nursery revisited

Now that we know we are having two girls, I have been able to make final decisions about the nursery decor.

I ordered these sheets from pottery barn kids:

The reviews have said that the sheets are somewhere in between a pink and purple... so we'll see what color they actually are when they arrive. I had though about painting the walls a soft pink, but might opt to paint them light grey instead. It is much easier to choose all the fabrics first and then find a paint color that works.

I plan on getting these curtains from west elm:

I was all ready to order them, but unfortunately we had our anatomy scan a day to late. The night before the big gender reveal they were 20% off, but when I went to order them on Tuesday the sale was over. Hopefully if I'm patient they will go on sale again... there isn't a huge rush, I just need to have the curtains before we select a paint color.

I found a crib that I love from Walmart of all places:

photo credit: younghouselove.com

There is a shortage of storage space in the nursery, so I love how there is a built in drawer! My mom really likes the crib, as it will save her from making a crib skirt with box pleats :) Originally I had loved a grey crib (also from walmart) but it went out of stock. We plan on refinishing a dresser and painting the top white and staining the bottom, so having a two tone crib will help tie everything together and add warmth to the room.

The bane of my existence has been finding a changing pad...I have found a few contenders, but I'm not sure if any of them are quite right. Once the crib sheets arrive and I know exactly what color they are it should be easier to make a decision:

The final big decision is figuring out what color to paint the rocking chair:

I'm thinking either pink or grey... again, I need to wait for the crib sheets to arrive (the should ship by October 5th... I'm going to start a countdown!). This is a project that needs to be completed before there is snow on the ground, so hopefully we have until at least the beginning of November :)

Oh, and in non-decor related news, my coworkers are planning a baby shower! I am so excited, the big day is November 7th! Apparently there is a planning committee and everything... it should be a lot of fun. The baby gear is definitely starting to pile up around here... I'll have to do a post on that soon :)

half baked

We are now at the official halfway point of pregnancy. If the babies don't come on their own (average twin pregnancies last 35 weeks, I'm hoping to make it to 37) they will be evicted at 38 weeks. I can't believe how quickly the past 19 weeks have gone by! It is crazy to think that 19 weeks from now we will be holding our little girls.

Paxton wanted to be in the picture too

How far along? 19 weeks

Total weight gain? Another two pounds. At my appointment with the Maternal Fetal Medicine doctor he asked if I had been able to eat... clearly he hadn't looked at my chart. I would imagine that a 20+ pound weight gain would indicate that I am well-nourished :) 

 Maternity clothes? I have started to wear some maternity clothes- I am loving maternity jeans, but have been struggling with dress pants. For work I have continued to wear the be band with my regular pants... I know I should just break down and order some from gap maternity, but I'm not too excited about spending $70 on a pair of pants I'll only wear for a few months.

 Stretch marks? I am still stretch-mark free... hopefully it stays that way!

Sleep? I've been sleeping incredibly well lately- I hope it continues! The pillow barricade has done wonders.

Miss anything? At least 25% of my wardrobe no longer fits... I miss a lot of my form fitting shirts! I feel like I've been wearing a lot of the same things each week. I'm going to revisit my closet this weekend and try come up with some fresh outfits.

Cravings? Skittles, Wild Cherry Pepsi. I had been avoiding caffeine the first trimester, but now I will occasionally have a can of caffeinated pop. Research suggests keeping caffeine consumption to 200 mg per day- I usually allow myself 2 cans per day, so I'm keeping my total to about 80 mg per week which seems like a good compromise.
 
Aversions? Just pork chops.
 
Symptoms? Last night I fell asleep watching TV at 8:00, but most of my family and friends would report that me falling asleep has nothing to do with pregnancy. It is the strangest thing- I can be watching a good tv show or movie, but sleep will take precedence. In high school my friends would come over to watch movies a lot and I would regularly fall asleep during the halfway point... in fact the only movie that I was able to stay awake for was Blue Crush.

weekend updates

Justin was away salmon fishing this weekend, so my parents came up to keep me company and get a few projects scratched off the to do list.

