Ready to Pop

Well, my topic doesn’t refer to the way I’ll be in six more months, when I’m really ready to pop, but I’m ready for my belly to  pop out already! I have to say one of the things I didn’t realize about being pregnant was how long it would take to actually look pregnant. I’ll probably be eating my words soon enough after a few months of really feeling like a whale, but right now I’m ready for that telltale bump that tells the world I’m not just a little heavy around the middle, I’m having a baby!

Ummm, chocolate chip cookie fresh out of the oven … sorry, got distracted for a second there.

Anyway, aside from that I’m just still really glad I’m still feeling good. And I feel good that I’ve gotten back on a regular workout program. I always know that once I get to really doing my 3-4 times a week regularly, I don’t let myself get really off track because I feel too guilty about it. It’s not like the Wii Fit is a super hardcore workout, but since I’m not supposed to get my heart rate above 140 anyway (although this says different – hmmm), I might as well do something fun. Plus, I think the yoga and balance stuff will really be helpful, and there’s a lot to be said for strenghtening the arms when I’m going to spend the next few years carting around an increasingly larger child.

On another note, I’ve been starting to think in a general way about nursery decor and strollers. It’s all a little overwhelming when it comes to stuff like strollers, carseats, etc. I’ve decided that the best approach is the same way I made the decisions about my wedding (with a little more research since there’s a safety element involved, of course). The basic idea is that there are so, so many options, and it’s neither possible nor necessary to explore every single one before making a decision. You just have to get 3 to 5 good recommendations (from friends, online forums, Consumer Reports, etc) for each item and then compare them and pick the best for you. That’s my plan, anyway.

No News is Good News

I’ve been pretty bad about posting lately. I guess nothing especially newsworthy is going on with the pregnancy since the last dr’s appointment. But one exciting thing I did do is buy my first piece of babywear.

I couldn’t resist. I was at the mall last week doing some holiday shopping and there was the Cubs store. And I thought, what would be a better stocking stuffer for Andy than a tiny little Cubs onesie? I know, could anything be cuter?? I found one that says, “50% mommy, 50% daddy, 100% Cubs fan.” The poor kid; what a world of hurt he/she has ahead.

But that’s not the point. The point is how utterly TINY it was! I said to the salesgirl, “Are they ever really THIS small?” (Yes, I really don’t have a lot of experience with the little ones.) She said absolutely, that her baby was 9 pounds and she brought him home in it and it fit just fine. So I’m really excited for Andy to see it now. So much fun!

Buy Buy Baby

So I’m going to a baby shower Saturday night (weird timing for a shower, isn’t it?) and as usual, I completely procrastinated about getting a gift.

The mom-to-be has already had two showers, so the pickings on the registry were especially slim. I found something in my price range that sounded like fun (some sort of contraption that you zip up around the baby’s carrier or carseat or something to keep him or her warm in cold weather) and headed out today at lunch to buy it since the place they registered at is near where I work.

Just walking into the place was daunting. It was almost like a baby goods warehouse, with boxes of strollers and cribs and all kinds of foreign-looking paraphernalia piled as high and as far as the eye could see. It made me feel a little nervous and overwhelmed just thinking about all the work we have ahead in getting ready for our own baby.

I loved registering for our wedding–all those fun kitchen implements and wine glasses and dishes and what not–but this baby stuff is another ballgame. I know all about the bjorns and the pack and plays and the diaper genies, but there’s about a zillion other things I know we’ll need that I have no clue about.  Fortunately, as Andy pointed out when I mentioned this during dinner tonight, we have lots of friends who have recently had babies who can give us all the advice we’ll need (and probably more).

It’ll be fun to go to the shower, though, and talk about all those baby-related things, even though I won’t be sharing my own news. I don’t know any of the other girls who will be there, so I have no idea how many of them have kids of their own, but I hope there won’t be too many horror stories to freak me out.

Speaking of being freaked out (kind of), we have our first ultrasound tomorrow! I’m more excited than worried, really, since I’ll finally be able to talk at length to my doctor and get her take on how I’m doing and where I’m at in the pregnancy. By the timing of my last period, tomorrow will be 7 weeks. Assuming (praying!) all goes well tomorrow, we’re planning to tell my parents the big news over brunch on Sunday.

I am SO excited at the prospect and still haven’t figured out a fun way to break the news. My parents have been egging me on to have kids since I was barely out of college (married or not!) so they will be absolutely over the moon, to say the least. These are two people who took the day off work today to take my cousin’s two little girls to see a play. Imagine what they’ll do with their own grandkids. Seriously, it’s actually kind of frightening.