Friday, July 26, 2013

friday's letters

my sister used this image on the Facebook page she created to chat with those coming to the shower...isn't it cute?!
[source]

Short, but sweet today!

Dear Weekend,
I'm so glad you are here. So, so glad! Only 5 working weeks left - phew!

Dear Stabby, Stabby Headache,
Go away! Baby and I aren't interested in you!

Dear Baby Furniture,
Please come this week! I would love to get started on actually putting together Little Bean's nursery instead of just dreaming about it.

Dear Baby Shower,
I am so very excited for you, and can't believe you are tomorrow!! How in the world did we get to this point so quickly?? Posts will follow!

Dear Readers,
I hope things are starting to get more interesting around here! All going well there will be some bigger changes soon too...

Happy Friday everyone!

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Thursday, July 25, 2013

virtual nursery: the little details

Boy, oh boy...the things I have fallen in love with and wish I could purchase for Little Bean's nursery! I've never hidden my love of etsy stores (after all, the majority of our wedding purchases were from etsy!) and for Baby items, it really is heaven!

I've tried to be realistic about what I should (and can afford to!) buy for Baby's room because even though I love hundreds of pieces, I'm well aware that the room could easily get over cluttered and lose the simplicity we're going for. So, below is what we have either purchased, or plan to purchase, to decorate the basics in Little Bean's Nursery!

1. Pom Poms (similar) - I've got a little collection of white and yellow tissue paper pom poms, as well as the white and grey paper lanterns from our engagement party all set to go to be put up in a corner of Baby's nursery...similar to this pin, but with more variation in the drop lengths. I've collected the pom poms in various sizes and from various places (including a local handmade market, which is baby HEAVEN) but they can be found so easily on etsy, in every colour under the sun!

2. Wall Decal - As soon as I saw this decal I could picture it over Baby's crib. I can't wait til it arrives!

3. and 5. Nursery Monogram Set & "Mama Loves You" Artwork - Ok, I have had the hardest trouble narrowing down what artworks I want to use in Little Bean's haven. But I keep coming back to these ones, so I have a feeling these guys will be the ones that make the final cut! Of course, they won't be able to be ordered until after Baby's arrival, so the little picture shelf I have ready to go will have to stay empty until then...but it will be worth it!

4. Sheepskin Rug (similar) - This piece is something I know has been purchased for us for our Baby Shower...and I'm secretly hoping to get 2! One to use as a rug in Little Bean's room, and one for them to play on, put in their bouncer/pram, etc. Little babies just look so snuggly in them and they are supposed to help regulate their temperatures.

6. Wardrobe Dividers - A cute and handy item that will hopefully help Little Bean's wardrobe stay organised! I can't wait to receive these and start organise Baby's clothes...

7. "Counting Sheep" Cloud Cushion - To be honest, I'm still tossing up between this cushion and the "Sweet Dreams" variation...but I think "Counting Sheep" is winning. Aren't they the sweetest?!

8. Cloud Mobile - Another piece I haven't entirely decided on yet! I original found this "Happy Day" version, and saved it with the thought that it's one of the few I have found in grey and yellow, however they have since bought out the "Silver Star and Arrows" version and I think I'm leaning towards the latter...I think the simplicity of the colours will go better with the bedding we have chosen, while the former may clash a little too much...Opinions very much welcomed! Help this Mama choose!

Some other (not pictured) things I want to do in Baby's room include:

Zinc Letters - This DIY version of the Anthropologie letters that can be seen in little Harper's nursery over at Little Baby Garvin. I just love the idea of having Little Bean's name up above the wall decal pictured above. And the DIY version seems much more wallet-friendly, particularly as we don't have Anthropologie here in Oz!

Baby's Nursery has a skinny little piece of wall beside the window, next to where the change table will be, where I hope to do something similar to this pin with all Little Bean's gorgeous ultrasound images.

