Suggestions Please!

Although Tom and I are keeping our name choices secret, I think we may need some advice. First names we have a pretty good handle on, but the middle ones are giving us a little trouble. So, I know this may be difficult without knowing what the first name will be, but anyone have any good middle name suggestions? Just throw them out there! Thanks!!

My Achy, Burning Heart

Heartburn is my newfound companion. It showed up a few days ago, and has been by my side ever since. In fact, it was so close to me last night I had to sleep propped up on our couch to make room for it. Along with this, I have eaten a lot of Tums...so much so I should probably invest stock in them. Oh, well. It will be over soon enough.

I am so excited because my showers are coming up - yeah!! My Pope family/friend shower is this Sunday, and my Edge family/friend shower is the next Saturday. I am even more excited that my aunt and grandma are coming up for my shower because they live pretty far away, and I was not expecting to see them until after our little one arrives. I love showers. They are such a silly, girly thing to do, but it is always a lot of fun. I usually like attending more than receiving because everyone's not looking at you, and you get to give fun presents. I am really excited to have these, though, just because it seems like there is so much stuff the baby still needs, and any gift we receive is less shopping I will have to do myself! Shopping is actually becoming a bit difficult for me, at least my normal way of shopping. I like to go and wander around for an hour or so, but if I do that, I inevitably get tired or distracted and completely forget what I was there for in the first place...someday perhaps I will have my mind back. Maybe. There are probably a lot of you who would argue that I never had it in the firstplace. Anywho, I am definitely rambling at this point, so I am going to go do something productive. Have a Happy New Year!!

Heads Up - Registry Change!

Just wanted to post a note that I changed my diaper registry to Wildflower Diapers instead of Nicki's Diapers. They had more of the covers that I wanted. You will need to have a password to see the registry and that is babypope. I will try to link it without the password under the registries section in the left blog column.

Merry Christmas!

Well, today was Tom and I's last Christmas alone together. It's kind of crazy to think how different next year will be. That's okay. We had a really great day and enjoyed spending time with both our families. I hope everyone else had an excellent holiday, too. We got some cool gifts that I am super excited about, like the back massager from my parents and the massage/pedicure package my awesome husband bought for me! And the baby (who shall remain nameless) got presents as well - a sleep slack and duck from Nana, a strawberry outfit from all the Edge Aunts and Uncles, and a mermaid bib/onesie outfit from her cousins! We are very excited to try all these things out once she arrives and grows into them. Thank you!!!

Until there is more to report, be safe and Happy Holidays to everyone!!

What We Really Need

I have been getting asked frequently what Tom and I really need or want for the baby. Enough so that I decided to do a post on it!! Soooo, here is our list of urgent needs and wants and where to find it. This does include some items which are only available online. I also bolded the items which are the most important.

There is a whole section on diaper covers because this is a little more detailed. Keep in mind most things we need are on the registries, so you can go to the store or go online to shop. Babies "R" Us will also ship the items to our local store and we can pick it up so you do not have to pay shipping. I will try to keep this list updated for everyone.

BIGGEST NEEDS:
Furniture/Baby Gear
Hotsling (Babies "R" Us)
Babyhawk Mei Tai Carrier (BabyHawk) Tom is excited about this one because he helped design it. He picked the flame side :)
Toy box (Babies "R" Us)

Feeding
BREAST PUMP - Ameda Purely Yours with Carry-all or Medela Pump in Style Advanced (Medela available at Babies "R" Us or Target, Ameda available online at http://www.amedababy.com/) *I also found out that Discount Drug Marts carry the Ameda pump locally. They have a few locations locally.
High chair (Target)

Clothing/Layette

2-4 Receiving blankets (Babies "R" Us)

2 Ultimate crib sheets (Babies "R" Us)

Diapering
Diaper Bag (Babies "R" Us

Wet Bag (Target)

Diaper Covers: BIG NEED!!! We are going to use a diaper service, but this does not include the diaper covers, so this is an area we really need! I have a registry at Wildflower Diapers. We will need 6-8 covers in each size, and we would like to have newborns and smalls already, although we will need larger sizes, too. Brands to shop for are: Thirsties V2 diaper covers, Bummis Super Brites, and Imse Vimse Soft and Organic. I tried to link all of the covers to the brand page so you could see what they are and what to look for. Again, all of those are available through Wildflower Diapers, and there is also a gift certificate option if you are unsure of what to buy. *Update: I have around 5 newborn covers now, but only 4 smalls, so that would be a better size to buy!

Other: Health and safety items, like thermometer, nail clippers, etc (Babies "R" Us)

THINGS TO WATCH FOR:

- Any feeding (teethers, pacifiers, bottles, nipples) should be BPA free plastic. BPA is a harmful chemical found in plastics, and leeches from the plastic when it is heated or cooled. Not something we want to expose the little Pope to! See my BPA section on the side for more info.

