at that point and we were seen by quite a few really nice and thorough doctors.  We got moved to a real room around 12:30 pm and Zoey got the royal treatment with her own little hospital crib, an awesome nurse-strength swaddle, and a cool noise machine.  Matt and I shared a single cot!

Fancy/sad crib!

After many theories (structual problems, RSV which caused us to be quarantined and everyone who entered the room had to be in full gown/mask/gloves, multiple viruses in a row...) no one REALLY knew what was wrong with her.  They all just thought she was completely healthy aside from being terribly congested.  Finally around 4 ish in the afternoon (about 26 hours after we arrived!) an ear/nose/throat doctor visited, put a camera up her nostrils, and decided that she has very small nostrils, a small infection, and that combined with our dry climate is causing her congestion.  The solution? A more powerful saline solution, sucking out the mucous with a bulb thing, and a humidifier.  Oh, and she has to grow.  Sweet.  So after all that, poor Zoey just has to deal with it, and every day it should get better with her growth.

Noise machine = awesome!

It was a bit of a surreal experience, since it was her first time in a hospital, and my first night in the hospital since I was born.  Also, the fact that everyone had to dress in full bio hazard attire made things seem a little more major.  Her poor nose was so red and irritated from everyone repeatedly sticking things up and down it, but she surprisingly was in good spirits in between it all.  I definitely felt like a "real mum" after taking my child to the hospital.  There was something about it that felt like initiation or something!

So now we wait for her to grow and hope that it gets better every day!

Has anyone had scary hospital experiences?  This was pretty minor in the grand scheme of things...

First Run

So I finally went for a run.  I got all dressed, made sure Zoey was fed, and set off with her in tow.  My start was a little difficult.  Sine Matt had the car (and the garage door opener), I had to wheel Zoey down some stairs to leave the building (instead of going up the garage ramp), and I also had to use the carseat adaptor on the stroller instead of just putting her in the regular compartment (since a piece I needed was in the car). Having the carseat meant that the stroller itself was harder to control and heavier.  Nevertheless, I set off and started a slow run.  I started huffing and puffing pretty much right away, but it felt really good to be running.  I was constantly worried that Zoey was too cold, or getting jostled too much, but she seemed happy (and asleep) and she actually likes being jostled.  (When we are driving and she is crying, she will settle if we go over bumps!)

All dressed and ready.  (Terrible picture)

I didn't really look to see how long I was gone, but I think it was about 45 minutes ish and I think I covered  around 5 km.  Nothing to write home about, but I did quite a few walk run intervals, and stopped to check on Zoey a few times.  Somewhere along the run she shook off her toque... She really doesn't like hats.

After the run, zonked out.

When I got home, Zoey was fast asleep, and she stayed that way for a LONG time.  I guess I know how to make her sleep if worse comes to worse sometime!  It's not the best to have her sleep in her carseat for a long time, but I was happy yesterday since it meant I could shower, eat and get ready for my Christmas party in peace!

Although my run was far from my best, I know that I can only get better from here!  Now that the first one is under my belt, I'm excited to get out again.  Maybe I should bust out my very first training program...

What I'm thinking about

As much as I don't want to post only about mum related things, it's hard not to since that's about all I'm doing.

• Zoey is still congested. I took her to the Dr today and it's only congestion and we just have to wait it out.  I'm relieved she's not actually sick, but I wish I could do more for her.  
• Tomorrow I'm doing a very mum thing: Going to Play a Latte, a playground and coffee shop thing.  It should be interesting.
• Zoey got a play mat yesterday from kijiji and she loves it!  She can't do much with it, but she stares at the toys hanging down, and sometimes bats at them, though I'm not sure whether that's on purpose or not.  Side note, my home is becoming a little more kid ish!
• I haven't gotten the courage to take her in the stroller for a run yet.  I'm not sure what's holding me back, but something is.  I need to just bite the bullet and take her out for a short run. (I like how I'm blaming it all on her, and not admitting that I'm nervous to run again and might not be able to run for very long!)
• I feel VERY family ish and grown up because I ordered christmas card / pictures yesterday.  I have always thought that sending out christmas cards is a very family / grown up thing to do, and have never considered it until this year.
• I would love to go to hot yoga again.  I need to do that soon!
• I also would love to get a manicure, but I don't want to bring Zoey to a nail salon and would feel really lame asking someone to watch her while I got my nails done.
• I've become obsessed with finding a well priced Keurig coffee machine.  I really want one all of a sudden!

That's about all that's on my mind!  Oh, that, and finding some long shirts so that I can wear tights and shirts and pretend like I'm wearing real clothes but really am wearing something that feels like pyjamas.

What's on your mind?

Trying to post with one hand

Poor Zoey has a stuffy nose, so she just wants to be held.  Therefor, one handed posting and a list.

• Kristen came to visit and it was great.
• We did a small blogger meet up and it was fun until Zoey lost her shit and I had to leave.
• Speaking of Zoey, she's getting a little more of a personality every day.  I think she'll start smiling soon!  
• I'm relieved that the weather warmed up again.  I don't think I'm ready for winter yet.  
• I think I'm going to have to start exercising again!  Kristen and I went to hot yoga once while she was here, but aside from walking around, that's all the exercise I've gotten since Zoey was born.  I wonder when I'll be able to run without feeling like my insides are going to fall out?  (sorry if that was TMI).
• Leaving the house takes a lot longer with a baby.  It's also very annoying to drive a stroller indoors.  I'm glad I have a good baby carrier!

And now, another picture!

Thoughts three weeks in

Yesterday, Zoey turned three weeks old. She celebrated by screaming most of the day. That was really fun for everyone. Luckily, those kind of days are not the norm. She sleeps reasonably well, though not in her crib yet. She will sit, alert, with her eyes open for about an hour at a time. She also loves to move. That isn't so nice when I'm dead tired and want to lie down, but maybe I'm to blame since I did lots of activity while I was pregnant. She eats well, which is a relief, because I was worried about not being able to nurse her well enough and having that stress added to having a newborn. All in all, she is a pretty great baby!

I still have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that I'm a mother, and that Zoey is my daughter, but I think that will come. Staying at home with her is different than I expected. I have learned in three short weeks that I need to go out everyday, regardless of Zoey's mood or mine. Being in the condo in my sweats all day doesn't make me too happy. I'm not used to being so sedentary, so I'm going to make a real effort to leave the house everyday.

I'm sure I have other thoughts but they aren't coming to me right now.

Oh! Except Kristen is coming on Friday!

I don't think I get to put pictures where I want so here is a bunch at the end!

Baby Zoey

I've been a little MIA lately.  I'm sure you can assume that means I FINALLY had a baby!

12 days overdue, Zoey Murphy Brillinger made her grand entrance.  I won't go into the details, but what was supposed to be a hospital birth under the supervision of midwives ended up being a home birth due to a quick labour (sorry Linda).  Matt, with the help of the midwives, "caught" her at 2:30 am on Monday the 17th and got to tell me that we had a daughter!  She was 8 pounds and 2 ounces and I think 52 cm long?  Since then we have been on an insane learning curve, but we are slowly adjusting!

I'll try to post a little more frequently now that things have slowed down a bit!

For now, pictures!

My favourite sleeper that she has already outgrown!

Zoey's first car ride

Nice family portrait

One Year Ago

October 15th, 2010, Matt and I got married.  Here are some of the highlights from our wedding day.

I really thought I would have a baby on my anniversary, but now that I don't, I'm happy to say we had one year of marriage before we had a family!  I love you Matt! Thanks for making this year memorable and the best of my life!

Trying to think of something other than babies...

I don't have a baby yet.  I am 7 days overdue.

Moving right along!

Lately I have been filling my time with walking, coffees and lunches with friends, laundry, watching tv and reading.  If it turns out that something that I thought was recorded on my PVR isn't actually recorded, it's as if the world has ended and I may or may not get very irritated.  Then I realize it's TV and get over myself.