Bunting - We have this beautiful "Sweet Love" sign from our wedding (seen here) that we also used in our Maternity Shoot, that we are hoping to also include in Little Bean's Nursery. I'm waiting though, to see if it ends up being too much because Baby's room is rather a small space...

And last but not least, we of course hope to incorporate some of the beautiful maternity images that Sandra took for us, as well as some newborn shots, in the room. Whether it be on the wall or somewhere on the little open shelves of the furniture we have purchased, only time will tell. I cannot WAIT to get started decorating Baby's room, but of course, patience is a virtue...and furniture should arrive in the next week! Right now, this is what Little Bean's room looks like...

Yep. Furniture is definitely needed! (and this is BEFORE our baby shower! Eep!)

Monday, July 22, 2013

30 weeks!

14.07.2013 - 20.07.2013

How far along? 30 weeks!

Baby Size: Baby is the size of a winter squash

Total weight gain: Pretty much the same as last Bump-date! No extra gain so far.

Maternity clothes? Yep – a mix of maternity and non-maternity but I still love my over-the-bump maternity jeans and tights. Recently purchased 2 pretty ASOS Maternity dresses – 1 that was going to be used for our maternity photos but wasn’t, and 1 for our Baby Shower!

Stretch marks? Nope! But using lots of cream and moisturising oil because I get very itchy!

Sleep: Slightly better. Still getting up around 4am to use the bathroom. I’m back in our bed (thanks to some issues with the blow up mattress and a cold, damp winter :( ...) with a foam underlay under our sheets. I’ll let you know if it helps!

Best moment this week: Visiting the physio for the first time. Oh how I’ve been waiting…and it was so helpful! She has shown me where the release points are in my hips for the pain I’ve been experiencing, and gave me a bunch of stretches to help. Another appointment on Monday!
HOWEVER! As wonderful as that was pain-wise…the BEST moment this week has to be our Maternity Shoot, by far! It was SO lovely to catch up with the gorgeous Sandra again, and I just know our photos are going to be amazing. Our Maternity Shoot was one of the milestones I’ve had in my head this whole pregnancy, and I can’t believe it’s done and dusted!

Miss Anything? Being able to get things done in a timeframe I’m used it. I’m so used to moving fast and getting a million things done in my hour lunch break and my, I’m getting very slow these days. It frustrates me!

Movement: We’ve been going Alien Style over the last week, much more visible movement from the outside

Food cravings: Less cravings at the moment! They all seemed to have died down for a bit…

Anything making you queasy or sick: Not particularly. I still can’t stomach the idea of a stir fry or BBQ but being winter they are less prominent meals anyway…

Gender: Still a surprise!

Symptoms: Still got an itchy belly, lots of movement and sore hips when sleeping…occasional heart burn (thankfully it’s dropped back down!). A lot of visible movement and some occasional pressure in my pelvis – like Baby is head butting me (but downwards)!

Belly Button in or out? In – just stretched!

Wedding rings on or off? On – with indents haha

Mood: Been a little emotional this week (poor hubs) and really getting over going to work…but Happy!

Looking forward to: Seeing the photos from our shoot…and our Baby Shower which is NEXT WEEKEND! Eep!

This week I’ve decided to add a new category until the end of the Bump-dates! My cousin asked me whether I had been measuring the Bump. I loved the idea of getting to see how big I get and how much it changes weekly so from now on, I plan to measure around my stomach, in line with my belly button (for consistency). In future updates, this category will be up near Weight Gain!

Bump measurement: 99 cm (just under 39 inches)

Also, from here on our Bump Stickers (purchased here) are fortnightly, instead of monthly as they have been. Ahh! That makes everything seem so much closer!

Saturday, July 20, 2013

virtual nursery: our purchases/wants so far!

So far we have been very limited in what we have been "allowed" to purchase for Little Bean. Although we are almost 9 weeks out, we have been very strict in our purchases and aside from a BUCKET LOAD of hand-me-down clothes (in perfect nick, some with tags still on!) and our major items, Baby's room is pretty empty...

