15 Mar
Baby Prep
I hit the 9 month/36 week mark on Saturday, and last week was a frenzy of shopping and errands in an attempt to cross some baby prep items off of my to-do list. I showed you my apartment just a few weeks ago, and already it’s looking very different!
I finally made my way up to Ikea, and then stopped by a resale shop called Kid to Kid, TJMaxx + Ross, and Walmart. All of my shopping was done over a period of two days, and I came home absolutely exhausted each time. Why did I put all of this off until I hit 9 months? This is not something I would recommend to others. 
My very favorite purchase is the chair I found in the as-is section of Ikea for $45. It rocks just the tiniest bit and looks so cute in our bedroom (I really wanted to avoid buying something hideous off of Craigslist if I could help it, as I like having a clean, well-decorated bedroom). The blue stuffed giraffe is going to be used for T1′s month by month pictures, and the super soft mini rug thrown over the back of the chair was a splurge I couldn’t resist after my friend Bethany wrote about how much she loves hers. I’ve already spent a lot of time in this corner and I’m in love with the setup.
Our biggest baby related purchase to date is the futon. Our couch is broken (I sat on it a little too quickly and my 200 lb pregnant frame was more than our discount store couch could handle) and so we purchased this both because we are expecting a lot of guests within the next few weeks, and because we are thinking we’ll swap out our broken leather couch for this dorm-room style fabric covered futon from Ikea. Not ideal for me but it works.
Although I’m not sure it will stay in this area, I have a diapering station set up in the corner of the office, with pad, cover and basket from Ikea, and drawers filled with cloth diapers. I’ll write up a post soon detailing what I’ve purchased for cloth diapers so far (I hope it all works out!).
Of course my favorite activity was folding and hanging up the baby clothes. T1′s wardrobe still seems a bit small, but I’m guessing those attending my baby shower will help round things out a bit, and that my mom will want to contribute as well when she comes down. Walmart only had pink hangers so that’s what I bought! The two red outfits and the yellow one were bought at Kid to Kid for a dollar each. Amazing, no?
I also bought a dresser at Ikea, which we’ve put in our closet as I realized it made the most sense to just have baby share with us instead of relocating everything from the office closet. Ohhh, and that stack of white you see on top of the dresser on the left side? That’s That 1′s first outfit! I bought a layette, hat, and blanket, all matching, at the Farmer’s Market this weekend. Our new baby will look so sweet wrapped up in it!
Another as-is Ikea find was this wooden shelving unit, for $30. I stocked up on towels and washcloths for the birth, and I”ll fill the basket on top with baby wash and other such necessities. The trash can to the left? Our cloth diaper pail! I’m still not sure this is the place we’ll want to keep it, we’re going to play it by ear and see what spot is the most convenient for us when we start changing diapers.
I'm a farm-raised almost-crunchy stroller-pushing picture-taking lifestyle-blog-writing gastronomy-obsessed divine-seeking thrift-store-combing cheese-inhaling pavement-pounding laughter-sprinkling lover of individuality and taking chances.
My sister-in-law’s family is in the lambing business {is that what you call it??} anyway they have a farm of lambs haha. If I had known I could get one of their lamb skins for you…they are so soft, warm and comfy and cheaper. We use them next to the bed to kneel on for prayers. So excited for you! Can’t wait to see T1 utilize all this!
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1Those shoes are adorable! The blue giraffe will be such a fun marker! I can’t wait to see the pictures you take. So great to have awesome photography skills when you are a parent.
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2I gasped loud enough to get strange looks for my husband when I scrolled down and saw those booties. I think my uterus just jumped a little. Those are possibly the most adorable things I’ve ever laid eyes on. Any idea where Erin got them from?
The chair is also great, it looks like a lovely, serene corner. I can’t imagine why it was marked down.
And now I’m just staring at the booties again.
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3So cute!!! I have thought it was a girl the whole time but now I am starting to think it’s a boy! I can’t wait to find out!
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4I love the as-is section. Our bed and Bart’s wardrobe are both from there.
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5I used to have that Ikea chair and loooooooved it! Lost it in the move to our tiny new place, and I’m still a little sad. It should be great for comfortable hours with your little one.
And here’s a link to Amazon for the booties, or people can Google the brand “Best of Chums” for online boutiques: http://www.amazon.com/Best-Chums-Crochet-Booties-Lion/dp/B00260GN6M
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6Those booties are so adorable! What a great deal on that chair, too
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7i agree with emmie, i feel like T1 might be a boy! really interested to hear how the cloth diapers work out. We did it with my youngest brother and I remember it being easy, but i was barely a teenager…didn’t have to deal with clean up and disposal
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8Looks good. I wish we had that much room for baby.
