Early Potty Learning

The last full day that W was in diapers was September 9, 2013 making him 17 months and 9 days old when he graduated from diapers.  **I don't like the term "potty trained" especially since he is so young; it just has so much pressure along with it.  I just say he's out of diapers when he's awake since he does still wear - and need - a diaper for naps and overnight.**

People are so surprised when they hear that he is out of diapers at his age.  And they either ask me what kind of voodoo magic I used or just attribute it to W being "mature."  I honestly believe most babies could potty train this early if they're given the opportunity to.  If you have a young baby and want to start them on the road to "early potty learning" this is what we did...

I got W a potty when he was about 9 months old.  With BabyDeux I'll probably start even sooner; as soon as he can sit up on his own I'll let him "use" a potty.  When it was convenient for me (as in if I was going to the bathroom, when W was brushing his teeth, when the tub was filling up, etc) I would put him on his potty with absolutely no expectation for him to do anything it was just him getting to sit on a cool new seat with his pants down.

First time on the potty!

I think a key to this is the fact that when I would use the toilet I would bring him with me and put him on his potty.  If I was peeing I would simply tell him, "Mommy is peeing in her potty because she doesn't wear diapers, if you want you could pee on your potty, too" and if I was pooping I would give him the same general explanation.  So he knew what he toilet was for.  It was actually the second day I ever put him on a potty that he pooped!  And I didn't celebrate, I didn't give him a prize, I just said, "wow, you're pooping on your potty instead of a diaper!  What a big boy."  If he went in his diaper  didn't get upset (obviously, he wasn't even a year old yet) I would just simply explain while I changed him, "you peed/pooped in your diaper, I'm going to put a dry diaper on you.  Isn't that more comfortable?"

Within a month he was almost exclusively pooping on the potty.  I rarely changed poopy diapers for the month of February.  It was awesome.

Then we flew home to visit my family at the beginning of March and we both got sick and he was nursing non-stop (so his poop completely changed) and he totally freaked out about the potty.  ::whompwhomp::  I was a little heartbroken, but hey - he could't walk how could I expect him to regularly use the potty?

After that I would still put him on the potty but I never pushed it.  He had sorta lost interest in it.  Then The Sailor got back from deployment, and I got pregnant, and every time I would put him on his little potty he would just stand up since he could walk.  I got to the point where I thought he was gonna be in diapers for a loooooong time since once BabyDeux got here there was no way I was going to be able to potty train a toddler while caring for a newborn.

Then I got the idea to try and put him on the big potty (with a topper on it) so he couldn't just walk away....and it worked!  This was probably a month before a decided to ditch the diapers.  I started putting him on it whenever it was convenient for me again; sometimes he would go, sometimes he wouldn't.  Then one day he walked up to me, handed me his potty topper, and signed please.  As soon as I put him on the potty he peed and I accepted he was ready.

I picked a date to ditch the diapers about two weeks in the future to mentally prepare myself and made him some training pants.  I started offering him the potty regularly throughout the day instead of just when it was convenient for me and as long as I offered it every two hours or so he'd have clean diapers all day!

I originally planned to do a "three day potty camp" where you essentially camp out in the kitchen (for easy clean up) and pump your kid full of salty snacks so they drink (and thus pee) a lot and essentially dedicate three whole days only to using the potty.  But, because of my back we lasted about 2 hours in the kitchen then just went back to normal life in the house just W was naked for easy potty access.

And he's been out of diapers while he's awake ever since.

For the most part at home he's completely naked or just in undies.  When we leave the house he's in undies and cloths.  If we're leaving during nap time I bring a diaper to put him in knowing he'll pass out on the car ride home (since he does still wear diapers for naps and night time).  He's had two accidents in clothes - one he was asleep in the car seat with The Sailor (he passed out and peed, really can't hold it against him) the other was at a birthday party and he started to wet his pants but finished on a toilet.  He's also had a bunch of starts of accidents at home, but he's generally naked so I just swoop him up and toss him on the toilet for him to finish but those have become few and far between.

Chillin in his undies

So yeah...how did I get my 17 month old out of diapers?  Early introduction.  It was never hard for us to do, honestly.  Like I said, in the early days I never went out of my way and he essentially let me know when he was ready to ditch the diapers.  If you introduce a potty early you will know when your child is ready.  Just trust in that.

I also do give some credit to the fact that we cloth diaper.  Since disposables do such a good job keeping babies dry-feeling they don't really know when they've peed, whereas with cloth it's easy for them to tell.

Since that is more than enough information I'll do a follow up post with tools that helped us along the way,, and as usual if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask!

Semi DIY Cloth Training Pants TUTORIAL

We have done a form of "early potty learning" with W that for the most part has been really relaxed.  Essentially we just put him on a potty whenever we feel like it/have the time to/he expresses interest in it.  It has recently gotten to the point where if I remember to ask him if he would like to use the potty at regular intervals (and since I'm pregnant and pee all the time anyway it has been easier to remember to also offer it to him) he can go a whole day with only dirtying a diaper during naps.  So, I plan on trying out the three day potty training method (more on that after we actually do it) starting tomorrow!  Hopefully at the end of three days the only time he'll be in a diaper is for naps and overnight!

The potty is so FUN!

Since he is only 17 months old and can't actually ask (verbally, he does have physical cues) to use the bathroom I wanted to get him cloth training pants which are essentially reinforced undies.  Some have a waterproof layer, others do not.  A friend of mine recommended Hannah Andersson training unders, but oh-my-effing-golly-gosh, I'm not spending $26 (before tax and shipping) on only 3 pairs of freaking underwear.  I looked into some other, less expensive options (like Kawaii baby) but seriously dude - they're just underwear with extra layers in the crotch, I'm not spending a small fortune on them!

So obviously I decided to make my own.

There are tutorials all over Pinterest for using a pair of undies to make a pattern and adding extra layers to the crotch section, but all I could think while reading them is, "why don't you just keep the underwear you buy intact {as opposed to deconstructing it to make a pattern} and just sew extra stuff in the crotch??"  So that's exactly what I did.

Supplies

• Underwear - I got these from KMart.  They're still a little big on W, but they don't really make underwear in infant sizes so we'll deal. They're $13 for 7 pairs, or $1.86 each 
• Some sort of absorbent material.  You could even use old t-shirts (you'd probably need like 4 layers if you go that route) but I chose to use pre-fold diapers that I had originally used as burp cloths for W.  These are the ones I have and with a pack of four you could make eight training pants.  Those are $6, but you could make 8 training pants with the whole pack so $.75 per training pant but this part could actually be free if you just used old t-shirts you had on hand. 
• Waterproof material (optional).  I had left over from an old project, but this is what I used.  Be sure to use a coupon and you'll only need about a 1/4 yard (so you'd spend $1.95 to make a bunch of training pants).  I can't say exactly how much it'll cost per training pant, but it isn't much.
• Parchment paper to make a pattern
• Permanent marker
• Pins
• Sewing machine and thread

First you'll want to make your pattern for your insert.  To do this I turned a pair of the underwear inside out (after washing and drying them in case they shrink) and pinned a piece of parchment paper to them.

 Then I outlined the crotch area.

 And unpinned it from the undies

 It was a little wonky and not symmetrical, so I picked the side I liked more and used that to make a more symmetrical pattern (I folded a piece of parchment paper in half, lined up the good side of the original pattern, and cut out the new pattern).  The original is on the left and the one I actually used is on the right...

 With the pre-fold diapers the center section has more layers of fabric.  So I figured I could use the middle section for one, and double up the outer sections for another (making two pairs of training pants with each pre-fold).  So you have to cut the pre-fold into thirds.

 I used the pattern I made to cute out the waterproof PUL but the pre-fold sections weren't quite wide enough.  So I just sewed the pre-fold material down to the PUL...

 ...Then I trimmed the extra pre-fold material off.  I'm not concerned that it doesn't quite reach the edges of where I initially wanted it to be.

You'll notice I doubled up the pre-fold in the front section.  The pre-fold is more than long enough and since boys need extra absorbency in the very front (since they have penises) I just went with it.  It isn't completely necessary, but why waist the extra absorbent layers, right?

 Then you pin your insert into your undies (obviously with the waterproof PUL against the actual underwear)

 And you sew it down.  This step can be a little awkward, but it's totally possible!  Just take your time.

And you're done!!!

Like I said before, these undies are a little big on W (they're size 2T/3T - the smallest size I could find) but they work just fine.  They obviously won't save his outfit if he has a full on accident, but they'll definitely minimize the damage.

Flying With an Infant

A few weeks ago The Sailor, The Seamonkey, and I packed up and got ready for a trip across the country! As I may or may not have mentioned before, I'm originally from Massachusetts - aka as far as you can get from Naval Air Station Lemoore without leaving the country!  Since my whole family is in New England and they were all itching to meet the first grandchild in the fam my crazy Mom offered to buy us plane tickets to fly home for a trip as a belated wedding present.

Now, there is an airport in Fresno which is less than an hour from us, but if we flew out of there we would have had to change planes somewhere - something I really didn't want to do with an 11 week old baby.  Instead we opted to drive 3 hours to San Francisco and to not only have a direct flight, but to also get to fly Jet Blue (my favorite airline).  Our flight heading to Boston left San Francisco at 10:18 pm.  Instead of parking at the airport, we saved some moolah by parking at the Radisson hotel which has shuttles to the airport every half hour.  I really wanted to have more than enough time to get there and I wasn't sure if we would hit any traffic or not, so we left our house at 3:30 pm.

Ready to go!

The first 2 hours and 45 minutes of the ride were flawless - no traffic and the baby was sleeping!  The last 15 minutes took almost 45 and the baby started screaming while we were stopped dead in traffic and I couldn't even pull over anywhere to feed him....the last 20 minutes of the trip were HORRIBLE as The Sailor tried to console The Seamonkey to no avail. But once we got to the hotel and I got to feed and change my Little Man he calmed right down.

We chose to carry on both our stroller and the carseat.  We didn't really need our stroller for the trip itself; in all honesty I only really use it if I'm going shopping and want to try on clothes or if I'm walking the dogs.  Other than that I use one of the many carriers that I've accumulated.  But I had to bring the carseat and I would rather gate check it than check it with the rest of the bags because in my mind there's less risk of it getting broken if it's gate checked.  So basically, the stroller was just a means of easily transporting the carseat (and our other carry-ons) through the airport...

Strollers are so handy!

Where was the baby, you ask?  Well, in the airport itself I wore him in a mei tai (more info on what exactly that is when I post about babywearing) since it doesn't have any metal parts meaning I could keep him in the carrier as we went through security.  Speaking of security...the Baby Jogger City Mini does not fit through the x-ray machine in airport security!  We found this out the hard way since it fit through the initial opening and then got stuck in the middle of the machine.  Seriously...who designed that thing?  If it fits in it should also fit out, and yet it did not.  So we spent a half hour holding up the line at security as the TSA agents tried to get it out.  Luckily they didn't break it or else I would have flipped shit.

So, once we got through security we went and grabbed a bite to eat, I nursed The Seamonkey, and we headed down to the gate.  At this point I was really happy I had made the decision to leave so early since we basically had just enough time to re-arrange everything in our carry-ons to make things we would want in-flight easily accessible (we had my Vera Bradley diaper bag, the large digi-camo diaper bag I made, a Planetwise wet-dry bag that was just holding all of our cloth diapers, and my Boppy pillow to carry onto the actual plane with us), go to the bathroom, and change the baby before it would be time to board the plane.

