"It broke"

My next blog post was going to feature all of the little things we have set up in the baby room. We have a few highlights in there we are excited about. However, Highlight #1 just pulled a chicken-little, and we have to try it again.

When we went to Mexico for a wedding in January, I begged David to haul home 2 painted sinks and a Mexican hammock - the kind that you sit in, as opposed to lying down. I sat in one, and it was sooooo comfortable, I thought it could work as a nice soothing place to rock/swing with baby.

So we got it set up. Hurrah.


And then it fell down. Sad.


I was downstairs working when it happened, and the whole house kaboomed. David has been worried about it since hanging it, and keeps sitting in it to test it. Last night, he heard kinks in the screw making strange noises as he felt the first sprinkles of plaster land on his head. This morning, he sat in it again, and waited. Legs crossed, just as you see him in this picture. And then it happened: he just fell. From the air. Onto the floor. Sad. And it's the hardest I've laughed this month.

Belly Photos: 30s Weeks

I was really bad and did not record when this belly photo was...so I'm thinking it was in the early 30-ish weeks. At this minute, I'm 35 weeks pregnant, and am in the stage of serious duplication, meaning, I'm just growing really fast. So, you'll still have to stay tuned for the up to the minute most recent belly photo. ;)


This is just before Easter, and just before I ODed on a lot of tempura from Sushi Samba. It was so good! But too much fried for this pregnant body. I got a little giddy at the store and bought some things to plant, like lavender, rosemary, and little purple daisies of different varieties. Exciting. Yes, I planted them as a pregnant lady, and yes, that did wipe out my back and hips and sent me straight into recovery aka bath.


Some question this - a pregnant lady on a chair painting a scalloped trim - but I went for it. Yes, it once again wiped out my back and hips, but I just had to do it. I cut out a scallop of the size I wanted, outlined it with chalk, and then painted in the lines. Might try to package this into a little product to sell to add to the stencil market. Was fun.


Yeah, so this is against the rules, but Oliver is used to trying out all new beds when they come in. Mom: You are not allowed to write any comments here in all caps about why this is not allowed. We are aware, and this was a good test run to see what his tenancies are. :) But it was darn cute. Are they going to be like the Siamese cats in Lady and the Tramp? We'll see...I've been training Oliver for being outside, and he's loving it. Dinah is easier, and she can't jump into things.


This is our seriously pimped out pac 'n play. They are all pimped out now, and it's a matter of what you want on top. David is operating out of the changing table attachment at the moment.

Here's what's been happening:

SHOWER
We had a little baby shower here at the house, and that really motivated us to make things nice. David touched up the chipped paint on the porch, bought a corn toss thing as a game in the back yard, I planted flowers, and we finished hanging pictures and such. We had some maternal belly dancing courtesy of Suzanne Caesar of Maternal Dance (ps, we are redesigning her website!), and delicious food from HomeSpun, our local and delicious cafe in Beacon. We are outfitted now with some childrens book classics, onsies and blankets, mysterious drug store items for me that I guess I'll soon learn about, and other things that make me feel calmer about at least having somewhere for the baby to sit other than the blank nursery. We didn't know that there were so many swings a baby can have - side-to-side, back-and-forth, and the bouncer. And that doesn't include the portable bassinet, and infant car seat that the baby can hang out in. All I can say is, good thing we moved. And darn, cats also like sleeping in these conveniently low to the ground empty baby seats.

STROLLER
This was a source of overwhelmedness for us simply because of the sheer volume of options and reviews. So many reviews! We ended up going with a BabyTrend jogging stroller with snap on car seat (not for jogging with newborn, but for inflatable tires, easy maneuvering, walking through grass and broken sidewalks). It looked pretty snug and safe, so, we shall see how this stroller pans out.

BABY MOVEMENTS
Baby is totally moving around, getting comfortable. The tush is on the right side of my belly, just sticking out like a little booty. I was on the train yesterday, riding into the city for a social networking conference, and was wearing a tight shirt. The baby was just swimming in there, and you could see lots of movement of my stomach! Kind of felt like I was that person in the movie with a secret alien in her stomach, but just pushed those thoughts from my mind. Lots of hiccups have been happening, and for the most part, the baby is in a good position, or so I hear.

HOSPITAL TOUR
So we have two hospitals - the one in the city with the Dr I love, or the one out here for the backup in case things go faster than we think and I know nobody (eesh). Also a point of stress for a few reasons, the main one being insurance. In the city, apparently, the private room may not be covered. But the one out here is, and it's ginormous and has a pretty view of the Hudson River and mountains. Of course the private rooms in the city have different prices for different views. Bastards. Also, apparently, it is possible for a medical person to come into your room, and bill you, and not be on your insurance. Maybe this mainly happens with anesthesia people. Not happy about this, and am making a sign that says: BLUE CROSS BUE SHIELD ONLY - ALL OTHERS KEEP OUT.

So that's the update!

Belly Photo: 28 Weeks

Hey Everyone,
Since you've requested, here is an official belly photo. I'm not one to have belly pride, although now that I have one, I kind of get it. Otherwise, it's winter so I reap no benefits of being pregnant with people offering their seats to me because I'm in coats and big cumphy sweaters. Although I did just buy two books last night at Walmart (yes, we were at Walmart now that we don't live in the City, but we were really there for cheap spring curtain rods), and I dropped one of the books. When I dropped it, I just stared at it because this pregnancy has softened my bones and taken a lot out of my hips, so walking is a little less perky or strideful. A woman must have seen me staring, and just swooped in, picked it up and handed it to me. Very nice.

And yes, that picture is in the baby room, so that is the color of the wall, that in my mind, might become stenciled if I think I can do it...Not so much stenciled as free-hand...And that black band is the bella band, so it can keep my painter pants up.

And here is a picture of Oliver, on the belly. My mom thinks he is tracking a mouse in there, which is pretty much what it feels like.

Here's What I've Decided About Maternity Jeans an Shirts

That they will always be falling down. We bought the pregnancy jeans to be a size 3 (out of 1-3) because I'm a taller girl with love handles, so who knows what could happen.

The Page Skinny Jeans (which are not so skinny), that had the spandex elastic band, are fine and comfortable, but they just keep slipping. If I put the bella belly band on top of that, eh, it could help, but mentally, I don't want to double up on the elastic.



The Habitual jeans are skinny, but have the two side pull elastics. I like those, but they really don't stay up either, and need the bella (belly) band. So that bella band is on my body almost every day. Get two. I thought I ordered the Habitual Knocked Up jean, but the skinny jeans came, and I'm totally happy with them.



A friend handed down to me another pair of Habituals, and these are not skinny, but more roomy and ultra comfortable, yet the waist is ultra big, so they really slide. Bella band to the rescue again to keep them in place.

The thing with shirts is this: though I'm not "eating for two" in the sense that I'm having 2 cheese burgers, my belly is not huge. Yet. At 28 weeks. So some of my old shirts do work, and I don't want to buy official maternity shirts, and I like wearing my old stuff. However. Today I've realized that it's the waist height that is the issue, not the stretch or fit up top or in the arms. These normal shirts are all waist long, and slide up over the belly button, so I'm constantly pulling it down. I also noticed this in my Maternal Dance video, where the work out ladies have long stretch t-shirts on covering their bellies. Much better because you don't have to think about how much slippage is going on.

RECOMMENDATIONS
My recommendations so far are:

• Spring for the designer jeans (as recommended by Beth). I'm glad I did (well, my mom did), as they are the perfect length (usually jeans are too short on me). I wear them every day, when not wearing stretch pants.
• If you are going to exercise, get longer shirts. I didn't do this because it's winter and I've been doing DVDs and not jogging (personal choice), so I haven't been outside to need to look cute. But. If I were to go to a yoga class, I'd need longer shirts.
• Get the bella band, for your old pants, and for your maternity pants that won't fit. The "rubber band trick" where you loop a rubber band around the button and through the hole didn't really do it for me, and pants still slid.
  
• That bella band inventor is a genius. So simple, yet...Bravo for taking her idea to fruition!
  

Bump Alert - Pregnant in Mexico

Here is the latest bump. It was hard to find a picture because this dress, when lying flat, is fine, but sometimes the wind got under it and made me look extra pregnant. ;) Otherwise, I have a bad habit of wearing my old clothes that are just too small, but that I think work. Tee hee. For example: I actually no longer fit into my easy-peasy Victoria Secret shelf tanks. Otherwise, this was on our trip to a beautiful wedding in Cancun, Mexico.

Ok, off to do my Maternal Dance DVD, and maybe another video for some cardio. Then I think I need to book a maternal massage with Collective-E member Janet Markovits.

That's a Bump, and, Summation on Pregnancy Jeans

Or it's the cheese fondue I ate at that family Christmas party...

