Picture update

This is just a picture update per my mother’s request.  :)  I hadn’t realized I hadn’t updated a picture in a few weeks.  This was taken Oct. 26...I am 35 weeks, 3 days here.  Only five weeks or so left!!! 



Odds & Ends

I went shopping today and got my diaper bag (picture below), our dry diaper pail (picture below), and a few other baby related items like pacifiers, socket protectors, baby keepsake photo journal, etc.  I also ordered my washable nylon liners for the diaper pail, which will go right in the laundry with the diapers.

On Friday, the 15th, I took our car to Babies’r’Us, where they had the fire department inspect car seats. Good thing I went because it needed to be a lot tighter! They told me 90% of car seats are installed wrong by parents! Yikes!! Ironically, we also ended up getting a new vehicle on Wednesday (the 20th), so now I need to get it checked again since that is the vehicle I’ll be driving around with the baby because it has more safety features than our other vehicle. I also ordered another car seat base today for the other vehicle so we’ll have two. As a side note, Dan got rid of his motorcycle since he will be traveling a little farther to work when his promotion takes effect soon (and also because I constantly worry about him riding it with the crazy drivers around here!). We actually traded in the bike at the dealership, which was a major convenience factor in getting the other vehicle!

My 34 week checkup was Tuesday, October 19th. Everything was measuring correctly and looks good. My doctor actually told me (while laughing) that I had a “boring” pregnancy, which is just fine by me! My next appointment (where I’ll be 36 weeks) is Monday, November 1st, and then I will start going once a week. We also have an appointment to meet the pediatrician on Tuesday, November 2nd. I can’t believe that time is going so fast!

This picture is the first Steeler jersey we received for our little one, courtesy of my parents. It’s so cute I just had to share…and Dan has a matching one!!

Cloth diapers are in!!!

I received my diapers in the mail this week! I am so excited about this!! They are so soft and adorable (pictures are below- the white cloths are the inserts)! For those of you that don’t know about cloth diapering, this is what we are doing:

The ones I ordered are called Sunbaby’s. They are a type of “pocket diaper”. These diapers last from when the baby is 7-35 pounds because of the multiple snaps on the diapers to make the fit snug as the baby grows. We will probably use sposies for the first week or two but who knows, she may fit into them sooner than that. This is how it works: the diaper is made of a fleece inside and outer layer and has a pocket in the inside. The fleece pulls the wetness away from the baby’s skin so they stay as dry as possible. The pocket gets stuffed with a cloth insert or two (depending on the absorbency you want), which also absorbs the wetness away from the fleece. You can double up the inserts for a heavy wetter or for nighttime, which is why I ordered more inserts than diapers. The diaper uses snaps to fasten so babies cannot undo them. Liners (the ones I ordered are biodegradable) look like a Huggies wipe, only they’re dry. They are flat and thin and go inside the diaper between the baby’s bottom and diaper. It’s just the poop that gets held up on the liner, and since I ordered biodegradable ones, you can just flush them down the toilet. I’m very excited to try them out!!

(The two diapers in the middle with hearts on them are not Sunbaby’s but the rest are.)  Aren't they cute?!

Travel system and other odds & ends

I think Dan and I finally decided on a name!! We’ve only told a few people and plan to keep it that way since we reserve the right to change her name until it’s on her birth certificate. I’m pretty sure it’s set though. :)

So we had a really busy past couple of days! On Thursday, I finished washing all of baby girl’s things like her crib sheets, changing pad covers, clothes, etc. and completely finished setting up her room. I even packed my hospital bag, just in case…you never know! It’s only seven weeks away now!

My birthplan is also 100% done now, though we need to give it to our doctor and hospital staff. It’s more of a wishlist of what I hope happens. I’m a little disappointed in some aspects of our hospital because of some of their rules. For instance, I would like to have a birth ball and they don’t allow that. I even have one I could bring in but unfortunately, it is a liability so they won’t let me. They don’t have a hot tub, which the Beaches hospital does but it’s the farthest away from us and apparently it’s only used 3% of the time anyway. I also wanted to be able to eat and drink as I please but once you’re admitted, you’re only allowed ice chips! How are you supposed to keep up your strength? I might not even want to eat but I at least wanted the option! Then there is a rule that you must stay in bed after you are dilated four centimeters unless you make it known that you want to be able to walk around. Well, that preference is in bold in my birthplan! From all I’ve read (which is a lot!), laying still is a great way to slow labor down and increases my chances of a c-section. I understand the liability issue, but now I wish I would have at least looked into a birthing center with midwives/doulas (and of course, a physician). However, I do realize that in the event of an emergency there is no safer place than a hospital. I just think it’s crazy how they manipulate what a woman in labor can do. Then the hospital wonders why the epidural rate is over 98%!! Ok, I’ll get off my rant now.   :)

