Hey Friends and Family!
It's the week you all have been waiting for! (not the birth of Teagan) Teagan's ROOM REVEAL!! After months and months and MONTHS of working on this room it's finally done to where I'm ready to show all of you! I partly wanted to wait until after the baby showers though so it wouldn't be just an empty room. Now that she's got clothes and toys and diapers and other little nic nacs it really makes a difference in making it HER room. There are still a few places where I plan to add pictures on the walls like my maternity pics and some pics of her when she comes out, and I'll point those out in the pictures of that part of the room. But first!
Life Update!
So this week hasn't been too eventful. We got the last bit of things we ordered for Teagan (the cloth diapers!) and I did laundry to prep them (I'll have to do a separate post on how to prep cloth diapers.... lets just say it took ALL DAY) and then realized I forgot to order ONE THING (the snappi pins :/) So I had to order those this week and pray she doesn't come next week or I'll have to use safety pins and those really make me nervous. The hubby did practice how to diaper a baby (stuffed giraffe) with cloth diapers so he's go the basics down now, but I definitely haven't graduated him to unsupervised changes yet (half of the poor giraffe's body was shoved into the diaper... and there was a whole discussion on which direction the tail should go...). I got my maternity pics in this week too! They turned out SO good,
HERE is a link to the photographer's website that has a few of her's and my favorites. So if you are in the Phoenix area and need a great photographer check them out! I also had another doctors appointment which brings us to...
Developmentally:
I am now almost 38 weeks! AAHHH it's crazy to know that her due date is in TWO WEEKS!!! But I'm 95% sure she's going to be late. At this weeks appointment I still had not gained any weight which brings me to 18 pounds (still) gained in 37 weeks. Teagan is still measuring at her gestation (from the belly measurements) but because I haven't gained weight now in two months I am being sent to the sonogram place Monday to do a more thorough sonogram to measure her. This actually excites me because since I have had a "textbook" pregnancy they weren't going to have me have a third scan. Now I get to really see her and they will be able to guesstimate how big in pounds she really is, how long she is and most importantly... if she has hair!!!!
Other then that she seems to be doing good; she moves around ALOT in the evenings mostly (night owl like her papa) and still enjoys hanging out in my ribs or bladder and sticking random body parts to the side of my stomach to make me look wonky. This week she should be around 6 1/2 pounds and around 19-20 inches long (about the size of a .... baby lol) According to the app, IF she has hair its probably around 1/2 inch to just over an inch long (here's hoping!) But we'll find that out next week!
Symptom Check:
My symptoms are pretty much still the same: Heartburn (oh joy), back pain (yay), leg cramps (sigh). Yep they are my constant companion. The plus side is my hubby is SUPER supportive and gives my back and legs rub downs whenever I ask for them. I still haven't had any early labor symptoms such as Braxton hicks, contractions, leaking, cramping, etc. so this leads me to believe she's taking my advice and staying in for the long haul!
Teagan's Room Reveal:
AND NOW... the moment you all have been waiting for!
Be forewarned this next part is going to be VERY picture heavy. But we spent ALOT of time on the room and are very proud of it :)
First is the theme: I don't really like "traditional" girls room with a bunch of sparkle and pink and princesses for lots of different reasons. And although I like the clean look of "modern" furniture I really don't like it for a baby's room. So, keeping that in mind we went with a yellow/grey/and white color scheme with elements of weather. And as far as the furniture went, we really focused on repurposing furniture that was already available and not the "new popular" styles. Also as I go through each element of the room you'll see why it took so long to finish because of all the DIY stuff that was done (especially the things my dad did, I was limited to only working on those parts when he came down to "visit")
Well without further ado... this is what you first see when you walk into Teagan's room:
Staring from the left side of the room:
First is this growth ruler the hubby and I made. I can't remember the dimensions of the board, but basically the hubby sanded it, stained it and my dad made a bunch of vinyl hash marks and numbers for us. We spent an evening (watching the GOP debate) measuring every inch and placing the vinyl stickers on the board then hung it up. I'm super happy with how it turned out and now I just wonder how to label Teagan's (and any other future kiddo's) hight without ruining the look... maybe a label maker?
