Nursery Mood Board

I have been pondering the nursery decor for quite some time and I finally have a mood board to show for it.

I won't elaborate on it now because I don't want to spoil the surprise - each item will get a full post once it's completed or installed. However, I will give you a basic run-down.

1) color scheme

2) fabric for crib bedding

3) crib

4) nursing chair

5) possible decor idea

6) curtains

7) adorable art

8) lamp

9) inspiration for DIY mobile

10) inspiration for DIY fabric collage

A Bird-Brained Idea

I haven't quite put together a mood board for the nursery, but I have started to gather ideas.

I have picked out a general color palette of navy, ivory and robin's egg blue, but haven't yet bought any paint or fabric to lock it down. The nursery will not have a "theme" such as trains, the circus or Winnie the Pooh. If I had to identify a theme it would be "It's my house and I'm paying for this stuff, so I better darn well like it." Also incorporated into the theme is "We don't know if we're having a boy or girl but, darn it, girls can like blue too."

So, for non-essential decor items I am pulling together cute items that are cute enough for a girl, but not too precious for a boy. Or if they do end up being too precious as a boy gets older, I can move them somewhere else because they're still awesome.

My latest obsession, inspired by this photo, is a grouping of small (empty) birdcages hanging in the corner.

photo from _cub's flickr stream, found via oh, hello friend

I just love the texture of the birdcages hanging en masse. The challenge will be to find cool birdcages that don't cost a fortune. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled.

What do you think?

Bump Photo - Week 25

Nothing too interesting this week. Just me, in a brown dress. I've only bought 2 maternity dresses so far because I've been getting a lot of mileage out of my stretchy "normal" dresses, like this one.

Dress: Macy's
Glasses: Banana Republic

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Week 24
Week 23

It Totally Slipped My Mind

So, something exciting happened during my San Diego trip, but with all the laundry and make-up naps I forgot to share the news with you - bad blogger!

On the second day of our trip Steven felt the baby kick for the first time! I had been feeling the peanut move since Week 18, but it took another 4 weeks before those little legs were strong enough to kick the outside world.

Already a proud papa, Steven had to share the news on Facebook - in his own strange humor, of course.

Here's hoping the baby gets Daddy's odd sense of humor - life is always better when I'm laughing!

Bursting My Bubble

I hadn't written a nice, juicy rant in a while and I had a nice one all planned out for you. Then, I was told I was *gasp* wrong, and my rant went out the window.

The time window for my glucose tolerance test was fast approaching and I was convinced I could get out of it. I had it in my head that it wasn't necessary and I wasn't about to subject myself to a barrage of "routine" tests just to err on the side of caution. Here's how all that played out at today's check-up.

Midwife: So I see the nurse gave you the information you'll need for your glucose test. Do you have any questions?

Me: Yeah, can I just not do it?

Midwife: blank stare Is there a reason?

Me: Umm, I was just hoping to avoid any routine tests that aren't critical. I only want to be tested if I'm actually at risk for something.

Midwife: The glucose test isn't risky. You don't even have to fast first.

Me: Yeah I know, I just don't want to do it. mumble something stupid

Midwife: looks at my chart Hm, well, you're fat so you have to do it.*

Me: Oh, okay then. overly cheerful in a very lame way You can't blame a girl for trying!

So the bad news is I have to have the stupid test. I hear the glucose drink is TERRIBLE but at least it comes in fun flavors like fruit punch, grape and kitty litter (I picked fruit punch, btw).

But the good news is I asked the midwife her thoughts on birth plans and I won't need one. I was undecided on whether or not I wanted to get into that. If I were to write one, it would be so that my birthing team knows I don't want all those new fangled interventions - I want to kick this old school. But I also knew that choosing a midwife over an OB would get me a long way in that direction. My midwife assured me that their philosophy is to go natural as long as mom and baby are safe, but if it would make me feel better I can give the L&D nurses a heads up of what I'm comfortable with. Of course, any birth plan shouldn't be too rigid because that's exactly when they end up going out the window. So, yay for that. I plan to write an informal birth plan, here on the blog, after I finish all my reading and research.

*Not her actual words. Something more like "Based on BMI... pre-pregnancy yours was too high... at risk for diabetes... blah blah blah."

Family Bonding

Since I featured Pop-Tart in my last Bump Photo, I wanted to give some love to my second 'child' Yo-Yo.



Here he is practicing some big-brother cuddling. I'm still waiting for the baby to start kicking while one of the cats is in my lap. That reaction is going to be awesome.

Bump Photo - Week 24

First, let me say I looked a lot cuter this morning. I had a meeting with clients at Fort Bragg, so I was all dressed up for work. But then the car ride was long, I felt all wrinkled and gross, so I stripped down to my undershirt and threw on some jeans before I remembered it was picture day. Sigh.



I also wanted to share a quick story to prove that no man is perfect. You see that little pink streak right in the corner where my tank is touching my pants? Well, Steven spied it and said "Look, you got your first stretch mark!" It's legal to kill for that, right?

During our little photo shoot I wanted to pose with my oldest 'child' Pop-Tart. She's 3 and quite uncooperative for pictures, but I love her dearly. Please excuse her glowing eyes.

Or if you can't look past them, at least pretend they're something awesome, like laser-eyes.



Tank: Old Navy
Jeans: Old Navy Maternity

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Week 23

Week 22

Double Dipping

As you may or may not know I write a design blog in addition to my rambling here at The Peanut Stand. On that blog I vowed not to talk about babies much and to stick to design based content.