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9Thanks for the tip on Kid To Kid. I have lots of pregnant women in my life, so I’ll need to check it out!
I think T1 is going to be a boy now too!
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10I love that ikea chair! What a great find! We bought that same futon and cover for our office/guest room and it is actually really comfortable! You must be starting to get SO excited… Thinking of you my dear!
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11Fun! LOVE the chair. I had a dream 2 nights ago that I was in the room when you had your baby (I was helping you on the floor, Kelli and TH watched from the bed, lol!). And I watched you pull up your beautiful little girl onto your stomach. Kinda weird that I had the dream, but it was such a happy feeling
Oh, and something I totally love is a soap pump for baby shampoo. When holding onto wet, slippery baby (especially in the shower), I don’t have to use 2 hands to get the soap.
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12Oh, and I went to Ikea at 39+2 weeks. Oh my, I was ginormous and exhausted. And people couldn’t stop staring.
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13So sweet! Oh, the first. It was so nice to have everything so neat and tidy and pretty for the baby!
I LOVE my nursing cover. They are a little spendy, but SO perfect for humid weather and they are actually really cute! (Worth the money!)
http://www.keikikover.com/
It would be so great in TX weather!
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14Oh…. Jenna…. I’m so glad that you loved the booties. For those of you that asked, I found them at So Childish http://www.sochildish.com/
I thought they’d be adorable on either a girl or a boy (though I’m betting on a girl).
It really warms my heart thinking of you enjoying them Jenna, and thanking me on your blog was just way too kind and too much!
My husband and I often talk about “the top 5″ - those top 5 days you will never forget - and we anticipate the birth of our first to top that list. I am so happy for you and TH and wish you a very special birthday. Thanks for all you have done to influence our first’s birthday (still not conceived! but very planned!!). Home birth, laboring while making a birthday cake, and no nursery!! - you’ve influenced more than you will ever know. All the best!! xoxo, E
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15This is all making me so excited! Partly for you having a baby, and partly because I just love buying new STUFF that has a purpose, and I’m excited by your new furniture! Heheh. I’m a little decor nuts, despite the fact that I never DO any decorating…
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16I LOVE the chair from Ikea! I already have one for my new house - I’ve actually had it for over a year, and I can’t WAIT to get it out! They are really comfy, arent’ they?
I hope I have as good of luck when I visit my Ikea - I’ll have to remember to check out the as-is department and see what I can find. Love the shelving units.
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17It may not look like much to you, but it sure looks like you’ve got the basics and are pretty much ready! Congrats!
We have the same chair only in black leather (I don’t know if it’s real??). I don’t know how much it is or if they’d have it in the same fabric but you should check to see if they have the ottoman to match… the chair is comfy, but with the ottoman it’s heaven!
From one cloth diaper-er to another, don’t fill that diaper bin up!! You should probably wash your dirty diapers every other day. =)
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Jenna Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 6:35 pm
They do have a super cute matching ottoman but i is $100! I just can’t bring myself to spend $100 on something so little and for now I’m just going to put my feet up on the bed (which can be done if I pull the chair out from the wall a bit). After awhile if that annoys me too much we’ll just go on a shopping trip and buy the ridiculously expensive matching ottoman.
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Evelyn Reply:
March 20th, 2010 at 5:30 pm
Ha! I wouldn’t spend that much either, the chair & ottoman (and all our other furniture) were given to us, gently used, by a dear friend & former coworker… so we weren’t the ones shelling out the dough. =)
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schmei Reply:
March 21st, 2010 at 12:05 pm
I wonder if the ottoman could be on a wish list for shower/baby gifts? We have that chair with the matching ottoman, and the combination is sooo comfortable.
But we got the cheaper finish/fabric, I think.
Anyway, you’re looking well prepared at this point!
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I love the chair! So cute and looks so comfy!!
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19YAY! I am so happy you got the bd (haha)…You and your baby will just LOVE it! I love all this prep, isn’t it so much fun? Sorta makes me want another one…
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20I love that you are playing things by ear, not being all, “and this is exactly how this will go.” It never goes how you plan it and at least you aren’t kidding yourself.
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21a- LOVE the lion booties!
b- did you find those hampers at tj maxx or a place similar?
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Jenna Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Yep, all three are from Ross.
I saw the ones that Kimberly Michelle has at Target, they are much, much larger than the ones you see pictures. Which is good for me because it means I can’t let laundry build up very long.
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oh, great! i’ll check ross + target. i looked at either marshall’s or tj maxx without any luck.
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