Next to the ruler is the door to the closet and above it we placed these letters my dad made for Teagan that was given to me on my first baby shower. I had the hubby spray paint them yellow (they were white if you can remember from the first haul post) and hang them above the door.
Next is Teagan's little reading corner:
I saw this idea on Pinterest and pretty much forced my dad one day when we were at home depot to agree to put this wall up. It's basically plastic rain gutters secured to this little random corner spot. The only down side to this project is the fact that all the little pieces that make the turns and connections are SUPER expensive and it ended up costing more then I thought it would. (If I had done the same thing but without a corner ((on a strait wall)) it would have cost WAY less) BUT I love it and so does every one else so I'm happy I stuck with the reading corner idea.
When she gets big enough I many put a bean bag chair or child sided chair.. or maybe even a little mat on the floor so she can have a place to read by herself. Here's a look at all the books we have acquired from showers and purchasing ourselves. (*TIP!! if you want to get GREAT books for a really good price befriend an elementary school teacher and order from their scholastic book orders! They all have online profiles so even if your fiend teaches 5th grade you can still find age appropriate books for a great price online. AND they are WAY cheaper then if you buy them in stores! They are often in bundle deals and usually come in paperback which is a HUGE savings. For instance a lot of the books we bought only cost on average $2-$3 each! OH!! AANNDD by ordering through your teacher friend it actually helps out their classroom library too! For every dollar or book (I'm not sure how the points work) they get points towards getting books for their classroom! WIN WIN!! My "friend" is my sister. I'm pretty sure you all know my sister has been a teacher FOREVER so I totally take advantage of her book orders!)
This rocking chair was given to me by one of my friend's who was moving and didn't have space for it in her new place. I made the seat pads for it (a lot harder then I thought it would be) and think this is a great spot for bed time stories and nursing when she starts sleeping in this room (more on that later).
Next is her closet. It's a walk in.. the child has a bigger closet as a baby then I did in my first 23 years of life (didn't get a walk in until AFTER I got married and moved down here)
I do like that it's a walk in though because as you can see its a great place to store not only her clothes, but her stuffed animals as well. All these stuffed animals were actually mine first! The toy chest was a gift from my second baby shower and I think its a great holder of her little stuffed animals :)
I've sorted out all the dresses she has and utilized the closet organizers that were gifted to sort by size. On top of the shelf (from left to right) I have her infant potty (remember how I mentioned a couple posts back I'm going to attempt elimination communication?), humidifier, breast pump, boba wrap in its carrying bag, and a storage box that was a gift from my second shower with breast milk bags and other odds and ends that aren't age appropriate yet to be in her room.
Other side of the closet has a couple dresses for over 12 months, hooter hiders I made (they double as scarves!) and the ergobaby carrier and infant insert. In the top left corner is another bag from Thirtyone I'll be using when she gets bigger, a box of toys for toddler age, and a bin of MORE of my old stuffed animals. Then some shoes for when she gets bigger and another storage bin with more odds and ends for an older Teagan.
Going back to the first wall you saw when walking in her room: here is the window with the curtains closed. We got them years ago from Tuesday Morning for a super good price. They are a canvass material. My dad actually hung these up because the hubby and I are not the greatest at hanging up window treatments... the hubby tried first and it didn't work out so well... (my dad had to come.. do some wall repairs.. re-drill holes... yeah from now on Dad does window treatments haha) At some point I may have to add black out material to the back but I want Teagan to learn to sleep in not pitch black first.
Some of you may remember this little guy from earlier this year when we gave him a makeover. This is the rocking horse that was first my sister's and then mine, and after a makeover now it's Teagan's. I know it's going to be too big for her but I love seeing it in front of the window.
