Nesting

I have happily now waltzed my way into the third trimester. My bump is pronounced, and I've started  wearing my maternity purchases without feeling like I couldn't fill the extra space out. The doctors appointments, now weekly, have been constantly good news: Nothing seems out of the ordinary, and she keeps growing at a healthy rate. 

Honestly, I am on cloud nine.

So, the last few months have been dedicated to intense nesting. We've been prepping the nursery with paint, furniture, and necessities. Because this is not our first baby, we've refused baby showers by friends and insisted that they donate to the March of Dimes in our names rather then buy gifts. This has really put the pressure on us to provide, which we happily do with shopping trips of our would-be French Polynesia funds.

Right after we found out the sex of our baby girl, we went right ahead to buying furniture. Like my daydream from earlier in the pregnancy, after first finding out that my life was about to change forever, I went to ToysRUs to pick up the furniture I had been admiring after my visit with Dr. Dobbs.  Jeff and I knew this would be a pricey trip, but we happily accepted that the versatility of buying a convertible crib, bookcase, and most of the furnishings for the nursery. That eased our minds for paying so much. Here's the receipt:

 

 Since then, I have been accumulating the basics from less expensive stores like Target and Wal-Mart. I almost forgot how to dress a wee one! I found myself actually having to read tags of clothing items to remember what was meant for sleep or play. And to shop for a girl is a new experience all in itself! The ruffles and rich pinks and purples make clothing shopping a rich experienced compared to the days of pastel blue and pink. That, and the supplies for a newborn is now so vast! But, because of my prenatal classes at the hospital, I was able to make quality decisions without feeling stressed. Here are the receipts from those trips:

And, here is the receipt from Target:

So, I think it goes without saying that the last few weeks have been dedicating to preparing all of this stuff for the big arrival. It's a labor of love, and I'm enjoying ever minute of it. I've even painted a mural on the nursery wall to match the poppy theme from the bedding! It feels good to give such a special gift to my baby by giving her my artistic expression.


Just call me "Momma Bird".