I Heart You, Craig's List

My sister-in-law Meliss had a great recommendation - look for used baby furniture, especially since you just don't use some items for very long and they're so expensive.

This was some super smart mom wisdom. So I started out my mission on Craig's List. Low and Behold, I found this beauty for $25 the same day!!

We never would have been able to transport it home without Katie helping to arrange for us to borrow Marc's Jeep, which worked perfectly. The changing table is really sturdy. It has a few scuff marks and some wear on the basket shelves, but I don't think Baby Grover will notice. And hey, I can live with some scuff marks if it means paying $25 instead of $200 or more. Besides, I really like this style better than the regular old changing tables out there.

And just to make me feel even more delighted about my steal of a deal, here are some links to other changing tables out there:

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2559325

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2574660

http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2574677

My next challenge will be scouting out a new dresser and glider. Wish me luck!

Another Pregnancy First

This morning on the metro, I got some of my first unsolicited pregnancy and childrearing advice from a complete stranger – a Lieutenant Commander in the Navy! I should have known that this would be an awkward conversation when it opened with him asking me, “Excuse me, ma’am, are you with child??” (who says that?!?!) He asked me if I was considering breastfeeding (No, I’m just 330 pages into The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding for kicks) and proceeded to tell me the thousands of reasons that I should.

But then he asked me if I was going to a midwife or doing a home birth. Imagine his surprise when I informed him I would be giving birth at a hospital!! Mr. Lieutenant Commander said he didn’t want to push anything on me, but this was something he felt strongly about (clearly!). He wrote down the name of his midwife from California who wrote a book in the 70s. Though it was really flaky, according to him since the entire decade was flaky, “I mean everyone had long hair”. Thankfully, a less flaky version was republished in the 90s.

Mr. Lieutenant Commander explained all the reasons you shouldn’t have an epidural, the complications, how it makes birth more difficult, etc. To comfort and assure me of his expertise in the subject, he proudly said he wasn’t just some hippie; after all, he studied physics at the Naval Academy. (Had he only known what a tree-hugging, recycling, California, non –religious, liberal hippie I am!) He also explained that this was SO important, he had actually had missed his stop on the metro so he could talk to me more. As he left, he gave me good wishes: “Best of luck to you in the Universe!”

Suddenly, I realized that I was on the wrong train, and had to transfer to another one and go back like 5 stops in order to get back on track. If he hadn’t talked to me the whole way, I could have switched a stop earlier much more easily.

It was all quite humorous in a way. I mean, I already knew and was mostly in agreement with all the things he was trying so hard to convince me of, but I just don’t understand why he felt so compelled to share his worldly knowledge with poor, helpless, unknowing me. I thought about telling him how I’ve read a lot about natural child birth, or that he didn’t need to convince me to breastfeed, because I had already made that decision. But I didn’t want to engage him any further. He was really trying to be nice. I couldn’t help but thinking the whole time I was being talked to, how I would definitely blog all about this experience.

Non Baby Update

Okay all you readers out there. I changed the settings so you don't need a google account to leave a comment.

Week 18

Starting this week, my heart is supposed to begin working 40 to 50% harder to support the pregnancy and Baby Grover is big enough to be cradled in the palm of my hand. Did you know that after I have a meal, Baby Grover gets all its nutrients within one to two hours? The little rascal continues to gently swoosh around in there.

Useful Baby Care Instructions

My friend Sarah sent me a hilarious email with "helpful" dos and don'ts of baby care. I laughed so hard I was crying. I had to share this with my faithful readers :)

Check it out:

http://allfunny.net/index.php/funny-pictures/proper-baby-care.html

No, I did not just have a big Christmas dinner

Surprisingly, I've gotten a lot of the same reaction from various people when they've found out I'm pregnant. Several people said they just thought I was really enjoying the holidays, someone else said they just thought our unit always had a lot of snacks at work, and someone else said they just thought I had a really big Christmas dinner!! It's a baby, people. I'm surprised by how many people assumed I was chunking out. I wonder how many more have been wondering at how or why I've just "let myself go".

In other news, there were a couple of firsts today - Today, a sweet lady offered to give little pregnant ol' me her seat on the metro. At least *somebody* thinks I'm pregnant. AND, we got our first gifts for Baby Grover in the mail today!! We are so excited. Our friends Julie and Bill got us a Grover book (There's a Monster at the End of This Book!), a Grover stuffed animal, and a Burt's Bees Baby Starter Kit. Thanks, guys!!

And FOR SURE I felt the baby move tonight. yay for Baby Grover!

Week 17

Holy Moly, did I grow a lot this week, or what?!? Wowsers. I can't believe that in 3 weeks I will be half way done being pregnant! The time has flown by. It makes me nervous that we'll have enough time to take care of everything we need to before the baby arrives.

Today was my monthly doctor appointment. She confirmed that our baby has a 1 in 5,000 chance of having Down Syndrome, so that's really good. Had some extra blood work done today, and talked with the doctor about doulas and epidurals. I heard the baby's heartbeat again today. AND, I know I've gained weight over the past month (and have the pictures to prove it). According to the doctor's office, I gained only one pound in the past month. Either I was wearing some pretty heavy clothing last time, or the nurse didn't do a proper reading on the scale.

I need to make an ultrasound appointment in the next couple of weeks so we can take a look at all the baby's organs and find out the sex of the baby!! I'll be sure to schedule the appointment so Lane and I can both go together. I really want him to be there, and plus our last ultrasound appointment together was just fascinating.