Mat Leave is around the corner

So my due date is 4.5 weeks away.  Mat leave is 2 weeks away.

Here is my latest belly pic.

35 weeks 2 days

The baby's room is totally done.  The clothes are cleaned.  We bought a diaper genie. I was just planning on using the diaper pail I bought, but my husband decided a diaper genie was a good idea.

It wasn't the easiest thing to put together, but here it is.  ( The nursery is looking awfully crowded right now)


The only thing I have left to do is sewing.

I have made (and still have some to sew up) some burp cloths using receiving blankets and towels.  I bought some colourful receiving blankets and cut them in half.  I also bought some towels on sale- two bath towels for $6.98.  I cut the towels in half and then in half again.  I sewed the two right sides together on three sides.  I then flipped them over and sewed the other end.  I wanted something that would be pretty, but still absorbent.
So out of 1 towel, I got 4 pieces of terry cloth.  I used 3 receiving blankets, and some of that duck fabric you see later on in this post.

 I already made some homemade nursing pads using two layers of flannel and one layer of fleece.  They work quite well and stay in place better than the commercial ones a friend bought me.

Here is how I made them.

Step 1: I folded a piece of flannel in half.  I happened to find this piece at a second hand store and I washed it up.  I traced circles on it that were 4.5 inches wide.

I traced the circles using this trusty flower pot and a pen.  Not the best way, but I didn't have a fabric pen.

Here is the pile of circles after I cut them out.  You will need two flannel circles and 1 fleece circle for each nursing pad.  I also cut out circles from fleece.  The flannel is absorbent  and the fleece is water proof.   The fleece I used was from a blanket at the dollar store.

Here is the final product.  I sewed together the two flannel pieces with a fleece piece and trimmed the excess off.  I used polyester thread as it helps to make sure that no liquid is carried via thread to the clothing I am wearing.  I find that these stay in place better than the commercial ones someone bought for me.

I also got my my ring sling and my udder cover in the mail this week.

Here is the ring sling.  It is cute comfy to wear.  Just needs to be washed and ironed as it is very wrinkly.

Here is the ring sling in action.  My cat was a good test subject. Don't mind my tank top... it can't cover my belly any more.

Here is the udder cover.  It seems pretty nice.  I will have to see how it works with the baby.

Another thing I want to share is what a friend of mine gave me today.

A Winnie the Pooh Quilt

It will look quite nice in the baby's crib.  The colours of it are awesome.  It is a cheater quilt, but still pretty cool.

My final news is that I am going to be an Aunt again.  My sister is expecting baby number 5

This is her bump at only 8 weeks.  They are checking for twins at her next ultrasound.

Impromptu Trip to L&D

Yesterday I was getting lots of Braxton Hicks.  Those were not bothering me too much, but several times through out the day I got a terrible stitch on my right side.  A few happened while I was in class with students.  I was able to stretch through it.  The worst one happened after dinner.  It was so bad that I could barely walk and I decided to take a warm bath.  The pain did not subside at all.  I had to holler for the Chief to help me out of the tub.  He helped me to lie down in bed where the pain finally started to go away, but it was not completely gone.

I thought it might be a pulled muscle, but I wanted to be safe than sorry.  So I told my hubby I wanted to go to the hospital.  About 10 minutes later we were on our way to the hospital which took an hour to get to.  I ended up driving half way there as well since the Chief was exhausted and started to drift off.

When we got to the hospital, the pain was still there, but not as bad as it had been in the tub.  They hooked me up to a non stress test machine to check on the baby.  I got to listen to the heartbeat for 20 minutes.  It was quite reassuring.  I was not having any contractions.  The doctor saw me briefly and told me it was probably the ligaments holding my uterus getting stretched out and it was nothing to worry about.  Just rest.

So I stayed home today and pretty much rested.  I did clean the kitchen a bit, but I took two naps in the midst of doing it.

Two good things that came out of this is I finally found what a non stress test was and I got to hear the heartbeat for a while.

Putting Together Baby Furniture Reviews

Due to my husband's impatience with putting together furniture with terrible instructions, I am the one who puts furniture together.  My husband will help me and be there to tighten things as need be, but I am the main one who reads the instructions.

So my review of putting things together for the baby.


The crib-  Storkcraft Libby Crib
 I started to put it together myself.  Ended up calling hubby for help as I could not hold the pieces together and put the screws into it.  Overall the instructions were not too bad, but it was quite time consuming to put together.  I think it took roughly 2 hrs to finish.  It was what I expected.  It is not a 4 in 1 crib, but since we are planning as having more than one baby I didn't want a convertible crib.  It has 3 heights you can adjust the crib to.  It also has a teething rail on the side.  Overall a good solid basic crib.

The change table- Storkcraft Libby Change Table
Was really easy to put together after the crib was done.  I was able to do this myself and the instructions were rather straightforward.  I think it took me about 45 minutes tops to put together.  It is very light weight.  It has a safety strap as well.  It doesn't offer tons of storage, but again I was looking for basics.  My MIL bought me an organizer which I attached to the side so that adds on storage.

