saved our sanity

Ellery is exclusively formula fed.  We tried the whole breast feeding thing.  It didn't work, just like it didn't work for my mom with me.  Go figure.  Apple, meet tree.

So, we started her on formula at about 3 weeks old, and shes been on it ever since.  The brand has changed as well as the bottle we use, but one thing that stayed the same was making the bottle, and warming the damn thing.  It takes like 7 minutes with the most expensive bottle warming device.  Thats 7 minutes that I don't have!  Thats 7 minutes too late, when all of a sudden your baby gives you the "I'm hungry" cues and you need a bottle 1 minute ago.

So, we were at a party and another formula baby mom asked me if we had heard of the Baby Brezza Formula Pro, aka the Keurig for formula.  I was actually very surprised I hadn't.  Between my friends with new babys and facebook and pinterest, I thought I had heard of it all.

The Baby Brezza Formula Pro makes a bottle in 10 seconds.  10 seconds!  The water in the reservoir is already the perfect temperature, and there are these special discs you insert for your specific formula that make sure your 2 oz or 4 oz or even 10 oz bottle has the perfect ratio of water to formula, and it deposits them both in the bottle without you ever having to get your hands dirty.

I went and read some reviews on Amazon.  They were iffy.  Some said there was so much maintenance, and that it wouldn't do the right ratios and their baby got sick.  So I was kind of worried, but we HAD to try it out.  If it worked for us... it would be life changing.  We bought it at Target, kept the receipt, read all the instructions, set it up and now after 2 months, it still is probably the best baby item we have.  Sorry bumbo, sorry wipee warmer, sorry swaddle... Formula Pro you are the winner.

There are a couple of things the manufacturer could work on.

1.  There really is no need for the formula and water to be mixed within the machine prior to entering the bottle.  This just allows more mess within the machine due to the formula being so sensitive to moisture.  We have to shake the bottle after its been poured anyway...
2.  The "shelf" for the bottle is moveable for different heights of bottles.  Its a horrible design and does not stay in its slots, hence the coffee cup that sits under ours.

So, if you end up having to do formula, this is a must!

38 weeks and... The nursery!

I'm 38 weeks and getting ready for baby!

The nursery is finally about complete. It took awhile. It took a lot of back and forth about what I really wanted. But I love it!  These aren't the best pictures, but it does the trick. 

Reba enjoying the crib already. We'll have to figure out how to nip this in the bud.

Old fence wood wall and my inspiration prints in gold frames.  The bedding was custom by Picket Fences.  Thanks to my good friend Kathryn Kenjura for her help on this!

The beginning of our gallery wall above the changing table/dresser.  It will be expanding with time.

And of course some more shelving and storage.

38 weeks and ready for baby!

4th day of maternity leave

37 weeks 4 days.

I'm feeling so relaxed. It's one of the best feelings knowing that I've taken all the stress away with work and the time I'm away from the house. I know I've done the best thing for baby girl. Because if you know me, I have a history of being a very high strung person. 

Overall I cannot complain about pregnancy. Obviously there are the uncomfortable normal things, morning sickness - check, heartburn - check, and the constant peeing - check. But I have had very little absolute discomfort. Except for that one night we had to go to the hospital because I apparently was passing a kidney stone. Yep. My family's claim to fame, kidney stones, hit me during pregnancy. Just my luck. But even that wasn't too bad. Scary because I was having true but mild contractions at 30 weeks. But we were home in a jiff. 

Of late, I've been a little bit weary of the fact that I havent gained any weight since about a month ago. I've gained 23-25 pounds at this point which is great and people say I'm all baby. Which is true. I feel so lucky to have gone through this process with the semblance of a figure to come back soon after delivery. 

So at my appointment Thursday I requested to have an ultrasound. Just to ensure myself that baby was on track with her weight and size. And sure enough. She is growing perfectly. Estimated weight is 6 lbs, 14 oz. holy moly. And I still have 2 1/2 weeks till my due date. 

And the best part was I got a sneak peek at her little face. Not a lot of room in there. But she already has a pout going on. 

So, dr says she gives me one more week after checking my progression. Let's just say we've started the progress in a great way! 

1st Day of maternity leave

1st day of maternity leave. The best feeling ever. Not because I don't like my job... Because I love my job. But best feeling ever because:

I know I can take a nap whenever I want. I'm super tired lately. 

I can fix up the nursery at anytime and get closer to feeling "ready". 

I can put my feet up more easily. The swelling has started. 

