During my pregnancy with B, I knew there were some things that I wanted to try sewing for her nursery and some of the baby items we’ll be using. I had previously shown the burp rags I made, here. Next up I wanted to recover the bumpers that we had in A’s nursery. Personally, I found it incredibly hard to narrow down fabrics. I searched tons of places on-line and finally we just headed to Joann’s and the Hubs saw the outer fabric first, knew it was perfect and had the colors I wanted! If I ever recover a set of bumper pads again, I definitely want to do the piping detail, which I didn’t do on B’s.
Next up I wanted to make another boppy cover. I had to improvise since I bought the wrong yardage then what was recommended and a zipper half the size that was recommended, can I blame pregnancy brain and not writing it down? Thankfully, it still turned out great, love the colors and that one side is a flannel, soft and warm.
Last project was actually completed by the Hubs. Recovering the infant carrier carseat. Only thing I helped with was tearing out all of the seams. The fabric for this we checked out the home décor fabrics as they are more heavy duty.
Doing these projects has increased my love of sewing so much. All fabrics were bought on sale and with coupons and I love how each of these are personalized especially for her, especially since they are hand me downs from Miss A.
One week ago at this time I was holding my beautiful 3rd daughter. Here’s her birth story, my 3rd induced labor. Monday the 19th I went into triage to get the gel. I was sore/cramping and the Hubs and I enjoyed a lunch just the two of us and then went walking around the mall for a couple hours. Nothing happened, it didn’t put me into labor.
Tuesday the 20th I woke up feeling amazing. We were at the hospital @ 8:30. The midwife checked and she said if this were my 1st delivery she’d recommend another gel as the 1st didn’t do much. We agreed to try pitocin and re-assess my progress in the afternoon. The Dr. then came in early afternoon to break my water. My main goal this delivery was to hold off on the epidural as it stalled my two previous deliveries. I waited until I was 6cm and then asked for the epidural.
Shortly after getting comfortable, pain wise – my mom brought the girls’ in for a little visit. Once they left I took a nap for about an hour. I woke up because I was starting to get uncomfortable. Played a card game with my sister and then she decided to go get a drink. I woke up the Hubs telling him to get awake because I was pretty sure next time they checked me, it’d be baby pushing time.
The midwife came in and said that I changed drastically and that I’d be able to push through the last bit I needed to. She left and ended up coming right back in because Brynlee’s head was right there without me doing any pushing. Just as I was getting ready to start pushing my sister walked in the room in the knick of time. A couple minutes and about 10 pushes later, Miss Brynlee Renee entered the world at 9:59pm, weighing 9lbs, 20 in, on 9.20.2011. The lee in Brynlee’s name is for my Gramma who passed away exactly 4 months ago on the 20th.
I feel like this time after delivery is kicking my butt. I’m feeling overall pretty much back to normal physically. But holy cow, super emotional, this time around. I hope that all of this level’s out sooner rather than later! I feel like this transition of 2 to 3 kids has gone much smoother than it did going from 1 to 2. The girls’ love their little sister so much and I have to confess that Miss A is doing so awesome, is super gentle and hasn’t showed much jealously issues yet like I feared. Granted it’s only been 1 week, but this gives me hope! Now I must go wake her up to nurse.
I have a bunch of randoms from the past 2 weeks since I haven’t been great about doing those posts. I wanted to get these on the blog before Miss B’s arrival this coming week! :o)
- Miss A with her first double ponytail.
- The Oldest doing one of her favorite things – coloring!
- I love that they love one another so much!
- Coloring together, both cheesing it up!
- Emma at her meet the teacher day.
- Avalynn was smiling big so we could send a photo to the Hubs to brighten his work day.
- Shot of Philadelphia.
- The back of the van loaded up with our Ikea purchases!
- The Hubs and Miss A on his new bike.
- She had so much fun playing on this box.
- The Hubs’ and girls before heading to church.
- Here’s probably one of my last belly shots – 39 weeks!
- BFF, her little man, me and the girls’ at the luncheon for his Baptism.
