Walker’s Nursery!

Glider & Ottoman – Made by “Best Chair” and it’s the Quinn.  Seriously, this is the most amazing chair…ever.  When I’m finished with babies, this chair is going in my living room.

Green lamp – Target

Curtains – Fabric is made by Premier Fabrics.  Curtains were made by Etsy shop Exclusive Elements.  She was very quick!

Crib bedding (bumper and crib skirt) – Fabrics are all made by Premier Fabrics.  The bedding was sewn by Etsy shop Sew Childish Designs.  I highly recommend her!  Her prices are fantastic and she has so many fabrics to choose from!

Boppy cover – Made by Etsy shop Designs by Christy.  It’s minky on the other side – super soft!

Sign above crib – DIY.  I used the tutorial from Shanty 2 Chic’s blog.  Here’s the post on the sign!  

Signs above diaper changer – DIY.  I just used 2 canvases (18x24) and stuck on the vinyl letters and spray painted the sign orange then pulled the letters off.  Simple and super cheap.  I needed a pop of orange in there somewhere and that definitely helped.  The top sign looks way better than the bottom and I may redo the bottom one if I ever find the time or energy.  It’s a quote from the book “Wherever You Are, My Love Will Find You” by Nancy Tillman.  It says “You are my angel, my darling, my star.  My love will find you, wherever you are.”  I adore that book!

Paint color - Benjamin Moore's Revere Pewter.  It's a fantastic greige.  I think one day I will have my entire house painted this color!  

 

That’s pretty much it!  I’m really pleased with it.  It all came together perfectly – and I had it finished by my goal date of TODAY!  I did the last two signs yesterday afternoon.  We are ready! 

Double Stoller Recs?

Okay folks.  I need some expertise.  I know most of you that read aren’t commenters.  But PLEASE.  If you, or your friend, or the stranger that passed you on the street have a double stroller that you kind of like, really like, or even hate – please let me know!  There are several different kinds and I totally don’t know what I want but with 3 kids 3 and under I’m without a doubt going to need one if I ever want to go anywhere besides Walmart again. 
There’s the side-by-side….

The name pretty much says it all.  The kids sit side by side.  Supposedly the positive of this kind is that the steering is easier since the weight is evenly disbursed. 
Then there’s the sit & stand…

Someone sits in the front, and the older (or less lazy) kid stands in the back unrestrained.  This usually works best for older kids that don’t really like to be confined.
Then there’s the one I’m leaning towards but I’m just not sure about…

The Chicco Cortina Together Stroller.  My infant carseat will snap into it in the front or back seat.

And when baby gets out of the infant seat they can both sit front and back – but the heaviest kid HAS to be in the back for the steering to be equal. 
I’m leaning towards the last one, but I’d love opinions.  If you have specific strollers that you recommend, please list them!!

My Must Have Baby Items!

So, I've been thinking about a few first time pregnant friends. I thought I'd make a post on the things that I found "must-haves" but obviously I'm by no means an expert! If you think of something I'm forgetting or something you think should be added, comment so they can see it!

*Disclaimer: Obviously, my list will depend on my own personal experiences!

1. A sling of some sort. I used a Slingling and an Ergo. This was a lifesaver! Even though you hope your baby will sleep perfectly wherever you put them, they don't always fit that mold. Caroline was not a fan of being put down and sitting on the couch all day was becoming quite difficult to do when my house looked like a tornado swept through. Those are the slings I used, but there are tons of different ones out there. For this pregnancy, I'm really contemplating a Moby Wrap. :)

2. A swing. I know, I know. Tons of you will comment saying your baby hated the swing. Oh my...Caroline loved it. I got showers, sleep, meals, and my ears got a break when she was in her swing. If you want to play it safe, borrow a friend's swing for a couple weeks or get one from Craigslist. We LOVED our swing. I can't even explain! We took our swing with us on weekend trips. Not the travel swing (she hated that one) but the actual full size swing. HA! We have the Fisher Price Little Lamb Cradle Swing. I do suggest getting something with some sort of mobile thing at the top because they do eventually start looking up there and they might get bored without anything. They have some now that PLUG IN to the wall. I really wish ours did that because as much as she loved her swing, we went through batteries faster than Judd with a pack of Double Stuf Oreos...that's really fast. The size D rechargeables didn't last very long at all and really weren't worth the hassle. Anyway - you get the idea...we loved our swing.

3. A breastpump. Obviously, if you aren't planning on breastfeeding then this won't apply to you and you can skip to number 4. I have the Medela Pump In Style Advanced. It's pricey but it's worth every penny. The suction was great and it was extremely easy to use. If you are going to breastfeed, get a pump. You will want one - and at some point, you'll probably need one. Definitely read up on pumps and when/how to use them! Always remember though, no matter how great the pump is, it can never get as much out as your baby can! So don't look at your output from the pump and assume that's all your baby is getting! :)

4. Pampers Swaddlers. Oh, I can't say enough about swaddlers. They're wonderful. We had very few leaks and they are SO soft. I wish they made them in toddler size for Caroline now! You'll hear lots of diaper opinions, but my vote goes to Pampers Swaddlers. We tried several different kinds and brands but they were definitely our favorites!

5. A highchair. We have the Fisher Price Space Saver. When we had Caroline we lived in a small house and weren't planning on moving so we got a space saver high chair. We didn't have room for a full size chair so we got one that strapped to a regular chair. I'm really glad we went with that option. We really like this highchair! No, you won't use it in the beginning but you'll be using it before you know it!

