Home Reno

Playing with leaves in new snow suit (yes, it really is that cold)

Our condo looks like a daycare. At least what I imagine a daycare would look like, as I have never stepped foot in one. I really don't know how or when it happened. While I was pregnant with baby #1, I made sure to buy only non-primary-coloured toys and furniture. We did not paint her room, and bought mostly neutral clothing and toys.

But as I look up from my laptop, I see only primary colours. Our living room area rug, a neutral ivory colour, has long been replaced by blue and green foam floor tiles. The area rug was replaced after a failed attempt at having it cleaned by a professional carpet-cleaning company. The area rug, once pristine, needed cleaning after multiple spit-ups by the Brat. Rather than replace the rug right away, we opted for a temporary measure until she stopped spitting up. She hasn't spat up in over 12 months...yet the foam tiles are still very much a part of our living room playroom. Additionally, there are quite a few bright-coloured toys in our living room. There is a rocking horse; actually a rocking ladybug which the Brat loves, in bright yellow and red. It was a gift. Our arm chair is covered in teddy bears. Three to be exact, plus one plush puppy dog. At least they are neutral-coloured. Most of them were gifts as well.

Initially, I transferred most large and primary-cloured toys to my mother's house, where the Brat spends on average one day per week. And at one point, I must have realized that we could not transfer everything over there, and the Brat's belongings started accumulating in our home. First it was just a few items, but somehow, they seem to have taken over almost every room in our condo. With the exception of the bathroom, the kitchen and our bedroom, the Brat's imprints are everywhere. While I realize this is usually what happens when you have kids, I have a plan to better organize her belongings. To banish a child and her belongings to one small area of a home is both unrealistic and selfish, but this does not mean that your children's play things cannot be incorporated into your home with style.

I have had this plan for sometime, but this week, it finally took shape. The first part of the plan was to transform the Brat's room. Until this week, her room was part office, part baby nursery. Against one entire wall, custom office furniture resided. Against the opposite wall, we somehow managed to fit her crib, the glider chair and a small table. Her dresser was up against a third wall, right around the corner from the doorway. The fourth wall is taken up by an eight-foot high window. The office furniture was stained dark, in contrast to the baby's bright white furniture. The room was a definite eyesore, and I am grateful to our friends who, this week, picked up the office furniture. The Brat had also learned to climb atop the desk via the swivel chair, making the room off-limits. Her room, now bereft of the office furniture, looks spacious. Her crib (now a toddler bed) and dresser are against the same wall, opposite the glider chair (sadly we still have to rock her to sleep, but that's another story).

The second part of the plan was to set up a shelving unit in her room against the same wall as the glider. This shelving unit would house her many toys, books, and other odds and ends. I had scoured countless home decor magazines and websites, and finally came across a very affordable shelving unit. Actually two units as to take full advantage of our 10 foot ceilings. This would allow her toys to be better organized, all the while leaving room in the centre of her bedroom to play.

Here is a photo that I cam across on one of my favourite websites,  www.ohdeedoh.com. The baby's room is certainly not as spacious as the room depicted in the photo, but we will be installing one 4 x 4 (cubbies) unit, and bolting a 2 x 4 unit above it (in the photo, there are actually 4 shelving units). We will additionally be topple-proofing the unit. We purchased part of the unit last night, and brought the other unit home today (as only one would fit in the car at a time), and we will hopefully be building the unit this week-end.

Inspiration for our shelving unit, expedit from Ikea

The third part of the plan involves working on our common space. We have a very nice open-concept common area, including our kitchen which is bordered by an island, a dining room, and the living room. we have already incorporated a few items for the baby into the common space. There is a small table with two chairs at the end of our kitchen island, and between our kitchen and dining room, there is a non-primary coloured play kitchen (although, not surprisingly, she still prefers playing with our kitchen). With the new shelving unit in place, a lot of her toys currently residing in the living room will find a new home, even though we expect that she will be bringing them into the common space to play with during the day. Additionally, a few weeks ago, we ordered a smaller dining room table to replace our very large current (square) table that is rarely used, thus freeing up some much needed space. In the corner of our dining room, we will be setting up a small corner office with floating shelves as to keep the floor space clear, and to which we will transfer the many items from our old office that are currently in storage. I have yet to reach the carpenter for this project, but I keep telling myself we cannot do everything at once. And lastly, this week, I ordered carpet tile samples from an American company in the hopes of finally replacing our current green and blue foam tiles in our living room.

I find myself excited at the prospect of this mini-home renovation. Although months ago, I did ask myself if it wouldn't be easier to simply move to a larger home. We have quite a few things in storage at the moment, and have given away a number of furnishings to transform our home into a family home...yet at the moment, I think it makes most sense to stay put. No doubt we will be re-evaluating the situation once Brat #2 arrives...

Transitions

BB smelling new bouquet of flowers

I have been thinking a lot about transitions lately. For instance, when will our baby be ready to transition from bottle to cup? While she drinks regularly from a straw and can expertly use a sippy cup, she still drinks a bottle of milk before bed, and upon awakening. When will she transition from diapers to using a potty consistently? When will she stop pointing and start telling us what she wants with actual words?

This last week, one of my queries was answered. Surprisingly early. I had been wondering when she would transition from her crib to a toddler bed. Prior to baby #1's birth, we had purchased a 3-in-1 crib unit. It started off as a small bassinet on wheels for the first three months of her life, and with the addition of side rails and minus the wheels, transformed into a crib up until recently. We thought that surely she would use her crib until at least age 2. Then just this last Monday, our active, fearless baby stealthily climbed out of her crib. My husband was playing with her in her room at the time. But she happily repeated the feat in my presence. That night, we placed large cushions around her crib, and checked on her multiple times. 