Well, the time has come to begin designing our nursery, and that just happens to fall under the categories of 'design' and 'babies.'*

So, my point is that any nursery design content will be posted on both blogs. If you happen to be a reader of both, please disregard the duplicate content. I just thought it would make things easier for the folks that only read one or the other - they get the full nursery scoop without lots of blog hopping and cross-linking. I will try to make up for this by continuing to post awesome stuff to the individual blogs, but don't hold your breath. I do have a job, a life, a husband and a PERSON TO GROW.

My goal is to pick paint colors and set up a mood board over the weekend, so I'll be sure to share my progress.

*No, I don't think you're too stupid to grasp that concept without a visual aid. I'm just a nerd that really likes making diagrams.

Deals Too Good To Pass Up

You may have noticed in my bump photos that I often wear thrifted maternity clothes, but I thought the topic deserved its own post.

My first foray into used maternity wear was a happy accident. I was at my local GCF store, thumbing through the racks, when I came across several shirts and sweaters. Most of them had hardly been worn, and for only $3 each how could I not buy them all? If you are looking for a specific item this isn't the way to go, but it's great for finding random separates. I have found it is very easy to build a wardrobe with very few pants and skirts as long as I have a variety of shirts to change up the look.

Finding clothes on the cheap is good, but what would you say to getting clothes for free? Yes, free. If you haven't tried it I highly recommend you look into Freecycle. Freecycle is a network for people to give and receive used items within their community. I won't go into the details of how it works, but people can advertise an item they wish to give away or people can ask for an item they would like to receive. Several weeks ago I requested some winter maternity items, not wanting to spend too much money for things I would only be wearing for a few weeks. I got a response right away and a very nice woman gave me 2 pairs of pants and 4 tops. Also, people are often giving away baby items so this is a great resource for things like toys, books, games and gear (strollers, high-chairs, swings etc). This is a great organization - by connecting people that have things with people that can give them a second life it greatly reduces the strain on local landfills.

Additionally, Craigslist and yard sales are great places to find used baby goods on the cheap. With warm weather ramping up I plan on hitting the yard sales in the next few weeks. I'll be sure to show you what I find!

A Few Wierd Things

I have noticed a few things that I find odd. I have also noticed that I am fond of making lists lately.

#1 My belly button is slowly disappearing. It is getting shallower and shallower and I suspect that someday it will disappear altogether.

#2 When I sit down to use the toilet, I can feel my naked belly sitting on my lap. The first time I felt that skin-to-skin contact it was, well, shocking.

#3 In my pre-baby days things were business as usual. When my body was hungry it would clue me in by producing a rumbling sensation in the area where I knew my stomach was located. Not so much anymore. Now that space is limited, my hunger sensations tend to be more migratory. Sometimes near my kidneys, sometimes up near my lungs. Always baffling but never in the same place twice.

That is all the over sharing I have for now.

Tips For the Traveling Preggo

Now that I'm home and rested I want to share what I learned on my trip.

Tip #1
If you are flying, attempt to pre-board the airplane.

With most airlines, pregnancy qualifies as a 'temporary disability.' Do a little digging and find out what you need to do to gain pre-boarding status. On my outgoing flight I was lucky enough to sit in the front row - all that extra leg room is divine! - but I wasn't so lucky on my return flight. Southwest seats pre-boards according to disability and obviously those in wheelchairs get to go before preggos. Even so, I got my pick of seats so I could sit in the aisle seat close to the loo - you would not believe what all that shaking does to your bladder.

Tip #2
Avoid vacations with lots of walking.

There is a reason people suggest cruises and spa weekends for babymoons. San Diego is a very large, pedestrian unfriendly city. Even with a great bus and metro system we had to walk many blocks to get where we were going. Seriously, what crazy pregnant person decides to traipse all over one of the largest zoos in the world? By the end of the day I felt like the baby was a bowling ball that was pulling against my spine.

Tip #3
Carry lots of snacks.

With all the walking and sight seeing I was frequently hungry between meals. It is nice to have a bag of healthy(ish) snacks when you're on the bus, walking down the street or sitting in an airport terminal.

Tip #4
Find a place with a pool.

After doing whatever fun and exhausting activities the day has held nothing feels better than sinking into a nice pool or (reasonably moderate) hot tub. Bouyancy is a pregnant woman's best friend.

So that's it. That's all the wisdom I have to offer. Anything you learned along the way?

Bump Photo - Week 23

Thursday was the first day of the ACC Basketball Tournament, so I am showing my school spirit in my Wolfpack colors. They haven't been playing that well this season, so it was a great surprise when they beat Clemson last night to advance to the second round! Go Wolfpack!

Cardigan: Old Navy

Blouse: Announcements Maternity, thrifted

Pants: Motherhood Maternity

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Week 22

Week 21

Bump Photo - Week 22

This is my bump photo, San Diego style!


Here I am at 22 weeks, standing in front of the San Diego Bay.

Cardigan: Old Navy

T-Shirt: ahpeele

Jeans: Old Navy Maternity

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Week 21

Week 20

Just To Let You Guys Know...

The hubby and I are taking a vacation this week - 4 days in San Diego (just for fun) then 4 days in Las Vegas (for a wedding). While we're gone I won't be posting - this blog just happens when inspiration strikes, so I don't have a backlog of things to post while I'm gone - but I will still take this week's belly photo on Thursday, I just won't post it until I get home.

I am going to attempt to qualify for early boarding so I can sit up front and have extra leg room. That's right, I'm totally playing the 'pregnant' card every chance I get. Hopefully I can post some preggo travel tips when I get back.

See you in a week!