Happy One Year Anniversary! - Nugget's Must Haves Giveaway!

Disclosure: Some of the items in this post were provided to be review for this post.  The opinions are 100% my own.  Some links will take you to posts where the product was provided to me.

One year ago this month I started blogging about my family's journey to get pregnant and have a child.  I love looking back to see how far we have come.  In celebration of Nugget's Anniversary I am giving away a large prize pack of some of Nugget's favorite things.  Scroll to the bottom to enter!

Before Nugget was born we, like many other new parents, were excited and confused about registering for this new baby.  There were so many options there and how was I suppose to know what my baby needed.  Please know that before you read my must have list, every baby is different and your list may be completely different than mine.

Let's start with the nursery:
Now Nugget didn't even try to sleep in his crib until he was 6 weeks old, so our room was an extension of the nursery.

• Arms Reach Co-Sleeper
• King size pillow cases make great sheets for this instead of the ones that are specific for the co-sleeper
• Waterproof mats for co-sleeper
• Crib
• 2 Fitted Sheets
• 2 Waterproof Crib Protectors
• Crib Mattress
• Bedding Set
 (totally optional since most of them contain lots of items that are deemed unsafe)
• Crib Mobile
• Changing Table
• Changing table mat
• 2 Changing table mat cover 
• Bins for storage - we cloth diaper so it is necessary to be organized
• Rocker
• Dresser/closet/clothes storage
• Size Hangers
• baby hangers
• Hamper
• Dehumidifier
• We have hard wood and covered it with foam play tiles.  This has kept me from waking up the baby several times while I drop everything

Diapering that Little rascal:

We cloth diaper full time.  We did start out with disposable newborn diapers before he fit into his cloth.

• 2 Hanging wet bags
• 4 diaper wet bags
• Cloth Wipe Spray
• Cloth wipes - we use baby wash cloths and love them.  We probably have about 50
• The type of diaper you will choose will depend on what works for your family.  Check out my post here on what we use when.
• Cloth diaper safe detergent
• Cloth diaper safe rash cream

Feeding Nugs:

Nugget is an exclusively breastfed baby so much of this is what mama needs.  I am also a full time working mama, so I pump during the day and breastfeed on nights and weekends.

• Breastfeeding support pillow
• Nipple Healing Supplies
• Nipple Cream
• Hot and Cold Therapy
• Soothies Breast Pads
• Nursing Tanks
• Nursing bras (sleep and during the day)
• Breast Pads
• disposable and washable
• Bottles and nipples - I wouldn't' buy a lot because you do not know what your baby will take
• Breast milk storage pads
• Drying rack
• Bottle Brush
• Breast Pump
• Manual
• Double Electric
• Hand's free Pumping Bra
• High Chair

Dressing Baby:

Your baby will grow at an unpredictable rate.  Do not invest in a lot of clothes before the babe gets here.  My 5 month old wears 12 months clothes.

• Scratch mittens
• socks
• Plain white onesies are great to have around, throw some in the car or in the diaper bag
• Zip-up sleepers - I hate buttons in the middle of the night!
• Zipadee-zip
• Halo SleepSack
• Everything else is extra.
• Swaddlers

Traveling with Baby:

We flew to Jordan with Nugget when he was two month old and some of these things were much needed.  Others are just for your everyday travel.

• Stroller
• Accesories for your stroller
• Infant Seat - We did a travel system so we got both in one purchase
• Travel Bed
• Car Mirror
• Car organizer
• Soft Structured carrier
• Woven Wrap
• Diaper Bag

Entertaining Baby:

This is where it gets sketchy on what to buy and what not to.  We bought almost everything used because we didn't know if he would like it.

• Pack n' Play
• Swing
• Exercise Mat
• Bouncy Seat
• Sleep Sheep
• Teethers
• Oball
• Floor Mirror
• Teething Bling
• Sophie

Keeping Baby Clean and Safe:

• Burp cloths
• Baby Tub
• Baby Shampoo
• NoseFrida
• bibs
• First Aid Kit
• Saline Drops
• Gas Drops
• Colic Calm
• Gripe Water

Random Items:

• Receiving blankets
• Swaddle Blankets
• Pacis
• Books
• First Aid Kit

Bringing Baby into the world:

You can go here to see what I packed for Nugget's Birth.

• Outfit for Mommy
• Daddy Scrubs
• Coming Home outfit for Baby!
• Candy to suck on during labor

You can check out Nugget's Must Have Store here to pick up any of these items!

Do you wanna win some of these items!?  Enter Here!

Nugget's Nursery - The Small Things

So we are continuing to work on the nursery and man has it come along way from the huge dressing room that it once was.  The theme for the nursery is crazy fun monsters.  I am trying to make as much as possible myself because all the little things that you can get on Etsy sure do add up. 

At the very top are 3 of the 4 monsters that will go on Nugget's mobile.  They are handmade by me! and I love them!  I basically just took the designs from what I think a friendly monster would look like and free handed it.  I started out with the one with wings, then the yellow one and next the blue one.  I still have one more to make.  I found it easiest to do the mouths with four strands of thread through your needle and to close the monsters up with two strands of thread.  It takes a lot of time, but sure does beat the $90 mobiles on Etsy.

Next is the infamous paper lantern cluster.  These are everywhere on Pinterest and I thought it would be super simple to do.  It is not.  I have officially given up till I have more patience.  I think I need to make the orange one smaller or remove it completely.

We are cloth diapering and we scored a huge lot on eBay, but where was I going to store all of them.  I finally found these great under crib storage drawers at Ikea that match perfectly.

The flooring is going to be the stacks of the Arabic letters.  I had it laid out, but then didn't want it to get ruined before Nugget gets here.  They are a rainbow of colors and make a great play surface.

I really wanted a fun light for this room.  I didn't know what kind, but found this sun at Ikea.  I think it's perfect.  It makes the light in the room less harsh then bright white and projects the yellow light like rays over the ceiling.  Installing it though, was not fun.  It actually had to wired into the ceiling, while I thought it was a simple dome.

More Monsters!  I am going to make a whole slew of monsters to match the decor.  I am thinking about displaying them in painted fruit racks on the wall until he is old enough to play with them.  They make me laugh every time I look at them!

That tree canopy up there was a point of contention between Dufda and I.  He didn't get it, and I had to have it.  I won.  I think it is going to look even better after the curtain get installed.

I found that cute little frame at Burlington.  This is not typically something I would buy but it matched perfectly.  I can't wait to put Jad's picture in there!

And finally is Jad's collection of newborn fluff so far.  His diaper for when he gets bigger are nearly as fun or cute, but I am so obsessed with how little these ones are!

We still need to get his bedding, make curtains, hang curtain rods, make book slings and hang stuff on the walls and then we should be good to go!

Nugget's Nursery - Ikea will be the death of me

We had purchased the furniture prior to having a room to put the furniture in.  This really made us work hard to complete the room.  We had three pieces that needed assembled: a wardrobe, a dresser and a crib.  All three from Ikea, and all three just a mess of particle board, wooden dowels, and stupid allen wrenches waiting to be assembled by Dufda and I.  

We started with the crib.  I believe that when we opened it up Dufda exclaimed "This is going to be super easy!"  Not so fast hot stuff.  I pause this discussion to remind you that Middle Easterns are passionate about everything.  I have never experienced so many people that love each other yell at one another than when I was in Jordan.  They aren't mad or fighting, that is just how they speak. Dufda is also a self proclaimed expert at building furniture, you know he did build a closet once.  This makes for a great experience every time we need to rely on team work.  Anyway, the crib.  This is a 3 person job, but since the only other beings in our house have paws, we had to make it a two person.  I think this took almost an hour and half.  You have to line up awkward pins and build it on its side, all at the same time making this enclosure safe for that little being that will live in it for a couple of years.  This was the scariest part.  Like, who cares if I screw up Jad's dresser.  No one will get hurt if his mounds of clothes come crashing through the drawers.  Someone will get hurt if Dufda and I can't get our shit together and make this crib the most indestructible thing there is.  Well, we finished it.

It doesn't look like much, but as a first time mom this is huge.  I think I sat on that piece of cardboard for an hour marveling at the crib that is OUR house for OUR baby boy.  I probably cried as well, proceeded by Dufda telling me I am insane and need to stop being so emotional.  It just looks so serene sitting there.  That was short lived, because we needed to assemble the rest of the furniture that is more circus fun, than serious baby.

