30 weeks!!!!

I am 30 weeks now. I can't believe it. 10 weeks to go, which if you think about it, is not much time. It's 10 more weekends. 10 more episodes of Grey's Anatomy....10 or something is not that many PLUS, god forbid it could come early. Yikes! All this has made me think about all that we have left to do and get. We are borrowing a bassinet from a friend, which I will pick up soon, and we need our changing table thingy from Ikea, and we need a glider. Those are the three things, but for some reason they feel like big hurdles. Hmmm.....my birthing classes aren't for another month or so, which now suddenly feels like cutting it close! Wow. I need to chill out and take it day by day, but I think when it turns from "I've entered my 3rd trimester" to I've entered the third quarter of my pregnancy, it turns some sort of corner. Either way, other than having a nasty cold I've been feeling ok as long as I take it easy. If I go on long walks or exert myself too much I get very tired and my feet hurt. I've been sleeping well - probably because I've been sick, but hey - I'll take it!

general update

I am almost 6 months pregnant! Holy crap. I don't know why, but that feels SO far along....I guess because it is! It's funny though. I am 23 weeks, and 20 weeks is the halfway mark, and that doesn't seem as far as 6 months...anyway. I am still feeling good and feeling more kicking also! I don't think I am showing as much as I could be, and I can't decide if that is a good thing or a weird thing. I am not yet at the point where I am obviously pregnant, unless you already know - but strangers don't seem to be aware. I am wearing maternity pants full-time, which is lovely. My husband is jealous of them and their stretching abilities! I am working with my friends to sort out plans for a baby shower, and I have started registering! We had a doctor's appt last week and she listened to the heartbeat and said that it's strong and that it sounds good, and confirmed that all our test results (anatomy scan, spina bifida etc) are fine....so...things seem to be progressing well and I am happy!

cribs and strollers

Johnny and I went on another baby products excursion on Saturday. We went to mini jake, Giggle and Schneiders. We are researching cribs and strollers and I hope to have these decided on soon! The cribs are making me crazy. I like a pricey Oeuf one, the "Sparrow" - and I like this Amy Coe one from Babies R Us, which is mid-range and then there is the basic Ikea "Gulliver" crib for 99$. That is a TON of price range, and then you still have to spend 200-300 for a crib mattress, which is really where you need the quality! Argh!!! I am sort of going nutty trying to decide, and I think we need to go to Ikea and check their cribs out. Are they good enough? Are they sturdy enough? Do we have enough Ikea in our home (yes). I think we will decide between the Amy Coe and the Ikea and be done with it. The Oeuf is a nice designy piece, but I'd rather get something a little less pricey.

PS> The crib pictured is my "dream" crib, but it's also a ridiculous $2500!!! Forget about it! I could by a car for that.

kicky mckick's-a-lot

The baby is officially kicking. My husband even felt it the other night. It feels SO strange....but it's so nice to finally have my own kind of knowledge that there is a living, growing being in there! It's strange...I felt it in Chicago, then not for a couple of days, then I felt it a lot one day , and then not for another 24 hours, and today I am feeling it a lot. I read that it gets more consistent as it grows and there are even patterns to be felt after about 24 weeks! neat-o! I was on the subway yesterday and felt a massive kick that it actually made me jump! Yesterday I barely felt it at all, so that was a pleasant surprise. I've renamed it "Kicky".

On another note, we're going to have another baby store adventure this weekend. A couple of weeks ago we went to Babies-R-Us and Buy Buy Baby. This weekend we're going to go to The Stork Store, Schneiders, and Mini Jake. My goal for this month is to have a glider purchased and also a new rug for our living room...oh and to have appointments made for our hospital tour and the "intro to the birthing center" class so I can see if it's a place I want to be! I think setting goals like this is key in the coming months. I also want to decide which crib to get and which stroller/car seat to purchase too, but I don't know if I need to do those things this month. We shall see!

more clothes...

So last night I decided to head up to the H&M in our area that has a maternity section, which happens to be the one in Herald Square right near Macy's. Yay Macy's! I was pretty damn surprised at how small the maternity section was, but the nice thing was that it was on the 3rd floor and not busy. I didn't have to wait to try anything on and at H&M that is a rarity. I tried on some jeans, pants and tops. The jeans ans pants were both ok, but I was worried about shrinkage - not of me, of the clothes;) so I decided to wait until I really needed them which will probably be in a few weeks. As of now I am wearing pants and jeans that are 2 sizes up from my normal size. I still have to undo the buttom sometimes though. The shirts were crazy. All elastic gathered waists with but poufy bottom halfs. I was really looking for something to wear now, not in 3 months, so I got one maternity shirt in this super nice royal purple color which should last my whole pregnancy. I then ventured downstairs to the normal clothes and found 2 more shirts that worked well 2 sizes above normal. I'm feeling content for the moment with regards to shirts! I popped into Macy's to see what was up there, and low and behold their maternity section is a damn Pea In The Pod...same stuff I saw the other day. The good thing though, was that the salespeople left me alone. So next time if I'm feeling like I really need something from that store, I'll just go to the macy's version!

maternity shopping ugh.

Yesterday I decided to go to the city to go to a store that was a combo Pea In The Pod, Motherhood Maternity and Mimi Maternity. I got there and it was 2 levels. Downstairs was Pea In The Pod which was SUPER expensive stuff. I mean it was ok, but really - am I going to spend $250 on a maternity shirt? I don't think so. They had some cute sale stuff, but I wasn't feeling it so I went upstairs to the other 2 places. As soon as I made it up, a saleswoman asked if I had ever been there before and explained the store to me. She told me her name. Fine. Thanks. I started looking around and managed to do so without too much hullabaloo. I was there mainly for a dress for a wedding I'm going to next week and a maternity bra and I guess to see what it's like in a maternity store.

I got to the changing room and they put my stuff in a room and asked me my name and stuck it on a post it outside the curtain. This was done by Joanna, who then brought me more dresses, which was fine. Then I left my stuff in there and went to look at bras and 2 other women helped me which was fine. Anyways - the bras didn't seem any sturdier than the ones I could have bought anywhere else, and all the dresses were empire waist, so pretty much anyone would have looked pregnant in them. My friend Stacy showed up to help me and she found me one that's nice, yet casual enough for this outdoor wedding. It was on sale and that was great.

I guess my problem with this store was that pretty much from the second I walked in it was obvious to me that these people were on commission, everyone clearly stating their names, and that is something I can't stand. It's a horrible way to shop. I want to be left alone and if I need help I will ask. Also, about 3 people came up to me at 3 different times while I was near their wall of maternity beauty products and tried to talk me into buying different stretch mark lotion which was proven not to work just last week!

Among the 40 people that seemed to be working there, the real annoyance and only generally unhappy person I came across, was the one taking my money at checkout. Despite the fact that she had a stick up her ass, she clearly had a spiel that she had to give everyone. First she asked for my zip code (I lied), my due date (I lied) and then my address. I don't like giving out my address, especially this way since she never said "do you want to be on our mailing list" to which I would have said "no thanks". She just asked for it. When I said "I don't want to be added to the mailing list", she said in a snarky tone "So you don't want money-saving coupons for Gerber and Similac and blah and blah and blah????" I said "no". I didn't end there. She asked me to fill out a form to get 2 free copies of Parenting magazine to which I said "no thanks" again. I think there were more things, but It was such a pressure filled shopping experience that I was just soured. I'm sure some people love shopping when you have commission salespeople, but not me. I am starting to feel similarly to when I got married. The rule is sell sell sell! Next time I'm going to Macy's, H&M and Target or online when I need something. This place was ANNOYING!

PS> I'm 17 weeks

nesting

Last weekend I did a shitload of organizing and going through closets and drawers and plastic tubs etc. We took 12 or 13 bags of stuff to the thrift store! (see photo). I am feeling a great need to get very organized and throw away unncessary crap, which there is a lot of. I hear nothing but stories of how much stuff you get when you have a baby and how amazing it is that something so little can take up so much space, so I am trying hard to create that space. As far as NY standards go, we have a decent sized place. It's a 2 bedroom with 2 closets in the main bedroom, one in the hallway and one in the 2nd bedroom. The 2nd bedroom is now used as an office, and will most likely remain that way for a while. I think the kid will live in our room for it's first year. The office is badly insulated, and either boiling hot or freezing cold, and it's also not noise-proof at all - and it's kind of far away from our room, so we've decided to play it by ear and plan for the first year of life to happen in our room. SO....we still have 2 closets to go through, and these are closets that are so full that you have to close the door really fast so stuff doesn't fall on you. This weekend I will start on the hallway one! I also made a trip to Ikea yesterday to check out a shelving unit with a drop down changing table that seems like a wise investment. It will fit perfectly i the space we need it to, so I think that will be a good purchase. A friend offered me use of her gorgeous mid-century modern bassinet, so I think I will take her up on that for the first few months and then switch to a crib. I'm on stroller research now, but I can't really proceed until I scope them out in person, and then I will start on crib research.