baby Archives - Page 42 of 42

why we waited to find out the gender of our baby

November 12, 2015

The reactions we get when people ask what we are having and we tell them we are going to be surprised have been hilarious. Most people can’t understand why we decided to wait to find out the gender, some get mad and want to know themselves and others says it’s the best experience hearing your husband say “It’s a girl! or It’s a boy!” when baby is born. Being a planner and wanting everything laid out ahead of time, this experience has really taught me patience and in turn, I have had a very laid back pregnancy. I thought not knowing the sex would stress me out, but to be honest, it has been the complete opposite! I do have to say that during our 20 week sonogram it was hard to turn our heads away and not find out. But, we have had a lot of questions asked about why we decided to wait, so some of our reasons of why we waited to find out the gender of our baby are listed below:

The surprise: Caleb loves surprises more than anything. He was immediately on board, while I took a little more convincing! To him, finding out the gender of our baby when he/she is born is the ultimate surprise.
Neutral Nursery: By not knowing the gender, our neutral nursery can be used for our next baby(ies) without redoing the entire room. It has also made for easy decisions (ie: too pink, too boyish, etc). You can see the inspiration for our gender neutral nursery here.
Motivation during labor: I am planning an unmedicated, hospital birth. Knowing that we will find out if Baby C is a boy or girl at the end will help give me the motivation to push through the most painful parts of labor.
Guessing game: Part of the fun of not knowing is guessing if Baby C is a boy or girl. Caleb and I have tried our fair share of old wives tales. Right now, we are about 50/50 for boy/girl. Old wives tales that say we are having a girl: Chinese calendar, heart beat has been above 140 and linea nigra stops at my belly button. For boy: dry skin, cold feet, minimal morning sickness and everyone tells me the way I am carrying is a boy. I have a good idea, but we will see if mom’s intuition is correct in January!

I told Caleb it’s a good thing we aren’t finding out– I am saving loads of money by having to refrain from shopping! If Baby C is a girl, I would have already bought: these adorable blush pink moccasins, a pair of matching kitty flats and the cozy coat for her first few months. If a boy: these loafers to match his dad’s loafer obsession, the cutest plaid onesie and an adorable puffer vest.

maternity sweater (non-maternity)|maternity jeans-c/o|ostrich satchel-c/o|suede over the knee boots

Cheers,

28 week bumpdate

October 22, 2015

Happy Thursday! We can’t believe how time is flying by… Today I am 28 weeks pregnant and starting my third trimester. Time really started to sneak up on us when we looked at ordering furniture for the nursery, and found that it was going to take 10 weeks to get here- right before my due date! A lot has happened since my 20 week bumpdate (you can read about my 12 week bumpdate, also). I am so excited to share this special time with you guys! Caleb and I are really trying to soak up these last few months of our family of two. A couple of weeks ago at church it was the Celebration Service, to celebrate new life with baptism of new believers, and dedication of new babies. Can’t believe in a few short months we will be celebrating our little blessing! We are so thankful for God giving us the opportunity to be this little one’s parents! Keep reading for my 28 week bumpdate:

How far along? 28 weeks, only 12 weeks to go!
Size of Baby: 16 inches, 2.5 pounds or the size of a head of cauliflower
Gender: Going to be a surprise
Names: Boy name is picked out, but we have absolutely no idea of a name if Baby C is a girl
Milestones: A lot has happened over the last eight weeks:
- Baby kicking: Such a crazy experience feeling that first kick and having Caleb see and feel it for the first time. Baby is very active when I am ready for bed!
- Babymoon: Caleb and I wanted to get away and relax by ourselves before baby gets here, so we headed to Palm Beach for a few days and that is exactly what we did! You can see a recap of our babymoon here
- Nursery: Big progress in the nursery recently! Recently, we blogged about my inspiration for our gender neutral nursery, and that really got us going! We now have the crib and I love it even more in person. Caleb loves it because it was so easy to put together 🙂 My parents are gifting us our rocker, and we have that ordered now. We are trying to decide between a matching ottoman, or a pouf for the rocker. Any thoughts? Also, decided on a dresser for the baby’s room and that should be delivered at the beginning of December. All the big decisions are behind us- yay!
- Stroller: Happy to say that after a lot of research we decided on the UppaBaby Vista stroller. Over the past few months I have found myself looking at the strollers people are pushing, instead of the handbags they are carrying– what is happening to me?! The Vista Stroller comes with a bassinet add-on, which I can’t wait to use while strolling around the neighborhood! We have also heard that it makes a great travel stroller, and we plan on doing a lot of that with Baby next year.
Weight Gain: 9 pounds, and I understand that the last trimester is when Baby will start to really grow fast. Every morning I can see a huge difference in my bump from the day before!
Maternity clothes: If you read this post, you saw that maternity jeans were the first thing I had to buy. Luckily, DL1961 makes my favorite jeans in a maternity fit (PS: They are having 30% off sitewide today!). Also, I picked up this striped dress and this white dress before our babymoon. And, I just received a package from A Pea in the Pod of seriously cute maternity clothing. Can’t wait to share with you!
Pregnancy symptoms: Thankfully, I am still having a very easy pregnancy. I’ve started to have some lower back pain as my bump gets bigger, but taking a nice warm bath at night has helped.
Sleeping: Still sleeping great– could really sleep for 12 hours a night, if I had the time!
Food cravings: Cravings have subsided, but I still love a Root Beer, and nightly ice cream 🙂
Food aversions: Hot coffee– hoping this changes in time for winter!
Exercie: FlyBarre classes three to four times a week. This work out has been a lifesaver for me this pregnancy. I started to really get into FlyBarre when I did the Flywheel challenge last April. Because there are very minimal modifications during pregnancy, I decided to keep at it like I did pre-pregnancy. Now that I am in the third trimester and getting bigger and more tired, I am going to try to keep going three to four times a week, but will adjust if I need to give my body a break! Also, if you would like to try Flybarre, the first class is free… If I can do it almost 7 months pregnant, you know you can do it!

hunter green bodycon dress- only $48 and non maternity|bucket bag (similar)|leopard flats- only $45!|gold aviators|rose gold bracelet

Shop this (non) maternity look:

Cheers,

gender neutral nursery inspiration

October 2, 2015

Even before we found out I was pregnant, Caleb and I always knew we were going to wait to find out the sex of our baby. We have experienced so many different reactions when we tell people that we are waiting to find out the gender, so we will make sure and share a post on why we decided to wait! With just a little over three months left to go, I have been working really hard on finalizing plans for a gender neutral nursery. I knew I wanted the space to consist mostly of whites and creams, adding in color once Baby Coffman is here.

The first major thing we decided on was the baby’s crib. I had the hardest time picking out a crib, but once I found the joy crib from Bratt Decor I knew it was the one. I loved the distresed iron, and I love how it will work for boy or girl! After deciding on the crib, I was able to utilize the Bratt Decor design board to start envisioning our gender neutral nursery.

Our next major decisions include choosing a rocker/glider and dresser. I love this linen glider in white from Bratt Decor, but also love the look of this rocker. Once those decisions have been made, I plan on adding small touches of safari animals. Ned has already found a home in the nursery and I can’t wait to add these animal prints above the crib! After that will come all the accessories: a rug, a pouf, this beautiful baby blanket and this animal themed mobile.

I am so excited about the progress we are making, but we still have a ton to do. And each week is going by faster and faster, which means we are getting closer and closer to meeting our little one!

Shop Gender Neutral Nursey:

Cheers,