Gearing up for Baby Gear!

Kicking in today at 22 weeks! I can barely believe that it has gone by so fast. Soon our baby girl will be here and time will surely stand still, I can only hope.

We have decided on the our crib and changing table! Hooray! We are going to get the Crib4Life Generation Next edition. There were a few reasons this crib sold us, one being the drop front that is baby safe and designed for short people. Once the mattress is lowered, I will be able to bend in and place the baby safely in the crib without a step stool, whereas with every other crib in the world, I wouldn't be able to. Of course the appeal that it is well made and perhaps would last through more than one baby and it converts to other furniture later on, a transformer bed, how cool is that? (Thank you all again for your advice and help! It did not fall on deaf ears.) The other big selling point, especially for Eliot, is that the delivery cost is cheaper than any of the big baby superstores. AND the thing is that they will deliver it, put it together and move it around your nursery for you. That is pretty amazing service. 

Now for every other gear decision! Though,we are first time parents and can easily be swayed to consider needing things that we really do not need, we are also fairly laid back and low key types. As we embark on the great journey of car seats, strollers, swings, high chairs, pack 'n plays, etc...is there anything that we must have? Other than of course, the Gooooooooooooooal Potty! I realize that our infant will not be needing such a delightful training device for several years but who can contain themselves. If you pee-pee in the potty it has stadium-like cheers!  My only concern is the toddler would think that defecating on any soccer ball  is permissible and perhaps become frustrated when others don't open up. This would lead to a red card, I am sure of it!

The Name Game

Now we know we are having a girl, the name game as begun.We have a list of possible names that we like.We are hoping to have some sort of implicit meaning in our names, other than we liked it. There should be a story.

My name story always amused me. My parents had decided that if it was girl my mom would name me, if I was a boy my dad would name me. My mom had picked out Raquel Aleda after my godmother and my grandmother. I was born on that frigid February morning and my dad was given the papers to fill out as my mother rested after delivery. He just couldn't bring himself to write down the names. So he named me Christine no middle name. He figured I already had a Spanish last name, and most people hate their middle names, both my parents do. I was in America, I should have an American name. Thus, Christine. The first day of kindergarten I claimed that I should be called Christy. My mom calls me Tina because Christina is Spanish ends in Tina. Most of my relatives call me Cristina, except one cousin that has always called me Chris. The history teacher at work calls me Chrissy and through the years I have responded to a million variations of the name. It works for me and I thank the Lord my dad didn't think I was Raquel (be sure to add that rolling R when you say that). I just can't imagine myself with the big hair, red lipstick and giant hoop earrings...not really my style. So there is a lot in a name.

Back to the drawing board we go. Slap, slap, clap, clap, snap, snap, A- Agatha...hmmmm

Is my bump thumping?

Every morning the alarm goes off and my first reaction is to hit the snooze. I sleep another 10 fantastic minutes. Then it goes off again, traditionally I would enjoy another 10 minutes of precious slumber, now I hit the snooze and lay in bed rubbing my belly bonding with Baby Girl Gaurkee. All the books say, that you should feel your baby move sometime between the 16 - 22 weeks. So for approximately 5 weeks, I have been waiting. Waiting and at some points worrying. After my sonogram, my midwife eased my weary mind by telling me that clearly she is moving like crazy in there, any day now I should feel a little something. Then I will feel a little more and eventually she will be a dancing rock star like her friend Holland.

My mom said that I wasn't a giant mover when I was in the belly which isn't a total surprise because I can sit still like no ones business. I hate tapping or leg shaking. I have threaten children across a room to stop this absurd behavior. I can entertain myself for hours, even if I am just lying there. If our baby girl takes after her father, she must be trying to chase something shiny in there all of the time. And when she's not, she should be picking at something...her finger nails, her knee, her boogers (wait that might be me too.) It's a toss up really.

Yesterday I think I felt a thump. It was like a light flick. Are you thumping me girl? I sure hope so.

Chiquita Banana

Officially week 21, I am over the hump! Not necessarily over the bump! I am closer to the end of pregnancy than I am to the beginning, it's hard to believe. We found out last Thursday that we are being blessed with a little girl. Eliot said, "Good night girls!" the other night as we were falling asleep and I think that I feel in love with him all over again. It warms my heart. On a less heart-warming note, I have filled him in on some fun facts about little girls in utero, for example, the fact that she already has 7 million eggs in her ovaries, though they will diminish by almost half by the time she comes out. Eliot has already declared that she is not allowed to use any of them and that he isn't walking her down the aisle if she chooses to marry an a-hole. Oh Dads and their little girls! He has also begun scoping out pink soccer balls for her impending stardom. She is at least the length of a banana measuring 7in from rump to head about a full pound. She is ginormous if you consider her itty bitty beginnings!

We are having crib troubles. The books, the lists, the people in the know, say it's time to put in that order for a crib because it could take almost 12 weeks for some deliveries. Since I like lists, they make me feel good. We begun our search. I originally found a crib online that had gotten good reviews from users and from consumer reports. I swung by Babies r Us to see it in person. They didn't carry the brand. I returned to my savvy inter-web and apparently this crib can only be purchased online. For some reason, that doesn't sit right with me. I want to see it physically before I buy my infant's first piece of sleeping furniture. There is something about that. What if the quality isn't great or if I see it and I don't like it, then I have a crib that has been delivered to my house that I have to return. What a pain! On Sunday, we saw there was a coupon for 20% off of purchases at Babies r Us, we figured it was our shopportunity! After thoughtful deliberation, and consideration. We selected our crib and changing table! As nervous first time parents we were pleased with ourselves. We were confident we had made a superb, top-notch decision! We sat down with the nicest sales girl to order it. As she types in numbers and flips though pages of this and that, she reports that the items are on back order. The warehouse is not sure when it will ever be in again. She filled out a request form for us and let us know that the full time person in charge would be able to get more information for us on Monday.

Not normally a pessimist I knew in my core that we wouldn't have smooth sailing. Monday morning I received a call, the crib and changing table were no longer in production. Once again, the search begins again. It was the only crib we were interested in at that particular store so we will go to Buy Buy Baby tonight and see. I also found a smaller shop in that area (Brandon) called Crib 4 Life which we will also check out. You would think that cribs would be sold almost on street corners considering the booming population these days. Certainly I am not the only person in need of a crib. Should I get over my online purchasing phobia?

If I had a craving...

I think back at all the times in my life that I wished I was pregnant, not necessarily because I was ready to have a baby but because of all the things that pregnancy meant such as being able to eat whatever you want with no worry about getting fat. The daydreams were filled with hot fudge sundaes, milk shakes and french fries. Dancing Oreo cookies as they leaped in to that glass of cold milk and then melted in my mouth. Hopping Hoagies like Cliff Huxtable made on the Cosby Show filled with great cold cuts and soft luscious bread. Health Ice cream with yummy sauce dripping off the side, pizzas twirling in the sky with great cheeses and fresh tomatoes. The sparkle in my dreaming eye shines just a little.

The truth of the situation is that I haven't had any real cravings and I can't seem to gain enough weight (first time in my life ever!) I am still at my pre-preggers weight which I guess is another fantasy all together. My body has changed but the weight hasn't. A blessing surely...but as with most things in life there are always things to worry about. Not gaining enough weight can be problematic for the baby just as much as gaining too much can be as well. Tomorrow we will see!