A Room for BABY!

WE ARE READY.

I've never been this ready to have a baby before! Emotionally, physically, mentally, AND now: logistically! He has a finished room!! Things are organized! It's kind of unbelievable in the best way. 

We were crazy enough to move two weeks before Sophie came on the scene (moving boxes everywhere as I was adjusting to my firstborn! yikes!), and we lived in a one-bedroom when Maggie was born, so her "nursery" was a mini crib in our bedroom. Cozy, yes we were! I've never felt our baby's space was truly ready for them before they came though, so this is a total novelty.

This time around we have an actual SPACE for our little boy, it's not a closet room, and it's not shared. It's the biggest deal to us. I've been able to nest and prep slowly and surely, and enjoy the "design" process immensely. Re-decorating is my favorite thing in the world, so this has been a labor of SO much love. 

ABC Print by Hanna Andersson

The rest of our home is whitewashed, as they say. I'm generally so partial to bright, light, white! Because of this, I was ready to take a risk in our baby's small room and paint it deep deep blue/green. I cannot even describe how nervous I was. It's just paint! Yes. It's just paint... but my husband is not a fan of painting, and I know that painting over deep colors would not be happening anytime soon if we didn't like the color. I painstakingly chose on my own after going back and forth on several shades. All of my options I found online, and sometimes screen colors and real life colors don't translate, so I was especially nervous. After two coats and a few things on the walls, my nerves calmed, and now I love it. 

I'm not so into dark woodwork, but we are tenants, and there are limits. ;) I'm just thankful for a wonderful landlord and that he lets us paint at all. 

Green Canvas Bucket c/o Maika Goods (similar) Knitted Taxi Rattle c/o Estella NYC ||ABC Backpack || Tee || Wall Hooks

One wall is entirely cabinets. We kept toys in this room before baby was on his way, and simply consolidated and purged to keep them in the girls' closet instead. The storage in the wooden cabinets is definitely sufficient for the time being. I'm an OCD organizer, which comes in handy with small spaces. Down the road I may need to share my closet with him for hanging items, but we'll cross that bridge when we need to. I'm totally fine with sharing. ;) All of the baby clothing is easily folded or rolled into size-appropriate baskets on shelves hidden by doors for now. 

The chair is a knockoff steal from Amazon. It doesn't look like much, but somehow during pregnancy it has been the MOST comfy for me. Hoping that carries through post-pregnancy days. It was really the only size of rocking chair that would fit in the small room, so I didn't have much of an option, but we're SO happy with it. I may add a pouf or small footstool to get myself reeeeally settled in. The basket was a gift from my sister and I love it to bits, and the rug- oh the rug... my favorite. The girls and I just sit on it sometimes, to chat and soak in the softness. 

The string of light balls in the window are Bright Lab Lights, and they cast a gorgeous soft night glow when it's dark out. They'll be perfect for middle of the night nursing sessions. Mine is a custom string I assembled at an event-- the custom option is also available online, or you can just buy a pre-strung version in great color options.

I don't have space for a changing table, but as I mentioned- Maggie's setup was a mini crib in our bedroom-- I grew accustomed to simply using a changing mat and moving it around the house as needed. Less is more here, so we're happy to be going with that strategy again.  

Lion Print and (similar) stacking toy by Hanna Andersson ||

Trains purchased in a set on Amazon

Mobile is a DIY using trick gliders from Seedling || Hanna Andersson makes the nicest crib sheets around- they have great patterns, but I preferred white in this particular space || Sophie the Giraffe is Hanna Andersson || Jellycat Fox is a gift for baby from his big sisters who want to play with it almost daily || Frames are by Blick, and they're my favorites-- I have them all over the house because they're reasonably priced and hold up SO much better than Ikea || Tiny Golden Gate is from Petit Collage || German license plate is nostalgic from when Brian and I were young and crazy and bought a car in Germany. || Crib is Pottery Barn Kids- classic & handed down

Brian had ONE BIG REQUEST in baby's room, and he said if I can do that, he's perfectly fine with me designing everything else. He wanted a Steph Curry poster on the wall. He didn't need it to be giant, but he said it couldn't just be in an irrelevant space. HA! Wish granted, Brian. Over the crib it is. If you look closely, you'll see he's dominating Lebron in this particular shot. We drink alllllll the Warrior's kool-aid around her, friends. By the end of basketball season, we were THIS close to letting Sophie purchase the tackiest pennant available with cartoon faces of all the GSW team for her wall in her room. Brian was actually the one who nixed it in the end. I was like, well it means SHE LOVES THE WARRIORS... yes she does, but yes, I'm glad one of her parents is sensible sometimes.

