Current nursery ideas

I can't make a decision. I go back and forth over ideas, fabric swatches, and pictures.

I saved the following pictures of a nursery more than a year ago. I should have saved who the pictures are from so that I can give credit. I love this room. The white furniture, the green and blue accents... everything! I wish I could see the bedding in more detail too because from what I can see, it's something that I'd like!


Thanks to Jen for sending me a link with the nursery below. I love the different fabrics and the green walls. I found a similar houndstooth crib sheet and plain blue crib skirt. I'm just not sure if we should go that route. I could also change it up by adding a green polka dot sheet or other patterns such as gingham.


Plain blue crib skirt and houndstooth fabric for crib sheet (pillow pictured and obviously the sheet wouldn't have the pink edge).


Other crib sheet options to go with the plain blue crib skirt.

The pic below is from Hollywoodreg from Rate My Space



Now for another completely different option. A classic toile pattern with coordinating striped accents. It's blue and taupe. I think that I can still find a green paint color to coordinate even though there isn't any green in the bedding. What do you think?


Sooo...with white furniture...
Choice #1: Green walls, plain blue crib sheet, and different sheet options
OR
Choice # 2: Green walls, blue and taupe toile and stripe set.

**Something else to consider is accessories and decor. It might be easier to find different kinds of art work (such as this adorable piece from etsy) if I go with the more plain bedding choice #1. I'm having a hard time finding artwork to go with choice #2.

I'd love opinions. Thanks!

Initial nursery ideas

Who would have thought deciding on baby bedding and room design would be so difficult? I've been looking at ideas and possibilities for so long that I thought I had it set. I was wrong.

Before our big u/s I thought that if we were having a boy I would go with this set from Pottery Barn Kids:


I even found the panels in the picture above on sale at the PBK outlet! I have since bought & returned them. Although, I still love this bedding and like the idea of having nautical accents, I feel that our little boy is going to have bright, bold colors forever. This may be my only time to decorate his room in softer colors. He'll have toys and other surroundings to stimulate his mind so I'm hoping for a softer look.

PBK came out with a green Chase set that I considered too.

So, that was the direction I started in but am headed a different way...more on that later.

Martha & Pumpkin are BACK!

I've been anxiously waiting for Martha's new season to premiere. I was disappointed to discover that not only has she changed stations but time slots too. I used to catch her while doing paperwork on certain days at 10am on ABC. I went to tune in on Sept 15th and Bonnie Hunt was there instead!! Now, I have nothing against Bonnie but where was Martha? Well, she moved to 11am on NBC. She may not be the best live talk show host (sometimes I find her commentary a little awkward and borderline rude) but I love her ideas ... especially decor, crafts, and recipes. So far the new season hasn't impressed me as much as past seasons but I'll stick around.

FALL is here!!


Which means ... pumpkin recipes!!
For the past few years I've made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies using this recipe:

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margerine, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 can (15 ounces) 100% pure pumpkin
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (I leave these out)

Preheat oven to 375. Grease baking sheets. Combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda and salt in medium bowl. Beat butter and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl until creamy. Beat in pumpkin, eggs and vanilla extract. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 - 20 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Spread or drizzle with vanilla glaze (see below).

Vanilla Glaze:
Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoons milk and 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract in small bowl; mix well.

They are great with or without the glaze.

This year I decided to try Martha's Pumpkin-Chocolate-Chip Squares. I'm not sure why her site says they'll take 2 hours and 30 minutes because they certainly didn't take that long. Maybe that includes waiting for the butter to come to room temp? The prep was less than 30 minutes and they baked for 35 minutes.

I forgot to take a pic of mine but they turned out beautifully. Mine were more cake-like than the picture on her website. The friends and family we shared them with enjoyed them as much as the pumpkin choc chip cookies I've made in previous years. Not only were they a hit but they also took less time overall than the cookies do. I'll be making them again soon!

Peace of mind

I have been stressed about our ultra sound results. I felt more confident about our baby's heart because the doctor seemed more confident about the report when she called to follow up after my last appt. I'm still concerned about it but the OB made it seem like it's fine. However, she sounded more unsure about not seeing his hands. I was losing sleep over this.

After telling my aunt about the results she generously offered to pay for an additional ultra sound at Womb With a View. We are scheduled to have another ultra sound (to remeasure his heart) at my OB's office in a few weeks but my aunt didn't want us to stress over the uncertainty of his hands for weeks. We took her up on her offer. I called and was able to get an appt at Womb With a View that same day! We went in the evening, which is when the baby seems to be more active. My mother-in-law and her husband came along with us. I think they were amazed to see the baby in such detail too.

I can't even express how happy I am that we had this additional ultra sound. We knew the lady at Womb With a View wouldn't be able to tell us if his heart was measuring correctly but we were hoping to see his hands. And we DID! Perfect little hands!! The lady there was extremely kind. She showed us everything in 3D and 4D even though we only paid for the 2D. We were able to see so much ... his hands, fingers, feet, toes, boy parts to confirm that he IS a BOY, his little tushy, and hair on his head!! He had his hands in front of his face so we didn't get to see those details but we got to see more than what we went there for. Towards the end he started sucking on his hands and seemed to go to sleep. It was so amazing to see his mouth moving!

