Week… 20 – Halfway there!
Baby is the size of… a Mango!
Highlight of the Week… Besides writing this from a gorgeous beach in Kaua’i? Last week, I shared that our doctor had some concerns around our baby’s heart and we had to go to a specialist for reimaging. Thankfully, the specialty clinic was able to get us in late on Friday so we didn’t have to wait to get answers. The ultrasound technician spent a full hour with us (an improvement over the 20 minutes we get in the doctor’s office) and was qualified to give us information during the session, instead of making us wait. She walked us through each image, explaining what we were looking at and how development looked. And how did it turn out? Perfect. Baby has an excellent, hardworking little heart with four beautiful and well-sized chambers. The technician also checked all other measurements and baby is perfect! Good sized brain – she even showed us that the brain is properly connect to the ears! Baby was still being shy and laying in the full pike position, but she was able to get a beautiful 4D face shot. You can see it below!Frustration of the Week… Trying to build a baby registry. How the heck am I supposed to know what I need for our baby? Why are there so many options? Seriously! Leave me a comment below and let me know what your baby registry essentials are. I could use all the help I can get.
Eating a lot of… Baby Carrots. So convenient and so yummy!
Cute Thing Hubby Did This Week… The flutters are in full force now and hubs is frustrated he can’t feel them. He lays his hand on my stomach while they’re happening, patiently waiting in hopes he’ll feel even a little movement. I know he’s disappointed that he can’t feel anything yet but his excitement about the baby moving is adorable.
A Tidbit… Turbulence + Pregnant Belly feels like riding a roller coaster on a full tummy.
Also… baby loves the water. Every time I’ve been in the pool, baby kicks all over the place like it’s trying to swim with me.
And as promised…here’s Baby Lawrence.
We registered for all kinds of things that it turned out our baby hated. Super fancy bassinet? She’d only sleep on us or in the pack n’ play napper thingy. Swing? Nope. We got a million swaddle-your-baby wearable blankets, but she hated (and still hates) to be confined. She’s not into the pacifiers we got, etc. etc. If I were to do it all over again, I’d ask for as much money in Amazon gift cards as possible so that I could buy what I finally figured out we’d need. If I could gift any new mom any few things, it’d be mylicon infant gas drops, all purpose nipple cream, and the offer to come over and hold the baby for a while so you can get some sleep. And to vacuum and load/unload the dishwasher and laundry. That’s what you should register for– a robot vacuum. Seriously.
This comment was all over the place, and I’m sorry. Our girl is 15 months old, and I still haven’t slept for more than a four hour stretch at a time. Register for anything that gets you some sleep.
This is super helpful! Think that’s where my stress comes from – the baby ultimately decides! I’ve heard so many stories of people not using, returning or replacing all kinds of stuff they thought they’d need. Thanks for the insight!
Don’t stress too much about the registry – I recommend bringing a friend with kids with you if you can. Good news, babies actually need very little when they’re first born and you grow with them. If you don’t have something you need, or you have the wrong thing, it’s quite easy to get what you need – you know, with Amazon Prime and all… Anyway, you’ll obviously need the basics – bathing stuff, feeding stuff, car seats, some swaddlers (I was never good at swaddling my kids – much preferred the swaddlers that you only need to velcro or zip, as opposed to actual blankets), car seats (you should register for both the infant – you’ll need one seat plus one extra base – and convertible car seats if you’re able to), and a stroller – the snap ‘n go is great for putting the infant seat into and then maybe a jogging stroller for when baby gets older (I think you like to run?). For bedding – you really only need sheets and mattress protectors (at least two of each) since babies can’t have pillows or comforters.
Seriously – I researched burp cloths when I was pregnant with my first. Now that I’ve had two kids, I’ve realized that it doesn’t matter one bit… it’s literally a cloth for the sole purpose of cleaning spit up.
Neither of my kids ever liked the swing, but they both liked the little vibrating chair. The boppy was good for us, Oh! and we had this Sea Dream Soother thing that both of my kids loved.
I would just keep gift receipts for things and return what you don’t end up using. But on the other hand, go ahead and throw a few things on there if you really like them, even if they’re not practical – why not get a little excited?! Happy to give you more specifics on what worked for us, but seriously, don’t stress too much – all kids are different and what works for one may not work for another (case in point – we went through about 10 different bottle types to find one my daughter would actually drink from). On the flip side, you will be totally fine and be more in love than you ever imagined, and like I said – it’s really not that hard to get any missing items. Just enjoy your time.
So helpful! Thankfully my mom is making a slew of burp cloths because, like you said, they just spit up all over them. Thanks for the tips on the basics!
Hi there! I generally agree with the comment above – every baby is different. If you plan to breastfeed, definitely a good nursing pillow. The Brest friend (terrible name) is more structured which has been nice with our newborn, but I suspect the Boppy will be better when she’s a little bigger. We really like having a baby bathtub because then you don’t need two people to give a bath (newborns are slippery as it turns out). Also, I scoffed big time at the wipe warmer, but we got one for free from a friend and it’s the only thing that prevents her from sobbing at every diaper change. So, I had to eat my words on that one. Also, I would encourage you to think longer term in registering for stuff – everyone wants to buy you adorable newborn clothes (who can blame them?! So cute and tiny!) But don’t feel bad exchanging some of the NB and 0-3s you get for bigger sizes. Then you’ll feel more prepared for the long haul.
Great advice, Jill! Good call on the bathtub. I hadn’t thought of that. We’re hoping since we won’t know the baby’s sex we’ll bypass a lot of clothes. I’ll definitely take the tip on longer term registry items though. Thank you!