I was placed on a shopping ban. Yes, me, Mrs I-Need-Everything-Organised-ASAP, was told I was not allowed to buy anything for Little Bean until after our baby shower...

Needless to say, it's been killing me.

Currently, we have Baby's bassinet, pram and capsule, nappy bag, glider and a small side table. With the exception of about 4 little outfits early on in our pregnancy and a few decorations (like paper pom poms - more on that later!), that is all we have purchased and currently have at home. We have also paid for Baby's cot and change table, however they are on back order and due to be delivered in about 2 weeks (AFTER the baby shower - it's killing me people!!!) We also plan to purchase a little wardrobe in the coming weeks.

Everything else in baby's room has been given to us. We were given a second capsule, barely used, which will be in the Hub's car so we don't have to keep switching. We have been given an Angel Care baby monitor (again, barely used!) and 2 different musical seats for baby. And then there are the clothes. Oh my, the clothes!!! Going off tiny baby sized clothes, the girls are winning...but once we get to the bigger sizes, it's about an even boy/girl ratio! I don't think we are going to need to buy this baby any clothes for quite some time, whatever their gender. I'm hoping to get a lot of teeny neutrals at the baby shower and then Baby's wardrobe is set :) We are so blessed to be surrounded by so many giving friends and family members...who want us to have special pieces from their own children's wardrobes, pieces that are full of memories and they don't want to just throw away. It means a lot to us. (those of you have been following the blog for a while will be familiar with the story of our Best Man's triplets. If baby is a girl, she will be wearing a lot of pieces that were meant for little baby April. While some people may find that strange, we know just how much it would mean to our Best Man and his wife, to see our little angel using things that were bought with love for a little person who never grew into them. And it's our way of keeping her spirit alive.)

But! Back to the Nursery. Since our furniture is delayed, it has meant that other than the glider, I have not been able to set up Little Bean's room at all. All the clothes are currently sitting around in the little stripey fabric boxes that I plan to use for storage. Baby's pram and capsules are still in their boxes, waiting for our cars to be detailed so we can have them installed. We're hoping to set up Baby's bassinet in our bedroom this weekend, but I've been reluctant to do so since although it's the only item I CAN set up, I don't want it gathering dust before their precious little head goes in there. So instead, I thought I would share with you some of our concepts for the room, a little at a time.

We are currently renting, so painting isn't an option right now (maybe when we have been here a little longer our landlord will let us!). Therefore, we are trying to make the most impact with the bedding and accessories we bring to Little Bean's room. We are going with a grey, white and yellow colour scheme, with clouds and hot air balloons as our "theme" (limited pieces of this will be included in the room since neither of us want to go too over the top with a theme!). If Baby is a little girl, we are likely to add lavender or turquoise to the mix, with birdies. If Baby is a boy, possibly navy or turquoise, and airplanes!

Today's board is the basics for Baby's room. The bare minimums. Soon, I'll create a board with the decor we plan to add, a Baby Shower items post and hopefully at the end of all that, a reveal of their actual room! Since creating this board, I think we have found the wardrobe we want to get, but for now, here are the essentials we have gathered for Little Bean's first room!


1. Crane Drop Shape Cool Mist Humidifier in White - This is a piece we haven't purchased yet (see above ban). It doesn't appear available in Australia currently but my oh my, when I saw it I feel in love with it's simple, sleek look. Much nicer (and decor friendly) then any of the ones I've seen available here currently! I plan to order it from Amazon after the shower. But boy, with the flu I had over the last week, I really wish we had already had it!

2. Cloud b Sound Machine Soother - I love how snuggly this little sheep looks! Many friends have raved about womb/heartbeat/white noises to help baby settle, and I love that this one is so cute and attaches to the side of Baby's bed. A friend has offered to buy this for our shower and I cannot wait to see it!

3. Mothers Choice Mesh Coco Bassinet in White - Our Little Bean's first bed! This will be in our room all too soon, ready for Baby to sleep in and close enough for night time feeds. One of my best friends and bridesmaid had this bassinet for her little one when she was tiny, but in the teak colour, and the first time I saw it I fell in love with it and knew I had to hunt one down for my babies when the time came! I love that it's nice and study, and wooden, and should last us through all our babies, however many that may be!

4. Childcare Wooden Glider in White/Mushroom - This chair...oh my, this chair! My husband thought I was nuts for wanting a "breast-feeding chair" when we have a perfectly good couch. But everyone else who has sat in that chair can completely understand why I bought it! It is heaven in seat form. And I am sure that when the day comes that nothing will settle Baby but sitting in that glider on their Daddy's chest and rocking, he will love it as much as I do!

5. & 6.Canterbury Sleigh Cot 3-1 with drawer & Canterbury Baby Change Table - We purchased these items brand new from an Australian eBay store, in a package (however, they can be bought individually) after seeing the awesome change table my cousin bought (same one, but in the darker wood). I'm reluctant to buy furniture from eBay stores, however knowing that my cousin had purchased from them without any problems and the fact I couldn't find a similar style of change table in any local baby stores pushed me to use these guys. We're still waiting on delivery since the white was out of stock, but if anyone is interested in our experience with the store, just ask! I'll be sure to let you know after we receive our items. I'm really looking forward to these, the cot also comes with a free teething cover, and I love that our change table converts easily to a regular set of drawers (great for those toddler years!) without any damage to the top of the item from the change mat. I do love me some furniture that works double duty! And our stripey boxes will look GREAT in those empty slots!

7. Gray and White Dots and Stripes Crib Bedding - This is another piece we are going to have to order from America! It is almost impossible to get any gender neutral bedding in Australia that isn't brown, cream or jungle animals. You would think yellow would be an easy neutral to find, since in my head yellow is much more neutral then green! but nope, everything seems to be pink, blue, green or creams/browns. So, we turned online again. Unfortunately, this store doesn't ship to Australia, so we are going to be hunting someone down to receive our items and forward them onto us. Luckily, Baby's Ouma (hub's Mum!) has recently moved to the good ol' US, so we plan to ship the item to her and pay for her to re-post it on to us. We (read I) cannot wait to have this bedding (along with some yellow sheets and a yellow change mat cover!) to set up, but since we have had no cot, we've put this order on the "wait til after the shower" list, in case anyone wanted to pitch in for it (we have some family who love to know they have helped buy bigger things). I do have some grey and white striped sheets ready to go in case the bedding is delayed for any reason!

So! That's the basis of Little Bean's Nursery. The next level, decor, is even more fun then shopping for the basics - I have SO many things that I have found to buy for the Nursery that I'm going to have to do a cull of my etsy favourites before I order...otherwise it would be full of so many fun things that there would be no room for Little Bean! I'll be sure to share some of the must-haves that I'm dying to buy in the next week or so, with links for any Mamas or Mamas-to-be out there looking for decor themselves!

Until then, I'd love to hear your feedback on Little Bean's room and your own experiences with setting out a Nursery - what worked, what didn't, what advice can you give? This little Mama thanks you in advance!

Friday, July 19, 2013

friday's letters

dear Friday,
I'm so, so glad you are here and I'm even gladder (yep, there's my great English coming out!) that I have NOTHING on tomorrow and I can chill...providing the hubs gets the house in order today!

dear House,
I'm so sorry that after making you all pretty we have neglected you this last week! I promise you will be straightened out again soon. If you have any issues, please speak with The Flu.

dear Flu,
You are evil, evil, evil and I hate you. Why did you have to show up now? Come on man, I only have 9 and a bit weeks left, you could've left your visit for next year! This pregnant Mama is unimpressed you have resulted in her requiring antibiotics after not taking so much as a Panadol this whole pregnancy...not to mention the lack of energy, lack of sleep thanks to stuffy noses and sore tummy muscles from coughing so much. Baby and I hereby evict you!

