Crafty, Shiny and a Little Bit Lumpy



Crafty… I spent the weekend making some covers for nursing pillows. I was at the consignment store and saw what appeared to be a twin nursing pillow. It was $12.99 and 40% off. I did not care for the cover on it (kind of a country print, with dolls and things like “Sugar and Spice” written on it, with an eyelet lace trim) but I figured for ~$8 I could just get a new cover, so I got it.

I got it home and look up the manufacturer that was listed on the tab. Turns out the pillow is called a “Nursemate” made by Four Dee Products. Too bad Four Dee Products’ web site has said “One of these days I’ll be back!” since 2005. How do I know this, you ask? Check out the WayBack Machine — you enter a URL and click “Take Me Back” and you can see a long archive of the site over the years. Very cool!

Anyhow, so now I had my no-longer-made pillow and couldn’t find covers or patterns for covers online anywhere, so I sucked it up and took a stab at making my own cover from scratch. I think it turned out pretty darned well, if I do say so myself!

Nursemate Twin Nursing Pillow Recovered

Sorry about the weird camera angle, I was leaning over to try to keep my belly out of the picture (which you can see just a touch of as the pink spot in the bottom left corner).

Seeing as I had a $19 credit at the consignment store (so the pillow was “free”) and I paid ~$6 for the fabric at Wal-Mart, and considering these things retail for $56… I’d say I got a good deal!

Now my friends are so kindly suggesting a make a second, for when the first is dirty. A good idea for sure, but I think I will wait until I feel motivated again. As you will see in a moment, I made two other covers this weekend and am tired of sewing now!

Project two was to make covers for my Boppies (also nursing pillows, made for one baby but can be used also to prop baby up to sitting, etc.). This time, I found a pattern at Economical Baby which was pretty easy to follow.

I got some super soft fabric at Jo-Ann’s that turned out to be a nightmare to work with. The crap shed fabric dust everywhere when I cut it, and the edges kept curling while I sewed. But in the end, I prevailed! Muahahahhahaa.

Anyhow, I got this one all cut out and then got started on the first cover. Too bad I screwed up when I put in the zipper (didn’t line up the bottom piece properly to the top piece) and it took me forever to rip the seam — and not the fabric. Re-did that part and was ready to sew the front to the back, but lined them up wrong and again spent an hour ripping seams. Argh. But, once it was finished, it was pretty good. A little loose on my Boppy, but cute. Skip of course had to torment me and point out it was loose. Better loose than too small!

Today I finished the second one. This time I was better prepared and didn’t make the same mistakes I made with the first one, so it went quickly. Overall, it’s an easy project. Here they are:

Boppy Nursing Pillows Recovered

You can see they are a little loose — I may wash them to see if they snug up. The one on top is upside-down to show off my zipper skills (it’s across the top portion). The pattern on the fabric is little embossed stars.

On to shiny…

My belly is SHINY these days. What’s up with that? In the intro of that show “Jon & Kate Plus 8”, they show her pregnant and rolling over in bed, and I always thought she had saran wrap on her belly. Now that mine is doing it, I wonder if that was just her shiny skin? Here it is… yes, I am in my underwear, yes, I am posting it on the internet, and you know what? I don’t care!

Shiny Pregnant Belly

See that nice shine? I wish I could have really captured it better, it’s all over. You can just see that one part where the light is reflecting off of it. Weird. It goes away when I put my belly butter on, but I wonder if this is my body’s way of letting me know my skin doesn’t go much further and the stretch marks are fast approaching?

And finally… a Little Bit Lumpy.

I’ve got this thing on my gum line, just above my front right tooth. it’s small, white, and hard. I thought it was food stuck there last night, so I picked at it to the best of my ability, and once it was swollen and bleeding, I realized it wasn’t food (duh). Any ideas what this thing might be?

Weird Lump on Gum Line

 

Wow, this post probably had more of me than you cared to see today. Sorry!


12 Replies to “Crafty, Shiny and a Little Bit Lumpy”

  1. Great job on the pillows! You got a great deal and did an awesome sewing job on them all!

    As for the shiney belly, sorry to tell you, but for me that was my indication my skin had stretched as much as it ever would and from then on I got stretch marks. Not what you wanted to hear I’m sure lol! As for the gums, not sure.

    Belly looks great Sommer! Not too long and you’re going to be at the 24 week mark!!

  2. Hey girl,

    Love the belly!! Never knew they could shine that way. Your belly is adorable! :)

    The gum thing looks to be a little bit of gingivitis, which is really common in pregnancy. I would get some viadent and swish it. It really helps!

    You are almost there! And the babies are viable a this point. I am so excited that you are all doing well and the finish line is fast approaching!!

    ((hugs)) Susan

  3. Hee, hee! You’re funny! I posted about the shiny belly on CMoms.

    As for the gum thing by your tooth…I have no idea! All I know is pregnancy can do weird things to your gums.

    But nice job on the nursing pillows! I wish I could sew!

  4. Wow, Sommer…
    I wouldn’t even ATTEMPT anything requiring loose fabric, a needle, and thread. Those three things, put together with me, equal DISASTER. You should be very proud of your covers!!!

    I have never been pregnant and I have been looking at your shiny belly with awe… who knew? I mean, really, WHO KNEW a belly could EVER get THAT shiny!? These are the things you don’t ever hear about. Glad I know in advance, so I don’t freak out!!!

  5. Nice job on the sewing!! I think your belly looks lovely too, though unfortunately I think you may be right about what your skin is telling you. ;)
    No idea on the tooth thing, though being pg can really reek havoc on your gums!

  6. Great job on all of your pillows!!!

    My belly also got shiny before the stretch marks started showing. Luckily that was at the very end so I only got a few stretch marks, but I do remember the shine. I also remember it itching. LOL

    I would swish with Listerine for a few days and if it doesn’t start getting better, then call your dentist.

  7. Very good work on the covers! And as always, an adorable belly!

    I agree that pregnancy does strage things to your gums. My dentist knew i was pg only 3 days after my BFP just from looking at my gums. Hope it goes away!

    Jennifer

  8. Ok….I admit I am a big lurker and am so happy for you!! I just have to commit on the shiny belly, mine did that right before the stretch marks happened. I am about 5’1″ and 110lbs when not pregnant. Here is a belly pic of me with twins at 30 weeks (they are now almost 2!).

    Julie's Belly

    As for the gum thing it is actually quite common in pregnancy and called a bartholins cyst. I had one during pregnancy and it will eventually go away.
    Again congrats!!

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