The Nursery

We're definitely on a budget for this little one. Luckily, Pinterest now exists and I have found SO many cool ideas for decorating our little girl's nursery. Below are some of the projects I've made or plan on making. So far I've only had the chance to clean and organize her room, so we still need to buy a crib and dresser. I still have 4 1/2 months to go, so I'm sure we'll get everything done in plenty of time!

We bought this lamp at Ikea and it was only around $40!

I made the fabric embroidery hoops to hang behind the crib using scraps of fabric I had laying round the house. The letters I bought to spell out her name were only $1.49 each at JoAnne's!

Buying a Jenny Lind crib from Walmart and I'm going to paint it green.

One of the prints I have picked out from Etsy.

I'm either going to make (yeah right!) or pay someone to make me some mismatched crib bedding similar to this in Amy Butler fabric.

What do you think?

Twenty Weeks Pregnant

Twenty weeks pregnant and halfway there! I'm trying to take time to appreciate this pregnancy, since it will most likely be my last. Feeling a baby kick and grow inside of you has got to be the most amazing thing ever and I hope I never forget the sensation. So far (beyond the obvious complications), this pregnancy has been very easy going. Here are the stats:

Size of baby: Banana!

Weight gain so far: A whopping three pounds! This pregnancy has been a lot different in the weight gain aspect- at this time with Jackson I had gained at least 13 pounds.

Sleep: This has been one of the toughest aspects of this pregnancy. I've had insomnia really bad since the first trimester and it's just now getting better since I borrowed one of those awesome maternity pillows (a "Snoodle") from a friend. I'm so glad to get some sleep again!

Clothes: Definitely wearing only maternity bottoms, but I can still squeeze into my non-maternity tops, provided they're on the long side.

Food cravings/aversions: Sweets of any kind! And chocolate, which is definitely not something I usually even like, much less crave. I've been having weird aversions to fruit like bananas and blueberries. Maybe it's their texture?

Symptoms: Nothing much. No heartburn, nausea, or tiredness. Just harder to get off the floor when I'm playing with Jackson. :)

What baby's up to: She's a movin and a shakin! This baby girl is definitely an active one, which I appreciate because it means she's growing and developing.

What we've been up to this week: I finally finished vacuuming and steam cleaning the carpets in the nursery. I'm basically trying to get everything I can done before I might have to go on bed rest. The furniture is now placed in its approximate location but we still need a dresser and a crib. I'm making the decor for her room and am planning another post with what I have planned.

What's next: We have a regular monthly doctor's appointment on Friday where she'll probably go over my placenta previa in more detail. We'll still have to wait another three weeks before we can see if there has been any improvement.

Pregnancy Bump Comparisons

I think it's pretty cool to look back on my pregnancy with Jackson and compare how my belly looks with my second pregnancy. I took a weekly snapshot as my belly grew with Jackson and this time around I'm just doing it once a month (a LOT busier with this pregnancy!).

8 Weeks Pregnant with Jackson

8 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #2 (definitely a bit bigger!)

12 Weeks Pregnant with Jackson

12 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #2

16 Weeks Pregnant with Jackson

16 Weeks Pregnant with Baby #2

I am now 20 weeks pregnant with Baby #2 and will take another bump picture today. Halfway through with this pregnancy- I can't believe it!

Jackson's Second Birthday!

I had SO much fun planning Jackson's second birthday party! This year I decided to split up the chaos between two parties, one for family and one for all of his little friends. The family party was low-key and we were able to spend a lot of time chatting and catching up while celebrating. The friend party was bigger and a little more elaborate with a bounce house and a circus theme, all ideas coming courtesy of Pinterest. :) I would definitely say Jackson had a blast at both parties, but particularly enjoyed the bounce house. We couldn't get him off it! He had to say "night, night" to it before he went to bed and was SO disappointed when he woke up the next morning. Poor buddy! Here are some pictures of the big day:

Personalized treat bag labels from SweetnTots

Personalized Happy Birthday banner from SweetnTots

Ribbon Wreath Tutorial can be found here. Number two was bought at Michael's.

Pouf Swag

The Dessert Table

Circus candy- I printed out the labels using a cute font and glued them on to circus-themed scrapbook paper I had laying around.

Chocolate-dipped pretzels (recipe here)

Chocolate-Covered Oreos. I just melted Wilton's candy melts and dipped the cookies in. Let them dry on parchment paper. Easy and delicious!

Popcorn cupcakes! These were my favorite to make- the tutorial (with free printable labels!) can be found here

Rainbow Striped Straws with Circus Flag Toppers from HeyYoYo

Popcorn Bags from HeyYoYo

The birthday boy double-fisting it.

Opening gifts!

Happy birthday to our amazing little man! We love you to the moon and back!

Complications

So I got a call from my doctor on Wednesday, and it was not great news. During my 18-week ultrasound they determined that I have complete placenta previa, which basically means my uterus is completely covering my cervix. There are a lot of reasons why this is a bad thing, the biggest one being that I'm most likely going to have an early c-section. The second worst reason is the probable bed rest that I'm going to be put on beginning in my third-trimester. And the last being the post-partum risks due to complications from the previa. Needless to say, I am NOT a happy camper right now. I'm feeling a little like a spoiled brat throwing a tantrum, but I'm also mourning the loss of a healthy, happy pregnancy. I am now considered "high-risk" and with that comes the worrying, and a lot of it. I'm no longer enjoying my growing belly, but dreading the bleeding that could occur at any second and the recovery time that I know I'm going to have to go through after the c-section. Things were so easy with Jackson's pregnancy and delivery. I'm really going to miss the miracle that is giving birth. And I have absolutely NO idea how I'm going to handle an extremely active two-year old and a newborn while I recover. I guess I just need some time to mourn and then get over it because things could be much worse.

We're having a . . . . .

GIRL!! We had it officially confirmed at our 18-week ultrasound last Friday and are thrilled! One of each is just perfect and we're so excited for our little princess to arrive. Jackson already refers to her as his little "sissy" while patting my belly, so we're hoping he'll be able to adjust to having to share his mama and dada once she arrives. Until then we're spending as much time snuggling and loving on him as possible!

Working Mommy Guilt

Right now I'm overwhelmed with guilt. Consumed by it. Most of it has to do with having to work full-time to pay the bills and not being able to spend the time with Jackson that I would like. Some of it also has to do with my fears for the future when I have two babies to balance, while still working full-time. I cannot tell you how jealous I am of stay-at-moms. I would kill to be able to spend more time with Jackson and give him all of the experiences he needs and deserves. Unfortunately that's impossible and I feel like he's missing out on so much. So many of my friends get to stay home with their kids and they're always off to the zoo or museum or doing fun crafts together. Jackson doesn't get any of this because by the time I pick him up from the sitter I'm in zombie-land from work exhaustion and stress. He gets so little from me at the end of the day and I have no idea how I'm going to give even more (of what I don't have) when the new baby comes. Sometimes I think it was a mistake to have kids at all knowing I would still have to work full-time. He deserves so much more than what I can give him and I wish there was some way for me to give him everything he needs. I don't know how other working moms do it- I literally cry every day when I drop him off at the sitter. Are there any other working moms out there that have any tips?

My Pregnancy Month-by-Month

When I was pregnant with Jackson I took pictures every week document my ever-expanding belly. Things are a tad more hectic this time around, so I've settled for pictures once a month. I'm also writing a once-a-month letter to our baby, talking about what the pregnancy has been like and what we're doing to prepare for their arrival. Here are the pics so far: