To Celebrate the Royal Baby!

In case you didn't know. I was one of those people on baby watch on Monday as soon as I heard the news that Kate Middleton was in labor. Was it going to be a Prince or a Princess? I thought (or maybe I thought it would be cute) for them to have a little Princess but I was wrong. His Royal Highness George Alexander Louis was born later that day!

To celebrate his royal birth I created a gift guide over at The Shopping Mama!

It's full of posh and stylish baby gear and gifts.

Check out these "gifts fit for a prince". I'm sort of in love with them and want them for my own little prince!

And of course little Prince George is just precious and I hope Will and Kate are settling into parenthood  over these first few weeks.

Reflections on this Pregnancy

I haven't shared a lot about this pregnancy on my blog. 

I haven't posted ultrasound pictures, dear baby letters, maternity wardrobe photos, or even shared bits and pieces of his nursery yet.

In a way, this surprises me. 

While we are beyond excited and giddy with his impeding arrival, there has been some worrying too. Some fears. Some concerns. I've kept it all close to my heart.

I find it curious that people have asked me if this baby was planned...like I'm over 40 or working on my 11th child. I answer a simple yes with a smile, but in my heart I want to say you will never know how long this baby has been planned for, waited on, and dreamed of. You will never truly know the struggle and heartache we have been through to get to this point. So yes, this baby was most definitely planned. 

2012 wasn't an easy year.

Autumn wasn't the best season.

2013 started out rocky.

June was a bit of a struggle.

July is teetering back and forth.

And with it all I guess I've taken a step back and needed time to process it all instead of immediately sharing it all here. Some of it I didn't (and still don't) know if I was ready to put into words. I'm not sure if I'm waiting until the delivery and then will breath a sigh of relief and share our story or if I'll just be glad to be through it and make it part of the past.

Sometimes people who you are close to shock you by their words and actions. And you think to yourself if that person, that I was so close to responded that way, how would people who don't really know me react? Would they be supportive? Or would they be negative? What comments would they have? Could I handle it?

So for now, I've decided to keep it private.

We are so blessed and can't wait to hold our little love. We love you baby boy!

*I am currently 32 weeks pregnant. This photograph was taken last week in Sardinia at sunset by my wonderful husband. I was 31 weeks pregnant.

Hello Third Trimester!

This past weekend I hit my 28 week mark. This means I'm officially in my third trimester with this Little Mister! Hooray! It's exciting to be here again and I'm starting to really look pregnant and I love it!

What's going on with baby?

He is measuring 30 weeks and his heart-rate is 144.

He is growing a lot lately and starting to add some fat so he'll have those cute baby cheeks! His eyesight is developing and he will start being able to see the light filtering through the womb. He's also been getting to taste to foods I've been eating and his sense of smell is developing. Billions of neurons are developing in his brain right now! He's about the size of an eggplant according to the bump. He weights around 2.5 pounds and measures between 13.6 to 14.8 inches from head to heel!

What's going on with Mommy?

It's been sunny and hot this week. By hot I mean in the 90's which has been just horrible. Not to mention the fact that (most) houses in Germany don't have air conditioning and I've been a bit miserable! Other than that I've actually been feeling my best lately. Some of my other pregnancy complaints have gone away. We've had a few bumps in the road but my doctors are monitoring me and all is still on track. I still wake up to pee several times a night and have been having noticeable Braxton Hicks since at least 16 weeks. Some days are worse than others but I've been trying to rest a lot and drink lots of water.

What's going on with big sister?

She's still SUPER excited! She loves to shop for baby - whether it's a new cute onsie or a rattle, she wants to buy it. She happily helps me around the house, especially picking things up off the floor that are harder for me to reach now. She loves rubbing my belly, reading and singing to her brother, and feeling the kicks. She is always talking about all the things she's going to teach him and help him with.

More Nursery Inspiration

I am having way too much fun working with The Shopping Mama and finding fun, funky, modern, and precious pieces that would work for a nursery. I recently created a Colorful Nursery Board and a super sweet Aqua and Elephant Nursery Board.

I discovered that I loved this sweet modern color combo and even though it could be gender neutral I feel a pull towards boy on this one. To see more and shop the goodies in this board click here. I love those elephant touches and I already bought one of these lovely items!

These fun colors would really pop for a funky baby nursery! I really love that multi-colored rug and of course that modern crib is so hip. For more info about this nursery board click here. Babies will love to grow and play in a room this fun!

And in case you missed it I also share my other nursery inspiration boards on the blog a few weeks ago. Be sure to check them out too.

Naming a baby in Germany

Choosing a name for a baby is a big deal. I mean it's what they will be called for life. That's huge, and scary, and can be overwhelming at times. Some people use classic family names that have been around for generations while others choose something more unique and trendy. There are the people that know the name they are going to use before they are even pregnant, and some people wait until they meet their child before choosing a name. 

Whenever people find out you're pregnant everyone wants to chat about baby names. Everyone has their favorite names or names they absolutely hate. Everyone has an opinion.

Thinking about nicknames, initials, meanings behind a name, all of those things are things you think about when talking baby names. Naming someone for life is hard.

And  if you have older children, you have to worry about how it will sound along side each other. Do they sound nice together? Because, let's face it, you'll probably be saying them together a lot, calling them for dinner, talking about them in general.

But, if all of that isn't stressful enough, in the USA you can name your child pretty much anything you want, but imagine if you lived in Germany and had to deal with baby-naming laws.

