Casualty of Laundry

We had our first casualty of the front loading washing machine. When we first bought it, I remember reading that small articles of clothing could get stuck in the rubber lining. Well when a tiny sock went mysteriously missing from the clean laundry basket, Ryan solved the mystery. After some hand washing and scrubbing (it must be DIRTY under that rubber lining!), we hung it up to dry. How sad does said tiny sock look all alone on the drying rack?!

Pregnant = Clumsy

Ryan and I took yesterday off work to take care of some baby-related stuff. In the morning, we met with the Infant Toddler Network about our childcare options. After that info session, we had a meeting with a pediatrician. The Children's Medical Associates practice was recommended by several Burke moms on the DC Metro Mommies message board, and I have to say, we were sufficiently impressed. I think we've found a pediatrician!

Next, we had a doctor's appointment, where we learned that our baby girl finally flipped! YAY! We also found out that INOVA Fairfax Hospital is one of only 10 hospitals in the country that does free cord blood collection and donation, so we're definitely going to do that. All in all, it was a productive day!

I had grand plans for today as well, doing baby laundry, going to Buy Buy Baby, etc. That was, until I fell down the stairs carrying a full basket of laundry about 2 hours ago. The baby is ok, she's been moving and kicking like crazy, but I have to admit, it was pretty terrifying. Unfortunately, my butt and back took the brunt of the fall, so now I'm laid up on the couch with ice packs. Ouch. As if I wasn't dealing with enough back pain already. And I am now under strict orders from Ryan to not carry anything else on the stairs and hold onto the railing at all times. Stupid clumsiness. I don't think I've ever seen him move as fast as he did when he heard me go down. Scary morning, but all is well!

10 Weeks and Counting!

From Babycenter.com:
"Your baby's about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs almost 3 pounds (like a head of cabbage). A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it's not very keen; even after she's born, she'll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she'll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)"

So, it looks like, at least at first, she'll have my eyes! Only 10 more weeks to go. . .and from what I hear, these are going to be 10 long weeks. I've started to notice my energy levels going down, my back pain going up and my sleep getting worse. On the plus side, the nursery is almost done (pics to come)- yay! And I'm keeping busy washing all of the adorable clothes we've gotten. I had enough pink clothes for an entire load of laundry!

28 Weeks

Babies and Baseball

This past weekend, we went to the Nats v. Mets game. As the little one and I both enjoyed the 7th inning stretch, it occured to me that pregnancy is JUST LIKE baseball! Ryan is laughing as he reads this over my shoulder, but hear me out. There are nine innings in baseball, nine months in pregnancy. Both involve falling and running into things- if you don't understand this part, you've either not been around a clumsy pregnant woman or you haven't seen the Nats play recently. Baseball and pregnancy both have a 7th inning stretch. (Seriously, I think my belly has grown exponentially in the past week.) In both pregnancy and in baseball you'll hear people yell "He's out!" A baseball game and pregnancy alike can seem to go on forever. And both rely on the skills of the catcher (thanks Doc!). So, as you can see, with my own little American pastime, it's 1-2-3 months she's out at the old ball game!

Welcome to the world. . .

Edward Thomas Harn! Jessie delivered her beautiful baby boy a bit after midnight on Friday, June 25th. He was only 34 weeks and weighed just under 5 lbs. He'll be spending a few weeks in the NICU but his prognosis looks good. Jessie is doing AMAZINGLY well! I was blown away when I went to visit her at the hospital yesterday- not 36 hours after having a c-section, she was up walking around, feeling good. I pray I have that kind of strength if this little one requires a c-section as well. Edward is absolutely beautiful and he's so lucky to be joining such a fantastic family! Congratulations to Jessie, Ryan and (new big sissy) Sadie!!

Top 10 Perks of Pregnancy

10. You will probably never be healthier in your whole life- no alcohol, plenty of sleep, healthy eating (minus the occassional donut), etc.
9. You get to snuggle your baby whenever you want because she's always there- granted, if she's like mine, she's usually snuggling up against your bladder, but hey- I'll take it!
8. You get a pass for not dressing up at work, ever.
7. Along those same lines, people don't think it's rude if you eat during meetings- a plus for me given that I'm averaging about 6 meetings a day lately!
6. Random strangers tell you congratulations on the street- this might weird some people out, but it makes me smile.
5. You get to take up as much room in the bed as you want because, between the dog, your body pillow and your belly, it's just a losing battle for your husband.
4. Frequent pedicures, mostly because you can't reach your toes but that's just a small detail.
3. You don't have to paint the nursery. :) hehe
2. Watching your husband turn more into a daddy every time he feels the baby kick or talks to her or picks up a parenting magazine- I melt every time.
1. There are special bathrooms at the theatre just for pregnant ladies- YEEEESSSSSS!!!

