Badda bing

The nursery is finished! And "just in time" as I am due on Friday. Of course, if you talk to my Mom, there's no way I'll have my baby before then, on that day or even the few days afterwards, just not in our family history. However, optimistically, she has booked a flight to arrive in Illinois exactly one week from today, so here's hoping the baby's not TOO far past the due date, lest she come all this way to hang out with Sven. Actually, scratch that, here's hoping the baby comes tomorrow. It IS a full moon and I've heard that is good news for babies. Plus then the baby would be born on both Mike's Grandma Ellen's birthday and my sister and her husby's anniversary. BADDA BING.

So without further ado, here is the finished nursery! The super plush fantastic rocker has arrived, as has the Etsy-commissioned lyric art and the custom designed elephant art, specially made by a one, Jessica Scurte. I am quite pleased with the results and find myself spending time rocking by myself in the nursery. Now all I need is the baby!

Crib, rocker, hand made blankets by H and Jan, and super fab ele art! 

Bookshelf with miscellaneous baby supplies

The Lyric Art

And finally, the baby announcement art.
Can't wait to get Christina the information for this final piece!

Letters to Papoose: #3

Dear Vulture Baby,

I don't know exactly what you are doing in there that causes middle-of-the-night calf cramps, but can we be done? The one last night was excruciating and I was beginning to wonder if there would be a time in life I would ever not be in pain. Is this what labor is like, but instead of in my calf it's in my hoo-haw? I gotta say, if it is, maybe you just hang out in there for, like, ever.

Love, Mama Bird

p.s. While we're at it, I know it's getting a little crowded in there, but Mama needs her ribs for important functions like protecting my lungs and supporting my thoracic vertebrae. If you could work on not trying to break them into tiny pieces with your kicks and tushy thrusts, that would be great. You're the best.

Nursery Update

Much progress has been made on the nursery! In the last few weeks I have:

Purchased a bookshelf and a side table.

Something within blogger alters the image to be more squat and wide. Actual bookshelf much larger.
Side table not pictured. White. Boring.

Ordered the best rocking chair in the world.

Actual color, grey, but you get the idea. You can't fully grasp the comfort from the photo.

And FINALLY finished assembling the dresser!

Living room rug added to room for measurements. See below for the Decision: Rugs 2013
Also notice the crib has a lovely "skirt" Jessi helped me construct from re-purposed curtain remnants. And of course when I say "helped" I mean "constructed solo while I chatted with her and peeled stickers off the bottom of the crib."

We have also crafted our patented room organizer chart wherein we measure the room and all of the furniture in it and make a to-scale diagram. It is uber handy in finding optimum furniture placement with minimal back-breaking pregnant lady furniture moment. It also taught me a life lesson: Don't put up a photo on facebook of said organizer chart unless you really want people to think you don't know how to arrange a room. It's sad that people think I would actually place my baby in the center of the room, but they sure did. I suppose I should take that as a comment on my decorating ability. So noted.

Note: Said "changing table" was actually to be a refinished dresser, but is now being scrapped.

With the help of said organizer, I think we are going to forego refinishing the existing dresser we had in the room to act as a changing table and simply buy a step stool for me to use the main dresser. I have also been advised by many a mama that I will most often just change the baby on the couch or the floor or what have you. So, problem solved, less work to be done!

So like I said, the room is really starting to come together. We just have one final piece: a RUG. (Well and then artwork, but Jessi said I need to have a rug for her to pull colors from first, so there you go. It pays to befriend a designer!) I found one that I loved at West Elm, but it was more than I wanted to pay and then I found out I couldn't see it in person at a store and had to pay an additional $30 to ship it! This lead me to overstock.com last evening and boy did I find some neat rugs. Added bonuses come three-fold: 1. they all have customer reviews 2. free shipping and 3. reasonably priced! So now I need help choosing! Please comment with your favorite rug. If you are viewing this on your ipad and can't comment, please text me.

Rug 1

Rug 2

  

Rug 3

  

Rug 4

Rug5

  

Rug 6
I could not get the picture to work, so please view it here.

And finally, me at 28 weeks:

Fatty.

Flashback jokes to 2002

Who's got two thumbs and just passed her glucose test? THIS GIRL (points to self with thumbs)!!!

I am nailing the start of the third trimester. That's right, officially in the last of the trimesters. Bring it. (Until I have to start thinking about labor, #1 most dreaded part of pregnancy. But we don't have to think about that yet, right? Right. Savor today's victory, I say.)

And for the record, it was the latter.

Dread

Tomorrow is the second most dreaded thing for me (at least in my mind) of this pregnancy: The Glucose Test (TGT). I have heard everything from "it's wretched and awful and you're going to want to vomit" to "it's not that bad, quit being such a baby." Let's pray for the latter.

If I'm being honest, I don't even know what happens if TGT shows I have gestational diabetes. Does it go away after you have the baby? Gosh, I hope so, because I've seen Jonas Andrew give himself diabetes shots and it does not look like my bliss. Do you have to give yourself shots if you have GD? I can't even start to go down this twisted path of dread. Instead, let's return to paragraph one and pray for the latter.

Fingers crossed, friends!

Letters to Papoose: #2

Dear Vulture Baby,

Feeling your little baby karate chops and patented 1 - 2 punch combos is probably one of the neatest  experiences of my life. I love it, real talk. However, just because we have to get up for a bathroom break at 3 a.m. does NOT mean it's time to practice your wax-on, wax-off moves for an hour and keep mama awake. Let's save that for three months from now, shall we?

xoxo Mama Bird

26

By now you've most likely seen this picture, but for posterity's sake here is a photo of Vulture and I at 26 weeks. I received a number of requests from folks up north who had yet to see a photo of me pregnant and thus, the first and perhaps only photo I will post of myself on facebook. Enjoy.

H lent me this mat dress. I enjoy it both because it is a size I should not be able to squeeze
into and because it is fairly flattering. Thanks H!

T-14 weeks.

Letters to papoose: #1

Dear Baby Vulture,

People say that if you have heartburn when you are pregnant, it means that your baby will have a lot of hair. Now, that sounds like it might be hokum, but if it's not, I really hope you don't look like a miniature orangutang.

xoxo,
Mama Bird

How a pillow changed my life.

I know, bold title, but I totally mean it. I have always been a terrifically poor sleeper. I toss and turn and need a pillow between my legs for my achy old lady back and then when I reposition the pillow is stubborn and I wake up and then I can't get back to sleep and then Mike or Sven or both are snoring and then Sven is laying on top of the blankets making it impossible for me to move and and and... So forest through the trees, sleep is kind of a nightmare for me.

You can imagine how excited I have been for pregnancy sleep which is, notoriously, horrible. My darling husband bought me a regular body pillow for my 30th birthday as a fake out gift. (Real gift, right hand rose gold ring, he did good, you guys.)

So I thought, yay, body pillow, the answer to my pregnancy sleep! And let me tell you, it's really great for when you first fall asleep on the one side. Super, in fact, right up until my restless self starts thrashing about like a sleepy killer whale. One of my coworkers told me when I was first pregnant that I should really get a super-industrial, amazing, Cadillac pregnancy sleeping pillow (my words, she probably said something normal like "u-shaped pregnancy pillow") and I thought it was a good idea. Then I received said fake-out birthday gift and I thought, well, that will work, no need to buy an additional body pillow. But I was wrong about that, like I've been wrong about most things lately (I can wear 4 inch heels through my pregnancy...).

Then, one fabulous day 2 weeks ago, Zulily (equally the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me) had some posh super-industrial, amazing, Cadillac pregnancy sleeping pillows on sale and I jumped on it, friends. Easily some of the best $50 I have ever spent. This pillow is like sleeping in a hug. A hug that doesn't snore and breath on your neck and keep you awake (that's right, I said it, I'm not a cuddly sleeper and I don't care who knows it). I have slept so amazing the last 2 weeks. I'm not overstating when I say this pillow chanced my life. I'm pretty sure I'm never giving this pillow up. This is not *exactly* what my husband wants to hear. I mean, this thing is fairly sizable and sets up a pretty impenetrable barrier between the two of us. After 30 some odd years of horrible sleep (I'm assuming I slept poorly as a child, I don't really recall), he can suck an egg, because my new bestie, Pillow Fluffington, stays (unless he really, really makes a fuss because I value my marriage and all of that).

Finally, a glimpse of the pillow in action. I had to persuade him to let me put this photo on my blog, but he wasn't' happy about it. You know what he was happy about? Sleeping in a hug while I readied myself for work.

