Update: The Nursery and the Next Quest!

On October 8, 2012, our baby girl arrived, screaming her head off. Lucky for her, I was better about finishing her nursery than I was about sharing progress on the blog. Here are some photos of how it all turned out!

 The crib, complete with home-made balloon mobile.

Home-made roman shades, rocking chair, and "Gladys" the goose/nightlight, who lived in  my room when I was little. The chair hasn't been reupholstered yet, but the peanut loves the navy and white pattern so much that I'm not sure we'll be using our nice green fabric after all.  Those roman shades were the biggest PITA on the planet, largely because they needed to be very square and precise and I was using subpar tools (rusty Fiskars and a carpentry measuring tape, as it turns out).  If I ever make roman shades again, I will use a rolling cutter and a measuring mat like the pros.  But I'll never make roman shades again, so that's a moot point.

Diaper changing area. The two pieces of art on either side of the shelf were given to us by talented family members. On the shelf is a jar of advice and wishes that baby shower guests wrote for the peanut.

The peanut herself!  This photo was taken when she was very new - I know this because she can bust out of blanket swaddles in three seconds flat now. 

Gladys, holding down the fort.

The next quest is baby-related so if you don't care about babies, you can tune out for awhile.  We decided to use cloth diapers to save some money and some landfill space but, like so many, were nervous to make an investment into a stash of diapers only to find out that they didn't fit right or were hard to wash or something.  There is plenty of information online about cloth diapers but everyone is so devoted to their particular brand for their particular reasons that it's tough to translate the advice.  We had some regular old prefolds and covers for the newborn stage but the peanut is growing like a weed and doesn't fit into her newborn diapers anymore.

Enter a local business, the Diaper Lab, which runs an awesome "Experiment to Own" program.  For $35, you get 8 brand new diapers, a diaper pail liner, and several samples of cloth-diaper-friendly detergent to try out for two weeks.  At the end of the two weeks you return the diapers you don't want (which they clean/sanitize and sell at a discount) and keep what you do want.  (More information on the program here.)

So get ready. This quest will be useful for those of you considering cloth diapers and for those of you who want to see some funny photos of our baby in her diaper.  She'll be embarrassed about this in middle school, but it's all in the name of questing!!

((Important note: If you know us, you know the peanut's name. Though we will be showing you photos of her in her diaper, we will not be sharing her name on this blog. Call us crazy. That said, if you comment (please comment!!) please don't use her name. Thank you!))