Nursery theme & 25 week update.

Let's start off with breakfast.

This morning I went for waffles once again (I actually think this has been a consistent craving throughout my entire pregnancy). Homestyle this time, with vegan cream cheese, flax seeds, chia seeds, nutritional yeast, strawberries, blackberries, blueberries & maple syrup. The cream cheese mixed with the berries was oh so yummy!

I also made up a smoothie this morning (and had enough for a second one which I stored in a mason jar in the fridge!) It looks pretty white and milky in this photo but it was actually a pale pink. It consisted of bananas, strawberries, mangoes, maca powder, decadent blend (ground chia, flax & cocoa), omega 3-6-9 oil, and almond milk. Quite tasty!

My daughter's nursery.

I have been googling, browsing pinterest, and scrounging from baby forums, only to find a lot of nurseries that looked exactly the same. I decided I didn't want one of those cookie-cutter, store-bought nurseries, so I wanted to choose a theme that was personal to me and that I could put a lot of work into myself, rather than buying everything. I was playing around with ideas when a light bulb suddenly came on in my head! In order to pick a theme that I will be genuinely interested in and enjoy crafting things with, while also reminding myself that it must be baby sensitive, I came up with a theme: Studio Ghibli.

I know a bunch of people are staring at their computer screens being like "what the heck is Studio Ghibli?!" Haha, of course it would be just like me to pick something so out-of-the-ordinary that many people won't know what I'm talking about. Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation film studio that has produced many of my favorite movies that have become so popular most have been translated to English and even re-released in the states by Disney. Most of the films actually have quite deep meanings, but there is a lot of animation that children enjoy.

I have several ideas for diy projects and am still struggling to narrow it down to what I know I will be able to complete before the baby is born. I don't want to give my projects away just yet, but I will show you some of the movies and characters that the theme will be based on.

 

Also, I have these handy wall decorations that I crafted myself ages ago and will be able to use them (the chibi totoro, chu totoro, and soot sprites).

Now I have to update my registry and remove the old nursery themed items we originally scanned!
UPDATE: I completely forgot to mention that in addition to the Studio Ghibli theme, the color scheme will be mint/pink/white. The basic stuff will follow the color scheme (walls, curtains, basic bedding, area rugs, etc) and the more decorative stuff will follow the Studio Ghibli theme (wall decorations, the crib mobile, book sling, maybe a pillow, a painting I might do, etc). And some things might even be a combination of both!

Lastly, some fun stuff this week on my.....

25 week update!

Sprout is the size of a large rutabaga this week!
(talk about heavy!)

How far along? 25 weeks.
Total weight gain? Almost 15 pounds. This baby is getting massive, and quick!

Belly size? 35 3/4 inches.

Stretch marks? None.

Baby's sex? A little girl.

Size of baby? Estimated at 13 1/2 inches and 1 1/2 pounds!

Movement? I'm pretty sure she has set up her own workout times. This morning I woke up and just stared at my belly for at least 20 minutes. The whole things was bumping around and I could feel her from every side. Then there would be slow movements like she was trying to sneak somewhere but she doesn't realize that I can feel a ton of pressure when all of her weight is in one spot!

What is your baby doing? My daughter could have hair now! I wish I could have an ultrasound done to try and see it. She's pretty skinny for now, but she's filling in her baby chub this week and from now on. :)

What is your body doing? My uterus is as far up as halfway between my belly button and sternum... And I can tell.

Belly button in or out? Still flat for now. Not ready for it to poke out yet!

Happy or moody most of the time? Feeling better, probably since I have had yesterday and today off from work. I think that really does affect my mood, which is a shame because I still feel physically able to put in some extra hours at work. :(

Symptoms? Still had nightmares through the end of last week. I felt like last night was the first night I slept all the way through without waking up sweating or frightened. Which also makes me sad because it's the first night I've slept without Ashton in a while. :( I also have been feeling a strong "pulling" sensation under my belly as the end of the day nears. Probably because my belly is getting heavier and I am on my feet all day at work.

Maternity clothes? Nothing new and I haven't worn my new shirts yet, but my third trimester is just around the corner and I think they will be necessary at that point!

Sleep? Nightmares are slowly going away I think. Other than that I don't wake up at all. Sometimes my upper back or shoulders ache in the morning. I actually think it depends on what pillow I use.

Food cravings? Anything sweet and chocolate this week. Chocolate cake, smores, dark chocolate bars, oreos, chocolate chip muffins. Looking back though, I have only had 1 smore, 1 chocolate chip muffin, and.... 7 oreos.  I'm a little ashamed about the oreos.

Anything make you feel queasy or sick? Nope!

Miss anything? Being able to get into the car without grunting! I've concluded that the grunting is partially due to my coat and not all because of my belly. I'm so bundled up in the thing it's hard to bend!

Looking forward to? Getting started on my diy projects for baby's nursery. I've been gathering my ideas over the past couple days and can't wait to get started! I feel like I'm getting a late start since she will be here in about 15 weeks and we will be moving to a new apartment and I will inevitably feel less motivated at some point. I hope I get everything done that I want to.

Best moment this week? We had been tossing some baby names around, mostly ones that came from websites, and we didn't really end up liking any. I thought of a name back in October that I loved (and still like it), but I could tell it wasn't Ashton's favorite. One day, he told me a few names that he thought of. I was instantly attracted to one of them and have been thinking about it for about a month now. I have fallen in love with it and eventually started talking to my daughter using this name. That is when I decided it has to be her name and I probably won't change my mind at this point. On our snow day (which happened to be my day off), baby and I went outside to play. I wrote her name in the snow and sent a picture of it to Ashton when he was at work. I hope he got the hint that I'm done searching for names because I think he found the perfect one. ♥

  Ps. Before you ask.... we're not telling anyone her name just yet!