::Baby G:: Week 15 Oranges

So I think it's official---my belly has popped! I cannot believe how big it feels in the last three days! Random people at work are noticing now, it's crazy!

How far along? 15 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 2 lbs

Maternity clothes? Yep! Maternity jeans and tops this week along with my normal dresses. I still can get by with the hair tie and a belly band on my normal jeans too.

Stretch marks? Nope, using Mama Bee's twice a day (it's from the makers of Burt's Bees)

Sleep: Sleeping really well although last night I felt a strange pulling when I turned over, I later learned it's called round ligament pain and is part of the process.

Best moment this week: Finding out that the Baby Gap in our area carries maternity!

Have you told family and friends: Yep

Miss Anything? This week I wanted a turkey and provolone sub from Jersey Mike's, I might cave soon

Movement: I thought I felt something when I pressed lightly but then I realized it's just my pulse ha!

Food cravings: None really

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing really

Have you started to show yet: Yes I think this week for me was what people normally call "popping"

Gender prediction: Girl! We find out next week!

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Weekly Wisdom: With pregnancy you will learn who your real friends are :-)

Looking forward to: Seeing the baby in the ultrasound next week. I hope we get good shots and pictures.

Fitz has been hilarious with all of these chalkboard photos. The first time we really had to bribe him with a treat to sit still. Things have definitely evolved----tonight I went into the nursery and pulled out my chalk and started erasing last week's board. He immediately was sitting next to me ready to go. 

Hubs wasn't even in the room to take the picture. He was so good. He sat there while I drew the board and sat patiently through every shot. Then the minute I said "good boy, want a treat?" He was out of there and back to his typical crazy Boston Terrier self. Speaking of Boston Terriers, check out this cute video.

Happy Hump Day!

:-) Mere

::Fluff:: My First Step Into Fluff!

I have wanted to cloth diaper our future little ones for as long as I can remember. I like to live as green as possible and this area just seems like a no-brainer for me, especially after all of the convincing articles I have read. What is even more awesome is that I have a husband that is 100% on board with a doubt, I didn't even need to convince him with all of my money saving tidbits!

I have been researching like crazy lately trying to figure out the best possible brand and type of diapers to purchase, there are dozens of different types and routes to take with these. I decided it's probably best to just get a few different kinds for the beginning and go from there. Once we determine which kinds we like, we can order more in a larger size for when my little one is growing!

Today I got the first of my orders from gdiapers. I have read a lot of good reviews on this diaper but to be honest, the cute-ness of these diapers is what really did me in----plus it has a "g" on the butt, seriously meant to be!

(g diaper in glacier blue and good morning sunshine)

I'll be sure keep you up to date on all of my new developments and discoveries in this process. I am planning a detailed blog post on my decisions for brands, sizing, types, and overall process once I get there and decide :-)

Anyone out there cloth diaper?! I'd love to hear your favorites and experiences if so.

:-) Mere

::Fashion:: First Maternity Outfit

This past weekend while the hubs and I were out romping (read: shopping) we found great maternity jeans at the Baby Gap. I was so excited---they didn't look at all like maternity jeans plus they were skinnies. This means I can wear skinny jeans all pregnancy long! I was so excited that I thought I would share! (Note---the side profile picture is very deceiving----must be the combination of Doritos and horizontal stripes, I'm not that bump-y yet).

Top: Old Navy Maternity

Jeans: Gap Maternity

Blazer: Express

Necklace: Old Navy

Wedges: Old Navy

Hope your Monday was amazing! It's over so that is a step in the right direction.

:-) Mere

::Baby G:: Week 14 Happy 4th!

Happy 4th of July!!

How far along? 14 weeks

Total weight gain/loss: 1.2 lbs

Maternity clothes? Thinking that I'll start wearing some this week, clothes are getting uncomfortable.

Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep: Sleeping pretty good for the most part, I've been having tons of wild dreams lately.

Best moment this week: Finding nursery furniture at great deals!

Have you told family and friends: Yep

Miss Anything? This week I missed Coke but I had a few sips to fill the void!

Movement: Not yet

Food cravings: Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Dip with Apples and it was amazing as usual.

Anything making you queasy or sick: Nothing really

Have you started to show yet: This week has been the most growth as far discomfort with my old clothes so I'm thinking yes!

Gender prediction: Girl!

Labor Signs: Nope

Belly Button in or out? In

Wedding rings on or off? On

Happy or Moody most of the time: Happy!

Weekly Wisdom: Craigslist on Friday is full of great finds, more than any other day of the week.

Looking forward to: Painting the nursery

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July. I got to spend mine with family and friends, watching the spectacular fireworks show!

:-) Mere

::Fun:: I'm 30!

Last week marked the end of a decade in my life, I said goodbye to my twenties. While I anticipated it being sad/upsetting/::insert depressing adjective here::, I realized that I am so excited to enter this new stage of my life.

My mom, husband, and sister put together a little dinner/party with some close friends at a Mexican Restaurant in town. It was a great night being surrounded but those I love!

Even the mariachi band joined in!

Thanks to my family and hubs for celebrating and helping me enter this next stage of my life smiling!

:-) Mere

::Baby G:: Nursery Finds!

While we don't know just yet whether Baby G is a boy or a girl, we have a general idea of what we are looking for in a nursery. I love the look of the Woodland Creates/Owls for both a both and a girl, with just a change in the main colors depending on the sex. For the furniture, we are planning on going with all white since it will be easier to mix and match pieces using white versus a wood finish.

In planning for the nursery, one conclusion I have come to is that nursery furniture is expensive! (in reality, anything "baby" is expensive) therefore we have no intention of buying a "set" of furniture. With that being said, I decided to search Craigslist Friday night to see if I could find any deals. Luckily, I found a few listings for dressers, armoires, and rocking chairs---I made a few calls Saturday and today we went and picked up a dresser and a glider/rocker for the baby. 

I was looking for a dresser similar to this one from Babies R' Us that I plan to "spruce up" with an owl design that I found on Pinterest:

Babies R' Us Dresser $350

Inspiration from Pinterest on painted dresser design

And this is our find at $60. The woman had intentions of refinishing it and already has the top piece sanded down, even better! I'm looking to paint it white and do a similar design to this dresser above, making sure to match the colors to whichever bedding I decide on. I also would like to go to World Market or Anthropologie and get some new knobs that will go with the owl theme.

Savings on Dresser - $290!!

Next find was a glider. I am really not interested in spending upwards of $200-400 on a rocking/glider chair, especially since we have a recliner in the living room that rocks. Something similar to this one from Babies R' Us is what I was looking for, I'm impartial to the foot stool:

Babies R' Us Glider $299

And this is our find at $50. I am still trying to decide if I want to strip this and paint it white and then get cushions that match the nursery or leave it as is and then get white cushions. Here are some cushions I have found online. I haven't looked too hard online for this yet so I'm not totally sure on the best price for the cushions but even $70 isn't horrible considering.

Cushions for $70

Savings on the Glider: $80

I'm really excited to get this nursery started. I'll be sure to keep pictures updated!

:-) Mere

::Baby G:: Nursery Ideas

We have been brainstorming the nursery in the last couple weeks and thought we would share the ideas and inspiration!

Paint for the walls:

Sherwin Williams Angora (Taupe)

Cribs:

 

We are looking to get a white convertible crib, something that won't look totally ridiculous when converted into a full bed.

Furniture:

We plan on foregoing a changing table and buying a changing pad to put on top of the dresser.

Decorations:

Hopefully we can do most of this without breaking the bank!

:-) Mere