Archive | November, 2012

Pregnancy Update: 18 Weeks

5 Nov

The baby is now the size of a mango. (Anyone remember Mango from SNL?)

Anyway, my project for this past Saturday was to clean out all the stuff we had dumped in the nursery in preparation for this coming weekend when my parents will be out here. The nursery is now empty and ready for a new window and new coat of paint!

Katy wanted to say hi but got shy at the last second. (Travis still has to store those boxes somewhere.)

Yesterday was our church’s annual Chili Cookoff for singles and young married couples. Travis and I brought our award-winning Elk Chili (we entered it in 2010 too and won). And we won again! The Chili Trophy is now proudly displayed on our bookcase.

I can’t take credit for the recipe because I just found it online. The first time I had ever made it was for the 2010 Chili Cookoff. So if you’re looking to win some chili awards yourself, check out the recipe! (I only use 1 onion and decrease the brown sugar to 1/4 cup.)

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Another very exciting thing about this past week is that I like coffee again! I’ve really missed that part of my morning routine. Well, I’ve missed having a morning routine period. This morning was the first time I got up within 20 minutes of my alarm in about 5 months. I had time to read the Bible and work on my book. Yay! Hopefully this is my new trend.

I’ve started to get creative with sleeping positions. Last night, I could not get comfortable on my side, even with my giant body pillow, so I stacked up 3 pillows and laid on my back. I was out in minutes. In the mornings, I really miss sleeping on my stomach. I actually slept so deeply a couple of nights last week that I woke up on my stomach several times! Surprisingly, it wasn’t that uncomfortable, but I switched my position right away anyway.

I’ve also been feeling the baby move for the past couple of weeks. I have to admit, it’s not really a physically pleasant feeling. It just feels like my stomach is upset at random times throughout the day and only for a few minutes each time. Regardless, it is cool to feel that and know that it’s our baby moving around!

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Workouts last week:

Su: 1 mile walk

T: 1.7 mile walk

Sa: 2 mile walk, 45 minutes Yoga Mama prenatal yoga

Even though I wasn’t a fan of that yoga video either (too much baby fluff again), and it was a pretty easy workout, I can tell I’ve lost a lot of upper body strength. Sad.

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Cravings: I really like stir-fry right now – even soy sauce, which I used to really dislike. I’ve never liked salt so much in my life. (Maybe we’re having a boy?)

Weight gain: 10 lbs total

What I miss: Wine. Sleeping on my stomach. Running.

Looking forward to: This weekend with my parents, Thanksgiving in Minnesota, and finding out the gender on November 27!

Do you have a prenatal workout DVD that you really like? Tell me what it is!

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Big baby purchases

4 Nov

During the slow times at work, I’ve been busy researching baby stuff and have been able to decide on some of the big purchases: car seat, stroller, crib and mattress. (Travis has agreed to all of these but he’s been so busy with work and hunting that I’ve been doing all the research.)

Car seat: Graco Snugride 30

Besides the good safety ratings this car seat has received, I like that the seat is compatible with several stroller options (including the stroller I chose, below) and is short enough to fit easily into an airplane seat (which we’re going to need when we fly back to Minnesota at the end of May for Travis’ brother’s high school graduation). I chose a gender-neutral pattern because car seats are good for about 6 years and we will almost definitely have at least 1 or even 2 more kids before that time is up. I’d rather not buy a new car seat for each kid, TYVM.

I went to Walmart last Sunday and played around with the infant version of this car seat. The 5-point harness is easy to undo and redo, it snaps easily out of and into the base (though it took me a while to figure it out), it has a little indicator on the side of the base to help you with the correct angle, and the seat seems pretty light. I compared it to the Baby Trend EZ Flex Loc car seat (the other one I was considering) while I was there and they seem pretty similar in weight and ease of removing from the base (though the button is located on the foot side of the car seat, not the head side, which I’ve heard some complaints about – doesn’t seem that big of a deal to me). The Baby Trend car seat had a longer canopy that could open from either side, which was nice. But the 5-point harness requires you to overlap the two side pieces and put them in together. I was not a fan of that at all (the Graco one allows each side piece to go in separately).

