IKEA Madness (27w3d)

What a weekend! We spent the weekend in Orange County to attend the memorial service and life celebration of Paul’s grandmother (Gigi) who passed away late last year. The services were lovely at the church and the graveside, and in truly Gorman tradition, the family picnic that followed at Doheney State Beach was great. Lots of old pictures on display at the picnic, some of which I’d never seen before. Gigi and her husband Howard were truly special people. I wish I could have met Howard, but I’m so glad I knew Gigi.

We stayed at the Pacific Edge Hotel with Paul’s parents. They’ve been going there for getaways for YEARS – Cassie (ah hem) got her start there. We were *literally* on the beach, with the high tide waves crashing against our building. We left our balcony sliding door open all night just for the novelty of hearing the waves. Paul’s parents were next door, so we enjoyed their company and passed coffee, pastries and hair dryers across balconies. We watched dolphins from our balcony on Saturday morning too!

For Paul and I, this weekend was as close to a “babymoon” as we were gonna get due to financial concerns and my inability to take time off. But honestly, this weekend was just what we needed after this last very stressful month. (Granted… a day or two longer would have been just fabulous, but we’ll take what we can get!) There were plenty of tears at Gigi’s memorial – but they were vastly outnumbered by the laughter and smiles of a Gorman get-together. And everyone is SO HAPPY for us about our little man. I’ve never been happier to have my belly blessed and patted as I was this weekend. (Although the little guy sure picked a crappy time to have a quiet weekend! He hardly kicked at all. But he’s whacking away at me as I type this now on the couch at home.)

I got to see my Dad and Grandma too, as they attended Saturday’s events as well. I am so lucky to have married into such a warm and welcoming family. Paul’s Uncle Howie and Aunt Chris especially have always welcomed my family to gatherings (like their Christmas party) which is where my grandmother spent a fair amount of time with Gigi over the years. Dad and Grandma wanted to attend the memorial to pay their respects anyway, and were gratified to be invited to attend the family picnic as well. It was just fabulous for me to have so much family together. (If only Oin and Cynthia could have been there too!)

So today on our way home (after breakfast at Tom & Jeanne’s fave spot: Snooty Fox) we hit IKEA for a couple of things for the nursery. We’ve discovered a fondness for their Malm dressers, and plan on having two of them in the baby’s room. They’re perfect height for a changing table too – just add pad! But we figured while we were there that it would be a waste if we didn’t look around for a storage option or two for the new office/guest room since we’re losing all our current storage in the office/nursery. And I had to look at the Baby section. The closest IKEA to us is nearly 5 hours away, so we had to make this trip count!

In the end, we got the two dressers we came for, a storage unit for the office, a sturdy pillow for me for breastfeeding in bed, a very-cushioned play mat for the baby, a curtain rod, and some cookies. We found curtains for the nursery, but they were out of the light blue color we want. So we’re hoping Auntie Lisa can pick those up and bring them out when she and Uncle Mikey come out for the shower next month. I was very tempted to pick up another component for the play mat – the baby gym, but I managed to show some restraint.

Paul was amazing as he tetris’d everything into the back of the SUV. After 3 hours I was completely done. My back was killing me, I was having belly pains that I think were braxton hicks contractions, and was dizzy. I’m embarrassed to say I was not a happy camper. A sit-down and a drink helped some, but I wasn’t back to my cheery (ha!) self for a little while.

This trip was a big milestone though. I remember finding out when the memorial was scheduled and thinking that we could fit in an IKEA trip to get dressers – and thinking about HOW FAR away that was, that I’d be SO pregnant by then. Heh. Well, it was very very cool to finally be here. Paul and I are freaking out a tad at everything that has to get done in the next three weeks (and weekends) but we’re excited that concrete progress will be visible by then. (And honestly, with Dr. Scarypant’s predictions at my last appointment, we’re glad to be crossing things off the “getting ready for baby” list now.)