Best husband and pillow I've ever had.

FAIL: Posting a DNS for the Pregnant Half

Warning: Do not read if you don't like incredibly self-indulgent sob stories.

I am a runner. That is something that took me a lot of years to be able to say without partially giggling or judging myself in the back of my mind. See, I'm not a naturally gifted runner, not the typical build or ability. But I've worked hard at it, quite frankly hated it for years, and now I love it and it has become an incredibly important part of my life. Originally it was something I just did for myself to be fit and to fit into my prom/wedding dress. Then it morphed into something I did as a personal challenge, to do more distance and accomplish personal goals. Then it morphed into something that Mike got into and we did together, which has been great for both our marriage AND our cholesterol. And finally it has become a great community for me, both with my run club and my other runner friends as well as the the greater running community. There is a camaraderie one only feels at an event where everyone else is as "crazy" as you to be wanting to run significant distances without being chased by an evil murderer.
 

Said run club at the AU 5k.

So far in my pregnancy, I have been SUPER fortunate to be able to continue running. I have skipped a few runs, sure, but for the most part I've been feeling great while able to keep up with my run club and competed in a (albeit slow) 5k at 18 weeks (see above). I even signed up for a half marathon on May 5th, thinking that since I've maintained a 10-mile distance since the marathon in October, I could do a half no problem. I told myself that if I couldn't do the half for any reason or if I feel uncomfortable or if the baby could potentially be harmed, I would quit and there would be no shame and I would accept it. Sometimes you tell yourself things and you are just straight up lying.


You see today I had a HORRIBLE run and Sunday I had a HORRIBLE run and I'm pretty sure that means I have to stop running. I am not accepting it. Despite attempting two different belly bands, the increased size of my belly has started having adverse affects on the ligaments/tendons/muscles what-have-you of my lower abdomen and it is incredibly uncomfortable. And bonus, it makes me feel like I have to pee the entire time, which Sarah V. warned me about and I magically thought would just not happen to me. This makes me indescribably, and perhaps irrationally, sad.

My mind knows that if my body is in pain it is not good for the baby and I need to stop. But my overly emotional and competitive side REALLY wanted to be able to finish a half marathon while pregnant. The total bugger part for me is that I could have done this no problem 4 weeks ago. Probably even 3 weeks ago or last week (save for that pesky Achilles issue). But this week it is evident that is no longer true. Perhaps it was too ambitious to begin with, but 3/5ths of my run club plus Mike plus a heap of controllers are planning on running it. I hate to miss out on fun and I had a not-so-secret ambition of trying to beat some of Mike's coworkers while pregnant. Even more disappointing is not be able to run even short distances now. I read an article about pregnant distance running yesterday that basically said it's okay as long as you are paying attention to your body and listening to it when it tells you to slow down or stop. It talked about your reason for wanting to run and if it's for your own personal gain you need to buck up and think about your baby because you are being selfish. I know running the half would be selfish. So I won't do it.

I know it seems stupid and I'm being incredibly whiny, but I feel like I'm losing a piece of who I am. Perhaps who I am is changing and I need to get on board with that. I know this will not be the first thing I have to "give up" for the baby, but it is certainly the most challenging so far. Yes, MUCH more than cocktails. I imagine many of you are snickering at me a little bit thinking, "Oh just wait to see how your life changes when the baby actually comes." My sister's tales of not being able to go to the bathroom uninterrupted come to mind. I know that's true and it's coming, but for today, I mourn the loss of my run and the accomplishment of a pregnant half. Insert tiny violins playing the saddest song in the world here.

And now for those of you who have asked for belly photos (notice how much more of the archway in the background I occupy from 18-22 weeks...YIKES):

18 weeks, feeling fine, running 5ks, taking names.

20 weeks, last 10 mile, still feeling great.

 

 

22 weeks, wheels fall off. Baby practices karate in my belly with the patented kick-punch combo to remind me that this is not about me and I should get over myself. I'm working on it. Mom, thanks for never having sympathy and teaching me to move on. I'll be past this by tomorrow and ready to cheer everyone on in 10 days!

Look out Great Western Half Marathon - I'm coming for you next year!

