Baby Boy's Bright, Travel-Inspired Nursery

Baby's Bright Nursery by ericajackson

Baby boy's nursery is already turning out to be a lot brighter than the rest of our house, thanks to a vintage yellow campaign dresser I found on Craigslist. He was still about the size of a peanut when I found it, but I could just imagine the drawers filled with his little cloth diapers and onesies. Here's what else I've got planned:

• The dresser will also serve as his changing table, and I'm leaning toward this Keekaroo changing pad because it can be easily wiped clean and I don't have to mess with fabric covers.
• Cribs can be seriously expensive, but I found this one at Walmart, of all places. I love its midcentury modern look, which fits with the rest of our house, and that it converts into a toddler bed. Plus, it's on sale now, so I got a great deal on it.
• I don't love the look of gliders or rocking chairs, and I wanted something I could use after the baby (or babies) grow up, so I searched for big, comfy chairs that match the rest of our decor at home.
• We're planning some big adventures with our little one, and we're hoping he loves traveling as much as we do. For the art and decorations, we're searching for pieces inspired by our favorite places, like this Lisbon print and Mexican bunting.

My Remote Work Life

Most people I know have no idea what I do for a living—even my close friends and family members. Many seem to think that I don't have a "real" job at all, since I don't go into an office every day, and they struggle to believe that I could have a thriving, fulfilling career without leaving my house.

So here's the truth: I've been working remotely (30-40 hours) for a Boston-based content marketing firm for two years now, plus freelancing for a number of publications and companies on the side. I've had some tempting opportunities for positions that would require me to return to a traditional workplace, but honestly, I don't know if I can go back. I feel grateful every day that I can work when, where, and how I want.

After seven years of working in traditional offices, I was more than ready to make the switch to remote work. I loved my editor jobs at publications in Charleston and Boston, but I always felt trapped and a little bit stifled by the 9-5 grind.

The thing about what I do is, it doesn't really matter where I do it. Writing and editing can be done anywhere with an internet connection, but for me, I do it much better when I can choose the setting and do it on my own terms.

Here's a look at one day this week—a pretty typical day—in case you're curious, or considering making the switch yourself.

• 7:30 a.m. Alarm goes off. I grab my phone and start scrolling through emails, news and social accounts while I wake up. (This is a habit I'm trying to break.)
• 8 a.m. Stumble downstairs, let the dogs out, and make coffee. Now that the weather's warmer, I take my coffee out onto the front porch with my laptop and start planning out my day (I use Stickies on my desktop) and sorting through work emails.
• 9 a.m. I don't have any morning conference calls, so I hop in the shower, get dressed, and walk the dogs up the street to peek in on our renovation project to see how it's progressing, taking pictures for the blog. I then head home, make some scrambled eggs with sliced tomatoes, and decide where I want to work for the morning.
• 10 a.m. I have an office that I share with Todd, but I like to move around when I'm working. Right now, I tend to switch between the front porch and a table on the back patio, since the weather's so nice. I set up my laptop and notebook outside and start working my way through the day's tasks, taking a quick conference call with a New York-based writer at noon.
• 12:15 p.m. We've been in D.C. for the last four days and I haven't had time to grocery shop, so we decide to try a new-to-us deli downtown for lunch. We take our laptops to make it a working lunch but find out they don't have wi-fi. Luckily, we have hotspots on our phones so we keep working for an hour after lunch while watching the action on Grace Street.
• 2 p.m. Todd has a meeting, so we head back to the house and I set up shop with my laptop and iced coffee on the back patio. I work through some editing projects and call in to the Boston office for a company-wide Skype presentation while soaking up the sun and watching the dogs roll around in the grass. 
• 3 p.m. I keep working through my to-do list, but sometimes I'll switch to freelance projects in the late afternoon, depending on my workload and meetings schedule. This usually involves research, phone interviews, writing, and sometimes in-person interviews around Richmond. 
• 5:45 p.m. I force myself to turn off my laptop and do a bit of tidying up around the house while Todd finishes his workday—watering plants, cleaning the kitchen, laundry, and vacuuming. 
• 7:30 p.m. After a walk, dinner, and running some errands, I settle onto the couch for some TV time. I have an article due tomorrow so I work on it while half-watching House of Cards.
• 9:30 p.m. The pregnancy fatigue sets in, so I head upstairs and prep for bed. I read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies until I can't keep my eyes open anymore.

