I will give you $100 to PULL THIS BABY OUT OF ME!!!

Today marks 38 weeks since Kenny proved that his boys can swim. 38 weeks! I’d say 37 of those weeks were spent in general comfort. The past week has been spent in general discomfort, and I’m sad to say I probably have 2.5 more weeks of this. So what new tricks has Chicklet pulled out of her bag this week?

Well, for starters, there’s the “let me grind my head on your cervix” trick. They don’t really tell you about that one in the pregnancy books. It’s kind of like getting a pap smear from the inside, only with a longer duration and more pressure. Needless to say, these antics have sometimes caused me to stop mid-sentence and probably contort my face god-knows-how.

Then, there’s the “let me see if I can snap your rib with my foot/butt/knee” project she has recently undertaken. This started Wednesday night after a particularly jarring cervix grinding session (one so painful that I actually looked at the clock to note the time in the event it was a contraction). Chicklet has decided that the cervix grinding wasn’t enough, and that she instead needed to wedge body parts under my rib cage. She’s been pretty considerate about her pokes and prods up until now. They might have been uncomfortable, but they never hurt. These new jabs have me practicing my labor breathing techniques! I’m never sure what body part she’s pushing up under there, but I’m positive she’s going to snap a rib here soon.

If she’d just knock off these two games she’s playing with me, I’d only be mildly uncomfortable. I still feel like my hips are going to come apart any day now (and I walk like it, too), and the contractions that come every 20-30 minutes ALL DAY LONG are getting irritating. Especially since they don’t seem to be doing any good- I’m still just barely dilated, same as I was 2 weeks ago. But I should count myself lucky. I’ve managed to get this far without swelling, heartburn, fatigue, stretch marks or the other complaints most pregnant women have at this stage. My weight is right on target, and I’ve actually managed to get through the last 2 weeks without any weight gain at all (I was afraid I’d pack it on in the final month). Walking is a chore, but I’m still keeping active by swimming. Yoga went out the window two weeks ago when I asked myself, “What’s the point?”, but I’m still able to stretch and practice my birthing exercises with Kenny. So overall, other than the fact that I’m still lugging a watermelon around in my belly, I guess I’m pretty lucky.

As for the rest of my life, things are coming together. We finally got our baseboards and thresholds installed in the house, so it no longer looks like we live in a continuing construction project. All that’s left on the major-item agenda is new carpet for the bedrooms, but that can wait. We also have all of our necessary baby gear in the house. The final piece was the car seat, which we received on Tuesday. It only took me an hour to figure out how to install it, but we’ve got it up and running now. We just have to remember to take it with us to the hospital- a task that I won’t leave up to Kenny, since he seems to have inherited my pregnesia. You know it’s a sad day when I’m the one reminding him of appointments he has! I think both of our brains have just checked out now that we’re just hanging around waiting for the little grinder/rib-snapper to arrive.

That's all for now. We have another doctor appointment on Wednesday, so hopefully we'll have something to report.

Assembly: nearing completion

This could refer to Chicklet, of course, but it refers instead to the house.  We are nearing the point where we can sit back and chill out for a bit.  The baseboards and quarter round molding are painted and ready to be installed (I opted out on the installation myself - after discovering that our floors were less level than we believed, I decided to forgo spending loads of time on it in order to spend time w/ Cindy, and instead will outsource it to the guys who quickly and cheaply finished installing our wood floors.).  The thresholds / t-molding that bridge the doorways between rooms or materials (wood/tile) are sanded and sealed.  The rooms are painted.  The shelves are installed.  We're pretty much just waiting on the baseboard/threshold installation (which will all happen in the matter of a few hours) and the carpet (we are still choosing samples, but are ok w/ the fact that the carpet will come post-Chicklet).

We are weeks or days away from Chicklet's arrival - there's no way to know.  We're getting more and more excited, and it's getting more difficult to wait.  We don't really have the choice, but we hope she'll get here a bit early.  She's due in 2 weeks and 5 days, but we're not counting.  The end of this week would be nice - Chicklet: if you're reading this in your intra-uterine pad, get the lead out.

Cindy mentioned in an earlier post that she didn't believe that the crib would be set up quickly.  She'd heard horror stories of how cribs are so difficult to assemble, and take forever to set up.  Whoever has those problems apparently has never lifted a screwdriver.  Granted, Cindy and I assembled the crib together, but I'd say 15-20 minutes was about right.  It was pretty much connecting A to B.  Maybe it's that whole modern mentality about ease-of-assembly in the modern furniture, who knows.  ;)

Speaking of modern furniture, today we discovered that we bought an incorrect piece of furniture.  We bought the Argington Picchu Dresser, thinking that we could use the top for a changing table instead of buying the more expensive Argington Delphi Changing Table.  The Picchu Dresser has a lip around the edge just like the Delphi Changing Table does - a feature designed to hold in the changing pad.  Both pieces of furniture are designed for a baby's room, so common sense dictates that the lip on the Picchu Dresser would serve the same purpose.  Unfortunately, we didn't compare dimensions, and discovered today when trying to fit the new changing pad that Cindy bought that the Picchu Dresser is too small and is, in fact, not designed to hold the changing pad.  I will cut the pad down to size and we'll use the Dresser as a changing table, but everyone should make sure that what you're buying functions as you think it is supposed to be before laying out the cash.  So what exactly is the point of the lip around the edge of the Dresser if not for holding in a changing pad?  My guess is mostly to maintain a similar aesthetic as the Changing Table - a datum that runs across the room through all the furniture.  They've made it work, though, as a method for stacking multiple dressers - one over the other (the base of the Dresser fits inside the lip of the one below it).  Whatever.

There's a mattress in Chicklet's crib now.  Cindy grabbed an organic cotton stuffed Serta Baby Mattress.  Rock on - we had a huge credit from a bunch of double gifts we'd gotten, and those organic mattresses are expensive.  

Oh - I didn't mention the final touches on Chicklet's room!  Last week I went to Ikea to pick up some more shelves for the office, but they were out of stock (I had called specifically to make sure they were in stock so that I wouldn't have to waste a 25 minute drive to Round Rock, but apparently spoke to a moron).  Instead, I walked out w/ several shelves in white, pink, and red that Cindy and I installed on one wall of Chicklet's room in a staggered pattern.  I also got two lamps that are somewhat amorphouse in shape and made of blown frosted glass -  the interior of one is red and the other is white.  You stick a low watt bulb in there and the whole thing gives a soft red or white glow to the room, so that right there is Chicklet's rockin nightlight.

So that is my dry matter of fact post on recent events.  I've been working a lot, but tomorrow's our final deadline for this project.  We'll all be moving on to other projects this week - anything else for the current project will be bits and pieces, but it will no longer be full time.  Thank god.

There's nothing that's gets a father-to-be in gear faster than...

...hearing the doctor say "Ok, it'll be any day now."

Today we had yet another doctor appointment (our 36 week appointment) to check on the status of things. The doctor checked me out and said I've started to dialate just slightly, and that it really could be any day now. Kenny looked at her with eyes the size of golf balls, swallowed audibly, and said "Did you say 'any day?'" She confirmed this, and he suddenly realized why I've been nagging at him to finish putting the house together. I'm sure that Chicklet won't make her grand appearance for another few weeks, but nonetheless I appreciated the swift kick in the butt the doctor delivered to Kenny in terms of needing to get things in order just in case.

Nearing the finish line...

We had another doctor's appointment on Friday (now we're into the weekly visits, as if we didn't see the doctor frequently enough before that!) to check on Chicklet's and my status. According to the doctor, Chicklet has started her descent into the birth canal in preparation for the big day. Sometimes people refer to this as "lightening" or the baby "dropping." I wasn't really aware of it, but my legal assistant, Carol, has said for the past two days that it looks like she's getting lower. Carol accurately noticed the dropping of one of our other co-worker's babies, so I trust her on this one. I have been enjoying some easier breathing and ability to eat a little bit more at each meal. Nothing else exciting has happened in the realm of birthday preparations, other than my contractions picking up frequency and adding an element of pain every now and then. They don't really tell you about that part when you're reading up on pregnancy.
Chicklet is also weighing in at an estimated 5.5 to 6 pounds. This is good news, as long as she doesn't put on too much weight between now and her birthday and give me trouble when I'm trying to deliver her. Assuming we have another 4 weeks to go, that should put her around 7.5 to 8 pounds at birth. Of course, the doctor could also be way off on her estimate (she admited as much, too).
In terms of prepping for Chicklet's arrival, we're making strides. Slowly. We assembled the stroller (an amazing 15-minute feat!) and have that all ready for her. All of her clothes and bedding are washed and hanging in her room. The ceiling of her room is now painted, and we have purchased the baseboards. We have yet to select carpeting, but I guess it'll happen one day. At least we have the old carpet in there in the event we don't get hers in time. We also received the crib, which Kenny thinks he will be able to assemble as easily as the stroller. We'll see. I've heard about these crib-assembly nightmares. Ours doesn't have sides that lower, so at least we get to skip hardware installation on that. I can't wait to get it all put together, though. It'll look great!
We still don't have a carseat, but I suppose that will come at one of the baby showers (hopefully). I predict a last-minute babies r us run in Kenny's future if it doesn't come before that.

Your crib will arrive by your child's 3rd birthday

Cindy and I have been a little behind in getting all of our baby gear set up and in order b/c we've been completing our house renovations. I've been on a work deadline (which thankfully ends this week) and Cindy, too, has had a bunch of work. It's now time for me to lay the baseboards and get the carpet installed so that we can complete Chicklet's room in time for her arrival.

One of the major components to completing her room is getting the crib. I've been a bit of a pain in the department, as I've nixed nearly every crib I've seen in favor of a more modern designed crib. I figure that there's no reason for our (or my) tastes to be pushed aside just because nearly every crib has some sort of ornamental scrollwork or overly ornate wood trim involved. Unfortunately, though, most modern baby cribs are pretty expensive. I was in love with the Oeuf Sparrow crib when a coworker told me he might be able to get it for me wholesale (his wife is in the industry and is getting one for their soon-to-be baby), but that fell through. That one goes for about $650. Every other modern baby crib, save for the Netto Cub Collection ($550), is even more expensive. Keep in mind, this is just the crib - dressers and other furniture are additional, and are usually even more expensive than the cribs themselves. This tug-of-war between modern and typical ultimately hinged on price points - a lot of others could be found in $300 price range which allowed us more room to buy the dresser and changing table. Today we became more fully educated not only about the price of baby furniture, but also when you should purchase it.

We took a visit to USA Baby here in Austin, and even though it was nearly impossible to find (b/c S. Lamar turns into Westgate Blvd., but who knows that?), we found that they had a pretty good selection of cribs and toddler paraphernalia. Don't think about asking the help, though, if the paint is non-VOC or if the crib is made of hardwood vs. veneered particleboard. I think the extent of their knowledge is price and color. Anyway, we learned that pretty much any crib of any quality starts off at the ~$500 mark. This was a rude awakening. We were thinking that this was only baby furniture, after all. But I guess furniture is furniture, and if you want something quality, you're going to have to shell out a little bit more. Once we adjusted to that, we discovered that pretty much all quality dressers/changing tables start at pretty much the same price point. This put us right back into the price range of the modern baby cribs that we had been balking at. Our lessons for the day were not yet over - we also learned that if you want to have that crib in place by the time the baby is born, you had better order it about 2 years before you even try to conceive. Seriously though - lead time for the crib we were interested in was 8-12 weeks. 3 months! Man, were we off the mark - Chicklet arrives in 6 weeks! Ultimately it won't be too big a deal as Chicklet will be sleeping in our bedroom w/ us for at least the first few months, which gives us enough time to order and set up the crib. It did make me a little sad knowing that her nursery won't be fully set up when she comes home, but them's the breaks.

