buddies

So elated!

I just heard yesterday that our friends and neighbours, the Berniers, are having a baby boy just 4 days after LG is due!! LG will have a little buddy in school just exact age, and from a similar background - which will be hard to find in the downtown Montreal school system :)

Dwight and Jess have a little guy already who is about 18 months, so I think a few people were rooting for team pink (as people tend to do when you already have one child of the opposite sex), but not me! I was totally praying and hoping they'd get a second mister to be a great playmate to Nehemiah, their son, and our little guy. So excited!!!

James and my BFF Jamie are due to have their baby, ironically, on Lily's due date of August 28th and they don't yet know the sex. Guess what team I'm rooting for? You guessed it... BLUE.

Jess, Nehemiah, Lily, and I a few months ago.
Soon it'll be us Moms, three boys, and Lily!!



25 things to do:

To-do lists are my favourite thing.

Crossing them off is therapeutic and making them makes me feel so much less overwhelmed, no matter how long the list is. I just saw the one I'd made for Lily's nursery this time last summer and smiled. It always gets done, even though it sometimes seems like it won't :)

This time around, we'll be in the process of finding and buying an apartment, so I can't do anything to the actual nursery/bedroom until we're settled in the new nest (and no one knows exactly when that will be... August? September? October? God-forbid November?). But there's lots of other things I can do to prepare for the boy's arrival and the room Lily will now be sharing...

1. buy fabric for his quilt

2. buy fabric for his blanket

3. sew his blanket

4. 0-3m clothes (fall/winter)

5. 3-6m clothes (winter)

6. 6-9m clothes (spring)

7. 9-12m clothes (summer)

8. 12+m clothes (next fall)

9. wash + organize by month LG's clothes

10. crib bumper in green

11. IKEAwooden train set

12. wooden toys - blocks, etc

13. find/buy dresser for Lily (LG gets her old one)

14. paint/refurbish dresser for Lily

15. find/buy bed for Lily

16. paint bed for Lily

17. find/buy mattress for Lily

18. find/buy bookshelf

19. paint bookshelf

20. find/buy adorable children's rocking chair

(thanks mom!)

21. find/buy some boy's burp clothes

(they're ALL pink)

22. buy spice racks from IKEA for book shelf DIY

23. paint spice racks from IKEA

24. make fun mobile for kid's room

from http://www.annaleahart.com/

25. find/buy/make LG a sock monkey

(if it's less than $10 or $15 I'm just buying it)

So mostly it's a LOT of painting and up-cycling of furniture.

Plus some sewing and a couple of purchases that aren't urgent.

Wonder if my dad will be up for painting some beds this summer?

co-ed nursery/bedroom

decorating and DIYing for Lily's nursery last July and August was so fun. We chose gender-neutral green and orange so we would only need to make minimal changes come baby no. 2 just in case it was a boy. And God has indeed blessed us with a healthy baby boy (who is 21 weeks in utero today!) so those minimal changes will be taking place after all :) Head over to {our nest in the city} to see the beginnings of my plans for the co-ed nursery/bed room, starting with the furniture.

My inspiration for their room is this fabric:

"Spotted Owl" in "Natural" by Alexander Henry

And this gorgeous co-ed children's room:

Sunrise Ruffalo's home tour from Domino Magazine

Also check out my pinterest (linked on {our nest in the city} for more nursery ideas under "kid's decorating"

baby boy quilt 2

Yesterday you saw my inspiration for LG (Little Gentleman)'s quilt. Today, I went to work to find out where I could buy the fabric I needed to make it happen. Oh, being in the USA! Where capitalism reigns and everyone can get a good deal (hey, why not help their economy, right?). I found www.fabric.com which had amazing deals on some of my favourite fabrics. We're talking $7/yard for Amy Butler fabrics! Those exact same prints run you about $15/metre (basically a yard) in every shop I've been to in Canada. I wish I had more cash to just stock up to my hearts content, but I settled with 1.5 yards of two fabrics I enjoyed and will match well in the kid's room.

I may make accent pillows or a valance or fixed roman shade. I really don't know yet. I've decided to make the kid's bedding (once they're out of cribs, that is) since I can't seem to find anything I like in my price range. Making a duvet cover is basically one of the simplist sewing projects known to man woman humanity, same goes for pillow cases, so it shouldn't be too hard. Plus if I can find some Queen or King sheets that are the colours I want, it would probably be less money than using fabric - and already hemmed! These fabrics would make a nice trim accent though. They'll be put to use somehow :)

It's also where I found my brown gingham for the backing of LG's quilt.

