The Training Has Begun

Two days ago, I was sitting in the car with Ryan on the way to church.  Suddenly my whole bump seemed to be contracting.  No pain, just a little uncomfortable.  I wondered if I was going to have Braxton Hicks contractions, and if I was even going to notice them.  I had two in a row that day, one that I noticed yesterday, and then one this morning and another this afternoon.  I don't plan on blogging about each one (; but yeah, it's kind of exciting for me because it is a sign that my body is preparing for the most loved and hated milestone to mark womens' lives: labor and childbirth.  Yay!...?

Week 32: Rumbling and Rolling

Had another routine doctor's appointment yesterday.  Everything is still textbook: belly size measuring right on, weight numbers good, blood pressure perfect (I am a little too proud about that...), etc.  Rockin' and rolling.

Speaking of which, I have had the pleasure of carrying an extremely active kid.  Since this is my first pregnancy and I haven't followed pregnant women around with my hand on their bellies all day, I can't be sure.  It does seem though like from my general surveying of other women's experiences, my kid seems off the Richter scale-wiggly.  He has been this way for months.  I am a little bummed that as he gets bigger, he supposedly will start to move less for lack of room.  I'll miss his rumbley tumbley routines.  One of my favorite things to do is lay in bed and watch him draw a limb across my belly.  Sometimes he goes back and forth, trying to get comfortable I guess.  I don't know why but I just want to laugh when he is doing that.  Something about it is funny.  Maybe it's just my pure joy.

I haven't really had any pain or discomfort due to his movements.  I've been told, "Just wait until he gets a foot in your ribs."  We'll see if I change my tune in the next 8 weeks.

I've had two amazing baby showers this month!  We have received a lot of what we'll need, though there are still a few things that I need to get before he arrives.  A lot can wait until afterwards.  I'm experiencing this feeling of surreality and having a hard time buying anything that we still need.  I guess I feel like it's too soon or I'm afraid I'll change my mind about it.  One thing that I am so thankful for is that Mom and Ruthie plan to come spend a week or two with me to help out.  I feel like other than a few basic items of clothing (in both newborn and 3-6 month sizes), a stock of disposable diapers (also newborn and 3-6 month sizes), the bathtub, and some breastfeeding gear, we'll be prepared to get through well enough until someone can go to the store for items we'll really need.  The biggest mystery that I'm sure all expectant families face is, "Is he going to bypass newborn sizes altogether?" rendering all newborn clothing and diapers useless.

We are postponing the crib purchase until after he comes.  We might wait until right when he needs it - like 3 months old?  Considering our volatile situation (Ryan looking for a job) we could be moving at any time in the next few months, so anything we can postpone would potentially make the move easier.  Also, I kind of like the idea of purchasing on an as-needed basis.  I am learning that about myself - I've trained my brain so well to analyze need vs. want that I have a lot of trouble buying something I don't need right now [this is with the exclusion of clothes and jewelry and frozen yogurt of course (c;].  And back to being glad about getting that help from Mom and Ruth - I feel like we'll be a lot more able to run out and get something with so many hands around to help.  Really takes a load off - so I will put my wallet away for now and rest in the fact that Target is just 10 minutes away (c:

Little Things to Live A Little Better

1) Hang a bundle of eucalyptus in the shower.  The steam activates the smell.  The article suggests doing this when you have a cough or cold, but I kinda want to do it all the time (c:  I can get a sprig of this stuff at Hobby Lobby for a few bucks and the article claims it lasts for a few weeks (c:

2) Make t-shirt pillows.  I do have a LOT of tshirts.  Maybe some of them would make worthy pillows... most of them I'd rather turn inside out and do my own design (bleach drawing makes for some neat effects!).  You know, for some day when I feel like getting my hands dirty and have nothing else to do.

3) Herbal fire starters.  Neat idea.  We don't have a fireplace [yet], or a huge garden with an abundance of herbs [yet], but one day I would love to make these.  They'd also make nice gifts! 

4) Dishwasher soap squirt bottle.  Genius!  I have a glass pump for my dishwasher soap now, but the pump is plastic (painted to look like metal...ew).  It has held up well and it looks nice (especially with bright red/orange grapefruit-scented dish soap), but the mechanics don't screw on well to the bottle anymore and I have a feeling it won't last forever.  When that thing dies, I'm getting that tough little squeeze bottle, seems just really practical and easy to keep clean.



Source: article on Whole Living called 25 Eco-Chic Ideas for Your Home. 

Gathering The Gear: Travel System

Since last weekend, we have gone from having one drawer of baby stuff to a large corner of our living room dedicated to this small person's needs.  While in Tyler yesterday, we decided to go to the Babies R Us since we don't have one in our town and put our hands on some of the larger items we had been looking at online.  We read a ton of reviews on infant seats because that seems to be the one thing that you really do want to get new for safety standards.  We had actually decided to try to find a not-too-old used one on craigslist and had quite a few options there, but after looking at them at the store and pushing some strollers, we fell in love with a travel system.  All of the research and reviews were very helpful because we had a much better idea of what to look for (considering we have never had any first hand experience, we didn't really have an opinion).

Here is the travel system we ordered.  Yes, it's a sexy beast.  Hope it's a good choice!  It's not a strong name brand, but I think it's a good value.

And it has speakers (c: