Sunday, January 08, 2012

1 Week to Go

I am feeling well! I have finally been able to wear my maternity jeans for the final 3 weeks of pregnancy without them totally falling down. Though, the most expensive pair just wasn't going to work at all and went into a donation bag for Good Will complete with tags on still. I have to laugh when I pull on my so called "skinny jeans" that are actually funnel shaped to accommodate pregnancy. Non maternity tees are still working just fine.

I have still not packed my hospital bag! It will certainly be better if I do it rather than leaving it up to Jeff at the last minute--who knows what he would pack in there? I can picture it now, my bag would have the dog dishes and kibbles and the dog bag would contain my toiletries and clothes!!

I have been out shopping again. I love the little Winnie the Pooh and Eeyore rattles I found at Barnes and Noble. They have a fun sound and can hang on the car seat. And, I couldn't resist the plush Eeyore. He is looking up from the playard here.

The Chicco playard arrived and Jeff set it up in the living room and it looks like it will be really helpful and safe. It isn't at all quick to collapse and move, so we decided to get a little bassinet for next to our bed.

(bassinet photo from Babies-r-us)

When we were shopping for the bassinet, we finally got a glider and ottoman too. Everyone says we "must have one". I hope it will work out at least for Jeff. The one in the store seemed really comfortable, but what we now have set up at home seems too tall for me and the ottoman too low even though it is supposed to be exactly the same thing we tried out!

(glider/ottoman photo from Babies-r-us)

I think what I really need is a new armchair and ottoman for the living room. I like to slouch with my legs out straight. The vintage chair I've been using is getting too worn and I've already moved it's matching ottoman up to the nursery to use with the new chair in there. Ikea has an Ektorp set which would probably suit me, but we'll see about that in a couple of months or when we have some time/energy for getting that sort of thing.

Jeff's sister K sent an adorable selection of baby gear and a little board book. He's going to be one well dressed and entertained baby!

This past week, I was a bit disappointed to find out that I am not eligible to donate cord blood to the public bank because I spent more than 3 months in the UK back in 1992! I am really surprised that they would refuse a donation of otherwise eligible cord blood for such a low risk seeming reason--the possible exposure to mad cow disease. It could have been a match for someone or useful for research! Plus, I was on a student budget at the time and I hardly even ate any meat and can only specifically remember having beef one time (a gorgeous pub lunch on Ilkley Moor of beef stew in Yorkshire Pud)! For meals, I ate a lot of jacket potatoes with beans, cheese and Branston pickle sandwiches or cups of tomato soup. And, a shop directly on my way home from classes sold individual pieces of Baklava and Turkish Delights that would fortify me for my walk home in the cold and dark Scottish winter afternoons. I wish when I set up the appointment over the phone that they had asked me about my travels along with the eligibility questions they did think to ask as it would have saved me a drive. On the bright side, I can stop feeling guilty about not getting around to donating blood as they consider me ineligible for that too. I was turned down years and years ago, but really thought the restriction had been lifted since.

Fortunately, it was not a totally wasted trip as Jeff was with me and we went to Chipotle for an early dinner. I couldn't believe it when we got to the checkout and the crew of Chipotle workers told us they were "buying our dinner"! I've never had that happen before anywhere! Jeff was looking around for a hidden camera! They insisted and I can't find anything out about spontaneous free meals on the web, but they do draw business cards out of a pot for free lunches, so maybe it's just something they do sometimes? Anyway, that made us happy especially after the disappointment at the blood bank just moments before.

I am going to make an effort to rest and relax a bit more this week. One way I can do that is by knitting, of course! I am almost done knitting the 12 month sized Easy Baby Cardigan with just a couple of inches of sleeve remaining. (You can see the newborn sized one in my Christmas post.) I need to order some zippers online since I couldn't find the right type/size at JoAnn Fabric. I haven't tried machine sewing on knitting before, but I'm hoping it will be pretty easy to do. I'll try it out first on some swatches. I also have to think about what to cast on for next! If you have any good pattern recommendations for classic sorts of boy sweaters, do let me know! I'm often going to knit ahead by 1-2 years or so in the hopes that they will fit by the time I finish them.

I am also reading a Bill Bryson book called At Home: A Short History of Private Life. It's been on my list for awhile and I recently bought the paperback copy when I happened to see it at the bookstore. It's very entertaining so far.

Sunday, January 01, 2012

A New Year and Only 2 Weeks to Go (Maybe!)

Happy New Year!!!

It's a pretty exciting start to the year for me. Today, I am 38 weeks pregnant which means 'full term' from this point on, though the due date is calculated to 40 weeks.

This week, I'll do some final organization of the nursery and house, pack hospital bags for myself and the baby and do whatever last minute shopping I can think of. I will have the usual doctor appointment and make arrangements with the blood bank to donate/publicly store cord blood. I will also relax and do some knitting.

Lately, I have been busy cutting tags off of baby clothes and washing everything. I managed to order the Chicco playard online in our first choice of color (blue) and on sale, so I'm excited for that to arrive. It also functions as a 'gym' mat, changing table and bassinet. I think we will use it downstairs when we don't want to be going back and forth to the nursery upstairs. Although, I've been thinking about using it next to our bed too...so there are some decisions to be made still. Fortunately, it's supposed to be quite portable.

On a trip around to the stores, we got the Baby Einstein soother which is now hanging in the crib. It lights up and plays music or bubbling water sounds while the fish 'swim'. It can be operated by remote from the doorway too. It might be very handy when the baby is ready to start adapting to sleeping longer.

Also on a recent shopping trip, we got a new compact camera that also does HD video at 1080p! It's better than any other camera I've had except, being compact, it has less zoom capability than my former best camera. It was on sale too!

(shopping photos from Amazon.com)

I still need to get the video baby monitor and a humidifier soon, but a lot of other things are not urgent at this point, thankfully!

I had Jeff snap some pictures of me today to celebrate and record reaching full term. I feel way happier and less tired than these pictures seem to show! But, here I am at 38 weeks with no makeup, bloated, maternity pants trying to fall down and a dubious expression that says I'm questioning whether I really want to be recording this!

At least the baby was centered for these...at times, he really lists off to one side or the other and I look really funny. Even the doctor stepped back and squinted at my stomach at my last appointment!

Incidentally, today was so warm here that I went outside in just a t-shirt! It's hard to believe it's January 1st when it feels like it could be the first day of spring!