Nesting for Baby #2
It has been a long time since I have posted and I promise I have a good excuse! I’ve been super busy. Yea, yea, everyone is super busy, but lately blogging just has not been my priority as, aside from staying busy with school and dealing with more teething issues, our family has been preparing for baby #2! Yes! Another baby! I am pretty sure my brother’s first comment was, “Already?!” But ready or not, this baby is on its way! I am already 31 weeks along and nesting for baby #2 has been hitting full force.
Nesting for this baby has been different than nesting for the first baby. I don’t need to hit up all the online garage sales or registries as we already have so much baby stuff. There is no nursery to get ready as all the bedrooms in our house are already full! (Baby will be in our room.) So how am I nesting for baby #2? First off, cleaning. Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning! Cleaning is a never ending process with a 15 month old running around pulling out as much stuff as she can as soon as it is put away! Just don’t come to my house, it doesn’t ever look clean!
New Nesting Hobby
But, I can’t clean all day and night, even as much as my nesting tendencies want me to! So I have picked up a different nesting hobby. Sewing! My mom got me a sewing machine for Christmas this year (I think she was sick of me borrowing hers!) and I have been getting good use out of it! My first projects were for baby and Mia, but I have even been able to alter a few of my clothes so they fit better with this huge baby bump!
I am not an expert sewer by any means, but I have been having fun and learning in the process! Buttons, knits and finishing seams are some of the new tricks I have learned in the past couple of months. I have stuck to free patterns and using fabric I have or upcycling clothes that no one wants to wear anymore to keep costs down and cuteness up! Here are the projects I have been doing:
The Izzy Top (and Pants)
My first creation with my new machine was the Izzy Top for Mia. I had some adorable purple and blue lion fabric I wanted to use. I also made her some matching pants from this Bunny Bottoms pattern, but they turned out more like scrub pants because they are made from a woven fabric. She typically doesn’t wear the outfit together, but they are both cute separate! The new trick I learned with these pieces was how to make a buttonhole. (It really wasn’t that difficult!)
Excuse the less than perfect pictures… A one year old is hard to take photos of!
The Snuggler (and Matching Hat)
My second project was more in line with nesting for baby #2. I created a baby swaddle out of receiving blankets. I was given the blankets by a friend and they helped make it super soft! The pattern was free and this tutorial was super awesome in helping to figure it all out. I did shrink the pattern a bit because it was larger than the newborn swaddle I currently had. I want baby to be able to wear it in the hospital!
When I was done, I decided to make a matching hat out of some of the left over scraps. The downside is the fabric isn’t stretchy, so I am not sure how the hat will fit this baby. The bow was a girly touch that is completely removable (it’s safety pined) in case we have a boy. This baby is a surprise!
I was a pro at this pattern by the time I was done because I made another snuggler for the friend who gave me the receiving blankets.
Grow with me Pants (and Hat)
I wanted to make an outfit for the baby to wear home, and I have been hearing all about these wonderful grow with me pants in a lot of my cloth diaper groups. They are sometimes called harem pants or maxaloones. I found a free pattern with a tutorial and I used some fabric from an old maternity t-shirt that no one should ever wear again! I did have to buy some stretchy white fabric from Walmart for the waistband and cuffs. The pants turned out nice, but when I compared them to Mia’s newborn pants, I think they will probably be too big at first. However, baby will be able to grow into them and then the cuffs and waistband can be folded differently so that they will fit up to 6 months.
I decided to try to make a matching hat to go with them, and while it turned out great, I think the whole outfit together kind of looks like an elf. So, I’m not sure if it will ever be worn all together! 😀 I also wasn’t brave enough to try to make a shirt. I just pulled out the onesie I already had from Mia. I thought it matched well!
Valentine’s Day Gifts
My latest project really wasn’t a lot of help with nesting for baby #2, but I had a lot of fun with it. I made Mia’s valentines for her class! I had a bunch of red fabric available and all I had to do was purchase the clips to put the girls’ bows on. The boy’s bowties just used the velcro I already had from making the snuggler. I didn’t really have a pattern, but I used some Pinterest ideas and made them my own. I used this tutorial from The Zurcher Farm the most.
After they were all done, I printed up some Valentines with a cute little Minnie Mouse saying onto some card stock and clipped on the bows. I think they turned out adorable and I loved making Mia wear hers! And, she leaves it in… most of the time!
So, maybe we will be ready for baby #2 or maybe we won’t be! Nine weeks from now he or she will be here ready or not! I have a few other projects I want to try, and maybe I will get to start one of them on this snow day! Or, maybe nesting for baby #2 will lead me to more cleaning and organizing.
Have any other suggestions for projects I should attempt? Or let me know how you nested for your second, third, or fourth babies. Maybe there is something I am completely missing out on! Leave a comment below!
