Relaxin, Part 1

26 hormones are surging through my body. 4 of them are brand new. One of these lovely chemicals is Relaxin. Guess what it does? It makes the joints in the body loosen up (very clever). However, until the time when it's really needed (that would be the 9 month mark) it does things like make you more prone to carpal tunnel, siatic nerve pain, and low and behold! Dropping Things. That's me. Miss Slippery Fingers. Haven't broken anything yet, but it's only a matter of time, I'm sure. ;)

The Basketball, Pregnancy Dreams, and Hand-Me-Down Luv

I am now 19 weeks pregnant. For those not in the know on the weeks-countdown, that's just about 1/2 way through. 40 weeks is the total. No, it doesn't equate exactly to 9 months. One of those little secrets you only learn when you are in The Club. But I'm HUGE! There are women in my prenatal yoga class that are DUE and not as big as this. And the strangest thing is that I've gained a grand total of 4 pounds. 4! I lost 7 in the first trimester. And now I've gained 4. Math = still less than I was before I was preggers. But are you seeing this? I am totally shocked. Shocked. By the time I am 9 months along, you will wonder where the sun is because I will be blocking it out. (If I can make it out the door, that is.)


Actually the second trimester has been lovely. I have good energy. I don't crash when I eat a piece of fruit (that was weird!). And I only have a couple aches and pains. Nothing to write home about.

I did have a very vivid dream last night of giving birth to a girl. That would make two "girl" dreams now. I'm not betting on it though. Our next ultrasound is in one week and providing the chickpea cooperates, we should have the answer to that question. Daniel thinks it will be a boy. I've always imagined I would have boys. Two to be exact. Don't know why. So... we'll see.

Treva, a friend with a 6 month old, Sable, has been dropping off stuff that Sable has grown out of, or that she doesn't use. Of course, if its a boy, 80% of those clothes will be going to someone else. lol. But she did give me this lovely nursing cover so that I don't have to whip my boob out in public (which I'm sure is inevitable, anyway). But I like it a lot so maybe I'll make good use of it and not forget it at home when we are out and about. In the awful case that I do leave home without it, we are resourcefull sorts of people and I'm sure it won't be an issue. And Portland has some of the best laws about public breastfeeding so that's happy.


(Yup, that's me. "Chic Mother". Don't forget it!)

Cheaper and I like it more

Changed my mind on the crib! And this one is half the price at $229! (Now we can get an organic mattress.) Even better is that it's made from sustainably harvest wood.

The DaVinci Rivington 4-in-1 crib in Coffee. (And because you need to see it in all it's incarnations...)









The other thing I found out is that you can set up a baby registry at Amazon.com. I have to say that this is a nice thing since it seems like I'd have to register at 8 different places otherwise.Still not satisfied with the quantity of natural and organic products, but it's not too bad.

The Highly Recommended Boppy

Ooh ooh ooh! Look, I've knocked another item off the list. The Boppy! The ultimate feeding, sitting, playing pillow (and looks like it would work well for a tail bone injury that we hope none of us ever have, or maybe a boomerang that won't take heads off). I like this pattern - brown on one side and vintagey blue floral on the other. They call it Urban Vintage Brown. And the removable cover is a must for washing off that baby spit and whatnot. OMG, I just realized its the same colors as my website that hasn't been updated in many years. At least I am consitent in my tastes. Daniel likes it too so it's a win! (Giggling at the image of Daniel walking around with this pillow around his waist.) Gah! I just realized you have to buy the slipcover and pillow separately. Meh. Quarter of a star off for inconvenience in buying. But I still love it.

Boppy.com and Babies'R'Us (this is where I eat my words about registering at Babies'R'Us.)

The Baby Arsenal

So, I've been doing extensive reading about preparing the baby arsenal. A couple days ago a checked out a library book on "everything you need" and today my mother sent me a book called the "The Baby Gizmo Buying Guide." Nice that we're both in sync in that way.

And here I've been, obsessing over the $500 crib I'm in love with and not much else (we're denying that three hour foray into the online world of baby clothes that cost more than I spend on my own) and now I'm plunging head first into the endless list of gear.

I have to tell you that the idea of testing out and choosing a stroller is completely overwhelming. And the car seat and the baby carrier and the high chair and the list goes on. And for some reason all the tips and guides just make it harder because now I KNOW what I'm supposed to be looking for and can't just go on my instincts.

But I've made one decision (with Daniel's input of course - we're a team like that). We won't be putting any kind of baby bathtub on our registry. There's the sink and the bathtub and both will work fine. One down!

And on another note... I've discovered that I'm kinda freaked out by the possibility of lead paint and chemical-leaching plastics. I imagine myself with a stockpile of home-lead paint testers, inconspicuously swabbing at toys and furniture. Even though it's not really in our (mythical) budget, I'd like to try to go as natural or organic with toys and whatnot as possible.

And that brings me to my last thought, involving registries. It's unlikely that we'll be registering at Babies'R'Us (I could be wrong about this), but what other alternatives are there? I'm very confused about the baby registry thing. Is there an eco-baby registry? Let me rephrase, is there an eco-baby registry that doesn't stone you if you if you put non-organic socks on your kid? Because, I don't want to be THAT hardcore. lol.

Pali's Trieste Forever Crib in Sienna (coverts to a toddler bed, child-size daybed and full-size bed)