Baby Boom

Remember that Diane Keaton movie, "Baby Boom," from the 80s where she's a successful single lady who then suddenly has a baby thrust upon her and she moves to the country and sells homemade applesauce? Me too, it was awesome. I know Courtney does too because we rented it like a million times from the library when we were growing up. You know, because 7 and 9 year olds can't get enough Diane Keaton. Now I really want to watch that movie. My family always calls me a yuppie, so perhaps I am finally having my very own Diane Keaton moment.

If you think I'm not going to do this when Vulture is born, you're wrong.

Anyway, I digress.

Point being, my best friend had her second baby boy today! Welcome to the world, Gus Andrew and way to be awesome, Rachel Lee! I am so excited to meet this handsome little man. I can already tell he is funny and charming and maybe a little bit mischievous. Congratulations Capistrant family! xoxo

Gus looks like he could lift a truck in this picture. Minutes old. Gifted.

Poll: For or against

I'm thinking this would be an amazing sign for the nursery. I mean, start em out with the right attitude, amIright? For or against?

Barney Stintson approved!

Conundrum 3: Strolling

Things have been progressing along nicely in Vulture's room! We have the crib set up, the dresser purchased and a plan to refinish the existing dresser into a changing table that his/her vertically challenged mother can use without straining her back (the new dresser is a bit high, which was my original plan). Sidebar: Ruth, did Mike share with you that he's planning on your help in June with the refinishing? Speak now if you'd prefer to stay away from that mess, I know I am ;) We have also purchased a car seat, the chicco keyfit 30, due to many glowing recommendations, to aid our new vehicle search. Now for strollers...

Our original plan was to get a running stroller that could function as our ONLY stroller via conversion kits for the car seat. But after a visit to the Capistrants and a trip to the bike store, it became apparent that the right choice is to buy a bike chariot that converts into a running stroller - two birds, one baby-mama-exercising  apparatus!
 

This one has two seats, one for Vulture, one for Sven!

So now the question is: what is the best stroller for day-to-day use? I'd like something fairly compact that I can bust about stores on a shopping spree, but also something with storage so I can haul my goods from the farmer's market home. 1, 2, 3 GO!

Milestone

Mike felt the baby kick for the first time tonight.  So that is neat.

Hi-ya!

Conundrum Two: Car seats

Hello again friends.

Blog update #1: Based on the lovely feedback we received from the nursery post, we purchased the bird sheets this weekend! (I received more feedback via text as some were unable to comment. This is unfortunate and I hope that goes away.) We also purchased some elephant sheets that I think will go in the room that Mike REALLY liked. Combined with the two sheets my sister has offered, I should be ready for any and all baby messes, crib edition! (Please say I only need 4 sheets...)

Los elephantes, Mikel's amor.

 I figure birds and elephants are cute together, amIright?  I'm thinking I may buy this print to tie the whole thing together.

 

Or THIS. Though we'd have to wait to see what we're having and then also come up with a name. And this is a giant wall mural and I'd only want it hung in a frame. Semantics. 

Or we could just put Vulture on it for posterity.

Okay, so conundrum 2, car seats. When new, impressionable parents-to-be visits a fine establishment such as the Buy Buy Baby, the sales people LOVE to share their knowledge on the greatest, best, and SAFEST for your soon-to-be mini human. Which is lovely and appreciated, but also leaves you wondering what you really need and how much you really need to pay. The helpful and sales-minded gentleman from Buy Buy Baby suggested strongly that we buy a car seat that has "baby airbags" for lack of a better term. Supposedly the only way to go unless you want your infant to die dramatically in a fiery crash. He neglected to mention that the super-safe car seat cost roughly 100 more US dollars than the non-airbag equipped.

Equipped with dual-side airbags, will protect your baby in case of fire, earthquakes,
landslides, avalanches or any such natural disaster.

I'm for safety, I AM, but here's my issue: I'm pretty sure we were strapped in the back of my mom's Camaro to a 2x4 with a lap belt. Somehow I am still here to wonder which safety seat is an acceptable vessel to place my own baby.

The 2013 version of the 2x4

I discussed this with my lovely sister, mother-of-two, and she assured me that the "baby airbags" are unnecessary and that both Lucia and Lyla used the same car seat when they were young, sans airbags. She went on to say that now Lyla has a grandma-purchased top-of-the-line booster seat and it is "awesome." So I'm not really sure what she was trying to tell me. Do I want "good enough, baby probably WON'T die" or "awesome, but overpriced?" So weigh in, ladies, baby airbags or Camaro 2x4?