Yes, those are still my jeans. Stretch cords actually, from AG. Love them. Lifesavers. You see, there are no jeans for preggo women I've decided. I've learned about 4 different waistbands:

• Adjustable: My favorite. There are hidden elastic straps inside of the waistband, and you just pull and button when your pants get too big. All of my jeans should have these. All of my Habitual jeans at least, since they always stretch out.
• Short Waist Band: A total tease so far. They just squeeze all of my love handles into smushy messes. Not all brands make such aggressive elastic, but some do. Woa nelly.
  
• Wide Lycra Waist Band: Gentle, almost too gentle. See, I ordered a size 3 in all preggo jeans from Habitual and Page Skinny (nothing skinny about them), and they are falling off. Literally. So, I'm either busting out the butt and literally breaking my jeans, or they are falling off.
• Low Belly: These have no elastic at all, just a super low belly. Very odd. Like bikini, but for preggo ladies. I got these in Habitual Skinny (they were supposed to be Habitual Knocked Up, but I think they sent the wrong ones). Skinny they were (yay! legs are the only things I've got going for me), but in the waist (size 3), a smidge big. Sigh. It's weird to want to grow into your jeans, to actually hope your thighs get bigger. But then you stop thinking that real quick.
  

So that's the update on that.

Yes, I'm Pregnant, and There Will be Clothes

This is a pregnancy card from Kate's Paperie that I bought myself because guess what, I am pregnant. I could have bought it for several other friends who are pregnant, but darn it, it was too cute to not cut and paste it into my new pregnancy journal that I also bought at Kate's. The booties were knitted in 60 seconds by my friend Word Bird, and were done so with pink and green yarn so could be unisex.

Now, I just have to warn you, I am not a "baby person". I'm one of those people who looks at dogs on the sidewalk, and goes mushy. I look at babies in strollers, and instead of wanting my own tiny baby, just want to have my own one of those stroller sleeping bag blankets that I myself can sleep in. In other words, the clock in my belly wasn't ticking, but the clock in my brain was. My goal was to set up my own business so that I could work from home or have easy access to my children (even saying that feels weird!). I also wanted to be sort of young. My mom was 23; Dental Mista's mom was 19. I always had a feeling that I wanted kids young, but wouldn't do it until my early 30s. Well, here we are! And for those of you mistas who think that you're getting old because you're in your 30s, let me tell you: most likely, you are just as ripe. ;)

So are you going to see me jump and down and stuff? Probably not. But it's not because I'm not excited. I'm more overwhelmed and humbled with learning, and realizations that babies and all of us are miracles. Will you see cutenesses in between the lines of these pregnancy posts? Probably. ;) Why did I wait so long to blog about it? Well, because it's all still a little weird to me, and I keep learning things that make new milestones of 'safeness'. So, at 15 weeks, I think I can tell you.

FAQs
These are literal FAQs ;)

Do you want to know if it's a boy or a girl?
At first I wanted to go old school, and David quickly agreed. I also didn't want to get too attached in case something bad happened. But then I kept getting ultrasounds and saw it progress from a black smudge, to a white spec inside of the black smudge, to a jumping bean in the black smudge (indicated heartbeat...milestone!), to now a flipping around tiny baby thing. Then my friend, who was supposed to be the one who would hold out with me and be one of the last to get pregnant, actually got pregnant, and then 20 weeks later, called me to say "It's a girl!" after her ultrasound. So I decided that I wanted to know, but David wants to wait. So I just won't tell him. ;) Plus, David and I are hooked on 2 names - one girl and one boy name. So, I'd really like to know which I can start latching onto, and which I need to get final about (I'm not crazy about the boy name, but I'll deal with that once I know the for sure answer).

Are you having cravings?
Not really. I like pickles anyway, so now am just freely eating them. I will say that I'm eating new things. New, and bad things. Like soda. I've sworn off Diet Coke, but the more I see it in people's glasses with ice cubes floating around, the more I want to suck it down. I'm having a Sprite right now. I have a sweet tooth, but am trying to not give the baby diabetes. The sight of cooked salmon grosses me out. I love salmon, so this is a sad loss.

Are you tired?
It varies by week. Like most of these new pregnancy symptoms. This week I appear to not be tired, as this post is bring written at 10pm. But I must say, in the beginning, going to bed at 9pm was awesome. Now, I don't get so much tired as my bones get tired. I'm told that my bones have softened to make it easy for them to shift around and widen (wha???). So, sometimes I feel quite crackily and brittle.

