the nursery

We have finally completed putting the nursery together and hopefully everything is in place ready for baby's arrival.  Here is a before and after photo:

before

after

I am quite pleased with the results and think we used the space pretty well. The chair in the corner is the EKTORP Armchair from ikea.  The bookshelf in the left is also from ikea. Most of the rest of the furniture and decorations are from Mamas & Papas or from various places online. 

The swinging small crib next to the large crib in the centre will be moved into our bedroom and baby will sleep in this next to our bed for the first few months before moving into his big crib. 

The dresser in the back wall of the room holds all of baby's clothes and will also be the area where I change him. 

I feel very relaxed when I go into the nursery so I really hope it's a nice and relaxing environment for the baby to feed, play and sleep. 

thirty-seven weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 259...21 days to go!

Baby is now 19.25 inches long and weighs about 6.3 pounds. 

So I am now officially full term! This means all of baby's organs are fully developed and prepared for his entrance into the world. It also means that the baby will not be considered premature, even if he is born today (hopefully that doesn't happen though, I'm not ready yet). But this is such a huge milestone and I can't believe I've made it this far!

I can tell that baby is getting ready to make his arrival. My bump seems to have dropped and I keep getting sharp stabbing pains in my pelvis area. During the week there were a few moments when I was standing or walking and felt a pain so sharp down below that I had to sit on the floor or bend over to get it to stop. Luckily the pain goes away as soon as it starts but it's pretty terrifying. 

Today is my first working day on maternity leave and it's strange. I have been trying to keep occupied by tidying and organising the house and things are coming together slowly. The nursery is nearly complete, but not quite yet. I promised my sister (Hi D!) that I would do a nursery post with the final photos; I haven't forgotten! I just want to wait until it's completed, probably next week once we go to IKEA. 

On Thursday we are leaving to go to Cornwall for my brother-in-law's wedding. I'm looking forward to having a break away from home but am nervous about how I will be feeling. I get annoyed when I can't walk for very long without getting pelvic pain so think I will find it frustrating to not be able to explore Cornwall as much as I want to. 

I think that's all to report at the moment. I might not be able to post again for over a week as once we are away at the wedding I doubt we will have internet. Fingers crossed baby will stay put until we are back home on the 26th June! 

thirty-one weeks pregnant

Pregnancy day 217...63 days to go!

Baby is now 16.25 inches long and weighs about 3.3 pounds. 

It's been a very busy and productive week both inside my uterus and out. Baby is growing rapidly; he has put on over 1/2 pound this past week and will continue to grow at this rate until he arrives! I expect my bump will start to get huge soon, even though it's already rather large.

His movements are now very strong and every once in a while a forceful kick under the ribs really hurts! Luckily it's only once in a while and  and the pain is bearable. 

Work this week was hectic again, but I feel like I am starting to get to a point where all the hard work and long hours are paying off.  My replacement starts on Tuesday and I have a full 6 week training period with her, which is nice because I feel like there is a lot to hand over. During the next 6 weeks, my boss decided that he would temporarily move into another office (the 2 of us usually share a room), I would take his desk and my replacement would set herself up at my old desk/her new desk. I feel very posh and important sitting at his desk. It's such a change from my old shabby desk tucked into the corner that I find it really odd. 

I am attending a family wedding this summer when I will 38 weeks pregnant and have been putting off buying a dress.  A few days ago I finally decided to order this dress from Seraphine. I thought it might be too casual but as it's a day-time wedding and is taking place outside I'm hoping I can get away with it. The dress fits well but is too long on me, so I am going to try and take up the hem an inch or two.  

This weekend we picked up our pushchair from Mamas and Papas, but it is still sitting in it's huge box in the garage for now. It will probably stay there until I'm off work at the end of June and have the time and motivation to put it together.

We also made great progress on getting all the hospital bag stuff purchased. I think we pretty much have everything now except for a nice baby blanket. I can't decide if I should buy an expensive hand-made crochet blanket (like this) or a cheaper knit one from the local baby shop (like this). Decisions, decisions... 

nursery update

I'm apparently supposed to be "nesting" at the moment. You know - doing things like getting the house all ready for baby's arrival, sorting out the odds and ends that need to be done, cleaning loads, being all motherly and that. 

Well...I think I'm running a little behind on the nesting thing really. Here is our nursery at the moment.

And, believe it or not, this is after a massive clear out! 

I guess we are taking our time to sort stuff. Maybe it's because we went a tad-bit crazy the last couple months buying baby stuff (see all the stuff piled on the bed? that's the stuff we bought in February & March).  And now we need a break, so are relaxing a little and putting off all the organising until we have a little more time.  I mean, the baby's bed isn't being delivered until early May so we have time...plenty of time. 

We have been doing small amounts of D.I.Y. though and I'm very proud of Mr M for putting down boarding in the attic loft this week so that we can have more storage.  Look at him hard at work - such a good daddy-to-be!