A new area of focus for me since becoming preggo has been thinking about the nursery. First area of business: Which room will be the bambino boudoir? For those of you who haven’t been to Casa de Brehm, our master bedroom is on the first floor and our little Snowball sanctuary will be on the second floor. I know what some of you are thinking “Are you really going to run up the stairs every time you have to give the baby the boob?”. And yes, yes that is the current plan. (and yes, I also realize that although that is the plan, it may not or likely will not be how it happens) How else would you propose I whittle away the post-baby poundage?
As stated previously, we will not be finding out the sex of Snowball prior to the birth (we figure, it’s either a boy or girl — we feel pretty good about the odds on that) so the nursery will be decked out in unisex decor. Second area of business: How do we choose the decor? In looking on-line and in magazines, people really seem to go all out for rooms that are definitively boy or girl. However, I have checked out the unisex options and let me tell you, there’s a lot of crap out there. As Adam would tell you and most of you know already, I am a bit bananas about the kiddos crib. I have issues with a few things (and this is not to offend anyone who has a room like this for their tyke, it’s just a personal preference):
- I don’t love character-themed rooms. It is highly unlikely that you would peek your head in Snowball’s space and see Winnie the Pooh or Dora characters everywhere. For me, a character-themed room incites the same reaction as a clown does. They’re both just a little creepy. I love characters at Disney World or on television but beyond that, I’m just not that into them. I know what some of you are thinking and I am sure at some point when Snowball has a real name and is 5 or 6, he or she will want to buy shoes with velcro and movie characters on them or perhaps will want a bedroom decked out with something like Cars. This is something we will deal with when it happens and our child can share their opinion with me. Until that point, no character theme.
- I don’t really want animals everywhere. I am not big into cows and ducks and puppies and teddy bears as a whole theme. I cannot explain this aversion, I just know it’s there. This is not to say that I don’t like stuffed animals or any of the aforementioned animals in moderation.
- I just don’t dig themed-out nurseries as a whole… Adam and I both agree, we just want to avoid feeling like we’ve stepped into an episode of Extreme Home Makeover and made the mistake of telling them we like to sing Karaoke and voila! we have a karaoke stage and mic in our bathroom. Themes can certainly be done tastefully it just seems that themed nurseries tend to be overdone.
- The price of nursery decor, furniture, and all the accouterments is absolutely ridic. I have been pining after the Pottery Barn dream glider. Yes, I know it is just a chair but it is truly fantastic. Anyhoo, this chair should be made of gold as far as I am concerned because it has to be the best thing ever to justify the price tag of around $900 dollars for a place to pop a squat. While I understand it isn’t all so terribly offensive in price, it seems like quite a racket.
While I know that in decorating the nursery we will have to have a “theme” or design, I would prefer that it’s not as if the “theme” threw up all over the room. Things we do know about the sleeping spot are:
- If I had it my way, Nate Berkus (the guy on Oprah), Vern Yip (HGTV), or Candace Olson (also HGTV) would land on my doorstep and do the whole room up right.
- We want it to be a room that baby can grow into.
- We will probably have the walls yellow or green (but are always up for suggestions).
- We will definitely make sure the room is nice and dark with darkening shades. (Danielle’s number one suggestion for the room)
- We will have one wall with individual framed pics of each member of our immediate fams.
Other than that… the nursery is really up in the air. Regardless, Snowball will have lots of love to fill the room and everything else will come together.
Today marks the beginning of my 17th week and I am really starting to feel less pregnant (in terms of nausea, barfing, and sleepiness). I didn’t feel the best last weekend and have been experiencing some truly interesting back/butt pain (still, we were able to enjoy seeing my folks, Danielle, Chris and Drew). Adam’s been rubbing my back a lot and we’ve invested in a heating pad (okay, it’s not *really* an “investment” but in today’s economy, isn’t everything a commitment?!) to help the pain subside. I continue to do walking and running 4 to 5 days of the week and am adding more stretching post-activity. If I had to guess why the back pain has surfaced, I would guess that it’s due to the extra cushion for the pushin‘ that’s been developing south of my back.
Snowball has certainly thrown mama Brehm for a loop thus far but even with all of my drama queen diatribe, I love being knocked up. We definitely feel like we are right where we want to be and that is a truly magical feeling. We will keep you posted on the nursery happenings!
A shout out to Papa Brehm for his upcoming 28th birthday weekend!
