Seeing is believing...

I think I have passed some sort of turning point in this pregnancy. Not a physical one as such but more of a mental one. I believe I might actually be having to come to terms with the fact that I'm about to become... a mother! Aaahh, no, scratch that... actually I'm not quite ready to go that far. However, I have finally started to set up The Nursery, which is a pretty big step really. Up until now, The Nursery has actually just been "the spare room that the baby will be sleeping in". But on Monday, for some reason, I referred to that room as The Nursery and now it seems to be getting a little easier to roll off the tongue.

It's not that I haven't had stuff to go in The Nursery - I've had plenty of things ready to be taken out of their packaging and put to good use. But until now, everything we've bought has just ended up being dumped in 'the spare room' and the room hasn't really resembled anything nursery-ish. But that changed yesterday. During the week B finished painting the walls in The Nursery (I'm about to start the wardrobe doors as soon as I finish this post...). At that point, I had no more excuses and realised it was making me MORE anxious to NOT have it set up than it was to think about setting it up. Thus, aforementioned turning point reached.

So yesterday we went out and bought a few more of the things that were on my list that I felt were going to help me come to terms with this Nursery concept and then B went out fishing while I officially started... nesting... setting things up. Here is the semi-finished product.

 

 

This chest of drawers was purchased second hand and was originally a varnished pine. But I sanded it back and painted it white to be more suited to the room. I then set about trying to find some funky new drawer handles but had no luck so I decided to make them myself. What do you think?

Those of you who know me probably know two main things about me (a) I am infatuated with hippos and (b) I can't stand the colour pink and prefer purple. You can therefore imagine my confusion and distress when B pointed out a very soft and adorable cuddle blanket in the shops yesterday that was pink with a purple hippo on it. In the few seconds of confusion that temporarily overtook my decision-making capabilities, B seized the moment and officially picked up the blanket and added it to our shopping pile.

In this picture, you can see Lilly, Fat Boy, Hilda and the new blanket, set up on the cot waiting for a new friend to play with.

I have also recently discovered the joys of Lamaze toys - which seem to be a sort of educational baby toy that wriggles or rattles or crinkles. They're in bright colours and usually have about 3 or 4 features that are designed to keep baby occupied.

We also have the Rolls Royce of strollers that we purchased  on ebay - our Baby Jogger City Elite. One of the things that we wanted was a sheepskin to go in the stroller which we bought yesterday. It's not really big enough to use as a sheepskin for baby to have on the floor etc., but it's perfect for the stroller as it comes with pre-cut slots for the harness straps etc. So now our stroller looks far more welcoming and ready to receive its new passenger.

The final thing we have purchased isn't actually located in The Nursery - at the moment it's in our spare room, and by that I mean the actual spare room, not the-room-that-will-one-day-become-the-nursery-but-for-now-it's-less-threatening-to-call-it-the-spare-room.

 What I'm referring to is the bassinet - also purchased off ebay. Eventually this will live in our bedroom but for the time being, it lives in the room that Mum uses when she and Dad come to stay. So there you are Mum - you can fall asleep with a visual reminder that you're about to become a Granma ;-)









And one last picture to show you. This blog post is called "Seeing is believing" and I've called it that because I think that seeing the semi-finished nursery has helped me really start to believe what is about to happen to B and me (I know, the constant kicks and pokes I get from within also help, but I'm talking emotionally more than physically). In any event, this afternoon I decided to wash all the lovely baby clothes that friends had donated or that I had purchased over the past few weeks. Talk about seeing is believing...