Elephant Curtains

Hello, hello! I hope you all had a great weekend! My mom and I traveled to Williamsburg this past weekend for a mother-daughter trip away. We had a really nice time there, mostly shopping, eating, and people-watching. Mostly, it was nice to just have time together, especially before baby Z makes his grand appearance. I also did something new this weekend -- I hired house cleaners. J was there when they arrived so I didn't get to see the results until we got back from our trip. My reaction? Why haven't we done this sooner? The house was sparkling! They did a fantastic job. I don't think the house has been this clean since we have lived here. I was really happy, so we'll be having them back on a monthly basis. I actually found them because they clean our neighbor's house and I caught them one day and asked for their business card. And with us both working and a baby on the way, I feel like it's the perfect time to enlist some extra help.

Anyway, back to the project I wanted to write about. As you probably have seen from previous posts, there are some new curtains in the baby room, made by yours truly.

I started with this fabric (Premier Prints Ele Storm), which I purchased online from fabric.com. I cut my length to the length of the window + 5 inches.

For the bottom hem, I folded down 3 inches and ironed the fabric.

Then I unfolded it and folded it in on itself, making a 1.5 inch hem.

And ironed that down.

I then sewed along my edge.

I did the same for the liner. I cut the length of the liner about an inch shorter and 4 inches narrower.

I then lined up my liner and my fabric edge to edge, with the good sides facing one another.

You'll sew about 1/2 inch in down the length. Then, scootch (sp?) the liner over to the other edge and repeat. This will give you fabric overlap on the back side of the curtain.

You then flip the curtain inside out, so that your seams do not show. This is the flipped curtain on the back side.

I then folded the top down about 2 inches and sewed. This became my pocket for the rod. I tucked the unfinished edge in as I sewed for a more finished look.

Finished panel.

Hanging in the room (tension rods).

I got really lazy about documenting the tie backs, but I got plain gray fabric (Premier Prints Storm) and cut it to a 6" x 25" size. I then folded it in half and sewed back the edges. I hand sewed plastic rings to the ends for hanging on the hooks.

Finished product.

In case you are wondering, there are blinds behind the curtains, which should make the room plenty dark. I didn't want to use blackout fabric in the hopes that the baby will be able to sleep in a light room (especially with day care on the horizon) and to let more natural light into the room. I'm really pleased with how everything turned out.

The next items on the to-do list include making the crib skirt from the same elephant print. I also need to do something about artwork in the room.

As for me, I'm doing about the same. I'm at the edge of being in my third trimester (or already in it depending on how you measure). Nausea is still around, and seems to be worse somedays (which is totally normal for the third trimester -- oh joy). But, only 3 months to go (maybe even less)!

Pegboard for Baby

Hey guys! Today was a pretty rough day. The gray weather made my nausea super bad (of course). So, when I got home, I wanted to do something that made my day a little better. Mission accomplished. I finally finished one of my projects. I started this project 2 (?) weeks ago. I saw this idea on pinterest for hanging a pegboard above the changing table to hang things to make changes a little easier.

I started with a 2' x 4' pegboard that we picked up at Lowe's.

I painted the pegboard the same color of gray as the guest/baby bathroom (since I had extra paint). I used a foam roller and 3 very light coats. Doing it this way I got no paint in the holes and the paint was nice and even.

I then wanted to frame the pegboard. I used 2 8-foot 1x4 boards to accomplish the job. I cut the boards to have about a 1" overlap of the pegboard on all sides. Of course, I accidentally threw out the measurements, so you'll have to do the math yourself if you are attempting this at home. :)

I secured the boards together using my Kreg Jig.

I then painted the frame white in a semi-gloss.

And secured the frame to the pegboard using screws. Since the boards are 3/4" thick, using screws ~3/4" is about right (just don't go through the board).

Since the dresser isn't here yet, I used painter's tape to measure out the dimensions of where the dresser will go so I could hang the pegboard in the right spot.

I used small 3/4" pieces of wood on all 4 corners to offset the frame from the wall. You will need to do this so that you can hang things on the pegboard. I screwed the wood into the frame and hot glued felt onto the wood (to protect the wall). I used picture wire and hooks rated up to 50 lbs. I figured the frame + pegboard was around 10 lbs and there was no way I would load it with 40 more lbs (based on what I intend to hang there).

All hung up!

Here is a few of the pegboard things that I bought. One of the baskets is the perfect size for diapers. The others can be used for ointments and other baby items. I have lots of hooks that I plan on using for other miscellaneous baby items.

