Hi, my name is Emily and welcome to my blog. I try to write to you on a regular basis except when I’m really busy and lately, I’ve been really busy. After the Viper Pilot came home from deployment (I promise I’ll write about this sometime soon) we spent some time relaxing so he could readjust to first world living. It isn’t as easy as you might think. We were just looking back on the pictures of us in Koblenz and we both commented on his appearance. He looked exhausted and pale, with dark circles and bags under his eyes, and the fact that he dropped almost 20 pounds in the past five and a half months didn’t exactly help. But now he has his color back and has been averaging about 10 hours of sleep a night. Needless to say, he’s looking much more like himself. Life has been pretty good to him these past couple of weeks.
More on this photo in tomorrow’s post. |
The Viper Pilot and I went overhaul on our house. We have more than enough bedrooms in our house for the two of us and with the lack of closets (German homes generally don’t have closets) we made an entire room into our closet room. But with baby on the way, we figured we ought to at least make a little space for the little one. We moved our closet into our room…
The brown cabinets on the right-hand side are courtesy of your United States Air Force. Aren’t they lovely? |
…and the baby now has a room.
The Viper Pilot told my belly to clean its room. Heh, heh…
We don’t have a whole lot for the baby, but it’s a good start. Babies don’t need a whole lot in the beginning. My squadron sisters and family helped me out a ton with their generous gifts from my baby shower. I have a few decorations for the walls but the current work of art hanging on the wall is from the baby shower, determining if Ewn is a he or she. (If you’re new around here, Ewn stands for Elle’s Worst Nightmare.)
Mama and papa are both pretty sure Ewn is a boy. Since I was so sure it was a girl in the beginning, my mom asked me if the Viper Pilot and I know what we’re having and are just keeping it a secret. Nope, we don’t know, it is just based on intuition and the Viper Pilot’s flying schedule. I don’t even know if our doc knows. Before the ultrasound, I make sure the doc knows that we just want to know that baby is healthy and not to worry about looking for the goods (which up to this point, have never been very obvious anyway). We’re having one or the other and we’ll keep it either way.
Other decor in the nursery is complements of Ewn’s cousins, Henry and Maddie. Three or so years ago, they painted these canvases for our home office, but I think they are going to be perfect in the baby’s room now.
Baby has a place to sleep but it’s still a work in progress. I purchased a used crib from another military family for $80, over 50% off what the crib currently costs new. {Before you throw flames – yes, I checked and no, it hasn’t been recalled.} I did a little online crib shopping and didn’t love any of the “wood” colored options. White wouldn’t work with our already white walls, so I settled on grey…gray? I never know which one to use. We sanded out the teeth marks from the previous resident and used Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint to refinish it.
If you haven’t discovered chalk paint yet, you probably should. My mom told me about it, it is pretty neat stuff and I was excited when I found it sold in Belgium. It is safe to use for pregnant mamas and babies, doesn’t require any sanding, dries really fast, and we covered the entire crib with one coat. We even have half a liter for touch ups, though I think the few spots where the dark wood shows through gives it character.
Chalk paint is very porous once it is dry and things have a tendency to stick to it, so some sort of coating is suggested. Annie Sloan has a wax that you can put over it which gives it a really soft texture, but it takes 45 days to cure, and with the strange humid/cold/rainy weather we have, our facilities are not conducive to such a process. We opted for a matte finish polyurethane, which will be safe for baby but a task for the Viper Pilot sans pregnant Emily. I do wish I could help. It makes me feel a little bad that I can’t because it turns out the Viper Pilot hates refinishing furniture. After all these years, I never knew this about the guy but he turned into a royal grump when we were painting. Come to find out, there’s a reason why I got to refinish our kitchen table all by my lonesome when we lived in Mississippi.
One of these days I’ll swing by the BX and stock up on diapers, wipes, onesies, and burp clothes and we should be mostly set for the little one. As for the other big stuff, we just need a stroller and car seat. Maybe a changing table, but we haven’t decided whether it will really be all that necessary so we’ll probably hold off on that one. We finally got around to buying a recliner to complete our mis-matched living room furniture (though we’re enjoying being a domesticated married couple, we just can’t justify the cost of a brand new furniture, especially when we move so often – we prefer to make do with what we have) so we even have a comfy place to rock and snuggle our sweet baby.
