Elephant Nursery Reveal

Hey, remember when I promised to show you the finished nursery? I won't feel bad if you don't remember since that was probably almost two months ago at this point. But, life happened, had a baby, you know...

So needless to say I had more plans for the nursery and it still doesn't feel 100% complete, but I figured I'd reveal it since it's just about as finished as it will get in the next month and that way I can just update you on the last little odds n' ends and little touches as I complete them. 

When we first found out we were having a baby, I was thrilled! And...of course thrilled to plan a nursery. I knew right away I wanted to do something gender neutral and I also wanted to use a lot of neutral colors. I also knew I needed to decorate with a budget in mind. 

First, I chose the color palette. I went with white, grey and burlap for the base of the room and chose mint as an accent color. Finding "mint" and the same minty color throughout was extremely challenging. Especially with paint. We ended up painting the nursery in Spring Mist by Martha Stewart which you can purchase at Home Depot. The color looked like a soft grey with a hint of minty green in it, but once on the walls it looked much more of a blue tint than green. We actually fell in love with the color and decided it worked well as a tinted grey and kept it up on the walls. It's actually a pretty seafoam hue which I absolutely love. Gradually the mint part of the color scheme switched to variations of a seafoam blue. You'll notice some of the pictures it looks like a grey, sometimes it looks minty and sometimes more blue. 

The crib was purchased at Buy Buy Baby and we got it for a super discounted price! It was on sale from $250 for $199 and then we used a 20% off coupon and got the crib for $160. Go us. The rocking chair we are borrowing from my parents. 

These adorable elephant sheets are from Target and were only $10 (they are on sale right now for $8!). They were the inspiration for the DIY elephant mobile above the crib and for the theme of the room. The blanket is Aden and Anais from Buy Buy Baby. I love this brand. I have a bunch of their swaddle blankets and adore how big and stretchy they are. They are also light enough that I can either double them up or use just one so that Evan doesn't get too warm. 

I framed four of my favorite ultrasound photos. Sorry for the glare on the one. I couldn't seem to get enough light without getting too much glare. The frames are from Ikea and I just cut pieces of burlap and placed the ultrasound photos on top of the burlap. 

The "E" was a gift from a friend at my shower. It's a minty green and made of tin. I love it! 

The rocking chair cover was a great find! It's from Carousel Designs Baby Bedding. It was one of the pricier items, but I got it on sale for $60 from the original price of $84. I couldn't pass up the cuteness and had a really hard time finding any other chair cushions that weren't hideous. 

This is the gorgeous basket I found at HomeGoods. I use it to hold loads of diapers so that they are easily accessible, but look adorable. And of course I love the burlap and touch of industrial feel. Brings a little texture and masculinity to the room. 

The "Evan" sign was a gift from a friend. She hand-painted it! The white shelf was actually in my room when I was a baby. It used to be a dark brown, so Frank and I painted it white and loaded it up with Evan's stuffed animals. 

There's the "E" from when I did the yarn wrapped letters for Evan's name. I ended up only using the "E" for now since I couldn't find a good place for his whole name. I may end up moving it in the future and using his full name at some point. We will see. 

The burlap bin is another HomeGoods find. I use it to keep his bath supplies, lotion and diapering cream. I just love the chalkboard label on the front. 

I still have a few decorations to work on and my parents are finishing up another piece of furniture that they should be dropping off here this weekend! I will post an update once we have it. 

For now...it looks like I have a project ahead of me with this closet. So embarrassing, but it's the truth. 

Since we only have two bedrooms, the nursery triples as his nursery, our office and my craft room. So, the closet is packed to the brim. I need to work on trying to figure out a system to organize my scrapbooking supplies, cleaning supplies and his blankets and clothes without having things tumble on my head when I open the closet door! This just might be a spring project...or series of projects.

I have to say I love being back on the blog! I am still taking it a bit easy, but plan to be posting somewhat regularly now that Evan and I seem to have fallen into a bit of a routine. Next week I'll be sharing a bit more about his first month and hopefully a small project. 

