Things To Do Before Baby - What I Have Done

1. Finish sewing diaper bag

This ended up a bit bigger than I had planned, it is more like a baby suitcase than a diaper bag, but it will work good for overnight stays or longer trips

Side pockets for car keys or bottle/sippy cup

Two big pockets inside that run the length of the bag

2. Make a jean skirt for Emma

Front

Back

I added some pleated pink material across the back split, this way it covers lower but it doesn't hinder mobility

3. Donate 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love

My hair is pretty short now, but it is so easy to take care of compared to before! Plus, some little girl will end up with a really cute wig, that is what I hope anyways.

4. Finish putting together the dresser/changing table

This is everything we got from the shower my Mom's side of the family had for us. You can't really see the dresser behind it all, but that is the only picture I have right now.

A special thanks for all the gifts from my aunts and everyone, I wrote out thank yous, just haven't sent them yet. I think I will wait and send them out with the baby announcement and picture

Things To Do Before Baby!

• Finish sewing diaper bag -(picture coming soon)
  
• Finish putting together the dresser/changing table (picture coming soon)
• Sew the cushion covers for the rocking chair cushions
• Make a jean skirt for Emma out of a really cute pair of jeans I found, this will be for her birthday, she will be 8 on March 31st, they grow up so fast!
• Get all the office stuff/junk out of the baby's closet
• Clean the fish tank - they have been neglected (picture coming soon)
• Watch 9-10 more Nursing videos to get my required hours of continuing education in so I can renew my license the end of July
• Nail (survived) my job interview so I will have an RN job lined up to go to after Maternity leave (not job offer before baby, now I need to decide the next step of my career)
  
• Mentally prepare myself as much as possible for what labor and delivery will bring
• Donate 10 inches of hair to Locks of Love, (picture coming soon) this will make my crazy, curly mane more manageable when I have a newborn, plus I have been planning to do this for a while now, so I let my hair grow, it is almost down to my butt! *Wow, it feels soooo different to have short hair*
  
• Any other things that I should do that I don't know I should do as a mother-to-be?
  

Baby Clothes

So I have been looking for deals on baby clothes, since I think I am having one shower before and two showers after the baby is born, so I will need something to clothe the little one in until then! I love searching out the good deals, and have been trying to stay gender neutral except I would like to have one girl outfit and one boy outfit on hand to bring the baby home in. Then it can live in sleepers and onesies until after the showers, where it will probably get a fair amount of its wardrobe!

Here are my current purchases, total of $9 spent, the monkey shirt was $3 itself, so that is what threw off my average of less than $1 each.




Baby clothes are so cute. I also have some undershirts and baby boy clothes from Gina, so I think we can last about a week to 5 days, if we don't have too many blowouts! I still need to get a baby boy outfit, in case it is a boy. It is fun to shop for cute little clothes, even more so when I will have the little one here to shop for and dress up!

New Car at 31 Weeks

Baby will be here soon so we need to have a car that is convenient and reliable for transporting baby! This is what we got, I am thrilled and Nate is too.

Pretty Blue!
Tan was a definite deal breaker for me and white was not high on my list either!

Front Seats

2nd row, seats 3 fairly comfortably

Back with seats down

back with 3rd row seats up, not much space for hauling stuff

3rd row seats, will work for hauling two adults in a pinch, better for kids though since the leg room is limited!

The Highlander and me

We test drove a Chrysler Pacifica, that was totally decked out and also a really good deal, but it was a good chunk of change more than this one. We also test drove a Honda Pilot and Odysse, which are both very nice cars, but there were no good deals on a used one, so they would also cost quite a bit more than this one. We like them both though, even the minivan, it has really nice features, maybe someday :)

The baby belly at 31 Weeks

Another shot

Latest Sewing Projects

Here are some of the projects I have made in the last couple of months. Lots of baby blankets, since we are in the midst of a baby boom in my family! This makes a dent in the pile of material that I have downstairs (I love buying material), but I still have many more projects to work on.

fleece blanket for me, nice and warm

Small woolly blanket, woolly fleece on one side and faux suede on the other,
good for laying on the floor or covering the car seat

Small baby boy blanket, I had some extra material from another blanket,
green sweatshirt on the back

I have had this blanket for a while, sweatshirt material on the back, if you use a fleece or sweatshirt material on one side, you don't need to put any batting in the middle, great way to make baby blankets!

Baby boy blanket, blue bubble fleece on the back

I love this material!

Baby girl blanket, soft bubble fleece on one side,
this actually turned out a little big in size,
could almost fit a toddler bed, but they she can use it longer

Pink bubble fleece and cream fleece detail shot

Front side, pink and green

I love this material too!

Diaper bag for Jami, green is her favorite color
Side one

Side two, similar, but the material is a little different
pockets on both ends, good for a bottle or keys

Other end pocket, big enough for travel wipes

Zipper top so nothing falls out if the bag gets turned upside down!
Inside, pocket on one side that is half the height of the bag,
good for diapers, these are itty bitty newborn size

another pocket on the other side that is 3/4 the height of the bag