Where The Wild Things Are…

So a lot of my favorite mamma bloggers have been doing nursery tours lately so I thought I’d share some pictures of Noah’s room. While it may not be as modern or cutesy as many of the others I absolutely love it. I can’t even count the hours we spent working on it. Once it was finished you could usually find me sitting in there at 2 in the morning folding and organizing all of his drawers, dreaming about how this little peanut kicking inside of me was going to change our lives forever. I really never could have imagined this. So here are a few pictures of the room in progress. My friend Liz hand painted all of the murals and my loving hubby did all of the molding and trim work.

Now the arctic animal theme was inspired by the bedding which we both fell in love with. We wanted to do something a little different from the standard safari or sports theme. I’d like to point out that when we chose this theme it was IMPOSSIBLE to find things with whales on them. Now if you buy anything from Carter or Old Navy you will see that whales are every where. I like to think that Noah was just ahead of his time. So here are a few pictures of the bedding.

And finally a few pictures of the finished project. Now you should know that our house was built in the 40’s which is extremely old for where we live. It’s also all of 1,000 square feet and was literally in shambles when my hubs bought it 5 years ago. It has been an endless project since then but this is definitely my favorite room in the house. Here’s the crib,

And this is the view from the door.

Although I love my glider I hate to say I hardly ever use it. I think it’s mostly because Noah sleeps in our room so we’re never really in here.

I have a serious love for children’s books, and as an ex-teacher my son inherited my classroom library.

Since our house is so tiny there was really no room for a dresser. So it is hiding nicely behind these closet doors.

So there it is. I know it’s nothing fancy but I love it and I hope that when Noah is older he loves it to. Right now the room doesn’t get much use but I know that will change eventually.  Oh yeah and this post has made me realize that I REALLY need a new camera that can take decent photos. Mine is ancient and doesn’t do anything for my non-existant photography skills.

I’m Not The Mom I Thought I’d Be

I’m not the mom I thought I would be. I mean I knew I would be a good mom but I didn’t expect this. Before I was a mom I taught preschool. I loved my job. I loved working with the kids and watching them grow, but I did not (usually) enjoy their parents. Looking back now I think I would understand them a lot better now that I’m a mom. I often wonder how I would be a different teacher now Noah is here.

So what kind of mom did I turn out to be? Well, for one I’m extremely attached. I hate to be away from Noah, absolutely hate it. If I had it my way he’d go with me everywhere (which he pretty much does.) I know at some point this will probably change so I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.

I’m a breast feeding mamma. From the beginning I planned on breast feeding but I never thought I would end up being so passionate about it. The first few weeks were incredibly hard (and not to mention painful! Oh the pain!) but I am so glad I stuck with it because I love knowing that I am responsible for Noah’s nourishment. I honestly believe it has been crucial in our bonding experience. (I’m not saying I have anything against formula fed babies. Breastfeeding is not for everyone and I know that but it was the right choice for me.) Noah has only had formula 4 times. One of which was immediately after he was born because his blood sugar was getting dangerously low. The other three times he threw it up. Luckily I haven’t had to try it again and I hope I won’t have to.

I’m a co-sleeping mamma. Before Noah was born I swore up and down my baby would not sleep in bed with me. Then he was born and I was terrified to put him down. I would stay up all night watching him. I literally slept like 6 hours the entire first 4 days he was alive. Although many people thought I should have Noah in his crib or bassinet it just felt right having him sleep with us. I don’t know how else to explain it. Now he is 6 months old and we are beginning to make the transition to his pack and play (which is of course right next to our bed) but he still ends up in bed with us in the middle of the night.

I’m a baby wearing mamma. One of my favorite things is my Moby wrap. It’s great to be able to have Noah cuddled against me while having my hands free.  Although everytime I wear it I can’t help but think of that scene in Away We Go where Maggie Gyllenhaal say’s she doesn’t use a stroller because she doesn’t want to push her babies away from her. Luckily Noah has loved the Moby since the beginning. It sure was a lifesaver when colic struck! Here’s a picture of Noah in the Moby.

I’m a “crunchy” sort of mom.  Okay, so I’m not super crunchy but I’m much more than I ever thought I would be. I’ll admit I used to laugh at my hippy friends and their home remedies and now I find myself researching the effectiveness of things like garlic oil for ear infections. I’m also making my own baby food and loving it. I think it goes back to the whole knowing I’m the one responsible for Noah’s nourishment thing.

These are just a few of the things I wasn’t expecting when I became a mom. But most of all, my hope is just that I am the best mom I can be. Noah’s am extremely happy baby, so I know I’m doing something right.