Ear Piercing update

I thought I would wait a couple weeks following Lily’s ear piercing to give updates.  Everything is perfect!

Our experience at Skin Dimensions could not have been better. We arrived for our scheduled appointment at 2:30 pm. Upon walking into the shop we were immediately greeted by the staff and made to feel very comfortable.  Two young girls and their mother were just wrapping up following their ear piercing.  The girls couldn’t have been happier and were all smiles with their new earrings.

We were introduced to our artist Claire Mondor, who is an incredible bundle of energy and so professional. Claire took us to her room which is a children’s delight, full of pink and Disney characters everywhere.  Claire took the time to talk me through the process, and she is obviously very experienced with infants and children.  She was so engaging with Lily.

Lily right after she got her ears pierced

First she disinfected Lily’s ear lobes and marked where each ear will be pierced.  She confirmed with me that I was happy with the placement.  Claire then asked me to hold Lily’s head.  The purpose of this is not because it is so painful she needed to be restrained, but because a child’s natural instinct is to move their head to see what is going on.  Claire let me know as soon as the first one was done, turn Lily in the other direction and we’ll do the second right away and then I was to immediately exit the room.  I thought the exit part was unusual, but now it makes sense.  As soon as we left the room, Lily was fine.  Her focus was changed and all was good in the world.  Claire made a point of showing me the disposal of the single use needle, further demonstrating the professionalism and care. It took me longer to take of Lily’s snow suit than it did to get her ears pierced.

It was such a great experience, and I am sooooo happy we chose to do it.  We have had zero issues, Lily’s ears even never got red or puffy. Frankly she probably doesn’t even no.  It didn’t disrupt her sleep or the fact that she likes to lay on her side.

I highly recommend seeing a professional like Claire.  It was the right decision for us.

 

 

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Project Nursery Underway

Well February is just days away, and this week I have finally got around to working on the nursery for Lily. Yes, she is 6 months old so it seems odd that she wouldn’t have her nursery complete yet.  There are a couple of reasons for that actually. Firstly, with adoption you really shouldn’t do a nursery before the baby is born, and then you have a 21 day period after placement where the adoption can be reversed.  So this means we held off.  Then in the first 6 months, they are generally in a bassinet anyway.  During the week, Lily and Rob sleep in the guest room, which allows me to get the sleep I need to function at work. Little girl has definitely out grown her bassinet now and is ready to transition.         

When planning her nursery I have learned along the way;

• Create a room that easily transitions as they grow, and develop their own tastes. This is really important.  It helps you avoid having to repaint and do a full redecoration because you went “too specific” or “too infant themed”. My initial thought was to paint Lily’s room pink.  However, I’m applying the same principle you should with your

  

  The colour palette and vibe of this image was my jumping point for Lily’s room

  living room or other spaces.  Pick a great neutral base, and then pull your colours in with accessories etc.  In Lily’s room I’m taking the basic builder box bedroom and adding a wainscoting in white around the room, and painting the upper portion of the walls in a light neutral grey.   Then will pull in the pink with art, accessories, bedding etc.  This will allow the room to read pink now, but if in three years she says “Daddy I hate pink”. I just swap out the bedding and accessories and voila.

• Buy  a good quality 4 in 1 crib. This was one of the best purchase we ever made. For Conor we went with the Jonesport Crib by Westwood, in cloud grey.  It transitions to various crib heights, then a toddler bed, day bed and finally a double bed.  We bought the conversion kits at the same time as the crib and simply stored them. It is a heavy durable quality bed that he will use for years to come.

  

  I liked the simple lines of the Davinci Autumn 4 in 1 from WestCoast Kids

  In fact, having the conversion kits on hand allows for the spur of the moment ideas like the past weekend where I sent Rob off to buy Conor a double mattress and box spring and we converted him to the super big boy bed!  For Lily we have chosen a great 4 in 1 crib from Westcoast Kids.

 

• Furnish the room with what you will actually use and avoid the furniture pieces that look cute but won’t be touched.  With Lily we don’t have long middle of the night feedings or lengths of time trying to rock her back to sleep. This kid, similar to Conor pretty much is out for the night and wakes up around 9:00 am.  While it would be super cute to put a glider or rocker in her room, it would never be used and just gather space.  Some people told me they never use their change table.  We absolutely do, and couldn’t function without it.  So my recommendation is think about what your routine may be, and don’t invest in really large purchases until after baby is born and you get into your routine.  It is much easier for you to get the glider or rocker once you know it is something you’ll use.

I plan to have Lily’s room complete this weekend. I’m really excited to reveal it, as it is coming together nicely.  I’ve been pinning inspiration for months and completing some DIY projects, and the thing that I’ve impressed myself the most with.. I used a brad nailer, saw and did my own construction!!!  Reveal to come!