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So the last couple of weeks have been filled with lots of stupidly stressful events. Our internet went down for two days. Our refrigerator died right before our trip to California. Our flight from Santa Barbara to LA was canceled (American stuck us in a cab which got us there just in time). And my (tooth) crown didn’t fit on Weds. and had to be broken up and pulled off. Like I said, stupid stressors. Nothing catastrophic, but inconvenient and annoying. Maybe the universe is preparing me for parenting. Let’s see – unexpected delays, unplanned for expenses, yep. Sounds like parenting.
We got back to Austin just in time for some really chilly weather. We even had a little bit of snow today! I know I’m supposed to be warm all the time right now, but I don’t think it’s kicked in yet. I still get cold a lot.
I’m hoping we can make some progress on the nursery this weekend. I need to put a final coat of paint on the dresser and start figuring out what kind of decorative painting I want to do on it. David is going to (hopefully) do a second coat on the walls, and then up comes the carpet. We got our carpet tiles last week right before we left. Another good reason to get the room done is we’ve started getting gifts for the baby and they’re piling up! We now have some of the essentials, which is really nice.
I’m due three months from today, but I’m not officially in my third trimester until next Thursday. I guess that means more frequent poking and prodding from my doctor. And getting bigger. And bigger. I’m fine with the size of my stomach right now. Can it stay this size until I give birth? Probably not so much.
I’ve been asking around and it seems like all parents have one particular gadget that made their lives with newborn easier. So far I’ve heard about the papasan chair, a voice activated white noise and vibration gadget, the ergobaby carrier, and the drop in stroller. My goal is to stay as compact as possible, since babies are always developmentally cycling through everything and then needing new stuff. For example, in the interest of compacting, we’re going to ditch the traditional stroller and just get the drop in and the aforementioned Bob all-terrain. But seriously, if it lets me sleep or function, I want it. Tell me what it is.
When it comes to decorating, I’m allergic to pastels. This poses quite a challenge when designing a baby room. I’m not registering for many decor items because I’m hoping to refurbish or make many of them myself (with a little help from friends and family). The room “theme” (I hate themes) is eclectic with a little modern and some East Indian influence. And elephants. Can’t visualize it? Don’t worry, there will be lots of pictures when it’s finished.
On the pregnancy front I’m doing pretty well. The nausea and general squeamishness are mostly gone, except for isolated incidents. My appetite is better, but I’m still not gaining weight. I’m having intermittent round ligament pain and general lower back soreness, but am still able to walk a good distance so that helps. I have way more energy. I’m sleeping okay, though not nearly as heavily as the first trimester, but I’m having lots of vivid, creepy dreams. I could do without those. I had to ditch yoga this last week because of a conflict, so we’ll see if it kicks my ass this week.
So what gadgets could you have not survived early parenthood without? Leave me some ideas in the comments section!
 What baby wouldn't want this?
God help me, I’m starting to have to physically restrain myself from buying kiddie stuff. The link from my last entry, Nerdy Baby, is full of the awesome. I’m going to have to get one of the prints for the nursery.
My mother in law bought me some totally adorable Carter’s onesie sets at Babies R Us today. All hot pink and purple and green with panda feet and things too unspeakably cute to mention.
But then there’s Threadless. I’m sunk. Where you can get this. And this. And this. Help!
Don’t even get me started on books. First, there’s shiny new copies of all the books I loved (and trashed) when I was a kid. And then there’s hip cool new books with Buddhist fables, and board books with Haiku, and Monsters! If I’m not careful I’m going to be dressing and diapering my kid in pages ripped from books because I forgot about everything else I’m going to need. Who needs a diaper pail when you have this?
I think I have some issues to work out.
So today I dragged David to USA Baby to see if we could get a stuff-for-your-kid 101 course. The amount of crap it is possible to buy is more than a little intimidating. Chuck, the owner, was really helpful. I now feel well-armed to make decisions about some of the more essential items. The stroller you see pictured is called the Bob. It’s way cool. We do a lot of walking with the dogs in the neighborhood, and that won’t change any time soon, so this puppy will get a lot of use. It’s pricey, but well worth it. We’re going to get a Graco infant car seat and regular stroller as well. We looked at a bunch of gliders, and are probably going to get one that’s kind of a modern take on the wood glider (I usually hate those). This one is fairly interesting looking and has some great fabrics to choose from. Unless I find something good on Craigslist that’s CHEAP.
In news of the weird, Tiny Josephine seems to not like fish any more. I made some stew with the red fish David caught last weekend on Tuesday and all was well. But last night David grilled some more, and I couldn’t eat it. And then, and this is really strange, we went for dim sum at Chinatown today and ordered a plate of sea bass. Chilean sea bass is one of the tastiest things on the planet – and I couldn’t eat it! David sure didn’t mind, but what gives? I had no problem with the shrimp, but the bass just tasted off to me. David assured me it was most certainly not. I know I’m only supposed to have seafood twice a week, and I over did it a bit this week, but most weeks I have little to none. Pregnant bodies are just strange is all.
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