       Keep in Touch with La Vita DiBella!

Subscribe to Blog I Follow on Facebook I Follow on Twitter

      Follow on Instagram I Follow on Bloglovin’

38 Week Update

Thirty eight weeks! We are officially full term and expecting our sweet little boy to arrive any day now! This past week has felt like a whirlwind, hence my lack of posts the past few days. I have been extra busy at work trying to wrap up all of the loose ends, busy cleaning the house and finishing up some odds and ends in the nursery.

Symptoms/Progress:

I've been slowly noticing changes in the way I have been feeling. Much more tired and also achy. I've also had a few rounds of contractions, but nothing consistent or anything that intensifies, so it seems like we're just getting closer and closer! The baby has also "dropped" which makes it very difficult going up and down stairs. Today we are actually going to our 38 week appointment and will be having our last ultrasound to estimate the baby's weight and to detect any progress.

Also, swollen. Yuck. I haven't been able to wear my wedding rings since around October. Over the weekend I was missing them and decided to see if they'd fit. Nope. Not even close. My toes are even swollen. I'm surprised most of my flats still fit!

I'm also big. Like waddling around and feeling awkwardly huge no matter what I'm doing big. And my longest and biggest shirts are barely covering my belly anymore. Good thing this baby is due any minute now because I refuse to buy more clothes and prefer to not have my belly hanging out in public.

Cravings:

Cravings have not changed much at all, but I have been thinking about all the food that I am going to want to stuff my face with the second that baby comes out. Right now, I want a full pie of pizza, about a pound of pasta, chocolate chip cookies, Entenmann's crumb glazed donuts, french fries, mashed potatoes, and cupcakes!!! I know, I'm totally going to gain about 30 pounds in a week, but after two months of watching everyone else eat while I munch on baby carrots and rice cakes I think I deserve a bit of time to indulge guilt-free.

Progress:

As far as the nursery goes, it's pretty much done. Clothes, sheets and blankets are all washed, folded and put away. Furniture is all set up. We also installed a shelf next to the changing table and I am currently finishing up some photos for the walls. As soon as everything is hung up I am hoping to post a tour of the nursery before the baby comes. I hope I get to that sometime this week.

Frank and I are now in the waiting stage. Anxiously waiting to meet our precious little boy and see what he looks like and cuddle with him. I think these last two weeks are the most challenging yet just because we have no idea when he will come into the world and we are so excited and can't wait!

Just to make the excitement even better, my beautiful cousin Kristen is due on the 6th--so soon! On top of anxiously awaiting our baby, I find myself checking my phone for an update on whether she's having her little baby girl. It's going to be an exciting couple of weeks ahead--I feel it already.

Oh and by the way, I hope you are staying warm today. We are getting some more snow (cue grumpy face). I am SO ready for Spring, aren't you?

       Keep in Touch with La Vita DiBella!

Subscribe to Blog I Follow on Facebook I Follow on Twitter

      Follow on Instagram I Follow on Bloglovin’

36 Week Update

Well here we are at 36 weeks. I. Can. Not. Believe. It.

Symptoms/Progress:

Well, at this point I feel like we are at a standstill with the belly growth. My belly looks pretty much the same as it did six weeks ago...but maybe a bit lower. I have definitely noticed a change in the way my body feels in general. More tired, more hungry, more drained at the end of the day, and definitely more emotional. Frank tells me that those are signs we are close to the end and I try to remind myself that I'm going through all of these changes so that we get to meet our precious little baby sooner and sooner each day I wake up. 


Cravings:

Peanut butter. Everyday. Still. And just food in general. My appetite has been incredibly out of control. I am honestly always hungry and the GD diet has been tough to deal with since I have to wait certain amounts of time between meals and snacks and cannot just graze. But, only a few more weeks to go!

Nursery Progress:

To be honest things still look pretty much the same in the nursery. We are hoping to complete everything this weekend so I can post a reveal of the whole nursery next week. In the bump photo above you can see the the dresser is complete. Newborn diapers are stocked and sitting pretty in that awesome basket I snagged at HomeGoods a few weeks back. The first thing we've hung on the walls is that gorgeous name sign that a great friend hand-painted for us. Frank and I have several other decorations to put up this weekend and we are currently in the process of re-painting an old shelf we found in my parent's basement. 