6. A noisemaker. We use a cheapo fan from Walgreens. Some people buy the noise machines but we found that a fan works just as well and circulating air decreases the risk of SIDS. You may think you're being cruel by subjecting your kid to "white noise" because they may need it "forever" but I promise, you're not being cruel. With people in smallish houses, it's so hard to keep little noises from waking up the baby. Caroline could have heard my phone ring from any room in the house. Should you keep your house super duper quiet? Well no. But when you've been up for hours on end and they FINALLY fall asleep - you want to murder whoever or whatever wakes them up. So just do yourself and the baby a favor...and get something to at least drown out the mundane day to day noises. They'll sleep better...and when that happens...so do you!

7. A Boppy. I can't say enough about my Boppy Pillow. There are other brands, but I'm not sure what they are. They have the Boppy at Target with different slipcovers. I do recommend getting one with a removable slipcover because it does make it easier to clean and you can change it out with different gender babies if you plan on more than one. :) These are GREAT for nursing but even if you don't plan on breastfeeding - they are wonderful for bottle feeding. I've gone both ways and I used the Boppy for both!

8. A nursing cover. I have an Udder Cover. Yes, it's funny. It's also functional! This is another breastfeeding only item, so skip it if you're not planning on breastfeeding. One of my least favorite things about nursing is the feeling that you need to leave the room to feed your child. Should we feel that we need to do that? No. But let's be honest - whipping your breast out to feed your child makes other people squirm. So do you HAVE to cover yourself? No. Is it respectful of others? If they're uncomfortable. With a cover, you feel like you can stay in the room with your friends and family while everyone is sitting around chit chatting or watching a movie. If you try to leave the room every time you need to feed the baby you're going to spend a lot of time by yourself. I loved my cover!

9. A good nursing bra. Yeah, another nursing-only item. My favorite bra was from Motherhood Maternity and it was SO comfortable. It had built in nursing pads but I used the disposable pads instead. I think this is the bra I have. In the beginning (until your supply is well established) you'll want a bra with no underwire because they have been attributed to mastitis. I had two of these bras plus some other nursing tanks and bras. This was just my favorite one. :)

10. Zip-Up Sleepers. My favorite ones were from Kohls. Not that specific one, but just so you get the idea. :) The gowns are nice too, but Caroline's legs always came out of them and it bugged me. I know lots of people that swear by the gowns, though. The zip up sleepers were my favorite. Notice I'm not saying the BUTTON up sleepers. Those are so annoying in the middle of the night (or anytime of day, for that matter) because the baby is upset and you're trying to snap 500 snaps all the way up his/her crotch. Annoying. Go for zip ups or gowns.

11. An activity mat. We have the Fisher Price Melodies & Lights Deluxe Gym. I cannot say enough about this activity mat!! The flashing lights at the top make all the difference in the world. She LOVED the lights. It had fairly interesting toys and you could easily add your own if you wanted. My only complaint was that the mobile didn't move. It would be a lot cooler if the mobile moved, but even as it was, Caroline loved it. My nephew Drew also had this activity mat and loved it! HUGE hit! :)

Well, those are my top 11 that come straight to mind. PLEASE leave a comment if you think of something I don't have that you REALLY appreciated!

Book Review: "I Will Carry You: The Sacred Dance of Grief & Joy"

I've never done a book review before (probably because Mary Higgins Clark is still my favorite author and no one really wants to read that review...) but I thought this book was worth reviewing.

First off, let me start by making this disclaimer: If you are pregnant, recently post partum, menopausal, or in any other way hormonally imbalanced - you will have a really tough read.

If you've ever read the blog Bring the Rain then you probably already know all about this book. But if you haven't ever read her blog, I'll give you a rundown. Angie Smith is married to Chris, who is a singer in "Selah," a popular Christian band. They have 3 girls with another now in Heaven (and she's currently pregnant with another little girl!). This book is about Angie's journey through a pregnancy that she was told would never produce a living baby. Her sweet baby girl was deemed "incompatible with life" at 20 weeks gestation and she was advised to "terminate" the pregnancy to spare her emotions. Unwilling to do so, Angie carried their little girl (who they named Audrey Caroline) throughout the entire pregnancy. The rest of the book deals with her loss and how she and her family coped, largely focusing on her love and faith in Jesus Christ.

I really enjoyed this book. I read it in 1 full day. I sat on my couch with a box of Kleenex and sobbed like a baby while reading it. It is a sad book. But at the same time, it's a happy book. Angie and her family wanted to make sure that Audrey's illness and death had some "higher purpose" in this world. And it certainly did. The book does a lot of comparing between her loss and the loss that Jesus felt at Lazarus' death. It's hard for me to explain because it literally took her the entire book to pull the two together - but she did it wonderfully. She's a very witty writer, and holds very little back. She refers back to blog posts that she made at different times through Audrey's life so if you've read her blog before, you'll recognize some of her posts in the book. I truly have no complaints about the book. I enjoyed reading it, despite the huge pile of Kleenex that it required to finish.

So - I DO recommend it...just not if you're hormonally imbalanced in any way. If you are pregnant, please, do yourself a favor and wait until a while after your baby is born (it'll probably be a while before you have time, anyway!) to read this book. It will have you worried sick your entire pregnancy. If you do choose to read it even though I've warned you, try to see her main point for writing the book - even something so horrible as the death of a baby can bring glory to God, even in the most bizarre ways.