dear Maternity Shoot,
Oh my, you went so amazingly well! Our little sneak peek (yep, shared again below...sorry!) has tided me over for a few days but now I am simply dying for Sandra to get back from her vacation to be able to see the rest. It was such a lovely afternoon chatting babies and catching up with Sandra, and spending some quiet time with the hubs, loving on the Bump. I can't wait to add some Bump pics to Baby's nursery!

dear Baby,
I can't believe we are down to single digit weeks left! That is crazy to me! This point seemed so far away before and now...we are under the 10 weeks left til your due date mark...wow...

dear Blogworld,
I keep promising posts other than baby updates but I haven't quite gotten there yet have I? Oh my, to have more time in the day...

dear Life,
Sometimes you rule. Thanks.


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Tuesday, July 16, 2013

sneak peek - our maternity shoot!

Boy oh boy, does our photographer rule or what? We only had our maternity shoot at 3pm on Saturday afternoon, and by Sunday we were already given a glimpse of our photos. So awesome :)

But before I show you the shot Sandra shared with us, let me give you an idea of our day...

We had originally planned our shoot for Wednesday the 10th but woke to a dreary day that was apparently only worse up the coast, where we were headed. After a chat with Sandra and a phonecall to the lady who owns the orchard we were using, the shoot was postponed until Saturday with the hope for better weather.

Thankfully, our hopes came true and Saturday was a much better day! So, the hubs & I packed up the car with our clothes and snacks and headed off to Somersby, NSW...only for our TomTom navigator to take us the BACK way to the venue, instead of the nice easy trip it should have been! Admittedly, it was much prettier, and only added about 20 mins to our trip, but we were freaking out a little (wish I could have taken some photos but we were moving too fast...we passed some BEAUTIFUL cherry tree fields!) Particularly when we unexpectedly had to drive our car onto a ferry - that was a new adventure for us!

But we made it to the gorgeous orange orchard Sandra had found for us right on the dot of 3pm, when the owner was due to meet us there (as opposed to 2.45 when we had hoped to meet Sandra!). We meet the lovely Sharon, her neighbors and kids, and two of the biggest (but friendliest) doggies I've ever met! Then we headed into the orchard...oh my, it was lovely! Still damp from the dreary weather we've been having, but the gorgeous greens with the pops of orange....oh I can't wait to see how they translate into the photos! Just the ones Sandra showed us straight from her camera were making me swoon :)

We thoroughly enjoyed catching up with Sandra (who I'm sure wasn't expecting to photograph us quite so soon, after taking our engagement shots and photographing our wedding) and also getting to spend some time together just loving on the Bump :) Baby sure knew when Daddy's hands were on Mama's tummy and made sure to let him know ;)

I cannot wait to see and share all the amazing photos I'm sure Sandra took, but for now, here's the sneak peek we received on Sunday - Sandra sure knows how to make a sick Mama feel better :)



What do you think?? We have to wait a couple of weeks to get all the shots, as Sandra and her family are going on a little holiday, but I'll be sure to share them with you when I can!

Friday, July 12, 2013

friday's letters

Dear House,
You looked so pretty for our first house inspection today! You are really starting to come along, although not quite at a point of showing you off on le ol' blog yet. I wish I had enough money lying around to do all the amazing things I have planned in my head...but slowly and surely we will get there...Now here's hoping hubby helps me keep you looking as sparkly as you do right now! (oh I can't wait to be home every day to make sure you shine!)

Dear Little Bean,
You are CHEEKY! Why will you not let Mumma get a cute video of you wiggling around? As soon as I turn off the camera, you dance around like there's no tomorrow but once it's aimed at my belly - nothing!

Dear Clothes Line,
I've decided you suck. You get only the earliest morning sun, when the air is still damp and cold so nothing dries on you anyway. You need to move. I wonder if our owner will let us...otherwise I'm buying a new, shiny one for the other side of the yard!