Oh, and Paul took pics this weekend. Here’s me on Friday evening before dinner. I didn’t realize until later that my belly fit just perfectly under the balcony rail. The next morning, I nearly knocked my coffee off the railing with my boobs. I guess I’m not as aware of how big I’m getting as I think I am!

Sarah +1 in Laguna

Giving Thanks for Girlfriends (23w4d)

I have been terribly lucky to have a network of friends both IRL (in real life) and online to draw on for support and wisdom and reality checks during this crazy journey I’m on.

I’ve talked about my Fairytales girls before. They continue to be a source of immeasurable help and comfort to me – if for no other reason than I know there’s nothing I wouldn’t feel comfortable sharing with them after 11 years of friendship. I feel like I’ve got a gaggle of auntie-friends who have all been-there, done-that and have myriad points of view on any baby-related subject. They’ve done it all for baby-wearing, breast-feeding, pumping, co-sleeping, cloth-diapering, and every other non-crunchy-granola parenting task there is. Having a one-stop-shop for several opinions really is helpful as I try to figure out what I think and believe. I’m shocked to discover I have opinions on things I’ve never really thought about before. (Oh hey! I care about this!)

But then there’s Caroline and Kelly. Current and former co-workers, who also happen to be friends. They had their first babies (daughters) within two weeks of each other last October. Since that time, I have been blessed with their first-hand experiences of what works and what doesn’t – which differ from kid to kid, I’m seeing very clearly. They both have answered myriad emails about every subject you can think of since that little stick turned pink. I continue to pester them with “OMG, what about this?!?!?” stuff at all hours – although I hope I’ve been less bothersome as of late. And what’s great is that my middle-of-the-night emails aren’t middle of the night to Kelly who moved back to Philadelphia in January of 2008.

What I’ve really been blessed with recently though, is hand-me-downs. This month, Kelly sent two boxes (!) of clothes that her little one (K) has already outgrown. One box included a pair of overalls that still send me into paradoxical squeeing every time I see them. (Babies in overalls, does it get any cuter?)

In addition to baby clothes (which started shortly after I announced was pregnant) Caroline has been handing down gear (like a tub and a bumpo seat) in addition to diapers! Caroline’s little girl (H) is growing like a weed and has outgrown diaper sizes faster than her mom and dad can strap them onto her little bum. So I have multiple packages in multiple sizes of Pampers Swaddlers – which is apparently what EVERYBODY uses.

I am so lucky to have these ladies with such fresh experience (not only of babies, but of actually BEING pregnant!) available to me and so willing to share in their knowledge. Plus, it’s really, really great to be able to chat with them both about baby stuff and have an understanding ear. They know what it’s like to have this overwhelming amount of information and questions and AWE at what’s happening to you – and the NEED to talk about it to someone who won’t run screaming after 30 seconds.

That’s not to say that I’m not grateful for the advice and responses I get here on this blog, either! While Caroline and Kelly both post here, so do Kim, Kym, Kristy, April and so many other friends who have provided insight and support. I really do appreciate each and every one of you who come here and take the time to read my blatherings, let alone respond to them. I need to get better about responding directly to responses, but please know that the comments we get here do mean the world to Paul and I, to know that so many people are already involved in our son’s life.

Progress in the Nursery! (20w4d)

Wow, my last post seemed kinda whingy. Don’t mean to be. All in all I’m really enjoying this pregnancy thing. Just wish certain aspects of it would hurry up and get here.

We made progress on the nursery this weekend. Guest room too, actually. The biggest part of both of those jobs is clearing out both the rooms. The guest room currently holds about 80% of all the clothing we own in baskets. So sorting through it is really quite a task, either folded into a dresser, hung up or put in the goodwill pile. This weekend we got through more than a third of it (and did a ton of laundry!) Paul brought baskets to me on the bed and I folded and sorted. It was amazing to see that if I stay in bed all day, my ankles don’t swell at all! hahahahaha

Paul is working in the office to clear out the stuff in there. Mostly it involves unloading shelves into boxes and hefting the boxes out to the garage. Not something I can really help much with. But he’s making good progress on what is honestly a crappy job.

