Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Jellybean's Stuff

So right after the holidays Mommy went a bit crazy and bought Jellybean a lot of new things. Most of it was small stuff, bibs, hats, a few onesies, etc. since not knowing the sex does make it harder since gender neutral simply doesn't seem to exist anymore. As much as Mommy wants to cave in sometimes and find out the sex she still thinks the big payoff will come when she hears 'It's a...!" Also it might just be the incentive she needs to push Jellybean out. Daddy can just whisper "We can go shopping after this"and maybe that will do the trick (wishful thinking). So today Mommy decided to organize some of Jellybean's things and so she thought perfect opportunity to share Jellybean's stash so far.

So here are Jellybean's 3 month shirts. Besides the pack of Gerber side snap (love love love!) onesies everything here is sized for 3 months. Mommy never buys newborn ,even though she has a feeling Jellybean will be small, because she worries it'll be a waste as newborn only goes up to around 7lbs. Also Mommy figures if its too big Jellybean can always grow into it right and get a few more wears in.

Here are some close ups of the shirts. As you can see Mommy is trying to stick with the giraffe theme. A lot of these items were found in the boys area since in the end if Mommy is wrong and Jellybean is a girl she can wear some more male oriented things while girly things obviously wouldn't fly as well on a boy.


Here are a few more 3 month shirts The one in the middle Mommy thought would look cute on either a boy or a girl because of the shape and color only to have the saleswoman look disgusted when Mommy asked if it was gender neutral. Apparently even though the shirt is blue with a small whale on it, which is usually a boy thing, it can only be worn on a girl. Well at least if Jellybean is a girl she has one special girly outfit.

Look at the back of the two yellow onesies! Teehee so cute!





Here is Jellybean's 6 month shirts



And here is Jellybean's winter outfit. It has ears and feet!!!

Next comes Jellybean's blankets (2) and hooded towel (1)


So Mommy has a thing for outfits with feet and ears and loves little cute hats and bibs. All of the items shown next were purchased these last few days.

Bibs!

The reindeer one was only $1.50 at target and most of the others only cost a few dollars as well. Mommy got the tiger one because Jellybean will be born in the year of the Tiger!

Hats!

The bear one was only $2! Mommy hopes to add more to Jellybean's collection before the winter is over.


The puppy hat came from The Children's Place and there was also a bear and bunny hat. They had matching sweaters but as much as Mommy tried she just couldn't see a little girl wearing the bear sweater even though it was suppose to be more gender neutral. What do you think? (the bunny sweater was pink so definitely not gender neutral so it didn't make it into the picture)


Mommy scored big on her last trip to Babies R Us. She noticed that Carter's had a line called Tall tales that seemed to be being discontinued so all of the items were reduced drastically. While Mommy didn't love the way the set looked in general she did find 2 items from the set that she liked a lot. One is a giraffe mobile! How perfect. The other was a giraffe lamp. Mommy was hesitant at first about the lamp simply because the shade was a bit ugly (as was the color of the entire set in general which might be why it was being discontinued) but then she realized that the shade came off the lamp so that could be easily remedied with another shade. Score!


Also this week Mommy went to visit a baby store she found online that sold cloth diapers. At the store (which was so overpriced) Mommy found a little wooden dog pull toy so she bought it for Jellybean. The lady at the store wrapped the toy up so Mommy took a picture of it at the store with Gus, Mommy is thinking since itll be a while before Jellybean can play with this toy she might just keep it stored away and wrapped for Jellybean's 1st or 2nd Christmas and let them unwrap it then. Mommy also picked up a copy of Beatrix Potter's Peter the rabbit at a consignment shop to add to Jellybean's library.



Mommy got this a while ago but here is Jellybean with his own seahorse toy.

And here is the one item Mommy has had long before Jellybean was even a notion.

This was for Jellybean's big brother/sister Peanut. Mommy ordered it for Peanut more then 2 years ago and since he/she never got the opportunity to wear it it now goes to Jellybean.

Lastly here is Gus with his brethren. The tall giraffe in the middle is Gus's mommy Stella (they came in a set together)


Sunday, December 27, 2009

Holidays

Jellybean and Gus' holidays began with a bang or more like a white out. One week before Christmas New Jersey was hit with one of the first and largest winter storms of the past few years. In the end Jellybean and Gus' area received over a foot of snow. What a way to start to festivities!

Here Gus contemplates the mountain of snow before him

And here are some icicles

After a week of digging out and around the snow it was time for Christmas!

Since Daddy is busy trying to finish all home improvement projects before Jellybean's big arrival Mommy and Daddy had no tree this year but luckily Grandpa and Grandma do so here is Gus with the Christmas tree
Presents from the family in Vermont (Daddy's uncle and cousin)

Daddy's special ornament...Gordie Howe

Mommy's favorite ornament...a glass seahorse


Daddy, Gus, and Emma


Look Gus made a new friend!!! Daddy got Mommy for secret Santa stockings and bought Jellybean this guy as well as some other things. Mommy was so touched that Daddy, with no registry list to assist him, went into a baby store and picked out items for Jellybean.


Jellybean's first Christmas gifts. There are pacifiers (Daddy), mittens (Daddy), Rutgers socks (Aunt Kim and Uncle Ben), 2 sets of toy keys (Grandma and Grandpa), a teething toy (Daddy), Gus' friend (Daddy), and wash cloths Gus is sitting on (Daddy)



Mommy also got gift cards for Babies R Us (Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Rob) and Motherhood maternity (Uncle Ben and Aunt Kim) which Mommy can use to get Jellybean and herself some new things.

Daddy also received an interesting gift from his Uncle in Vermont. Rock ice cubes. This of course had to be tested immediately. You have to use a straw cause there rocks!


The day after Christmas Mommy, Jellybean, and Gus were off to a baby shower. Mommy's best friend is due in March with her first baby as well. Mommy hopes that Jellybean and baby Dean Alexander will be as close as their Mommies are.

Here is Gus and Mommy at the shower

Here Gus gazes at the new mother to be over a veggie platter

Mommy, Jellybean, and Gus got baby Dean quite a few things but these two are Mommy's favorites.

It came with a tiny blue hat with ears!

Jellybean also has this toy as Mommy has heard it does wonders in lulling babies to sleep.. Also Mommy thinks its simply the cutest thing ever! Maybe Mommy's love of seahorses has something to do with that.

The shower group

The adorable ornament favor


Week 28 and week 16 belly comparison


After the party with Mommy's two best friends


One of Mommy's friend's adorable dogs

And I end this with the future father to be of Dean Alexander, in his own words , "Being creepy"






Monday, December 14, 2009

Baby Influences

Mommy has been spending her free time recently scouring the Internet learning all about the latest and greatest innovations in the land of baby. Mommy has learned two things 1) there are a million gazillion gatrillion things out their for babies and 2) the items you pick for your child are a reflection on not only your own tastes but how you want/hope to parent.



So this week Mommy has been preoccupied with doing research on cloth diapering.


Cloth diapering is something Mommy learned about when she joined her Mommy forums almost a year ago. Mommy likes the idea that cloth is more environmentally friendly as she hopes that there will still be a green flourishing Earth left for her babies to grow up in as well as the fact that they are a lot cuter then regular disposable diapers. Mommy has been researching cloth diapers on and off since before Jellybean's conception but admits she is still very much clueless about the entire thing. Part of the reason is that there are just so many different types of cloth diapers, prefolds, AIO (all in ones), AI2 (all in twos), covers, pockets, etc. Then there is the issue of inserts, some have them some don't, as well as the different types of inserts available. Also there is a myriad of different brands and its hard to know which will work best with your child depending on size, comfort, leakage, etc. All of this info overload thoroughly intimidated Mommy despite all the articles and pictures she examined. Today though Mommy got the answers she was looking for. She was able to find not one, not two, but three local stores (within a 45 minute range) who not only sell cloth diapers but also have house demonstrations and consultations to help choose the best cloth diaper to fit in with your lifestyle. Mommy has emailed all three stores and hopes that she can set up a consultation soon so that she can finally understand the mystery that is cloth diapers. She will be sure to take pictures (and Gus) with her when she embarks on these educational trips.


Mommy also found this wonderful site, Jillian's Drawers, if you happen to be interested in cloth diapering but can not seem to find a local store to assist. They have a wonderful program were they will send you 21 different types of cloth diapers for $150. You have 21 days to try out the diapers, wear, wash, etc. and then if you send all 21 back by 21 days they will refund you $140 costing you $10 for the entire trial. Also if you like any of the diapers you can keep them and they will simply deduct the costs from the return. Mommy was thinking about this program before she found her local stores and might still try it once Jellybean arrives to see if he has a preference for one brand over another.

So because she was researching cloth diapers Mommy has also started to look into changing her detergent brand. She found this wonderful site talking about the best detergents to use for cloth diapers. Many people argue that cloth diapers aren't as environmentally sound as they seem because of the added use of electricity/water as well as the increase in harmful pollutants in water from the detergents. This site has allowed Mommy to see which detergents have more of the harmful chemicals placed in water and feels that its time to change her detergent use to not only benefit the cloth diapers but also the environment and the clothing of the entire home.

Another product Mommy has been looking into is a new product in the land of baby diapers called Gdiapers.



Gdiapers is suppose to be the best of both worlds when it comes to diapering. Gdiapers have a standard cloth like diaper that is reusable and then have a insert that is changeable like a disposable diaper but is flushable and therefore completely degradable. Mommy is curious about this item as it seems to really have the best of everything without the added laundry of cloth diapering as well as the harmful disposable aspect of disposable diapers. Mommy also thinks that even if she does cloth diapers this might be a good alternative to use when traveling or visiting others vs keeping a soiled diaper with her the entire time. Also if Jellybean ever has to go to daycare or a babysitter it might be easier to transition someone into using these kinds of diapers rather then completely cloth as dirty diapers are not fun to keep around.

Mommy has also been thinking about toys for Jellybean.



Since the outcry of BPA and plastic as a whole Mommy has realized that while she can not keep Jellybean away from plastic his entire life she can provide alternatives to plastic in the form of wooden and cloth toys. Mommy has found some charming sites that carry such items and is happy that there are plastic alternatives that are not only good for baby but also are environmentally sound as well.

Lastly Mommy has been on the hunt for kimono style short sleeve onesies (because Jellybean is a summer baby) for Jellybean.



Mommy admits that the idea of putting clothes on Jellybean is one of the things she fears the most as she is concerned about his head and neck while she does this. Also Mommy always wondered why most baby clothes requires you to pull the clothing over the babies head rather then slip on like a jacket. It seems to Mommy that it would be easier for a new parent and the baby for the clothing to go through the arms of the baby rather then over their head. Mommy hasn't has much luck finding short sleeve kimono onesies but she still has time. Anyone know of any good sites?

Thursday, December 10, 2009

First Snow

This past weekend it snowed where Mommy and Daddy lived. Not a lot of snow, only an inch or so but as soon as Daddy noticed he said its Jellybean's first snow storm! Mommy braved the cold and went out on the balcony to record this precious moment

Gus braving the cold without even a coat!

And belly shots at 14 weeks 4 days

With clothing

Without

Do you think Im showing yet? I think I am bigger but its winter and once you put on the clothing its harder to tell. I do think my face has gotten a bit fuller as several people mentioned that to me once they knew I was pregnant. I dunno. I feel bigger that's for sure though and without that belly band none of my jeans would fit anymore so I guess I have grown some.

NT Scan

Mommy went for her nuchal translucency test (NT scan) last Monday (11/30). The NT scan is a risk assessment of certain genetic diseases like down syndrome, trisonomy 13, and other conditions. The test consists of a ultrasound and blood draw. During the ultrasound scan Mommy got to see Jellybean bounce around in her tummy which was so cute! At first Mommy thought Jellybean had the hiccups but the Dr said that was normal for babies to jump around inside and actually she needed Jellybean to jump up to conduct her measurements. When the scan was first done Jellybean was jumping along nicely and the Dr was able to get 2 measurements right away but then Jellybean decided to stop jumping before the Dr could get her last measurement in. The Dr tried pushing a little on Mommy's tummy to get Jellybean to jumnp again but nope he stayed put. The Dr said it was fine and she could wait and in the meantime took some nice pictures of Jellybean. After about 10 minutes Jellybean started to play again and she was able to get the last measurement in. The Dr then took some blood and gave Mommy and a huge reel of pictures yay!

The three on the left are when we first started the scan. As soon as a picture flashed on the screen there was Jellybean looking right at us! I think he looks a bit like a turtle in the middle one. His Uncle Rob sees Nemo!

The middle and bottom right are 3D scans which are neat and a bit scary to look at at times. While we were waiting for Jellybean to jump again the tech started taking these and said look he is saluting us! Jellybean's arm was across his face at the time. I thought oh he is tired of the paparazzi taking his pictures, he obviously takes after his dad!




Here is a close up of the top right picture. I think Jellybean is smiling a little here and he looks a bit like Daddy I think personally.


Mommy had wanted a full body shot of Jellybean but felt bad about asking for another picture after the Dr gave her so many. While Mommy was getting dressed though she noticed that this image was still up on the screen. This is Mommy's favorite picture of the bunch as Jellybean looks so serene and happy in his own little enclosed world. He looks so content and cute and so Mommy decided to snap a picture with her cell phone before she left.

See you in 27 more weeks baby!