Time to think nursery furniture...

There's no more ignoring the fact that it's time to start thinking about the nursery. I've put it off long enough and now I think I have the ego strength to cope with the stress of this undertaking! But boy oh boy, is there a lot to think about!

First up - the cot. Thankfully a colleague from work is giving me her old cot. Her children are well and truly grown now, so I know it won't be in pristine condition, but she's happy for me to do with it whatever I like, so I'm thinking a quick sand and a slosh of white paint and it will be as good as new. Apparently it's an American cot, purchased while they were living over there, which means it is larger than the standard cots here in Australia. I've seen an old photo of it and it seems quite nice - will post photos when it's set up. We collect the cot with mattress and one set of sheets this weekend so that's one thing to cross off the list.

Next up is a bassinet. We plan to have bub sleep in our room in a bassinet at night but in her cot during the day (until she outgrows the bassinet, then it's full-time cot). I'm quite taken with this style of bassinet... I think it's really pretty - soft and delicate. And I like the skirt going all the way to the ground. I'm counting on Mum to make me some sheets (for both cot and bassinet) and a skirt if I need one... hint, hint! I'm also keeping my eye on ebay to see if anything I like comes up, but in fact there are a few sales around at the moment and I found something at Target that actually isn't that expensive, so we might just end up buying the bassinet new.

So, that's the sleeping arrangements taken care of (forgetting the endless supply of sheets, the lambswool sheepskin, musical mobiles, nightlights, and blankets/swaddle cloths...). Next up comes transport, specifically car seats/capsules. After seeking advice from people who are far more knowledgeable than I when it comes to things like this, we've pretty much decided to start off with a rented capsule from Queensland Ambulance, something like the picture I've included here.

Now doesn't that just look like it would be incredibly comfortable? (although I suspect the rental ones won't be quite as good looking as this one). Rental is a good option because it's only about $70 for 6 months and you can then move from the capsule into a car seat at 6 months that will probaby last the baby for the next 5-6 years. The other advantage of capsules is that you don't have to wake the baby up to take her in and out of the car, which sounds like a good thing to me! You can get additional bases for the capsules so that I can easily swap the capsule from my car to Brandon's - my understanding is that the capsule disconnects from of a base unit that stays behind in the car. Nice and easy (yeah, famous last words, eh?)

Apparently one also needs to consider where you're going to change baby's nappies - quite an important consideration really when you consider the potential impact of NOT considering nappy changes! LOL I'm quite keen on white furniture to keep the lines clean and neutral, so I'm thinking a white 3-tier change table is the way to go. I have learnt (over the past 48 hours) that Boori furniture is very good, albeit very expensive. Another thing to add to my ebay watch list ;-)

When you have as much distance between your nursery and your main living area as we do (over 20 metres) a baby monitor is also a good idea (do I sound like I know what I'm talking about?) We are particularly fond of the Angelcare Sound and Motion monitor because it senses sound and movement (breathing). Our friends have this monitor and swear it's great.

We also need a white chest of drawers for all of the clothes that our little girl will no doubt end up with, as well as a porta-cot for later when we start to take her out and want to have somewhere for her to sleep in the evening (when she's too big for the capsule). And no doubt there will be countless other things we'll need to think about - clothes, diapers, pacifiers, blankets, a high chair, a swing or bouncer, bottles... the list is endless!

Thankfully I have had my phobias about walking down the baby aisle in the supermarket part-way cured as a result of a recent visit with my best friend, K. As a parent herself, I knew if there was anyone who could help cure me of my anxieties, it was her. So off I flew to sunny Tasmania (literally) and within a week I was armed with all the information I could possibly need about nappy rash, nursing pads and breast pumps (that's a whole separate blog entry!)

For now, I'm content with looking online and slowly arming myself with more information. But I can't wait much longer - I only have 11 weeks until I'm due (crikey!) and that's assuming I go full term. I really want to get things set up sooner rather than later so that I'm not panicking closer to the day. So I guess I'm going to have to actually buy something in the next few days... once I make the first purchase, I'm sure the rest will follow without too much pain... and let's not even get on to the topic of nursery decor - I've only just finished renovating the kitchen and I'm already tired thinking I might end up wanting to paint a whole other room!

Welcome to 2011 - the year of Sprout

I'm officially declaring myself a slack blogger. It has been quite some time since I last blogged, but I guess given that this blog is about pregnancy, and as I'm not really experiencing anything dramatic on a day-to-day basis, I guess I can be forgiven for not posting more frequently.

