For All The Moms-to-be

I realize I’ve been a mom for about ohhhh 2 seconds, but I remember when I was expecting I scoured the internet for lists like this one — there really can’t be too many perspectives. I do believe there are quite a few expectant mothers who read this blog, so if you value your sanity I recommend taking notes.

** Disclaimer: NO ONE HAS PAID ME TO PROMOTE THEIR PRODUCTS. I’m simply sharing what has worked for us, and I sincerely hope they help you. I love the following products so much I want to marry them. But then we’re going to have to write up a whole new bill to present to congress and things could get messy. So, I’ll just tell you what they are. **

Without further ado, the 10 products that I would die without:

Exhibit A:

This is just a pacifier attached to a stuffed animal. It’s so simple and they come in tons of different animals. The attached animal gives your baby something to grab onto, and also prevents the pacifier from falling out of reach (most of the time). Rose can usually get it back in her mouth after falling out, and that’s priceless  Seriously. Don’t tell these guys I would’ve paid a fortune for one of these.

You can see one sitting on top of our changing pad:

Ours are made by Boppy and come in a pack of three. They prevent you from ever having to take off the changing pad cover to wash it. Trust me. You’re going to get poop everywhere. These things are laundry lifesavers and life simplifiers. You just throw this little liner in the wash and toss a new one on your changing pad. I feel this is worth repeating: you WILL get poop everywhere. In belly buttons. Under fingernails. On the moon, probably. It just happens, ok?

One of my mom friends recommended we use cloth diapers for burp cloths. She gets 5 gold stars. Or however many is the most. She gets THE MOST GOLD STARS.

They are simple, super absorbant, and easy to wash. I bought two packs of these; having ten in circulation seems to work perfectly with our laundry schedule and we are never without one. I also recommend keeping one in every room that you frequent. That way you’re not carrying one around with you everywhere.

In the first few weeks of Rose’s life she wanted to be held constantly. It was all I could do to keep her calm, but it really tired me out. I started using the Moby Wrap and never looked back.

We could go on walks, I could do the dishes, eat lunch, surf the net (does anyone call it that anymore? No?) and basically regain my sanity. The Moby Wrap was a lifesaver.

We also have the Ergo baby carrier for when she gets a bit older, and I can’t wait to use it. I’ve heard nothing but wonderful reviews. I’ll report back when we break it out.

We use two things religiously:

1. An app on our iPhones and iPad specifically for white noise (there are tons of ‘em out there. We found a few good free ones). These are great when we’re in a pinch or on the road.

2. The Tranquil Turtle. We LOVE this guy. He sleeps in our room every night, and after every nighttime feeding session he lulls Rose to back sleep.

Do you think they purposefully made him look high as a kite? Maybe he doubles as a way to introduce our kids to the perils of drug use. Don’t smoke pot, kids. You’ll turn blue and a soothing glow will softly emanate from your back.

This should probably have been #1. We would go nuts without this thing. It’s basically just a portable nap-time hammock. It’s super portable and travels extremely well. Rose takes most of her naps here, and she actually sleeps in it some nights when we don’t want to make the switch to her crib. That switch is a complicated dance.

Not only does she love it – we love it. You just rock it with a hand or foot, or even with whatever sort of rat nest your hair has become because you can’t ever manage to “do” it. It starts to grow extremities. Don’t worry about it, they come in handy.

Winter babies need to be snug as a bug but because you’re TERRIFIED OF SIDS you don’t want to wrap them in a blanket. Blankets come undone and then it’s like eating a Chipotle burrito that comes unwrapped and you don’t even want it anymore. The whole point is that I don’t need to use utensils, ok? 

All of your non-mom friends think you have your baby wrapped up in some sort of straight jacket. And that’s ok. It just makes you look tough.

Just buy one, ok? You’ll thank me when your baby is screaming and you don’t have to simultaneously remember how to magically turn a blanket into a swaddle. I suggest having at least three in rotation. Is my daughter the only one who gets spit up on everything?