Are you going to move out of New York City?
I'm not going to lie. The school system freaks me out. There is a consultant I could go to who could help me navigate (I know that sounds silly...but really, it overwhelms me), but David and I grew up in the midwest. We kind of like the outdoors and backyards and crocuses. Plus, I grew up in a place I wanted to break out of and see new things. I think that gave me a drive, yes? It's a cockeyed theory tho. Unproven. The thought of leaving New York City leaves us jittery. So, we've looked at Upper Manhattan (aka Harlem, Washington Heights, anywhere that has a shred of a deal left), and train towns along in the Hudson. We shall see...

Are you going to go on maternity leave?
If I was working for a salaried desk job, sure, I'd take it and cherish it. But I don't. I blog, I Facebook stuff, I help people grow their websites, I love challenges, I order more inventory and love when it sells off the website. So that is work for me, but it's work that I love. To not do it would leave me twitching. Look at Diane Keaton's character in Baby Boom. She left her job (pushed out), and started making all of those apple sauces until they were a huge business. She just could not sit still. And guess what. Neither can the baby! It flips around all of the time and punches the air.

You must read the Girlfriends Guide to Pregnancy.
Ok, this isn't a question, it's a statement. I'll confess, I have the attention span for the weekly www.babycenter.com emails, which tell me what week I'm at and what's happening. Last week, the fingerprints formed. I also have the www.childbirthconnection.org experts on speed-email because Katie James Pixelated helps them manage their website. But I use this only in emergencies. But it has inspired a new Pregnancy 101 section...

Can you feel it?
No. And that makes it all weirder. I have no bulging bump, and I don't feel anything flipping. I can see it flipping during an ultrasound, but that's it - for now. I'm told that later on of course, I will. Last summer, my pedicure lady, who I see every 2-3 weeks, looked at me in my umpire waist shirt from Urban Outfitters and said: "Baby!?" and I had to say "No.". But now when I go in there, I feel like they are looking at my extra love handle-ish belly, and wondering, and not saying something. When they say something to me, I will feel officially pregnant. But for now, I think they are being polight. ;)

Are you drinking coffee?
Yes. One cup a day is deemed ok. I only drank one cup in the morning anyway.

Are you getting the H1N1 shot?
Yes. After much consideration, I decided that the conspiracy theorists who thought the government was trying to kill us through the shot was not actually logical. The H1N1 itself seemed to be taking care of that. I have a pretty high immune system anyway, but do have asthma, so after a lot of debating, I got it. I requested the mercury-free one.

Are you getting the flu shot?
Not sure. I don't get the flu much anyway, tho I'm told that my immune system is down during pregnancy. We shall see. Soda doesn't help the situation, and usually brings on a cold if I'm having one floating around my body. So I should stay away from that.


MY OBSERVATIONS
Ok, so once you say you're pregnant, everyone thinks you have a belly that you might rub. What you actually have is "redistributed weight". So, while I gained 0-3 pounds in the first several weeks, I had more love handles than ever. I think I'm at 8lbs now, and skirts from the summer are just not getting over my hips. It's depressing. Oh, and why am I trying on skirts from the summer? Because I am the most comfortable in leggings, and leggings need a little skirt or sweater dress to go over them. And saying to me: "But it's for a good cause!" doesn't console me. Until I find a wardrobe that is easy to put on again, I will fight this non-weight weight gain. Still no bump. Ok, maybe a tiny bump, but if you didn't know I was pregnant, you'd think I'd been eating too many Crumbs cupcakes again.

Guys sense the pregnancy hormones. I swear it. It's like a perfume.

I am in a raging clothing crisis. I already needed new jeans, as one pair of my Paige's had shrunk long ago so were tight anyway. My Habituals finally are in shreds, and my AG skinny jeans are so skinny, that while stretching them out after the dryer, they finally split (the fabric went soft, of course!). I patched those, but on way to the pedicure place two weeks ago, they split again, and this time, there is no return. I told this to my mom: "Mom! I am showing cheek!" And so began her maternity clothing mission. And who am I to stop her. She has since found maternity for Habitual, AG, 3 dot, and more. My good friend New Mom Mista (who needs a new name by now) loaded me up with her very nice maternity collection, which consists of a lot of pink and green, her favorite colors. The collection included 7 of All Mankind jeans, but we have both agreed, that the elastic on those (for the bump), is waaay too tight even for her pilates stomach. This is hard people. Very hard. I'm currently in Pink sweats from Victoria Secrets, or in my AG stretch cords in my normal, non-pregnant size (oddly). We found stretch cotton shirts at Anthropology in the sale room, so hurrah. The search for normal looking maternity clothes has begun.

Ok, I'm off to bed so that I can get good sleep for the baby and wake up tomorrow for some small amount of cardio to keep the oxygen flowing.