Yes, you read that right. 

Germany has laws on baby-naming! 

You better think twice before naming your Junge (boys) and Mädchen (girls)

I know you are wondering what these restrictions are and here are some of them:

• Names must be gender specific, except for Maria which can be used as a second boy's name.


• Names must follow order and decency. 


• No biblical names with negative connections or negative names in general  (Cain, Lucifer, Adolph)


• No names of products or brands. (Nike, Apple)


• A child can have up to 5 names, but only 28 characters in a name. 


• Surnames can not be used as first names.


• No geographical names. (Berlin, Paris, River)


• No titles of nobility. (Princess, Duke)


• No names that will “negatively affect the well-being of the child.”
  

Here are some interesting facts I found when researching this:

Huckleberry was turned down because the character Huckleberry Finn was an outsider in the Mark Twain novel.

Miatt was denied because it wasn't known whether or not it was male or female.

The name Whoppi (to honor Whoppi Goldberg) was denied because of the expression "making whoopee". 

Your name has to be approved by the office of vital statistics, the Standesamt, in your region. Each name you submit costs a fine. If you name is denied, you can submit a new name for another fee.

So what DO Germans name their children?

My landlord told me two popular boy names now are Max and Otto. Seems right.

I also found boy and girl name lists for the top 5 German names in 2012.

Boys:

1. Luca

2. Maximilian

3. Alexander

4. Paul

5. Ben

Girls:

1. Sophie

2. Marie

3. Maria

4. Sophia

5. Mia

Pretty average names huh? 

Luckily, for our family, none of these baby naming laws are a problem because we don't fall under these restrictions. We get to pick a name that suits us and our family without having to check with the local law. And for now we're still debating. Like I said, it's hard naming someone for life. But, we think we have it down to 2 names. For now we're keeping them under wraps.

So, would you have a problem with name restrictions? 

Would a name you love be denied? 

Or do you think naming laws are a good idea?

Resources: gfds.de,  babble.com, bbc.co.uk, huffingtonpost.com, about.com

MY Nursery Inspiration Boards

I'm 26 weeks pregnant (as of yesterday) and I've started to think about designing the nursery for this new little bundle. I'm so excited to be sharing what I've been doing on the The Shopping Mama lately. 

I've been having so much fun searching the internet to create these unique nursery inspiration boards.

Richard really loves this space and exploration themed nursery I came up with. Green, orange, grays, and blues and lots of rockets and stars pull this all together. I love the modern rocker and crib too! If you like this nursery board, see more about my starstruck baby inspiration board here. There you can find all the links to the goodies I've featured in this dream nursery.

This was the first one I came up with. Rustic, warm colors with some cute forest critters and you've got a woodland themed nursery for your little one. Seriously how cute is the plush fox and that mushroom lamp!? If this is more your fancy, you can find out more by checking out my woodland friends inspiration board. All the links to these warm and cozy nursery decor can be found there.

Pregnancy Patrol

I live with the pregnancy patrol. Yep, that's what we call our four year old who feels like she's in charge. She can be pretty bossy at times and now it's double the fun now that I'm pregnant and she is always being on the lookout for me and baby brother.

Here are some of the conversations we've had around here lately.

 I give you The Pregnancy Patrol.

--------------------------------------------

(At dinner, I couldn't eat all of what I dipped)

Me: "Ugh, I'm full"

Ariana: "Well even if you aren't hungry, you still need to eat so your baby can grow up."

+

(Driving in the car doing errands and she's getting mints out of my purse in the backseat)

Me: "Can you pass me a mint tic-tac, please?"

Ariana: "I don't think you should have one, mint isn't good for babies."

+

(Me commenting on my growing belly one night to Richard)

Me: "Oh my belly button is starting to feel weird.

Ariana: "BECAUSE YOU'RE PREGNANT!"

+

(While shopping for baby clothes, Ariana pointing out an outfit)

Me: "No, let's don't buy that one, I don't think it's very cute."

Ariana: "Mommy, that's because boy clothes aren't as cute. We just have to buy it anyways."

+

and finally I hear this all the time. Randomly. All the time. It makes me laugh.

Ariana: "That's not good for pregnants"

I should state that the way she says pregnant sounds more like preg-ah-nents. It's all hilariously funny to me and I'm happy that she's so sweet and wants me to stay safe and healthy, although sometimes a mama just wants to do what a mama wants to do. 

(photos from our backyard on Mother's Day, 23 weeks pregnant)

Baby's First Blanket

When we found out we were pregnant, I knew I was going to want to make some things for this baby. I waited to find out if it was a boy or a girl before I started anything.

My first project that I've completed is this crocheted baby blanket.

I found these gorgeous and soft yarns at our BX one day and knew these were the colors I wanted. 

They are Red Heart Soft Baby Steps in Baby Blue, Baby Green and White.

I bought 2 skeins of each color, 6 skeins of yarn total and used it all.

I did a simple single crochet using all three yarns at the same time using a large size P crochet needle. The effect was really pretty and created a really bulky warm blanket for our September baby.

It came together pretty quickly when I actually had time to sit down and crochet it (usually while I was catching up on some of my favorite shows. Anybody else love Scandal!? Addicted! I have 2 more episodes left.)

It ended up being pretty large, measuring 52x42 inches but it's perfect.

 I can't wait for our little boy to be snuggled up with it!