Fun fact - we didn't want to be flying all over the country with dirty cloth diapers so we chose to use 'sposies in transit.  Those things are effing gross!  How do the majority of parents use them!?  They smell funny! {sorry for the rant} The first one I put on The Seamonkey that he pooed in, the poop shot straight up the back of it and onto his clothes.  I was terrified of this happening while we took off and then I would just have to sit there with a poop-covered baby waiting for the stupid fasten seatbelt light to turn off.  So I double-diapered him...I put a 'sposie on him and then put a Best Bottom cover over it.  Since the thought of poop just floating around in the cover grossed me out I ended up putting a disposable insert in the diaper cover so he was legit wearing two diapers at once.

After I had him double-diped and in his jammies we went to sit by the gate...and he turned into a silent terror.  He wasn't crying, but he was being a complete turd.  He spit up on me twice...he rarely spits up.  He was fussing like a madman.  He refused to be put in the ring sling, which I planned on wearing him in on the plane since it is easy to get him in and out of it (more on ring slings when I post about babywearing) and kept straightening his legs so he wasn't securely in.  All I could think was this is going to be the longest night of my life....

We boarded the plane and left the stroller and the carseat at the gate and he continued to be a silent terror.  He could tell things weren't "normal" and he was refusing to go to sleep even though it was past his bedtime (it was almost 10 pm at this point).  Everyone else is boarding and I could feel them all staring at me with hatred as the watched me struggle to settle The Seamonkey as we geared up for a 6 hour red-eye flight.  After everyone boarded and they started going over the safety info I started to nurse the Little Man and he passed right out.  I think the whole plane let out a sigh of relief as I put him into the ring sling and he continued to sleep soundly.

Passed the eff out!

He only woke up twice during the entire flight to eat.  He didn't even poop, so I didn't even need to get up to change his diaper.  In fact, since he was securely strapped to my chest in the ring sling, I actually slept pretty well myself!  Once we had landed and were waiting to get off the plane he let out one loud "waaaaahhhhh" but then went back to being quiet and the people around us actually chuckled at it.  We had arrived in Boston at about 6:30 am local time so we got off the plane, I changed his diaper {into one of his normal cloth diapers}, got him dressed, and while we waited for our baggage I nursed him again.

He really couldn't have been any better during that flight.

The flight back to California was during the day and he slept for the first half and then the second half I just bounced him on my lap.  It wasn't as easy as our first flight, but there weren't any real issues.

Since this post turned out to be way longer than I initially anticipated I'm gonna wait and post later with my personal tips on flying with an infant.  Until next time...

Worst.Blogger.Ever.

Seriously.  It has been 2 weeks since I last posted.  A lot has happened in those two weeks.  Sorry I suck; I'm pregnant and at this point I'm just counting down the minutes until The Sailor gets home from deployment...

Here's everything you've missed...

I printed/framed/hung up the pet silhouettes for the nursery!  I absolutely love them.  I think I'm going to put a quote (in vinyl) above or beneath them...

You can also see that I did some stenciling on the lamp shade!  Another project that I absolutely adore.

My Mom got us our carseat, stroller, and the conversion kit so that the carseat can go in the stroller.  We decided to go with the Graco Snugride 25 and the Baby Jogger City Mini.  At this point I couldn't be happier with these products, but I'll have to actually review them once The Seamonkey gets here!

Gabby loves to steal the spotlight

I climbed my pregnant ass up on a chair and hung the lanterns above the changing table.  Yet another project that turned out even better than I thought it would.  And I used my leftover pinwheels from my DIY mobile by attaching them to the underside of the lanterns!

You can also see the hanging basket on the wall that will be used to hold diapering accessories!

I sewed some diaper covers!!!  My sewing machine finally got here from Pittsburgh and I dove into my first project.  They are far from perfect (the seams are a little wonky) but I love them!  I used all Babyville Boutique products - PUL, elastic, velcro, and even the pattern - which can be found at Joann Fabrics.  The dinosaur one (on the left) is newborn size and the monster one (on the right) is size small.

Lola got spayed!  And while she was all drugged up post-op she totally looked like Doby the House Elf from Harry Potter, hahahaha.

