A “Littlie” Change of Plans - Baltimore, MD - May 2010

Friday we had another 3 week ultrasound for growth progress and Baby Sticks has fallen from the 9th to the 3rd percentile on the growth chart, weighing approximately 4lbs 11oz. From what they’re saying Baby Sticks should be gaining about 1/2 lb per week, meaning that over the last three weeks he or she has gained less than 1lb. Since we’re at 37 and ½ weeks, and "the cake is baked" (full term), they feel like they can do more for the baby out than in. With that said, there’s been a little change in plans. We've scheduled to begin induction on Friday 5/28 at 6pm.

Here’s a couple of belly pics to tide you over till our wee one arrives

Me at 37 Weeks

Although this may not seam big to you, please know that it feels big, and for me, someone that didn't enter the triple didget club till I was 24 years old, it is big!

Baby Sticks at 37 weeks

Nose: Mine

Lips: The Hub

Oh and you can't see it in this pic, but Baby Sticks has HAIR!!!

Hope you all are well and thanks in advance for your prayers.

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Feeling the Puj - Baltimore, MD - May 2010

So here we are, big city and not a whole ton of space to store the entourage of baby "stuff" that is somehow now a necessity when our mothers and grandmothers did just fine with out.

One of the things that drives me the most crazy is the baby tub; a necessity, but giant, plastic, cumbersome, and for the most part difficult to store between uses and after baby grows out of it. For the last couple of weeks I'd been on the hunt for something a little more "low profile" so that once Baby Sticks is ready for the big tub, we don't have this crazy giant plastic thing hanging out somewhere waiting for baby #2.

I stumbled upon this last week,

...And it arrived today!

It's the pujTub by puj (pronounced: pudge).


Ben and Katie are a husband and wife design team that met in college, married, worked for competing design firms and eventually began designing products "to make your life easier". Everything puj makes has come from their own experiences as parents and designers. Their website is http://www.pujbaby.com/.

I already LOVE this tub! Not only does it look great, meaning it's not in neon or electric primary colors, it soft, safe, the material is antibacterial/antimicrobial, it folds flat, yes FLAT to store, and about the easiest baby gear I've learned to operate thus far. And on top of all that, it's affordable, which can't be said for a lot of the products out there for baby care!

I can't wait to rub-a-dub-dub our little one in the tub.

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Eat That Andrew Zimmern - Baltimore, MD - May 2010

I think I’ve mentioned on several occasions that there is one person’s job that the Hub would absolutely love to spend a day in the life of… It's this man Andrew Zimmern.

He has a show on the Food Network called Bizarre Foods where he travels all over the world in search of the world’s most “Bizarre Foods”. After watching the show countless times it’s obvious that Zimmern takes pride in being able to stomach foods that most people can’t even stand to be in the room with. This brings me to the Durian Fruit; a fruit that has been banished from certain hotels and public transportation in Southeast Asia because of its odor. A fruit that to this day Zimmern has not been able to swallow. This video shows one of several of Zimmern’s attempts to beat this “King of Fruits”

Last Sunday, the Hub, on a mission to challenge his taste buds, acquired a single Durian fruit from the local H Mart. Now aside from being smart and funny and handsome, one of the Hub’s claims to fame is that he can “eat stuff that’d make a Billy goat sick”. Since finding the H Mart he’s been able to prove that by first stomaching blood sausage and now, the Durian fruit.

Note to Reader: I did make him take this spiky dude outside, because rumor has it that once cut, it emits an odor similar to rotting flesh. Yes, I know, I can only imagine what our neighbors would think once they got a nose full of this guy, but I was not having that in the house!

You do need a pretty sharp knife to cut through the tough exterior.

Once open I can honestly say that it didn't so much smell like rotting flesh, but more like a trash dumpster which comparatively isn't as bad.

Additional Note to Reader: the Hub swears that he couldn't smell what I smelled.

With out hesitation, the Hub dove right in.

After a bit of contemplation and a second and third bite...

HE LIKES IT!!!

Till Next time,
Bon Voyage!

Resting and Nesting - Baltimore, MD - May 2010

So if you've never had the chance to partake in "bedrest" you should know that it's actually BED RESTING. It's been quite a challenge to learn to type while laying on the couch or bed on my left side but I'm doing it like a champ!

First things first: Baby Sticks Update

We had a growth scan on Thursday and are pleased to let everyone know that Baby Sticks has remained in the 9th percentile on the growth chart. Our doctors feel that this has a lot to do with the bedrest. Baby is weighing in at approx 3 and 1/2 lbs which is 2 - 3 lbs below "normal". Our weekly testing has yielded slightly elevated results, but weekly doctor appointments are extremely encouraging. They feel like all the steps we are taking are allowing the baby to grow as they had hoped he or she would, which should make it completely possible for me to carry to term (37 weeks) and beyond as long as the baby is thriving. Thank you for your prayers. They're working!

Nesting:
We've also been getting busy on finishing the baby's room. I'm still up in the air about the bed skirt, but thanks to my good friend Anita I've found a potential stand in for $16.99 at Baby Depot.

I'm not completely in love with it, but for now it will do and the price is right and who knows I may love it once it's on.

The process of converting the Hub's office to the baby's room has been a little bit more labor intensive than we initially thought. We have way more books than either of us realized. So, last weekend the Hub built book shelves from Ikea and arranged then rearranged furniture and although it's not quite done, we're so very close. Just a few more things left to buy and do. Here's a few new pictures of the room.

• The green afghan hanging in the crib was made by Jeremy's Aunt Polly Ann, LOVE IT!!!
• And don't you LOVE the glider rocker. I think I'm going to do a pillow for it. I'm not scared of making a pillow!

• We've still got to get a changing pad for the changing table and whatever fabric I do the pillow in I'm going to use for the drawer fronts so I'm on the hunt for something good!
• Ooooh and I almost forgot... We got a new fan with a light fixture. Let there be light! FANCY!!!

Till Next time,

Bon Voyage

Intimidated - Baltimore, MD - April 2010

There are two places that completely intimidate and or overwhelm me. One is the baby store as there is still so much left to buy. The other is the fabric store. Now I know that the worst is when those two places collide.

As our due date draws nearer I walked into the baby store to look at one, maybe two things. On this day in particular I was looking at a glider rocker and options for a baby bed skirt. First off there are 85 gliders!!! Some come with ottomans, some without; some recline and some don’t. There are about 30 choices for the stain you want and just as many choices for the color of fabric you’d like. After sitting in every one I decided on the one that’s on clearance. It just so happened that I like the wood and fabric color. Decision one down. Now on to the crib skirt… Wait, so did you know that they don’t sell crib skirts (also known as dust ruffles) by themselves. WHY???

This brings me to the fabric store…

Note to Reader: My friends Sarah and Robyn can confirm that the back story I’m about to tell you is completely true.

Last year I decided to make baby quilts for some of my prego friends. The three of us all had sewing projects so we all went out to the fabric store together. I had everything picked out; thread, batting, fabric, binding, etc. all in the cart and ready to check out. Then, as they were picking out there stuff I had some time to think about my projects, the actual process of making the quilts and completely psyched myself out. I then proceeded to put EVERYTHING back. A week later I drug the Hub back to the fabric store, which by the way is the last place on EARTH the Hub wanted to be. I gathered everything I’d had in my cart the week before and took it to the fabric cutting station. Come to find out almost everything I’d picked out was wrong. This very nice woman walked me through the store and traded out all the wrong things for the right ones.

So to bridge these two places that completely freak me out, after striking out at the baby store I thought to myself I could make a bed skirt. It’s only a few strait lines. So I went to the fabric store, which happens to be across the street from the baby store. Once inside I managed (after 30 min) to find a pattern. Oh and I must point out that it was ONLY $0.99.

This pattern…

I must also point out that I’ve NEVER sewed by a pattern. I was thinking I’d love to do the skirt in a white, with the bottom section in green. Then once we figure out if it’s a girl or boy put their first initial on it in green iron on letters, or maybe a monogram. I walked the store knowing deep down that I was searching for that same very nice woman to tell me exactly what to buy… No such luck!!! The more I walked the store, the worse my fear got so I bought the pattern, and brought it home to stare at. I’ve even pulled out the instructions to see if that would lessen my fear and discovered words like “basting” which I thought was something you only did to turkeys. I don’t know what kind of fabric to buy. I don’t know what kind of thread to buy. I know it’s a baby and they really aren’t going to care what their crib skirt looks like or better yet if there is even a crib skirt at all, but I’d really like to do this…

Till next time
Bon Voyage!

Bed Rest... A Family Affair - Baltimore, MD - April 2010

The latest in Baby Sticks' journey to the outside is that as of Thursday of last week I have been placed on bedrest due to I.U.G.R (Intrauterine growth restriction). This means that the baby is not growing as the doctors feel that he or she should be. Thursday Baby Sticks was in the 9th percentile on the growth chart. While we are concerned about his or her growth we are comforted by the fact that he or she is very active and is very responsive to both the hub and I (as well as a certain puring kitty that snuggles up to my belly while I nap). So to make a long story short we have a little, but very active baby and we both feel that we couldn't be in a better place for care.

As for the bed rest... It's really become an effort of the entire family to make sure that I and Baby Sticks are getting the most benefit out of it. Both Malchik and Kitty Sticks have taken it upon themselves to make sure I understand that there are many comfortable spots in our house to "bedrest".

The Floor...

The tree...

The chair...

The back of the chair...

And even the bed...

And the Hub has made sure that I maintain a balanced diet and drink lots of fluids...

And has gotten me out of the house so that I don't go completely bonkers! Last weekend we drove over to Skyline Drive, part of the Blue Ridge Parkway, in the Hubs New "Baby Hauling Machine" Oscar...

(which could also be an "Entire T-Ball Team Hauling Machine")

We hit several of the overlooks which were completely breathtaking. The Hub took some cute belly pics... We even managed to get a few bystanders to take a couple of really great pictures of us.

Only 8 weeks (or less) till we get to meet our little bitty Baby Sticks!

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!

Tummy Sleeper - Baltimore, MD - April 2010

Note to Reader: From the beginning I have ALWAYS been a tummy sleeper. My parents found it hysterical that they'd come in to find me in my crib tush in the air sleeping like a rock. Even now as an adult, full grown and on my way to having a little one of my own I can be found "tummy sleeping". Maybe not with my tush up in the air, but I'm sure not too far from it.

So in the last few days, I've discovered that I have now acquired a belly that is large enough to prevent the above mentioned tummy sleeping. So it goes without saying, but I'll say it just the same... I NEED HELP!!! I haven't slept in about three days! Cat naps , yes, and one heck of a couch nap after an early morning hospital stay that I will tell you about a little later, but I haven't seen good, night time, REM sleep in a little while. Even my rockin' Vera Wang mattress hasn't been able to offer much relief.

So to all of my friends that are pregnant, have been pregnant, or know of people that have been or are pregnant, I need help sleeping! How do you sleep when you have a squash strapped to your belly? (The Bump.com says that Baby Sticks is the size of a squash.) How do you, as a lifetime "Tummy Sleeper", get some rest the last 9 weeks of being pregnant?

Till next time,
Bon Voyage!