Next up was the wardrobe.  I was so excited to assemble this because I had visions of having this furniture for a baby since Ikea made it years ago.  It is so fun, slightly impractical, but ideal for a little boy.  I opened up that box and had a slight panic attack, that then triggered more tears.  This is what I saw:

The blues totally clash.  After a freak out moment and complaining to my mother, I started the assembly on my own.  This was short lived, because how was I going to make anything from Ikea without ten more hands.  This piece wasn't that bad.  It did have a door though.  If you remember from the closet assembly, these things are hard to install.  This was no exception.  The instructions for this piece had a much better illustration on how to fix the alignment of the doors then the previous one.  And there you have it, the cutest closet a little boy could ask for:

Thank God for the dark blue trim, which takes away from the clashing blues.  I wanted to stock this thing full of all the little boy clothes that I had, but I had no hangers : (.  It remains empty now...but not for long.

By the time we got to the dresser, we had a system going that we could work together well and knew the ins and outs of this furniture.  We also only had 45 minutes to build the dresser because heaven forbid we miss Law and Order: SVU.  It ended up taking about 50 minutes and we had to watch SVU on Hulu anyway.

As soon as I put Jad's first monster on top, I knew I loved the whole room.  With orange and some other random accents it will all be pulled together.  Here is the entire layout after I went and brought Jad's toys out of the garage.

The chair (which is currently covered by Dufda's blanket) was in my parents house while I was growing up, it was then recovered for my bedroom and now I need to recover it for this room.  I guess I could get a nicer one, but I like this one.  You can also see Jad's first stuffed animal, which is of course a camel (It even makes camel noises, What? You don't know what noise a camel makes?).  The yellow blanket was made by Jad's grandma and although I know there is still a lot of time before Jad will enjoy his froggy, I wanted to have it up there (Dufda is frog in arabic).  I love it!  As of right now, the trim needs painted, the floor needs to be delivered, decorations need to be hung, I need to figure out what to do about a changing table, clothes need to be hung and a mattress and bedding need to be bought.  My time limit was 25 weeks and I am actually right on schedule!

Nugget's Nursery - Boy's rooms aren't purple!

So if you remember from when I first started to update you on the long process of turning our closet into a nursery, this is what the room looked like:

You can start back at the beginning by just clicking on the Nursery label at the bottom of this post.  Well, that room was the opposite of boy.  I knew that I did not want purple, but I did want something that was neutral.  I was hoping for a yellow, maybe an off-white.  I relinquished my control over the paint color to my husband, though.  I did this for a couple of reasons: 1.  I have a control problems 2. Does the baby really care what color the room is? and 3.  I would rather have a a happy husband than an awesome room (I will still make this room awesome, even with the paint).  Dufda chose blue.  BLUE the most boy color their is.  Can we get anymore cliche?  We agreed on a lighter color blue than he originally wanted, but it is still a lot of blue!  The first step of this project was to clear out the room.  We had been doing this is stages because we did not know where to put everything.  I finally gave up and started dismantling the whole closet and just throwing it into my basement.  We got it to look like this pretty fast.

 After taking all of the shelves and hooks down there was a lot of wall repair that needed to be done.  Dufda loves to do wall work so I let him have the time of his life filling in holes and patching the walls.  Next we have to prime.  This is my least favorite step because you get no real satisfaction out of it.  Dufda and I do not see eye to eye on priming.  His way of painting is very unorganized and I like to  make sure I finish a wall before I start another.  In the end, the room was primed and we needed it to dry.  No more Purple!

We went to sleep at this time, because Hurricane Sandy was making for a very humid room.  Our paint was literally seeping off the wall and dripping into the windows.  This worked well for my plan, too.  I was going to get up super early and start, as well as finish (hopefully), painting before Dufda woke up.  This would make the whole situation way less stressful and I would be able to paint at my pace. 

I woke up and was so excited to crack open that gallon of paint.  And Ta Dah!

You can't really see the color here, but I will find that it is much darker on the walls than in this can.  I am trying to be super quiet so I don't wake Dufda.  I bet he is actually awake and just not coming in the room to avoid working, but this was totally alright with me.  Instead I made him a little picture and sent it to him. And yes, we are totally that couple who texts each other from the other room, deal with it.