I'm excited to see how it looks once the dresser is in place underneath it with the changing pad. Happy to have that to-do crossed off! :)

Mother's Day Weekend

Happy Mother's Day (a day late, I know) to all the moms out there as well as the mamas to be. For mother's day, my baby got me projectile vomiting, hormonal crying and foot problems (my feet are so sore!). He'll need to work on his gift-giving. :) We had a very nice Mother's Day weekend. My parents came down and brought me plants for Mother's Day, which was really nice. I had been complaining about our front flower bed since the weather had turned nicer. It has been hard for me to do anything out there because I am getting rather big and I tire out easily. My parents and J came to the rescue. My mom had gotten some great plants close to where she lives. Three of our bushes didn't survive the winter (sadly), so she got us 2 bushes, a potted plant, monkey grass, and 8 impatiens.

Here is a before shot.

Removing the dead bushes.

All the new stuff planted, including a potted plant for our steps. I did help plant and clear out leaves, but I could not have done it without help!

Thankfully, the perennials that I had planted last year seem to be coming back!

And the azalea that my mom gave us last year seems to be struggling, but surviving. I am hoping it gets a bit bigger this spring and summer.

After we were done planting, J mulched for me, which makes the front look fantastic.

 My dad also helped me hang curtains in the baby room. If you remember, we had removed the bifold doors in there for easier access to the closet. I bought these curtains from Country Curtains. I think they really go with the other grays I have in the room (window curtains will be covered in another post), and tone down the blue on the walls. I chose a simple rod from Country Curtains so that the curtains would go all the way to the edge of the closet. Oh, and see the box of Huggies on the floor? Fun story. J and I actually won that (a $33 value) at Babies R' Us last weekend. We had gone to check out some items on the registry, and they were having a raffle. We didn't win the carseat, but 103 diapers + 64 wipes isn't too bad!

My chair for the nursery also arrived (last weekend)! It's a glider + recliner that I bought from Target. It's super comfy, and I love it! Again, curtains on the windows will be covered soon (spoiler alert: I made them). Once we get our other furniture in, I may move the chair a bit, but I want to wait until the dresser and crib arrive to make the final call.

How it looks with the curtains closed. I think I personally like them open better.

I also picked up these closet dividers at Babies R' Us, which help with organizing. My mom took me out shopping on Saturday. We went to a kid's consignment shop that I have been wanting to check out. I am so glad we did. They had some really cute things for super cheap. We spent $11 on 3 outfits. I am not buying too many baby clothes in advance of my shower, but I am glad to know of a place I can go to fill out the baby's wardrobe (especially since they stock clothes up to kids size 14).

I bought this closet organizer as well, which I figure will be helpful with storage and organizing. My dad also helped us out with some other projects (not pictured), such as leveling the ceiling fan in the baby room, and working on the trim for our bar area (will be covered in a separate post once we have finished it). I am super grateful for all their help this past weekend. After all that work, we had a relaxing Sunday. We went to church, had a nice lunch and celebrated Mother's Day.

I didn't do a whole lot after my folks took off on Sunday, but I did finally add the elephant to the music box for the mobile with hot glue.

Excuse the weird lighting, but you get the idea. 

Once we have the crib, I'll install the mobile over it. :) It's pretty exciting to see the room slowly come together. I am really looking forward to getting the other furniture in.

So, those are my updates from this busy weekend. It's getting late so I'll save my other thoughts for a different post. Thanks for reading!

Navigating Nausea

Before I start on the main subject of my post today, I just wanted to say thank you to those who sent me well wishes after Sunday's "shocking" post. I actually moved up my OB appointment a few days to Monday just so I could get checked out. I got an extra sonogram and everything looks totally fine. Baby's heartbeat was completely normal, so the doctor isn't concerned. I am really relieved, albeit still slightly paranoid. But, I'm trying not to be.

Anyway, many of my friends and family have been asking me how I am doing, and I thought I would give a little update to the whole nausea situation. First of all, yes, I am still nauseous. Apparently, I am not going to get a respite from this until August. And as long as baby is happy and healthy, I'll get through it. It is what it is. I've (mostly) come to terms with it and I am trying my best to not complain too much. That being said, it's way better than it was weeks 5-18, when it was absolutely horrible and completely debilitating. Those weeks were really tough to go through, and I really hope I don't have to repeat that experience if we have another baby in the future.

But I thought I would write this post to maybe help other people who have to deal with this pregnancy-long morning sickness. First of all, it's frustrating. It's super hard to not get jealous when other people never have morning sickness or the October group of the online pregnancy board I frequent discusses how they are feeling better. Yup, insane jealousy over people feeling good.

