Baby's Growing Closet

Our baby's closet has grown. It all started with a bib that Selesia bought our son weeks ago. Today, Matt and I picked up a few things for baby's layette. We bought about 1/2 the recommended number of items, but I think we are just about ready for bringing home baby--except for the car seat, receiving blankets and baby care items. We have our first box of diapers for the baby. We're holding off buying any more clothes until we get closer to the due date.

All the newborn sizes are super small so I went for mostly 3-month size items. We'll keep a complete list of clothes and baby items for the curious. For now, have a looksie at what we bought today.

Gift from Auntie Lesia

5 white side snap tee shirts, size 3 months

3 white pullover tees, size 0-3 months

1 5-pk of neutral colored Onesies, size 0-3 months

1 3-pk neutral colored sleepers, size 0-3 months

1 3-pk sleepers in neutral colors, size newborn 5-8 lbs

Assorted items: 3 caps, 3 bibs, 5 pairs of mittens, 2 pairs of booties all in neutral colors

Splurge item: 1 monkey sleeper, size 3 months

With the cutest darn monkey faces at the feetsies!

More Oktoberfest

Berta already covered just about everything when it comes to Saturday. What a fun time! We haven't been up on the mountain in quite a while and it was extra nice to get out on such a cool, cloudy day. We might not have gone dancing, but baby has been quite active these last few days. I wanted to get a picture of him enjoying the polka music, but it just doesn't work out quite as well without an ultrasound machine:

Baby (aka Baby) at 22 weeks

Of course that's just me being silly. As evidenced by this slightly embarassed laugh:

We paid a heavy price for such a fun day - we both ended up completely exhausted on Sunday. I told Berta last night that I didn't feel fully awake until after my Soccer game (which ended just before 10 pm).

In other baby-news. I actually felt him kick this morning! Even Berta was a bit suprised. He has been generally kicking/hiccuping/rolling toward her bladder - this was one of the first times she's felt it being directed outward. I can only imagine what it is like to feel all of those little movements from the inside.

Taking Baby to Oktoberfest on the Mountain

On Saturday, we drove up to Ski Valley for Oktoberfest. The weather was wonderful! It was cold enough that we had to wear light jackets and I had to use my ear covers while we sat and listened to the band play. The event is small and for some, probably boring. The brats are pricey and they get smaller every year, but we love spending an afternoon doing nothing but sitting and enjoying the cool weather.

This year, we didn't try to waltz or polka. I'm simply too big for that.

I was a little nervous (of course) about going to the higher altitude. I ate hot fries and Twizzlers on the way to get in a few extra carbs. I had a slight headache for a little while, but the fun of being outdoors outweighed even the annoyance of overused and flooded portable restrooms. We used the facilities in Summerhaven. They now have a Community Center and we found out that they rent the big room for receptions and other gatherings. Matt and I are just thinking of an excuse to throw a party there!

Before leaving the festivities, Matt returned to the little shop that sells fudge for the last of the rum raisin fudge. Unfortunately, the last of it was gone. He had already gotten 1/4 lb rum raisin and 1/4 walnut. This second purchase was 1/4 lb German chocolate. Here is he waiting in line.

Matt (aka Daddy) at 22 weeks

Overall, I did really well on this outing. Once we left Ski Valley, we parked along a dirt road and walked on a valley trail. We took turns taking pictures with the camera we bought just after Christmas. I didn't get tired for a long time, but when I did, my ankles and calves started hurting. I slept during the car ride into Tucson.

We stopped by Mimi's cafe for a small dinner and by that time, I was exhausted and down. I am noticing that when I get really tired, I get a cranky and unhappy, but here is a picture of me still in a good mood.

Berta (aka Mommy) at 22 weeks

Today, we relaxed at home. Matt did chores in the morning and I worked on Baby's book list. Right now, Matt is across town playing soccer with his team. The weather outside is great, so I'm optimistic that he is having a great time. This blog is written, so it's my turn to do a few chores and get ready for Monday.

Baby's Reading List

Matt and I have been growing our baby's book collection. We're keeping an updated list of his books on this blog (see link on right navigation panel). These are the books we are reading to him as he grows. It is a collection of starter books and books for older children so that we have a variety of reading levels, interests and vocabulary. The different books also give us the ability to have short nightly readings before bed and longer readings with Baby at other times.

