Baby Stuff

I am so amazed at how much STUFF such a little tiny baby needs. I walked into Babies R Us and got overwhelmed! Also, since I have a penchant for things more "modern" and designery, all this pastel, fluffy baby stuff is hard for me to swallow. It will be a little tricky to find things more my style. We got a book called Baby Bargains which is really helpful at deciding what is really worth spending the $ on and what is a waste. They take into consideration Consumer Reports as well as parent testing and feedback, and they give really comprehensive, unbiased reviews of almost every possible "thing" you could buy for a baby.

For example, I really fell in love with a crib bedding set, but it is on the pricey end of bedding sets. From this book, I learned that buying a whole 4-piece set is often a waste, because the quilt can't even go in the crib with the baby. It's a better investment, and SAFER to just get 3-4 fitted crib sheets (with the elastic all the way around the sheet instead of just at the corners) and have the baby sleep in a sleeper. I also learned that crib bumpers are kind of controversial in terms of their safety and to take into consideration only ones with ties at the top and bottom, and where the tie string is no longer than 9". Whew! Who knew crib bedding was so complicated?! And that's just the beginning...

Consumer Reports just released an alarming report that most infant car seats performed "poorly" at high speed crash tests. Since they could only recommend 2 seats—the Baby Trend Flex-Loc Adjustable Bac and the Graco SnugRide with EPS—we figured those seats would start selling out pretty quickly. Thanks to our very generous Grandma Marilyn who offered to get us the car seat as a gift, we now have the car seat and the matching stroller thanks to my generous mom!

Two things down, 200 more to go...

"Babymoon"

Phil and I are planning a little "babymoon" getaway for President's Day weekend, which also happens to be our 11-year anniversary of being a couple. Since I can't do many physical activities (no snowboarding, hiking, etc.), we're looking for a quiet, romantic, relaxing place no more than 4 hours away. We're thinking somewhere on the Olympic Peninsula (Port Angeles/Port Townsend) or San Juan Islands. Please let us know if you have any suggestions!

An interesting FYI - "Babymoon" originally meant a "honeymoon" for new parents and their infant, but is now being used (especially among marketing/travel industries) to mean a last-hurrah trip during pregnancy.

21 wks update

Just had my check-up today. The doctor reviewed the UltraSound results from a couple weeks ago and confirmed the baby is healthy and on track. Actually he's a little big, but they're still keeping my due date May 21 because boys tend to grow a little faster at this stage than girls. Although, when listening to the heartbeat this time, she said it now sounds like galloping horses, so save receipts for anything blue! ;) I think she's just messing with me! But UltraSounds are never 100% accurate...

The bad news is that my doctor also said the placenta is lower than it should be, just above the cervix (which explains why I have had the bleeding). Read more about Placenta Previa on Baby Center if you want a detailed description. In short, that means I have to have another UltraSound in about 8 weeks to see if the placenta has moved out of the way. If it hasn't, then I have to have ANOTHER UltraSound about 3-4 weeks before my due date and if it still hasn't moved up, then we'd have to do a C-section delivery. Apparently, the placenta can't come out before the baby and there's no way to move it through any kind of procedure. The good news is that 90% of the time the placenta moves out of the way once the uterus and the baby get bigger, so I'm praying that will be for the case for us. I'd prefer not to have a C-section!

The up-side to another UltraSound is to get a 2nd look at whether it's really a boy!

All else is healthy and a-ok so far.

Hello Belly

Happy New Year!

20 weeks