Dear Maternity Shoot,
I am so excited for you tomorrow! Please have beautiful sunny weather like you are supposed to, instead of being dreary and overcast like you were on Wednesday...I'm dying to have these pictures taken :)

Dear Nursery,
I wish I could really get stuck into you! Damn the wait for our furniture...Guess Virtual Planning will be taking place instead!

Dear Work,
No offense, but I'm over you. 7 more Mondays left...not that I'm counting down...

Dear Readers,
Thank you for hanging in there with me! I know there have only been Bump Updates lately but I promise to try and get stuck into some ACTUAL posts now that life is *slowly* starting to calm back down...

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!!
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Wednesday, July 10, 2013

28 weeks!

30.06.2013 - 06.07.2013

How far along? 28 weeks!

Baby Size: Baby is the size of a winter squash

Total weight gain: About 9 kilos at this stage. Eep. Hehe. I’m hoping to stay under a certain figure…it might happen!

Maternity clothes? Yep – a mix of maternity and non-maternity but I still love my over-the-bump maternity jeans and tights. Baby doesn’t like anything that sits on my hips…can’t say I’d like anything pushing in around my head or neck either!

Stretch marks? Nope! But using lots of cream and moisturising oil because I get very itchy! Maybe I’m just paranoid but I think I know where one is going to pop up…

Sleep: Has gotten slightly better than my last post but still rather sucky thanks to my hips. Oh, and the night I woke up to find my air mattress flat…that was a joy! But I got a new (bigger!) one and we’re back on track. Ever since I got my second Anti-D shot and blood tests, my left arm has been cramping up quite bad at night though – the opposite side to the worst hip so…now neither side is comfortable!

Best moment this week: Hearing Little Bean’s heartbeat again, 2 times! Once at my glucose test and again at my Anti-D shot. Washing little people clothes and seeing them around our house (we’ve been given SO many second hand yet almost brand new clothes…so far the girl side is winning!) The BEST moment has to have been watching Hubs and Baby in their own little Morse Code language though haha

Miss Anything? SLEEP!

Movement: Loads and loads! It’s the best when I’m lying behind hubby in bed and Baby kicks out at his back!

Food cravings: Still get random cravings for Milky Bars! Lemon and sugar crepes are still a big one, and the occasional jam donut. The other day I was driving to my parents’ and I had the STRONGEST (and weirdest) craving for some Grape Hubba Bubba…sadly, that one wasn’t fulfilled lol

Anything making you queasy or sick: The smell of cigarettes makes me want to hurl…and I haven’t been able to stomach stir fries (which we all normally love!) or BBQs for a while now

Gender: Still a surprise!

Symptoms: Still got an itchy belly, lots of movement and sore hips when sleeping…occasional heart burn (thankfully it’s dropped back down!)

Belly Button in or out? In - just stretched!

Wedding rings on or off? On - with indents haha

Mood: Excited!

Looking forward to: Our maternity shoot with the lovely Sandra Henri! Cannot WAIT to see the photos and she hasn’t even taken them yet :)

Friday, July 05, 2013

dear baby

Dear Baby,

Well Little Bean, we are two hundred days into this pregnancy according to Mama's phone app...roughly 11 weeks til your due date. I often wonder just how long it will be before we get to see your squishy little face...

Last night I watched you and your Daddy communicating through your own little Morse Code - he tapping on my belly, you kicking back. Amazing. When Daddy found your foot and pressed against it, you kicked against him, almost like, "Get lost Dad, this is my space"... I can't wait to see the two of you together in person. I think my heart will bust.

We often wonder who you are, which of the names we've chosen you will take on, grow into. Who you will look like, how you will come into this world and how you will change our lives...11 weeks seems so short, but also so long...

Keep growing strong no-longer-so-Little Bean. As much as we are dying to meet you, you're not quite ready to join us yet. But oh when you do...how happy we will be.

Love Mama

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