Mama and Elmer approved. |
I’m trying very hard to not let my nesting instincts get the best of me/our house. I’m using them for useful tasks such as organizing the kitchen cabinets, computer files, and keeping the house clean and tidy. If I allow myself to freak out about the fact that we don’t have a bottle sanitizer or wipes warmer, I might turn into a monster. No one wants that. Especially the Viper Pilot, but seriously, no one wants to see it.
The Viper Pilot goes back to work tomorrow and honestly, we’re both a little happy about it. As we are both creatures of habit, we are desperate for a routine. Since quitting my job, I haven’t had a chance to enjoy the freedom of being a housewife. Not that I’m particularly thrilled about the idea — I honestly worry that I’ll be bored to tears and have even caught myself job hunting, but I think it is for the best until the baby is a few months old, anyway. If the right job turns up, I’ll jump on it. In the meantime, I’ll learn what I already suspect about myself — that I’m just not housewife/stay-at-home mom material. But I’ll do my best to enjoy the heck out of it while I can.
I’ll see you tomorrow with a post about our trip last week!
PROST!
Mamas – did you have a changing table for your little ones? Did you use just a table or a dresser? Is it worth the splurge to buy a dresser that is also functional as a changing table but can be used just as a dresser once baby outgrows the changing table part? <– did that make any sense at all??
Seriously though, is it grey or gray??
Lisa says
We never had a changing table. We used our bed or the living room floor. They were much more convenient than a changing table. Plus they are free and didn't cost a dime! (Just make sure to lay a blanket or waterproof pad down first!) Also there is no need to get a bottle sanitizer. If you have a stock pot you can boil them, or use the top rack of the dishwasher. Plus a wipe warmer is a waste of money. Think about it, Ewn gets used to you using warm wipes on the tushy, then you are out and about and have to use a cold wipe and what does Ewn do? Scream bloody murder cause that wipe isn't warm. You really don't want that do you? And I like to think the color is gray and not Grey as in Christian Grey ;o)
Emily says
so many people have told me that we *need* bottle sanitizers and butt wipe warmers…we just don't see the point, it just seems like such a waste of money!
oh, and your theory on gray vs. grey is excellent. 🙂
Alison Donlon says
We had a changing table with the boys. With Blake we went upstairs every time he needed changed…it was all organized and neat. With Cale, we kept a supply of diapers in the living room and changed him upstairs only when we were there. Now, the table was nice and much easier…but I'm not sure it was a necessity. I did like to not have to get on the floor. The storage is nice. I think it's a total preference…and I realize after all that that I'm of no help with my answer. As for grey or gray..dunno..I love the color so you can say it any way you want 😉
Kirsten W says
Do you want to use American English or "mostly everywhere else" English? That's really the only difference between gray and grey. 🙂
Emily says
I prefer American English but living in Germany, I see the "mostly everywhere else" English a lot. Center/centre, favorite/favourite…and now gray/grey.
Lisa says
Dresser all the way! Ours right now is stocked with baby changing neccessities – very handy and is the perfect height for diaper changing 🙂
Tamera says
Dang, you are SO cute preggers. I wish I could come there and do a maternity shoot with you.
miggiepdx says
"Ohhhh! Dat doo-doo wipe COLD." Our son's first sentence, 1990.
Kari Workman says
We had a changing table (hand me down from my nephew) and used it a few times but honestly, we just changed him where we were, back of the car, bedroom floor, living room…
We got by just fine without a butt wipe warmer or bottle sanitizer. We didn't want his little tush to get used to warm wipes when we had to change him on a hiking (or snowshoe) trail sans warmer anyway! As for the bottles, we tossed them in the dishwasher and hoped for the best!
Our favorite baby accessories were a swing (which he slept in for a good year, thank you acid reflux), the Bumbo, and a good baby wearing device! (The Boba is made in Colorado and Caleb was in it until he was 4 1/2!)