Andi’s exciting life.

Would you believe what I did last week? I went RUNNING! That’s right, me, the sedentary one. The most exercise I have done in a l-o-n-g while is going on walks with Falco, which is better than nothing but is not doing much to counteract my love of food and wine. A friend has a jogging stroller, so we borrowed it while she was out of town last week. I took me a week to motivate, but I finally took Falco out in it on Thursday and Friday. I would say I ran maybe 10 minutes and walked 15 each time, but we’ve all got to start somewhere. We both liked it enough that I am ready to get a stroller of my own and work my way up to running 30 minutes 4-5 days per week.

In order to make this purchase, I need to sell some other Falco transporters to make room for yet another piece of gear. So, the Zippy and the wagon gotsta go. Hopefully they will make a swift departure via Craigslist. I don’t mind getting rid of the wagon, but the Zippy hurts a little because I am sentimental about it. I spent hours and hours researching and test driving strollers while I was pregnant before I finally chose that one. Falco started riding in it when he was only a tiny baby, and he has had many adventures in it.

This is exactly why we still have almost every item he has owned since he was born. I need to choose a few (small) things that are special keepsakes and start cleaning out the rest. It’s easy to hold onto a onesie or stuffed animal as a momento, but strollers and furniture are a different story. I keep thinking we should save everything for a second child, but we’re running out of space in our already packed house. Besides, if we get rid of everything and Falco has a brother or sister later down the road, then I get the fun of shopping all over again!

I can’t remember if I ever mentioned here during my pregnancy that we were planning to use cloth diapers. We started out with a diaper service, which meant that they brought us clean diapers and we put out the dirty diapers for them to pick up every week. I thought that I might want to start washing my own diapers instead of using the service, but Matt was sure that once Falco got here I would have enough to do and wouldn’t want the hassle of washing diapers. Well, in our second week of service, they didn’t bring us enough clean diapers so I had to wash diapers a couple of times to make it through the week. As it turns out, washing them is extremely simple, so I ordered our own diapers and cancelled the service. A couple of weeks later and I’m very happy with that decision. It’s nice to save the $75 a month that the service cost and I like to be able to choose whatever kind of diapers I want to use.

There are about a billion options when it comes to cloth diapers. We have gone with the classic and inexpensive option of plain cotton diapers with waterproof covers over them. The thing is, there are tons of extremely cute choices when it comes to covers and I’m having to fight back the urge to collect them all. We only need a few covers in each size, but there are so many adorable patterns that I want to keep buying more and more. I’m trying to restrain myself on the diaper shopping front.

Overall, I’m pretty proud of our success with cloth diapering. Matt is great at it and hasn’t complained one bit. I feel like it’s better for Falco and better for the environment, so I’m really pleased with our choice. Oh, and speaking of diapering, Matt still makes fun of the wipes warmer, but I’m convinced that Falco likes it. Matt doesn’t know this yet (he will now), but I might actually have to buy a second wipes warmer. The one we have works great and is easy to refill and use, but it only works with disposable wipes. Now that I’m washing Falco’s diapers myself, I could switch over to cloth wipes and just wash them with the diapers. In order to have warm cloth wipes though, I would need the “Ultimate Wipes Warmer,” which is the only one that works with cloth. I’m sure I could sell our first warmer on Ebay to make me feel better. At this point I can’t stand the thought of a cold wipe on my little one’s tush…

I installed our baby’s car seat about three weeks ago. I spent a good 30 or 45 minutes putting it in, trying to get it tight enough and at the right angle. I felt like it was in there properly, but I kept hearing and reading that at least 80% of car seats are installed incorrectly and should be inspected by an official car seat technician. Since I didn’t want to be a deadbeat parent, I called and emailed multiple police and fire stations to try to get an appointment with someone. We finally heard back from someone at the Brisbane fire department and took it there today for inspection.

As it turns out, I rule at installing car seats. He actually looked shocked and said he had never had anyone get it in there so well on their own. He asked me how I got it so tight, and I told him I put my knee into it and pulled the seatbelt as tight as I possibly could. So, the inspection lasted just a few minutes because he didn’t have to change anything. It felt like a waste of time, but at least now we don’t have to feel ashamed when our fellow new parents ask if our car seat is official.