I have heard a lot about The Hunger Games from a few different blogs (like Healthy Tipping Point and Healthy Ashley) and thought I should give the series a try.  I really liked 1984, which is another "big brother" type book, and I also liked Twilight, a teenager series of books about vampires and love, so why not try this seemingly mesh of the two!  (I'm sure George Orwell would cringe at the thought of his book and twilight being mentioned in the same sentence... sorry George!)  I read through the first of the series in two or three days, and so off I went to get the next two right away.  (I tried putting the series on hold at the library, and I was about 200th in line for them for all three, so I just bought them instead.)  They're really good, in spite of being written in first person, which I tend not to like.  They keep me interested, have a LITTLE taste of a love story (I'm only halfway through the second book right now, so the love factor could get more or less important from here forward), lots of big brother type stuff, and a little bit of Harry Potter esque challenges (which is another series I went wild over).  If you like any of these books, I suggest you give them a try!

I'm off to pretend like I don't care I'm still pregnant!

Changes

This time last year I was extremely hungover.  Because a year ago last night, I was doing this:

It was my bachelorette party.  We ate some sushi, sang some hilarious karaoke, drank a bunch of shots, then I did a bunch of throwing up, and Kristen took me home.  Everyone else continued partying and apparently had a great time!

If I can remember correctly, exactly one year ago, I was standing outside my house with a giant bowl of stuffing that I had made, trying not to be sick again and about to eat a giant thanksgiving feast.

Oh, how things can change in a year!

Thoughts at 40 weeks pregnant

I would like to preface this post by saying that I have the nicest, most caring friends and family, and what I'm about to talk about does not mean that I'm annoyed by them or am trying to make them feel bad.  I'm really just trying to be funny.  I really love them and am thankful that they care so much about me.

Today is my due date.  I'm 40 weeks pregnant.  The little thing has gone from nothing to a full on baby.  Crazy.  The people in my life are really excited.  How can I tell?  Here are some common questions / statements I have received in the last week.

• How are you feeling? How do you think I feel?  Is there a way to answer this question to satisfy you?  I feel large, uncomfortable, slow, a little impatient, a little nervous, or my most common answer, "fine!".

• Any changes?  Changes in what exactly?  Would you like me to describe what my vaginal discharge looked like yesterday and what it looks like today?  How about the cloudiness of my urine?  I really don't know what this question means or how to answer it.

• Any baby news?  Oh yeah, didn't I tell you?  I gave birth last week.  It was quadruplets.  We named them after the first four Duggars.  No there's no baby news.  I think I'd mention it.  Really.   
• Has the baby dropped?  I don't know.  That probably means no.  Even if it had, it really doesn't mean that I will have the baby immediately.  Why don't you call my midwife and ask her.

• Are you excited?  Am I excited to have a baby?  Sure.  I'm excited that I will have a baby.  Am I excited to give birth?  Let me tell you something.  I have an app on my phone that gives me a daily description of my body, the baby, and little tidbits of random info.  Today when I opened it, when I looked under "size of baby", it said "pumpkin".  PUMPKIN.  I'm not even joking.  I'm really really not excited to push a pumpkin sized baby out of something that I promise has never housed anything close to pumpkin sized.  
• Take advantage and sleep now!  On what planet does one sleep well when they have a 25 pound beach ball between their legs?  I have to flip sides every HOUR because my hips are so sore.  I can't sleep on my back or my stomach.  I have to pee every two hours.  It takes me a good minute to get out of bed, and when I get back in, it takes another minute to arrange myself into a moderately comfortable position.  Yeah, I'll get right on sleeping my little heart out.

• The wait between when you're in labour and when the baby is born is going to kill me!  Really?  REALLY? Kill YOU??!!  Put yourself in my shoes.  Oh wait, I won't be wearing shoes, or pants, or underwear, and I'll have people staring at my crotch watching me push a pumpkin sized baby out of my vagina.  I really feel for you.  Maybe I'll call you midway to see how you're holding up.  

• (Said by someone who is pregnant and due later) I'm so ready to not be pregnant.  I hope my baby comes early.  Shut the f&%k up.  Thanks.

• Are you sure your due date is October 5?  You look like it will be another 10 days or two weeks!  Oh, I don't look like I could give birth on the 5th?  According to you?  Ok well I'll just change up my calendar, let my medical professionals know, and sit tight for two more weeks.  Also, do you think this is something a 40 week pregnant person WANTS to hear?  Because I really don't want to hear it.  Really.