And finally, I prepped (aka washed a million times) all my cloth diapers and supplies and organized and put them away in the dresser.  I even stuffed all the pockets and origami folded the flats!  And I 100% accept the fact that this stuff will never be this organized again...

And I know I still owe you all initial reviews on the diapers I bought.  I promise I'll get around to that.  I think I might vlog them, but I'm not sure yet...thoughts?

So, that's what I failed to post about the past two weeks.  Again, I apologize.  If there is anything I mentioned here that you are dying to read more about (aka have me write a post dedicated to it) just let me know and I'd be more than happy to!

Until next time...

Nursery Organization - Phase 1

Oh.my.goodness.  What a pain in the ass that was!  Yesterday I spent the day organizing, washing, and putting away everything I had crammed in the closet in the nursery.  But, I feel so, so, so much better now!  In case you forgot, this is what the closet looked like:

It may not look like that much, but once I pulled it all out and started organizing it (by size for clothes, and just by what it is for everything else) you could see how much there really was in there.  (FYI - I had already put all the newborn clothes in the laundry, so some is actually missing from this picture)

Yeah...that's a lot of stuff.  The whole floor was covered so I resorted to hanging stuff of boxes and covering the chair in stuff.  Tom enjoyed it quite a bit...

 And again:

And can I just complain for a second?  Why the hell do they feel the need to package baby clothes so intensely???  It took me forever to remove all the hangers, tags, boxes, etc. from the new clothes I had, and only like 1/4 of the clothes I had were new! (The rest were used so they obviously didn't have tags on them anymore)  When there was a hanger with like 5 onesies each freaking onesie was attached to all the others in like five freaking places!  And you have to make sure you get all those horrible plastic pieces out, because I'm pretty sure babies wouldn't appreciate being stabbed by tag holders every time you get them dressed.

Since our utilities are included in our rent I wasn't worried about doing a million loads of laundry, but if we did pay our utilities I would have definitely washed everything first and then organized by size.  (I didn't even think about it until after I had organized it all, in all honesty.)  But yeah, after a day of organizing, washing, and putting away clothes, hats, bibs, blankets, baby legs, socks (baby socks are the devil, by the way), and even my Moby Wrap (which I had gotten directly from the Moby Wrap site for 25% off after Christmas) I turned that big hot mess into this:

And look, you can see the floor again:

So, a little more info on the method behind my organization madness.  The fancy schmancy organizer in the middle is from Target (this one - cost $25) and the organizers on either side are technically for shoes and I got them from Marshall's (for $5 a piece - so $10 in all).  The top left slot has newborn sized clothes and they're broken down by onesies, jammies, bottoms, and rompers.  Below that is 0-3 month size and going down the sizes get bigger and they continue on the top right.  As the Seamonkey grows out of the smaller clothes I pull them from the organizers and there will be more room for bigger clothes (as I get bigger clothes).

In the middle organizer there is a bunch of random stuff: shoes, swaddles, receiving blankets, binkies, hats, etc. and the bin at the bottom is all socks (did I mention baby socks are the devil?).  I figure once the Little Man is here I'll probably move that stuff around to wherever makes sense.  And, the whole left side of the closet is still empty, so I've got plenty of room for more stuff!

Now you may be wondering what the hell I'm going to be putting in my lovely dresser...diapers, obviously! (So that may not be that obvious, but cloth diapering supplies require a good amount of space!)  And, that'll be "nursery organization phase 2."  I just have to prep all the diapers, line the drawers of the dresser, and put it all away!

Did I mention this is my week 30 update?  I really don't feel any different from week to week, I just feel bigger (and I feel the Little Man move around more) so if I were to continue doing weekly update posts they'd be pretty damn boring.  I will say, I recently invested in a 2 inch memory foam mattress pad and my back and my ability to sleep have improved tenfold.  I 110% recommend getting a nice mattress pad to any pregnant ladies who are struggling to find a comfortable way to sleep!

