Week 21 - over half way there!

Wow - time is really starting to move along quickly now!  Those first few months of pregnancy seemed to last FOR-EV-ER and then all of a sudden we're more than half way there with lots of stuff to do between now and the due date - haha.

Of course the big excitement this past week was finding out we're having a little girl (and getting an "all normal" on the scan was awesome too)!   It's really starting to sink in now - wow, a little girl!!   We keep talking about things that she might do or say or experience.  Or what we might have to deal with as she gets older - haha.  And of course, the planner in me has been set free to plan, plan, plan and shop, shop, shop.

This week, I've been focused on cloth diapers! I've been doing a ridiculous amount a decent amount of research on the subject, and I'm pretty sure I have a good handle on it now.  Before I go on, I'm sure some of you are probably wondering - just how much research does one really need to do for cloth diapers?   Let me just say - these are not your grandparent's cloth diapers!   Not that there aren't cloth diapers around that are similar to what our grandparent's used (they're called "flats"), it's just that there are a whole heck of a lot more options now!

From prefolds, to fitteds, to pockets, to all in one's to, all in two's, to hybrid systems, to covers, to soakers....well you get the idea.  And of course everyone that uses cloth diapers have their favorites, and much of which depends on personal preference.  I'm not going to go into great detail, as there are many that have gone there (in much better detail) before me, but I will tell you what we have in our cloth diaper "stash" so far!

Newborn diapers:
12 newborn prefolds + 3 bummis covers (free from a friend!)
5 rearz fitted diapers (awesome deal on well.ca)
17 motherease fitteds (on loan from wonderful friends of ours)
3 kissaluv fitteds (also on loan from our wonderful friends)

One Size (will fit after newborn stage up until potty training)
3 Grovia all in ones (great deal from babysteals.com)
8 Fuzzi Buns pockets (by 6 get 2 free - woo)

Not bad eh?  They say if you have approximately 24 - 30 diapers, you'll be doing laundry every 2-3 days which is fairly reasonable. I'm happy with our newborn stash but I do have a "wish list" of one size diapers I'd like to add: 

GoodMamma Turned Fitteds
Tot Bots All in Ones
Bum Genious 4.0 All in ones
Annie Marie Padorie (AMP) One Size Duo Pockets
Rumparooz One Size Diapers
Flip One Size Day Pack

Whew - that's a long wish list of cloth diapers haha.  And most of those are not exactly cheap either (retail between $20.00 to $30.00 each)! So I'll keep an eye on various sites for sales and deals, as well as craigslist for barely/gently used diapers.  By the time baby girl arrives (and she is big enough to fit into the one size diapers) I should hopefully have a good stash built up.

I've also been working on a "registry" of sorts.  I'd been looking for a way to keep track of all the items we'd like to buy for baby girl, that could also be easily accessed by both of us while out and about, and I think I've found the perfect solution.  Originally, I signed up for a registry at Babies R Us and TJ's (BC based kids store) but when neither of those stores had specific items, I became frustrated at needing to sign up for yet ANOTHER store registry.  And that's when I came across wishpot.com.  It's a centralized registry that allows you to add items from any store (online or brick and mortar) which means, only one place to go when trying to remember exactly what the name was of that very specific swaddle blanket that everyone considers a must have!  It's free to sign up, and the best part?  With the simple click of a button (easily added to your search bar) you can add just about any item on the web to your wishlist.  Now that's my kind of registry!!

And now for the weekly update:

Week: 21 (baby girl is the size of a banana)!

Weight Gain: The scale says I'm up 9lbs now.  Hmmmmm so now the weight starts to add on a bit more quickly.  I'm sure it's all baby.  Yeah, that's it.   

Feeling: I'm feeling gooooooooooood.  Haven't weaned from the diclectin, but I ordered some B6 in 25mg pills (which is half of what diclectin is) So once that arrives, I'll start trying to substitute those in place of the diclectin and see how that goes.  Finding myself easily out of breath when walking uphill (why didn't I get in better shape before I got pregnant - doh) and my upper back has been bothering me after sitting all day.  But again, nothing major to complain about. 

Maternity Clothes: Nothing new this week.  Saving up for our trip to Italy - heh

Cravings: Did I mention that my sweet tooth is back?  The sweeter the better it seems.  Yeah, gotta put a curb on that!

Milestones: Real honest to goodness movement!

Movement: There is no denying it now, I am definitely feeling little kicks and punches and flutters in there!  The placenta is still muffling things a bit, but the kicks are getting stronger every day!  I can't wait for patrick to feel her kicking too. 

Weekly Wisdom:  There is no such thing as too much research!

Random Name IdeasSeverine, Bria, Ivy   Patrick: Emerald (Emma for short).

