Spring Benefit 2012

This is Ryan and I at my Benefit on the 21st.  We had an awesome sepia toned photobooth by C. Stanley Photography.  More pictures are available on Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company's facebook page.

Ryan is being very wild west, wearing a costume and drinking a beer.  I am not.  My cow headdress came in the following Tuesday.

Bummer.

Nesting

Today we got started on nesting.  We had our crib sitting in it's box for a few weeks as we purchased it while it was on-sale at Allbee Baby but we weren't really ready to move the rest of our apartment around to accommodate it.  As we get closer and closer to our delivery date (only 5 weeks!) and since so many of the babies in my family come early, we started thinking we should probably get things situated around here and set aside Cinco de Mayo weekend to prepare.  

So today we moved furniture (or Ryan did) and tried to figure out where everything's current "final" placement should be.  Don't worry mom's- the crib is in our room not right by our main living room window where baby could get direct sunlight or strangle himself on the mini-blind cord.  (See we did learn something in baby care!)

Final pictures to come once everything looks cute.

Getting Grey

I was going to write my first post on the benefit that happened last night but instead I think I will comment on the new BLOGGER experience and how weird this set up is.

What happened?  Every time FB or Google makes things "easier" I am totally lost for a good two weeks.

Maybe I am just old?

Stuff!

No one really tells you how much STUFF these things need. The stores and registries have gobs of clothing and mittens and hats and pacifiers and 800 different types of noisemakers and toys and monitors that they say you HAVE TO HAVE to be a good parent.

We are trying to stick to the basics, especially since emergency runs to Target are easy and fast, but it is hard to not get sucked into the purchase frenzy. Currently we are trying to make sure it is clothed, fed, can poop safely and has a place to sleep. I will worry about everything else when it becomes apparent we need that additional item.

Yikes. Really? My outfits aren't so coordinated.

And the Birthday is...

June 14th.

We kinda wanted June 13th so the baby would be born on my grandparent's anniversary but the doctor is at the hospital all day on the 14th so he preferred that day.

We will see what day Widget prefers...

Scheduled C-Section

We are having our little one by scheduled c-section. This is because I had a terrible car accident in 2001 and broke/cracked my pelvis in five places. The doctor said I could chance natural birth but he would recommend against it. That is basically what every OB/GYN has said to me since the accident so Ryan and I were not surprised.

We attending a C-section class a few weeks ago at our hospital and got the skinny on the process. I think I can handle it- although I am not looking forward to the epidural/spinal tap or being so cold in the surgery room. Our hospital is really into letting c-section parents have two to three hours of "bonding" time while they stabilize you in triage- they discourage visitors and as few nurses as they have to send in. This is also the first time you meet a lactation consultant. The hostess in me is a bit concerned about my parents waiting in the waiting room that long but I guess I can get over it.

However today is a big day, because now that I am past thirty weeks we can go ahead and schedule the delivery. Then lots of big plans can happen, plane tickets and hotels for my parents and travel plans for Ryan's parents and maternity leave planning. Very exciting! (although I kinda feel like Widget might be scheduling his own birthday)

Cloth Diapers

Holy cow! Cloth Diapers are overwhelming.

Even with expert advice from my amazing friend Susie, Ryan and I are a bit overwhelmed with the choices. Plus all the cloth diapering blogs are written in a private parents-only language consisting of AIO, inserts, covers, crazy snap patterns and so on.

Ryan and I would like to cloth diaper. We aren't against the 'sopsies (as the CD Blogs call them) but we like the idea of not creating so much waste. However- none of the daycares in DC will cloth diaper during the week so is it worth it to cloth diaper at night and on the weekends? Will the cost work out in our favor? I guess we can use them for the next kid if we so desire. And how do you choose which kind you like? I found a few rental places so you can rent newborn cloth diapers, they send you an assortment of brands and then you can choose the ones you want to go with. So perhaps that is an option.

And the cleaning! Some moms are REALLY fanatic about the washing and use all kinds of natural and unnatural chemicals and potions on each diaper each week. I do not know if I would have time to deal with that.

But they are cute. And I like the idea of not creating so much trash.