Until next time...

As always, you can see the whole progression of belly photos on the Pregnancy tab of my blog!

**All images used in the post are personal photos**

Nursery Updates!!!

Since January is coming to a close, I figured I'd give you some nursery updates!!!  Here's my original to-do list (from earlier this month):


Things I need to buy:

• Crib mattress - I got this from Target ($60)
• Shelves (I want floating shelves for the wall, not like a book case)
• Crib bedding set - I got this from Target ($100 - on sale when I purchased it)

• Paper lanterns - I got a variety of sizes from The Paper Lantern Store ($30).  I still need to hang these though
• Hooks and baskets - I got these  from Target ($20)

And here are the DIY projects I have lined up:

• Final touches to my crib 
• Refinish my dresser/changing table combo
• Mobile for over the crib
• Print, mat, and frame the pet silhouettes - coming soon!!!

On top of that, a few random things:

• Make the final decision on my rocker/glider.  My Dad is going to be buying this for us/the baby, but I need to decide what I actually want!

I went with this glider from Babies R Us.  The blanket and pillow on the chair came with the bedding set.  The lamp is from Home Goods ($40), the side table was kinda a splurge from Overstock ($57), the circles above the chair are mirror wall decals I got from Totsy ($7 - Totsy is a flash sale site; if you  don't have an account already you should make one here!!!), and the stuffed puppy I got at Marshall's on clearance because it was dirty but once through the wash and it's fine ($7)!

 And again (with the shades closed and the light on):

And a close-up of the mirror wall decals:

• Prep the diapers I've purchased already.  When you use cloth diapers you have to wash them a few times before you use them in order to maximize their absorbency.
• Wash all the clothes I've gotten.  There's the stuff I've bought (or other people have bought) and on top of that I just bought a bunch of used baby stuff and it came with a bunch of clothes, but more on that on my weekly update this week!
• Put away/organize all the diapers, baby cloths, etc.
• Figure out what I forgot to put on this list and do that too, lol. - This is going to be ongoing, lol

New Additions to the List:

• Do some stenciling on the lampshade
• Create labels for the closet organizers I purchased
• Frame/hang an animal/alphabet print I got off Zulily (another Flash Sale site; if you don't have an account with them you should totally make one here!)
• Cut out a quote (which quote is still under debate) in vinyl using my Cricut (once it gets here from Pittsburgh - yes, I'm still waiting to get some of my stuff from Pittsburgh) to stick on the wall.

And here's what the rest of the nursery currently looks like at this point.  It's shameful; but I know once I start hanging things and organizing the clothes/diapers it'll all come together...

 I promise I'll be posting about all the cloth diapers I've purchased soon!!!


I forget how much I spent on the night light, but it was next to nothing; I got it from Marshall's.  I also still have to figure out what to do with all my extra pinwheels; some of them will be hung up with the lanterns (above the changing table) but I'm not sure about the rest.

 This wall has become a place for me to place random crap.  AKA this wall is a hot mess.

 Here's a close-up of my favorite books from when I was little, I stole these from my Mom while I was home for Christmas, haha.  The top one is In the Night Kitchen and the other four are the Good Dog Carl books that are about the shenanigans that a baby and her pet rottweiler get into when the Mom let's the rottweiler babysit the baby, hahahaha.

 The organizers are already hanging in the closet, I just need to wash all the clothes (on the floor and on the top shelf in the closet) and put them away!  And yes, the door is currently off it's hinges; I had to remove it to get the rocking chair in the room and I'm having trouble putting it back up.  The Sailor can do it when he gets home.  And hanging on the door is the Vera Bradley Diaper Bag my Dad got me for Christmas!

So there you have it!  Despite all the progress I've made this month, the nursery is currently in shambles, hahaha.  Next time you see it will probably be once everything is done, but I will obviously share pictures of the DIY projects I complete between now and then!

Did your nursery look like a hot mess for a while before it all came together or were you super organized from the start?

Until next time...