So - today's lessons:

1. order your crib when you're 6 months preggers, otherwise it may arrive after the baby's born.
2. don't be afraid to spend a little bit. you may not spend it on yourself, but you don't want your baby breathing in particleboard VOCs from a cheaper crib, nor do you want lower-end construction that might not last.
3. order your crib when you're 6 months preggers.

Childbirth Classes: our lack of preparedness is scary...

Scarier than the full-on, graphic video of a baby being born, and scarier than the sounds the mothers in the video made as they went through natural childbirth, was the fact that when the nurse asked the class who had purchased their car seats, diapers, etc., most of the couples raised their hands. Kenny and I merely looked at each other with a mix of horror and disbelief. I spent the better part of this week freaking out about not having our house finished, not having our car seat purchased, not having Chicklet's clothes washed and ready, and just generally not having anything purchased or ready for her arrival.
So I decided today to end some of the freaking out by buying some essentials and cleaning out Chicklet's room. I went to Babies R Us and bought diapers, wipes, baby shampoo and lotion, and a whole bunch of other little things that I assume we won't be receiving at the baby shower. If they had the car seat we want, I probably would have walked out with that as well. All in all, it was a productive day. On top of purchasing the essentials, I also washed Chicklet's clothes and hung them in her room...her room that I cleaned out today as well. Now you can actually walk more than 6 inches into the room before running into a piece of furniture or an unpacked box. I'm happy to say, there are no more unpacked boxes in Chicklet's room. The furniture that is in there now will be sold soon, and hopefully one of these days we'll get the carpet put down.
I also got our crib and changing station/dresser ordered (a modern one, so Kenny is happy. Snob.). We still need to go shell out for the mattress and changing pad, which, because they will be organic, will cost four times as much as a normal mattress and changing pad. The crib bedding is ordered and on its way from California as I type, and we have received the final installations in our pregnancy/labor/childbirth library that we'll be reading quickly over the next few weeks. I feel like I have a hold on the insanity now. I can walk into our next childbirth class with head held high, knowing that although we still haven't purchased our carseat, we will at least have diapers to put on Chicklet's butt and a piece of modern furniture on which we will change those diapers.

bugaboo and babiesrus reviews

my parents just got us a wonderful baby present - a bugaboo frog stroller! we're super psyched - we were burned by the quiny zapp stroller, which was a major letdown. that thing looked like a great bugaboo knockoff (not crappy, just less expensive), but it really was not up to par. the seat didn't recline, the wheel base was too narrow (easy off-balance tilting), and small storage. we were really let down. so then we allowed the saleslady at babystyle to sell us on the bugaboo, which really wasn't hard as this thing is pretty much the most beautiful and sturdiest stroller on the market. brushed extruded aluminum frame, pretty colors, a modern design sensibility. we were very happy when my parents got it for us.

so i was checking on the shipping status of the bugaboo just now and was perusing the bugaboo frog page. i started reading the reviews of the stroller, and they were all 5/5 stars, raving reviews of how this stroller will bring about world peace and solve climate change. but then i came across the most telling review i've ever read:

"I have Bugaboo Cameleon (Similar) & the Stokke both in red bought this years ago which i bought in Europe. I don't use mine much now as it is too common. I loved then when it was available at boutique shops not babiesrus. Must I say bulky, takes up space lighter than Stokke. Of course you will look like the hip family but are you really that hip when everyone in NEW YORK CITY has the same thing. I'm on my 3rd child and will be in UK getting the next best thing.
GREAT without the canopy and for LONG walks, Trips.. so if your a city mom this is your best bet. To and from main street if you live in suburbia its not really necessary. but BETTER than Stokke"

yes, if the latest and greatest is what you want to be seen pushing your baby around in, don't get the bugaboo frog. it is just too common. suckers.