That's KIND of how I feel today.  Except I'm not actually angry or bitter like this implies.  I'm healthy, as far as I know the baby is healthy, I don't have to go to work, I can go for coffee with random friends whenever I want... I'm really not in a bad place.  But every single time one of my friends or family members asks me how I'm feeling, I kind of want to kick a puppy.  

Photoshoot Success

I'm quite pleased to report that we didn't do terribly on the photoshoot.  I think everyone is their own worst critic, and Matt tends to "not see" a bunch of things I think are deal breakers when it comes to good vs bad pictures, so my idea of a good picture and his were quite different.  That being said, we walked away with a handful of pictures I liked, and that's that.

New Look

I've wanted a new look for my blog recently, and although things might change a bit more once I stop being pregnant and start being responsible for another human, I figured I had more time now than I will in then.  I didn't have to guts to take the plunge and write "mother" or something crazy like that in my "about me" section, but that can come later.

I messed around with the new dynamic layouts that blogger provides, but they just didn't really seem to work the way I wanted them to.  I'll chill with this one for a while and maybe tweak it a bit.

Since I've finished working, I have done the following:

• Had last minute coffee dates
• Slept in (if you can call 7:30 sleeping in...)
• Made some granola
• Had a romantic dinner date
• Walked to the new gluten free bakery and bought some amazing bread
• Forgotten to go to a friend's house and then rushed to get there an hour late after she called to see if I was still coming
• Made some chocolate quinoa crepes
• Gotten acupuncture
• Panicked a little about the thought of potentially having a baby in the extremely near future

On the docket for today is trying to take a few pictures of me in "my condition" as keepsakes.  I'm not really into getting pro pics done in a studio, especially the seemingly intimate ones that people tend to get when they're pregnant. I don't think there's anything wrong with getting intimate pictures taken, pregnant or not, but I do find it weird that people show them to everyone.  I don't ever want to see a picture of a close friend or family member lying on a bed with a sheet hiding their privates, pregnant or not.  Sorry.  Little side rant there.  We will stick to fully clothed outside pictures in the nice fall colours.  Matt and I don't have the greatest history when it comes to taking pictures (we aren't good at taking pictures of each other... I think I may have alluded to that in my belly pics post) so I'm hoping today works out!

Any tips for my new blog design??

A weighty issue

I've never been one to know how much I weigh.  I can normally guess, give or take 5 pounds, but normally my indicators are how my clothes fit.  I've always had a little extra around the gut area, sometimes a little, sometimes a little more than a little, but I normally have a handle on what to do to get rid of it and it's never been awful.  (The exception being before I knew I had celiac... that was awful because I was working super hard to get rid of it and it just wouldn't go.)

But now, I have to weight myself all the time.  During my first and second trimesters, it was once a month, with the goal of seeing numbers rise, and if they didn't, I got scolded and asked to gain a little more weight.  At the start of my third trimester, I weighed myself every two weeks, and for the last month it's been every week.  I can honestly say I have never weighed myself every week before now.  The concept is just foreign to me, because I can honestly tell you I have never cared what the number on the scale was.  I know I'm getting bigger.  It's pretty freaking obvious.  Now, to be fair, it is a little startling to see numbers I never dreamed I would see on a scale, but I know that it's for a good cause, so I don't really mind.

Throughout my pregnancy, I have noticed a few things.  Let us look at a point form list, shall we?

• People call me tiny.  It's odd, since I weigh a lot more than I ever have and I have a huge belly.   I think the skinny jeans and the fact that I still continue to have no ass are contributing factors to that optical illusion. Tiny has never been a word people have used to describe me, except for that unfortunate time in high school when I had tonsillitis multiple times in two months and lost all sorts of weight. I really WANTED to eat, I just couldn't.
• My weight really differs from morning to afternoon.  When my appointments are in the morning, I will have gained a pound or stayed the same since the previous week's appointment.  When they are later in the day, I'll be up two or three pounds.  Can we tell I may be retaining a bit of water throughout the day?
• People flat out ask me "how much have you gained?"  I find that crazy.  In what situation would someone ask that question other than pregnancy??  Crazier?  I'll tell them. I won't tell them the names we have picked out for our baby, but I'll easily spill the number of pounds I'm up.
• Other people tell me about their or their wife's weight gain.  I really don't want or need to know how your wife has ballooned like a blimp, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want you to share that with me either.  If your wife had gained 60 pounds and she wasn't pregnant, would you tell me then?  I doubt it.  Granted, I have asked people about their weight gain during pregnancy, so I am equally guilty of this odd behaviour.

I think the main reason for my reasonable weight gain is that I haven't given myself a free pass to eat whatever I want.  I know a lot of women do that during pregnancy, and that's fine, but I didn't want to be left with this enormous task of losing it all post baby.  By no means am I dieting, and I am giving myself many more liberties than I normally would, but I am still conscious of what I eat and when I eat it.  That being said, today might not be the best example of my healthy diet, since I've had three chocolate chip cookies (someone made them just for me; I HAD to eat them), two little brownies (I made those... no excuse) and some ice cream.  I'll just give today a pass and work on tomorrow. 

I also think genetics have had something to do with my weight gain.  My mum didn't gain much when she was pregnant with both my sister and me.  She also wasn't sick during her pregnancies, which is especially lucky, since she has an abnormal aversion to being sick, and she point blank said to me "good thing I wasn't sick when I was pregnant with your sister, because you probably wouldn't be here!"  I am thankful for her lack of nausea which in turn has allowed me to experience the same.  The fact alone that I haven't thrown up once made me a little nervous at first that I WOULD gain lots of weight, since I had a fine appetite and could eat until the cows came home, but luckily that wasn't the case.

All in all, this obligatory emphasis on weight has been a new experience for me, and I hope to go back to my old non-weighing no-number-knowing self after the baby is born.  I'm in the "safe zone" for pregnancy weight gain as it stands (and maybe today's treats gave me an extra pound or two for my weigh-in on Thursday) so I don't need to worry, and hopefully the baby will be healthy, and I can go back to not stepping on a scale aside from my annual physical soon.

Do you find pregnancy makes people a lot more open about their weight? 

Race envy

I'll be honest - I have some major race envy right now.

My sis ran a race last week and is running another tomorrow.

Caitlin raced a tri today and I think a tri tomorrow!

Meghann and company are racing a 70.3 tomorrow.

Kirst is running the harvest half tomorrow too.

I just want to race!  I know I have great reasons to not race, and I don't want to come off like a complainer, but man o man I can't wait to lace up my sneaks and get training!

I figured in order to keep my envy under control, I'd take a peek at a few races that I might like to do in the future.  I don't want to sign up or commit to anything at this point since I really have no idea what my body and life will be like after this little baby comes, but I figured it couldn't hurt to look.

On February 11, there's the hypothermic half.  That's an option.

In April, the Glencoe Icebreaker 10 km happens and then the Police Half comes about a week later, both of which I did this year, so those are both possibilities too.

I don't think I want to look at anything in 2011, though maybe a late 5 km could be an option.  Since I had to stop running what feels like years ago, I don't want to have any thoughts of grandeur thinking I can bust out a nice 10 km a month after delivery, but I could do something like the santa shuffle which I believe is a 5 km, if my body cooperates.

I hope everyone racing this weekend has a great time and does their best!  I know weather poses issues for lots, but remember that you just can't control it, so don't waste your time worrying about it!

Anyone else racing this weekend?  Anyone else feeling a little green with envy?

Well hello blogger traffic!

Today Meals and Miles linked to me and my page views went up by over 300%!  She referred to my 70.3 post and called it "inspiring"!  How nice!  I still can't read that race report without my eyes welling up a little... I just remember how freaking hard that day was, and how much I wanted to stop but couldn't because I am too stubborn.  Hopefully that theory will cross over to childbirth, though I don't really have the choice to give up!  It's crazy to think that last year I raced a 70.3 and this year I am a big ole pregnant lady!

So hi! to any new readers.  My name is Heather, I'm 27 years old, married almost one year, two weeks away from my first baby's due date, a celiac, a runner, triathlete, flight attendant turned temporary office worker and a healthy blog reader!  Welcome!

