Yesterday, I had lunch with a friend I hadn't seen in months. It was the first time he's gotten to see the bump. (Which, by the way is fast leaving "bump" status. Photos coming soon.) My ever-expanding waistline elicited a "Wow" from my friend, who is used to seeing me as the ass-kicking workout queen I was when I got pregnant.
I asked him about work and his family, and we talked about my pregnancy. I've known this guy since he was 19 (he's several years younger than I am) and feel like I've seen him grow up. In the 10-plus years we've been friends, he has gone from a bit of a slacker to a businessman, husband and father.
Friends forever -- even if we have to grow up
"It's really strange that you're having a kid," he said to me. "It's like you're finally grown up."
I laugh at that because, as I said, he's much younger than I am -- about 14 years, but we've never really thought about our age difference. Maybe because he has done the grown-up things like pursuing his career, getting married, raising a baby. While I've been a laid-off, part-time blogger, starting over and just now pregnant.
I laugh, too, because it is strange that I'm having a kid. I certainly don't feel old enough to be a mom -- despite the medical community calling me "OLD" -- and I sometimes wonder if I am grown up enough to handle all the responsibility.
Then again, maybe my (mostly) youthful attitude will help me be a better mom. And I know I have the greatest friends who will berate help me to keep on track.
Last night, the S.O. and I watched "Baby Mama." I didn't really have high hopes that the movie would be fantastic, but I needed something light and fun.
And "Baby Mama" definitely fits that description. Despite the fact that users on IMDb only give it an average of six stars, I really liked the movie. It was silly and predictable and fun. And really, how can you not love Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Plus, you get the stunning Sigourney Weaver (I can't believe that gorgeous woman is in her 60s!), the ever-charming Greg Kinnear, and goofy Steve Martin, playing a hippie-dippie mega-successful businessman.
If I had watched this movie back in 2008, when it was first released, it probably would have pissed me off. Wanting to get pregnant and not being able to, being told I couldn't, wouldn't get pregnant definitely left a bitter taste in my mouth. Sure, I could identify with Tina Fey's character when the very expensive fertility specialist tells her she has a one in a million chance of getting pregnant (my "specialist" said one in 100), but (SPOILER ALERT) when everyone ends up pregnant, that would have sent me over the edge.
Because I watched this movie as a mom-to-be, I found it to be light-hearted fun. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are great together, and who wouldn't fall for Greg Kinnear?
It's not one of the all-time great films, and definitely not the best movie I've seen recently, but it was a nice little escape for the evening. The S.O. even made popcorn.
And we're back to food comparisons for my weekly update from Fit Pregnancy. They're also calling the baby "he" this week.
Your baby weighs about two pounds and is about 12 to 15 inches long, about the size of a small pot roast. If your baby were born now, he would have an excellent chance (85 percent) of surviving. He still isn't fully formed and would probably not be able to breath by himself. He would need to stay in an incubator to keep his body temperature regulated, and he would have a weak liver and immune system.
With a 2-pound pot roast hitching a ride in my mid-section, I don't really need them telling me it's harder to bend over and tie my shoes. But I did find this tidbit interesting:
The volume of your amniotic fluid is reduced by about half. With less cushioning blocking the view, you'll be able to see bony knees and elbows poking out of your stomach when the baby kicks and turns.
I have yet to see bony knees or elbows poking out, but baby is quite active. He stretches and kicks and moves around, either trying to make himself comfortable or to make Mama really uncomfortable. Earlier he was pushing quite hard against the outside, and when the S.O. pushed where I indicated, Baby kicked his hand away. I can't stop myself from imagining Baby thinking, Hey! Quit pushing on my butt. I just got comfortable.
As a side note, last night I dreamed about holding my baby and rubbing the bottoms of his little feet. It was a sweet dream and the first I've had of him being outside the womb.
The S.O. and I spent three hours Sunday creating our registry at Babies R Us. Babies sure do need a lot of stuff, don't they? About an hour of that time was spent talking to a sales associate about car seats and strollers. I thought for sure I wanted a jogging stroller or an all-terrain stroller. But I know how big and bulky those type are, so I thought we'd also want something more portable, like an umbrella stroller. After talking to the salesperson and test driving several different strollers, we decided on an umbrella-type stroller. It's portable, but has back support so we don't have to worry about Baby having a slouch before he's an angsty teen.