Conundrum One: The Nursery

The first poll for your valued opinions comes in many parts:
I have some, what I think, are good ideas for the nursery. First, the room is already a nice sage green hue, so I've checked "find wall color" off my mental list. At a recent wedding (this is what we do now at wedding receptions, I guess), H and I found some bedding that I enjoy, and I *think* is "gender neutral." But you go ahead and judge for yourself.

Birds, fitting for a baby with the moniker "Vulture," no?

I would most likely get both birds and grey stripes for sheets. H and Jan told me that the pretty quilt is unnecessary because babies do not sleep with quilts, so I will most likely not be purchasing that.
Questions:
1. Do you think the yellow is okay if we have a boy?
2. Do you think yellow with the green walls will look alright if there are white curtains (which conveniently, have tree branches and birds on them)?

OR do you think we would be better suited to find something green, because as I was looking up the photo of the bird sheets and I came across this and I sure like it. Which is greater? Birds or xoxo?

Boys like hugs and kisses before they snuggle to sleep, yes?

 Next subject: A crib. Now, I sure like the grey crib that is pictured with the bird sheets (if you're on the actual site.) There are not a lot of grey crib options, but I have found a few. Most of them are in the higher price range and I'm resistant to go that route. There is a nice looking grey crib that is also a good price, but it is online only. I am nervous to buy a crib that I have never seen in person, therefore can not judge the quality. Has anyone purchased a crib online without seeing it/would you do such a thing? Am I being too paranoid?

Said online-only grey crib. 

Last question today. Many of the cribs we saw when we went on our first "baby buying adventure" (a terrible name considering we actually bought nothing) were convertible from crib, to toddler bed to full size bed. This seems awfully appealing to me, outside the fact that they are roughly triple the price. However, it makes sense to perhaps buy a nicer piece of furniture that you will be able to keep and will grow with the child as opposed to a crib/toddler bed that they will sleep in for, what, 5 years? (I guessed, how long are kids in toddler beds?) Second however, will that nice piece of furniture still be nice by the time it becomes a full-sized bed? Or will the baby claw and scratch and bite at it so it is perhaps ready to be recycled by the time that baby is ready to sleep in a full size? 

This eventually becomes a toddler bed, daybed OR a full-size bed. Fancy.

So the question is: Crib-toddler bed or crib-toddler bed- full-sized bed? Thoughts?

Welcome

Well, this is no surprise to any of you, but I am now 17 weeks into creating our very own human. It has thus far been a fairly smooth process, an incessant need to go to bed in the 8 o'clock hour and a newly developed aversion to chicken aside. The papoose is now the size of an onion and it is slightly more recognizable that there's a baby in my belly and not that I've been eating too much pizza.

This is what my baby looks like. Err something. 

Mike and I are starting the process of buying a whole lot of stuff. Apparently miniature people need things, lots and lots of things, and I am more than somewhat overwhelmed by trying to find the balance of what we NEED vs. what we might WANT and what is good and safe vs. what is overpriced and provides a false sense of security. It occurred to me that instead of creating hundreds of facebook polls for advice and opinions and annoying 3/4 of my facebook friends in the process, I would create a blog and invite my favorite people to read it to weigh in (if they so choose) on the myriad of baby-related decisions we will be making within the next 5 months. Plus, I thought this would be a good way to chronicle my first time doing this whole pregnancy thing and hey, if I'm motivated, keep those who want to see copious photos of baby Vulture with his BFF Sven in the know. It's also *possible* I'll need some advice at that time.

Oh right, why do we call the baby Vulture? Charming story really. Recently we took a trip to Colorado with our friends Brian and Sarah. While we were having lunch one day, they were asking us about baby names that we liked. (Sidebar: we have really no progress in that area, but I'm sure more on that to come.) I mentioned that I liked the names Wren and Lark for a girl. Brian looked at me quizzically and said, "Why do you want to name your baby after a bird? If you're going to do that, you should name it after a cool bird, like Vulture." Boom, perfect en utero name for the couple who is not finding out what they are having (Much to the chagrin of some of you, I know). So there you have it.

I look forward to all of your thoughts and advice and HELP in the next few months. And with that, Sven has the desperate need to sit on my lap, making it impossible to type. Things could get interesting when his new best friend arrives...until next time.