- If you buy any toiletries (lotion, shampoo, etc) please make sure it is fragrance free because Tom is highly allergic to scented things.

- We' d also like to keep the baby gear (swings, seats, etc) to a minimum due to space, so we'd really only like what is listed on our registries.

Finally, thank you all in advance for loving and caring enough about us and our little one to even think of shopping for us at all. We truly appreciate all the gifts and support we have received so far, and those that we will receive. It is wonderful to know how much we are loved:)

My Stroller Arrived!!

I know I'm supposed to wait till after my baby shower to buy things, but I found the stroller I want online at a significant discount, so I bought it. Yippee!! I can't believe I'm this excited about a stroller. It is a Baby Planet Solo Sport in charcoal...oooh! Ahhhh! It is truly ridiculous how much time I have spent researching strollers. It was my first baby obsession. When I took Tom to Babies "R" Us, he hated all the strollers at the store, and felt they were flimsy. That prompted endless researching on my part to find the ultimate stroller. Sad, I know:) BUT, I was really excited when I came across Baby Planet strollers. Baby Planet has a selection of strollers and a bassinet, which are in the middle of the price range but supposedly have great quality. They also have a recycling program so you can return the product to them when you are finished with it, and they recycle it! Pretty cool.

Anyway, it arrived sometime last week, and I put it all together and played with it, which was kind of exciting. Tom was pretty pleased with the stability of it (and by that I mean he said it didn't suck and felt better than the ones at the store). Now I just have to wait for my baby to arrive so I can push her in it!

PS: Here is a video review of my stroller on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3oW7Y3Ax7I in case anyone else is in the market. I wanted to take my own pictures or video it myself to show it off, but the camera is having issues, and I couldn't figure out the video thing...sorry. Maybe someday :)

Strange pregnancy symptoms

So today I had cramps all day - pretty similar to what I would expect before my period starts - but they would not go away. I was afraid to take any Tylenol because I was trying to monitor it to see if it escalated, besides the fact that I've been trying to stay medication free throughout the pregnancy. Anywho, I ended up calling the doctor to check if it was okay, and they told me to come in this afternoon since my regular monthly check up was supposed to be tomorrow. After a long wait, I finally got to see the doctor, who diagnosed me with a bladder infection. Apparently there were some white blood cells in my urine. I was a bit surprised because I normally notice immediately when I get one of those - it goes from mild to excruciating in the course of a few hours. Maybe pregnancy is helping with that - who knows?

Other new developments this week include a protruding belly button and extremely itchy feet. My belly button is only a little bit out, but I wore a snug fitting shirt the other day, and you could definitely see it through the shirt :( I'm afraid it's only going to get worse. Oh well. My feet on the other hand are driving me insane. I'm not itchy anywhere else - just both sides of my feet and across the top of my right foot. There is some mild redness, but no real rash or anything. My doctor said it was probably just a weird pregnancy symptom (not in those terms exactly, but that was what I got out of it). Calamine lotion stops the itching, so I guess I will just be using a lot of that until this stops.

On a positive note, the baby continues to grow and be well. Her heartbeat again was "nice and strong." My cervix was firm and showed no signs of opening yet, so again good news. The baby kicks me multiple times a day in multiple places. I think I'm going to have a little kickboxer. She's also started responding if you push on my stomach - she'll kick back in the same spot. It's kind of fun to "play" with her sometimes. I keep meaning to try shining a flashlight on my stomach to see if she does anything, but I never seem to remember.


Well, that's about it. Hopefully it wasn't too much information for some of you. I'll report back again soon!

OMG I'm Really Having This Baby!

I had been counting down my pregnancy by big life events, like I found out I was pregnant in June, then the next month was our vacation, and I figured by my birthday in September I would be out of the sick, yuck phase (which I was), etc, etc. There wasn't a lot between September and November, but with November comes Thanksgiving, then Christmas in December, and in January is Tom's birthday, and then February is the baby! I knew once the holidays hit, things would start to speed up, but it seems like time is flying by at warp speed. I have a doctor's appointment Friday, and then after that I start going every 2 weeks, which I will only do 3 times, and then I have to go every week.

All of this is basically adding up to a little bit of shock on my part that, yes, we really are having a child, and yes, I do have to deliver her. This seems a little silly since I wake up every morning with this large bump for a stomach, but it is easy to forget sometimes when I'm caught up at work or taking care of the house and the hubby (just kidding...he mostly takes care of himself). I don't feel scared - maybe a little anxious - just keenly aware of the fact that our lives are about to change drastically, and we are in it for the long haul. That is okay. We are ready for that. I just need to keep remembering that it's coming...and SOON!!