so you may be wondering whether I am going to meet my "Be Ready For Baby" deadline of TODAY.
No.
However, most things are done, and I will have completed two of the most important remaining items on the list by the end of the week. One is the car seat. Yesterday, we tried to install our car seat, but hit a roadblock (haha) when we realized we were missing a certain silver clip. Long story short, we are going to trade in the used car (from Sophie) for a new one of the same brand. I plan to do that tomorrow after I teach. We'll install it one evening this week, then get it inspected by the DC Fire Department Friday morning.
The second big item remaining on my list is to figure out the breast pump, which Caroline has graciously agreed to help me with this week.
There are a couple of other things on the list, but all in all I am feeling pretty good. Now I am off to finish up my syllabus, course policies, and lesson plans for the week.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
35 Weeks
begins tomorrow!
My hair is flat in this picture because it is wet. But who is looking at my hair anymore anyway?
Monday, August 24, 2009
The Fragmented Nursery
We're coming along on baby preparation. We didn't actually plan to spend almost the entire weekend on baby-related tasks, but that's what we ended up doing. It was fun, and I feel calmer every time I can mark something off my list.
First, we took our hospital tour last week. As we waited for the tour, I was feeling a little anxious, wishing I had gone with the birthing center. However, as I told Dean, if I'd gone with the birthing center, I'd be nervous not to be at a hospital. If all goes as planned, the baby will be born at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland. It gets great reviews, maternity center-wise, and has one of the most advanced NICUs in the ares--which hopefully we will not need to use, but reassuring nonetheless.
During the tour, which was very informative, we were in one of the waiting areas when a dad, still in scrubs, appeared, beaming. His family ran toward him laughing and shouting, and his mom grabbed him in a hug, crying and saying, "My son has his first son!" It was a wonderful huge dramatic scene. I felt it was a good sign for the hospital.
Also, last week I washed all the Bumgenius diapers last week. Here they are, ready to go:
They're in the top section of the changing table/dresser. It still smells faintly of baby powder, but I'm at a loss as to getting rid of the smell. Dean says it's mostly gone, so maybe it's just my pregnant nose. We got a changing pad this weekend, and put up a mirror for the baby to look in while she is changed (or after, anyway--we're not sure she'll be able to see in it while she is lying flat on the table).
Suki very much enjoys the changing pad. She slept on it all night. It's the only piece of baby furniture she can really access, but I think it's fine since we won't be leaving the baby alone on the changing table.
Momentously, we have turned the crib from a baby item storage unit into something a baby could sleep in. This took a lot of cleaning out of other parts of the house. We put a sheet on the crib, and Dean arranged the stuffed animals inside to await the baby's arrival. We also hung Luli's beautiful wall hanging above the crib.
And I moved all of the baby's books from my desk upstairs to their own shelf on a downstairs bookshelf:
All of these things are in different parts of the house. The crib is in the hallway at the top of the stairs, and the changing table is in our bedroom, where we'll also keep a bassinet for the first few months. We decided it was better to keep a spare room for any company that might come to visit than to turn the only really extra space we have into a nursery, especially since it will be quite a while till the baby knows whether she has her own room or not.
We also made a run to Babies-R-Us on Saturday to return a few things and looks of a couple of things. We came home not only with our changing pad but also a pack and play, which we had decided against getting before, but upon further consideration decided would be useful to go ahead and have.
On Sunday, we went to Eastern Market and two art museums looking for a few more pictures for the walls. We wanted either black and white or something very colorful. After walking around for almost 4 hours, we didn't see anything we loved, so we came home and Dean ordered these prints: a Kandinsky and a Klee. I'm not sure what you call this kind of art--color theory? Abstract expressionist? Anyway, these seemed cheerful and engaging. We might get an Ansel Adams print too--black and white.
Whew! I still have to figure out the breast pump--luckily, Caroline has the same kind and is going to help me. Every time I look at that breast pump with all of its tubes and plastic pieces I get very anxious and grouchy. And, we still need to install the car seat. Otherwise, my list is coming along nicely!