New Ultrasound Pictures

We went back to the radiologist today for another ultrasound. Everything looked great with me and with the little girl. She's measuring right on track. But the best news is that the choriod plexus cyst in her brain is now gone! YAY!! We also got unequivocal proof that she is, indeed, a girl, which is good news since Ryan is in the process of painting the nursery walls pink as I type.

A nice profile shot:


Her face:


And, finally, her very first embarrassing picture:

And the winner is. . .

So after much back and forth, we've decided to go with the Nursery Rhyme Toile bedding! We were originally leaning toward the pink damask, but after looking at paint samples for the walls, we decided we liked the overall look of the room with the other bedding better. And, despite my protestations all along, we're going with pink walls. There's very little pink in the bedding, so we'll do a light pink on the walls with a high ledge molding in white with white above it and on the ceiling to help open the room up. Curtain, lamp and other accessories will bring in the blues, greens and other colors in the bedding. Here's an up close look at the fabric and some of the paint we're looking at.

Mmmmm Donuts

I think this baby girl has my sweet tooth because everytime I eat something sweet, she gets VERY active. Either that, or I'm giving her an outrageous sugar high and she's kicking me for it, haha! I just came back from lunch with Jessie (where we both ate sensible salads, thank you very much) and discovered a bevy of sugary delights in the cafe at work. Well, of course I couldn't pass up the custard-filled powdered sugar donut- that would just be. . . wrong.

So I scarfed it down and sat back at my desk waiting for the acrobatics to begin. She didn't disappoint. Sometimes I think I might subconsciously eat sugar JUST to feel her move and kick because I love it so much. Feeling her summersaults is a reminder that there are things far, far more important than work politics, deadlines and the constant (losing) battle to make everyone happy. I've always heard that having a baby gives you a new perspective on things, and it's already ringing true for me.

Baby bedding options

We originally chose some baby bedding from Pottery Barn Kids, but after reading some negative reviews and ratings about the quality and safety concerns, we decided to start our search over. This was disappointing, considering many of the bedding options for girls involve ladybugs, dragonflies, butterflies or flowers- none of which are really our thing. Also, we wanted to do green or blue walls, so that limited our choices even further. So after exhausting all the stores and the internet, we've narrowed down our options to the three collections below. Which do you like the best?

Love birds/colorful damask:


Nursery rhyme toile:


Pink and green damask:

Nursery Furniture

Ryan and I ventured to Manassas to check out the Baby 2 Teen store on Saturday. We had heard this store had a HUGE selection and we were not disappointed. When we walked in the door, the lady behind the front desk took one look at us and asked "First time here?" I guess the glazed deer-in-the-headlights look gave us away.

This store was amazing! There were so many options and the owner of the store herself personally walked us around to suggest furniture collections. She even talked us out of a more expensive crib because she didn't feel like you could attach the bumper properly (i.e. safely) and said she would be replacing the crib in the showroom with the new model.

By the end, we ordered the Munire Essex collection in white. We got the convertible crib, double 6-drawer low dresser (which will double as a changing table) and nightstand. The image below has the other dresser, but you get the picture.



This brand got a really good rating in the Baby Bargains book and we spent as much as we would have on the other set from Babies R Us, so I think we made the right choice. Now we just have to decide on bedding. . .

Bring on the PINK!

My and Josh's friend from work, Amanda, bought the baby an adorable little outfit- her first pink outfit actually! It will be perfect for those chilly fall evenings. When I saw the shoes at Target, I just couldn't pass them up. I can't wait to see her in this!

The good, the bad and the ugly

So, the good news is that we get to see our girl again in 4 short weeks! I'm really excited because I didn't think we'd have another ultrasound. So now the bad news (don't panic Mom, it's not that bad): the reason we're having another ultrasound is that they found a choroid plexus cyst in her brain during our last ultrasound and they want to monitor it. In addition, I'm at risk, albeit slight, for incompetent cervix, so they want to keep an eye on that as well. They're not very concerned about the cyst because they haven't found any other abnormalities and believe it's just part of her brain developing, but it's best to keep close watch.

