A Space for Felix

 I'm so excited to share with y'all the nursery space that we have set up for Felix.

Most people assume that you can't do a whole lot with the space when you're sharing a room with your baby, but I'm going to prove them wrong.

It was a no-brainer that our nursery theme would be Winnie the Pooh. He's been my favorite forever, and he is classic and timeless. Not to mention there is so much nursery related Winnie the Pooh stuff available! I've also been an avid collector of antique Winnie the Pooh stuff for a few years no so everything fit together really smoothly.

Without being able to put paint on the walls or go completely overboard, my main thought was to do a collage wall and a decal of some sorts and then fill in the space around those two big items. It turned out that his space in our bedroom is a lot bigger, aka a whole wall and a half so I was able to fill in the space with a shelf for books, a bulletin board, and a display for my antique Winnie collection.

I'll start here.

This is my dresser technically, but we have lots of storage in our bathroom so I don't keep much up on top. The tall books, miscellaneous items, and Mickey family ears fit just right! Felix only has two pairs of shoes right now, and I ran out of space everywhere else so they are just going right on top.

 

 

I've collected each of these pieces over the last 10 years. I found the shelf in a lucky etsy sale, it was only $10 but the brand is Lenox so my guess it was originally very expensive. It's safe to say I'm in love with it. 

 

 

The onesie hanging on the wall was our "guest book" from the baby shower. People didn't really get the memo that they were supposed to sign it, but that's ok, it doesn't look too cluttered with ink which may have happened if everyone tried to fit on there.

 

I bought the ears during our last visit to Disneyland. I can't wait to see his little self wearing them.

 

The decal was found on Etsy as well. I agonized over which quote to get, but I think this one fits just right. This pregnancy has set us on a path of surprise adventure. 

I found the canvas prints at the JBF sale last week and the print above is from a thrift store in Redwood City.

 The crib is refurbished from a family near my in-laws cabin in Lake Almanor. It just so happened to be the same brand we were planning on buying brand new!

The quilt was made by Grandma Pat (Seth's mom) as well as the blanket in front. Apparently bumpers are bad, so we don't have one for now...though I still kinda want one. Maybe when Felix is older they will come back to being okay with the baby safety police.

 

Here are some of the stuffed animals he has so far, not too many and nothing gigantic! I'm glad we weren't given anything obnoxiously large at the shower.

 

The wall to the right of the crib is a hodgepodge of things. The shelf originally had the Mickey ears on it, but I felt it was much better suited for books. We got a lot of books as gifts which is awesome! The bulletin board was from a craft faire I did last year, as well as the embroidery hoops. It dawned on me one afternoon that I could make a hidden Mickey from the hoops so I went with that. As Felix collects things that need to be put on the board things can be easily moved around!

 

 

I'm hoping to find a slim standing shelf to put his extra blankets and such. The space is quite small because that's where our closet door opens up to. The nice part is that the door is usually closed the space is usable, but the spring door stopper gets in the way of fitting anything larger there. 

 

The opposite wall is definitely an awkward space. The light switch plates are very awkwardly placed on the wall so my original thought of having my dresser go there wouldn't work, the changing table dresser did though, so I did the collage wall above that. It ended up being a good space to have the changing table fit, yet there is not enough storage in it! 

I wish the changing pad wasn't as long, it only leaves about 1 inch for any kind of changing stuff like baby powder or wipes! I had to move some things around to fit a small shelf above the table that could hold wipes.

We are cloth diapering so we don't need a whole lot of space to hide disposables! We have wet bags for soiled inserts hanging off the side of the table. I'm sure things will be changed and moved as time goes on but it's nice to have a tentative plan for now! Most people say they like to change the baby on the bed but our bed is so low I can't see that being comfortable or easy for me.

 

 

 

I've been collecting these prints from various places. The top left is straight from the Disney animation studio and is layered with three different layers for how the scene was set up! I found the two book pages in different etsy shops and I made the F monogram myself. 

 

 Overall I'm so happy with how it turned out. I'm glad we ended up moving and having more wall space to work with, we all know I love to fill up the walls of my home!

Admittedly, it looks great now but not for long. Not pictured is the foil lining the crib for Penelope so she stays out, or the clothes usually piled up on the changing table, or the rest of the junk that life tends to clutter us with.

This is probably the best it's ever going to look. As soon as Felix actually arrives I'm sure I won't have time to clean it again, or tidy up the the books, or make sure all of the pictures are straight. I'm doing my best to have realistic expectations about motherhood knowing that I'll probably be too busy staring at my boys face rather than cleaning. 

Dear Felix,

Your space is all set up -- but you're not quite done cooking yet. We have about 30 days until your expected to arrive. I'd be ok if you came before that, but only if your healthy and ready.

Your dad and I are busy preparing for you in so many ways. We go to birth classes once a week and are going to be picking out your doctor soon. We try and rest now, knowing you probably will keep us up during most nights.

We wonder about what sports you'll want to play, what your voice will sound like, and when you'll learn to tell bad jokes like you're dad.

I hope your laid back like dad, but passionate like me. I hope you love Jesus, I pray you see the Gospel being laid out for you in our home every day. I hope you aren't afraid to be yourself. I hope you ask for help when you need it. 

I hope you know how much we love you already.