Stroller- Graco ALANO Flipit in Hathway ( Travel System)
Was fairly easy to put together.  I did make a mistake, but it was fairly easy to fix.  The instructions were not too bad, but were mostly pictures so it did take a bit of figuring out.  It seems to be a good stroller.  It is pretty cool that the handle flips back and forth.

Bouncy Seat-  Took maybe 20 minutes to put together.  The instructions were very straightforward.  It was all things that snapped together, so it could be taken back apart of storage if need be.

Swing- I put together the swing in about 30 minutes. Same company as the bouncy seat and the instructions were very easy to follow.  The instructions included both pictures and words which for me is a good thing. It mostly snapped together, except for the bars of the sear which were screwed onto the side side arms.   It is very low to the ground though so if you had a large dog it might not be the best.  I am not too worried about the cat bothering the baby in it.  When I was done putting it together, the cat tried to get in it, but since it is a swing the cat couldn't get in.

It is very portable.  It folds up very easily for storage.  The seat folds up and the legs can be brought together.

So maybe I went shopping a little too quickly...or did I

My MIL called my hubby the other night and said that she bought the play-yard off my registry ( which is nicer than the one I ordered).  We were thinking about returning the other one, but we thought it would be good to keep to use at other people's houses.  I got really good deal on it so I thought I might as well keep it.

This is the one that she ordered for me



It matches the stroller set that we got which is pretty cool.

The other night though we went to Wal.mart and stocked up on lots of little things that we didn't have.  I got a diaper bag set, several hooded towels, a Tig.ger( to match the Pooh Bear we bought), extra crib sheets, 4 swaddling blankets, a bouncy seat, a first year Winn.ie the Pooh Book, and a little Win.nie the Pooh hat with mittens and booties.    All in all it wasn't that cheap, but I think we got a lot for roughly $200 with taxes.

The diaper bag set.  When I asked for advice about getting one, several people mentioned getting two sizes.  

Hood Towels

I only bought one of these are they were a bit pricey, but it is fluffier than the other ones.

Full of washclothes.  I am sure that I will need to use lots of them.

The nursery bedding.  I decided that since I didn't want to use bumper pads in the crib, there was no sense in buying a crib set.  A friend bought my the Winn.ie the Pooh Blanket so I bought a sheet.  I also bought two more sheets, but they are plain white.  All in all I have 4 sheets for the crib which I hope will be enough.

Win.nie the Pooh Central

We also picked up a bouncy seat.  It is cute and I know my nieces and nephews loved theirs so it will probably get a lot of use.

Some of the buys that were a bit more frivolous follow

A Growth Chart.  Probably not needed, but cute all the same

Puppets.  I really couldn't pass these up.

We have a few things left to get.  We don't have a diaper pail.  I am debating between a diaper genie or just a sealed trash can.  or 



We have a few toys, but nothing big. We will probably pick up a play arch or something like that.

I also need a monitor.  We were looking at ones that have two hand sets and doesn't interfere with wireless.


The dresser is pretty well organized thanks to some mini totes

From left to right we have: booties, toys, burp pads, socks, hats, and bibs.

Finally, I leave you with some funny pictures

Things that a change table can be used to store in the meantime.

I have been teaching the Chief how to put a diaper on a baby.  We used  a baby doll and a bear.

 

Some more shopping

Since it seems like right around the corner that Baby Spud will be here, there are still some things I need to get.  Yesterday I ordered a playpen and a swing for the baby.  A playpen is necessary to me as we have a cat, and as much as I love my cat, I don't trust him around a small child.

Here is the one that I ordered

Monkeys is the theme

It doesn't have all the bells and whistles, but it is basic and will do the primary function of keeping the cat away from the baby.  I didn't go with one with a change table as I live in a raised bungalow and will be on the same floor as the nursery all day.  Plus it was on sale.  Also a bonus.

I also ordered the swing.  Not sure if the baby will like it, but I got a good deal on it as I had a coupon for that store.  

Here is the swing

It is from Bri.ght Sta.rts.  I think it is a good brand.

I also decided to do some good old internet ordering.  I ordered a sling from Se.ven Sli.ngs.com and an Ud.der Cover.  All I had to pay was shipping.  Overprice shipping mind you, but shipping alone   ($25 all together).  So hopefully in a few weeks I will have those as well.  

I also bought a ring sling off of Ebay for ($25 with shipping).  That should arrive in about a week and half.  I will post pictures of those when they arrive and tell you what I think of them.

 

Baby Shower

I had my baby shower yesterday.  Unfortunately, I have no pictures from the actual baby shower as it was surprise and didn't have my camera, but I will try to get some pics off my MIL.  I have pictures of the gifts though.

This is a book of advice from the ladies who attended :)

Nursing Pillow

Really adorable onesies

Lamby blanky..so cute

Little bear cap.  Hopefully it is cold enough when the baby comes to wear it. 

Some clothes

Basket of goodies

Bibs- one for each of us, lol

More cute onesies

The balloons that were tied to my chair

The change table organizer.  This will really come in handy

I got lots of little things for the baby.  It was a lot of fun.

I will post more pictures later.