And the worst part is, I know other people have it worse. I constantly remind myself of that. Some people get HG (Hyperemesis Gravidarum), which is far worse than what I have. It's characterized by vomiting to the point of dehydration, extreme weight loss, and hospitalization. One woman on my board had HG her entire pregnancy and nearly died. Some women have terrible pregnancies. They struggle to get pregnant, or stay pregnant, or keep the baby in long enough. Not to mention those that have a difficult or life-threatening childbirth. And I acknowledge that we have been extremely fortunate from this perspective (so far). 

So, in my 136 days of nausea (and 3 months of vomiting) and counting, here are some things I have learned along the way. My hope with this post is that I might help or encourage other people who have the non-stop pregnancy sickness. 

1. Feeling sick all the time for weeks on end can cause both loneliness and depression. It took me a while to realize that I wasn't alone and that I could, in fact, get through it. I get sad when I have to miss things because I am just way too sick to do them. Imagine having a stomach virus since December. 

2. The typical "morning sickness cures" did almost nothing for me. It took me a while to realize that no amount of crackers and ginger ale were going to help. In fact, I had aversions to both. 

3. Nausea medication can be a hit or miss. For me, Zofran was a huge miss. Everyone talks about how this is a lifesaver drug. For me, this was a non-starter. If I have this again, I will make sure to work with my doctor to get other medication because there is other medication that can help and I would have tried that earlier. As it turned out, I was doing okay enough by the time I realized this that I didn't bother with it. 

4. Unisom (OTC sleep aid) did actually help me quite a bit with the nausea. I have been taking one pill (the sleep tab kind) every evening. The nights where I don't take it, I have a horrible day the next day and usually throw up. The drug in this is an antihistamine. Others have suggested Benedryl for similar effects. A lot of people suggest Unisom with 25 mg of B6. The B6 never really did anything for me, and I sometimes wonder if it's more of a placebo than anything. 

5. Protein makes everything better. I have had to increase my protein intake quite considerably. For some reason, a high protein diet has kept my nausea in check more than anything else. I was never really into meat before, but I am now. Mmmm... steak! That being said, I have had zero aversion to meat this pregnancy. I hear that's a common food aversion. For me, I have only had an aversion to seafood. Everything else, bring it on!

6. Along with protein, dairy has become one of my nausea go-to foods. A glass of milk has an amazing ability to make everything better. This is only funny to me because plain milk kind of grossed me out pre-pregnancy. Cheese and ice cream have also been great. However, I had a super hard time with cheese while I was still puking all the time. (TMI - but the cheese in the vomit made me start choking, which led to more vomit and crying). Yogurt has been good, too. I am really into Klondikes at the moment. Know the saying, "what would you do for a klondike bar?" Yea, I don't even want to know the answer. 

7. Bananas!! It took me far too long to realize that bananas have nausea-reducing capabilities. I found this game-changer after spending the entire first trimester craving banana cream pie. Except I couldn't find any, and I did not have the energy to make it. So, one day at the grocery store, on a whim, I decided to try plain bananas. Pre-pregnancy, I hated bananas. I would never eat them because they grossed me out. Pregnant me loves bananas. They are like some miracle fruit that can get me through another hour or two of the nausea. Actually, a lot of fruit has been great. 

8. Limiting sugar. For me, anything with a high sugar content (with the exception of ice cream) has the tendency to make me nauseous or in some cases actually vomit. It's rough because I normally am all about the sugar. I will still indulge, but I pay for it soon after. Sugar paired with protein or a higher fat content (like ice cream or unfrosted donuts) seem to be okay, but I try to limit those for other (obvious) reasons. 

9. Frequent meals seem to help, but this is hit or miss. I have felt hungry maybe a handful of times this pregnancy. I am either okay or super nauseous. Super nauseous usually correlated to me needing to eat, which makes things better, mostly. I feel like I have gained more weight than I would like because of this, but the alternative is vomiting, so... whatever. My doctors aren't the least bit concerned with the amount I have gained, so I am trying to be okay with it. 

10. Bad weather makes everything worse. I have no idea the reason behind this, but snow and rain mean a pretty miserable stomach for me. Sunny days tend to be my best. This past Sunday, when we had great weather, I had almost zero nausea the entire day. It was great. Well, the rain started Monday and I was miserable until it ended (I actually didn't know it had started raining on Monday, I just started feeling terrible). If someone can explain this to me, I'd be very interested. Nevertheless, this very snowy winter was really not cool. 

That's all I can think of. Mostly, it's been okay. I work out every day and try to keep myself busy working on things. I am getting more excited about the baby. I wonder what he's going to look like and what type of person he'll grow up to be. I love getting ideas for the nursery and working on them. (I just finished making curtains, but I'll write another post on that). Time is going both fast and slow at the same time, if that makes any sense. 3 and a half more months to go! Happy May everyone!