Gorgeous cable throw and SOFTEST rug ever, both Hanna Andersson. My favorite pieces in the room, hands down. I want both for my own room too. ;) 

We are counting down the days until we see our baby's face! I'm trying to remind myself that just because our girls arrived early (4&9 days), it does not mean our baby boy will! Reasoning with myself is totally futile-- I'm convinced he'll be here sooner than later. I had a night full of serious-breath-taking contractions last weekend, and I was juuust about to tap Brian to tell him it was go-time, and they stopped. Abruptly. UGH. 

So now my bag is packed (!!!), and the day is coming. His room is ready and so are we! And so are these teeny tiny shoes that showed up on our doorstep today-- Eeee! SO CUTE. Boys apparel is so underrated! I'm loving every tiny boy piece. :)

Shoes c/o Umi Shoes || Rug c/o Hanna Andersson

---

So thankful to Hanna Andersson for collaborating with us on our baby's room. Product was provided, and all opinions are my own. I am floored by the quality of each piece, and we will all be enjoying the space SO much more because of the beautiful Hanna pieces. Affiliate links are also included in the post. Thank you for supporting the brands that support us! xx

State of the Pregnancy: Week 36

Dress c/o Tiffany Rose

Pregnancy Update 1 // Update 2

My last update was at 30 weeks, so at that rate, this is probably my last update on pregnancy-- THRILLED about that!! So excited to see this baby face to face!! It's surreal to imagine myself the mother of a newborn, even the third time around. Every child is so different, and brings new dynamic, new joys, new challenges...

I've avoided writing any update because- while social life has been SO fun, and the past couple months have been full of excitement, they've also been full of sickness, nausea, and heartburn. I'm a bit of a CASE, and it feels kind of brutal, so who wants to hear about that? It seems the last ten weeks of pregnancy should be full of loveliness and excitement and nesting. Nesting, yes! I love cleaning and organizing- mopping and purging. The excitement has unfortunately been a bit overshadowed by the here and present daily illness that has now been my reality for about seven months straight. 

Now I'm four weeks away from my due date, and feeling a bit more thankful and optimistic than I've been in ages. I was thinking this morning about how I had no idea if this baby would make it to even week 24.. or to 30, and now here we are, edging on on totally full term. It feels a bit like a miracle if I look at all the health challenges and risks of this pregnancy, and how it's now all resolved. Nausea is such a small exchange relative to the fact that this has somehow become a HEALTHY pregnancy, when all is said and done. Neither of our lives are high risk any longer!! SO THANKFUL.

My girls were both early (4 & 9 days), so in my mind I will have an early baby again, but I keep telling myself that after this pregnancy, I may want to count on a 41 weeker, ha! Why not, right? I'm simultaneously motivated to tie up all the loose ends, and telling myself I have plenty of time so I should just rest and not get my hopes up. 

I love bullet points, so I'll use them to help summarize:

• My bag is not packed yet- that is a project for this week. My mind has been thinking of this that and the other, so maintaining focus on what I'll need for the hospital has been totally challenging. I'll get that locked down in the next couple days. 
• Our baby's name is chosen, but will not be disclosed this time around. ;) We like to torture our families with anticipation, ha!
• We haven't even purchased a carseat or stroller, but aren't very worried about it. That can be done in minutes, if necessary (especially now that we have Targets in the city! Did you even know SF didn't have a Target until a couple years ago? All you spoiled suburban mothers would post about the happy place that Target is and I was living vicariously ;) My lifestyle of generally being car-less during the weekdays is far more suited to an Ergo, and we DO have that, so we're totally set. 
• Baby's nursery is coming along nicely. We have a few spaces to fill and complete, but I'll be sharing that in the next couple weeks. I love love love home decor, so it has been has been really fun creating a space for a baby boy!
• We DO have a plan for our kiddos when we go to the hospital. This one was just figured out yesterday, and it feels wayyy better than the thought of improvising at 2am if necessary. ;) Also, I had a night last week where I had three hours of strong contractions, so it was a wake-up call to get that plan set!

We're almost there! Just a few boxes to check. It's so funny the contrast between having your first baby, and then having subsequent babies. This time around, I'm really low-key and don't want much! With Sophie, I researched every possible product to find the very very best for the right prices. We were stocked! With Maggie, we had everything suited to a baby girl, so any extra cash was spent on wardrobe- so many tiny cute things!! This time, I'm like "eh, if we don't have it we'll work without... and if we end up needing it, isn't that why Amazon prime exists?" Less is more. 

So there you have it folks! 26 days!! 

--Ps. If you're pregnant and need an occasion dress, Tiffany Rose has the BEST options. I could seriously sleep in the dress I have from there, that's how incredibly comfortable it is. I received it and wore it for about 9 hours at a wedding last weekend, and it worked perfectly!! I also had my eye on this beauty, but found out the color would perfectly match the bridesmaids at the wedding, so I opted out, haha! In a world where maternity fashion is so lacking, finding Tiffany Rose was a huge relief. 

xoxo

State of the Pregnancy: 30 Weeks

I adore babies. I adore my own babies, I adore other people's babies. I do not adore pregnancy.

Pregnancy for me is a means to an end... I do not relate to those who manage to sail through pregnancy with beaming smiles and vibrant attitudes, though goodness knows- I wish I did! My body is prone to nausea, even as deep as 30 weeks into the pregnancy (I'm still having to be extra careful about what I eat to prevent getting ill, and yes I was sick this weekend). My heartburn arrives around week 22, and brings me down for the count from about noon until bedtime well into the third trimester. I'm actually anemic this time around, and was getting bouts of dizziness leading to increased nausea, until I found out and began iron supplements. Add these factors to the higher risk factors of an xl hematoma, polyp, and placenta previa issues that have now ALL resolved (praise the LORD, so thankful!), and you have yourself one physically/emotionally drained pregnant girl! 

BUT hey, there's GOOD NEWS. I'm 30 weeks pregnant. 30! In seven short weeks, I will have safely reached full term. This sweet baby is kicking his little heart out, and I am adhering to a summer break schedule: I.E. do whatever we want whenever we want. I work better under this non-restraining-schedule. ;) It's looking like we're out of the woods, and now we can nest and enjoy the last ten weeks of sleeping through the night and getting out on dates consistently.

Speaking of nesting, it's been the theme of this pregnancy. I love cleaning. Literally love it. I scrub my surfaces with multipurpose spray until they sparkle. I've been going through every nook of my home and purging every unnecessary. I've taken apart my closet and re-organized, and have been making trip after trip to goodwill to donate. It feels amazing to have less. I have used vacuum bags to store all of my pre-pregnancy clothing, and I have to be honest: I'm not really missing all the extra options! Granted, if you have seen me in the last four months, you can pretty much predict what I'm wearing... I'm really just cycling through four outfits (It's been so much better to have less-is-more strategy this time around than the "buy a lot of cheap" strategy I used the other two pregnancies!). 

In the craving department: wow, I'm the weirdo that you've read about on the internet. I mean, I'm not thankfully wanting to eat dirt (pica), but I am only a tiny step above on strange cravings: My favorite thing in the world right now is the moment I get to start the dishwasher with the scent of the soap filling the pantry. I have to resist smelling all cleaning supplies, actually... it's a seriously difficult feat. (Brian is like, Kate you shouldn't be telling people this! You're so nuts, haha) BUT I've read about it, and it's attributed to iron deficiency, which I mentioned I have, so it all makes sense now, and I feel far less weird, and totally okay with admitting it. 

So the grand totals in numbers: 

• Ten ultrasounds (during which my emotional state took some incredibly high highs and low lows!),
• 30 or so days on bedrest (weeks 15.5-19.5 give or take).
• About 100 doctor appointments, (exaggerating, but it sure has felt like it!)
• About 1,000 random cravings (the girls did NOT do this to me!), and
• Fewer than 68 days until my due date! PHEW!!

All in all, the state of the pregnancy is good, but ahh, it's still pregnancy. ;) Speaking of... have you ever read this? It's the best writing about pregnancy ever. I was laughing so hard at the airplane analogy because it's spot-on.

PS. Here was my first / only other pregnancy update, in case you like reading about pregnancy. 

xoxo.