Maternity Shopping

It was my mom's birthday yesterday, and I dragged her with me to a huge baby/maternity consignment sale. We went on the last day, admission was free and some things were half off. This may explain why the maternity section was a little small. But, I found some great items.

I bought 3 pair of pants, 1 pair of capris, 1 summer dress, 4 shirts, and 1 baby overalls for $30. So, approximately $3 per item. Everything was in really good shape with brands like Motherhood, Old Navy, and The GAP. Just for the fun of it we were looking at the baby clothes, and we saw the overalls. Since they are gender neutral, and they were $1.50, I couldn't resist. So, we now have our first baby clothing.

They are having another similar consignment sale in June, hopefully we'll know what we are having by then and I can pick up some more deals! Ultrasound: 2 weeks and counting.

I took today off of work to play in the yard, and so far I haven't checked work email and I don't feel guilty. :)

Baby Exposure

I went to visit my friend from High School yesterday after work. We haven't kept in touch very frequently. Occasionally I get a wild hair and try to change that, then one or both of us drifts again.

She just had a baby in March, the little girl is 5 weeks now. I stopped by, bringing hot drinks, held the baby, and we chatted for ~3 hours. It was great on many levels, for both of us if I may be so bold to assume. I was a very interested audience as she talked about the trials of pregnancy and early parenthood.

Baby J is adorable, though I am pretty sure now that I am not a "baby" woman. When TTC I definitely looked upon them with envy, and thought they were cute enough most of the time. I have also had many daydreams involving holding MY baby. But, I have never really squealed and begged to hold anyone's baby. In fact, I usually dodged games of pass the baby, for fear I'd do something wrong. Holding baby J was nice, but I passed her back to momma when my arms were a little tired, though she seemed to be dozing rather peacefully.

I've always been more likely to engage toddlers and preschoolers. Witnessing and participating in their emerging personhood truly amazes me and draws me in. They are so eager for exposure to new things... I could spend hours with a tyke one-on-one, and the fewer toys the better. Give me a piece of paper and markers, some blocks, or just the natural world, and we'd have a blast.

One image that sticks with me about my visit with M and baby J... One thing I really loved seeing... is when her DH came home and was holding and playing with the baby. Seeing DH with our baby, should the fates allow, would overflow my heart.

Heartbeat, Belly Shots

I heard the heartbeat on Thursday! My OB had to dig for it just a little bit, just when I was getting a little nervous I heard the wonderful woosh woosh woosh. Then the doctor said the baby is moving, and the sound morphed into a more rapid shwew shwew shwew. It sounded like video game laser beams at a distance. :) I told DH later, and we commented that we have a gamer-in-training.

I now have the abdominal ultrasound date!!! It is set for May 4th, my follow-up appointment with my doctor is on May 7th. Its three weeks from Monday, I can't wait. I have two concerns about the appointment, who they allow in and how much I should drink.

Some moms have told me to drink exactly as much as they say to. Others have said to drink less than requested, because they followed instructions and it didn't work out so well (were forced to wait and couldn't hold it, had a miserable experience, or were asked to empty some anyway before the ultrasound). I'm already using the bathroom every 30 minutes without extra fluids...

As for how many spectators they allow... the scheduling lady said nothing on the subject, and the doctor's order only says no children. But, when I was rummaging around on the web site it said they allow only one visitor. My mom really wants to be there, and my DH might or might not be ambivalent, but I really want my DH there. Maybe I'll call and ask them to be sure.

Every time I ask DH to take a belly shot we both find ourselves giggling. FINALLY, I have edited the pictures. I still think I look like I'm just gaining weight, with an obvious fullness but no bump. I do appreciate my new haircut!

15w1d - a craving!

I was laying awake in bed for hours thinking I'd fall back to sleep, but no. I should know better. Every now and then something gets out of whack and I wake up way too early. These episodes precede pregnancy, though the frequent bathroom trips probably exacerbate the problem. Now I'm up, having made my tummy happy with some milk, wondering if I should go back to bed or just nap later. Or, maybe both. :) Though I hesitate to spend the last day of my spring break in bed (and with temps over 50 degrees at last!)

As for the point of this post, I was at the mall on Friday, getting a haircut and doing some gift shopping. Aside: I was sure to hit the bathroom both before and after my haircut. My bladder has always been on the small and active side. But, it seems to be aiming for all new levels of frequency.

Anyway, after the to-do list was taken care of, I started feeling very hungry. So, I wandered up to the food court. With over a half-dozen choices you would think something would be appetizing, but no. Pizza? Ugh. Flaming Wok? Meh... and kinda spendy. Ivars? Fish sounds okay, but not fried. A&W is DH's favorite lately, so we eat there too often as it is.

Then, it hit me like a ton of bricks. I must have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich! So, I headed out to the car. All I could think about on the way home was crunchy peanut butter, nestled up against my new blackberry jam washed down with a cold glass of milk (yes, I'm a lactose-addict lately). My easy, cheap, classic lunch lived up to all of my expectations. Now its starting to sound good for breakfast...