I'm A Mom

Meet the baby!

He doesn't really look like this anymore. (He got cuter). (And bigger). That's all I have the brain capacity to say right now. Being a mom has been great so far. I feel very content.

Perhaps This Room Will Be Occupied, Someday

Baby K is three days past his due date. My midwife said that she's never seen a baby stay in there forever, but it's starting to feel as if he's permanently encamped in my uterus, with a foot sticking out just over my right rib.

If he does decide to come out, this is where he'll be living.

Yay nurseries!

I love nurseries. They're as close as a regular person gets to playing interior designer, with a dreamily unopinionated client 

The quasi-fox theme started from the bedding (crib skirt, blanket, pillow, changing pad cover), which is the "Woodland Tumble" line from Dwell. I figured we could use that with some of Scotty's nature photos, including the cutest picture ever of a baby fox (below center).

Safety police: no, he will not sleep with the stuffies and/or blankets until he's older; I'm not a monster; I know that the safest place for baby is swaddled on his back, strapped to a piece of plywood in a drafty room.

Obviously, Scott dismisses this photo as "an easy shot," as the kit was eating grapes outside the nature center, but whatever. Then I put a picture of a fox on my baby shower invites, and the fox-themed merchandise started rolling in, each thing more adorable than the last. Mom gave us Mr. and Mrs. Fox up there just last night, and they are the softest little foxes ever.

I didn't even mention the "Henry" cartoon (above left)! Scott's grandpa drew that on shirt cardboard when he was a kid - on Sundays they would copy drawings from the Sunday funnies. The reverse side says "Drawn by Pappy, Colored by Scotty." "Henry" was a real cartoon back in the day. I DIE.

The changing table is a shelf from IKEA, which has caught on to making their furniture in my preferred high-gloss finishes. The idea is that the top boxes with the doors will be for boring utilitarian things, and the bottom cubbies left open for baby to grab books and toys once he's mobile. He'll probably end up ripping off all the doors for sport, but we'll try.

Safety police: the pad is attached by snaps that screw into the furniture.

Below you can check out the Big Brother cam, which is propped up on the fin of a clay fish that I made in second grade.

I should probably change the picture of Dan to one where he's smiling.

And finally, my pride and joy, the Gobbi mobile:

I'll hang the mobile for him to gaze at starting around two months, but for now it can decorate the wall. Hung, the mobile serves two purposes: helping baby distinguish colors, and giving him something to bat at. I really liked the look and purpose of these mobiles, but they run around sixty bucks! Instead I made one out of styrofoam balls, embroidery thread, sweat, tears, and like a week of my life.

Pricewise, it's a high-low room. We spent a fortune on the crib, but I got the fancy bedding on sale, the chair is a hand-me-down from my old boss, and the rug, changing table, shelf, and frames are from IKEA. We got a bunch of the nicer gear - monitor, sound machine, changing pad, crib mattress, etc. - from my baby shower. People were crazy generous.

So yeah, that's it! Baby's room. Did anyone recognize the sweaty dresser?