It's good that I'm not experiencing anything dramatic - I never really knew there were so many horrible things out there that can happen to unborn babies. I thought all the bad stuff happened after birth! Thankfully all is going well with me, but I can't help but think now and then about the unlucky few...

We've had a big Christmas - completely renovating our kitchen and family room. And as someone said to me recently, "... and you're busy making a family to put in that family room!" As I'll be home for a good part of this year, I really wanted a kitchen/family room that I didn't mind spending lots of time in, and now I have it :-) There are still a few little things that need fixing up here and there, but on the whole things are finished. The house has also been spring cleaned (summer cleaned?) and things are looking and smelling lovely in Casa Hippo. I even cleaned the carpets!

Next up on the plans is the nursery. My mother is going to help with that one - sewing curtains and bedding etc. B and I have yet to pick the colours but I'm leaning towards white walls with lilac and buttercup yellow 'trim' and accessories. I'm not typically a fan of yellow, but I don't mind it as a baby accessory. February is the month for preparing the nursery!

B and I ventured into our first baby store over the Christmas break. It was a little intimidating but we did manage to test drive a few strollers. I can't brag that we completed the test drive without crashing in to anything unfortunately, but it was an eye-opener to see (a) how much room those things take up on an average path! and (b) how expensive they are! But I think we managed to identify the one we want - B likes the 'Elite' model whereas I prefer the 'City Mini' model. City Mini is a little smaller and the rear wheels don't spread out quite as far, so I think it will be easier to navigate in shops etc. B's cousin uses this City Mini stroller and says it's fantastic.

So we've got the stroller sorted (sort of) - next up is... everything else! We've been offered a cot from a work colleague, which crosses that off the list, but there is still so much more baby 'stuff' out there! I'm sure much of it is really unnecessary, but how does one who is slightly naive to it all actually decide what is needed and what isn't? Well, in my case, you hop on a plane to Tasmania to spend a week with your bestest friend (and, importantly, the parent of a toddler) and let them educate you as to what to expect and what you'll need to bother with! I'm very much looking forward to catching up with friends and family while I'm down there - only 5 more sleeps now. And hopefully I'll come back full of baby wisdom and far more clear-headed on what I really need to bother buying!

I had my first midwife appointment in the week between Christmas and New Year. We had a very interesting talk about c-section versus natural delivery, and I have to say I'm now leaning towards natural delivery (whereas once I was in favour of a planned c-section). Obviously time will tell - I have a low-lying placenta which will require a follow-up scan in a few weeks, so it's possible the decision will be taken away from me. But natural delivery is probably going to be my preference - but don't bother offering me a mirror, OK?

Getting kicked from the inside out is another new experience I'm having to live with. It's not particularly unpleasant, just odd. I find it comforting - I start to panic if I get to a certain point in the day and realise I haven't really felt any kicks (refer to above discussion about dramatic things and unborn babies!). At first B wasn't able to feel anything as the kicks (or punches?) were too light. But now he can rest his hand on my belly and when a particularly large kick comes along, he can certainly feel it! I'm also very much looking pregnant now (I'm 25 weeks). The good thing about my expanding waistline is that I actually LOOK pregnant, rather than just overweight. I'm remarkably more at ease with my body now as a pregnant woman compared to before I was pregnant - how fascinating. It's like I needed an excuse to be proud of my fat!

Speaking of fat, I have finally started to weigh more than before I got pregnant. Not much - only about 3-4kg - but enough now that I can no longer say "I haven't put any weight on". For the first 20-odd weeks I must have been losing weight because the scales didn't report any weight gain, even though I was slowly expanding. Now I'm starting to gain weight, but I'm also going to try to minimise that so that I don't end up too huge. So it's more walking and more vegetables for me! I'm also slowly starting to feel more 'fluidy' which isn't pleasant. My feet are a little swollen and I'm unable to wear one of my favourite pairs of slip-on shoes as a result. My rings are quite tight also and only come off with a healthy lather of soap (except at certain points when the air is cooler - summer mugginess makes it worse). Hopefully, if I pick up my exercise, I can also limit the amount of fluid I have to carry around as that really is not pleasant. If you have any hints for getting rid of fluid build up, please feel free to pass them along!

For now, I'm plodding along week by week and gradually starting to look and feel more pregnant. The next challenge will be starting to actually 'nest' and creating the little space that our Miss Sprout will inhabit once she has come out into the world... I'm looking forward to meeting her after all the kicks and pokes she has given me!