Stroller

We are now all set in the stroller department. Last week, we purchased a snap and go which we will use here and there (restaurant, mall, travel, even pavement) for the first 6 mo of pooka's life. The snap and go is just a compact frame with a storage compartment and cup holder that allows you to 'snap' on the car seat and get moving quickly. Earlier this week, we found a deal on craigslist for the stroller that we like but didnt want to pay full price for - the uppababy vista. It really fits us completely from the design, portability, and features. Yesterday, we contacted a couple that was looking to upgrade from their 2009 stroller to a newer model and were able to purchase their stroller for half the price of the new strollers. We are happy with the purchase. Although the stroller normally comes with a bassinet, bug shield, and rain shield, we just got the stroller and seat. Aww well, we're still happy with it. One more thing off the list...

Erin

Latest Updates!

(8:50pm eastern time, in-flight somewhere over the Arizona/New Mexico desert)

Wow, what an amazing few weeks! As you can tell by the lack of blogs, Erin and I have been pretty busy between our jobs, buying baby items for Pooka, and attending our first baby shower. As I type this blog, I’m in flight returning from a wonderful memorial service for my great Aunt in California. Now that we are closely approaching the delivery date, this will be my last bit traveling until the baby arrives. As discussed below, Erin’s last traveling occurred this past weekend.

Amidst a busy schedule, I feel in some ways that the past few weeks are preparing me for what life will be like after Pooka is born.  Here’s a brief rundown of the baby activities that have occurred since our last post:

• Stroller: After months of serious debate, Erin and I finally purchased Pooka’s stroller. We debated between getting one, high-end model (via Craigslist, eBay, etc.) or settling for a basic stroller frame with the purchase of a basic stroller at a later date. We wound up purchasing the stroller frame (Snap-n-Go). There are several ways to think about stroller purchasing, but we feel comfortable with the Snap-n-Go and the ease of snapping in the baby seat on the go. Nonetheless, we continue to keep our eyes on good deals for the strollers we may like. To be continued…
• Baltimore baby shower: On May 14th, Erin and I attended our first of three baby showers. The event was held for my family and friends in Baltimore, and my parents did a tremendous job putting the event together. Prior to the occasion, my Dad invited me and several of my male friends and family to a “men’s only” breakfast.
• Visit to midwife: Immediately following our Baltimore trip, Erin went for her routine check-in with the midwife on May 16th. With our hectic travel schedule and Erin’s continued battle with water retention in her legs, the midwife did express her concerns and urged Erin to cut down on her activities and water intake. Nonetheless, all the standard readings (glucose, baby’s heartbeat, blood pressure, etc.) were normal. We will check-in again with the mid-wife next week to assess Erin’s progress and discuss any additional alternatives (if needed).
• Baby crib: In addition to purchasing a stroller, Erin and I finally purchased our crib for Pooka. As most parents know, setting up a crib for the first time is an important task to complete ahead of the baby’s delivery. From a timing standpoint, most people recommend setting up the crib around this time of the pregnancy, and Erin and I came to an agreement fairly quickly once we narrowed our decisions at the baby store (Georgia Baby).
• Baby dresser: I forgot to mention in my prior blogs that Erin and I were able to put together and install Pooka’s baby dresser from Ikea. Given my history and “fun” with Ikea (i.e. jacked-up installations, faulty nails and screws), I was surprised how quickly we put it together. The top of the dresser will be used as a changing table as well.

Whew! These are just a few things that have happened over the past few weeks. I haven’t even mentioned all the other non-baby events and travel that have occurred! (Father-in-law’s PhD graduation in Chicago, high school reunions in Charleston and my continued preparation for the 10K race). We have some great photos/footage from the baby shower and will post them shortly. I’ll also post some photos of the new stroller and crib (once assembled).

That’s all for now! Thanks again to those who have generously given to Pooka! It’s not too late to get on the baby registries at walmart.com and amazon.com!  

Growing Pains

I went to the chiropractor (certified in prenatal and pediatric chiropractic care) for the second time in my life today. Going has helped me to understand some of the aches and pains that I am feeling in my lower back a little better. She provides a minor adjustment to my lower back then helps me to stretch the muscles that are currently holding everything together back there. I was told that I need to do a better job stretching certain muscles or the pain will get to the point where my movement will be limited shortly (because of the extra work my muscles are doing to compensate for all of the changes related to pregnancy like my shift in posture and weight). Apparently my muscles supplying support to my lower back are severely shortened and need to be stretched much more often. She also recommended using a heating pad to relax the muscles in order to get a deeper stretch and getting a prenatal massage regularly. She made sure that I understood that I am not at risk for a difficult pregnancy or complications as a result of this 'very normal' pregnancy related back pain, but that for my comfort it would be good to implement more stretching into my daily routine.

Paul is also working on stretching more as he is seeing a physical therapist this month in order to get his achilles in tip top shape for the Peachtree Road Race on July 4th (a 10k). We ran in this race last year and it was a lot of fun. Specifically they are focused on stretching and stability of the achilles first, then working on strengthening the surrounding muscles to keep him safe moving forward. Other recommendations included orthotics potentially and biking/swimming. Main take home message from this post ----STRETCH!

So Many Blessings

This weekend we were in three states: Kentucky, Tennessee, and Illinois. We were blessed to be able to travel to spend some time with my parents for a day, then travel with them to Illinois to celebrate my father receiving his doctorate of education in ethical leadership. A tremendous accomplishment which we could not be more proud of him for completing while still maintaining his full time career/job. We were able to share this moment with friends from Paducah, our god family from VA beach, my aunt in Chicago, and were surprised when my brother's girlfriend flew in all the way from Cali to share in this moment with the family and bring well wishes from my brother in Cuba. It was a wonderful graduation/Mother's Day Weekend. My parents could not have been more proud.

To top off the events of the weekend, we were surprised in church when we were blessed with a gift from our pastor for being an expecting mother to be with a wedding anniversary the closest to today's date. Here's a picture of the wonderful bounty:

Weekends like these continue to remind us how loved we are and the love that surrounds us. We are beginning to receive gifts from our registry and beginning to sigh finally as everything is coming together :)

The Countdown Continues...

There are still about 5 books that I would like to read in the next 3-5 weeks in preparation for baby. There's one on breastfeeding, hypnobirthing, 2 labor related books, and books on bringing baby home/ baby's first year of life. We mentioned in an earlier post that we signed up for NetFlix, so there are also a few baby-related videos in the queue. Topics include: swaddling, infant CPR, bringing home baby, and maybe one other on infant massage if I remember correctly. So much to do! At the same time, we are focused on getting the house ready. Paul has cleaned the garage and will be getting a storage unit for down there, he is changing the lock on the front door and will be putting child safety gadgets all over the place. I have found and purchased most of the baby furniture that we will start off with and have been rearranging existing furniture to make room (as well as doing some spring cleaning). In the afternoons after work, we are likely in the gym or at a workout class before coming home to walk and feed Tessa.

All of this has us pretty tired these days...

Updates and More Pics!

Wow, the weeks are flying by and we're getting closer and closer! We are now at 31 weeks and the preparation has increased quite a bit. Pooka is now over 3.5 lbs and growing according to plan. Erin is doing well and is certainly ready for all of the internal kicks and motions to be over with! Recently, we have been working quite a bit on Erin's legs to reduce swelling and aches from water retention. The retention comes and goes, but Erin has used compression socks and continues to do pilates which seem to help. Also, our midwife said that Pooka has sucked up quite a bit of iron from Erin. Accordingly, Erin is now taking an iron supplement to make sure her iron levels are fine. Otherwise, I'm happy to have a healthy Erin and Pooka marching towards the due date.

Finally, below are some pictures we took in Charleston last weekend. As you can see, Erin's tummy is big now!!!