Ugh. I’m getting a cold. This is only the second cold I have gotten during this pregnancy, with the first one being in the first trimester or early second trimester. That’s probably about right because I think I usually only get one or two colds a year. I woke up at 3 a.m. with a sore throat bad enough that I couldn’t sleep through it, and a sore throat is how colds always start for me. The good thing is that I’m getting it out of the way now because I was kind of worried about being sick when I went into labor. Although, a friend of mine mentioned that she got a bad cold in the last week of her pregnancy and she thinks that all the coughing she did caused her water to break. I tend to get a bad cough with colds, so maybe I can cough myself into labor next week…

Yesterday I finally installed the car seat in our car. It was no small feat because you have to get it perfectly level and super tight, so it took several attempts to get it just right. I think the installation is easier if you have LATCH, but since our car is a 1999 and LATCH wasn’t added to cars until 2001, we have to use the seatbelt. We’re going to have it inspected at the local police station to make sure it is done properly, although I haven’t made an appointment for that yet. I also got the diaper service set up yesterday, and our prebirth delivery of diapers will be November 8. Those final preparations really made me feel like we are about to have a baby! The hospital bag is well on its way to being packed (it’s a gradual process), and I think finishing that up is about the last thing we have to do.

I’m hoping to feel well enough this weekend that Matt and I can carve pumpkins tomorrow or Sunday. We were supposed to go to James and Lynne’s on Sunday and possibly carve them with them, but we’ll probably hermit up all weekend so that I can keep my illness to myself. I’ll post photos of any pumpkin carving efforts we do. It will be hard to top last year…

I’ve had a very busy week, and I’ve gotten a little behind in my updates. Brace yourself because I have a lot to say.

Let me start by saying that I am in a much better place than I was when I wrote that whiny post last week. I had a few days of feeling pretty bad there, but this week I have felt back to my old happy pregnant self. I really haven’t been that uncomfortable, although Baby Gleeson is feeling very big and I’m definitely feeling like he is cramped in there. Overall we’re both doing great though.

The biggest news is that this past Sunday we had our shower, and it was wonderful. It was graciously hosted by my friends, Lynne and Robin, and it was held at our house. There were about 20 people there, and we really enjoyed having our friends over and getting a chance to visit with everyone and show them the nursery. The decorations had a cute Halloween theme, and there was a lot of yummy food, including my favorite thing which was a roasted red pepper and cheese dip that Lynne made. We had three desserts, a very tall and very delicious chocolate cake (my favorite), a key lime pie (Matt’s favorite), and a pumpkin pie. Robin set up a little onesie decorating station where people painted pictures on plain white onesies, and those are nice keepsakes for us. Our friends were very generous with gifts, and we got just about everything else we needed to be ready for the baby’s arrival. It was really the best shower I could have hoped for, and it will always be a very fond memory for me. My only regret is that I didn’t remember to take more pictures, which is very typical for me. You can click on the photo above of Lynne and my bellies to see the few photos we did remember to take. Thanks to Cory for taking the gift opening photos!

So, that was the weekend. Tuesday I had a midwife appointment, and Matt went with me to that. Everything was fine and normal. My blood pressure was a little higher than usual, but I was a little stressed because we had to wait a long time for my appointment and that might have caused it. She said it was still in the normal range and nothing to worry about. At our next visit in two weeks, we should have a quick ultrasound to check the baby’s position and I’ll also have a culture done for group B Strep. If that comes back positive I’ll need to be on IV antibiotics during labor and delivery.

Tuesday night we had our third childbirth class. This week we covered medication options and possible complications. It was informative and good to know a little about all that stuff going in. I definitely feel even more sure that I really, really don’t want an epidural, but I am a little more open to trying Fentanyl in early labor if I need to rest. She showed a C-section video at the end of class, but we left before that because Matt didn’t want to watch it. There were a few other couples who skipped it too, so we weren’t the only wimps. I can’t believe how fast this class series has gone and that we only have one left!

Wednesday night I went with Lynne to a breastfeeding class at UCSF. The teacher was great, and it was very informative about the basics of breastfeeding. Because of a past breast surgery, I am sort of special needs when it comes to breastfeeding so I still have a lot of unanswered questions. I talked to the teacher about it after class, and she recommended that I meet with a lactation consultant before the birth and again in the first few days of the baby’s life to help me be as successful as I can be. I’m in the process of finding a lactation consultant now.

Yesterday I washed all the baby’s bedding and any remaining smallest-sized clothes that I hadn’t washed already. So, his bed is ready for his arrival now. I also packed his diaper bag for the hospital with one cloth diaper for him to come home in and his coming home outfit and a few other little things. That’s really all we have to take for him because the hospital provides everything else for his stay there. We’ll just use disposable diapers in the hospital and then switch him to cloth when he gets home.

It has been an action-packed week, and Matt and I will both be glad for a little break this weekend!

I take back every bad thing I ever said about Babies R Us. Today I went to the grand opening of a new store near us (in Colma), and a brand spanking new Babies R Us is a beautiful thing. Everything was so well stocked, and all the display models of everything were pristine. Plus, all the employees were super friendly and helpful since it was opening day. Now that I have this one so close, I can go there for anything I need without having to go to that ghetto one in Redwood City ever again. I was so smitten by the store that I wanted to delete my Target registry and start anew at BRU. I think it’s a little late for that though.