And to the side of the room that took the longest to do (when it comes to the DIY parts) (This is the part of the room I meant when I said I'd let you know if I wanted to add stuff. Once I get some baby/family pics, I'm going to put a big picture on either side of the balloons... probably in black and white... or at least that's what I'm thinking this week haha)
First, the crib: I wish I had a before!! Anywho, this is actually mine and my sister's crib! It's a Jenny Lind crib and I LOVE the style of it. When I took it from my parents house (literally went there one day a couple years ago and demanded that they give it to me because they aren't using it anymore) and brought it home for, at the time, the guest kid room, I knew this would be the crib I used when our baby came. Fast forward a couple years to... well.. now haha and I had my dad secure the side of the crib that drops with brackets so it wont drop anymore (I know that they don't make cribs with drop sides anymore for safety reasons). Then I got to work on the DIY parts: I made the bumper pad cover (before you lecture me on bumper pads, this one is a harder foam type and not the moveable squishy cloth type that babies get all wrapped up in. PLUS She's not going to be sleeping in this room for the first few months anyway... well maybe a nap or two.. so by the time she actually does stay in her crib, the risk of SIDS will have GREATY decreased because she'll be able to roll and hold her head up etc.) teething rail guards, and crib skirt. The crib is shown in it's lowest setting and I made the skirt so it will adjust the length of the skirt with snaps the higher the mattress is set.
In short, this crib really represents how just because something is "old" doesn't mean it wasn't made well and with a little TLC (securing brackets and sewing upgrades) can shine and be a great statement piece of any baby room!
I also made this lamp shade cover (matches the crib skirt, AND the color of the flowers in each are actually an exact yellow color match to the curtains) And on top of the lamp shade is the baby monitor/ security camera. We didn't go with a traditional baby monitor because we didn't want to spend a large amount of money for an item that we would only use for a couple years at most. This one does all the same things a traditional baby monitor does: records live feed in daylight AND night vision, can hear the baby and can talk to the baby through the monitor, it alerts when there is sound (crying. farting, etc) and movement, AND its all done through our phones! So there was no need to have a bunch of things floating around the house. And since we can stream our phones to our TV (chromecast! get it!!) we can basically make our TV a baby monitor screen when we are downstairs! Oh and it also plays lullabies! AND when Teagan's grown out of needing it, it goes back to being a security camera for some place in our house. (it will be moved to our room for the first couple months because as I've said a BUNCH of times, she will mainly be sleeping in our room for the first few months.)
Some of you have seen the weather mobile I crocheted. It has a sun, rainbow, snowflake, raindrops, and clouds. We got the mobile hanger and spinny thingy with music pre-programed lullabies off amazon. (this too will be moved to our room, and was placed here for the room reveal)
Here is another blast from the past... kinda... it's more of a inspiration from the past. Over my crib as a baby my mom had a bunch of 7 cloth balloons held by a bear or clown or something that she sewed herself. The fabric was a little warn and darker then my liking so I got some bright colored fabrics and my mom and I made this bunch of balloons for over the crib. I think it really gives a splash of color for Teagan to look at and enjoy as well as emulates wind or air for my weather theme :)
Next to the lamp is this end table. It's actually one of the end tables from our old bedroom set (pieces of this bedroom set are now divided in different rooms in the house)! The little sheep is an old stuffed sheep of mine and the yellow and grey basket was crocheted by my mother in law and holds some of the toys Teagan got from both showers.
This end table actually houses all Teagan's jammies. In the top drawer is the 0-6 month drawer. The left side has sleeping gowns and swaddle pods, and the right from closest to farthest away are foot pajamas from newborn to 6 months.
The Bottom drawer is set up the same, except for 6 months and up.
Last wall!! This is another DIY section :)
In the far left corner is her hamper for clothes (the black triangle one) and her diaper hamper (whicker one) complete with hedgehog diaper pail liner. And fun fact for those worrying about the diaper smell, after using the diaper sprayer (shown later in post) diapers in the diaper pails don't smell when let to air out. And plus I'll be washing them probably every other day so they wont get a chance to build up an ammonia smell :)
Next is our cloud wall! I had the hubby make some cloud shelves and hang them up and I made the little rain drops out of left over material from the balloons. The shelves are pretty narrow and are the perfect size for her lotions and creams and little things like her newborn shoes. But I also plan on putting some small picture frames on them, like family pics and maybe some of the maternity pics or other family member's pics so she can learn to recognize faces.
Here is a look at her diaper changing station. I utilized the shelves the hubby made to store lotions and diaper creams for now. This dresser is also from our old bedroom set and the perfect hight to make a changing station.
