the nursery - chevron wall

When planning baby G's nursery I had in mind a striped wall, as mentioned here. I'd had done it before in the Powder Room and L's Room with excellent results. So it made sense to go safe and do the same for an accent wall in this room. Since the winner mood board was the giraffe theme/yellow-grey combo, I was thinking yellow stripes.

Somehow in the process, I don't remember exactly how, I changed my mind. I decided I wanted a chevron (or zig zag) wall (we should take in consideration that besides stripes that is the other pattern I'm obsessed with. I sewed some green chevron pillow covers for the living room that I'll show you sometime soon).

My plan started with a yellow chevron wall on the north wall, which will be the background of the crib. I drew the size of the wall in Autocad and started drawing the pattern until I found a scale that I liked. I then printed one of the triangles of the pattern full size and transferred it into a piece of cardboard so I can have a template. (Sorry no pictures. I'm very bad at documenting these processes).

Next step was to draw horizontal lines on the wall (according to the size of the pattern) so they can be the base for my template. The truth is I got lazy and just started to draw the pattern on the wall, placing the template, drawing, then placing the template next to the one I just drew and so on. It seemed to be working until the mister pointed out that the pattern was a little crooked. So I had to verify the height of some of the triangles with a measurement tape to make sure they were aligned.

Once I had the pattern drawn on the wall, the fun part started. I taped all the wall, and then the mister proceeded to paint it. I'm glad I reconsidered the yellow and decided on grey for the chevron wall last minute.

We love, love how the wall turned out. Even though we chose grey for most of the walls in this room,  the chevron pattern makes it feel playful. I can't wait to share the final results. Stay tuned!

my pregnancy - 38 weeks

• Almost there! Baby G better come soon because I don't know how much more my belly can grow.


• Last week at my weekly appointment I was told I’m 1 cm dilated and 50% effaced. This week I'm 2 cm. We are getting there!


• I've gained 30 pounds (13.6 kilos) to this point. Oh boy!


• My doctor said baby G is a big baby. Again oh boy!


• He can make his big appearance anytime now, since my mom is already here and I feel more confident and secure. The mister has been so great at understanding. Of course he'll be there with me. He’s been so supportive and I know he’d be the best labor couch. And I can’t imagine the happiness and joy that will embrace us when we hold our little baby in our arms and know we did it together.  But there is a special bond between a mom and a daughter about sharing this experience. I’m so happy I’ll have them both by my side on such an important day.


• We completed our birth plan. I was a little lazy and just got the fill-in-blanks birth plan from The Bump. It was very straightforward and I think it’s good enough.


• To be honest I've been trying to avoid looking at myself when getting out of the shower, but a couple of times I caught a glimpse of myself and was amazed by my body. No, I was not amazed by the extra inches on my thighs and butt or the new cellulite (although I should) but by my big, round belly. They say a pregnant woman’s body is beautiful (despite the little details mentioned above) and they are right. It's incredible to know there is a tiny (or not so tiny) little human being growing inside. A little being that will grow up to be a complete person. Isn’t that just amazing?


• The other day I went into panic mode when I saw what it looked like a stretch mark starting at my belly button and going down. I thought my lucky days were over. Thankfully it happened to be the elastic mark from my leggings. I’m still counting my stars and praying they won’t appear anytime soon nor later. Please, please, please.


• Flip flops and a pair of flats I bought when I was about 20 weeks pregnant, are the only shoes that fit comfortably now. I was told pregnancy can change your shoe size. I hope that is not the case. What will I do with all my shoes?!


• I was starting to feel like out of this world for not having any pregnancy ailments. But I guess to be fair to the rest of the pregnant population, my feet and hands have decided to continue swelling, now to the point of being uncomfortable. They are poo-fy and numb all the time. Also my knees are starting to feel the all the pounds and extra pounds I’ve put on.


• Other than that, I’m feeling good, sometimes I think too good. I'm finishing some details in the nursery and doing some last shopping trips with my mom to get everything we’ll need.


• I'm ready to meet my little baby G!

my pregnancy - baby G's virtual baby shower

As I mentioned before, all my family and closest friends live in Lima but they still wanted to celebrate the arrival of Baby G. So my mom and sis threw a "Virtual Baby Shower" for me last Saturday and it was adorable! We were able to see each other via  web cam (connected to both tv's, so we had a bigger and better image of each other) and talk like we were there. Oh! the wonders of technology!

My little sis did a great job. She is an amazing baker and made yummy treats like cupcakes and brownies. But not only that, she did an amazing job with the decor! She made paper pom poms and little signs in a nice color palette. It was very thoughtful. My mom put together a delicious Tea Time party and came up with some fun games. My mother-in-law and I were able to see all the fun.






It was very touching for me to see so many of my aunts, cousins and friends together to celebrate this special occasion with us. Even from the distance I could feel the love and joy we all shared that day. I saw them laughing, playing games, taking pictures, eating. It was great to be able to celebrate with them even in this way.

