Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Pregnancy: Week 17

As an update to the post regarding online maternity shopping I did a few weeks ago...

I hated them all.
  • The tan shorts were too tight and overall really unflattering.
  • The capris were fine but were way too tight in my calves.  I do not understand how something can fit over this belly and butt - but be too tight in my calves.  I'm pretty sure I threw them across the room.  Out of all the fat things on my body right now - I refuse to add my calves to the list.  
  • The denim shorts were fine, but only for "around the house".  I'm just not too confident in this pregnant body (or my pre-pregnant body... if we're being honest).  
I did buy Baby Bargains.  I think I'm just going to carry it around Babies R Us when we register.
I finally sent in my deposit for Bradley classes.  They start in August.  

We have purchased a few additional items now that we know the sex of this babe.  I finally got around to taking a few pictures this afternoon.  Although I said we were going to wait for the anatomy scan to make any real purchases, my need for a good deal has landed quite a few baby items in our house... much to The Husbands chagrin.  The "I got such a good deeeeeal" is getting old.  He informed me I'm on no-baby-spending lockdown until July 13th.  He's such a buzz kill.

1.  Activity Mat.  Paid $5, used.  

 2.  (old school) cloth diapers, to use for spit up, etc.  Free, used.  

3.  An insane amount of girly clothes considering I've known she was a she for only 7 days.  Crazy.  We have actually only purchased four of these.  The rest were bought my mom, mother-in-law, or sister.  The girl will have quite the wardrobe before this is all said and done. 

3.  We have decided on the bedding!  "Haley" from PBK.  The Husband actually picked this out (and felt quite strongly about it) so I'm on board.  We bought the blanket just so we could take it home and compare it to paint chips.  I will return it once our decision is finalized.  
p.s.  We aren't painting her whole room pink...

4.  Bumbo.  Free, used.  

5.  Changing Table.  $15, used.  Contour changing pad.  $5, used.  
I'm not 100% sure we're going to use the changing table... but I figured I could probably re-sell it for $15 and not be out much money.  If we do decide to keep it, it will be painted white to match the crib. 

The reason I'm unsure if we're going to use the changing table... is because we've pretty much decided to buy the Hemnes 8 drawer dresser from Ikea.  I'm thinking the changing pad would just as easily sit on top of the dresser and that means I have one less piece of furniture in her (already small) room.  Experienced mamas:  good or bad idea??

6.  Snoogle.  (Pregnancy Pillow).  This is probably the best 65ish dollars I've spent.  It doesn't guarantee I'll sleep through the night - but it certainly has been helping.  
(forgive my sheet-less bed.  Today is wash day!)

7.  Restoration Hardware Moses Basket and Stand:  $60, used. 
This, so far, is my favorite purchase.  I always imagined a bassinet in our room - but so many people said pack 'n plays were just as good.  The issue I had with said pack n play:  they're ugly.  Plus, my mom already has one at her house when we travel.  The Husband isn't convinced about the moses basket.  
I think this is dreamy...

I think she'll probably only sleep in this for the first 8-12 weeks in our room.  After that, she'll move to her crib with a video monitor.  The woman I purchased it from recommended using one of these in the basket, so the baby doesn't curl up against the side.   

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Dear Husband.

{a copy of the father's day card I wrote on 6.17.12... the day after we found out the sex our our baby}

A daughter...
A sweet, beautiful, little girl...
The thought of you as our daughter's father takes my breath away.  You will be the first man that she trusts, loves, and depends on.  What a lucky girl she will be to have you standing behind her and supporting her through every turn in the road.

H, you have given me the amazing gift of developing life within.  I don't think there is any way to tell you how thankful and fortunate I feel to have you as my husband by my side, and my sweet little girl kicking away inside of my belly.

Thank you for all you do, all you have given me, and for creating this family with me.

I love you forever.  Happy Fathers Day.

Shannon

Friday, June 8, 2012

I am alive.

I apologize for the empty blog for the last 10 weeks or so.  I know so many of you sit on the edge of your seat for these posts... /sarcasm.

The Husband and I have been chugging away at life and the blog has taken a backseat to all the new changes happening.  I'm 15 weeks pregnant now.  We find out the sex of the babe in 8 days.  I cannot believe it.

Things we have purchased 15 weeks into the pregnancy:

Books
So far, I tried to stay current with "What to Expect...." and "Your Pregnancy Week by Week".  Honestly, I haven't done that great of a job staying up with my reading.  I typically only have time to read at night - and I'm too tired to do anything but sleep.

I did read "Belly Laughs" cover to cover one weekend.  It was an easy read, and was funny... but didn't have a whole lot of information I didn't already know.  

The other books haven't even been cracked open.   It feels very far away I'll actually have a baby, so the pressure to read about how to make them happy or get them to sleep hasn't hit me.  


Baby Items
  • A ring sling to carry the baby.  Similar to these.  We found this for $5 at a garage sale.  I have no idea if I (or babe) will like it... but I was willing to risk it for $5.
  • A crib.  This was purchased by my mom about 2 days after I told her I was pregnant.  It was not my ideal situation... and she bought it without me seeing it.  Again, not ideal.  However, it's free to us - and my dad has offered to paint it to be the color that I had in mind.  
  • An activity mat.  Similar to this.  Again, this was a garage sale item that was clean and cheap.  
  • A changing table.  This was $15 at a garage sale and was a similar style to the already purchased crib.  I am hoping my dad will paint it to match the crib as well.  
We have discussed registering, but before now it has felt too early.  I think we'll buy a few cute things when we know the sex... but otherwise we will be waiting for the anatomy scan to make any major purchases.


Maternity Wear
At about 12 weeks, my jeans were becoming uncomfortable and The Husband convinced me to go to a maternity clothing store and try some things on.  I got in there and was TOTALLY overwhelmed.  The Husband was encouraging and trying to get me to relax, so I tried to power through.  Long story short, I ended up crying in the changing room.  It was horrible.  I felt completely out of my element, unhappy with my changing body (vain, yes.  true, yes), and overwhelmed by the options.  The Husband realized things were not going to get better... so we escaped asap.  

As an alternative to maternity wear, I purchased a few extra summer dresses from old navy that had plenty of room in the tummy and those have served me well up until now.  At this point, I'm down to about 6 dresses that I feel comfortable wearing.  That's not quite enough to last me through the scorching summer.  Dresses are great... but I'm not sure if you've heard of the term "chub rub".  It's unfortunate... but it's a reality.  My maternity spanx have been great at helping me combat the rub - but they're hot, and mama needs some shorts.  

I would typically never wear shorts because my legs are... well... not cute.  However, my plan this summer is to have such a cute bump that people are distracted by the roundness of my mid-section and will never look down to my legs.  

Here were some of my purchases from last night:




Some of my flowy-er tops are still okay, and I have plans to find some cheap options around town.  Hopefully with three different "bottoms" I'll be able to mix/match a little easier.

Over the next month (weeks 15-19) my goals are:

  • Make decision on furniture for baby's room - even if not purchased.
  • Make decision on birthing classes.  I think I want to try the bradley method - I'm just not sure I can get on board with 12-15 weeks of classes!  I need to make my mind up asap.
  • Decide where I want to start a registry.  Amazon?  Buy Buy Baby?  Babies R Us?
  • Buy the Baby Bargains book and read that sucker cover to cover.  
  • Decide on nursery inspiration for boy and/or girl
  • Make final decision on cloth diapers.  I'm 90% sure... I just need to do more research.
  • Find out the sex of the little nugget in my belly!