Up first was the mothers of multiples twice as nice sale- since I am a MOM-to-be, I was allowed to shop the night before it was open to the general public. Here are a few of my finds:

Avery checking out the toys

 I think I did really well at the sale. I was allowed to bring a guest, so my mom came with me. It was great because we were able to divide and conquer. The sale was held at a church, so there were lots of rooms to check out. We still don't know the genders of the babies, so I just bought some boy stuff and some girl stuff... if I end up not needing all of the clothes, I'm sure I will have someone to pass them on to.

Speaking of clothes... my cousin Angie gave me a bunch of baby hangers- I can't wait to start filling them up.

I think Justin and I will wait until Black Friday to do any clothes shopping- Baby Gap usually has 40-50% off everything that day, so it will be the perfect time to stock up. There are also usually good deals on the Carter's sleep and plays- I think the twins will primarily wear the footed sleepers in the beginning and my rummage sale experience has taught me that Carter's is the brand to go with- they are so much softer than some of the other brands and seem to hold up really well.

I think I've mentioned on the blog before that our families like to spoil us... but here is more evidence. My cousin Amanda picked up this adorable sailor dress:

Amanda will definitely have to use this dress in a photo shoot! I think my mom saved a sailor outfit that my brother had, so if we do have a boy and a girl, they can both have cute sailor outfits :)

My aunt Nancy and cousins Angie and Haylee got me these awesome LUSH bath products:

I have been wanting to try the LUSH products for a while now, and they are amazing! So far the soap is my favorite- my skin felt so soft after using it. I thought the card was adorable too- hopefully Amanda can take a similar picture with the twins when they are older (I'm pretty sure I've already told her this, but Amanda has been hired as the family photographer).

My mom went to a quilt show on Friday and picked up fabric for another baby quilt:

She will be making a few quilts to keep at her house, but I told her that this one definitely has to live with me! I love that the quilt will have touches of whimsy, but isn't overly baby-ish, so the twins can use it for years to come. It also goes quite nicely with my decor, which is a definite bonus!

In between all of the fun shopping, we my dad had time to cross one of the projects off of the to-do list. He installed a glass storm door. It looks great and lets tons of natural light in- we will definitely get a lot of use out of it. I'm glad my dad is patient, because this was one of those projects that looks a lot easier than it actually is.

18 weeks

I am getting very anxious to decorate the nursery- we have our big ultrasound soon, so I expect that the day we find out I will be placing orders with land of nod, pottery barn kids, and west elm! Justin is a bit more practical patient than I am, so he doesn't see the big rush to get everything ordered... but a lot of items I originally wanted are back-ordered/out of stock, so I want to start shopping ASAP. I have bedding picked out for two girls, two boys, and one of each... so regardless of gender we have a plan.

In honor of me being near the halfway point in pregnancy, I thought it would be fun to compare bump pictures this week:

4 weeks- the day we found out I was pregnant

18 weeks

 How far along? 18 weeks

Total weight gain? 2 pounds again. From the above pictures you can see there is quite a difference in belly size- the belly is now a whopping 12 inches larger than pre-pregnancy... so most of it is going straight to the bump. My hips have grown slightly (only about an inch), but I think a lot of that is because I have scaled way back at the gym.

 Maternity clothes? I was desperate to wear leggings one day and broke down and wore a maternity top, because that was the only thing I could find that was long enough to make leggings work-appropriate, but other than that incident I've been getting by with normal clothes and the be band. I am so thankful that my workplace has a business casual dress code... I see lots and lots of leggings in my future.

 Stretch marks? I had a nightmare last night that I had significant stretch marks over at least 50% of my body... they were red and looked like I had been attacked by a cat, it was awful. I rushed to the bathroom to look in the mirror as soon as I woke up, and thankfully I am still stretch mark free... lets hope it stays that way!

Sleep? Still good- I continue to barricade myself with pillows. Justin questioned my excessive number of pillows, but I told him that my parents have a camping mat I was sure we could borrow so he could sleep on the floor away from my wall of pillows. He hasn't asked about my pillow choices since.

Miss anything? Having pants that both zip and button... I only have a few precious pairs left that do both, and I'm afraid that they won't be along for much longer. 

Cravings? Buffalo wild wings, a professional prenatal massage. I read an old wives tale that if you deny a pregnant woman a craving, you will get a sty. Justin developed one a couple of weeks ago... I'm now trying to convince him that a massage counts as a craving, and that he would be a fool to put himself at risk of developing another sty... I don't think my logic is winning this one.
 
Aversions? Pork... I'm not sure if I will ever look at it the same way.
 
Symptoms? I get backaches here and there, but everything is still manageable. I really wish that we had a jetted tub. We don't have any getaways planned, but if we end up going on a weekend trip I am so booking a room with one of those cheesy jacuzzi tubs so I can take a nice relaxing bath. 

17 weeks

17 weeks- almost to the halfway point in my pregnancy! We're really hoping that the twins are cooperative and wait until 36-37 weeks for their big debut. I went to my first mothers of multiples meeting last night, and a few of the ladies made it to 38+ weeks so there is hope!

The belly has been getting lots of attention! Keep in mind I look like I'm about 24.5 weeks pregnant.

How far along? 17 weeks

Total weight gain? Another 2 pounds this week, I'm sure you are shocked. That brings my grand total to 17 pounds. I've been reading the book "when you're expecting twins, triplets, or quads" and the recommendation for someone of my size (with twins) is to gain 20-30 pounds by week 20 in pregnancy... so it looks like I'm right on track!

 Maternity clothes? Not yet- my goal is to make it another 2 weeks before moving into maternity clothes. My rational is that I will have reached the halfway point by then, so hopefully I won't get bored with my more limited wardrobe.

 Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep? Still pretty good... although I've now barricaded myself with pillows. Avery loves the pillows- especially the body pillow. I've caught her trying to burrow under the pillows several times. I'm a bit paranoid that she could somehow get smothered, but Justin reassures me that yorkies are smart and that she won't suffocate.

Miss anything? Having everything in my closet fit and look good.

Cravings? Quiznos, buffalo wings
 
Aversions? I still have no interest in pork.
 
Symptoms? I have been feeling pretty good this week. The beginning of the week I had some aches and pains, but I went to barre fitness last night and feel great now- that class is amazing! I firmly believe that several of life's aches and pains (physical or emotional) can be cured with sleep and exercise. Seriously, next time you are feeling stressed/having a blah day/have a headache go to the gym and have a hard-core cardio session... I bet you'll end up feeling better (and if you don't have a chocolate malt when you get home- sometimes chocolate fixes things that sleep and exercise cannot).

Nursery Preview

Bits and pieces of the nursery are starting to come together. My mom has the fabric for the crib skirts- it was a bit of an accident, as the fabric I had her order for the chevron quilts was a bit too heavy... but it is the perfect weight for the crib skirts. Plus she found the fabric I wanted in quilter's cotton so all is well.

We have chevron fabric to make this pottery barn kids inspired crib skirt

The other crib skirt will be made of this polka dot fabric. I'm hoping to have box pleat crib skirts, but we'll see what my mom can whip up.

 We are going to wait on ordering sheets until the big gender reveal, but I have a few ideas floating around. There are chevron and polka dot sheets that I love... I would mix the chevron sheets with the polka dot crib skirt and vice versa.

I have found a few different curtain options that I love... most of the items are all from different stores, but I think I will just order what I like and hope that it all works together.  My plan for the nursery is to stick with a primarily grey palette- that way I don't need to worry about mixing patterns and textures. The walls, cribs, and most fabrics will be grey. Pops of color will be added with wall art/accessories.

Gender neutral option

Girly option

 I also really like the Queen Anne's Lace curtains from West Elm. They aren't quite as expensive as the ruffled curtains from pottery barn kids, so they are a good option.

I have loved this ladder bookshelf from Target for the longest time, I just haven't found a good place to put it. If my dad is able to think of a way to secure it to the wall, it will be perfect for the nursery.

I plan on staining the dresser a similar espresso color, and painting the top white, so this piece would help tie the entire room together. My plan is to have the bookshelf next to the rocking chair to create a little reading nook. It will also add some much-needed additional storage to the nursery.

The final component to the nursery preview is a rocking chair that my mom is giving us. She found a great deal on it at fun local shop.

The chair will be refinished... I'm not 100% sure what color I want, but I'm thinking of painting it yellow. We'll make the final decision after we know the gender of the twinsies. My mom will make a pad for the chair... I haven't picked the fabric out yet, but am thinking of doing something grey.

16 Weeks

Justin and I had so much fun celebrating our friends' wedding. The wedding was amazing- there was a plethora of fabulous foods. I loved the appetizers that were served during cocktail hour... my favorites were the asparagus wrapped in beef tenderloin and bruschetta. My only regret is not playing the pregnant lady card and stopping at one piece of cake.

I am happy to report that the dress I planned on wearing to the wedding fit! Justin refers to this dress as my "amish dress", but I absolutely love it. Pre-pregnancy, I wore this dress belted, but now I am able to fill it out. This dress should be in my closet for years to come.

How far along? 16 weeks

Total weight gain? If you've been reading my previous posts I bet you can guess... another 2 pounds! More interesting than my weight gain is my waist measurement- it is up a whopping 11 inches... which in my case is an increase of 45%! As long as my hips and thighs don't get nearly 50% bigger I will happily gain 2 pounds per week throughout pregnancy.

 Maternity clothes? Still in regular clothes. Some of my shirts are a bit on the short side now, but I have plently of longer tops so I should be able to continue to hold off on the maternity clothes for a while.

 Stretch marks? Nope

Sleep? Nothing worth noting- has continued to be pretty good

Miss anything? I am trying to decide if the peppercorn prime rib sandwich from Quiznos is considered deli meat... if I decide that it isn't a safe food I'm pretty sure I'll request one immediately after delivery.

Cravings? Buffalo wings, chocolate malts
 
Aversions? Pork! Otherwise I am able to eat a wider variety of foods.
 
Symptoms? I am symptom free as long as I don't over do it. Justin and I had a very busy weekend filled with shopping and socializing. I stayed up much later than I normally do, and paid for it. I made it to bed around 1:30 am after the wedding and woke up a few hours later screaming from leg pain (I even  wore fairly practical shoes to the wedding). After the leg pain subsided, the morning sickness kicked in. That was the worst I have felt the entire pregnancy. I learned my lesson and definitely won't stay up past 11:00 again anytime soon.

always make time for a test drive

Justin and I were in the cities over the weekend. We were there for a wedding, but made sure to carve out time to stop at Baby Grand. There are no double strollers that interest me in our area, so it was necessary to go to a specialty shop. Our friends were teasing us for test driving strollers, but the stroller is one of the most important baby gear purchases, so it wasn't a decision to be made lightly.

I previously had my heart set on the Baby Jogger City Select, but after seeing it in person, we decided that it wasn't the right stroller for us. Justin and I had both been anti side-by-side, but once we had a chance to test drive a few, we realized that they are much easier to maneuver than the tandems.

Here is our new stroller, the Baby Jogger City Mini Double:

check out the huge canopy

the diaper bag clips on to the stroller

I am loving this stroller- it is very easy to fold, has a huge canopy, and both seats recline flat so the stroller can be used with newborn on up. Justin teases me and says that I sound like a used car salesman when I describe it. 

The only downside is that the stroller doesn't accept two infant car seats. That ended up only being a small compromise, as we discovered the Baby Trend Double Snap N Go: 

We will primarily use the snap n go when we are running errands and going to appointments. The best part is the snap n go is super affordable- it was less than the cost of one car seat adapter for the Baby Jogger City Select. Singleton moms, you need not have stroller envy- both the Baby Jogger City Mini and Snap n Go come in single versions... this set up seems a lot easier than messing around with a bulky travel system.