But once the office/nursery is cleared out, we can PAINT! And speaking of paint, we finally picked colors! We’ll be using two colors, but not sure how. Probably whole walls of color, not top & bottom or something.

Honey Beige Mother Nature

Feels good to have that sorted out now. (Oh, and we’re going to just repaint all the baseboards white before all the carpet goes in.) I’ll get the paint in the next week or two. We need to have the painting done before the carpet goes in, and I want the carpet in by April. (So local friends reading this: we’re gonna be asking for help in the next few weeks!)

Also, since Paul cleared out the closet in the nursery I could put some of the baby stuff we’ve accumulated in there. Yesterday I bought two packages of baby hangers. They’re neon pink, but whatever. It was so nifty to hang up all the little outfits and sleepers I’ve bought, and the stuff that Caroline at work has gifted me. Hanging up the little outfits made me even happier than buying them. I never thought I’d be hanging baby clothes up in my house. It’s been real for me for a long while now, but it’s stuff like this that makes it exciting. I can hardly believe that in just over four months there will be a little baby for me to dress in these dinosaur sleepers.

I can’t wait.

Materialism (19w5d)

Oh lord. I haven’t bought anything, but I’m enjoying the heck outta looking. (Paul made the horrible suggestion that I go look at Etsy… I had been specifically avoiding that site.)

Stuff I’m currently lusting after:

A HandsFree Mei Tai carrier in “Marie”:

Marie Marie

It comes highly recommended by my most babywearing friend. I’ve e-mailed with the owner of TogetherBe and found that the (padded) straps are long enough to fit me just fine. Most other places I’d looked at for Mei Tais charge extra for longer straps that wouldn’t end up being long enough anyway.

Tie-Dyed onesies from TwirlyToes on Etsy:

Orange Tie Dye Peace Sign Swirly Tie Dye

Fortunately, not much else on Etsy strikes my fancy… or at least not enough for what folks are charging. I’m enamored enough with the adorable Carter’s and Circo onesies on the registry that are 5 onesies for the price of one Etsy onesie.

Lastly, there’s just 10 days before Spring Training starts… and just less than two months before Opening Day. Need to make sure the wee one is properly outfitted to cheer for the Dodgers!

Home & Away Onesies

With this set of Home & Away onesies, the little one would be all set for the rest of the baseball season!

This is how I entertain myself when I’m on the couch with my feet propped up above my heart when I come home with swollen ankles. Fortunately, I’m still able to show some restraint and not buy anything. (yet. hehe)

Strapping flour (19w3d)

I just strapped a 5lb bag of flour to my chest. I was a dork and didn’t grab a new 10lb bag of sugar at Costco. (I was too distracted by the Carter’s stuff, again…)

But for a first time tryout of my new SleepyWrap, I’m hella impressed. It’s gonna take some practice to get it on by myself, but it’s not hard. It ties in back on me, but ties in front on Paul.

I’m gonna keep practicing, and looking for heavier things to stick in there. Paul seems pretty interested too. I showed him pics of men wearing these wraps from their website, and he totally gets why I need to get comfortable with it. (I hurt my elbows catching a falling computer several years ago. As a consequence, I can’t carry anything more than a few pounds for more than a few minutes without significant pain – and when I’ve carried something for too long, I loose my grip and drop it with no warning. So using wraps is gonna be a necessity for me – I’m terrified of dropping the baby.)

Now I just gotta figure out what other colors we want. I’m thinking orange or brown or gray to go with the dark green I already got. OR, there’s several other styles of carrier (like ring slings or MeiTeis) that could work for me too. WAY too many options, but it’s fun to get to choose!