First, we took our hospital tour last week. As we waited for the tour, I was feeling a little anxious, wishing I had gone with the birthing center. However, as I told Dean, if I'd gone with the birthing center, I'd be nervous not to be at a hospital. If all goes as planned, the baby will be born at Holy Cross Hospital in Silver Spring, Maryland. It gets great reviews, maternity center-wise, and has one of the most advanced NICUs in the ares--which hopefully we will not need to use, but reassuring nonetheless.
During the tour, which was very informative, we were in one of the waiting areas when a dad, still in scrubs, appeared, beaming. His family ran toward him laughing and shouting, and his mom grabbed him in a hug, crying and saying, "My son has his first son!" It was a wonderful huge dramatic scene. I felt it was a good sign for the hospital.
Also, last week I washed all the Bumgenius diapers last week. Here they are, ready to go:
They're in the top section of the changing table/dresser. It still smells faintly of baby powder, but I'm at a loss as to getting rid of the smell. Dean says it's mostly gone, so maybe it's just my pregnant nose. We got a changing pad this weekend, and put up a mirror for the baby to look in while she is changed (or after, anyway--we're not sure she'll be able to see in it while she is lying flat on the table).
Suki very much enjoys the changing pad. She slept on it all night. It's the only piece of baby furniture she can really access, but I think it's fine since we won't be leaving the baby alone on the changing table.
Momentously, we have turned the crib from a baby item storage unit into something a baby could sleep in. This took a lot of cleaning out of other parts of the house. We put a sheet on the crib, and Dean arranged the stuffed animals inside to await the baby's arrival. We also hung Luli's beautiful wall hanging above the crib.
And I moved all of the baby's books from my desk upstairs to their own shelf on a downstairs bookshelf:
All of these things are in different parts of the house. The crib is in the hallway at the top of the stairs, and the changing table is in our bedroom, where we'll also keep a bassinet for the first few months. We decided it was better to keep a spare room for any company that might come to visit than to turn the only really extra space we have into a nursery, especially since it will be quite a while till the baby knows whether she has her own room or not.
We also made a run to Babies-R-Us on Saturday to return a few things and looks of a couple of things. We came home not only with our changing pad but also a pack and play, which we had decided against getting before, but upon further consideration decided would be useful to go ahead and have.
On Sunday, we went to Eastern Market and two art museums looking for a few more pictures for the walls. We wanted either black and white or something very colorful. After walking around for almost 4 hours, we didn't see anything we loved, so we came home and Dean ordered these prints: a Kandinsky and a Klee. I'm not sure what you call this kind of art--color theory? Abstract expressionist? Anyway, these seemed cheerful and engaging. We might get an Ansel Adams print too--black and white.
Whew! I still have to figure out the breast pump--luckily, Caroline has the same kind and is going to help me. Every time I look at that breast pump with all of its tubes and plastic pieces I get very anxious and grouchy. And, we still need to install the car seat. Otherwise, my list is coming along nicely!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
33 Weeks
Well, almost. I noticed the countdown clicker says 51 days! Crazy. 51 days till we meet Amelia the Wiggle Baby? (I'm transitioning with the name here.) 51 days till I can eat goat cheese and drink margaritas? I guess probably a bit longer than that. (During one of our "Make Way for Baby" classes the instructor was telling us to imagine how we wanted to set up the delivery room: music, company, etc. I whispered to Dean, "Can we have a margarita fountain?" Kidding, kidding. But if we COULD have one, I'd go ahead and add a buffet of soft cheeses too.)
I'm recording the events of the last few weeks to distract myself from post breakfast-one nausea. Basically, the baby is growing and we are waiting. It's not too exciting.
School starts in 2 weeks, so I am taking a week off of work to get ready. I'm teaching 2 sections of English 101, the first year writing class. I'm working with my substitute-to-be to plan, trying to synchronize our syllabi so that it is easier for her to take over when she steps in. It's a little difficult because I can't just make executive decisions like I am used to, but it's also kind of nice to discuss plans and choices with a colleague. Agnes (my sub) is a great teacher, so I think working with her will be fun and helpful.