I like how this gingham is on the vertical. Wasn't initially my choice, and there was a smaller gingham for only $4/yard, but this was larger, and more bold - which is what I'm going for - so it was worth the roughly $8/yard. Still amazing compared to fabric prices in Canada.

And as always, the shipping (domestic in the USA only) was free. Golden.

baby boy's quilt

I mentioned before, my fabulous sister is making baby No. 2 a quilt just as she did Lily. COMPLETELY not necessary (we chose gender neutral colours for Lily's so they could share), but that's Lisa for you. She lives to go above and beyond. Anyone who knows her, knows that.

Anyway, we've been brainstorming and we still want to do the same colour scheme of Lily's - green and orange - since they'll be sharing a room and all. But we want his to be a bit more masculine and bold. Lily's has very small patch work (incredibly intricate!) and many of the non green and orange pieces were lighter fabrics/colours/patterns. With the boy's quilt, we're going the opposite - large pieces, bold colours and fabrics, and adding darker accent colours.

My inspiration:



The large back piece will probably be a brown and white gingham as you see in the bold patchwork above. I love the brown with the green and orange, plus it adds that boy-ish look we're going for, while keeping the quilts the same since their living space is shared.

We still have a lot of leftover fabric from Lily's quilt and the DIY onsies I made and the fabric hoops (a little fabric goes a long way...never throw out scraps!) plus I picked up some sweet fat quarters from a local quilt shop when I was home for the worlds-shortest-visit for Lisa's bridal shower last week. I'm heading to Joann's to get the gingham - I'm sure they'll have some, it's a basic print and pretty universal - and I'm so excited!

I love quilts! I love my sister! I love this little gentleman!

Lily's Getting A...

brother!

we couldn't be more excited!!!

a little boy is comin' our way!!!

AT LAST

The medical office I was recommended to use for my time here as a prego in Louisville was called Advocates for Women. And for the last three and a half weeks, that name seemed quite contradictory. I've been trying to be seen by one of their doctors and have an ultrasound but the paperwork was endless. Not helped by my lack of fax or phone. And once they got my records from my doctor in Montreal, they didn't want to take me on for just one visit, because it was too great a liability. But after e-mailing back and forth with the correspondent there, and getting nowhere, I decided today that enough was enough. I packed up Lily and drove to their office to speak to someone in person. Phone would have sufficed, but we don't have one yet. And what a difference it made!

I finally found my advocate in a blessed woman named Krista.

When I explained my situation - that I was only here for 9 weeks and I was exactly 20 weeks pregnant today, and that I needed my 20 week ultrasound, and that in Canada, if I didn't get it between 19-22 weeks, I'd have to wait until the final 32 week ultrasound, and that I didn't know where else to go for my predicament, oh that's when things got good. Krista left the room to be my advocate to the doctor who said I was too great a liability, only to return in a few seconds with a beaming smile on her face. "He'll do it!" she said, as if it were a personal victory for her and she was as relieved as I was.

God, thank you for answering my prayers today, in the very person of Krista. Everything I asked you to do, you did, through this woman.

My ultrasound, appointment, and when I'll find out the sex of Lily's sibling are TOMORROW @ 2pm. Tomorrow! I am so thankful and relieved. Tomorrow, almost four weeks of frustration will pay off. Going down there was such a good decision. I didn't want to because it was hot, we don't have a car with AC, and I'd have to take Lily during her nap time, but all of those things seem worth it now. Tomorrow. 2pm. YES!

Oh, and this ultrasound and appointment will cost me a pretty $400 penny since I'm here in the States. Gulp. I know Our provincial insurance will cover it back home (Just for being Canadian, hello!), and if for some reason they don't, our insurance through work will, but I still have such a hard time swallowing that pill - $400 cash to see a doctor and find out the details about the health of your baby. The same procedure that in Canada is FREE in public health care, and only $75, should you choose to go to a private clinic. Definitely not idea or fair, but I'm thankful to have the appointment, and that God has provided for us, allowing us to front that beastly bill.

Tomorrow. 2pm. Can't wait! 

update

OK so it's been a while since I blogged about this pregnancy. Honestly, there's not much to tell. It's going great, no symptoms except fatigue (which I've basically had for 2 years now so I don't tend to even think about it as a "symptom" but more so as my constant-reality!), and no word yet on when I'm having my ultrasound.