After researching all kinds of travel systems and looking at Consumer Reports, we finally bought our travel system last Friday, which is rated (in terms of safety) among the best we could find. This coming Friday, the 15th, Babies’r’Us is having the fire department come and inspect/install car seats so we will be going there to make sure it is installed correctly.  Here are a few pictures below of it.

I also ordered my cloth diapers and liners online on Friday and I am so excited to get them!! The ones I ordered had such good reviews so I am hoping they fit correctly and we have no problems. Some people think we’re crazy for wanting to do cloth diapers but they do not realize what cloth diapers are like now. They are not like the cloth diapers of twenty years ago...you don’t fasten them with pins anymore and they’re not just linen cloths. Not only are they WAY cheaper than disposables and better for the environment but since you are supposed to put the solid waste into the toilet anyway from a disposable (and not put in into the garbage like so many people do not realize), there is really not much difference between a cloth diaper and a sposie except the washing. Also, cloth diapers are better for the babies skin and have much less chemicals than disposables have in them. After reading that 50 million disposable diapers go into landfills every day where they sit for 500 years or more before they can break down, we felt that disposables were not an option for us. We may still use them once and awhile if we travel but we both feel better knowing we’re doing what we can for the environment. I will post pictures of them as soon as I receive them.

On Saturday we had our Infant CPR/First Aid class, which was a good refresher for both Dan and me. Some things have certainly changed in the last 15 years since I was certified as a lifeguard so I am glad to have taken this course.

And this is just within the last few days: my engagement ring doesn’t fit! My wedding band still does and I have a little room there, so I’m hoping I can at least wear that throughout the rest of the pregnancy. If not, I told Dan we’ll be buying a cubic zirconium set for the time being! Luckily, my legs or feet have not swelled at all, so I’m very happy about that!

I just wanted to say I am impressed with myself that I am still able to give myself a pedicure! I must be more flexible than I thought. I have been having some pretty bad back spasms/soreness lately though, so I’ve been trying to rest as much as possible. Resting almost seems to make it worse though. When I am up and about, the soreness is much less than if I’m sitting down. I’m not sure if that’s because I’m keeping myself busy (and forgetting about it) or if I’m sitting down in an awkward position for my back. Also, I don’t think I mentioned this with my last blog post, but according to our last ultrasound, she is head down. I’m not sure if that is the reason for my back pain or not (though my pain is upper, not lower, in which lower is usually associated with the baby being head down). Truthfully, I have pain like this sometimes in my upper back when not pregnant, so I’m pretty sure I just pulled a muscle that is being stubborn about getting better! However, it has been lasting for much longer than it normally would. Add to the fact that I can’t take ibuprofen or use even Icy Hot and I believe that’s why it’s taking me so long to get over it. Anyway, our doctor told us there is only a 4% chance of her turning back up, so we’re not worried about a breech baby at this point. Our next appointment is the afternoon of Tuesday, October 19th when I’ll be 34 weeks and 3 days. This picture was taken at 33 weeks.

Ultrasound on 10/4/10

We had our (last?) ultrasound this afternoon (I’m at 32 weeks 2 days today) and we got some good pictures. First off, she’s still a girl!! YAY! Not that we cared one way or the other but since we already painted her room and bought girlie things we’re glad she’s still a girl! The tech said she had some hair, not too much but just a few wisps right now. She also told us her second toe is slightly larger than her big toe and a little crooked! Hahaha! I hope the tech was wrong for the baby’s sake but looks like she takes after Dan! I guess we’ll see when she’s born if the tech was right or not. The tech also said she had large feet, which neither Dan or I have so she obviously takes after someone other than us!  The doctor told us she was in the 58th percentile for size and weighed approximately 4 lbs 8 oz!

Here's a picture of her cute little face (she's trying to look at us) and elbow (the circle).  (Remember if you want to enlarge the picture, just click on it.)

Another facial picture.

A picture of her crooked second toe (though Dan and I can't tell)! 

Another facial pic.

Here’s also another picture of the belly taken at 32 weeks exactly on October 2.  Can definitely see a difference in just a few weeks!!