It's official - Miss Brynlee will be here in the next 96 hours at the latest! Squeee - I can't believe the time is so close and literally upon us, only 2 days before I head to the hospital Monday morning for the gel.
Are we ready for #3? Everything is done for her arrival here at home, room done, meals are cooked and in the freezer for that 1st week home, plans are made with family members to take off and help watch the girls' and me once I'm home and the Hubs is back to work. I just can't wrap my head around there being a 3rd bundle of joy here, and I how I'll get to witness the bond my 3 girls will have, just watching E & A now my heart swells with joy watching them together. I know now after my youngest how your heart just expands to make more room to love the new addition so am not worried about any of that. :o) My oldest will transition well with another baby, she did great with the youngest. Now the youngest on the other hand, I'm worried as she is such a Mommy girl, it's beyond ridiculous, if she sees the oldest sitting on my lap or snuggling, she is right there throwing a fit, trying to squeeze herself on my lap and push her sister off.
I've been feeling pretty crampy and having BH's all week, each day the crampy feeling lasting longer and longer. I would LOVE to go in labor on my own, especially since this is our last baby. I was holding out for my Mani/Pedi last night, but now that appt has passed. This video is floating around my birth board and I showed it to the oldest. Our plans today besides cleaning the whole house is to do this fun little dance and whatever other dancing to get Miss B moving.
Please take a moment to watch this, she is so adorable with her accent and it literally cracks me up harder and harder every time I watch it, esp. thinking of doing it 9 months pregnant.
Since this is our last, I've been thinking of what I'll be glad to never have to do again b/c of Pregnancy, here's my list:
- Those appt pee in a cups. Granted it's not a big deal, except for the fact that I have to remember where I put said cup, esp. when it's just monthly appts, and then to remember the night before my appt to make sure it's out so I remember to do my thing.
- Taking Glucose tests, between having to drink it for early detection of GD and then during the regular time when you should, so glad to be done with that!
- Hip/Pelvic Pain - with each pregnancy this got worse, and there's absolutely no laying on my side, b/c getting out of bed, I literally feel like I'm 80 years old and my hips will pop out of joint.
- I know the Hubs won't miss some of my crazy emotions! ;o)
As the Hubs and I close on this chapter in our lives and marriage it makes me a little sad and excited all at the same time. We are blessed with this big family, after several trials, to create our family. As sad as it'll be to go through my last first's with B, I look forward to just raising our kids and enjoying the differences of leaving babyhood/toddler hood to them being kids'.
I confess... the oldest hasn't even been in school for 1 week, and as of yesterday the youngest has a runny nose and is sneezing.
I confess... For the past week I haven't been able to sleep in our bed at all. I'm now sleeping on the recliner as the hip/pelvic pain is too severe, not worth it to even try laying down. I miss my bed so much!
I confess... Between 1-3am, I normally wake up wide awake. Last night I actually slept all night, so thought for sure tonight would be the same, except like mentioned above youngest is not feeling well, so I keep hearing her toss/turn/moan through the monitor and her Leap Frog dog must be near her b/c I keep hearing "ruff ruffing" noises and "Good Night Little Monkey".
I confess...the oldest is going to be a pleasure later today I'm sure with her interrupted sleep.
I confess...I can just hear the meltdowns coming my way later today.
I confess... The weather today dropped down to the 60's and I get to finally put the girls in some of their new wardrobe.
I confess... Fall is my favorite time of the year!
We love fruit leather’s in this house. We normally get the Archer Farms Organic ones from Target. This is always something I’ve wanted to try to make, just never had taken the plunge.
Couple weeks ago, was perusing one of my favorite site’s Pinterest and came across a recipe for Peach Leather.
1. Preheat oven to 225 F degrees.
2. Rinse and remove seeds from peaches.
3. Place the peaches and honey in a blender and puree until smooth.
4. Pour the mixture onto a parchment lined baking sheet and spread with the back of a spoon or spatula in a large rectangle (my rectangle was 11 x 15 inches) making sure that the thickness is completely even.
5. Bake for 3-4 hours or until dry and not sticky to the touch. Remember, cooking times will vary depending on how thick you spread your mixture and how much water (juice) is naturally in the fruit.
6. Set aside and cool at room temperature; it takes several hours for the fruit to soften up. Note that when you first take the fruit leather out of the oven, the edges will be a bit dry and crispy, but if you allow it to sit out for several hours it softens up nicely.
7. Cut with a knife, pizza cutter or scissors into strips, keeping the paper on if desired, then roll the leather into “roll ups”.
8. Serve.
They say that cooking times could vary based on the thickness of your mixture and your oven, so anywhere from only 2 hours to 4 hours.
Here’s what I learned: Definitely make sure you have the same thickness all over, I thought I did, and I so did not, therefore only 1/2 of my pan was usuable. The thinner part was just beyond done and another portion after 4 hrs was still very wet, wouldn’t even pull off the parchment paper.
Both girls’ loved this for their dessert tonight. This is a definite addition to my recipe book and I look forward to trying other fruits.
Have you tried making any fruit snacks or leather's? Any favorite recipes?
To remember how this room started and some of the progress we already made on the room, click on this link.
The next step to do in the room was to sand the hardwoods (thankfully they just needed lightly re-done) and put down finish. The Hubs and his Dad spent Sunday morning over labor day weekend doing the sanding. Two coats of a water based floor finish (love that this had no smell!!!) later and we were ready to re-load the room with furniture.
Now for how it looks currently. *Sorry for the wonky lighting – it was either too bright from the sun or things turned more green because of the sheers.*
Things to complete:
Want to highlight some of the deals we got in this room.
- The rug is from RugsUSA, it’s almost a 5x7, was 40% off and FREE shipping for a grand total of $59! The colors are perfect with the fabric we picked for the bedding, only wish it were a little thicker.
- The curtains were a doorbuster deal, cost – $5.99 for 1 pack which had 2 panels, total cost $18 for 3 windows.
- Thank you Target.com for having website issues with their registeries, so I got an extra 20% code, was able to use on the mattress.
- All furniture is from the previous 2 – minus the crib and mattress.
I’m so glad that everything is set-up, dressers organized. I look forward to adding in the final touches over the next few months and making the room more personalized. We are officially ready for Baby B’s arrival in 1 week!!
Couple weeks ago I shared, here, the before & progress pictures of turning Miss A’s nursery into our new master bedroom. Last week, the Hubs and I sans kids, were able to finally get to Ikea, after a few failed attempts previously. Here’s where our room stands now and I’ll share what we still plan to do, but am ok with the rest of the room coming together when it will, now that the major things are D-O-N-E!
This first picture is what you see standing in the doorway of our room.
Am loving these pendant lights - total cost less than $10 a piece that the Hubs put together.
Things to come.
This room has been lots of fun to do. I had a main vision of the look of the room, but the Hubs definitely added his touch when helping pick out everything. Now Baby B just needs to make her appearance so I can actually sleep in here and really enjoy it, instead of the recliner in the living room. ;o)
The Oldest misses the kindergarten cut-off by 29 days. When she was a baby, this is something that stressed me out, but now am honestly glad she’ll be one of the older kids in her class.
Today was her 1st day of PreK and I didn’t lose it like I thought I would crying. :o)
2 1/2 weeks ago I posted about how overwhelmed I was with everything still to do. Figured I'd update my list, as Miss B will be making her appearance in approx. the next 1 1/2 weeks by induction b/c of her bigger size.
Our Done List:
- Joined Emma and Avalynn into one bedroom.
- Sold or Donated any furniture we do not need anymore.
- De-carpeted main part of the stairs.
- Tore out carpeting in A's old nursery.
- Painted ceiling/trim/walls in A's old nursery.
- Clean up floor and put down polish.
- Installed ceiling fan.
- Moved our bed into our *new* room.
To Do: - Ikea shopping trip - Pick-up remaining items needed for our room and some things for Baby B's room - Finish ripping carpet off stair ends.
- Sand and relay the top and bottom landing of stair well.
- Paint treads, banister, & railing white. - Tear carpet out of B's nursery.
- Paint ceiling and walls in nursery.
- Install bead board in nursery. - Clean up the hardwoods and put down polish in nursery. - Set up nursery. - Make B's crib bedding and finish quilt. *in progress*
- Re-cover carseat. *in progress* - Make new boppy cover.
Needless to say the Hubs and I have been incredibly busy!!! This coming week on the Hubs days off my goal is to finish the deep cleaning I started doing yesterday - along with some re-arranging and re-organizing areas. Run any errands that need done, make sure we are stocked on essentials except for milk etc.
Am trying to make sure as much is done and planned as possible to make a smooth transition for my girls and make things easier on the Hubs when he's off helping out.
In other *news*:
1. Always Remembering 9.11! I can't believe the 10 yr anniversary has rolled around already. I, like everyone else remember vividly where I was that day and all that I felt. My thoughts and prayers continue to be extended to the families of the ones lost on that memorable day.
2. I'm sure many have heard about the extensive flooding happening in Pennsylvania. It was a little nerve racking at first as there is only 1 way in and 1 way out of my neighborhood/town and in the off chance that Miss B actually decide to make her arrival my hospital was in an area that I wouldn't be able to even get to. Thankfully, the waters didn't rise as high as they originally thought , coming in 3 ft less. And as of the end of today the waters will drop to below flood stage.
My thoughts and prayers go out to the families who have lost so much and it warms my heart to hear on the news everything everyone is doing to help those who have lost so much!
Strech marks?: Still no new ones, hope none appear these last couple weeks.
Sleep: It’s overrated right? Lols, naps are a must anymore, at least they become a must as I can barely stay awake at certain times of the day.
Best moment this week: Got to see my baby girl this morning in an ultrasound.
Movement: Still pretty active and she now has the hiccups almost daily, which neither other 2 girls’ ever had them.
Food cravings: Nothing right now.
Gender: GIRL
What I miss: Sleeping in bed on my belly/side.
Labor Signs: Nope
Belly Button in or out? It’s almost flat.
What I am looking forward to: Getting the rest of what we need for B’s nursery this week and finish getting it set up by the weekend.
Weekly Wisdom:
- Having an u/s this late in the pregnancy, not such a great idea laying on your back, I thought I was going to pass out after only a couple minutes, thankfully the tech was very watchful and kept asking how I was doing and had me turn to my side.
- It’s ok that I can’t help as much as normal with all of the bedroom work and I need to not feel guilty.
Milestones: After my appt today and based off Miss B’s size, looks like will be setting up my induction after my appt on the 20th, which means approx. 2 weeks until her arrival, unless miraculously I go into labor on my own.
Wow – can’t believe I’ve been doing this for 2 months already! Am loving the snippets of everyday life I’ve been able to document during this time. Now for this weeks breakdown.
1. The girls’ with their Mimi and Great Aunt Laura in the pool celebrating their Na-Na’s college graduation.
2. My sister cheesing with her ice cream cake.
3. Day of running errands and picked up the Gyro bowl for the youngest, love not picking up spilled snacks all the time!
4. It’s official the oldest has been moved to the 3rd row. Getting her comfortable back their buckling herself before B arrives.
5. Day at the outlets getting all 3 girls’ some clothes for the fall. And if you have an OshKosh near buy, run there!!! Having amazing deals, spent $69, saved $141 – some of their good deals were buy 1 long sleeve tee, get 2 FREE, clearance is 60% off and then take an additional 30% off.
6. Miss A decided to climb on top of the tv while I was out in the kitchen.
7. Baking some chocolate & peanut butter chip cookies for my Uncle and the Hubs.
8. 36 wks 4 day bump shot.
9. Yum, slice of peanut butter pie.
10. A had her arm around each of us and tried to get a photo, then A saw herself in the screen and you can see E’s hand trying to push A out of the way – ah, sisters!
11. Finally sat down, aka - crawled around on the floor A LOT, while figuring out how to re-cover the bumper we had with A, SO happy with the fabrics. And it’s hard to get the bump out of the shot when taking photos on the floor.
12. The Hubs is amazing and after working a 12 hr day, spent some time with the girls’ before their bedtime and then worked on finishing the trim in B’s room until 10pm!