I then got to completing my masterpiece.  The rain was still pouring outside, which made for far from ideal painting conditions.  When I woke Dufda up to show him, the paint was just about falling off the walls.  I fixed what I could and just had to crank up the heat and let it dry.  I still have to finish the wall to ceiling trim, because the ceiling wouldn't dry enough for me to edge.  Here is a better picture of what the color actually looks like.  I am starting to love it, but it is really weird having a blue room in a house of all browns.

Next up, we are going to put some furniture in this nursery!

Nugget's Nursery - Daddy needs a closet

From the previous post, you know that we have our furniture.  This furniture sat in the van overnight, because we were both to tired and couldn't think of a good way to get it into our house.  Finally in the morning Dufda got a dolly and started hauling it up the side lawn.  We stacked it in the dining room because we still did not have a room to put the baby's stuff in.  We were able to start assembling the closet, though!  Our bedroom is getting the new closet, so that we can move Dufda's clothes from Nugget's room.  The problem with this is: our room is small.  The closet needed to be built on the ground and we were able to create enough room by sheer millimeters.  We started to build, then realized we were doing it up-side down, you know how specific Ikea instructions are... We had reservations for dinner that night, so we couldn't finish it all in one shot.  We go to here and had to stop.

Doesn't look like much of anything yet.  That dresser next to it, is suppose to be Nugget's and have a changing table on it.  I don't if we will be able to give up the storage, or if Nugget will have any room left after I am done with his room.  

After we get back from dinner, we started to finish the closet.  This was my first project from Ikea that required the hanging of doors (little did I know, it wouldn't be my last).  This is a two person job that requires great patience.  You have to line up all three hinges, then balance them, then adjust them, and it is just a huge pain.  I have no pictures of this because after they were up, I am pretty sure I wanted to just throw the whole thing out the window!  

One thing that Dufda and I never see eye to eye on is how to fold clothes.  I, being a star former employee at American Eagle, prefer a nice clean brick fold on my pants.  I also insist that all hangers be the same way and shirt be organized first by color, then by sleeve length.  Think this is ridic?  You never lose clothes this way, you always know where everything is.  Well, unless you are 5 months pregnant and after showing your husband how to do laundry a million times, you have just given up on clean clothes because the basement is far away and you back hurts, and no one else will do them.

Onward.  Dufda likes to grocery shop...by himself.  I think this is fantastic and he is very good at it.  I go for what I want now and he goes for what we need for the week.  Dufda went grocery shopping and I took it upon myself to set up his closet.  I was so excited to do some organizing.  And Ta Da!

Ahhh, isn't that just beautiful.  Dufda hated that I hung his sweaters, and now they have a place to all be folded.  He has a shelf for gym clothes, another for going out clothes and yet another for pants.  I love it so much I want to steal it.  He came home and was pretty excited as well. 

Nugget's Nursery - A Shopping We Will Go!

So in our quest to make a room for Nugget we had to first make room for all of our stuff that was in Nugget's room. This included a big trip to what I think is the happiest place on earth...Ikea!

Dufda actually promised me this trip for our one year anniversary and it was the best gift ever. I made a whole list online and was prepared to shop til I dropped, which doesn't take veryy long when you are kind of pregnant. So here was my shopping list:

• Closet system for our bedroom
• Crib for Nugget
• Wardrobe for Nugget
• Dresser for Nugget
• Light Fixture for Nugget
• Leaf canopy for crib 

We first picked out the closet system, which was easy because the one we wanted was big and cheap!  We didn't measure anything so we were just hoping that they had the one we wanted.  Then we went down to the self service area in Ikea where all the little baubles and goodies are, as well as the children's section.  Dufda had all of the sudden wanted new dishes.  I totally agreed with this purchase since our set is from the thrift store and for 56 pieces cost me all of $14.99, don't get me wrong they are awesome dishes but if he wanted new ones I figured he should get new ones.  Dufda wanted white dishes and I agreed on new ones if they were black or brown, since nothing in our home is white.  I put the black in my cart and we proceeded.  Dufda did not let up on the white, so I have been trying to embrace this new philosophy of "Does it really matter?"  So in keeping with this I told him to go get the white, because does it really matter if our dishes don't match.  Now, I have developed this sense of control from my mother who not only matches everything but also changes her entire house with the season.  In the end, wanna know what dishes we got?  None!  Dufda said we will tackle this the next time we are there.

