Stuff (as in, literally)

So amidst the other craziness going on, it dawned on me that round about now I should be thinking about the stuff we'll need.

Bring on...dum dum DUM...the Baby Registry.

Now, I remember being really excited about this when I was getting married. We had just moved into a house and I had all kinds of things I needed so picking items was not that daunting of a task. I mean, I had lived on my own for a few years so I had some idea of what I needed or what would be nice or what I already had, but wanted one that DIDN'T look like it belonged in a college dorm room (or that a 24-year-old boy had picked it out). Baby Registries are different. Sure, there's the cute this and the sweet that. But most of what you're picking out is functional stuff that you NEED. Not, oh we can get by without it. We NEED a car seat. We NEED clothes. Etc. etc. etc. And it's not like we've had these items in the past and know what we'd like and we don't. We have to rely on the testimony of others to give us guidance. Which has been great! But there are SO MANY CHOICES!!!

In terms of where we're registering, I know for sure we're registering on Amazon. Reason is they have TONS of selection and lower prices (including some used items which would be fine for some things, for sure). Yes, it means items have to be shipped which takes a little bit of the fun out of actually 'giving a gift'. But as I mentioned in my last post, I am flying to STL. For my health more than anything. I will be taking extra luggage to bring back things, but I am not anticipating having to lug a Pack n' Play back with me. Not that I wouldn't if I had to! But there's a point where I have to be reasonable.

The other cool thing about registering with Amazon is they have a feature called 'Universal Registry'. It's pretty much what it sounds like. You can go to any site you can think of and add items from that site to your Amazon registry. So, for example, for kicks I went to the Rockies website and added a newborn kit from there.

I AM NOT HATING ON MY CARDINALS!!

Just being realistic here:-P Or, if I see something on a local site/craft site that would be cool, I can add that as well. Awesomeness.

Don't worry, I will probably be registering for some things at Babies R Us or Target (not sure which one yet) but I will probably stick to smaller items (as in not bulky).

If you would like to see my registry building in action, please visit it!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/registry.html?ie=UTF8&type=baby&id=6WH3BFR6ZB4G

I'm still figuring quite a bit out so things may change, but I feel pretty good about what's already on there.

Thanks everyone! Any suggestions on things I MUST HAVE, please leave me a comment, drop me an email, whatever!

23 Weeks Update

Well, it was an exhausting week on many fronts, but we managed to make it through. And, to top it all off, I had my latest doctor's appointment on Friday! Everything looks great. I've gained a little under 15 pounds so far so I'm still on track. Baby had been kicking a little less the last few days which I asked her about and she said it might have to do with the stress of the week. Heartbeat looked great and...like clockwork...as soon as I left the office feeling reassured that baby was OK, she started kicking up a storm! I've told Stephen she takes after her daddy...which means he gets to run after her:-D

Next appointment is the good ole glucose testing appointment which means I get to chug a half a bottle of grossness before my appointment. My friend compared the taste to uncarbonated super-sweet wine coolers...except you don't get the added bonus of being tipsy. Anyway, hopefully that goes well.

The doctor also said I can travel up to 36 weeks! So, there's a chance I may be back in St. Louis before go-time after all! Yay! I'm hoping to travel late September at the latest, though. I don't want to be ridiculous, you know. And I'll probably fly. I did have some slight swelling when we drove back from STL this last time so I think it's just wiser...plus I'll have to take little to no time off work.

More later. I'll try to get Stephen to take a picture of me later. He's painting the baby room right now:-D I'll post pics of the progress there as well.

Crib Update

Stephen put together what he could of the crib. We are still waiting for the modification instructions, but I think with the mattress being able to be raised the railing height will be fine. Yay! Feeling much better about that.

The baby's room is coming along! Now that we have bedding, we're hoping to paint in the next few weeks. We're thinking a nice tan/neutral for most of the room (to match the bedding) and a green accent wall. And yes, we will make sure to get paint with 0 voc's, etc.

It's coming along!

Brown Cows

I LOVE Brown Cows.

Ok, so maybe this is a midwest thing. Or maybe not. Or maybe it's just a 'my family' thing. Anyway, for those of you who are not enlightened, brown cows are an ice cream treat with a vanilla ice cream center, dipped in chocolate on a stick. They're like Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen but more normal ice cream treat shaped than round. Anyway, we used to eat them all the time growing up and for some reason, I've had a craving for them lately. Not a crazy craving or anything. Just like, man...whatever happened to those? It would be awesome to have one.

So, Stephen being the awesome husband that he is picked up 'brown cows' at the store. Except they were like, the fancy-schmancy version of brown cows. See, I guess his mom loves the Dove ice cream bars and so that's what HE remembers as a kid and that's what he got.

Now, don't get me wrong. Dove is awesome. The ice cream was smooth, the chocolate was, of course, amazing. But, they just weren't what I remembered as a kid which was what I really wanted. So, we had to try again.

But of course I still ate the Dove bars! Do not be concerned...

The next try was Haagen-Dazs. Better. Ice cream was awesome. Chocolate was better (which means a little less decadent than Dove but that's good!). Still, not the same. Plus, there's only 3 bars in a box...that doesn't last very long!!

So on a quick run to King Soopers, Stephen gave it another shot. He brought home these things called 'Arctic Blasters'. I thought we might just have it this time since there was a whopping dozen bars in a box (the cheaper the better!).

Sure enough, we had a hit!

So, now the brown cow cravings have been quelled. Now that the perfect level of cheap ice cream treat has been discovered:-D (None of that high end stuff!)

Bedding is Here!

As you can see, we received our bedding set.  This is it waiting to be washed.  Harmony wanted to make sure it's sufficiently hairy first :-P

Recalls...lovely...

So it looks like our nice crib that we drove all the way back to St. Louis made it onto the recall list that just came out. Of course. So, this morning...hormones raging, mind you...I'm frantically trying to figure out what to do and imagining the worst (investing in a crib we hadn't budgeted on).

Well, I learned my lesson. Apparently, you fill out a form on the website of the maker and they send you the instructions and materials to make the proper adjustments so it is 'safe'. We'll still have to see, though. I'm worried that since it's originally made to have a drop down side, changing it so it can no longer drop down will mean that little 5'1" me won't be able to get into the crib. Well, Stephen is working on clearing out the baby room as we speak. The next plan is to begin to set up the crib to see how it will fit and whether or not it will work (keep your fingers crossed!). Anyway, yes we have addressed the crib issue...for now.

She goes bump in the night...

Well, Stephen officially felt the baby kick last night. She was particularly active when we were watching tv before bed (probably due to the nectarine and juice I had at dinner). So, I had him keep his hand there for a bit and sure enough, she obliged! She even did a good 'one-two' punch...double love! I asked him what it felt like and he described it as a 'blu-blup'. Not sure what that means, but I suppose that pretty much accurately describes what I feel when she moves around. Anyway, it's exciting:-)

Bedding Purchased!

So we realized that time is moving much faster than we thought and we really need to get the baby's room painted in the not-too-distant-future (not to mention cleaned out, but we'll forget about that point for a moment...). Sooooo...we decided we really needed to decide on our bedding set/theme so we had something to actually match the room to. We had decided on an animal theme, but (as you might imagine) there are a GAZILLION animal-themed sets. So, in an interest to not go crazy looking at everything, we found a great 13-piece set on Amazon for $90 which seemed like a pretty decent deal so we went ahead and purchased! Hooray!

Cuteness. Yes, indeed :-) I especially like the birdy on the rhinoceros butt. Excellent.

Popcorn

No, I don't have sudden crazy cravings for popcorn (although that doesn't sound half bad right now...). The title is in reference to the little bug moving around in there! As of about Thursday, I officially can feel her moving around periodically. I've discovered that what I felt before was definitely movement, but it was just barely starting up. I still think it feels kind of like a quick muscle spasm...but when they happen constantly, you pretty much know they can only be one thing!

My mom had described the feeling as 'popcorn' and, for me, I find this description more accurate than the normal 'butterflies fluttering' description. It's kind of like little bubbles are popping lightly. And boy, is she an active little bugger! When she gets going, she doesn't really stop for several minutes...and then maybe an hour or so goes by and she starts up again. I know, I know...it will probably be much more regular as we move forward, but I think what makes it feel so remarkable is how it was almost like a switch. Wednesday, I was lucky if I felt even one little pop. Thursday, I could feel little pops every minute or so in spurts. Just amazing. Like my friend at work said, 'well, now she's just big enough you can actually feel her!'. I suppose when she gets big enough, you feel it all!

In other news, I'm feeling pretty good! I get tired after meals, especially lunch and dinner. I have a decent amount of energy otherwise, but it's so hard to stay motivated after a larger meal. Stephen and I are desperately trying to get the house in some shape so that we have storage and can actually see how furniture will start to look in the baby room. We haven't registered or anything yet, but I think we're going to stick with our original plan of an animal theme (think more zoo animals and less farm animals). So far we've been lucky with furniture. My parents have a rocking chair they've said we can have and some of you know about our lucky purchase on Craigslist for our changing table. Great thanks goes out to my Aunt Jennifer and Uncle Tom for letting us use their crib and bassinet! I think my Aunt Jennifer's right. I'm certainly excited about not having to worry about the cost of buying a crib on our own, but I'm equally as excited about not have to go through the process of picking out a crib! The less decisions to make, the better, I say.

Next doctor's appointment is July 30th. Until then, the plan is to get the baby's room cleared of boxes and such and start visualizing what needs to be done to make it a full blown baby room!

PS - Many of you asked while I was in town over the 4th if I would be in again for a potential baby shower. The answer is: I'll keep you posted. I'm going to talk to the doctor on the 30th about when's the latest I can travel and how to do it and hopefully, I'll be back! We'll see, though. Many, many thanks to all of those that offered their homes and whatnot to hold one. Again, I will let you know!

Baby's bopping around! Must have been that strawberry limeade I just had... :-)