So I am not 19 weeks for two more days, technically, but I felt pretty good this afternoon and since I have to work tomorrow and then my mom, sister and nephew are coming into town later tomorrow I figured this would be my chance to get any blogging done before Tuesday.
So here’s what nearly-half-way looks like on me. It’s funny that I am just now starting to ‘feel’ pregnant. I mean, I’ve felt the nausea and morning sickness and tiredness, but they all just felt like symptoms and not pregnancy… does that make any sense? But now that I have a visible belly and can occasionally feel the baby bumping around in there it seems much more real. And then on Tuesday we find out what the sex is, and I can imagine being able to put a name to the baby will make things even more ‘real’.
So apparently this is how big our baby is this week:
Just ONE of those, not all three, obviously. This picture is from one of our Farmers Market trips last summer.
Um, there’s a picture of me smiling, because I just realized I look kind of grumpy in that last picture and trust me, I am nothing but happy today. My second to last day of work, the sun is shining, my mom and sister and nephew are coming tomorrow and it’s shaping up to be a real good week indeed.
Also, this was totally cracking me up… I wonder if my baby is actually doing the contortions that the baby on BabyCenter is doing… (picture from Babycenter.com)
I wouldn’t be surprised if TingTong was all cramped in there, being as big as an heirloom tomato already and squished into my belly! And I know TingTong is only going to get more squished as the days go by (which is happening at a rapid rate these days. I can’t BELIEVE I am almost halfway done with this pregnancy!) September 4th seems right around the corner, and I just can’t wait for summer to start and warm up around here. Mostly I just can’t wait for the pool to open so I can go float down the lazy river all summer!
Alright, alright, I gotta go fix some dinner and then get on with enjoying my Friday night!
P.S. to all of you moms out there (who constitute about 95% of the people reading my blog.. maybe more?) I want you to tell me what was totally essential during your newborn/baby stage. I am trying to get away with buying the least amount of stuff possible, (both to save on cost and also because we’re really limited on space) but I still want to be prepared so that when the baby comes home from the hospital we’ll be all ready for TingTong and not having to still run around to be picking things up. (P.S.S. I don’t know if this changes anything, but we’re planning on cloth diapering, too) So, in the comments you should let me know what you really, really loved having during the newborn stage, and what things you ended up buying that you didn’t really need. So far we’ve only got a carseat, a stroller and a sling and a bassinet, so I know we’ll still need a crib, but other than that what items would you, in your expert opinions, consider essential?
Knittybutton 
For those of us older moms – we did without the “extras” most people have. Eventually you need something for them to sit to eat (Sarah has a pattern for a neat one from cloth that ties to a reg chair) My only essentials you already have!
Our son is 6 months now and we would have been lost without his lamb chair – we didn’t use the mobile part, and generally only used the vibration, but it made a huge difference when he was fussy. He slept in it for longer stretches than his crib, too.
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3310993
And good quality, soft blankets. Get them now and wash them a few times 🙂
It can be so individual but I will say for larger busted woman a bobby is really nice-I also think having a noise machine is really great-mostly because they can make so many tiny sounds that can just be sleeping noises, but you have said that you are a light sleeper (so am I) and it helped to minimize me waking up with each little wimper. I really loved my rocker too- I got a good one with Jack along with a nursing stool and I LOVED it. It wasn’t cheap, but we sold it for what we paid for it-they are in high demand on craigs list. Also a good jogging stroller-try them at babies r us before you buy or even get one on craigs list. I am sure there are more items, but that is all I can think of now!
The swing you guys got me is Arielle’s favorite! She loves it and is quickly approaching the weight limit and it will be a sad day when she is too big for it. I know you guys don’t have a dishwasher and sadly I don’t either, so my bottle sanitizer is a lifesaver. Even if you breast feed you may want bottles as backup. And another thing I use daily is my Boppy. I have a pack of size 2 diapers that I didnt use before Arielle grew out of them that you can have. It may be nice as back up again because of the poopy “blowouts” and you may not want to carry around a stinky mess of a diaper if you are out and about.
Soothie pacifiers. And not all hospitals provide these, so I learned from last time to bring my own to the hospital. I also found the swing to be very helpful – it was just nice to be able to put the baby somewhere I needed to- and some nights it was the only way to get him to sleep. I also really liked “Swaddle Me” blankets. They were good for people like me who are terrible at swaddling the old fashioned way. It also felt like we never had enough burp cloths, and ended up sometimes even using kitchen towels to wipe up spit up, etc.
I would wait to invest in bottles until you need to – we had to try about four or five different kinds before we found ones he would actually use – and it ended up being the very cheapest Gerber pack of 3 for $1 or something like that – my little missionary kid! For me, the idea of running to the store with a newborn sounds awful – I want everything perfectly set up NOW – but you’ll actually find that you are thankful for an excuse to get out and grab a few things. We are in the same boat right now with limited space and money, so I’m also trying to just gather the essentials. The things I mentioned above were definitely on my list this time!