Love,

Mom. 

 

Obama Care Pt 2. -- & Other Ramblings

Welp.
Obama care is making a lot of people around me pretty angry.
I'm not angry yet, just disappointed.
One of my coworkers exclaimed the other day "Jamie, I hate to say it, but I think I'm becoming a Republican".
Her insurance premiums had just quadrupled - and then some. She now can't afford her own health care because of a program that's supposed to make it more affordable.
3 days later and she's still a Republican and I kinda love it.
I definitely didn't anticipate the cost to raise as much as it has, I am shocked by how much the cost of insurance for people who already had it skyrocketed. It's scary to think about the damage this will do to peoples finances.
Will more people have to go without health insurance now because they can't afford the premiums?
Will those who were formerly insured now be the ones forced to be uninsured because of cost? 

Only 16,000 people have signed up so far...will the costs rise higher as more people sign up? We have a long way to go, California.
I saw a statistic a few days ago that showed that there are more people in California collecting welfare than people that are actually employed. That's scary.
And what about the rest of the country? Some states have opted to not expand Medicare & Medicaid, some have chosen to expand, and some have chosen to stay the same. What about costs of premiums of those living in other states? Did we get a proper warning about what this would do financially, or only listen to the blanket statement that this would be "cheaper healthcare for ALL"?

Maybe insurance companies could lighten up on their ridiculous pre-existing condition clauses. I'll never forget the day I got a letter in the mail from my insurance saying that wouldn't pay for a blood test because it was for a "pre-existing condition" that I failed to mention -- that blood test, was the test that showed I was pregnant. Pre-existing by a matter of...weeks, weeks in which I was covered under them. Shame on you, Anthem. Shame on you. You bet I put my caps lock hand writing on and scribbled an angry message back to them -- not only showing proof of previous insurance but proof of their idiocy.

The saga continues, and quite a lot has happened since my previous post on insurance.
Two weeks ago I was under the impression that my insurance (through my mother) would cover my baby up to 30 days after he is born. Long story short, we were "misinformed"....or lied to.
We found out last week that my insurance company has some major training issues -- and that they train their employees to give 25 different answers to the same question.
And if I hadn't pestered for the right answer it could have cost my family $20,000+.

Because of a clause in my policy about dependents and their children  -- baby Van Nuys will not be covered in the hospital after he is born. If they as much touch his little body we will get charged FULL price.
I'm not complaining about the policy itself, I get that it's what we are signed up for.  There is a huge problem with training!  Because I work in a call center where 40+ people must be trained to give the exact same information out all the time I am a little extra sensitive to this issue. I was told 3 times by 3 separate people that the baby would be covered -- only when I called back to get that statement in WRITING was I told that he wasn't covered. What a joke. Now, here I am scrambling at 8 months pregnant trying to get different coverage.

Just as God would cause all things to work out, we found a way for me to hop on Kaiser insurance through my Dad's company and get full coverage now, regardless of my pregnancy. It won't be cheap once baby arrives...but it will definitely be less than $20,000 for labor and delivery, and hopefully we will qualify to get him on Medi-Cal after the birth is said and done. We do technically qualify for Medi-Cal right now, but it is too risky to wait the 45 day processing time and possibly get denied right before I give birth. So, I now have to switch doctors, hospitals, and entire insurance providers -- at 33 weeks pregnant. It is quite the headache. Granted, it could be worse -- I could be 37 weeks...or 38..or 39....or on the way to the hospital in labor when they called and told me he wasn't covered. All is grace.

There are a lot of benefits to this switching of policies and care.
I get to see the new doctor & midwife at Kaiser on Thursday -- and they offered me a whole 30 minute appointment. At my old doctor all I got was 10 minutes, and I waited 45+ minutes every time because every day she is running late.
The hospital is much closer to our house. Compare 30 miles to 50 miles
There are no questions about if the baby will be covered -- we know for a fact that he will be and that is such a huge relief!

---------

There's a lot of other things seeming to be snowballing right now for me.
Even though it is my last week of work (hallelujah) my stress level seems to have skyrocketed.
I've been praying for peace, and God has been gracious. He's been bringing to mind scriptures that I overlook or have forgotten about. He's been giving me friends to pray for me constantly and encourage me when things are tough.
My two besties will be here on Friday which means that all of my cares will be lifted (for a few days at least).

And the question is continuously begged, are you ready?
At the end of the day, we are still no where near prepared to be parents. Reality has not hit yet -- or rather sunk in. The smack came the day that we tested positive, but the sinking in part, we'll see when that comes. I reckon it will happen on the way home from the hospital. My heart rate will gradually rise as we get closer to home, I will have google open on every device within arms reach - ready to hit search when the baby starts pooping, or screaming, or crying, or farting, or laughing, or smiling. God definitely knew what He was doing when He gave me a mom who happens to be a doctor. I've avoided sleepless nights, waiting rooms, and awkward yearly physicals thanks to her, not to mention the doctor bills. Seth and I will sit on the couch with our sleeping babe staring at each other in amazement, much like we did in the moments we drove away from our wedding -- and when he starts screaming we will look at each other with an expression that says...."we can do this, right?"

Don't get me wrong, I'm excited. We're excited. I think we're also a little terrified, and I'm learning to believe that that is ok.
All is grace.