Directly right of the diaper pail, from the company Thirty one (can you tell I use their items a lot? If you need a consultant let me know and I'll get you the contact info for mine!) I had one of the storage cubes embroidered with "diapers" and put all the prepped prefolds from green mountain diapers in there. (for those wondering I have 3 dozen size small: 10-15 pounds/ 6weeks -5 months [yellow edge], and 2 dozen size newborn: 6-10 pounds/0-6 weeks [orange edge] and these can be used as doublers for extra absorbency or burp cloths when Teagan grows out of this size)
Next is the changing pad complete with cover and changing pad liner.
The top right drawer: on the left side front part are A BUNCH of homemade cloth wipes I made, behind these is a baby safety kit that one of my friends gifted me. On the right front is a small wet/dry bag (flower print), medium wet/dry bag (grey and white chevron) and on the bottom is an extra diaper pail liner (yellow) for when the other is in the wash, or to take with me when I go on a longer trip. Behind those are some thicker cloth wipes (white) that were gifted to me by my dad's co worker, then a few cloth wipes I made for travel and a little travel bag I'll use for the travel wipes. (It is actually to hold regular wipes and a couple disposable liners that I got from registering at buybuybaby but good luck getting a cloth diaper to fit in that!)
Below this drawer is my cloth diaper drawer. Right now it is pretty sparse since I don't have many one size diapers. But, since I wont be using those until she's around 5 or 6 months I have time! On the left side front are newborn diaper covers for all the prefolds. I have 6 newborn sized (4-15 pounds) rumparooz diaper covers I bought, a couple newborn sized gerber "plastic pants" (basically diaper covers that are pull on and don't have snaps or velcro), and some extra prefolds that are too big right now that were gifted to me. On the right side are 5 bumpkins one sized pocket diapers I bought, one bumgenious pocket diaper that was gifted, a diaper cover and some more "plastic pants" that were gifted. So I have a pretty good start for when she gets bigger. I'll probably follow sales and buy more bumgenious and bumpkins diapers as prices allow and if not I'll go the prefold route when the time comes.
Going back to the top row, in the middle drawer (from left to right) I have hair bows (for the time being, my neighbor in Phoenix said she'll make a bow holder I can hang on the wall) and baby hats. Then baby mittens (green, white and pink). Next is baby stockings and then two rows of adorable socks, sized from smallest (closest) to biggest.
The last drawer on the top has a bunch of her onesies. The left side is sized newborn to 3 months and the right side is 3-6 months.
Directly below the onesies on the right side of the dresser is her swaddle drawer. On the left are all the muslin swaddles, the middle has a thicker cotton swaddle blanket (or is considered a receiving blanket at that point? is there a difference?) Behind that is an extra changing pad liner. On the right side front is burp cloths and behind is an extra changing pad cover.
The Bottom two drawers have more onesie sets from 6 months and up.
Remember the crib skirt? Well I have something hiding behind it!
Fun fact! Under the bed storage boxes fit PERFECTLY under a crib! Remember the last two weeks how I said I received a bunch of homemade items? Well a lot of them were blankets! And this is where I'm storing the ones not being used. It does have a lid to keep dust and cats out.. yes cats, my cats LOVE soft blankets, LOVE THEM.
So without further ado.... its time for the Blanket parade!:
First up is this penguin quilt my sister made for me.. I mean Teagan. And fun fact some of the black penguin material used is actually the bridesmaid dress my sister wore in my wedding! This quilt is ENORMOUS (compared to the crib size the pattern said it was for) so this may be a tummy time blanket for the carpeted floor until Teagan is big enough to have a twin bed.
Next up is this quilt that my sister in law and her mother in law made. I love that they went with my color scheme and that the blanket has textures that will be great for tummy time and its nice and thick for the cooler month (that's right east coast people... we have like one cold month in AZ) to keep her cozy.
This adorable number was made by Grandma Pam, and will have a great duel use as a tummy time blanket and carseat cover/blanket for the cooler months. And when she gets big enough is the perfect size for a nap blanket.
These items were not home made, but picked out and given with love. They are that super soft fuzzy material blankets that my husband and the cats love. The leopard print one was given by a dear lady from my hubby's old church (she was actually our wedding photographer!), the pink one was given by a lady from my old church and the chevron one is from my mother in law.