There are a million to choose from. But just please, for the love of god-or-whatever-you-believe-in just get yourself one of these. This is the one we have, and I love it.

It doesn’t really matter which one you get it. Whatever floats your boat. OR YOUR NIPPLES HAHA GET IT? I swear, there are nipples everywhere. And while we’re talking about nipples… just kidding. I can’t do it.

Nipples.

First of all, baby leg warmers are the cuttest. Doy. And if that’s not reason enough then clearly you don’t know me that well.

But secondly, they do serve an absolutely wonderful purpose. Do you realize how many diapers you’re going to have to change? Leg warmers are one million times easier than pants because YOU DON’T HAVE TO TAKE THEM OFF TO CHANGE A DIAPER.

I’m going to pause for a moment to let that sink in.

You guys. Do you realize how money that is? I sorta felt like I had conquered the world when I ordered my first pair. Pants are for the birds. Well, not actually, but you know what I mean. But actually, if I saw a bird in a pair of nicely pressed chinos it would really make my day.

If anything on this list is going to buy you sanity, it’s a breast pump (if you’re planning on breast feeding – no judgement). GET ONE. IT DOESN’T MATTER WHAT KIND. If you can afford the créme de la créme $400 version, great. If you can only afford the $100 version, fine. Just get one. It’s totally worth every. single. damn. penny.

Do you know what it buys you? SLEEP. Your husband, or partner, or mom, or dad, or hell, even the mailman can give your baby a bottle while you catch some much needed Zzzzzzs. I’m tempted to teach Olive how to wield a bottle.

So, in conclusion. Acquire these items if you’d like to salvage the remaining sanity that childbirth has left you.

Any other great items that you can recommend for a new mom? Link in the comments! It takes a village, people.

Check out my 10 baby products you don’t need! 

Presenting: Littlebit Handmade

It’s fitting that I would follow-up Marci’s guest post with a post all about her new shop on Etsy!

Being the proud friend that I am, I find it necessary to pimp her out in any way that I can. Go forth and purchase adorable baby hats, my friends!

I mean, seriously. Look how stinkin’ cute her work is:

And her hat shop wouldn’t be complete without her very own hat model: her daughter, Caroline.

ohmygod I want to squeeze her through my computer screen. Sometimes I tell Marci that I want to eat Caroline for lunch. Is that weird? I just want to NOM NOM NOM.

I have been informed that I should be expecting a package from Littlebit Handmade and I seriously can not wait to get my grubby little hands on it. I’ve already promised to rent out our daughter’s dome for modeling purposes, if she ever decides to make her grand entrance.

Keep checking back with the Etsy store — her inventory is slowly building (she’s a full-time working mama, so she only has so many hours in a day). I do believe she’ll also be adding some headbands into the mix, as well.

If the quality of these hats are anything like the baby blanket she made us, that I’m currently stroking, you kid’s noggin will be in for a real treat.

The Ottoman Empire

Ha! I bet you thought there for a second that I was going to school you on a history lesson. No, my friends. That will never happen. The only things I will ever school you on are vodka shots and Photoshop key commands.

According to my friend Wikipedia, the Ottoman Empire had absolutely nothing to do with Ottomans. I would at least hope that those Turkish fellas had a comfy place to rest their feet after a long day of conquest.

This post is more accurately about our new ottoman. The one we purchased back in November that I never had a chance to talk about.

Let’s rewind, and I’ll show you a few pictures of the family room pre-Ottoman empire:

If you remember correctly, Steve built that beauty of a coffee table for his apartment, back before we lived together. (If you click the picture below you can see how he whipped that puppy up.)

The coffee table is gorgeous, and we love it… you’re sensing a “but” aren’t you? Well, you’re right. BUT, we like to kick our feet up and shockingly oak isn’t the most comfortable. Also, whenever our little girl starts crawling and pulling herself up, the corners on that bad boy are sharp.

