Diapers!

Yesterday we made our first baby purchase:

A GroVia All-in-One cloth diaper!

 Isn't it cute with its little bicycles?

So, maybe now is the time to say that we've decided to use cloth diapers. Actually I decided this a while back and just had to convince Seth. Here's the arguments:

1. It's cheaper. Way cheaper. On average, it costs about $2500 to diaper one child through potty training using disposables. Even using store brand diapers. Cloth diapers costs between $250-$500 dollars. Once. And you can use them for multiple children. Even factoring in extra laundry, the savings is amazing. 

2. The environment. I would say Seth and I are eco-friendly people, but not super hardcore go green one with the earth mother types. But it makes me feel good that we won't be putting 7000 diapers per kid in a landfill to sit for 500 years. 

3. Chemicals. It may be surprising that two chemists list this as a concern, but I like the idea of my baby sitting in cloth for two years of its life opposed to weird absorbent gel like material that has been bleached in a factory. What is that stuff? Surely it's uncomfortable. Also, completely anecdotal evidence, but cloth diapered babies experience less diaper rash. And who doesn't want that?

4. They are stinkin' (pun intended) cute. I mean, look at that diaper. Now imagine my kid toddling around in it and its other brightly colored friends. That just makes me happy. 

There are of course arguments against as well. Mostly about ease and convenience. To me, it seems just about as easy to cloth diaper as disposable. The biggest difference is a couple of extra loads of laundry per week. But I plan to be a stay at home mom until our (hopefully) kid(s) are in the 2-3 range and can got to daycare. So I think I can handle a couple extra loads of laundry. Also, if the need arises, such as if we go out of town, we can always temporarily switch to disposables.

So, there's our cloth diapering thoughts so far. We bought our diaper at this really cute store in town, The Green Nursery, and I consulted Heiny Helpers for some of these facts about diapers.

Bump Watch 13 Weeks

How far along: 13 weeks
Baby is the size of a: peach (about 3 inches)
News: The baby has fingerprints! And... one trimester down!

Preggo chic

It's amazing what having clothes that fit can do for a girl. I'm like the cutest pregnant person I've ever seen.

 

Flashing

So, our maternity shopping spree went well. We went up to Greenwood Mall near Indy because apparently Bloomington just doesn't really believe in pregnant women except at Target. I'm completely baffled that our Walmart does not have even a small maternity section.

Anyway, Greenwood is awesome. I can never live without a JC Penney's again. I already thought so, but it's definitely confirmed. I ended up with two pairs of pants, a pair of leggings, two shorts, and four shirts and didn't break the bank. I'm quite excited about my booty and am way more comfortable and look like a person again.

My only complaint is that apparently all maternity shirt designers think that pregnant women want to show off their boobs. I mean, I get it that they're ginormous. But is a non-low-cut shirt too much to ask for? I don't like feeling like I'm flashing my boss. I already embarrassed him by saying in front of him (not even to him) that I had upgraded to maternity pants.

Oh, well. At least I'm cute again. And Seth can have his tshirts back.

Hiccups

Hiccups are dangerous for a pregnant woman. I swear, every time I get them now, I'm worried they're going to make me vomit.

Bump Watch 12 weeks

How far along: 12 weeks
Baby is the size of a: large plum (about 2 1/2 inches)
Gender:  Still too soon to know
Total weight gain/loss: Still only about a pound.
Maternity clothes: We're going shopping tomorrow. 
Sleep: My sleep schedule is crazy! I've gone from barely holding my head up at 7:00 to still being awake at midnight. I get up two to four times at night.
Best moment this week: Umm... this week has been rough. How about we consider those twoish nausea free weeks the best moment since our 8 week questionnaire.
Food cravings: Currently tomatoes and tomato products and apple juice.
Food aversions: Leafy greens. I want to eat them. I try to eat them. It just isn't happening right now. :(
Movement: Not yet, but I'm really looking forward to it!
Symptoms: Nausea and I developed a bump.
Labor Signs: Nope
Stretch Marks: No new ones.
Swelling: Nope
Belly Button in or out: In
What I miss: I kind of want some sushi.
What I am looking forward to: More nausea free weeks! Second trimester! Feeling the baby move!
Milestones: Some people say I'm finished with the first trimester. Others say it lasts 14 weeks. So I'll say I'm in my second trimester next week.
News: We get to go home in October.

And for comparison's sake:

 I swear that bump just appeared out of nowhere.

Home

I felt crappy enough to leave work early today. Not really feeling much better after a good nap on the couch either. Blah. I had been feeling good the last two weeks, only minor sick feeling. This week has been much rougher.

Although I maintain my stance that if I have to feel crappy so our baby is healthy, it's okay. I can handle it.

Childbirth Class

Last night we had our first childbirth class! We decided to take classes that teach the Bradley Method of childbirth, so we signed up with Barbara Lehr in town. We decided to go the Bradley route for a variety of reasons. They emphasize the husband's importance during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. They have an excellent success rate of natural childbirth (96%). And we've heard nothing but good things from people who have used the Bradley Method.

Our first class was fun. Barbara, the instructor, is really energetic and passionate about childbirth. The class is small. It's just us and two other couples, both of whom are a bit further along than we are. One is 29 weeks and the other is 33 weeks. I kind of like that, because I'll get to learn from them hopefully. Also, I feel like we made a good choice in instructors because one couple came from Terra Haute and the other came from Columbus! That's a ways to go every week for childbirth class, so I feel like her recommendations must be stellar.

Anyway, we mostly talked about nutrition and exercise to help prepare the body for labor last night. I feel like a lot of the stuff I already knew from reading books, but I still feel that it is beneficial and will probably be more so as we go along.

Pregnancy Goals

So I have a couple pregnancy goals. I think they're pretty normal. Like, you know, give birth to a healthy baby. Try to exercise. Make our baby a blanket. Today I added a goal to the list.

I want to - just one week - make it through a church service without getting weepy. Seriously. I have cried every Sunday I've gone to church since I got pregnant (even the ones where I didn't know I was pregnant yet). And that is just crazy. So my new goal is to sit through just one church service with no tears.

Did other people have this problem when pregnant? What did you do other than just blame the hormones and laugh it off?

And you should know that

Before you came into my life, I missed you so bad.

I missed you so bad. I missed you so, so bad. 

Bump Watch

How far along: 11 weeks
Baby is the size of a: large lime (1.5 to 2.5 inches)
News: I think I've started developing a bump!

Massage

So I mentioned that I had been signed up for a half Ironman in October. For Christmas last year, Seth gave me a gift certificate for an hour long massage to "help with the soreness" from that. Since that's on hold and I have to use the gift certificate before December of this year, I went for a prenatal massage yesterday evening.

My lower back and especially my left butt cheek had really been hurting for the past week or so. I think it's a sciatic nerve related pain. So I booked an appointment to hopefully help it out a little.

I signed up with Beth at Massage on the Square since she was the only one available when I wanted to go. She does the side-lying massage for pregnant women. I have to say, that was a little awkward for me because I didn't have a whole lot to lay on the body pillow for support. So I moved a lot when she pushed on me and then my arms fell asleep. But the stuff she did to my cheeks felt really good. I think she used her elbows.

Anyway, I don't feel 100% better today, which really since I think it's a nerve thing, I wasn't really expecting to feel 100% better, but I do feel better. It doesn't hurt nearly as badly as it was yesterday and especially Wednesday. So that's exciting. She also told me some things I can do at home to stretch those muscles to help take the pressure off my nerve. I also read that swimming can help with that, which is just another reason to hit the pool.

Maternity clothes

I bought my first maternity wear today. Three shirts from Target. I'm getting a little tired of Seth's shirts. I don't think I'm quite ready for them yet, but I don't think it will be too much longer.

Heartbeat

Seth and I had another doctor's appointment this morning. Everything is still looking great. And we got to hear the heartbeat via the doppler. We recorded it.

 

The picture is from our first ultrasound. Not a new one. 

Isn't that the most awesome sound in the world? It's my new favorite soundtrack.

We also asked Dr. Labban his opinion on the childbirth class we wanted to take. We found a Bradley method instructor here in town named Barbara Lehr and Dr. Labban was totally onboard with the Bradley method and with Barbara! Yay! So we've also signed up for our childbirth classes, which start next week!

Mei Tai

My friend Caela introduced me to this baby carrier called the Mei Tai. She loves hers so much, she got two. We're getting far enough along to start thinking about all the baby things we need, so I checked out their website this morning. I discovered they're made in Hillsborough, NC! Now I definitely have to get one to support an economy I care about. (We may be Hoosiers at the moment, but our blood bleeds Carolina blue. Hillsborough is pretty close.)

This is my favorite:

Black brushed twill straps with the Artsy Dots panel

I don't know how to register for things like this, so I'm just putting it here for now.

Bump Watch

How far along: 10 weeks
Baby is the size of a: prune (1.25 to 1.75 inches)
News: The baby is developing little tiny baby teeth in his or her gums. I want to eat cake.

Bathing Suit

As I mentioned, I'm hoping to stay fairly active throughout pregnancy. Even though the current heat wave is making it difficult to be outside (106*F today! Feels like 112*F! Yikes!). I mentioned that I was hoping to swim a lot, as it's a highly recommended pregnant exercise. So I'm shopping for maternity swimsuits. Scary.

Today, I found this one that has good reviews and doesn't break the bank.

source

source

Size Large, please!

Independence Day

I had the day off work today and my feet got cold, so I knit our baby some booties. I figure he or she will be needing them in February.

Cheerios

I've generally been feeling sort of meh in the mornings and after the shower incident, I'm not taking any chances. So I get up and eat some dry Cheerios while checking my email and Facebook and stuff before really doing anything in the morning. It seems to help. Through this, we've discovered that our dog really loves Cheerios.

Seth cracked me up when he said this to the dog this morning:

"With your love of Cheerios, Puppy, this baby is going to be a good thing for you." 

Today I learned...

Let me start by saying I love my job. I love my boss. I love my coworkers. And I love what I do.

But today I learned that the autoclave room is an occupational hazard for a pregnant lady. I'm not sure what I wanted to do most: throw up, cry, or curl up in a ball and die.

Hymns

Our choir director is trying to kill me. I swear every week I have to stop singing at least half of the hymns before I start crying. Doesn't he know what those songs can do to a pregnant lady?

Today, this one was the biggest killer.



 I don't know who this dude is, but I sort of love him.