And because they're coming out with new colors soon, this year's models were marked down significantly. So, we went ahead and bought a stroller.
This is the stroller we bought:
It's a Maclaren Triumph. And we pretty much love it. It fits perfectly in the back of my Element. It folds up and opens easily. And it pushes smoothly. The downside is we won't be able to use it until Baby is old enough to sit up on his own. However, most of the strollers we were considering fall into that same category. Up until then Baby will get hauled around in a baby carrier of some sort. If mama kangaroos can do it. I can too.
We also bought a baby keepsake book. I went ahead and bought that so I would have the one I want and to make sure we definitely had one. I want the hospital to put his little footprints in the book when he's born.
Then, today, I ordered some fabric. It looks like this:
My wonderful friend Kate is going to help me (read: do all the work) make curtains with this fabric for the baby's room.
So we have begun to scratch the surface of the items we need.
It kind of freaks me out to actually be buying things. The worrywart part of me is afraid of what might happen. The realistic, practical part of me knows that if something goes wrong now (see how the worrywart side won't even allow me to articulate what might go wrong?), it won't be any easier if we didn't buy anything.
As a follow up to my post about my Most Amazing Sister-in-Law, here are the gifts she sent -- items handmade by my mom for my Most Amazing Nephew.
Two dolls and two baby blankets
Close up detail of the baby blanket
More detail
Close up of the hand-crocheted afghan
I am so happy to have these items from my mom to share with her grandson. Even though he'll never get to meet her, I will make sure he knows how special she was. And he'll know what a great influence she was on my family.
A friend recently gave me a copy of the book "The Eco-Nomical Baby Guide" by Joy Hatch and Rebecca Kelley. According to the cover it has "down-to-earth ways for parents to save money and the planet." So, the "eco" refers to both ecological and economical. I haven't read the entire book yet, but I have found some pretty good information in it.
For instance, I have been debating with myself whether to use cloth or disposable diapers. On the one hand, disposables will live forever in our landfills. On the other hand, they are so dang convenient. However, the following tidbit has me leaning more and more toward the idea of cloth (or reusable) diapers:
"Many parents are concerned the presence of SAP [sodium polyacrylate, a.k.a. absorbent gel] in disposables causes the scrotal temperature of baby boys to get too high, interfering with normal sperm production. Research by the Archives of Disease in Childhood showed that the scrotal temperature is higher in boys who wear disposable diapers than in those who wear cloth, possibly explaining the increase in male infertility over the last twenty-five years."
If I'm planning to breastfeed my baby because it's better for his health and may make him smarter and I plan to not circumcise him because it seems traumatic and unnecessary, doesn't it stand to reason I should try to protect his future fertility? As someone who was told she couldn't have babies without specialized help, I wouldn't want to put my son through that. I'll admit the whole idea of washing dirty diapers is icky, but I may have to do it -- to protect my son's future. And, you know, protecting the environment and all that junk.
I have to admit, though, I'm just not green enough to follow some of the advice in the book. Purchase used clothes diapers? Gross. I don't care how clean they supposedly are, I wouldn't wear used underpants and I wouldn't want my baby to.
And, I kind of feel like the authors fumble the ball a bit in telling me not to bother with nursing bras. In one chapter, they extol the benefits (economic, environmental and health-wise) of breastfeeding as long as possible. Later they tell me not to buy nursing bras because my breast size will probably change. Which means I would have to buy new bras anyway and if I'm nursing for 12 months or more, that's a long time to be yanking up a regular bra. Meaning that bra (or bras) will need replacing anyway. Do you see my logic? Bras wear out. They just do.
Still, there is a lot of good, useful information in the book for saving money and being more green while raising a baby. And the most important message I got from the book was this: "Green parenting is about progress, not perfection!"
And now, because I probably put it in your head with the title, I give you Kermit the Frog:
