Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Coupons!

Thanks to two batches of Babies "R" Us coupons -- one from Terry, one from the mail -- and a very lucky purchase at a consignment store, we made our first baby purchases this weekend.

At Babies "R" Us, we got the crib for a great price because the cashier accidentally gave us 15 percent off twice! We also bought the crib mattress (15 percent off) and the car seat (15 percent off). (Although in general we don't plan to buy much until after the showers are over, we thought it made sense to go ahead and use these coupons to buy the big-ticket items we're sure about since the coupons expire on Thursday.)

Someone had given us a car seat that we'd originally planned to use, but later we decided not to since it's already five years old, which is kind of pushing it, safety-wise. It might be fine for Claire, but we definitely wouldn't use it for future kids. Matt did his research and just Friday decided on this one: The next day we were driving by a local kids' consignment store, Doodlebugs, and saw the matching stroller sitting out front! We stopped and looked and it seemed to be in great shape. Best of all, it was about 40 percent less than it would have been new. It's considered a "full size" stroller, and we'd planned to get a slightly smaller one, but SpringFest with Lauren G. and her two kids last weekend already had me reconsidering.

Lauren's stroller has two separate handles, which makes it hard to steer if one hand is otherwise occupied, and it doesn't have a cup holder so she had to prop her drink in the under-the-seat basket. I'm definitely not buying a stroller based on its cup holder situation, but having one would be very handy since I believe in getting refills to-go. This stroller has a bar, not separate handles, and places for a drink and keys.

This just happens to be the same stroller/car seat combo that Carrie and Jacob have for Riley (but in green), and they gave it rave reviews. Yesterday Carrie went to Doodlebugs with Matt and me to make sure everything worked, and after getting the thumbs-up from her we bought it. We even got another 10 percent off for a stain that I think will come out (and if it doesn't, I'm sure it's just the first of many). Score!

We also ordered our glider this weekend, unfortunately not because of a coupon, but because its expected delivery date is six or eight weeks out, which is already cutting it close to the baby's due date (10 weeks from tomorrow). We thought about splurging on a really nice glider but decided not to. I'm sure it will get some good use, but we already have dozens of other places to sit and hold a baby -- it's not going to be the exclusive nursing spot or anything like that.

No more monthly appointments

I feel like this blog's been a little neglected lately. Other than the fact of my rapidly expanding stomach, there's nothing much new to report. I've been feeling rather hugely pregnant for weeks now, but when I look back at pictures even from just two weeks ago, I realize I feel bigger than I look. The baby is now gaining weight at a rate of something like half a pound a week, so soon I will both feel AND look huge.
We had the 30-week appointment today, the last monthly appointment. From now until 36 weeks we'll go every two weeks, and from 36 weeks until the baby's born it will be every week. The doctor measured Claire at 30 centimeters long, which is right on target.

We had signed up for a childbirth class on May 16 but now I have a client coming into town that weekend, so we asked about rescheduling the class. The April one's already over and the June one is for something like June 28 -- a week and a half before our due date. The receptionist told us all of the information is available online, so armed with that website plus the packet of "curriculum" for the class (including yet another copy of "What to Expect the First Year" -- it's an epidemic!) I think we're going to skip the class altogether.

I'm so, so, so happy to report that I'm having consistently good runs again. My theory, actually, is that the pollen, not the pregnancy, was to blame. I've never been bothered by pollen, but one day last week I ran right after a good rain and had the best run in forever. That got me thinking pollen might be the culprit. The pollen's starting to build up again, so maybe this is partly mental, but I haven't had a bad run since then.

Also, this may have nothing to do with being pregnant, but I recently had the worst case of poison ivy I've ever had (it's finally clearing up after about two weeks). It started with two bumps on my ankle, which I scratched because I thought they were bug bites; it spread all the way up my body and over onto Matt's. It was terrible. Every day I found a new patch. Poison ivy, like pollen, has never affected me, so maybe the pregnancy somehow really is to blame.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

28 weeks

Happy seven-months-in-utero to Claire! It's amazing to me that, thanks to medical technology, she would have an excellent chance of surviving with no long-term ill effects if she were born now. Obviously a birth at 28 weeks is far from ideal, but it's nice to know that if it happened, it would probably be OK.

Judging from Claire's constant activity, I'd say she's having the time of her life in my stomach and isn't in any rush to exit. In another couple of months I'm sure she'll be a lot less comfortable (I know I will be). Pregnancy is treating me great, but I'm getting really excited about meeting the baby. I can't wait to hold her and start to learn her personality and see who she looks like.

I do have a minor complaint, which is that running has gotten more difficult in the past two weeks. I'm not sure if it's directly related to the pregnancy or if it's simply because I'm carrying around an extra 10 pounds, but I huff and puff all the way through my runs lately. I haven't had a really effortless run for a couple of weeks. When I get home and whine about it Matt says this is what running feels like for most people, so maybe I've just been spoiled for the past 20 years.

No matter how hard it is, I'm determined to run till the end -- no matter how pathetically slow I am around week 38 -- because it's absolutely essential to my sanity, and to me there's no substitute.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Good news

I do not have gestational diabetes! I had the test this afternoon and got the call a few hours later as I was walking out of the grocery store carrying two pounds of strawberries, two pounds of plums and a 12-pack of Coke. I would hate to give up any of that sugary goodness, so I'm thrilled not to have to.

Also, here's the bump at 27 weeks:

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

3/3

I think today (27 weeks) marks the beginning of my third trimester. In the past few weeks my stomach has grown from ambiguously pregnant to clearly pregnant. Last week on vacation I wore a bikini and wasn't self-conscious about it, but I was only around family. Stephen kept saying with astonishment "Your stomach is getting bigger every day!" My belly button, formerly an "innie," has flattened out and is flush with the rest of my stomach. I'll try to remember to get Matt to take a picture tonight.

Claire is a crazy active girl. Half the time I feel like a cyclone is blowing through my stomach (and often it looks like Mexican jumping beans are residing in there), but I love it. It's nice to know she's alive and well. Lately whenever we're watching TV and I'm bored, I just hike up my shirt, stare at my stomach and voila: instant entertainment.

Last night was a Subway/Chinese night and when I asked for extra pickles the woman nodded knowingly and said, "Because of the baby!" I laughed and told her my extra-pickles fetish is nothing new.

Tomorrow is my monthly doctor's appointment and it's the one where I'll be tested for gestational diabetes. I know it's highly unlikely that I'll test positive, but on the other hand, I eat sugar and drink Coke all day long, so why should I feel confident? Especially since both Melissa and Carrie had it. Well, what will be will be, I guess. Wish me luck.