The different in harness and price makes Graco the winner for me.

Stroller: BabyTrend Expedition Jogger

I had originally planned to get a regular stroller and then a (used) BOB when our baby was older, but then I saw this jogger. It accommodates an infant car seat (Baby Trend, Chicco or Graco) but can also seat an older kid up to 50 pounds. It has parent and child cupholders and a big stroller bin below. The front wheel swivels for walking and locks in place for jogging. And the wheels are like bike tires, instead of plastic.

I wheeled this around in Babies R Us yesterday and while it’s slightly heavier than the more traditional strollers, it’s not that much wider and it rides smoothly. It’s easy to fold up, but doesn’t get very compact (kind of what I would expect with a jogging stroller though). The only thing I wasn’t crazy about is that the strap to adjust the seat recline was ridiculously hard to move. But for the price and the good reviews, I don’t think this can be beat. (And if we move back to Minnesota and are walking on gravel roads – which is highly likely – the big wheels will be a necessity.)

I did test out the Graco Spree stroller and the BabyTrend stroller while I was at Walmart. They both drive and turn very smooth and weigh about the same. The BabyTrend stroller has a quick release right on the handle for easy foldup but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to fold the Graco stroller. It could be easy to fold but I don’t know?

Crib: Graco Lauren Classic 4-in-1

This is a pretty basic crib that has gotten good reviews. It doesn’t break the bank. I don’t really care that it’s a convertible because we’ll probably use it as only a crib for the next 10 years or so (we plan to have 3-4 kids), but it’s nice to have that option I guess. And I really just like the clean straight lines. Done.

Mattress: Safety 1st Sweet Dreams Crib and Toddler Mattress

Like the crib, my main reason for choosing this mattress is that it’s reasonably priced and has gotten good reviews (on Walmart’s website, which is good enough for me). As with everything baby, there are a ton of mattress options out there but Travis and I agreed that a cheaper one (that’s still safe) was good enough for us.

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I bought the crib, mattress and crib skirt/curtain fabric today, and we’ll buy the stroller and car seat next month. We’re trying to spread out our baby purchases by buying what we know we want (and won’t register for) now, so that all we’ll have left at the end are the things we don’t get from showers. In the next week or so, we’ll also be buying a futon for the new office and paint for the nursery.

Finally, a tip that you may already know: Babies R Us is pretty much the most expensive place you can buy anything. The Baby Trend stroller above was $150 there. I can get it online from Target for $100. Even with shipping, I come out ahead. So while Babies R Us is convenient and has a wide selection, it’s not the place to buy if you’re watching your budget.

Are you having/did you have a hard time deciding what to buy for your baby?

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Nursery plans

3 Nov

You’d think that because we’re going to find out the gender of our baby (on November 27!!!), I’d want to decorate the nursery gender-specific. (At least I thought I would.) But I don’t. I’m not into princesses or jungle animals. I could do elephants, whales or birds I guess. But really, I’d just prefer a simple, clean design similar to this:

LOVE the combination of yellow and gray. I want to do a more pastel yellow than such a “banana” yellow (which is what they call it) but I just love that room. I don’t love Carousel Design‘s prices though. A lovely crib skirt would run me about $125. At first, I thought that was worth it to get what I wanted (because I have not been able to find this kind of fabric or design anywhere else, and believe me, I’ve looked!). But then, I discovered that they sell the fabric for only $7.50 a yard. I can totally make my own crib skirt and curtains for that price! Here’s the fabric:

We’re going to paint the walls a light pastel yellow similar to this color (we haven’t fully decided yet):

We’re also going to use yellow sheets in the crib (which are also harder to find than you would expect!).

This is my vision for the glider:

(Mostly just the color, not really the style.) My parents said that they would buy us a glider as their baby gift to us! So I’m extremely excited about that. (Otherwise, I was going to buy a cheaper one from Walmart.) My parents are so generous.

The furniture isn’t going to be as coordinated. We’re getting a white crib and white changing station, but we’re using an oak-colored dresser that we already have (and it’s too nice to paint over) and a dark cherry-colored bookshelf (that I may or may not paint white). We don’t want to get rid of the furniture we currently have (since we’ll want it when we move) but we also have nowhere to store it. So I’ll just make do until we move to Minnesota (and get a bigger house). The closet doors in the nursery are also an oak color so at least it somewhat matches.

Once we get all of the big pieces situated, I’ll start thinking more specifically about what to hang on the walls. I might opt to make some of those more gender-specific. We’ll see. My parents are coming out here next weekend so let the (fun) nursery preparations begin!

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The things left undone

2 Nov

Ever since finding out I was pregnant back at the beginning of August, I’ve been learning one main lesson: how to find joy when life’s a mess. I had been learning this lesson before then too but there’s nothing like pregnancy exhaustion to take the wind out of your sails and fast (ok, well, maybe new mother exhaustion).

After years of being a morning person, I am back to setting and resetting my alarm clock to the latest possible time I can get up and still make it to work on time. And that’s even after getting 9 hours of sleep.

I feel accomplished on a weeknight if I do anything except walk in the door and plop on the couch. Making dinner, walking the dogs or doing laundry are big wins.

Though I would still describe myself as a person who loves to be active, you’d never guess it by what my weeks look like.

Many of the ambitious goals I set up for myself at the beginning of the year have been left in the wake of another goal’s fulfillment – getting pregnant. That would include working on my nonfiction book. (Another side effect of not being a morning person anymore.)

I don’t like the feeling of being behind. Of having so many things I would like to do but am not doing. Of spending so many days not being productive. God knows that I have used productivity like a safety blanket in the past. A way of reassuring myself that I am valuable, I’m doing something worthwhile, I’m in control.

So I’ve accepted this season as a very practical challenge from God to learn to let things go. (I know this lesson will come in handy when our baby is born as well.) No, I’m not accomplishing everything I’d like to. No, I’d rather not spend an entire weeknight on the couch doing nothing. But when I come home from work and have ZERO energy, or life is keeping me busy with just staying afloat, that’s the reality. And I can still find contentment and joy amid all the things left undone.

I recognize that there is a balance between legitimate rest and laziness, and it’s tough to maintain. Most mornings I reset my alarm out of laziness, and then regret it later. But instead of letting that shortcoming inspire a feeling of failure in me for the whole day or week (like I used to), I pray. I tell God that I didn’t do what I wanted to do and ask for His help to change. I want to get up early to read the Bible and work on my book. I want to exercise after work instead of watching TV. But I also want to give myself grace, like God gives grace. He doesn’t berate me when I fail. He just offers another chance.

I wrote this about a year ago and it is still 100% the reminder I need:

God is more realistic about my abilities than I am. Like QuatroMama writes in this post, I tend to set up my own (perfectionist) standards and then beat myself up when I fall short.

But God is realistic. “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust.”He doesn’t ask me to be Mega Woman. He understands that I only have so many minutes in a day and if I spend time doing this thing, I don’t have time for that thing. If I’m exhausted and want to veg instead of clean, He doesn’t accuse me of laziness and not being productive, like I do to myself. Unlike me, He is full of grace, understanding, and patience.

This is where the Gospel makes all the difference. The Gospel allows us to admit that we fall short of what we wish we were, but reassures us that we’re loved anyway. And God’s love for us isn’t despite how we’ve disappointed Him, or failed to live up to His standard. Because when He sees us in Christ, He sees perfect beings. We are completely and utterly righteous in His eyes.“As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgression from us.”

He doesn’t mutter “I love you” through gritted teeth while trying to not be mad over all the things we’ve done wrong. God’s love abounds for us. He lavishly pours out grace upon grace into our lives with delight.

In the words of John Piper, remind yourself, “I am holy and I am loved.” Even when life is messy.

I may not be accomplishing everything I want to accomplish today, but that’s ok. I truly believe that God would rather I learn to live in the freedom of grace and knowing I’m loved by Him no matter what, than cross things off my to-do list. This world is temporary; only the eternal things truly matter.

How do you find joy amid the things left undone?

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