July update!

I haven't written in quite awhile so there is a good amount to get caught up on!

First I'm fully in maternity clothes now. I still hate all my maternity pants except the Old Navy ones and one pair from Motherhood (the ones I mentioned in my last post). I hate the Motherhood jeans with the full belly panel. They do not stay up. I'm finally showing but maybe I don't have enough of a belly to hold it up? I'm not sure but they are driving me nuts!

We had our second anatomy scan two weeks after the first. We had a different tech than the last time and she was really nice. I brought along an envelope (the security kind) with a piece of paper in it and asked her to please put the gender in an envelope. She said what she liked to do was take a picture of the baby and put that in the envelope so that is what she did. It will be cool to look at it later. The doctor at the ultrasound center came in and said everything looked great and she asked us to come back at 32 weeks (early September). I asked if at that time we could get a 3D and she said yes, but it was better to come earlier. Then the ultrasound technician is handing me her business card for a 3D place (different than where were) and said it was her business but the doctor said she could hand her cards out. All they do is 3D/4D ultrasounds and they also have evening and weekend hours (whereas the ultrasound center has very limited hours). So I decided to make an appointment with her. I think the deal is for $165. I can't quite remember what we get with it and for some reason I cannot get on to their web site from work or home! I can on my BlackBerry but it's so much harder to see on there. I think I might invite my parents to come along for the 3D ultrasound which is the day I'm 28 weeks. I'm very excited for that! So far we have not peeked in the envelope (which is sealed). I'm pretty sure we will be waiting for the birth. I think it will be neat to be surprised.

Last weekend we made a couple of baby purchases. I got a used Arm's Reach Mini Cosleeper in the natural color. It came with three sheets and the leg extension set. The cosleeper itself is $150 new so I felt it was a good deal. The couple had two boys but said the second one only slept in it once since he didn't like it. I hope our baby likes it! Uh-oh! I also bought a used breast pump, the Medela Pump in Style Advanced. I know not everyone feels that is safe but I'm going to buy all new replacement parts. We paid $30 for that. And it does work. I hooked it all up and got it going. Of course I couldn't test it yet for real but I put it on my arm and it definitely has suction.

One more "used" purchase I plan to make is our nursery set. I found it on Craigslist. I've had to eat a lot of words. I said I wanted a green nursery and how I did not like yellow. Well, this set is green and yellow and I really like it. It's Wendy Bellissimo Honey Bee, which is now discontinued but there are pieces on Craigslist and eBay. I'm getting most of the pieces from a couple for $75. My husband laughed when I showed him and said, "I thought you hated bees!" And I don't like them but this set makes them look cute! And I love how gender neutral it is. I want to paint the room half yellow (maybe the top) and half green (maybe the bottom) with a white strip dividing it. The room is currently painted in Behr's Mystical Sea so maybe we'll only have to paint the one half, depending on how well the greens match.

I've been somewhat sad and constantly lamenting about how I couldn't feel the baby yet. Well, this past Thursday I finally thought I felt something. Then it happened again Friday night. And then yesterday (Saturday) morning. And then again last night. Just now I felt something for the first time today as I was writing this. So baby is definitely letting me know he/she is there! It is a cool feeling, very subtle right now.

My husband is getting more and more excited. He talks to my belly all the time (he's been doing that since the beginning) but lately he keeps saying, "Get here already! I want to meet you." I on the other hand am perfectly content with keeping baby with me. I feel so special that I get to carry this baby and have him/her to myself 24/7. I get a little sad to think he/she will be here soon and I'll have to share the baby with others. (I am excited to have my husband meet the baby but not so much everyone else at this point.) Is that selfish? Of course, I'm very excited to see my baby's sweet little face and hold him/her and nurse him/her and watch the baby grow but there is a part of me that wants things to stay just how they are now. I know that's not possible of course and in less than 17 weeks my due date will have come and gone and I'll either have had the baby or will be getting quite close to having it.

We have so much to do still to get ready for this little one. My midwife gave me a long list of things we need to secure by 37 weeks (right around our third anniversary!). I keep thinking we should start buying things now but then I put it off. We registered at Amazon.com but I'm not sure I'm serious about all those things. I need to rethink some of them. And I want to register in at least one traditional store - either Babies R Us and/or Target. I have a coupon to get a $10 gift card at BRU if I register there. I will probably do both and spread out the items.

I am still trying to decide on diapers too. I think I'd like to do cloth but my final decision will probably depend on my day care situation. And I'm getting some flak too. My mom said, "Oh, honey, you don't want to do that." And my one friend just raised her eyebrows. My husband was picturing the cloth diapers of yore - the rectangle with the pins and the rubber pants. I showed him all the newer designs out there and I think he's on board with it.

Speaking of day care that's another thing I'm trying to sort out. My mom is almost sure she will watch our baby on Wednesdays. That leaves us four days to find child care. I visited one day a block from my work. It was very nice...but very expensive. What day care would cost us in a month exceeds our monthly rent! And there is no break for four days versus five. There is a $60/week decrease for three days per week but it's not that much of a savings and we'd still need to find someone to watch the baby that fifth day. My husband flat out said no due to the cost. I found another day care near our house that is slightly cheaper. They offer 3-, 4-, and 5-day rates. We haven't toured there yet but I'd like to. I did want the baby closer to my work than to my house but there is really only that one near my work that I know of. I did see one other one but it is for ages 18 months and up. So I must really keep searching. I think this has become "my" job. My husband hasn't had any suggestions and hasn't looked for anything. I hope this isn't how everything goes as far as our baby's care goes!

In other news his best friend's wife had her baby almost three weeks ago. We have been so busy we haven't had a chance to get over to see her yet. So we are going to go visit next weekend. We got her birth announcement the other day. She looks adorable.

Another friend of mine I met in a group I belong to is due in early August with a boy. She asked me to come visit her when she had her little guy. So I'll be getting some baby fixes before mine gets here. :)

I think I thoroughly caught up with everything!