Hi from week 22! I'm officially 5 months pregnant, no matter how you break down the months/weeks (it really depends on what book I'm looking at.) Only 4 months to go! For the next month the baby is about the size of a papaya (which I've actually never eaten), and several sources say that he's probably weighing about a pound this week. He continues to be very active, kicking much higher than before, and Stewart gets to feel him moving almost daily now. Typically he moves most when I'm sitting quietly at the end of the workday, but sometimes he surprises me. Once this week he started doing some major karate while I was washing my hands at school (which I do a lot these days,) and it was so unexpected that it literally brought tears to my eyes. I love to feel him move!
We attempted to register at Target yesterday, since that's really the only place in town that people could go to buy gifts. We'll probably also register online at BabiesRUs, and I'm trying to figure out a way to set up something through etsy.com. The Target experience was pretty overwhelming, despite all the advice I've gotten, and my trusty Baby Bargains book. Take bottles, for example. I've heard several recommendations for two types of bottles, Avent and Dr. Browns. But how do I know which one the baby will do better with? And how many do I need? So we went ahead and registered for one set of both types, but then the issue becomes that you have to get different nipples for each type. I'm afraid people are going to look at our registry and think I've gone overboard. (By the way, Target is currently having some technical difficulties getting the in-store registries linked to their website, so you can't pull up our registry yet.) Our other issue is that Stewart thinks I'm going to make our baby boring, because I always gravitate towards neutrals, solids, and stripes, and he thinks the baby needs some more bright colors, patterns, etc. It doesn't help that we're not really designing a nursery at this point (we'll do that when we move mid-year next year), so we don't have a color scheme or anything to guide our choices. I don't want a whole lot of extra "stuff", especially in our current small apartment, but I know that comes with the territory of having a baby. I am really excited for my baby showers. I'll have one shower at work, and then another one thrown by a co-worker and friend at her house. I think both of those will be in November, so I have a little bit more time to get the registering under control.
In terms of belly growth, I think I still look about the same as the last few weeks. While we were registering yesterday, a woman shopping in the baby aisles didn't believe that I was the one having a baby. Obviously the T-shirt in this week's photo doesn't really show off my belly, but it was a game day, so I had to represent my Gators!
Loving the Gator gear in the last few pics!! :o)
ReplyDelete*warning* unsolicited advice to follow, continue at your own risk...
I used Avent with Aine. I liked them. She had pretty bad reflux early on, and I am sure it had nothing to do with the bottle. We didn't have leakage problems but maybe twice and that was because the lid wasn't screwed on right and the top popped off when she tried to drink from it. This, of course, always happened when she was in her car seat and we were either not at home or on our way out the door...
But I digress...I'd pick a bottle (even if you just get a few to start with) and stick with it. People go on and on about trying every bottle under the sun before finding 'the right one' but babies are little eating machines. It is all they do. They are wired for it. As long as you're consistent (and possibly persistent) that little guy'll figure out what he's got to do to get food. I've been a little intimidated by the looks of the Dr. Brown bottles - all the pieces and straws and stuff to clean, I'd have been paranoid that there was some schmutz somewhere lurking in a crevice that would sprout spores and...well, as you may have noticed, germs - or even potential germs - start glowing green (like in that episode of SCRUBS) when you have a baby to think of. The other bottles we used that we really liked were the Gerber nuk. That nipple seemed a more natural transition from 'mommy' when she first started taking bottles. Eventually she got the hang of the Avent nipple and outgrew the Gerber, but the Gerber was softer and easier to handle at first.
May I make a suggestion? I think it would be fun to hear from the Dad - do you think Stewart would do a 'guest post'?!
Oh yeah - I forgot what I originally wanted to post about - Papaya leaves can be used to induce labor - bathing in a papaya leaf bath and draping steeped papaya leaves over your belly supposedly brings on labor. I think the lady who told me that was Cuban. But like all 'old wives' tales,' it could have been coincidence that she had her baby mere hours after taking a papaya leaf bath...
ReplyDeleteI LOVE Dr Brown's bottles!! They truly do minimize air getting into the baby and gas/reflux issues. The pieces aren't as bad as they look. Just get the little dishwasher baskets to wash them in :)
ReplyDeleteGirl, you need to drink some milkshakes or something to get that belly popping out a little bigger :) I'm just kidding with you. Take it as a compliment that a lady didn't think you were the one having a baby!!
Can't wait to see this little pumpkin!