The only thing we really have left to do is to get the car seat checked to make sure it is installed correctly. And maybe one more load of baby's laundry. 

We are beyond excited and I am getting impatient for the baby's arrival! I can't believe how soon it is and can't wait to meet him!


                      Keep in Touch with La Vita DiBella!

Subscribe to Blog I Follow on Facebook I Follow on Twitter

Follow on Instagram I Follow on Bloglovin’

35 Week Update

35. Yup. 35. I really can't believe we are 5 weeks away from the baby's expected birth date! I figured it is about time for an update.

32 Weeks

Symptoms/Progress: 

As I shared a few weeks ago, I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes around 30 weeks and it was not an easy transition. I'm not a huge fan of needles (I'm not sure anyone is...) and not being able to eat the foods I've been craving has been challenging at best. However, 5 weeks later, I can say that I am definitely getting used to the routine and tracking my glucose levels. I've got a pretty good system down which helps and it's definitely not as a bad as I expected it to be.

As far as other symptoms, I'm doing pretty good! It's becoming more and more challenging to put on socks and shoes and to move around in general. I've also started to become super clumsy which is honestly comical at times--dropping stuff all over the place. Overall though, I honestly can't complain much. I feel like I can say that I have had a fairly mild pregnancy and I am just working on being relaxed, calm and preparing myself for birth.

Cravings:

Peanut butter. And of course all the carbs I cannot have like pasta, cookies, cupcakes, donuts, and FRUIT. But peanut butter? Yeah, I've gone through 2 massive jars of creamy delicious peanut butter in the past 5 weeks. Not kidding. And there's another jumbo jar of it waiting in my pantry. With the gestational diabetes I'm supposed to balance each carb with a protein. So obviously that means I slather on the peanut butter pretty much every time I can. Having some rice cakes for breakfast? With a pound of peanut butter. Having a fiber one low carb brownie? With a huge glop of peanut butter. Apple slices? dipped in an excessive amount of peanut butter. Hungry? Grab a spoon of peanut butter. Yep. Just straight peanut butter. Yummmmmmy.


Nursery Progress:

Have you seen some of my latest posts? I finally finished the mobile and made super easy window treatments with fabric garlands. We also were able to wash and put away all the bedding and blankets, towels and washcloths and all the baby clothes we know we will use. We've unpacked all the gifts we received from the shower I had a couple of weeks ago and Frank and I started assembling things. We also purchased a cover for the rocking chair my mom is lending us for the nursery. I am so excited to sit in it!

We also installed the car seat this week and starting packing our bags for the hospital. All this prep work is both exciting and also really making it feel like our little boy is going to be here so so soon!

I'll also leave you with a few pictures from the beautiful shower that my Mom, Mother-in-Law and a few wonderful friends planned for me! It was so much fun and was great to celebrate the coming arrival of our little baby boy. Of course the theme was elephants...

My beautiful Mom, the mastermind of all the shower planning and decorating!

I have not taken any more belly photos since the shower, but I promise to have an updated one next time for the 36 week update. Hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week and hey, if you missed yesterdays post, head on over to check out the Blogger Challenge post about using Pattern. Seven other fabulous bloggers posted about their projects as well so be sure to click on the links to their blogs at the bottom of my post! Happy Wednesday!

   Keep in Touch with La Vita DiBella!

Subscribe to Blog I Follow on Facebook I Follow on Twitter

  Follow on Instagram I Follow on Bloglovin’

30 Weeks and growing

Happy weekend everyone! It's been so amazing to finally have some down time--this past week was such an emotional, stressful, hectic week for us. I am hoping to spend the rest of the day recovering and working on the several little projects I was hoping to get done this past week! I can't wait to show you what I've been working on. For now, I thought it was time for an update on Baby D and I since we just closed out 30 weeks!