Baby's Books

A
The Adventures of the Little Polar Bear by Hans de Beer

B
The Berenstein Bears and the Spooky Old Tree by Stan and Jan Berenstein
The Berenstein Bears Forget Their Manners by Stan and Jan Berenstein
The Berenstein Bears' New Baby by Stan and Jan Berenstein
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle

C
Cooking with the Cat (Based on the book by Dr Seuss) by Bonnie Worth/ Christopher Moroney
Corduroy by Don Freeman
[A Treasury of] Curious George by Margret and H.A. Rey

• Curious George Takes a Train
• Curious George Visits a Toy Store
• Curious George and the Dump Truck
• Curious George and the Birthday Surprise
• Curious George Goes Camping
• Curious George to a Costume Party
• Curious George Visits the Library
• Curious George in the Big City

D
Double Fudge by Judy Blume

E

F
Fudge-a-Mania by Judy Blume

G

H
Heaven is Having You by Giles Andreae/Vanessa Cabban

IJKL

M
The Monster at the End of this Book by Jan Stone/Mike Smollin

N

O
Otherwise Known as Sheila the Great by Judy Blume

P
Puppy Too Small by Cyndy Szekeres

QR

S
Superfudge by Judy Blume

T
Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume

UV

W
Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak

XYZ

Books are listed in alphabetical order by title. Format is Title by Author(s)/Illustrator

Ouch

Yesterday, I was definitely feeling pregnant. I woke up with a tingling sensation in a small spot on my upper left thigh. I tried to get our baby to shift positions by laying on my right side for a while, but he was not influenced. The sensation went away after a few hours.

Just before I had to leave for work, I noticed that my feet were swollen. I had worked from home in the morning and planned to go into the office for the three meetings scheduled for the afternoon. I kept my feet elevated while I ate a quick lunch, but they were still swollen when I had to leave for work.

In the evening, after working out on the treadmill for a while, I put my swollen feet up again. Then I started getting this sharp pain just above the pubic bone on my left side. It was really close to where I was getting the tingling sensation. Today, everything was back to normal. No swelling, no tingling or sharp pains. I think I just got a small glimpse of the possible discomforts of the later part of pregnancy.

Quad Screen Results and Other Topics

Our appointment yesterday went well. The results from the quad screen came back negative which is great news. The results from the toxoplasmosis came back negative. Good news is our baby has not been exposed. On the other hand, that means I don't have antibodies. I'll have to continue to be careful around cats, not touch raw meat and Matt will continue primary laundry duty.

Listening to our son's heartbeat is always a welcome confirmation that he is doing okay. We have to wait 4 weeks until our next appointment and I will try very hard not to cave and buy a doppler. Pregnancy is a chance for me to really give up worries and practice a relaxed mind. It helps to know that if I get upset, baby gets upset, so getting upset is no longer an option.

At our next appointment, I'll be taking the glucose test. The test is to measure how well your body is processing sugar. It is not uncommon for women to get gestational diabetes, so this is a test that all women take during pregnancy. They give you a very sugary drink, have you wait an hour then test your blood sugar. The first test has a high false positive rate for diabetes, so if you don't pass the first test, they reschedule you for second test. For the second test, they give you an even more concentrated sugary drink and have you wait 3 hours before retesting your blood sugar. This second test is more definitive and will dictate what adjustments you'll need to make to manage your nutritional health to the end of the pregnancy. My only concern is to not vomit when I have to drink the solution at the next appointment. Other than that, I'm looking forward to a scheduled 1 hour of reading in the OB's office.

In 7 weeks, we go in for another anatomical ultrasound. Our boy is going to be huge by then! So far, I've gained 7 pounds in this pregnancy. I haven't had any specific cravings, but I need to be more mindful about eating greens and exercising. I need to start getting up early so that I can exercise every morning. It's too hard for me to exercise in the evenings when I'm exhausted from work and still have to get dinner done. Most of the time, I just want to go directly to bed.

As for the registry, Matt and I have made some progress. We've been cross-referencing every single item for necessity, quality, safety and parent ratings. My goal is to not buy anything that is not necessary. It's not a cost thing, it's a clutter thing.

We still need to register for birthing classes, interview pediatricians, make our birthing plan, buy baby furniture and decide what the heck to do about the carpet. At the very least we need to get the carpet cleaned. The cat has gotten bad about dragging wet food around the house and I don't think there is a square inch of living room where he has not either puked or peed. At this point, Matt and I have no intention of letting the baby be on the floor in the living room.