We had seven babies and adopted 3. For our seven that we gave birth to, burp cloths and lots of them. Definitely take everything out of the packaging a month or so before you are due and wash everything to get the sizing out.
The swing is a must have also. There will be some nights, especially if she (that was my vote) is a fussy baby, that you will be so exhausted that you are desperate to sleep and swings are wonderful! Some type of rocking chair (I love the glider kind with a foot stool).
Those pillows that wrap around and let you rest the baby on it while you are nursing is very nice to have too. And while you’re at it, lots of breast pads, the type that keep you from having embarrassing leakage at the most inopportune moments (all you have to do is THINK about nursing your baby or see a baby or see someone else nursing a baby, etc. and your milk may let down).
I REALLY wish they had had the swaddling blankets when I had my babies. Swaddling really helps the baby feel secure and helps them not startle themselves awake by flinging an arm or leg out.
We started out with cloth diapers and were VERY thankful when decent disposables came along. Good luck with cloth. I think we actually had less diaper rash with disposables than with cloth. Butt Goo is a great rash ointment.
That’s such a pretty dress! And I love this new blog header best of all of them so far, I think.
Ha. Most essential item? Sleep.
We do cloth diapers, but I would recommend considering waiting at least a few weeks to start using them in which case you will want lots of disposable newborn diapers on hand. Reasons for waiting: newborns go through a lot of diapers, which will mean washing diapers pretty much daily, which is not fun when you are sleep deprived and trying to recover from birth/adjust to a newborn. Also, most cloth diapers don’t fit little, tiny babies very well, even if they claim they do. They work better once the baby has a little more substance :). Other than that, I say go for the cloth!
I’ve had several people mention that to me, so I think that we’ll do disposables for a few weeks or so just to get into the swing of things, dealing with a newborn and whatnot and then go cloth once we get a schedule down.
I’ve swaddled all three boys to help them sleep and I highly highly recommend it. I bought a miracle blanket (www.miracleblanket.com) and love it – it’s really hard to swaddle a squirmy baby in a regular receiving blanket, so I think it’s worth buying a special one.
Hi Ali! We lived with basic essentials with our little guy and we survived! We had a tiny 1 bedroom and had the bassinet next to our bed for 6 months. We couldn’t have fit a crib if we wanted haha. Make sure the nurses teach you swaddling before you go home from the hospital. Swaddling and a small fan in the bedroom were instant sleep for our baby boy 🙂
Ali,
I mean no disrespect to those who offered advice for what they think is a must have. Everyone is different. I was anti ‘stuff’ when it came to KayLynn. We had the money and space issues – as well as the fact that I always said that babies survived (as did mothers) long before bouncy chairs and vibrating chairs and wipe warmers and all the other fancy stuff. So I did not get a whole lot of the ‘big stuff’ for K. The only reason we even had a crib was because friends loaned ti to us – but we had to give it back when K was 9 months old and she moved into a toddler bed (free or we would have moved her into a twin)
I will even venture to say that she had too many clothes for the first 6 months. All you need is 3-5 cute outfits for going out, and then cute jammies or onsies for the home.
The other thing that I noticed is that we would use whatever we had at hand – instead of searching around to find the appropriate item – like burp clothes. We used whatever towel or wipes were close at hand!! We were actually given one of those swaddler blanket things and it was always easier to just use a blanket! You will be fine. As long as you have what you need to clean, feed and warm that baby!! I can’t wait to meet her (my guess as well). Have a great weekend with your mom and sister…
Favorites for me: vibrating/bouncy chair-this is where I stuck them when I showered, and they loved it, nursing pads for sure, and since you are so crafty you can make them yourself, I have seen lots of tutorials online.
Another thing I loved is sleepers with zippers, or the little sacks, instead of ones with all the snaps, it makes changing them so much easier!
Also, I am due a couple of weeks before you. You will be such a great mom!
For what it’s worth, here’s my list of “must haves”:
A bouncy seat
large swaddling blankets
pacifiers
Boppy Pillow
Balmex (diaper rash cream)
baby wash /shampoo / lotion
onsies
car seat /stroller
some kid of bag to carry all his gear
glider rocker w/footstool (I’m sure you COULD do without, but this was used CONSTANTLY with each baby I had.)
I was thankful to have a breast pump…even if you are staying home full time.
I also used a co-sleeper which was awesome…made nighttime nursing a breeze.
Hope this helps!
OH – and those gowns w/the open bottoms!!! I LOVED those…made nighttime diaper changes so quick and easy.