19 Week Update

Lots of theoretical selections made this past week...

It appears the pack & play debate has been settled - no p & p for us! Instead we're going to go with either the wooden top on the dog crate or re-purposing other furniture for changing needs - which was my main reason for wanting one. And for travel, I'm taking a cue from DH's cousin with twins and planning to get a Peapod Travel Bed. It takes up much less room (both compacted and in use) and is easy enough to take for a late evening out. Their girls have always gone down easily when I've seen it in use (that's not to say that I'm sure there have been evenings where that was not true).

I thought I would have to have DH do research and make spreadsheets on car seats, but he's okay with following the Consumer Reports research on infant seats (the updated version, not the original), and I'm okay because there is a model with colors I can live with. And everyone knows it's all about the style - safety, psh! ;) So that's the Chicco Key Fit 30 in Adventure.

And after all that angst over cribs, I finally found one that I am happy with the looks of and of which DH also approves. After showing him ones I'd been looking at - some with higher sides, some with a higher back - he pointed out something I hadn't even thought about, that since all sides of this crib are the same height, you can pick up the baby or put it down from any side. Works for me! So it looks like unless I change my mind, which I believe is a double privilege as both a woman and a pregnant woman, we're probably going to be going with the crib from the ChildCraft Falls Village line.

With those important decisions made or close to finalized, I'm now starting to contemplate gliders. Ah, gliders, I could write a full post on these staples of a nursery. Love the idea, hate the looks of so many models. Except of course, one of the Dutailier models. Need I say, the price makes both me and DH gag, but at least we agree on a model! So, more research needed here...

On other matters, it appears I was able to avoid the curse of the office and remain bronchitis free after my cold. However, the need for a mid-day nap is getting stronger and stronger, and I'm starting to reconsider the exclusion of caffeine from my diet for that reason alone. (I did sneak a nap in at work one day day last week - it was not so much fun to be woken by the phone, but I was actually able to function afterwords which wasn't happening before the nap.) That's not to say I'm 100% caffeine free 100% of the time - one of the best things I "tasted" in the depths of my cold was a scalding hot mug of English Breakfast Tea, steeped strong with lots of sugar. And I really feel that life is not worth living without chocolate, so some is sneaking in through that portal as well, but overall, I am trying to avoid it. But I can't really nap at work, as much as I would love to. For one thing, there's no one to catch the phone for me, and another, it's awfully hard to get comfortable draped over my desk. So, it may mean I need to add a small amount of caffeine back into my diet.

What else? Duh, ultrasound appointment on Friday. And we're hoping for the big gender reveal...fingers crossed that the little one cooperates fully! Yesterday I wrote the following: I don't think I've put on much weight since the last appointment, so I'm hoping I don't get fussed at for that. Between the last of the nausea, the cold and now not knowing what I want to eat even though I can eat, I just don't feel like I've been taking in the calories like I should be. This morning I weighed myself - up 2 pounds from the last time I weighed myself, so the weight gain may be more on track than I thought!

Of course, while I think I've felt the baby moving every so often, there's nothing I've been able to point to as a definite which is consequentially freaking me out that we'll get to the ultrasound and have bad news. But I try to take heart that my belly seems to keep growing. BTW, it looks bigger to me looking down from the top than from the side in a mirror, so that's disconcerting. It's still leaning more towards frat-boy beer gut than cutely rounded belly, but I'll take it. :)

Speaking of which, with last weeks warmer weather I finally broke down and bought some maternity t-shirts from Motherhood as it seems that the belly is finally starting to grow beyond the limits of my pre-pregnancy wardrobe. I don't love them, but they aren't truly horrible and at the price I paid I'll be more than happy for them to get tossed in the fall, and since the weather guys are calling for 80's this weekend, I'm thinking shorts are going to have to be my next purchase, which means (gasp!) starting to shave my legs again and exposing their glowing whiteness to the world. And another thing (are you still reading all the way down here? If so, give yourself a pat on the back!), maternity bathing suits...must the designers keep the fun prints only to halter-top styles? And why are 99% of the one-piece suits with shoulder straps black? These are questions I'm pondering as I search for a reasonably priced suit to wear this summer. (The other question is how I'm going to manage my bikini line, but that's a topic for another day.)

So, selections (if you are interested, and feel free to weigh in!), health, and an upcoming ultrasound for which I am equally excited and apprehensive.