how to put together stuff from ikea when you're pregnant

Step 1: Don't.

Step 2: If you must do it because you're impatient, step 1 is: take everything out of the box. Everything. There are 1000 moving parts when you're building something from ikea even if the thing only has 3 parts.

Step 3: and this is serious. That little drill from Ikea, appropriately named the "Fixa," aint half bad. It's the drill bits that suck. Do yourself a favor and get the drill... because it's only $24, but also invest in some manly serious drill bits.

ikea fixa drill // ryobi bits

This was my setup:

1. water for chuggin. NOTHING is worse than drymouth.
2. Tylenol. You can't take advil when you're preg, and ikea cardboard smells like weird graham cracker food and was giving me a headache. 
3. Directions
4. Fixa/manly bits combo
5. all pieces laid out in a place where you know you wont step on them. It's much easier than digging through that bag they come in

we got two of these to flank the daybed:

ikea hemnes bookcase

and here they are built in the semi-disastrous mess of a nursery.. but you get the idea

Parenting tip: this bookcase has all the appropriate essentials for child rearing:
antique cloth animals from india, chewbacca, jawas, and c3po, the gopher from caddy shack, a stieff lion, a lilly pulitzer monkey, and Alice from alice in wonderland. At least we know she'll be well rounded.