Yesterday I tackled a chore on the "Baby To Do List:" organizing the clothes. I've been washing the clothes, and cutting out the itchy tags, as I've received them, and Dean and I sorted them by category after the first set of baby showers. But since then we've received more and the bins we're using are overflowing, so yesterday I sorted them again, paying more attention to size and season. I put everything labeled 3-6 months and above in a separate box, so all we have in the bins now are the newborn and 0-3 months stuff. And I put all the VERY tiny things in one bin, so it will all be handy right at first. Some of the stuff was hard to sort because I had cut out the tags... but baby clothes sizing seems pretty unstandardized anyway so I just used my best judgment. There was a pair of pants labeled 6 months that was exactly the same size as a pair of pants labeled newborn. They seemed rather small, so I kept them both out. We'll see what fits when the baby gets here, I guess.
I am also dealing the the baby powder smell inside the changing table/dresser we bought (used). I know a baby powder smell doesn't seem all that offensive for a piece of baby furniture, but first of all it's weird--how can a piece of wood furniture I've washed repeatedly STILL smell like baby powder? And secondly, it's a very STRONG baby powder smell, kind of sickly sweet, at least to my nose. So, at my mom's suggestion, I've sprinkled and stuffed the dresser with baking soda and newspaper. Luckily, I think I caught it in time to NOT have to rewash all the baby clothes.
We still have a lot to do, most of it involving setting up baby furniture. We'll probably wait till next weekend at least so we can enjoy a bit more time with no baby furniture to trip over.
What else? We take the hospital tour next week, and I am taking a nursing class at the DC Breastfeeding Center. We had a 32-week ultrasound last week, and everything looked great (expect, I have to admit, the pictures, in which the baby's face looks smooshed, and, frankly, strange. I guess it's because her face is all wedged above my right hip--and apparently the anterior placenta gets in the way some too. They couldn't get a good 3D picture because of it). But health and size-wise, the baby is doing fine.
Dean and I are both getting more and more excited, and a little impatient. There's still a while to go...
I'm recording the events of the last few weeks to distract myself from post breakfast-one nausea. Basically, the baby is growing and we are waiting. It's not too exciting.
School starts in 2 weeks, so I am taking a week off of work to get ready. I'm teaching 2 sections of English 101, the first year writing class. I'm working with my substitute-to-be to plan, trying to synchronize our syllabi so that it is easier for her to take over when she steps in. It's a little difficult because I can't just make executive decisions like I am used to, but it's also kind of nice to discuss plans and choices with a colleague. Agnes (my sub) is a great teacher, so I think working with her will be fun and helpful.
Yesterday I tackled a chore on the "Baby To Do List:" organizing the clothes. I've been washing the clothes, and cutting out the itchy tags, as I've received them, and Dean and I sorted them by category after the first set of baby showers. But since then we've received more and the bins we're using are overflowing, so yesterday I sorted them again, paying more attention to size and season. I put everything labeled 3-6 months and above in a separate box, so all we have in the bins now are the newborn and 0-3 months stuff. And I put all the VERY tiny things in one bin, so it will all be handy right at first. Some of the stuff was hard to sort because I had cut out the tags... but baby clothes sizing seems pretty unstandardized anyway so I just used my best judgment. There was a pair of pants labeled 6 months that was exactly the same size as a pair of pants labeled newborn. They seemed rather small, so I kept them both out. We'll see what fits when the baby gets here, I guess.
I am also dealing the the baby powder smell inside the changing table/dresser we bought (used). I know a baby powder smell doesn't seem all that offensive for a piece of baby furniture, but first of all it's weird--how can a piece of wood furniture I've washed repeatedly STILL smell like baby powder? And secondly, it's a very STRONG baby powder smell, kind of sickly sweet, at least to my nose. So, at my mom's suggestion, I've sprinkled and stuffed the dresser with baking soda and newspaper. Luckily, I think I caught it in time to NOT have to rewash all the baby clothes.
We still have a lot to do, most of it involving setting up baby furniture. We'll probably wait till next weekend at least so we can enjoy a bit more time with no baby furniture to trip over.