And now for the ugly. It's official, I have sciatica. You might wonder why this is "ugly" but just ask Ryan. The positions I contort into and the expression on my face when that nerve gets compressed are certainly NOT prety. The excruciating shooting pain in my lower back was diagnosed this morning. Luckily, the stretches and yoga I've been doing have really helped and it's much better this week. It could hold off like this or it could come back with a vengence. Unfortunately, if it comes back, there's not much I can do but deal with the pain. So definitely no more heavy lifting or physical exertion for me. . . darn. ;o)

Halfway There!

We spent our Saturday registering at Buy Buy Baby and Babies R Us. We didn't really mean to. We were actually going to look at furniture, but when we didn't find what we were looking for, we figured "What the heck, we're here." I'm sure we missed some things, but at least it's a start. We still need to find furniture we like, so we'll be going out this week to see what's out there. We've pretty much decided we want to do white furniture and, after going back and forth, I don't think we're going to do convertible furniture. It's certainly nice to be able to go from a crib to a toddler bed to a full bed all in one piece of furniture, but I'm afraid a full size bed would take up so much space in the room, there won't be any room for toys. And that's just not a kids room. In the meantime, here are some updated bump pictures:

Blog Makeover

You might have noticed that things look a bit different on the blog. I gave it a girly makeover in honor of our little lady! Thanks to my stepmom for the great suggestion. This is definitely more fitting. :)

"Knock Knock Mommy, I'm Here!"

That's basically the message our little lady sent me this afternoon when I started to feel a strange knocking-like spasmy feeling coming from inside my belly. I've never felt anything quite like this before, so I'm pretty sure it's not your everyday run-of-mill stomach gurgles. It's the craziest feeling- pretty awesome, but also really weird. I mean, there's something moving in my abdomen. I had felt this little knocking before, but it was so quick and intermittent that I was never really sure of what I was feeling. Well I don't think there's much doubt after today. She was pretty riled up after lunchtime, and she let me know it.

So, I hear you baby girl and you just made my day! I mean, it's the least you can do for taking up residence on the nerve in my lower back, right? :)

It's a. . . .

GIRL!!! We're having a little baby girl! The ultrasound technician seemed pretty confident when she saw the 4 little dots (that and there was a distinct LACK of boy parts). One of the first things Ryan said was that she wouldn't be allowed to date- HA! He's already a protective daddy and she's not even here yet. We're both absolutely thrilled with this news, and we can't wait to welcome this little lady into our family!

Time to Prepare

"A winning effort begins with preparation."
- Joe Gibbs

The marketer in me decided that the best way to tackle (no pun intended based on the quote above) this whole baby registry business (i.e. figuring out exactly WHAT to register for) was to conduct a survey of new moms with children ages 2 and under and analyze the data to determine the optimal products based on user feedback. In other words, I asked a bunch (probably 10-12) of my friends with kids what specific brands they use, what was worth getting, what wasn't, etc.

What I learned was pretty interesting. Every single person recommended Pampers Swaddlers diapers—some even tried other brands and went back to these because they were the best (softest, no leaks, etc.) Most respondants who use a pump at work recommended the Medela Pump In Style. Nearly everyone said activity mats and jumperoos/exersaucers were worth getting but bouncers and swings weren't. (Incidentally, I scored a free bouncer from a friend during this process and will be borrowing a swing from another—a much better deal than paying $50 and $150 respectively for something the baby might not like.) One person recommended a monitor that another person had and said they would not recommend. Some people's children loved the Swaddle Me blankets and others hated them.

I was able to compile all of this information into a handy spreadsheet, including pricing and additional notes, that we can take with us when we go to register. Hopefully all this prep work will mean that I won't find myself crouched in the corner of Babies R Us breathing into a paper bag (you may laugh, but I've heard this is a real possibility)!

Baby Gear Heaven

This past Saturday, we ventured up to Great Beginnings in Gaithersburg to test out some strollers, car seats, etc. Most baby stores have, at most, 10 models out on the floor for you to mess with. This place probably had 50 different stroller models out- it was awesome! And we definitely learned just how important it really is to play with them before you decide. We went in with three models in mind and left having chosen something completely different. It's so helpful to see how heavy they are, how easily they fold, what the canopies are like, etc. It made all the difference.

We ended up choosing the Baby Jogger City Mini, the same stroller our friends Dori and Scott are getting (we'll get a different color). It's only 16 lbs, super easy to manuever, has a large canopy to protect baby from the sun, has a really easy standing fold (no laying on the ground), and a car seat adapter.

Between our scouting trip and all the research I've been doing, I think we're much more prepared to register now than we were a couple of weeks ago, which is a good thing since we'll be doing that in the next few weeks!