These two blankets were crocheted by my neighbor up in Phoenix. They are SUPER SOFT (I'm seriously contemplating taking them for myself) and a really good size. And get this: it only took her about a week each to make them! It takes me like 3 days just to make a baby hat!
This crochet blanket was made by another one of my neighbors up in Phoenix. She said she started making it as soon as she found out we were expecting. It too is super soft and is gong to be a great blanket to bundle Teagan up in! (as you can see, Mizti moved from photo bombing the left of a bunch of these pics, to just claiming the blankets at this point)
Lastly is this homemade blanket that we have on the rocking chair in front of the book shelf. Its a long, skinny fleece blanket that will be great for story time and a warm cover for breast feeding. And when she gets bigger, I think it will be a great blanket to wrap Teagan up in (sorry hubby, you can't have this one, it has her name on it!) This beautiful blanket was made by a wonderful lady I've know my literal whole life from my old church.
And the final piece in Teagan's room is the throw rugs. I really wanted something fuzzy and warm that Teagan could eventually crawl all over... well as you know I have dogs and Mitzi and Bruno basically become a furniture piece when they are in this room. For those wondering how I've prepared my pups for baby: My dogs have been around babies since I first got them and quickly learned that baby=little treat giver so they LOVE babies and are super gentle with babies. They know if I feel they are getting even a little rowdy they get put outside. Also, in my house the rule is, they MUST be in the same room I am in and they have to be calm (except for the loft.. there is a rug there we're pretty sure they think is a wrestling mat... but they keep it contained to that small mat.. 60 square feet of crazy in a 2700 sq foot house.. I'll take it). So basically in all the rooms they know to lay down and behave or they get put outside. They are also very responsive to commands because they are spoiled and hate going outside except to go on walks and do their business they will do anything to stay inside all day. My cats too have been around babies, but could care less about them. Pepper (grey and white kitty) is a pushover and lets babies do whatever they want to her, and CJ (yellow and white kitty) pretty much keeps an eye on them from a distance. I've introduced all my pets to ALL the baby stuff (some funny videos on my Instagram!) and for the most part they leave everything alone. So we'll see how it goes! But I'm not worried.
So that's it for the baby room, I know the last post I said I'd do a mini house tour with all the baby stuff, but seeing as this post is super long I'll only do a couple spots upstairs. Then next week or later after she comes I'll do the rest.
In the guest bathroom upstairs (right across the hall from her room) in the tub, I have her baby sized tub. This tub is pretty cool because on the left side the water goes in and tells you if the temperature is a safe bathing temp. Once it is the indicator turns green then you plug up the little compartment and then the water flows to the right side (baby bath side) with baby safe temperature water.
Next to the bathtub is the toilet where I store some much needed items for Teagan;
In the little Owl basket is her hooded towels and washcloths along with some containers of baby shampoo and body wash.
To the left of the toilet I hooked up the diaper sprayer. This is directly connected to the water line and when I have a soiled diaper to spray off I simply flip the little water switch from supplying water to the toilet to the sprayer, lift the lid, spray off the diaper of its contents, flush and put the sprayer back on its hook. This also can be used for adults for cleaning themselves while using the facilities (think those fancy European toilets.. hehe).
And finally on this weeks baby tour is Teagan's little corner in our room. This is literally an end table away from our bed on my side of the room (I was sitting on the bed taking this picture). Her crib is a portable crib that folds up flat. These are actually what some hospitals and hotels use. I did get a thicker mattress, but still have the thinner one that came with it for traveling. I know it fits in the SUV... but recently realized I tested it with the seats down.. I will have to retest it's fit now that we have the car seat in! (I'll get back to you with a whole post on it and why I HATE pack and plays) I also made some cloud garland to go over her crib that I will move to her room once she moves out of ours. Also, this little corner will have her mobile and security monitor.
Next week:
So next week I have my sonogram, doctors appointment, and chiropractor appointment (probably my last one before she comes!!) but that's about it. At this point I'm not supposed to be doing much traveling and staying close to home so that's what I do! I'm still working on MY hospital bag and hope I'll have the last few items in for next week's post, or maybe I'll do the downstairs baby stuff in next weeks post.. if she's not here by then!
Until Next Time!
Bre and Teagan (the bump)