BUT, I actually have a race report to share today!

Last weekend, we (Matt, Kaitlin, Jordan and I) went out to Canmore for our third annual trip to the Canmore Rocky Mountain race.  My mum and I set out to walk our little hearts out for 5 km!  I will admit I haven't walked very far or very quickly in a while, so I wasn't 100% sure how I would feel (and I haven't run in what seems like forever since I got work from my midwife that I am not allowed to run).  My belly was tight and a little uncomfy by the end, but it was great to participate in the event and be in the mountains.

So this baby has officially run a 10 km, a half marathon, and walked a 5 km all before birth!  I wonder if it will be a runner or hate running. We will have to wait and see!  (Side note, both my sister and I HATED running until we participated in our first race together in 2007, so even if it hates running as a child, it might develop a liking to it someday!)  (Is that right? 2007?)

10 km!  Can't REALLY tell I'm pregnant.

I think this (the police half marathon) was the last time I could squeeze into my CW-X tights!

Here I am laughing that they announced our names as we were about to cross the finish line of the 5km

So there you have it!  My final pregnant race report, and now I can focus on having this baby, recovering, and getting back into running!

Wednesday tid bits

• I cleaned the dreadful mirror.
• I am making breakfast for supper, which is one of my favourite suppers.
• The baby's limbs are distinctly poking out of my belly a lot and often and it kind of hurts.
• I really am totally done with working; too bad I still have 13 days left.
• I'm going to Canmore this weekend to walk a 5 km race.  This will be the third year in a row that Matt, Kaitlin, Jordan and I have participated in the event.  This also means that I will have done every distance for this race; kind of cool.
• I can't believe that I only have four weeks left until this baby is due!

Do you have any Wednesday tid bits?

I'll leave you with a little photo from the west coast!

A little baby room update

My sis has requested some pictures of the baby's room since I've been working hard for the last little while.  I took out my big girl camera and took some real pictures, so here's the progress so far.

Crib, little shelf, and a "placeholder" chair.  (We have a different one in Kirst's basement that will hopefully live in that corner soon)

Curtains!  

Donkey!

My big ole belly in the extremely dirty mirror!

Easy hoop art inspired directly stolen from this blog

Crib, crib skirt and chalkboard accent wall

Mobile that will move from this spot

Dipes!

Duck towel!

Ok, enough cuteness and exclamation points.  So there is a mattress leaning against the wall in the corner by the window.  You can just ignore that.  We definitely need a few more things on the walls, but that will come.  Matt can't wait to get his hands on some chalk for the chalkboard wall.  I was hoping to get a big frame that we could put on the chalkboard wall to break it up a little.  What else?  There are more things, I'm sure, but I can't really remember them right now.

So there you have it!  Baby's room exactly 5 weeks before it's due to be born!

Anyone sick of baby business?

Too bad.  I have more!

First, I made the curtains! BUT, it's really hard to take a picture in front of a window, so I'll have to try again at night so that I can actually show them off.

Also, I had a really nice baby shower, where I got spoiled.  I was so thankful that people got me things I would need and have to buy anyway, like my awesome diapers, a changing pad, crib linens and more.  I also was so thankful to my friends and mum who worked hard to put it all on.

Now, I have a question for anyone who has had babies:  How many newborn sized clothes do I need?  I have heard they outgrow things so quickly, so anything I've gotten, I've chosen size 3-6 months.  While I was putting things away in the dresser, I realized that I only have one sleeper and one two piece PJ in newborn size.  This just doesn't seem like enough.  So what should I buy?  How much do I REALLY need?  I have a little sweater that a family member knit that can work as a "coming home from the hospital" jacket, as well as a sleep sac that can keep the little one warm in the car, but otherwise, I have jut the one sleeper and PJ.

Help??!!

Crib Skirt Success!

I made a crib skirt! Craft #2!  I just can't even believe it!

I followed this tutorial, courtesy of Young House Love, pretty much the best blog ever.

Here are the results:

And I didn't even sew!

It definitely isn't perfect.  But, it's made, and it looks pretty good, and that's good enough for me!  