I've signed the necessary forms and now I just need to scan them to the e-mail address of the lady I've been in contact with at Advocates for Women - the women's health clinic I'm going to for my prenatal care while I'm here. Then they'll fax my doctor in Montreal, acquire my files, and hopefully take me on as a patient (read: BOOK MY ULTRASOUND!)

My bump is really showing now, which is super fun. I continue to be thankful for my dear friend Loni who, two summers ago, lent me her grey maternity shorts from Thyme. It's my second summer living in them and I LOVE them. I also picked up some maternity leggings from Target that are amazing. I wear them any day the temperature is under 85 degrees.

Lily and I went shopping at the Goodwill store today and got some amazing things! I found a beautiful, perfect condition Beatrix Potter sleep sack with arms that has a kimono closure. I can't wait to wrap a newborn baby up in it. It is beautiful, is gender-neutral, and for $3 how could I leave it at the store?

Another incredible find were the $2 Pottery Barn Kids bumper pads. I decided to forgo buying bumper pads with Lily because I'd heard babies can suffocate in them. Plus we didn't have the extra $30 odd dollars, and no one bought them for us (easy decision). But then once we put Lily in the crib as a newborn we saw how silly the fears were and learned that something like 2 babies have died from that cause in the last ten years, and it wasn't ever fully proven as the main cause of death - just speculative in SIDS cases. Now, I'm all for safety, and since some think they're unsafe, I'd never try to convince someone to use them in their child's crib, but Lily didn't even roll until she was 6 months old, and though she's rolling now at nearly 10 months, she's currently sleeping in a crib with bumper pads (the home we're subletting has them), and we see no cause for concern. In fact, my main concern is that they're not high enough! Lily often gets her ankle stuck between the spindles which probably hurts a bit, but mainly scares her when she can't get it out.



this is the only Pottery Barn pic I could fine and it's in the wrong colour... but you get the idea - awesome.



Anyway, I told Brad I really wanted to get bumper pads for this baby because they add such a nice touch to any nursery and would potentially prevent any more ankle incidents - plus Target had the perfect set that would match Lily's green and orange nursery that she'll soon be sharing. I was prepared to spend the $30, but then saw light green and white gingham bumper pads by Pottery Barn Kids for $2 today! FYI, I looked them up and they retail for about $89.00. Huzzah!

more names rejected...

Since our boy name is already chosen (and left over from when we didn't know if Lily were to be a girl or boy), the real trouble for us has been finding a girl name. Here's a short list of names I'd love to use that my hubby has rejected:

1. Penny
2. Penelope
3. Zoe (fair enough, his mom had a pet named Zoe so I get it...)
4. Chloe (can you tell I have a thing for names that end in the sound "ee"?)
5. Beatrice (B or Bia for short)
6. Camille
7. Isla
8. Mai (pronounced "May" but spelled the French way)

There are a couple others I didn't list because he hasn't said no yet... so I'm holding out hope! And only one name we both like, but haven't agreed is "the one" yet...

This is hard work!!

rant.

FACT: I experienced more convenient and immediate health care for my pregnancy when I was in AFRICA.

FACT: Wait times in the USA for a doctor's appointment are just as long as they are in Canada and there are at least as many hoops to jump through to see a physician.

FACT: I am very unhappy so far with the medical treatment (or lack there of) I've received here as a paying customer, in the USA.

FACT: Canadian health care is great. Free. Thorough. Efficient. And I really miss it.

waiting game...

I AM SO IMPATIENT.

We don't have a cell phone yet, so I haven't been able to call the doc whom I was recommended yet, so I don't have an appointment yet, so I don't know the sex of the baby yet. To all wondering.

I need to wait a few more days for our phone to work, but I've decided that on Monday, I'm actually driving to her office and personally requesting an appointment. None of this calling in business. That's for people with phones, after all.

So no news on the baby gender front.

Some exciting news, I've started feeling baby no.2 kick a lot! I was getting nervous because up until a couple days ago I hadn't felt much and people have mentioned I don't even look pregnant here. Which is funny, because at the beginning my belly ballooned. I was wearing maternity cloths like 2 months SOONER than with Lily. But the belly has plateaued and I'm normal, if not on the small side for my progress into the 17th week. Which was slightly worrisome, because I LOVE to worry apparently... until I started feeling kicks. First small slight ones, and now the type that interrupt my sleep.

What a beautiful reason to not be getting much sleep :)