My family worked so hard to put together this moment for us. Even though baby showers are women events for the most part, my dad, brother and brother-in-law stayed there, helping and sharing with us. It felt so great to see my family working together. And they did it for us! I feel lucky to have such an amazing and caring family.







So again, I want to thank all my family, my friends and my mom's friends who were there with us for all their love and generosity. Thanks so much for all the cute and thoughtful gifts for baby G and especially for all the good wishes. Baby G is such a loved little boy! Thanks from the bottom of our hearts! It meant the world to us!

P.S. My mom arrives tomorrow night! We are so excited!

the nursery - floor plan

Being the indecisive person I’m I had a hard time deciding the floor layout for the nursery. I tried many options, with the crib caddy corner, the full bed centered by the window, the crib centered and many more.

This room is the smallest in the house but it’s all baby G will need. Even though it is a small space I still decided to place a full bed in there for two reasons. The first months baby G will sleep in our room in a bassinet so his room can be used as a temporary guest bedroom. And since my family is coming the first days of June it made complete sense. After that, I think having the bed there will be very helpful with midnight feedings or just to hang out and chill out with the baby.

So I had to place a full bed, the crib of course, a changing table, a rocker + ottoman and a night table. Besides other accessories like the hamper, diaper pail, toys, etc.

I read it’s not recommended to place the crib by the window so that helped me made up my mind. After asking for the mister’s feedback we decided on this layout.

I think it works. There is plenty of space to move around and there is enough  space in the center of the room for baby G to play when he is a little older.  A rectangular rug will tie the room together. I'm very excited about how the nursery is coming along. I promise I'll be sharing soon!
Tomorrow is my virtual Baby Shower. Can't wait!

Have a great weekend everyone!

my pregnancy - 36 weeks

• This post is one day late, since I was 36 weeks yesterday.


• I can’t believe four more weeks  (or maybe sooner) and I’ll have baby G in my arms!


• Everything is going so well. I truly feel blessed this pregnancy has been a walk in the park. I’m enjoying every minute of it. I know it may sound weird, but the other day I was thinking how I’m going to miss my big belly! It has gone so fast, sometimes I wish I could have a little more time with baby G inside my belly, feeling him move, kick, jump. I’ll miss his hiccups and stretches. I’ll miss how he moves every time he listens to music or when the mister talks to him. I'll miss that feeling of having a little human being growing inside me.


• But of course because nothing is perfect (where is the fun in that?), I'm still experiencing some swelling. Nothing major, though. My feet and hands get swollen but my blood pressure is under control so the doctor said is nothing to worry about. A couple of weekends ago, on our way back from Sesame Place, we drove home without stopping and by the time we got home I had two big sausages as feet. It was half painful, half funny since I’ve never seen my feet like that. Note to ourselves: make stops when driving long distances. Basic, right? Somehow we didn't think about it.


• No contractions so far. Not even Braxton Hicks contractions. If I'm having them I'm definitely not feeling them.


• I pee every 15 minutes. No, really every 15 minutes.


• I've gain 26 1/2 (12.05 kilos) pounds so far. I was aiming to gain under 25 pounds. But hey, baby G needs to grow and if that is what he needs, that's fine. Still 4 more weeks to go. Hopefully I won't gain too much in this final stretch.


• Talking about food and cravings, now I'm eating carrots and celery with humus all the time. I guess baby G is going to be a healthy little boy!


• I stopped working a little more than a week ago. It felt weird at the beginning but now I'm happy I have all this time to get everything ready.


• I'm keeping up with my exercise routine. Well, at least trying. Some weights, some cardio and prenatal yoga.


• The nursery is coming along and it’s looking good! I love it! There are still many projects to finish like the DIY mobile, paint some frames for pictures, some pillow covers and the window valance I have to sew and the closet storage system.


• My mom is coming next week! I can’t be more excited.


• This Saturday is my virtual baby shower. I’m really looking forward to it!

my pregnancy - maternity photo session!

We had our maternity photo session two weekends ago, and last night I got our pics! And I love them! Honestly I was a little afraid to have the session this far along in my pregnancy (34 weeks). I read the recommended time is between 7 and 8 months, when the belly is not that big and swelling hasn't made their appearance yet. But for different reasons we had to rescheduled. And finally did it. And I'm so happy with the results.

I knew I wanted something different from the bare belly (and sometimes bare everything!) traditional maternity pictures. I wanted something casual, modern and fun. And that was not a problem with our photographer Ale, whose style is precisely that! I met her through her blog. She is Peruvian as well, and very talented. She was very open to my suggestions and very accommodating. We had the session at our house and even though it rained all day we managed to get some nice outdoor pics. I think we got great results! 

 

{all images via alejandra martins photography}

If you are looking for a great photographer in the New York area, check out her site. Thanks Ale!