**All images are personal photos**

Nursery Dresser Transformation

To say that I am happy with how the dresser/changing table combo turned out would be a gross understatement.    I'm obsessed with it.  I'm making anyone who comes to my house go upstairs and look at it.  And for good reason...it turned out flipping amazing!  This is what I started with:

Personal Photo

 There wasn't anything wrong with it.  Actually, like the crib that it came with, it was in near perfect condition.  You will notice the stack of books underneath it though - and that's because it kinda droops in the middle and makes it difficult to open the drawers.  Once The Sailor gets home I'll have him create a more permanent fix for that; for now, a stack of books works just fine!

Step one was to take out the drawers, remove the door (on the right), remove all the knobs, scrub that sucker down, and sand it.  Which, by the way, I finally bought a sander and it's the best thing that ever happened to me.  I'm just sayin' though...

Personal Photo

Then I primed it (with normal primer) and I painted it gray with spray paint.  Don't worry people - it was plenty ventilated (in the garage with the garage door open) and I wore a mask!

All that is boring.  Let's face it.  But now is when it gets exciting...the drawers on the left.

I've wanted to infuse as much color into the nursery through furniture/decorations since the walls are white and the carpet is beige.  I could paint it, but we'd have to paint it back before we left.  The last thing I will be wanting to deal with when we move (probably/hopefully in two and a half years) is painting.  So I decided to decoupage the drawers using brightly colored fabric.

I actually got the fabrics on sale from Joann's and they're perfect.

Personal Photo

The first step was to cut out a rectangle of fabric to cover the front of the drawer.  I didn't worry about having the edges be perfect since I planned to cover the border with ribbon anyway.

Personal Photo

Then I used a sponge brush to spread a thin layer of Mod Podge on each drawer and I slowly applied the fabric.  I used the Mod Podge Decoupage Kit (that I got from Michael's a while back and includes a roller thingy and a flat tool  that you use to get out any air bubbles) to make sure that the fabric was applied evenly and without any air bubbles.  Again, I didn't worry too much about the edges.  This took about 20-25 minutes for each drawer.  Not fun, but the results are awesome.  Then I applied a thin off white ribbon around the edge using a hot glue gun.

I waited about 24 hours and then I sealed the whole thing with another layer of Mod Podge.  This time I diluted it slightly with water (about 2/3 Mod Podge, 1/3 water) and again used a sponge brush to saturate the whole face of the drawer.  While that started to dry, I painted the fronts of the small drawer and door (for the right side of the dresser) an off-white color (to match the ribbon).  I had considered applying fabric to these as well, but I thought that would be a little overwhelming.

The last step was to put on the new knobs I got (just clear acrylic ones; I got them at Target) and bring the whole thing upstairs!  Since I'm broken (damn back problems), I was lucky enough that Navy Wife Kim and her 12 year old son were willing to carry it upstairs, et voila...

Personal Photo

Personal Photo

Have I mentioned I love this thing???

Don't worry, I am getting a cover for the changing pad!  The one I want is currently back-ordered though:

Source

It has elephants and it's the perfect colors!!!  I'm super excited.  And you'll notice the left hand side is just a big boring gray space:

Personal Photo

Eventually I plan on either placing a diaper pail there, or I might just hang a large wet bag (which is what you keep dirty cloth diapers in until you wash them) off a hook there.  I'm thinking either finding a cool patterned wet bag or just going with a plain yellow one (to match my crib).

Oh, and in case you were wondering, the little white dog thing is a night light.  I got it from Marshall's.  It can glow in a variety of colors and is actually portable (it's sitting on the charging base in the pictures).  I think it's precious and it matches my totally general "theme" - which is animals (any animal, lol) and blue, green, and orange, haha.

So, my first project for "decorate the nursery month" is officially done!  Next up is my DIY mobile, which I'm also very excited about (and shouldn't take nearly as long as the dresser did).  If you have any questions about how I completed the dresser, ask away, and of course I'll never turn down compliments on my work...

Until next time...