Now that our friends and family have heard the news, it’s safe to make this announcement here on the blog to my virtual friends. My husband and I are expecting a bundle of joy to join the world in early 2013! The baby is a girl and we cannot be more excited about it.

(Here’s a picture of my sister, the owner of amazing six pack abs, and me, with a pumpkin belly! What a striking difference! )

I was one of the very, very lucky ones who didn’t experience the crazy first trimester symptoms that many women fear. I was always tired and my appetite was reduced to almost half, but other than that, I felt completely fine. As a matter of fact, I didn’t realize that I was pregnant until about my 10th week because I was feeling pretty normal. I guess I quite literally slept through the toughest part of pregnancy!

Life is still as usual at the household, with exception of my husband being extra accommodating to my strange needs. Now that I’m well into my second trimester (I’m about 21 weeks now), my appetite is back to almost normal, and I’ve been eating like there’s no tomorrow. I still can’t eat as much as I used to, but I can easily down a Bean Burrito and a Seven Layer Burrito from Taco Bell in less than 30 seconds!

Because I’m a real cheapo at heart, I’m determined to spend as little as possible during and after the pregnancy. Sure, we’d like to spoil our baby girl rotten, but we want to do that with love and other means, and not with monetary things. I’m all about hand-me-downs when it comes to maternity clothes and other necessities. My sister-in-law was so kind to pass down the clothes she wore during her pregnancies, which I cannot be more thankful. And her taste in clothes is impeccable. They are so much cuter than any of the regular clothes that I’ve ever owned. I’m so lucky.

The news of the pregnancy re-ignited the crafty love inside me, and I’ve been making lists of things to make before the baby’s arrival. The first project I recently completed was the handmade nursing cover. I actually didn’t know what that was until my sweet cousin-in-law (who is also pregnant and due a month after me ) told me about it. My friend calls it a “hooter hider,” which is more than appropriate. (For those of you who are still wondering … this is a cover you put on, like an apron, while you breastfeed your child so you won’t flash your bigger-than-life tatas to the entire world.)

I was a bit hesitant to use up the entire yard of this lovely Amy Butler Daisy Chain Deco Rose Navy fabric (it costs about $10 a yard) but decided to go for it because I knew that this nursing cover will be something that I’ll use regularly and I wanted to be surrounded by my favorite design. It was very simple to make and love how it came out. I used this helpful video tutorial I found on YouTube to guide me through the process.

I think the key to make this functional is to add boning around the neck so that it stays open for you to peek down at the baby during nursing. Also, making the strap adjustable is a nice touch since the baby will grow. I didn’t have the D-Rings so I used the adjustable strap hardware I had for bag making.

More to come!