On Tuesday, I purchased the toddler bed conversion kit, and my husband installed it the same day. She seemed pleased with her new bed, and climbed in and out several times during the day. Her first night in her new bed, she slept soundly all night, and called for us at around 6:15 the next morning. The second night went equally well, but when she woke up a little before seven in the morning, rather than call out for us, she climbed out on her own, and walked to our room.  She hadn't slept this well in over one month.

Now if only all transitions could be this smoothly...

Who would have thought...

Baby #1 checking out the pumpkins at a local market

With the outdoor temperatures quickly dropping, I find myself looking for new indoor activities for our active baby. She attends a gymnastics class twice a week, but I haven't found any other regular activities in our neighborhood. We do have a heated pool in our building to which we try to take her weekly, and there is a local library with story time that she seems to thoroughly enjoy.

I have been searching for nearby indoor playgrounds, but have come to the conclusion that Montreal is simply bereft of them. Growing up, I remember playing in malls with designated children's play areas, but after an exhaustive internet search, I have concluded that there aren't any nearby. Finding child-friendly, non-fast-food eateries has also been a challenge.

Then just last evening, we found the perfect kid-oriented restaurant with a play area to boot. It was very unexpected. I had mentioned to my husband that I wanted to pick up a few wall shelves for our bedroom, and suggested that we stop by our local Ikea. It was around dinner time, and I had heard the Ikea had a very affordable restaurant. Within 15 minutes, we had arrived at our destination, and made our way to the cafeteria-style restaurant. The baby's meal came to a mere 1.99$ and included milk. There were plenty of high-chairs, and even a separate eating area for kids with kid-sized furniture. After she had finished her meal of fish and veggies, we headed out to the children's section of Ikea, which was adjacent to the restaurant. There were a number of kid's showrooms, and our active baby spent a good hour trying the swivel chairs, climbing through tunnels and playing with the large variety of toys. After about an hour, we were able to pry her away so that I could show my husband the wall shelves that I had been considering for our bedroom.

On our way out, baby #1 noticed the drop-off play area at the entrance, and seemed intrigued by the plethora of colourful balls. She was approximately 10cm shy of meeting the height requirement though, not that she would have gone in without insisting that one of us accompany her.

Who would have thought that Ikea would be the perfect place to spend an evening with an active toddler? And a 1.99$ meal was our only expenditure!

All Good Things Must Come to an End

Baby reading to her bunny rabbit

Several months ago, my husband announced that their office would be changing locations. But because their new office was not yet ready, he would be working from home for at least several weeks, perhaps even for a few months.

I remember being instantly relieved. Relieved that if I were in a bind with baby #1, he would be there to help out. Well, things didn't work out exactly as I had imagined. What I should have realized was that working from home simply meant busy working in a different location, and not necessarily at my beck and call.

My husband returns to his office away from home this week. As I reflect back on these last few months, I realize that the timing was perfect, and that something good is unfortunately coming to an end. His work from home coincided with my first trimester nausea, and although he could not always be there when I called on him, there were some definite advantages. Sleeping in for starters. As he did not have to be anywhere but in front of a computer for 8AM, I was able to sleep in until 7:45, as he thankfully agreed to take the first shift with the Brat, who typically wakes up at 6AM.

Additionally, I did not have to wait for him to get home from work to relieve me of my baby duties (temporarily, of course). On a few occasions, I strolled down to the local market, and enjoyed a quiet lunch sans baby, as he entertained the Brat. To be able to eat a meal without the Brat pulling on my legs to come and play with her proved to be a pleasant change.

Baby # 1 will also no doubt miss her father being at home. She would often search him out for a cuddle, or insist on kissing him goodbye prior to departing to the park....All good things must come to an end. This proverb dates back to 1374...and amazingly is still relevant.

The half-way point

Who would have guessed that horizontal handles could double as a ladder?!

I had been looking forward to my second trimester ultrasound for some time. First of all it would mark the half-way point of my pregnancy. Which, based on my first pregnancy would coincide with decreasing levels of nausea (oh how I have been looking forward to eating a full meal without gagging). Secondly, I would find out the gender of baby #2.

Not that gender identification is the purpose of this routine second-trimester ultrasound. The ultrasonographer looks for a number of abnormalities, and takes a few measurements, including femur length, head circumference and abdominal circumference. The stomach, kidneys, spine, brain, heart and limbs are identified and evaluated for abnormalities. The ultrasound report includes an estimate of the age of the fetus, and lists any abnormalities that were discovered.

I had my second trimester ultrasound just this last week. I was relieved to discover that there were no abnormalities. The estimated age based on the measurements was very similar to our estimated age. "Do you want to know the gender?" my ultrasonographer asked. While I know a number of couples who chose not to find out the gender, I prefer to be prepared. Especially when the naming process can be so complex....why double the work?

We were told that we would be having another girl. We had been hoping for a boy, but were expecting a girl. Girls seem to run in my husband's family; his brother also has two girls...something about a propensity to donate their X chromosomes...

We had already been discussing names. Here are a few that we like so far:
-Savannah. We were married in the desert by the same name, and like the way it sounds, however it is a very common these days, and it sounds a lot like baby #1's name.
-Scarlett. I have liked this name since I saw Gone With the Wind oh so many years ago...even though the character's full name is Katie Scarlett.
-Alexis. My father's middle name is Alexander, and we would have certainly given this moniker to a son...Alexis is our favorite feminine version of Alexander.

We are certainly open to suggestions...

Baby # 2, name TBD