I know this lifestyle isn't for everyone, and I do miss the camaraderie of office life sometimes. Who knows, I may even decide I'm ready to return to it someday. But for now, I'm just happy to have this flexibility—especially with motherhood approaching.

Is remote working something you'd like to try, or do you love going to the office every day?

20 Weeks: Halfway There, Living on a Prayer

Bump's first wedding at 19 weeks.

We usually track pregnancies by trimester, but for me, reaching the halfway point is a lot more significant than making it through the first trimester. The past 20 weeks have been challenging, frustrating, slow-moving, and thrilling all at the same time. Here are some highlights:

The Symptoms. I think I really lucked out in this department—no morning sickness! I did, however, experience quite a bit of general nauseous feelings around mealtimes in my first trimester. Fatigue turned out to be my biggest issue, and I took a daily nap (sometimes more than one) for most of the first trimester—I just couldn't keep my eyes open. I've gotten my energy back, but now I'm experiencing a lot of nasal congestion (especially at night), backaches (especially at night), shortness of breath (stairs kill me!), and occasional heart palpitations (scary, but my doc says it's normal).

Cravings/Aversions. While I didn't puke in my first trimester, there were a couple of close calls when I forced myself to eat something I didn't really want. After that, I decided to listen to my body and follow my cravings and aversions. For the first trimester, I was grossed out by most meat (especially cooking it), eggs, and a lot of vegetables—basically all the healthy stuff I should have been eating. Instead, I was craving carbs, carbs, and more carbs—pasta, French fries, bread, cookies. Basically all the crappy stuff that my body didn't need. Now that I'm further along, I'm craving lots of fresh fruit, Mexican food, and the occasional steak.

Exercising. Yeah. No. I tried working out twice and got weird cramping and bleeding so I stopped. I take walks now.

Dressing the Bump. I grew out of my skinny jeans within the first few weeks, so for my first trimester I lived in yoga pants, loose T-shirts, and baggy boyfriend sweaters. After a few months, I was so sick of feeling like I was walking around in pajamas I started searching for maternity clothes. I ordered a whole bunch of jeans, made a depressing trip to a maternity store in a local mall, and generally bemoaned my weird new body. Luckily, as the bump has grown, I've been able to find a few key pieces that make me feel human and even, some days, a bit cute! I really love these jeans, maxi skirts, and my trusty Madewell tees are still getting a lot of play. (I'm hoping to avoid maternity shirts as much as I can.) Also, I got a haircut and color at 18 weeks and that helped me get out of my frump slump.

The Lowlights. I've been lucky to have things fairly easy, but there have been some tough times along the way. Dealing with the weight gain and changing body image has been hard, especially as some people have made insensitive comments and I've fallen into the trap of comparing my body to other pregnant women's. There have been some serious scares too, including some bleeding that had me rushing to the doctor for an emergency ultrasound (though all was well). It's also tough to find myself suddenly powerless to help in the house-flipping project we're working on. Todd is doing most of the work while I'm sitting on the couch buying light fixtures.

The Highlights. Despite the lows, there have been some really happy moments so far: Hearing baby's heartbeat for the first time. Finding out, to our surprise, that it's a boy! Feeling him move for the first time in the middle of the night and waking Todd up to share. Shopping for clothes, and hanging them up on tiny little hangers in his nursery. Wrestling with strollers at Babies R Us with Todd. Making our news official and getting such wonderful, truly touching congrats from family and friends. 20 weeks to go. Let's do this!