Finally half way there! I am at the ends of my 20th week and had my regular OB appt. today. Nothing too exciting just checked the heartbeat, still 144, like clockwork, are you sure this is a girl? Usually girls aren't so predictable! Starting to feel the baby move, but still not 100% sure and Jared still has not felt it. We attempted to register on Sunday at Baby's R Us we went to Burlington to check out a few things that place is a disaster. Then later that night we headed to Baby's R Us.
It is one of those things that as a girl who has been a nanny to many and wanting to be a Mom since I first held a baby that you kind of get excited about. I suppose it is like your wedding day you just have expectations of what it will be like and what you partner will be be like. Well not that things were bad but it did not go quite as I had imagined. Not that I thought J would hold up ten different infant dresses and say, " Oh these are so cute! We need to get them all!" But I thought maybe I would get a more excited other half than the one telling me, "We don't need a stroller, we are just going to be carrying the thing around all the time anyway!" Yes, he really did say this:) Gotta love the guy. I have left reading material in the bathroom for him to thumb through all the must haves for babies but I guess that did not help. A few nights before, I knew he was going to be clueless when I told him I wanted to get a play yard for sure instead of a bassinet. OK well I will give the guy a break he is imagining a fenced in area for the yard for the kid to run in and he says, "why would we need that it's not even going to be walking for a year!" After that comment, I went through the book to describe what each item was so he might be a bit more prepared and talked about some things that I thought would be helpful. I guess nothing really works to prepare your man for babyville because he still made the stroller comment after being at Baby's R Us for only a few minutes. Resulting in me saying, OK "why don't I just tell you what we need and you not question it, your job can be to look up which one is the best product to get. This seemed to work better and I put him to work on Baby monitors. We were lent this wonderful book called Baby Bargins, that reviews everything you would ever want to buy for your child and rates it for price and quality. It is the best must half advice I have been given so far! Thanks Ryan and Emily Flanagan! Anyway that was our registering experience. Not really what I had dreamed of or imagined for my first baby but that is what I got, I am going back today... by myself to try to recreate the scenario...Only kidding!
How funny!! Tell Jared you will NEED a stroller/travel system...I'm sorry it wasn't what you imagined. Kevin got bored after Target and I felt rushed at Babies R Us cause he wanted to leave. It must be a guy thing!!
ReplyDeleteHeheh...I think this is a common tension. On one hand, there seems to be a definite "must have" list. On the other hand, we have found that many people's "must have" lists don't line up very well. They seem more tuned to who the parents are and how they interact and take care of baby.
ReplyDeleteThe only "must haves" that we have come across so far are pretty specific to our parenting choices...your mileage may vary...
Actually, they were more like "suprisingly usefuls"
Lansinoh Lanolin nursing cream: Soothing relief for newly nursing mommy, and safe for baby. Whit swears by it and used it until she adapted to regular nursing.
"Boppy pillow": Was used regularly in first month or so...made it easy to position baby without having to continually "hold up" the baby. Seems to be more useful for people with long torsos.
"Bouncy chair": A lot of variations out there, but this was very nice for our bouncy baby and is still able to calm her in some scenarios. Looks like a reclined hammock and often has a vibration mode. I have seen cases where turning on the vibration has nigh-instantaneously put baby to sleep.
"Bumbo seat":We are just getting to where this is useful. Baby has to be able to hold up his/her head. However its like a molded highchair, but made of soft foam-rubber. It allows baby to sit before they could naturally. Our baby loves to see and participate so its a great way to keep baby occupied while cooking/getting ready in the morning, etc.
Sling/Baby Bjorn/Other carrier: So far we have liked the Bjorn but have tried others at our local consignment store (I didn't really like the sling styles we tried). Until baby is too heavy to carry, having them close but still being "hands free" is a good thing. The walking motion puts baby to sleep (also a good thing).
Swaddling: This worked pretty well for us especially when baby was in a "flailing mood". Swaddling allowed her to stop startling herself with her own movement and calm and sleep.
Anyway...those were the ones that surprised me. Enjoy the preparation. It can be a lot of fun. However, the following sage advice (from my father in law) may be useful:
"Remember that you are going to Europe, not into the wilderness. If you forget something or find you need something later, they will have drugstores and clothing stores, etc."
This seems straight forward but is actually very apt...In continental travel (and parenting) there is a sense that one must "have everything in their bag" before they leave. The fact is, there is no way to anticipate every scenario. Best to just cover the basics and remember that you can run out and grab whatever you need once you have confirmed that you need it and know what "it" is.
Hahah. Sorry for the long-winded comment, but please know that it is made with the best of intentions and the full confidence that the two of you will do great as parents!
Hopefully we will get a chance to come and visit soon!
Elliott