enJOY it by Elise Blaha Cripe

shower for baby cripe.

Two weekends ago, a mix of my high-school and college girlfriends helped shower the baby girl with love in my friend's backyard. It was so fun to see the girls, of course, and celebrate this little lady - she's the first of the next generation.

I failed at getting a lot of great photos from my Sacramento shower (sad!) so I was so thrilled that my friend Katy had her rad camera on hand and was so snap happy. Katy, your photos are fantastic. Thank you for capturing the day. And to the rest of you girls - THANK YOU so much for the thoughtful party.

For the most part, we sat around and chatted. Three of my girlfriends are engaged with weddings in the next six months so there was a lot to discuss there. But we also ate great food, painted little onesies with fabric paint and played some "non-gross" baby games (nothing diapers and candy bar related).

One of the games was the "guess the belly size" with a piece of yarn. Too funny to see the variation. I haven't been to a baby shower in my adult life, so all of these games are new to me and so cute and fun.

Such a fun Saturday. I am so grateful for my girls.

tissue paper pom-poms for the tiny one.

I'd hoped to have a full nursery tour ready by this week but I think it's going to be a couple more before things totally feel "set" in there. And that's okay. We've got almost seven weeks until my due date (and, of course, the baby could care less about the decor that awaits her).

But I got the tissue paper flowers installed! I saw a few adorable nurseries on Pinterest (like this) and loved how festive and playful they felt.

Never in a million years would I have expected to go so girly in this room. Pink is not exactly my style, but somehow, for this baby, it's working. And once I share the whole room, you'll see I brought in black and white and other pieces that mellow the in-your-face-pink a bit.

I followed this tutorial from Martha Stewart to create the tissue pom-poms. Martha is for sure more of a perfectionist than I am, but I found these to be very easy and forgiving, especially once they are up on the ceiling. I used eight full sheets for the big ones and then eight half sheets for the smaller ones.

I bought all my tissue paper here because after some searching they had the best colors for the best price. The key was to get a variety of colors that were outside the traditional "red" or "pink" stuff that's sold at large craft stores.

We hung them from the ceiling with fishing line and clear push pins and really just played around until the clusters looked right. It's was a lot like trying to paint an abstract. Everything is going fine until you get an extra pom-pom up there and suddenly not only do you hate the installation, but you're questioning every home decor decision you've ever made. (Not really, but sort of.)

artwork from left to right : Kal Barteski, December Baby & The Paper Nut.

Patience was important for the hanging part but the result is so whimsical and cute. I stuck them in just two corners, one on the crib side and one on the bookshelf side behind the hanging lamp. (Not to worry - the outside of that ceiling light does not get hot after even hours of use, but just to be safe, I'll have my dad, a property insurance guy by trade, take a look to be sure this is not a fire hazard when he is in town in a few weeks.)

Baby girl's room does not have a theme, but the overall idea is : "Hooray!"

potted succulent thank you favors.

I had a wonderful baby shower this past weekend thrown by friends of my mom and Paul's mom. As a thank you to the women who came, I wanted to do something simple but thoughtful.

In general, I am not a big fan of party or wedding favors. Mostly because while of course it's the thought that counts, it's hard to think of an inexpensive gift for multiple people that will actually be appreciated and not just add clutter to their homes. Food is good because you enjoy it and it's gone, but given my recent GDM diagnosis, it seemed a little odd to give out boxes of chocolate or homemade cookies. I figured a small plant would be better (it can always live outside).

I bought 3" terracotta pots at Michael's and small succulents at Lowe's. Their selection varies, but this week is was amazing.

Some of the plants had clearly been watered recently, but others were bone dry. To hopefully extend their lives without over-watering, I let the super dry ones sit in standing water for a few minutes before re-potting them into (dry) cactus soil in their new terracotta homes. We left all the plants and the pots outside for the week before the shower and they all looked better by the time they were ready to be given out.

For a super simple decoration, I added little washi tape flags on plastic toothpick like skewers my parents had in the house. I just wrapped the tape around the stick and added a handwritten "thank you!" to the yellow tape with a white sharpie paint pen (also from Michael's).

The tape flags are the easiest part and you could totally change up the colors to make this fit nearly any event. Potted succulents favors are hardly a new idea, but it's a fun one. And tiny plants are too cute.

we are now entering the third trimester.

I am happy to be here. I am happy every day that we get a little bit closer to meeting our baby girl. I am happy every day that she stays put and my belly grows.

This pregnancy has not been as easy as I hoped. Nope. There was the CPC scare, which in the long run should be no big deal at all, but then on Monday I found out I have gestational diabetes. It's something I hadn't considered, but the one hour screening I took a few weeks ago came back elevated and my second 3 hour glucose test (I threw up on the first go around) confirmed that my blood sugar levels get totally out of whack when you throw a ton of glucose at them.

Wop-wop.

I am glad to know so I can hopefully just continue to control my sugar levels with diet and exercise. I met with a nutritionist yesterday morning to learn more about the food I should be eating and when I should be eating it ...and it turns out I already basically follow the recommended diet (minus a grilled cheese sandwich here or there). I was also instructed on how to monitor my blood sugar levels four times a day through finger sticks.

So far (with a day of finger sticks and the "new diet" plan) this seems pretty easy to manage, but I will be working on getting back into moderate exercise (like 30 minute walks) and diligent about tracking for the next week. Then I will meet with my provider on April 1st to see if this is something I have under control or something that I need medication to help maintain. The hope is that following a healthy diet (eating at certain times, upping protein and limiting carb/sugar intake) will be enough, but if I need medicine to stay healthy and keep the little one healthy then that's what we'll do. Regardless of outcome, I will be monitored pretty closely for the remainder of the pregnancy.

It's frustrating, of course. It sucks to get test results back with anything less than "yep, everything looks great." I don't want there to be one more thing to think about. I don't want to test my blood sugar four times a day for the next 12 weeks. And I don't want to give up nutella and cake at my showers. ;)

I was panicking on the phone with my parents a few nights back. These past few months have been filled with bumps (some that have been shared on the blog and others that have not) and I am tired of fighting the small battles alone. (Paul! I miss you!) My parents commiserated and then my dad reminded me tactfully, 

"Leesee, I know it's hard. But none of these problems are things you can't bounce back from."

And yep. True story, Dadio. I am frustrated. But I am also blessed. There are about a zillion complications that can occur in the making of a human being and if this is mine, it's a relief that it's something relatively easy to manage.

And the reality is that I feel great. Now I am just more passionate about staying as healthy as possible. I love being pregnant. I am honored to carry our baby. Making it to 28 weeks feels like a big deal. Like we're in the home stretch. The Big Picture still looks pretty fantastic and my little one is as active and amazing as ever. AND OH MAN, was I doing something right when I choose brave for my one little word.

ps. dress from old navy (similar skirt here), tank from j.crew & nail polish is essie fiji. bookshelf is back in action and I am obsessed with the lighter feel. I will share more of the new house in a few weeks.

Other posts you might enjoy:

• how I am learning to "balance" work & mamahood.
• newborn essentials
• 34 gift ideas for the brand new mama.
• 9 books our toddler loves.
• gearing up for baby #2. literally.
• FAQs / baby edition.
• new mama care package
• what I am eating with gestational diabetes

 

baby girl's dresser.

One of my great finds from these past few weeks was a "new" dresser for the baby girl. I was on the hunt for something in a small size with a bit of personality. I found this four drawer dresser at a local consignment store called Stuff and after a quick test of the drawers I was sold. I can always tell something is "right" when I have no doubt and can instantly buy it without needing to email Paul a photo and see what he thinks.

We are going to use it as normal storage (for onesies, socks, pants and diapers) and then the top surface will be a changing table. (We'll mount a changing pad safely on top.)

I completely love the outside as is. I am excited about bringing more wood color and texture into this house (no more paint on great wood!!) and think the original knobs are adorable in their simplicity.

But, while the inside drawers were clean, I decided to fancy them up a bit. I lined them with marbled paper that I had on hand for years (I think it was meant for another project that never took shape). The paper is light wrapping paper weight and I just trimmed it to drawer size and stuck it in with removable tape. Instant upgrade, but nothing permanent that I'll regret in a year.

The drawers are shallow, which is just perfect for tiny baby clothes, but might not be something that grows with her (in which case we'll transfer it to the next baby or re-purpose it in another area of our house).

So now, our little one has a dresser/changing table and a rocking chair. All we need is a crib (this is our front runner) and a bookshelf and we're pretty set in the necessities! I'll be able then to focus on decorations like a rug, art and curtains and we'll work our way up to a complete room.