Symptoms/Progress:

This week was full of all sorts of new "symptoms" if you will. Monday morning I spent four hours in the OB office doing the 3 hour glucose test. Between 24-28 weeks of pregnancy it's routine for doctors to do a 1 hour glucose challenge to check for signs of gestational diabetes. This involves drinking a very sugary drink, waiting 1 hour and having blood taken. Well, I found out last week that my glucose levels were high when I did the 1 hour test and the next step was drinking an even more sugary drink and having blood taken every hour for 3 hours to confirm the diagnosis. Giving blood is totally not my thing, so it was not the most pleasant. I also had to do this test after fasting: no food and no drink (not even water) since 9pm the previous night. Yuck! 

Sure enough, the next day I got a phone call confirming that I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Basically that means that my body's hormones, produced due to the pregnancy, are inhibiting my production of insulin to properly process sugar that I consume. Essentially it has caused me to be diabetic, but only for the duration of the pregnancy. Still, in order to make sure that Baby D does not gain too much weight and that he stays healthy, I have to follow a special diet plan and check my blood sugar 5x daily (after meals and before and after bedtime). 

When I first found out I was devastated, scared, frustrated, and emotional. However, after two follow up appointments with a diabetic consultant and nutritionist, I was beginning to feel a bit more at ease. However, following a new diet plan was stressful, especially considering the increased hunger and cravings that I have been having. Luckily I have an amazing friend who also had gestational diabetes during her pregnancy. She brought me a bag full of food I CAN eat (including diabetic ice cream!!). This new lifestyle is going to be different, but it will only be for 9 more weeks and I can definitely handle that once I get used to it. 

Frank and I also went to our first birthing class on Tuesday evening. We opted to skip the regular Lamaze class and are trying a 5-week Hypnobirthing course. Frank and I are going to try our best to deliver Baby D as naturally as possible--meaning no drugs at all (if there are no complications). This course has been so helpful, especially during this chaotic and emotional week, since it basically teaches me how to achieve deep relaxation which in turn is supposed to decrease the pain I will feel during birth and increase the speed of delivery. We are excited to see how it works and are willing to try anything that promises 50% shorter labor!! That being said, we don't think that other ways of giving birth are wrong or that Lamaze is not the right "way" to prepare for birth. Frank and I are just really interested in what Hypnobirthing has to offer. You can read a bit about it here and here. 

Cravings:

I am pretty much craving everything I can't have much of: ice cream, milk, chocolate, pasta, pizza, and FRUIT. I am learning to love peanut butter on everything and I am hoping my milk craving switches to string cheese since I'm allowed to have as much cheese as I want. I'm excited to try out some of the new foods that my friend brought me and come up with ways to make my new diet work for me and my schedule. 

Nursery Progress:

Nursery is definitely moving along! We just received the dresser/changing table. It is still in the box and will take some time to put together. Hopefully we will be working on that this week. 

We also just received our stroller system! Frank and I are super grateful that his grandparents purchased the system for us! And, we are super excited about this stroller. We chose the Graco Fast Action Fold Jogger Click Connect Travel System. We love that it's easy to maneuver and is very easy to fold up. The carrier/infant car seat that it comes with is lighter than other carriers we tried out and easily clicks into and out of place. Frank loves the fact that he can jog with the stroller as well and hopes to spend some quality time with the baby while he gets his running in. 

I also have been picking up odds and ends for the nursery as I see them. I found this great basket at Home Goods today to hold diapers so that they are accessible, but also more attractive than having a bunch of diaper boxes stacked up next to the dresser. 

Little by little things are starting to come together! I am putting the finishing touches on the mobile which I hope to show you early this week and I am working on another small project that I hope to have finished today! 

I hope you all have a wonderful, restful weekend! I have a few projects to show you this coming week--so be ready for a few simple tutorials. And don't forget to follow along on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to see what I've been up to during the week and to receive updates when I post on the blog. 

  Keep in Touch with La Vita DiBella!

