Hospital Gown

About a year ago, I was looking at some newborn pictures on a high school friend’s Facebook page when I noticed that his wife was wearing a super cute hospital gown. I read on and realized that she had sewn it for herself! So, when I got pregnant this time, I decided I wanted to do the same thing.I looked around a lot of places, but the only pattern I could find (for free) was from Lazy Girl Designs. After using it to make this gown I would highly recommend it. That being said, I did make a few alterations…Instead of the recommended velcro, I used snap tape on the closures on the sleeves. I also added about 4 inches to the length and sewed a sash (not attached to the gown) to belt around my middle -- just above the baby bump. Also, the pattern says to serge/zigzag stitch the edges and fold them over to finish but I made my own contrasting bias 'tape' and used that instead. I also made the neckline a little deeper as it felt too high -- like it would bug me during labor clutching at my neck. And the original pattern includes a pocket to hold wires for a heart monitor or something but since I knew I wouldn't use that, I didn't make it.It was plenty big on me so next time I think I’ll move one of the back ties to the side of the gown so I can close it tightly around my middle. I also recommend painting your toenails in a shade to match as that made it extra fun to look down to my feet while I sat around having contractions 5-10 minute apart. ALTHOUGH, in retrospect, I should have waited until after delivery as they placed my sweet baby girl on my belly right after she popped out and the gown got quite messy.My mom took it home and washed it but I didn’t get a decent picture of it the next day. I think Louisa liked staring at the contrasting pink and white pattern.I also made this matching headband (same fabric as the trim around the neckline/hem) but I didn’t wear it until we took Little Lou home.

Room for Two

Besides the closet, we made a few additions and changes to Rock’s room to make room for his little sister. My original plan for the room included much more red than we ever put in there for Rock. So, many of the new touches (like the nightlight below) bring in this color.Rock’s big boy bed was made by a friend of the family and we added the drawer pulls to match his dresser (just out of sight to the left of this picture). The “R” pillowcase is from Urban Outfitters of all places. I made both the duvet cover (still needs buttons at the top to keep the duvet in place better) and the lumbar pillow is from the upholstered rocker that used to sit in this spot. The 1 2 3 bins are from IKEA and are perfect for hiding random toys.This new print hangs on the wall above Rock’s pillow and is very securely attached to the wall because I am convinced he will try his hardest to bring it crashing onto his head.Rock book collection was rapidly outgrowing the size of his bedside bookshelf so we added this shelf from IKEA next to the door and moved his library there.Across from Rock’s bed is his old crib which will now belong to Louisa. I kept the same bumper and crib skirt that I made for Rock. The curtains are also a relatively recent addition – given to us by Juju from her stash of random treasures.Rock thought she would love this police car so he added it to her crib.The artwork above her bed is also from Urban Outfitters. What can I say? They were having a sale right when I started transforming the room and adding red girly touches! Finally, the Wheel of Responsibility now hangs on their doorway. I bought this before Rock was born but never got around to hanging it.Bring on Baby #2! This room is ready!

Closet Transformation

Way back in January, I began to organize the contents of Rock’s closet and changing table. Up until this point, the closet has been plenty big enough for one kid so I never really organized it. But I knew with a baby girl on the way, we would need a lot of room for accessories/dresses/shoes/etc.If you can look past all the clutter in the picture above, you can see the old shelf. Instead of a bar, these weird shelves with a lip are in all of our closets. This means we can only hang our hangers one way and we can’t use any hanging organizers that loop around a bar.Needless to say, the bar had to go. Using a gift card at Home Depot, we were able to purchase this fabulous closet system.Thankfully I had these two carpenter to “struction” work for me. And thankfully Rock had good outfits for each of them to wear. After many stupid mistakes and frustrations, we finally finished this project! The drawers in the center hold Shin’s current wardrobe. The grey tub holds the outfits she will wear in coming months. Likewise, the blue tub in the center holds Rock’s future wardrobe.On the right hand side of the closet are Rock’s hanging clothes (or should I say costumes?) and a shoe organizer that holds Shin’s shoes and accessories and small toys and extra wipes. The other blue tub holds Rock’s wooden trains and train tracks. Someday soon I want to find a new spot for this and put a laundry hamper in it’s place. On the left side, her hanging clothes are organized by size.The top shelf is actually the original shelf without the front lip (turns out it was really easy to pry off!). We used iron-on stripping to cover the front edge and I was super impressed with how easy it was to apply! So, there you have it. After months or planning, the closet is DONE!