I can spend time with my mom. Who is just beside herself with excitement. Lots of shopping trips with breaks for sitting and snacks :)

More fun posts to come this week as we get ready for baby girl! Including nursery sneak peaks! Of course it isn't done yet.  

three funny pregnant moments, just today

These all happened today, and I had to share.  Enjoy.

1.  I went to Lowes instead of Home Depot JUST because the restrooms at Lowes are closer to the entrance.

2.  The shoe department employee at Nordstrom had to buckle the strap on the sandals I was trying on.

3.  I made a separate trip to the gas station after the grocery store to buy beer for David, because there are less people to judge me.  But I really don't care.        But I do.

Think of what happens weekly in my life.

Happy Sunday!
xo

in the 30's

I'm in week 31 :) and that's about the temperature outside right now as well :(

Speaking of the cold, I'd like to touch on a little timeline topic.  A lot of people have commented on how lucky I am that I'm pregnant in the winter.  However, I don't necessarily agree.  Obviously I really don't care when I'm pregnant, just that I'm lucky and blessed enough to be pregnant.  But if you know me, you know that I am a very cold natured person.  So, this whole thing about it being miserable to be pregnant in the summer... I'm pretty sure I could have handled it.  The other thing about having a large belly in the thick of the winter, is putting on all the gear with that belly.  Especially the bending over for jeans, socks, and boots and driving with a jacket on and feeling like the Michelin Man.  If I didn't have a bench in our room, I'd be on the floor and it would take me twice as long to get ready. 

{The Belly}
Lets take a look at where we've been over the past couple of weeks. 

This is 28 weeks.  {sweet baby Bowie wanted to join in the picture}

And this is today at 30 weeks.

{Facts thus far on the pregnancy}

- My right hip might need to be replaced, as I am currently walking like my grandmother who has two artificial hips.  However, the great Dr. Ron my chiropractor is working it out with me as well as my sweet trainer Karyna.

- The waddle is cause for smiles at the office, especially when I'm trying to get to the ladies room in a hurry.

- I passed my gestational diabetes test, hooray!  But found out I'm anemic, boo.  So that means more iron.  Not so fun on the digestive tract.

- We had another sonogram at 28 weeks, and will have another at 31 weeks.  I have a marginal cord insertion... cord is at the edge of placenta and not the center.  Apparently it can cause growth restriction for baby, but at the 28 week sonogram the tech said she was measuring 3 whopping pounds.  According to my app, that is at or more than what she should be, so I'm not too worried and neither is the Dr.

- My belly is growing a lot, and sleeping is getting super uncomfortable.  And I get up to pee about 7 times each night.  It doesn't really bother me though, I think I'm usually 3/4 still asleep.

- My mom does something or buys something for Ellery about once a week.  Obviously she is super mom, and will graduate (eh, probably already has) to super grandma.

- Ellery is moving so much and we FINALLY have alien baby tummy movements!  Its so fun to watch, especially when I lay on my side. 

{Nursery Progress}

So, you know all that inspiration board crap I did in the beginning?  Well, that was fun and all.  And then I switched it up for a premade set from New Arrivals, and then at the absolute LAST minute, I cancelled that order.  I just wasn't feeling it.  I wanted something soft, yet with a touch of whimsy and bold pattern. 

My mom helped me to step back and think about the process.  And then I approached it like I do my commercial design projects and thought about what I wanted my inspiration to be.  I looked back on my Pinterest boards, and found that my inspiration really needed to be this print, by Rifle Paper Company.  I love it!  It is pattern in itself, and enough pattern for the room.  I didn't want pattern on the bedding, but in other subtle areas.

I thought about the colors in it and what I wanted to pair with it.  Mind you I already had the crib, glider and dresser... But I think subconsciously I knew I wanted this type of look at the furniture was the backdrop for all this.  And, I was OBSESSED with pairing a vintage print like this with a black and white stripe.

After realizing what my inspiration was, I created this new inspiration board.  Three prints in oversized square frames over the crib with an accent wall of reclaimed pallet wood, coral jade and peach in the bedding, gold frames and accessories with a black and white stripe rug and teeny black and white stripe accents on the bedding.  

The next day I went and saw my sweet friend Kathryn who owns Picket Fences and we talked it out and set up the plan for the bedding, drapes and accent pillow.  Its all ordered, through PF, and I feel great about it!

I don't have a good photo at the moment of the progress on the room, but I love the paint color (jade/mint) so far, and our fun black and white stripe bold rug from Ikea is just the perfect bold contrast to the soft peaches in the bedding.  The coral comes in just a tad with some bows and accent pieces.





That is all for now, toodles, and only 10 more weeks to go!

holy belly

Happy belated holidays.  To be honest I'm glad the new year has started and we can look forward to all kinds of fun things in 2014!  Obviously one being to meet our little lady.  The other... I need it to be warmer.

Due to the technical difficulties with the last computer, I've been a little slow on the posts because I've basically had to re-install EVERYTHING onto a NEW computer.  I totaled my other one with just the smallest bit of water spilled on it.  But, thank god for the Best Buy protection plan.  Don't ever not do it!  Its a life saver.  New computer for free.  (Still had to pay another chunk of change for another protection plan for the new computer though.)  Geek talk over.

Sad thing is that I lost all my creative graphic bump info, and some of the bump pics and a lot of other stuff that did not get backed up.  But I'm not going to get upset about it.  There are much more important things in life.

Onto fun things going on.  The baby bump.  The last picture I took was at week 19.  

And its been 7 weeks since I took another baby bump pic.  Obviously there has been a lot going on.   But just wait until you see this crazy transformation...

Week 26

Needless to say, baby girl, and me... have been growing.  Funny thing is, this is just days after food poisoning too.  I promise I'm a small person, and I haven't gained THAT much weight... but it will be very interesting to see how big this baby is going to be at birth.

We have a bunch of furniture in the nursery now!  Crib, dresser, rocker/glider, and moses basket & stand.  I'm waiting for the bedding to come in.  After a lot of thinking and pondering, I just didn't want to stress over trying to cultivate my own bedding ensemble when in reality, in about a year, I'll probably want something different anyway.  So, I ordered a semi-custom set from New Arrivals, Inc.

I've asked my sweet aunt to make curtains out of the coral orange and grey dot.. and then we will just go from there.  For now, I'm not too worried about getting everything done in too much of a hurry.  But I know its going to come fast, so I should probably keep up the pace.

We have a name.  Its not a secret.  So I will share.  Ellery Kate Walker.  And we will call her all kinds of nicknames like Ellie and Ellie Kate etc.

She is moving so much, but not alien baby yet, and I can't wait to see that!

Heartburn is ramping up.  Its awesome.  Whole bottle of tums at my desk at work.  

Our puppy Bowie is now 8 months old and still a little terror, but I can see an improvement in his demeanor.  He doesn't nip anymore, and we are working on all kinds of other obedience with him.  He is the sweetest thing when he's not busy trying to play keep away and is tired from a day of chewing on socks and rawhide.  We love him!  He still has some learning and calming down to do before baby girl gets here, and because of this he still goes to School Days at Dog School Austin with Rachel Daughn (dog whisperer of Austin).  We love her!

David and I have been busy on a recent house project which I will post later this week.  It involves a built in desk in the kitchen.  It looks amazing, and David continues to impress me with his skills.  Its always awesome to see how we completely compliment each other.

Until next time!

the walkers, lately

Lots of big things have been going on in the Walker household of late.  Here is a little snippet of the past couple of weeks here at the end of 2013.



We found out our baby is a little GIRL!  Here is the "money shot" from the anatomy scan we had back in mid November.  She's getting big!  And is wonderfully healthy and perfect.  We are very blessed.

As some of my friends know, I'm kind of crafty.  So, telling our family was a big deal to me and I wanted to make it special.  So, we set up a night for all of us to meet at dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Matt's El Rancho.  I figured it was loud and a big place and 14 people wouldn't be a hassle, etc.  Plus, I needed my queso fix for the week.

Our way of telling our friends was through "cascarones".  (confetti eggs)  I thought it was appropriate with the restaurant theme, and I gave David 2 options and he chose this one. 

So, I carefully cracked open and cleaned 12 eggs ahead of time, got the packaging purchased and everything ready until the night we found out... and filled them with the appropriate color confetti before the next evening's dinner festivities.

Our family's surprise announcement!

That is the dinkiest piece of confetti.  It says "Its a girl". 

The next day at work, the interior design studio girls decorated my desk. 

And then we  David has been hard at work last weekend on replacing our side fence.  The previous fence was chain link, yuck.  And now it matches the other side/gate and is tremendously updated.  More yard projects are under way.  Even today, in 30 degree weather, David and his dad are hauling off old firewood piles and railroad ties that were left in our backyard from before we bought the house.  "Clean slate" David says.  Maybe in the spring we can work on building a deck in the backyard.  We love being outside, and our backyard is beautiful, but there just isn't any good functional living space.

David and I took our Christmas picture last weekend.  Baby bump and all. 

[Side note:  I spilled water on my laptop and it is in the shop for another week or so.  It is very sad to me because I cannot do any editing of photos or graphics stuff like I always do.  Its like I lost my phone or my hairdryer.  Its apart of my every day. End, sob story.]

And the baby bump.  This was at end of week 22.  Again, I must not have any stomach muscles to hold anything in, because the bump is bigger than most I know around my same time frame.

At work, there are "Stork Parking" spaces.  I finally pulled the trigger and asked if I could start parking there.  My hips are kind of killing me and without an elevator, our garage can get very cumbersome to walk in and out of 2-3 times a day. 

Our next fun project we have been working on is to have a kitchen built-in desk/office made.  Since we had to dedicate one of our guest bedrooms to the baby's room, the other serves as an actual bedroom (which I use a lot due to the snoring factor of the significant other) and there is no room for a desk/office component. 

This is where our "office" currently sits, and where we will have the actual cabinets installed.  They will match our kitchen cabinets, but be painted.  Big surprise, the color gray.  The desktop won't be too deep, only 20" and we have included some mail slots up top with the upper cabinets. 

Inspirational images include the following: 

via

via

I'm super excited to clean up the area.  Enjoy the clutter you see in the before picture.  I AM human, and my life is not perfect.  No one's should be.

Okay everyone, enjoy this weekend's cold snap.  I sure am, inside with the heat going, plotting away at my next project.  Undoubtedly one that will cost money and make David have to work ;)

Oh!  And, "follow" the blog, because soon I'm not going to use Facebook as my "blast".  Follow and get an update via email of new posts!

boy or girl? the wives tales

So there are a lot of old wives tales and fun tricks you can do to "predict" what gender your baby will be.  Some are crazy, all are non-scientific.  And I created a list of some from what I've experienced, etc.  A few not listed that require activity, we may do tomorrow night before we find out... like the Draino mixed with your pee, and the boiled cabbage water mixed with your pee, mixed color says it all.  We don't have Draino or a cabbage and I'm too tired to go to the grocery store, so it may not happen.

With all honesty, after healthy and happy baby are determined... if we could chose we would chose,

I just can't say. 

So, instead, look at our fun chart below!  And make a prediction yourself!

baby bump

I have a bump.  I thought it was too early... but apparently everybody is different.  And I wear it like a badge of honor.  I've earned this thing!  Every Sunday, my week turns over.  As of this Sunday I am 14 weeks. 

 

{Side Note:  At 12 weeks my belly popped.  I then Googled (as I do a lot, but shouldn't) "12 week baby bump".  This is where I found a multitude of different size baby bumps.  But none was more shocking than this blogger who is apparently super fit, and didn't "pop" until she was about 24 weeks.  It kind of made me think... Wow, I'm a chunker.  But then I realized she just has a completely different body type than mine, and I like food more than her I guess.  You'll find her if you search pinterest for the same thing.  Her last name is "Hatch".}

[I took the following questionnaire from www.christinasadventures.com when I was scanning the "Kids" section of Pinterest, my new found obsession.]

How far along:
14 weeks

Maternity Clothes:
Yep.  First pair of jeans was about 3 weeks ago from old navy... and this Saturday, my mom and I went all over town in search of some fall/winter prego clothes.  It was a successful trip.  I love maternity pants.

Sleep:
I'm a worrier.  And I am a very light sleeper.  So, always having to think/worry of not sleeping on your back, and turning over because the left side is sore is just annoying.

Best moment of the week:
Having someone ask me for the first time if I was having a baby.  A property manager I work with a lot, who just noticed, the belly.

Miss anything:
Sadly, I miss drinking.  I don't know how people don't miss it.

Movement:
Nothing yet.

Food Cravings:
So random, and so bad.  Fast food... mainly because when I want to eat, I need to eat right then or I'll pass out.

Queesy or sick because of:
The nausea has pretty much stopped, but it was worst when I was tired at the end of the day.  Taking my prenatal vitamins always makes me want to puke.

Gender prediction:
David thinks its a boy.  I thought at first it was a girl... but now I am not sure.  I'll be writing up a list of fun wives tales and our determinations.

Labor signs:

Symptoms:
Appetite is up.  I lost about 4 lbs in the first 8 weeks.  And now finally am gaining that back.  And the frequent peeing thing is really convenient.

Belly button in or out:
In, but wow.  In two weeks from 12-14 weeks... it has changed a lot.  I can actually see the back of my belly button now. 

Temperment:
Ohhhh goodness.  I feel like I am a pleasant person.  But when something negative happens, I flip out, use profanity, and say some pretty blunt things to people.  This is mostly in my car whilst driving.  

Looking forward to:
Finding out what we are having, and gaining weight so that I know I'm doing everything I can for this little human.

Thanks for coming!