Subscribe to Blog I Follow on Facebook I Follow on Twitter  Follow on Instagram I Follow on Bloglovin’

Nursery Inspiration and Progress

So after months of brainstorming ideas for our little boy's nursery it has finally come time to make it happen. Since the beginning I was determined to pick a theme that was neutral so that I don't have to go out and purchase completely new things if we have a girl down the road. But, I wanted to be able to add a few little boy touches along the way.

Here are some photos that served as my inspiration. We chose to go with a tan, grey and mint green color scheme with elephants as the theme which worked out perfectly, because apparently elephants are everywhere in nursery decor world. Win.

Color Scheme: Neutral palette with pops of mint green. Mixes of white and wooden furniture.

Source

Source

Source

Source

Accents & Decor: Rustic boyish accents and lots of DIY projects. Simple clean lines and a mixture of fabrics and textures. 

Source

Source

Source

Source

So as far as our progress goes we have painted the room a greyish/seafoam color that appears minty on the walls next to white furniture and grey accents. Not quite a bright mint which is great because I didn't want anything too bright. We also finished putting together the crib...well FRANK put together the crib and I watched with excitement.

Next on the list:

• DIY mobile
• DIY yarn wrapped letters
• put together dresser/changing table
• get rocking chair and seat cushion
• loads of organizing
• DIY wall art

I am hoping to finish the first item on the list, the baby's mobile, this week! Hopefully that means a tutorial soon. Here's a sneak peek. 

 Keep in Touch with La Vita DiBella!

Subscribe to Blog I Follow on Facebook I Follow on Twitter

 Follow on Instagram I Follow on Bloglovin’

Apples, Elephants, and plenty of Kicks

Happy New Year everyone! I can't believe we are already starting a new year--2013 is in the past and 2014 is in full swing. I thought today would be a perfect time to take the opportunity to update you all on the pregnancy since I clearly failed to do so during the last...well, almost 6 months of it! Yikes! I had all intentions of giving you all monthly updates on the progress, but due to complete exhaustion and the craziness of moving in late November, frequent posts were not exactly the priority. I figured I'd go back and try to remember month by month to bring us up to speed, because I anticipate some posts in the very near future on how Baby D's nursery is coming along. 

July/August: 

We found out. July 15th at 4am when I couldn't sleep and was tossing and turning all night. When I took the test and it came up positive I couldn't believe my eyes and was totally convinced that I was still sleeping. So I took another. Yep. Still positive. That morning was such a crazy, exciting, terrifying, but thrilling time for Frank and I. Our life changed in an instant. And I couldn't be happier that it did. 

Symptoms: Complete and utter exhaustion. No nausea, thank goodness! But I was so tired I feel like I slept through the rest of July and the entire month of August. I just remember feeling so excited about the baby and days later hitting this brick wall of just needing sleep so badly I'd take 3 hour naps BEFORE dinner. I felt terrible for Frank because I seriously don't remember making a decent dinner once. We ate frozen chicken tenders, steamed veggies and sweet potato fries every other night and pasta or pizza the other nights. For a month and a half. 

Cravings: None. I hated food. I had no appetite at all and severe aversions to all fish, hummus, meat (except if it was frozen chicken that was breaded or covered in buffalo sauce) and pretty much all vegetables. I couldn't stand the smell of my favorite veggies and couldn't even be in the kitchen when Frank made meals. Gross. But at least I wasn't vomiting.

Baby: Before I even found out that we were pregnant I felt like I was gaining some weight, and my pants became pretty snug by the end of August, but I think I was the only one who noticed my little itty bitty bump. At 8 weeks we had our first OB appointment and got to see teeny tiny Baby D for the first time. 

September:

This month was full of sleeping as well, but it started to taper off towards the end. I had a chance to go apple picking the end of the month exactly during the week Baby D was the size of an apple! I won't pretend I didn't plan that...This month was exciting since I was starting to show a bit and we felt ready to tell all family and friends by week 12. 

Symptoms:

Still exhausted--to the point where I stopped doing my hair altogether. Still sleeping excessively. Still having severe aversions, but no vomiting (again, thank goodness). 

Cravings:

Apples. All day. Everyday. The apples we picked end of September? Gone in a week. I probably ate 90% of them. 

Baby: Still a pretty tiny bump there, but the bump was growing pretty quickly. By the end of September it was noticeable to most people who knew me well. I was still squeezing into my pre-pregnancy clothes (with the help of a bella band) and wearing heels. I can't even imagine doing that now. 

October: 

This was an exciting month. I became noticeably pregnant. We got to see Baby D more clearly and learned that we were expecting a BOY on October 31st. 

Symptoms: Not much of anything. Aversions still lingered, but I was able to eat chicken sometimes and vegetables again. Still not eating much fish and eating chicken really depended on the day. 

Cravings: Still apples. And cookies--particularly those with chocolate like Oreos or chocolate chip cookies. 

Baby: In October, Baby D went from the size of an onion to the length of a banana! This month was a total growth spurt and my clothes no longer fit by midway through the month. This is when I started shopping for tank tops two sizes bigger and needed to purchase a pair of maternity pants. I was still fitting in certain things such as shirts and sweaters and my stretchier pants. 

November:

This month went super quickly since we were packing and in the process of moving and then unpacking the entire month. However, throughout the hustle and bustle Baby D was growing very very quickly. I always heard from others that usually women have a moment when they "pop"! Yep, that was early this month. 

Symptoms: It became a bit more difficult to sleep this month and definitely more challenging to move around. The heels were gone quickly and I was needing to go full into my maternity clothes. Shirts especially became tighter, shorter, and it was challenging to choose interesting outfits to wear when nothing fit me anymore. 

Cravings: Sweet tooth! Anything chocolate and still apples. I also became EXTREMELY thirsty and would need to fill up my nalgene water bottle at least twice a day at work. 

Baby: Went from the length of a banana in October to the size of a cantalope by the last week of November. Woah baby! We also had the opportunity to see Baby D again the last week of November. He certainly finds his adorable little toes interesting as he seems to always be in the same position holding his toes over his head. 

December: 

Another whirlwind of a month with prepping for Christmas, decorating and unpacking in our new condo. Baby D continued to grow quickly and I continued to grow out of clothes. It was also exciting this month to get to see lots of family--we even got some Christmas gifts from family for Baby D already! (he is going to be so spoiled...I can tell already!) We also started to prep the nursery. Frank painted it and we assembled his crib. (By we I mean I totally supervised and handed Frank the tools). We decided on a theme of elephants and I've totally run with that theme down to the clothes I picked out for him. I also completed our registry and keep on neurotically checking it to make sure I didn't forget some essential item as if I couldn't just run out and purchase it myself if I did. Oh, did I mention the hormones? Yeah...those have started to rear their ugly face this month. Frank has said I've been pretty level headed so far...maybe that will change soon. I've also started to nest. Like crazy. 

Symptoms: Sleep is a challenge. Clothes don't fit. Feet are constantly sore. And back pain has arrived. Yuck. 

Cravings: I don't know if this is a craving or just complete lack of self discipline, but I've eaten a ton of Christmas cookies. And fudge. And hot chocolate. Notice a theme here? Yummy chocolate. 

Baby: Baby D is getting pretty big! By this week at 29 weeks he is the size of a butternut squash! No wonder my ribs feel all crowded in there. He's been kicking much stronger in the past week and wiggling around like a little worm. We are getting so excited to meet him! 

If you're still with me--congrats! This was definitely a marathon post that's for sure. But now I feel refreshed and ready to keep you up to date in the next couple of months as we move into full speed Baby D prep. On the agenda in the near future: DIY mobile, DIY yarn wrapped letters, early stages of prepping the nursery, and possibly some organizing of his itty bitty clothes towards the end of the month. 

Happy New Year! I am looking forward to spending time with all of you via posts in the coming months! If you are new to La Vita DiBella--welcome! And I promise not all my posts are this long and I hope you'll stop by again soon. 

 Keep in Touch with La Vita DiBella!

Subscribe to Blog I Follow on Facebook I Follow on Twitter

 Follow on Instagram I Follow on Bloglovin’