My venture to the baby superstore was only shadowed by the fact that my pants kept falling down. Seriously, it was a good thing that my shirt was so long or else I would have been in danger of mooning people behind me. I’m finding it harder and harder to dress myself as my belly grows bigger. The rounder it gets the more I like it, but getting pants to stay up when you have a spherical midsection is proving to be difficult. It can only get worse as the baby (and I) keep packing on the pounds.

Tomorrow is Matt’s birthday, and we are going out on some adventure to celebrate, though we don’t know exactly what we will do yet. It will probably involve a museum and some lunch. We got the party started tonight with his birthday cake that I made a day early. It needs a more clever name, but it is called Lemon Apricot Coconut Cake. I had never made it before, but it turned out to be pretty good. Anyway, I’d better hit the sack in preparation for our big day tomorrow.

Our glider is here! Our friend James was nice enough to take me in his truck today to pick it up, and then Matt and I unpacked it after he got home. I really love it. It’s pretty small, which is good because the room couldn’t hold anything much bigger. I was worried about the color, but I think the shade of yellow is perfect. The fabric is very soft, and the seat is super comfortable. I’m looking forward to spending hours in it with the baby.

I used my nice sewing machine and rudimentary sewing skills to make something for the nursery this past weekend. After finding I was not satisfied with any of my choices of ready-made changing pad covers, I decide to make my own. I found tons of great fabrics in fleece and flannel to use. I bought two printed flannels that I thought were really cute. The first one I made was using this frog print that says “Little Prince.” I thought it was extremely cute in the store, but Matt thinks it is really ugly. So, he has deemed “Little Prince” as the backup cover. The other one is a jungle/safari print that has colors and a theme that go with the nursery. This was the second one I made, so it is higher quality sewing and Matt likes it better. Anyway, you can check out the photos below of the covers in action and close ups of the fabric.

As I am writing this, I have headphones pressed against my belly playing The White Stripes for the baby. This is the first time I have tried this, after hearing someone on a pregnancy podcast (Pregtastic) mention that she started doing this for her baby. It was easy to choose what I wanted to be my baby’s first music to hear. I mean, why not get him started early with loving The White Stripes, right? At first he didn’t seem to be responding much, but he has been moving around like crazy since the second song or so. Who knows if that means he likes it and is mentally stimulated or if he is moving around trying to get away from the terrifying noise. Let’s hope it’s the former. I like to think he is rocking out in there.

Today I got what I plan to be the baby’s take-home outfit (pictured). It is very cute and looks comfortable and warm enough. Please note the little ears on the hat for full appreciation of the ensemble. A lot of the newborn clothes I got for him already are really 0-3 months and will likely be too big for a tiny newborn. This one is pretty small, and the tag says up to 8 pounds. As long as he isn’t a giant at birth, it should work out. I’ll probably take this as well as one bigger outfit just in case it doesn’t fit him.

Speaking of his size, he should now weigh about a pound! When we saw him the first time on ultrasound just before 7 weeks, I read that he weighed about as much as an eyelash. It amazes me how much growth and development can take place in about four months.

Well, this week I hit the halfway point in this pregnancy, 20 weeks. That is an exciting milestone for me. I made a big dinner of gumbo with banana pudding for dessert in celebration of the day. This was also the day that I have felt the baby kick the hardest so far. I was resting my hand on my belly and saw my hand jump up from the movement! That was fun and exciting on its own, but especially because I hadn’t been feeling him move as much for the past week. I like it when he lets me know he is there.

The next milestone I am looking forward to is a stranger commenting on my pregnancy. That’s when I will know that I really do look pregnant to the outside world and not just to myself and Matt.

Things are coming along great in the nursery. We put the border up a little over a week ago and surprisingly had a lot of fun doing it. We are very happy with how it turned out! We received the crib and took that out to start assembling it, but one of the pieces was slightly damaged. The scratches/dings are in pretty prominent places, so we ordered a replacement part. Until that gets here, the room looks like a big mess because the crib parts and boxes are spread out all over the room. When we get it a little more in order I’ll post a photo.

As for shopping, I have held myself back on getting most everything but clothes. I LOVE buying baby clothes, and now that we know we’re having a little boy it’s even more fun. Besides the nursery furniture/bedding, stroller, and clothes, I have managed to restrain myself from buying other things so far. It’s tough though because I’m so eager to get everything ready for our little man. I’m so excited about his arrival, but I know there is no reason to fill up our house with everything baby four months ahead of time.