36 weeks – Baby KERF

36 Weeks: The Final Items

After my shower in Hillsborough, I returned home with a good idea of what we still needed to buy to prepare for the baby. I had been excited for this for a long time – I couldn’t wait for the relief to have everything we need in our house! That day has come, and we are all set. Here are the final items I bought to complete the nursery!

Diapers and wipes – for the first few weeks/month until we transition into cloth. I have 6 packs of diapers and about 4 big packs of wipes. The good news is if I need more they are easily found. I think these will get us through the toughest time no problem.

Two wet bags for our diaper bag and the basement

A handy OXO wipes container that takes both disposable and then cloth when we are ready

It opens with one hand and has a weigh to make pulling wipes out easier. Also keeps them moist with a tight seal.

The aden & anais blankets I have been drooling over all summer! I mostly just wanted the bees for Buzz : )

A second Halo Newborn Sleep Sack – I wanted a few kinds to test out

3 SummerMe Swaddlers – I hear these are great!

Could not resist these on sale when I was at Babies R Us – they look so American Apparel!

Lanolin and a handful of fleece waterproof pads. I had a mom friend recommend these to me. I had never heard of them, but they are great to put down during diaper changes both on your pretty changing pad or on the floor/couch/wherever you are. Cheap too! Can be also used under crib sheets or as burp clothes. They have tons of sizes.

Butt paste and 2 kinds of pacifiers

A large wet bag that now hangs on the side of our changing dresser

An inexpensive sound machine

Which is next to our monitor on this little yellow IKEA table. It never occurred to me that there would be CORDS running from the motion sensor on the Angelcare so I’d have to have the monitor close to the crib. Luckily this table has been floating around our house for months without a permanent position and it now has a purpose. Close by to turn both electronics off after a nap.

And here is dad-to-be securing the changing pad to the dresser and the dresser to the wall!

I’ll be doing a final nursery tour when we have the last 2 items in. I am waiting for 1 to arrive and 1 to be made!

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36 Weeks: Car Seat Installed!

10 weeks ago I did a post on car seat safety after listening to a Pregtastic podcast. The podcast was excellent – everyone should listen to it. One of the things the expert in the podcast recommended was taking the car seat to your local police or fire department for a lesson on proper installation and use. I think something like 80% of people do something wrong the first time.

Here in Albemarle County, the fire department offers this service for free. I found this pamphlet online and emailed to schedule an appointment. It was easy to do and she said it would last about 20 minutes. We just needed to bring the seat – no need to try putting it in ourselves first.

We bought the Chicco KeyFit30 in Midori, which came with one base. The bases are expensive ($80) so for now we are just going to use my car for baby transport, but we might end up getting a second base in time if we feel we need one. This car seat got excellent reviews both online and from Consumer Reports. I also know a lot of friends who have it!

We brought a few loaves of bread to our firemen as a thank you – they were much appreciated : )

We had 3 firemen come out to show us the install and talk about how to put a baby in the seat. The first step was a very, very, VERY tight fitting of the base.

I couldn’t believe how hard he tugged on the seatbelt, and Matt said this was the #1 reason he was glad we did the lesson because he would not have thought it needed to be so very tight. I’m not sure if I could have done this myself… I thought the seatbelt would break, but the fireman reminded me they are designed to hold people in during very serious crashes, so they are very, very strong. [Note my car is a 1999 so too early for the LATCH system!]

We also learned that the seat cannot be touching the passengers seats at all (new info) and that the front of the seat will move and jiggle some – it’s the back part that must be totally secure.

After the base was installed, we talked about proper use – things like putting the shoulder straps in the proper place, not putting the baby in too much padding before going in, adjusting the straps both when he’s in and when he grows bigger.

I was given a mirror for my car as a hand-me-down – one that’s supposed to be used for looking at baby while driving. The expert on Pregtastic said she does not recommend them because they distract the mom from safe driving. I can see how it would be useful though (at a stop light when distraction isn’t as much a concern), so I asked the firemen their opinion and they said do not use it as well but for a different reason – that it has not been safety tested. Given the unpredictability of crashes, you never know what might happen if I mirror flies around your car. That’s 2 experts who say no, and since safety is the ultimate goal here, I will be giving it away. Matt says it’s not really a big deal because it really doesn’t matter if the baby is crying, asleep or awake and I don’t drive that much alone anyways.

Matt and I both practiced getting the seat in and out. The middle is the safest spot because it buys you more space from a side collision, but I found it really hard to reach in and get out – especially since this car is low to the ground and required a deep bend over. I asked the firemen what they thought about moving it to the passenger side and they said it would still be very safe, just not quite as safe, so I might consider that if I have back problems or if he just gets too heavy.

Last but not least, a Twitter friend offered to give us his car seat that his family was finishing used. A very generous hand-me-down, but unfortunately, it was 6 years old and I checked with Peg Perego and their seats expire at 6 years.

But the great news is that the fire dept. took the seat and will use it in their training sessions, so it went to a good cause!

I’m glad we went for the appointment and feel pretty comfortable with the seat. Hopefully its safety will never be tested.

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36 Weeks: Nesting–> Resting

Exciting times ahead! This is the first week – less than a month to go – where I feel like having a baby is no longer just an idea in the distant future but something real that is actually happening. Moreover, although I know the stats and research that say first-time moms generally go beyond the estimated due date, I can’t help but have a little bit of wonder if my water is going to break at ANY SECOND. Surprisingly, I have heard about 6 stories of 36-week births this week – even before I share my number of weeks with the person. I was talking to a mom in Motherhood Maternity about cleaning and nesting and she said she had a cleaning fest one day and her water broke – 36 weeks, 1 day – the next morning. So it CAN happen early (and sometimes happens even earlier) but I’m not counting on it quite yet.

Am I looking more low / round to you? Because I certainly feel like he has dropped!

The biggest reason I think so isn’t really the photo above, but the fact that I’ve been having tons of pressure down there. There have been times when I’m sitting on my exercise ball and I stand up and feel a HUGE amount of pressure. Other times I’ll be on a walk or doing housework and I’ll feel like his head is literally sitting and pressuring right on my cervix. Maybe he hasn’t officially dropped into a 0 station or anything because I don’t feel bowling-ball-between-the-legs, but I think something has happened. I wasn’t really having trouble breathing before, but my rib muscle pain has most definitely improved – so that’s another sign. I still have a spot there where the skin is kind of numb!

I haven’t really noticed it, but Matt says when we are out and about that people stare at me all.the.time. I guess a pregnant belly is fun to look at He says he can’t believe how many people he catches looking – protective father <3

The baby’s movements have definitely slowed down. Not so much in frequency (they tell you that can be a bad sign) but just in his ability to move in there. I almost always can catch a few when I lie down and he loves to poke out his knees (or something!) when I go on a walk – usually in the first 10 minutes. I also feel big round bumps move around all the time. I’m guessing this is his bum and not his head, but I can’t be sure.

I’ve had a couple of contractions – Braxon-Hicks I’m guessing – that have actually been a little painful. Sitting has gotten a little harder and more uncomfortable (sitting cross-legged is my best position on the couch) and sometimes when I stand up from being seated everything seems to cramp up. I had to carry my bump up the stairs the other day until it relaxed!

I am slowing down – or rather I need to slow down – this last month. I’m still trying to do a lot in my days and I can just sense that it might be time to focus on resting as much as nesting. This will be easy to do since the house is in great shape, the nursery is complete, the hospital bags are packed, and we have all the gear we need for a newborn ready to go.

May it be tomorrow or 5 weeks from now – there is excitement in the air!

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Snapshots

New Additions

Pack n Play Options

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36 Weeks: Pack n Play Options

There are so many options out there for playards – I have no idea what to choose or even how we will use it!

Here are some facts about our situation:

We won’t be using it for nightime sleeping (we have the rock n play sleeper and a crib nearby our room)
We could use it for downstairs napping.
We could use it for contained + safe playing – especially when he becomes very mobile and upstairs where there is more danger.
My mom and Karen are both getting this one for their homes.
I don’t think I’d bring it to the beach, park, etc for playing – I’d probably just bring a blanket and play with him.
For newborn travel, we could use the rock n play which is pretty portable. But when he’s bigger, I’m not sure what he’d sleep in if the hotel/house didn’t have a crib or pack n play provided.

So all of that said, do you think we need to buy one?

I love the look of the Joovy Room2 Ultralight and the reviews are good. It’s super lightweight, but also expensive at $200. It’s 9 square feet and weighs 21 pounds all folded up. Since it sits on the floor, I think the weight limit is probably nearly unlimited. I could see this being very useful with a bigger baby. It’s also really easy to fold up in an instant since there is no wooden/plank board for the floor.

I don’t like the look of the Graco ones as much, but I like the Pasadena well enough and the price is much, much better at $70. I THINK it comes with a bassinet for napping, although it doesn’t show it in any of the photos. It’s well reviewed and popular on Amazon. Weight limit: 40 lbs. 28 x 40 inches – so quite a bit smaller but the same weight at 22 lbs. I can see him growing out of this more quickly.

Then there are the ones that are kind of inbetween. They have some bells and whistles (which I doubt I would need/use but maybe?) Like this one for $99 that has a napper/changer station, exterior storage, etc. The napper/changer has pretty low weight requirements, and I’ve heard that they are not built too well. Medium sized and heaviest. I also don’t love the design.

I am tempted not to get one at all – or just wait and see if we need a contained play space or portable crib when he’s older. But I don’t know what I don’t know so please share your thoughts!

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Snapshots

New Additions

Previous WEEKS

36 Weeks: New Additions

New additions for the new addition!! From family, friends, Etsy and Amazon : ) I wish I could showcase every single gift we have received and every single item I have purchased, but here are snapshots of the range of baby items we have accumulated…

A Duke bib and socks from Matt’s grandmother Bonnie – Go Blue Devils!

Board books of all kinds!

A modern Boppy Cover I bought from Kidzcraftz on Etsy!

Bison Booties!!!! A gift from the Etsy store owner, Erica, who is a BERF reader

Beach toys for next summer (and the bath until then!) plus soft blocks and a hilarious ball from mom’s friends Judy and Susan! They have started the toy storage under the stairs : )

A baby monitor from Kirst!

Our awesome Skip Hop diaper bag from Karen!

I already put a few things inside : )

Carousel Designs changing pad (on the L.A. Baby pad that I bought), plus a funky inexpensive lamp from Target and a catch-all container Alex and Eric gave us at our Cville shower from NikJDesigns on Etsy. Can’t believe how well it matches the changing pad!

This adorable outfit from Baby Olivia

Fun toys that light up and sing!

Chevron bibs and burp cloths from my sister from the Posh Pea Boutique and handmade ones by my friend Tiffany!

And so many cute outfits for 3-6 months that need sorting and folding! You will see these all in time : )

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Snapshots

Previous WEEKS

36 Weeks: Snapshots

My parents’ gift to us for the baby was the high chair!! We chose the OXO Tot Sprout after reading a bunch of reviews and recommendations. I hear it’s also very easy to clean : )