registry

Hurray! I finished the baby registry today. It's tough going through all those baby things because there's so much you don't need! Now I can't wait for the garage sales to start popping up in the Lynchburg News & Advance. Finding all those deals is going to be so much fun.

Target or Target.com
NickisDiapers.com (free shipping on almost all registered items)
Amazon.com

I registered for a lot of baby books because books are important to me. If you have any suggestions to add to my book want list, I'd love to hear them.

twenty weeks, 5 days

Whew! I finally did my pregnancy Pilates video, and what a work-out! I was surprised to find that the leg work-out got me more than the abs.

Since we found out that Baby Mann is a boy, I have been a tiny bit sad that I will have to keep waiting for the little dresses, hair barrettes, and the pink-pink-pink until another time. This despite the fact that I always preferred a boy for my first-born. I didn't realize how much time I had actually spent thinking about those girly things---even pierced ears. But now that we do know, I'm feeling much more focused (if still unexcited about any name in particular), and I'm excited to prepare for the world of toy guns, sports, and dump trucks ahead. I always did have more fun playing cops and robbers than house. I guess I would conclude that little girls are sweet, but boys are more fun.

I'm still waiting for the infamous food cravings and hunger to hit. I really don't think I've experienced it, although I did eat a whole jar of pepperocinis this week in one sitting. Then again, I don't think that's something totally out of the ordinary for me.

strollers and car seats

You know, I really like the cute little blue and green polka dots on this website. If only they made a stroller in that pattern. I have spent soooo much time researching strollers---or more specifically, strollers and car seats because I have my heart set on getting a "travel system." (Travel System: Infant car seat snaps into stroller or stroller can be used by itself at about 6 or 7 months old. This eliminates moving the baby when sleeping from car seat to stroller.) There are so many features I want. Car seat fits on a shopping cart, adjustable/rotating canopy, light weight and durable aluminum frame, "ergonomic handle” on the infant seat, adjustable handle bar, highly rated on safety, in a gender neutral pattern I like (for future babies), stroller folds up vertically, easy access to storage basket, stroller reclines fully, good turning radius, etc. I feel like I am shopping for a car!

Right now I think I have to settle for Baby Trend's Grey Mist travel system. It has some of the most important features I like. It was only one of two car seats to pass a Consumer Report's crash test at 70 mph. This does make the car seat a bit heavier, but safety is more important to me... And I could use a little more muscle tone in the arms. (It turns out that CR had to retract the story because car seats are apparently rated for travel at approximately 50 mph or less, which I find sad because we all drive on the expressway. Even on the revised report, CR still gave it their "best buy" recommendation because it's priced very competitively.)

I like the fabric of the Grey Mist. It is a bit masculine, but I think it will still work for a future baby girl (I'd love to hear your honest comments on this). The "ergonomic" triangle handle on the infant seat is a must to me! Only Even-Flo makes another handle like it, but Even-Flo has nothing else to recommend their brand to me. After seeing all my friends with babies carrying around their infant seats everywhere they go, I think the handle is probably more important than the weight (they're ALL heavy with a baby in them after all). I pretty much ruled out Graco's SnugRide infant seats because of the handle, even though that was the only other car seat to pass the CR test at 70 mpg… So, I come back again to the Grey Mist… Which is only getting a disappointing 3.5 star rating on Target's website because it turns out that the awesome ergonomic handle on the infant seat is difficult to adjust. ::sigh:: This is so difficult.

By the way, I did find the perfect travel system, that I couldn’t have designed any better myself. It’s the Italian made Peg Perego Skate---I would call it the Porche of strollers. http://en.pegperegoskate.com/ ...It’s $900. Yeah, enough said. I never should have even tempted myself by looking.

It's a BOY!

This is just amazing! We were able to get our 2nd ultrasound on DVD! You can actually see Baby Mann moving. (Watch for one part right after the tech labels his nasal bone where Baby Mann takes his hand and puts it on top of his head... Very cute.)

So far I've only been successful in ripping and uploading the first 7 or 8 minutes. The very beginning is good because you can see him moving around, but the last part is very cute because you see a lot of movements of arms and legs. The tech practically had to chase him around to get the views she needed (and noted that a lot of activity signals a healthy baby). She said everything looks great and is right on schedule... Including both baby's weight and mine. Hurray!

nineteen weeks, 4 days

I really don't have any terribly exciting news, but I'm just so excited about our 2nd ultrasound next Monday that I had to post something! I am practically counting down the hours. Many have asked us why we don't want to be surprised... But this IS a big surprise! We don't know and we are going to be surprised on Monday! (I think that's better than being surprised on "labor day" so we have time to plan.)

Baby continues to move around more and more. (Or at least I feel it more and more.) A few weeks ago it was faint and infrequent. Now the movements are much more distinguishable. I almost always feel movements when I lay down to sleep and when driving, but that might just be because I'm sitting still and can better detect them. Either that or we have a night owl who likes cars on our hands. :)

cloth diapers

When Dustin first brought up cloth diapers, I think I probably gave him a very funny look. Of course, I should have listened. As it turns out, I am really quite excited to try cloth diapers. The "technology" has come about a million miles since I was helping Mom (I mean Grandma) change Jenna's diapers. (Wow, that was a long time ago but it seems like yesterday!) And it's so much better for Baby. Look at these cute little diapers! The only issue is whether it's really that economical, considering we have to pay $1 to run a load of laundry at our apartment. And the better technology has a price, you know.