What else? We take the hospital tour next week, and I am taking a nursing class at the DC Breastfeeding Center. We had a 32-week ultrasound last week, and everything looked great (expect, I have to admit, the pictures, in which the baby's face looks smooshed, and, frankly, strange. I guess it's because her face is all wedged above my right hip--and apparently the anterior placenta gets in the way some too. They couldn't get a good 3D picture because of it). But health and size-wise, the baby is doing fine.
Dean and I are both getting more and more excited, and a little impatient. There's still a while to go...
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Amelia O'Connor Sanderford
I think we have become pretty settled on the Wiggle Baby's new name.
This is from the text of an email I sent to Dean one of the first days I began to really consider the name Amelia:
2. Amelia was number 68 last year, which is more popular than it has been in the past 100 years. So it's not totally uncommon, but not number one or anything. (FYI, Hannah was 17 last year, Ella was 19).
3. My mom likes Amelia. Your mom could call her Mia since Mia is a nickname. :)
4. It seems Amelia means industrious, hardworking, or admiring. That's not that exciting. See http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Amelia.
5. Ameliorate--to make better.
6. Sadly, amelia is also the name of congenital disease in which one is missing a body part.
7. Would other children call her Amelia Bedelia, like the children's book? Would this upset her?
So those were some original thoughts. You might have noticed that the list is missing number one. Number one is where I pondered the life of Amelia Earhart. She wore "bloomers" as a child and was adventurous. She was the first female pilot to fly by herself across the Atlantic. She made a lot of other flight records too. Sadly, she died (or at least disappeared--there were rumors and controversy surrounding her disappearance) toward the end of her attempt to fly around the world. (You can read all of this in more detail in Wikipedia.)
Despite what you'll read below, I wouldn't say we are naming the baby "after" Amelia Earhart. I've never known much about her life or been attached to her as a role model, although I think she is a good one. But something interesting happened while I was reading about her life in regard to the name Amelia.
I never knew how Amelia Earhart died, and I was a little shocked to learn that she died in an airplane crash. As some of you readers know, I am not a fan of airplanes (or, really, any form of travel except the train). I am scared of flying. I do it, but I don't like it. During takeoff, I grip the armrests and sort of hyperventilate and make everyone around me uncomfortable. So I thought, how can I give my baby the same name as someone who died in an airplane crash?
But almost simultaneously, I thought, what a gift, to give the baby the name of someone who had such a passion for adventure. And someone who safely and successfully did what she loved many, many times. Because if I could change one thing about myself, it would be to be less afraid of change, travel, uncertainty. For a trip or vacation not to be, to quote the poet James McMichael, "the story of my living through it." Furthermore, if there is any kind of strange, crazy trip, it has to be choosing to have and then actually having a child. Amelia began to become a name of strength, possibility, bravery, and joy.
I don't normally put poems on the blog, especially poems that are works-in-progress and that are still sort of overwrought in syntax and tone. But I've been writing this little poem about the name; I think it says in verse what I am trying to say in prose:
Amelia
Whatever I do
you’ll die. I’ll
name you then
not after a poet
or flower fated
to rise from
a single rooted spot
but after an adventurer;
say it aloud, air
heart! Fly, daughter,
brave; long after
I fall asleep at last
let me hear your
laughter fluttering
Fine print: Despite all this, the baby's name is subject to change without notice, up to and possibly several days after her birth.
This is from the text of an email I sent to Dean one of the first days I began to really consider the name Amelia:
2. Amelia was number 68 last year, which is more popular than it has been in the past 100 years. So it's not totally uncommon, but not number one or anything. (FYI, Hannah was 17 last year, Ella was 19).
3. My mom likes Amelia. Your mom could call her Mia since Mia is a nickname. :)
4. It seems Amelia means industrious, hardworking, or admiring. That's not that exciting. See http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/0/Amelia.
5. Ameliorate--to make better.
6. Sadly, amelia is also the name of congenital disease in which one is missing a body part.
7. Would other children call her Amelia Bedelia, like the children's book? Would this upset her?
So those were some original thoughts. You might have noticed that the list is missing number one. Number one is where I pondered the life of Amelia Earhart. She wore "bloomers" as a child and was adventurous. She was the first female pilot to fly by herself across the Atlantic. She made a lot of other flight records too. Sadly, she died (or at least disappeared--there were rumors and controversy surrounding her disappearance) toward the end of her attempt to fly around the world. (You can read all of this in more detail in Wikipedia.)
Despite what you'll read below, I wouldn't say we are naming the baby "after" Amelia Earhart. I've never known much about her life or been attached to her as a role model, although I think she is a good one. But something interesting happened while I was reading about her life in regard to the name Amelia.
I never knew how Amelia Earhart died, and I was a little shocked to learn that she died in an airplane crash. As some of you readers know, I am not a fan of airplanes (or, really, any form of travel except the train). I am scared of flying. I do it, but I don't like it. During takeoff, I grip the armrests and sort of hyperventilate and make everyone around me uncomfortable. So I thought, how can I give my baby the same name as someone who died in an airplane crash?
But almost simultaneously, I thought, what a gift, to give the baby the name of someone who had such a passion for adventure. And someone who safely and successfully did what she loved many, many times. Because if I could change one thing about myself, it would be to be less afraid of change, travel, uncertainty. For a trip or vacation not to be, to quote the poet James McMichael, "the story of my living through it." Furthermore, if there is any kind of strange, crazy trip, it has to be choosing to have and then actually having a child. Amelia began to become a name of strength, possibility, bravery, and joy.
I don't normally put poems on the blog, especially poems that are works-in-progress and that are still sort of overwrought in syntax and tone. But I've been writing this little poem about the name; I think it says in verse what I am trying to say in prose:
Amelia
Whatever I do
you’ll die. I’ll
name you then
not after a poet
or flower fated
to rise from
a single rooted spot
but after an adventurer;
say it aloud, air
heart! Fly, daughter,
brave; long after
I fall asleep at last
let me hear your
laughter fluttering
Fine print: Despite all this, the baby's name is subject to change without notice, up to and possibly several days after her birth.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
The Wiggle Baby? Suki 2?
I found on the floor under the desk today an index card where we made our first list of baby names:
The column on the left was chosen by Dean; the column on the right, I think, was written by me but chosen by both of us as we talked through more ideas. The crossouts were either the names I vetoed from Dean's list or that we decided together to mark off. Some of my names were vetoed by Dean before they were written down, so it's not a complete record of our thought process.
Interestingly, the name we have ALMOST chosen is not on this list.
The column on the left was chosen by Dean; the column on the right, I think, was written by me but chosen by both of us as we talked through more ideas. The crossouts were either the names I vetoed from Dean's list or that we decided together to mark off. Some of my names were vetoed by Dean before they were written down, so it's not a complete record of our thought process.
Interestingly, the name we have ALMOST chosen is not on this list.
Baby Shower!
Thanks to everyone who came to our baby shower on Saturday! It was great to see everyone, and I was amazed at how many people told me they read the blog. I am always a little overwhelmed at parties in my honor, but it quickly became clear, by how all hands went immediately to my belly, that the real guest of honor wasn't me--I just carry her around. Whew--what a relief!
It was a beautiful day, and the baby seems to have almost everything she needs! We have pretty much reached Liz's suggested number of BumGenius diapers, and we have blankets and a bathtub and a nursing stool... a variety of lovely dresses, pajama sets, and stylish outfits for the baby... many useful items from other moms and dads and grandparents that we had no idea we needed, but clearly do... and lots of toys, including a playmat and two trucks!... and some lovely items for the baby's "nursery," a.k.a. our hallway, including a handmade wall hanging made by Luli! I will post a nursery picture of as soon as we get everything set up (which, as we know, will be by August 31 at the latest).
We are so grateful for our friends' and family's kindness and generousity. A special thank you to Luli and Corrie, for putting it all together, and to Liz and Oliver for driving all the way from Nashville to attend!
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