Nesting

Last weekend we set out to rearrange the upstairs bedrooms in preparation for the arrival of our little girl. Augustine (19 months) moved from the nursery into our guest room, which required assembling an additional crib and cleaning out many of the items we were “storing” in the guest bedroom. It was somewhat time consuming, but thankfully the upstairs of our house is now very organized!

The nursery was painted in a sky blue, perfect for a baby boy. I wasn’t in the mood to paint anything, so I opted instead for a few quick changes, and I’m pleased that these few things transformed the room into a girly nursery.

First, I cleaned and ironed Gianna’s old pinked checked valences, and I love the way they look on the windows with the sky blue paint. I then cleaned some of Gianna’s old baby blankets to add a nice touch to the crib and chair. I purchased a new changing table cover (pink polka dots). And finally, Gianna helped me decorate the room with butterfly and flower stickers. I was a little worried that these wall decals might look tacky, but they added a great touch, transformed the room, and will be very easy to remove when we want to change things around. We still have a few pictures to hang, but overall this nursery redo took about one hour, and cost under $20!

And I should also add that I sorted, washed, and folded all of our baby’s clothes. In the process I a came across this adorable dress, and had tears in my eyes as I remembered our baby Gianna getting her first set of baby pictures taken in this dress.

And then it all hit me. We are having another baby, another little person will soon join our family. My pregnancy has been so difficult that I have been counting down the days until our baby’s birth, all along thinking of the birth as an event that will make me “unpregnant!” But seeing this dress brought me a lot of joy. I sighed, I got nostalgic, and I was suddenly excited. Our baby girl is arriving soon, and in the end, THAT is all that matters.

At my midwife appointment yesterday, after discussing my latest aches and other health ailments, my midwife looked through my chart and commented that I have really had a rough pregnancy. After this comment, she handed me a form for my birth plan, or as they like to call it, “Birthing Hopes and Dreams”. I laughed and said, “In all honesty, I only have 3 goals for this birth. I want a healthy baby, under 10 pounds, and I don’t want a c-section. I’m sorry if these goals are a little lame for you and this all-natural birthing center!” She looked at me and said, “with what you have been through, I think those are GREAT goals.” And so they are.

And I will keep this little dress out to remind me of my baby girl, and my very simple birthing hopes and dreams.