And a couple pictures this week - first the usual side view:

And the mama perspective view!  I can still see my toes - barely :)

Signed,
Cloth Diapering Mama!

Week 20 - Bring on the PINK!!

Well I'm a little late posting this one up, but it was the long weekend and I was feeling lazy (imagine that) AND we were booked in for our anatomy scan this morning, so I knew I'd have exciting news to share anyways.  And so I put off the post until today :)

Now let's get to the exciting news!!  The anatomy scan went VERY WELL this morning - HUZZAH!!  Everything looks normal with no soft markers for chromosomal anomolies - and we found out we're having a GIRL!!!

We were definitely surprised - for some reason I think we were both leaning towards boy....but when the tech said "looks like you're having a little girl" and the 3 tell tale white lines appeared up on the screen (like this picture - which is not ours but you get the idea) we couldn't argue with the evidence - haha!

So it looks like it's sugar and spice and everything nice for us!  And I know I said the first ultrasound made things more real, but both Patrick and I agree, that getting the all clear on this ultrasound, and finding out the sex of the baby, makes it so much MORE real, and so much more exciting too.  It's so nice to be able to say "she" and "her" instead of "it" or "baby" when referring to the pregnancy. And we're already daydreaming about what our little girl will be like, and what amazing things we'll get to experience with her.  It's just so much easier to feel connected to her now!

She was really wriggling around in there during the scan, and when I mentioned that it was hard to  believe I couldn't feel her movements, the tech said there was good reason for it!  Turns out, I have an anterior placenta - that's doctor speak for placenta on the front side (tummy side) of my uterus - and it's acting like a cushion against all of baby girl's kicks and punches!  Which of course, makes so much sense now as any movements I have felt have always been very muffled.  He said I'll be able to feel more definitive movements in the next couple of weeks - yay!

Let's see....what else happened this past week?  Not much can trump the anatomy scan news - haha!  I must say it's been a rather productive week/weekend.  We spent much of it tidying up the house and clearing out a lot of junk from the laundry room, which is now completely reorganized with plenty of room to spare for all our costco purchases.  Yep - the nesting thing really does come in handy!

Hmmmm....I discovered that the dress I purchased for Marc and Fra's wedding went on sale - isn't that always the way it goes? Usually this kind of thing is very frustrating and doesn't work in my favour since I almost always rip off the tags and throw on the new item of clothing about 10 minutes after arriving home. But in this particular case, I hadn't worn the dress;  better yet, I hadn't taken off the tags either; even better still, I was within the 30 day refund window!  So guess who returned the dress and bought it back for a much lower price?  SCORE!! And of course since I was in the store already, I had to take advantage of the great sales they had going on. Picked up a pair of grey cords, a long flowy skirt and a couple of new tops too - DOUBLE SCORE!! 

Oh and I finally hemmed my two pair of maternity jeans so I'm not dragging the cuffs around in the dirt!  Yep - pretty darn productive!  Next weekend we're planning on tackling the second floor including the second bedroom (which will eventually be the nursery) and the den.

And now for the weekly update!

Week: 20 (baby girl is the size of a cantaloupe)!

Weight Gain: I'm up 7lbs altogether.  Still not too bad for half way there, but I must say the last few weeks has been about a pound per week - which is a bit more than they suggest.  I wonder if that has anything to do with my sweet tooth returning?  Naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!   

Feeling: Haven't tried to stop the diclectin this week, but I am feeling really great.  Definitely starting to feel the weight of the baby.  Spending the day on my feet in flip flops probably isn't the best idea anymore.  And my hips are starting to get a bit more achey at night - but really - not much to complain about at all!

Maternity Clothes: New cords, skirt and tops for a really great deal - woot woot!  I also splurged and bought myself a few more pairs of maternity underwear from Thyme Maternity.  They really are ridiculously comfortable!

Cravings: My sweet tooth is back!  Just in time for the arrival of halloween candy season - ruh roh!!  Mmmmmmmmmmmpumpkin mellowcremes....I have missed you so!

Milestones: Gee, let me think - oh right - IT'S A GIRL!!!  And a healthy looking one at that - YAY!

Movement: Definitely feeling more movements every day, though still quite muffled.  Baby girl enjoyed kicking my very full bladder this morning before the ultrasound.  I guess it was cramping her style! 

Weekly Wisdom:  Hearing the word "normal" when having an anatomy scan is like music to thine ears :)

Random Name Ideas:  Not many suggestions this week - I think we knew we'd be able to eliminate 50% of the name pool really soon, so we held off - hah.  I have a feeling the name game will pick up with great speed now!

I haven't taken a pic yet this week (bad mama) but I will scan the ultrasound pics and add those tomorrow, and I'll try and take a belly pic tomorrow night too!

Signed,
Girl Lovin' Mama!