For those various reasons we decided to put the coffee table up in the loft, and purchase a soft and cushy leather ottoman.

This beast takes up a lot more room, which is perfect because our family room is almost awkwardly large. (I know there’s a joke in there, somewhere.)

I wanted leather vs. fabric because of the wipe-factor. If we spill anything it’s just a quick wipe with a damp cloth and the mess is gone. It’s basically like a soft coffee table. But it’s firm enough to set a glass of water on, which is awesome.

I am currently sitting on the couch typing this, while my 39-week pregnant feet are resting on that supple brown leather. I’m always trying to use the word “supple” but it never comes out sounding right. It should probably be reserved for romance novels.

I should also mention the total bonus of storage space — I have tons of blankets crammed in there.

I’d like to eventually make a tray for it, but that’s somewhere in the distant future — after the baby and possibly after the baby goes to college. We’ll see how we’re feeling.

I’m Lookin’ at You, Guest Room

That’s right. You heard me, you jerk. It’s time to tackle you and your unfinishedness.

(Side note about the word “jerk”: Steve thinks it’s the least insulting adjective you could call someone, to the point where it’s comedic. So, I’ve been finding myself using it — if only to annoy him.)

Our guest room has been a hodge-podge of leftover furniture since we moved in. Which is fine — it really doesn’t look all that terrible. The style just doesn’t fit into the rest of our home.

It’s pretty “meh.”

I decided to throw together a mood board to capture my intentions for this room. One of three things are going to happen: A) The baby is going to come and I’m going to be all LOL GUEST ROOM? Or B) Steve’s going to be all “you want to spend how much money?” or C) I’m going to verrry slowly start to make progress in this room, and I’ll have an “after” shot sometime this summer.

Actually, I lied. All three of those things are going to happen. The baby is most certainly going to come within the next week or two, Steve is definitely going to eye roll when I show him that new $160 comforter I want, and I am 100% not going to finish this room anytime soon.

BUT! Guess what? WHO. CARES.

Here is my mood board for the guest room and adjoining bathroom:

1. Owl Lamp from Target, $41.99 (We already have lamps in this room — I’m just lukewarm about them — so the owl lamps are really just a wish-list item.)

2. Pillow’s are from Joss & Main awhile back. Currently they’re on our couches, but neither of us like the shiny, slippery material they’re made from. I’d be happy to retire them to the guest room.

3. The headboard is something we already have, but I’d just have to get some new fabric and recover it. That’s the beauty of upholstering your own headboard. Bored? Just slap on some new fabric!

4. Shower Curtains — These were my first big sewing project, so these are already done and done. I actually used these as the inspiration for everything on the mood board. Since the guest bathroom is a Jack and Jill, I want the two rooms to feel cohesive.

5. Nate Berkus Signature Towel Collection, $7.99, Curry. Because who wouldn’t want to dry their hands with a towel named after an Indian spice?

6. This is a print by Charley Harper called Gregarious Grosbeaks. I’m thinking I might be a total bastard and reproduce this work on my own. I’m sure that’s what every esteemed artist hopes for, right? That some amateur will rip off their work and hang it in their guest room.

7. Nightstands – This image is representational of the actual nightstands that we have in there. We bought these guys at a garage sale for 5 bucks and then immediately regretted it. After painting them turquoise they’re tolerable, and I’m determined to make them work somewhere in our house.

8. Kaleidoscope Patchwork Quilt, $160. I’m obsessed. There, I said it. I’ve been eying this for about two years now — it’s a miracle that Urban Outfitters still has it. I wasn’t sure where it would fit in with our home, and then it finally hit me that it ties everything together in the guest room. The turquoise nightstands, the black and white shower curtains, and that delectable mustard color that is my favorite… IT’S PERFECT. I WANT IT NOWWWW.

9. Brilliance Roundabout Trellis Lemon Curry Rug, $209. I love how this rug will kinda blend into the faux-wood floors, but still make things soft and cushy. Also, it’s mustard color so that’s a no brainer. I love it.