Next we came upon window coverings.  Another item not on our list.  Ikea naturally though had this window system that was just amazing and Dufda and I both agreed to we need it for our sliding door.  We were trying to figure the system out with no measurements, but the estimates that I was concocting in my head.  We needed like 6 rails and a ton of accessories and attachments, not to mention the fabric.  It was going to be a whole mess, so this along with the dishes will have to wait until next trip.

I believe we have finally at this point arrived at the wonderful land of Ikea Children's.  We came upon the lighting first.  I wanted a big sun for the light fixture, but was willing to compromise for the one with the blue clouds.  Dufda hated them all.  He insist we can find a better one cheaper.  The light fixture was $24.99, there isn't anything cheaper than Ikea!  Next was the argument regarding the leaf canopy I wanted, as you guess Dufda found this completely unnecessary.  I was buying that freaking leaf no matter what though.  Finally we got to the furniture!  The set that I have had my heart set on, was being discontinued so I didn't know if they were going to have it.  We saw it in the girl color, but not the boy and I got a little sad.  After waiting what felt like hours for someone to come help us, we were able to find our crib, dresser and wardrobe. Yay! I can't wait to put it all together!

Now everyone knows what comes last at Ikea: You have to pick up all your own furniture.  Poor Dufda is stuck with a pregnant wife you can't lift anything.  I called a time out at this point and ordered him to go outside and take a break and come back refreshed, so that we could continue to enjoy our shopping trip.  Dufda returns and we picked out the pieces that we are able to get in the Ikea store, checked-out, then we had to go pick up the rest of it at the furniture pick up.  This was quite the draining day.  The drive home from Ikea is like 45 minutes, after which I needed a nap.  The van is where all that furniture stayed until the next day.

Nugget's Nursery - Painting Day 2

I was so excited to wake up today to finish this room.  It has been my project that I wanted to complete since Dufda and I got married.  I woke up super early and made Dufda breakfast, this was to put him in a good mood for the rest of the day.  We went to Home Depot to pick up the paint and we also picked out the color for the nursery.  This was up to Dufda since I picked out the color for the bedroom.  He picked a nice yellow that I think will work well and grown with Nugs.  I figured I would just paint this wall by myself because the space was small.  Dufda left to help my mom out and I got to finishing the room.  When he came home the room was done and it looked wonderful!

I love the green and brown!  Now it was time to clean everything up and to decorate.  I had ordered some things that I am waiting for, so I will put up a completely updated picture after it is done.

I love it!  The comforter is in the wash but it matches perfectly!  Curtains will be added as well.  Now that this bedroom is completed, we are able to install a closet system in the front of the room to clear our Nugget's room.  More to come!

Painting Day 1 - Nugget's Nursery

I thought I could finish the bedroom in one day.  I would have been able to pre-pregnancy, but painting is super hard with Nugs pushing on my bladder and making my back feel like I just fell from a three story building.  The first step in painting this room was to repair the wall where I had displayed all my Barbies.  Yes, I was a super cool 20-something year old that collected Barbies, and displayed them in her room.  That was until they all got stolen.  These Barbies were held up with wooden dowels.  These had to be removed and the holes needed patched.  I started this process that night before because the holes were literally like filling the ones my dogs dig to China, never ending.  Luckily, when I went down to the obstacle course that is my garage, I found the paint that was used to paint this room so I didn't need to buy new stuff to cover the patches.  Our garage is currently over taken by baby stuff that needs to be moved into this room as soon as it is finished.  Anyway, here is a before that was taken with the Barbies in place and the after.

The Barbies covered the wall

All Gone!

The next step was to tackle the ceiling.  At the ripe old age of 19, I thought that putting pink and green polka dots on the ceiling would be a fantastic idea.  It didn't matter then, but when you throw a husband into the mix, Tink Pink isn't the best color for your bedroom. 

Look at that beauty of a ceiling!

All Gone!

 That was covered with a nice coat of bright white paint.  I never realized how not white our ceiling was.  My furnace had a smoke fire a couple of year ago and the house was never completely restored.  The bright white makes it so much more open.  Now onto that pink wall!

Yay for being pregnant and painting.  This mask was so hot and I just had to breath my hot breath in again and again.

I was pretty nervous to get rid of this pink paint.  I had no idea how many coats it would take, so we primed the wall first and then used Glidden Duo Paint + Primer.  We had to test the color first, which made this a two day project.

No more pink!

Do you like the color?

As soon as I put the sample on the wall I loved it!  I think it matched the curtains perfectly!  This is where we stopped for the day.  We had to create a bed on the floor out of couch cushions because the room smelled so bad.  This was probably the most uncomfortable way to sleep for a pregnant woman.  On to the finish project....

Nugget's Nursery- Built in Desk back to Closet

This weekend I really started to make room for Nugs.  I needed to clean our room anyway, so I just went all the way and started some remodeling.  We had a built in desk that used to be a closet in our bedroom.  We never used it as a closet because we have that huge room that is holding all of our clothes. 
 
Step 1: Clear out the desk.  I realized I should have taken a before picture, but just take my word for it, it was a disaster.

The wood along the bottom held the desk part.  That has now been recycled into a shelf to hold our extra pillows and blankets.  I tried to unscrew the boards, but when Bill installed them, he made it for life.  I then had to remove all those stickers that I thought were so cute when I put them up.  It was a pain in the butt, my shoulders are still sore this morning.
 
Step 2:  Hang clothes

 
I have lots of different closet pieces to steal from the other room, I just had to find the ones that fit.  I started to steal a rod and it ended up being to short, so I had to take the longest one we have.  We installed it, then added the shelf right above it.  This actually holds much more than I originally thought.  Now there is still a ton of wasted space.  With a two bedroom house, I am not allowing wasted space anymore.

Step 3: Add more storage

So we stole some shoe storage and shelves from next door and made our own little closet system.  I utilized all the space above to store the millions of blankets and pillows we have.  Now this is not any where near all of our clothes, but it sure took away a good portion of them.  The next step is to paint and then we are going to purchase a closet system to hold the rest.  Dufda was very surprised at how much we were able to fit and organize in this little space. 

After making this closet all day, I realized that I can no longer go like use to.  I could barely stand up my back hurt so bad.  I was getting out of a chair like I was 40 weeks pregnant instead of just 16.  A nursery should just be put into your house the second you are married, I bet it would be a lot more fun to make then.

Nugget's Nursery - The Beginning Stages

This week I was talking with my great friend Bri  and we had this conversation:

 Me: "You know when we were younger, I felt people our age really had their shit life together by now."

 Bri: "I think you have done a really good job at getting your life together."

Me: "Umm really?  Because we are having a baby and we don't even know where we are going to put this thing wonderful bundle of joy."

So why am I telling you about some meaningless conversation that Bri and I had?  Well because it has to do with little Nugget's nursery!  As I was sitting in work on Wednesday, I came to the conclusion that I needed to make a nursery.  I then had to text Dufda to let him know what will be happening in our house.  This annoys the crap out of him, but I make most decisions like this.  He said "O.K," but we will see what happens when we actually have to start remodeling.  We were originally going to make the closet in our room into a crib space.  As seen here on Pinterest from apartmenttherapy.com:

Regardless of what we do, our baby will be living in a "closet".  This subject has been brought up by several people so far.  Dufda and I currently live in, what I refer to as, a one bedroom, one closet house.  When I moved into this house at the ripe old age of 19, my thoughts were not to make it suitable for family living, but instead to make it suitable for a 19 year old who has far to many clothes and a whacked out sense of color combinations.  This is all my mother's fault.  Growing up, my rooms was red, white and blue back till I remember.  I don't know if I chose this, but I grew to hate it.  Before that it was decorated in dinosaurs due to sharing with my older brother.  When I had my own house to decorate I wanted to make it fit my style, so this is what I created in what should have been bedroom #2.

It is a little bit excessive.  Dufda has only the far left corner, so he is definitely not the problem.  I made a huge step last week and went through my clothes and shoes.  This produced three bags of clothes and one bag of shoes for my super cute cousin and definitely the best dressed member in our family, Hilary.  I felt like the time where you don't really fit into your clothes and you feel fat and nasty during pregnancy was a perfect time to preform this task to yield a higher clean out.  I still have way to much stuff, most of which I do not need.  So what should I do to make this room into a nursery?  Recommendations are greatly appreciated!