Side note, my sister wrote the nicest post ever for my birthday today.  She's just the greatest.  Love you! 

Baby Project - DIY mobile

I am not too crafty.  I try to be, but usually my projects end up looking like a five year old did them.  I'm not really sure why I decided to then embark on a crafting mission for the baby's room, but that's what I did.

First, I decided to make a no sew crib skirt and some no sew curtains from Young House Love, but all I've actually done is purchase material and supplies.  More to come on that.

I then decided to make a hanging mobile for the room since most store bought ones I find either very expensive or very cheesy.  After google image searching "diy baby mobile" and looking through 15 pages of results, I decided to go with this one.  It even was already the colour I wanted.

This is the goal!

So I went to a craft store, bought some yellow card stock, clear thread (or fishing wire), a wooden needle point ring thing and some yellow ribbon.  Unlike the example on the website, where she used a wooden circle for the top and then painted it, I decided to use a ring and then wrap it with ribbon.  Here is the project, from start to pretty much finish.

1.  First, I traced the circles using a bunnykins egg cup and a pencil.

2.  Next, I cut them out using extremely heavy cutco scissors.  My fingers had indentations in them for a while.

3.  I cut a long piece of clear thread and tied a double knot on the bottom.

4.  Then I poked a hole in the centre of a cut circle with a safety pin.  (I didn't take a picture, but I actually erased all the rogue pencil lines from the circles after I cut them.  I have discovered that I am a terrible cutter.)

5.  I then thread the circle onto the thread.

6.  Then I tied another double knot a little bit higher than the first circle.  I got a little creative here and decided that every other string of circles would be longer, so for half of them, I tied the knots further apart, and for the other half I tied them closer together.

7.  I then poked another circle and thread it on to the thread. 

8.  Each thread got nine circles.

9.  As I finished each string of circles, I tied it around the wooden ring.  (I just wrapped it around and tied two knots.  It was kind of tough to do it on my own, but much easier when Matt held the ring up for me as I tied.)

10.  Yay I'm done with the circle strings!

Matt wanted to be on the blog.

11.  I gathered all the tops of the strings and tied them in a knot.  It was very difficult to get it level.

12.  I put a glob of Aleen's Tacky Glue (it's even the same stuff as they use on YHL!  It's as if we're best friends already!) on the inside of the ring and held my yellow ribbon there for a minute or so and then got to wrapping.  Here is where I realized a small mistake.  I DEFINITELY should have wrapped the ring with the ribbon before I tied nine strings around it.  Whenever I got to a string, I had to really maneuver around it and try to not mess up the wrapping or hanging integrity.  It was annoying.  Along the way I put a dab of glue here and there for good measure.

13.  Ta da!  I'm done!  (It ended up being much more level than that, which is explained in the notes.)

So there's the mobile!  Not too far from the goal really!  She has a much cleaner background so you can see it a lot better, but I did this in my messy living room so background clutter is what you get!

A few notes:

• I don't know exactly how I will hang it from the ceiling.  I will probably string another piece of clear thread under the knot of gathered threads so that I can choose the level I would like instead of just having to go with what I have to work with.  I think I have a little hook thing that I can screw into the ceiling.
• I actually ran out of ribbon about two centimetres too early.  Luckily, I had more ribbon.  Still, It was very annoying to need just a tiny piece to finish off the ring.
• While wrapping, I inadvertently moved all the strings around so after I was all done, I had to untie the big knot and re-level everything and then re-tie it.  I wasn't too thrilled with that.  Definitely wrap the ring first if you try this.
• I did this over two nights of trashy reality TV.  First, Big Brother, and second, Bachelor Pad.  Bachelor Pad?  Really?  I was ashamed but couldn't stop watching.  Vienna and Jake are both idiots.
• I can't believe that this actually worked.  Seriously.

So now, attach to ceiling, and also decide where exactly to put it.  I'm leaning towards over the change table instead of over the crib.  My sister pointed out that *if* it falls, it could be a major hazard over the crib.  I agree.  

Now hopefully the crib skirt goes as well.  Or better really.  The curtains?  I'm nervous.