So, that’s a measly $469 to completely overhaul the guest room. Oh yeah, and I suppose we’d have to paint the walls, too, which would add some dolla dolla bills to that total. And whatever fabric I picked out for the headboard. I still don’t think that’s too shabby for an entire room makeover.

And don’t you worry about that chevron rug that’s currently in place. That sucker is very-much-loved and will be moved up to the loft to sort of anchor whatever semblance of a guest room space / office we have going on up there.

What do you think? Totally do-able, right? Right. Now I just need to convince my husband we need that new comforter when we already have 3 floating around the house. I mean ZERO! Babe, we have zero extra comforters.

Octopus-Baby Madness

That hyphen indicates that I’m describing my baby as an octopus. Which would be correct. And if you didn’t know me that would probably be really weird.

I love octopuses. I always have and I always will. I liked them before they were cool… is what I would say if I were a hipster. But I’m generally uncool so we know that isn’t the case.

Now that you know this about me, you can imagine my excitement when I opened up my three gifts for our little girl at our baby party last weekend. First, I opened up this too-cute-for-words onesie. Complete with octopus and Steve’s favorite color: neon yellow.

I just can’t believe that in early February we’re going to have a little baby kicking around in that outfit. It’s so cute I can hardly stand it!

As if the cuteness factor wasn’t already off the charts, the next gift I opened was a baby hat shaped like an octopus. And I obviously couldn’t just take a photograph a hat without trying it out on the dog as soon as we got home.

I know it’s pretty hard to get past that expression on Olive’s face, but try to focus on the awesomeness of the hat.

To top off this trifecta of cephalopod spectacularness, I opened up this bad boy:

This clock couldn’t be any more perfect for the nursery. He’s so charming! I want to put on a top hat, tip it his direction, and with my very best British accent say “Good day to you, sir.” Isn’t he just the cutest little guy? We haven’t picked the perfect spot to hang him yet, but to be honest it’s because we haven’t picked a perfect spot for anything new in there, yet. I figure we’ll fill the room up with new taking-care-of-baby needs and accessories, and then figure out where everything goes.

I’m hoping to be back tomorrow with an Olive-related post, but this blog is starting to seriously compete with the back of my eyelids and my comfy bed.

 

Skull, Skull, Skull, Skull, Skuuull

Sung to the tune of The Thong Song. Because why not? It’s Thursday.

Let me tell you a little something about my husband: he LOVES skulls. I know–it surprised me, too, when he told me after our second or third date. I thought I was about to get serious with some closeted motorcycle-loving, I-love-mom-tattoo-wearing, swashbuckling pirate. Turns out the dude is totally normal (by my standards, anyway) but just happens to have a penchant for human domes. I can dig it. At least there’s something he’s into, right? And that something isn’t cocaine or gambling so I figured we’d be all set.

I saw this gold skull online at Z Gallery, and immediately showed it to Steve.

Not only did he think it was awesome, but YOU GUYS – he ordered it. This goes down in history as the first item of home decor that Steve has purchased on his own.

Skully sits lovingly atop our credenza in the family room. Yes, year round. No, this isn’t just Halloween decor. Anything that makes my Lumberjack so happy needs to be proudly displayed. (Babe, if you’re reading this, I am aware that your beer bottle collection is still collecting dust in the attic. Baby steps.)

And that’s the story of how Skully came to be. Who doesn’t love a nice, golden skull displayed year round?

I should probably mention that I love it, too. It’s quirky and odd and a little bit endearing. Just like us.

Shopping Vs. Working

So, this weekend I was supposed to paint the book ledges. It didn’t happen. The reason why it didn’t happen was a mix between them not being sanded and ready to paint (which I could’ve done) and the fact that I spent a good majority of my weekend at Target scouring the aisles for my final nursery decor needs.

After I got the general cleaning / laundry / grocery shopping hum drum of weekend chores accomplished, I decided to spend the remainder of my weekend free-time shopping rather than working on the ledges. Sue me.

Target isn’t paying me to tell you this. Nor do they have any clue who I am. I am only mentioning their name because I am like a kid in a candy store in there. I could spend several hours just walking down the aisles, discovering new stuff I NEED to have.
And their collections are getting more and more impressive. They’re not the cheapest, but they’re a great one-stop-shop and I was very pleased to be able to conclude the Nursery Shopping Extravaganza in one fell swoop.

Here’s the new accent table that will live by the rocking chair. For when mama needs to set her cocktail somewhere.

I love the lines and the masculine texture that will tone down the femininity of the room. And of the new mercury glass lamp I had to have:

This was one of those mix ‘n match dealies. I chose a burlap looking shade because a white shade would’ve blended into the wall and crib. This one provides a striking texture to the lamp itself, and to the rest of the room. The mercury glass trend may be over, but it lives on forever in my heart and in our nursery, apparently. I’m still a sucker for it.

I was planning on thrifting a bunch of mix and match frames to create a small collage, but then I found these and they were perfect in price (Goodwill is getting expensive — I’m not even joking) and I adored the antique look of them. They had gobs to choose from, but these were the lucky three that came home with me:

I made a last-minute decision to register at a second store: Target, and I’m so glad I did because I had a blast in there over the weekend. Yes, this is what my life has come to. And I’m not ashamed of it. ‘Merica!

I did get a few other small nursery-related craft projects accomplished this weekend; It wasn’t all shopping and partying. I threw together some semblance of a crib skirt I can share sometime soon, and I’m still hoping to have pictures of the book ledges late in the week!

Are you guys tired of nursery updates yet? I’m not going lie — that’s all we got goin’ on right now. Maybe I’ll throw in a few new pictures of Olive and The Bump to make up for it.

I hope you had a great weekend! Have a marvelous Monday.

 

 

 

Midland to the Rescue

Notice anything different about this picture?

Uh huh. That’s right. NEW NIGHTSTANDS! I can’t tell you how excited I was to replace our ugly blue ones the ones we worked hard to paint, but in the end, didn’t love.

Here’s a close-up of our new Midland treasures:

The shape of them is perfect. We really needed longer nightstands to help fill in the humongous wall that anchors our bed. For reasons I’m unsure of, they were only $40 a piece and in near-perfect, mid-century condition. How is that even possible? The same seller had another set of mid-century nightstands in his booth that were going for $600. I didn’t ask questions. I just licked every square inch to claim my territory and had a nice young man from the front counter wheel them to the register.

I still need to figure out the bedding/pillow situation. The mustard coverlet is staying, but we’re in dire need of some sort of pillow and layering action. With colors. And textures! Also, I need to pick out a paint color for those brass lamps.

I swear to you I don’t pose Olive. She just loves to be in front of the camera and follows it around; she’s a natural. Sometimes I do try to cover her with stuff though. Unfortunately for me, and luckily for her, the coverlet wasn’t quite long enough to make a full hat.

If you’re wondering what’s to become of the blue nightstands, they’re just getting moved to the guest room. They actually look quite at home in there and don’t seem to mind the switch-up. Don’t tell them I said this, but they’re more on the Guest Room level rather than the front stage that is the Master Bedroom, anyway.

I’m in love. The bedroom has come a long way from when we first moved in:

We still have a ways to go, but I feel there has been some major progress over the year.

This post is dedicated to my mom, who is the one that spotted our beautiful new pieces of mid-century goodness. I recommend taking her shopping with you — she’s good. She’s really good. But you can’t have her. She’s all mine.

I’ll be back tomorrow with some plant-related updates, and then if all goes according to plan this weekend, next week I’ll be able to show you the book ledges in the nursery. We also had a minor switcheroo in the nursery that forced Steve to question my sanity. More on that next week.

Happy Thursday!