I shared with the woman that we were initially concerned that he had a cleft lip because I did, but now at this point, a cleft lip seems so unimportant. She shared that her daughter was born with a cleft lip and palate 9 years ago. Her daughter even had the SAME surgeon that I did for one of my surgeries! I saw her beautiful daughter and you would NEVER know that she was born with a cleft lip and palate. It took 3 surgeries to correct hers. I had 7 surgeries and mine was not as severe as hers b/c I did not have a cleft palate. They have come a long way with these procedures since I was born. Hearing her story was an additional comfort for me.

I found myself crying the next day just thinking about our experience so far. I don't think I've ever been this happy in my life. I keep thinking about our life as a family of 3...what we went through to conceive him and what we'll go through together in the future with him.

Here are some pictures from our ultra sound at Womb With a View... I can't rave enough about how great our experience was there!!
The pics didn't scan as well as they look in person.


His profile

HANDS & FINGERS!! YAY!!

This is looking towards his back and right side. You can see his hand up near his mouth.

This is his left side. You can see his elbow, little tushy on the bottom right, his leg and foot!!
We have more pics ... even some 3D ones of his little boy parts too... I guess she wanted us to be sure that he was a boy :)

Matt felt the baby move!!

:::Disclaimer:::
This post is a sappy, lovey, I have the greatest husband kind of post...

YAY!! Matt was able to feel the baby move tonight for the first time! It's so exciting! I have started to feel much more movement over the past week. I was sitting here at the computer (shocker) and the baby kicked several times in a row. I went downstairs and had Matt hold his hand near where I had just felt some kicks & he was able feel it! It was awesome to see the excitement on his face. I am loving this!

Earlier this week I was feeling very stressed and worried about our ultra sound report. I came home from work and saw that Matt had vaccumed the house. I couldn't help but smile because it always makes the house feel cleaner and I love that Matt takes it upon himself to do that. He does so much around here and I appreciate it more than he knows. Still smiling, I walked into the kitchen and found a pink rose, a note from Matt & "Eddie" (Yes, he is still referring to this baby as Eddie and no we are not naming him that), and a gift card to the salon that I go to!! A complete, very sweet surprise from my wonderful husband!

I called him at work to thank him and the sweetness continued. He said that I deserved a special treat after all the shots in my belly while we were ttc, etc, etc. Seriously, could he be any greater? I know you're reading this Matt... you're the best!

I was able to spend my gift card this past weekend... what fun! It was intended for a facial but I had a waxing appt scheduled and was running out of my favorite shampoo and conditioner (Pureology's Hydrate line. I love their products). I picked up a new lip gloss (Iced Mocha) and nail polish (You Don't Know Jacques - a taupe color) while I was there too. Hmm, both of the lip gloss and nail polish colors look different in person than on this computer screen. Just a few of my new favorite things for fall :)

It was a great weekend. Other than my salon appt ...
PSU won.
We got started on cleaning out the former office/soon-to-be nursery. Yikes, I can't believe HOW much we had stuffed into the closet in that room! There is still more work to be done.
We did a little shopping for our baby boy! Just a few items of clothing since there were baby sales at the Carter's and Gap outlets.
Made chili together (it's fall but it's still rediculously HOT and HUMID outside).
But still, the best moment was seeing Matt's face tonight after feeling the first kick!

Lots of updates

I'm a slacker. It's been too long.

First ... It's a ...

BOY!

Most importantly, from what they could tell, a HEALTHY baby boy! We've known since 9/3/08 and I'm still in awe that I have a baby boy growing inside of me. Before the ultra sound I was having dreams that we had a little boy without legs. I could see him pulling himself up our stairs. It was so real and it worried me. The ultra sound revealed that he has 2 legs. What a relief! We also learned that he does NOT have a cleft lip!! YAY! Birth defects or not, we will love him unconditionally but no one wants to see their child suffer. I remember the endless teasing about my lip because kids just don't understand and can be mean!

I had my OB appt the following week where she reviewed the results of our ultra sound. Unfortunately, he was in an odd position & was apparently too comfy to move so the sonographer couldn't get all of the measurements of the heart that they need. The doctor doesn't seem too concerned with this because the 4 ventricles of his heart were seen, there are no problems with his heart rate, and what was seen of his heart looked normal. I'm still a little concerned. What also concerns me is that we didn't see his hands, which was also noted in the ultra sound report. Of course after the ultra sound I started having dreams about him not having any hands! We go back for another 3D/4D ultra sound in 3 weeks. I keep praying that he is healthy and has all body parts.

I am excited that we'll get to see him again before his birth. It was so cool. They have a flat screen tv hooked up above so you just lie back and watch in amazement.

Matt was so excited to hear "It's a boy" that he jumped up out of the chair next to me!! It was a great moment. On the way to the ultra sound he said "Well, I'm 60/40". When I asked him what he meant, he responded that he was 60% hoping for a boy and 40% hoping for a girl. I told him that I thought the odds were in his favor because I felt like it was a boy. Once we got back into the car after the ultra sound we kept saying "I can't believe that we're going to have a son!". I already feel an additional bond to this baby since we found out that "it" is a "he". Funny how just knowing what the sex is has increased that bond for me. I think it's because I can start picturing our life with our little boy. I know that I'd feel the same way if we were having a daughter too.

We took the day of our big u/s off of work and I'm so glad that we did. Matt's mother and her husband were in town for the day so we met them to reveal if it was a boy or a girl. This is how we told them:

I think she was surprised to find out that she'll have a 5th grandson (no granddaughters yet... maybe someday)!

After that Matt and I spent the rest of the day shopping, planning, registering, and talking about what will come. It was the best day!

So happy to be expecting our baby boy: