So my shower was Sunday and it was huge! Kind of overwhelming, but we got so many things. The night before I finished getting everything from my Mom's house and kind of got all that squared away. She bought so many outfits! We ended up only keeping the ones over 6 months that we got from the shower, aside from one or two that were just too cute. It's hard shopping for that age group right now because it will be Spring/Summer and all the stores have Fall/Winter clothes out. I told Doug's aunt, who is throwing me a shower on the 31st, that I don't mind thrift stores and yard sale items. So hopefully that will help. There isn't much left to buy and I think they're a little disapointed. But it's like I told Aunt Susie, I know what I have not necessarily what I need. I'm a first timer here! I know when I was a nanny that I had to change the 6 month old a few times a day. She would get things all over her, but then I just got to leave and not worry about the laundry. I think he has enough clothes, but who knows for sure? So since there was a grandbaby born just last year on that side of the family maybe they can come up with some ideas of things that we'll need.
Even though we plan on cloth diapering we have enough disposables to do a few weeks on and enough wipes for probably the first 6 months! So that's nice. Mom and I are going to work on sewing a stash for him since there are patterns online for free and we have extra fabric which is just as absorbent as the kind I could buy already in cloth form. I'm really kind of excited about breastfeeding. I know it's going to be difficult at first but I love knowing how much money it's going to save, how convenient it is and the bonding of it all. Even though I've heard a few downers try to talk me out of it.
So last time I mentioned that I'd do a breakdown of our costs.
Paint: $80. We started with black walls so we had to prime and then paint.
Ceiling: $50 for paneling and $30 for fabric
Door: $30 gift from father in law
Curtains for closet: $30 but used a gift card
Carpet: room started with concrete floor, free! We pulled up carpet from a room upstairs that has gorgeous hardwood.
Border: $40. I'm not proud of this price. But I couldn't find a Pooh border that I liked and it was going to cost that much anyway. So I went with a solid brown ribbon from Michael's.
Dresser: free, from old one used by Doug's aunts.
Light fixtures: $30
Crib: $99. We were going to get a 4in1 that could convert to a toddler bed, day bed and full size but we found Doug's old twin size and it's still in good condition. And this way we won't have to buy a new crib for number 2 etc. And so that saved us $60
Changing table: $35. Originally it was supposed to be free, with the crib order but then we still had to pay shipping for it. When we cancelled the crib order they never made us pay full price for the table (should be $75). So don't tell Target! We definitely could have gotten it for cheaper via Craigslist (not that exact one) but at the time it wasn't going to be cheaper than free. Oh well, not the worst price.
Car seat: Doug's aunt just told me she has a brand new carseat bought last year that they decided not to use for her granddaughter. I just need to confirm that it hasn't been recalled and make sure it fits fine (and isn't pink hopefully) and that will save us $115.
Stroller: We're going to see how it goes without one. We won't be using it until the spring, unless I want to take him shopping with me, which I never shop and could always use the car seat carrier or sling instead. So when we do buy one it can just be an umbrella stroller and much cheaper than the infant kind. Roughly $50 new versus $150+ and I will definitely be trying to find it used instead.
Bassinet/Play yard/Pack n Play: Mom bought it for $30 I think? So $0 for us.
Rocking chair: So it's not a rocker. But we have a giant oversized chair from Doug's former step-mother that we've had for about 5 years now. It's very comfy and will be great for late night feedings. I'm still considering using the rocker from upstairs if it seems needed. But either way: FREE!
Bouncy chair: not one but 2 for free! (one stays at Mom's)
Swing: we'll borrow from Doug's cousin
Bookcase: Mom is buying this. So I'll just have to buy some of the fabric cubes that I want. Maybe $30.
Clothes: so far I have spent $10. I bought a "Future MVP" onesie at a thrift store before I was pregnant and then 2 gender neutral ones on clerance at Wal-Mart before we knew his sex. All other ones have come from my Mom and as other gifts. And boy is a lot!
Bathroom/Health/Saftey: free. So far everything has been a gift.
Diapering: We have enough disposables for a few weeks and then cloth diapering for close to free. Same with wipes. Total cost maybe $50 until he is potty trained, and then they can be reused for another child.
Feeding: Mom bought a used breast pump, which I have read online may be a closed system and therefore considered fine to use. I need to call the manufacturer to confirm though. It was $10. If not, I have a new one as a gift. We have a few bottles and breast milk storage bags as gifts because I do want the option to bottle feed breast milk. So far we haven't bought anything. Doug's aunt said that his side would buy things for solid food eating. I plan to make my own baby food, by the way, but we still need child approved plates etc. But I bet they'll buy more than enough.
Um...I think that's it. Really, we didn't have to get that much. I don't know if people were really generous because they knew we had moved and didn't have a lot and not a lot of money or if they're always that generous (haven't been able to make it to a baby shower at church in years). But it's a good thing that we were moving or I probably would have bought a lot more and wasted a lot of money! To anyone planning on kids soon definitely remember that people LOVE babies and will go overboad on gifts for you. As hard as it is, try to wait before buying anything. If you feel you must contribute to the baby's belongings, learn a craft. Crochet or knit some hats. They take longer than just buying one at the store and you'll still feel satisfied about contributing. It will cost you less and you won't be picking up "a little something" every trip to the store you make. In fact, I'd suggest budgeting money for yourself during the pregnancy! Reviewing our finances you can definitely tell which month I got pregnant in. A lot more eating out since I was exhausted and had a lot of food aversions to things at the house. It would have been nice to factor in some prenatal massages or general pampering. This is kind of your last chance to put you first. Not that you can entirely do that while pregnant, but seriously, make it easy on yourself while you can!
Ok, so about my appointment this week. I had to do my first non-stress test where they monitor the baby's heartbeat during contractions or other movement. But I wasn't having any real contractions and he was sleeping so it took awhile. We tried ice water, we tried turning on my left side, nothing would wake him up! I kept poking at him and finally got a few good kicks out of him. He was all crazy before the appointment, and afterwards when I had a snack. I have another one tomorrow and I'll be sure to eat just before going in! It turns out that I have PUPPs a very painful rash on my belly and I've been given a prescription strength antihistimine. I took one before bed on Tuesday and I felt its effects all day yesterday. So I only had half of one last night and that seemed to work better. It was so nice to sleep since I had been waking up itching for the last several nights. And during the day it itches a lot less too. But the rash itself is normal, and just something that some women get (though evidence shows most of them are pregnant with boys). They mentioned my swelling again. I gained 6 pounds this week and it's not just a fluke on their scale, it says so on mine too. Since August I had only gained like 2 pounds, depending on which time of day you weighed me. So this really, really stuck out! My blood pressure was ok, but there have been times when it has been high. I mentioned that at my shower on Sunday I was seeing stars for part of it (didn't tell anyone though because I didn't want my mom freaking out) and I've seen some floaters and that most of Monday and Tuesday I had a lot of sensitivity to light (still do) so they wanted me to do a 24 hour urine collection to check for pre eclampsia. Usually they go by protein in the urine (usually noticable with just a dipstick test at the office) and high blood pressure but it can be tricky to catch some times. So I did that yesterday and today, it was sooo pleasant (note the sarcasm).
It's not that I want to have pre-eclampsia. It would be difficult. I'd probably be put on bed rest (which the boys would probably die during) and then I'd probably definitely be induced at 38 weeks. But I would really like an answer as to what's up with my swelling. I'm swollen past my knees, no matter how much water I drink and how long or high I elevate my feet. It will go down some but not all the way. The worst is my belly. I look huge and a lot of that is actual swelling. One OB told me it was because he hangs so low and so I bought this special harness thing to push it up. A) that thing hurts and B) so far has not worked. And it doesn't make sense because the swelling is spreading. It started out just the very bottom part but now 2 weeks later it's all the way up at my belly button, has spread farther out and pits more (when you can push in with your finger and leave an indentation). Nothing normal about that. The skin doesn't even feel like skin anymore. I'd post a pic but I don't want to scare people! It's kind of hard getting around when I'm so swollen!
I will begin having two non stress tests a week and I have a growth ultrasound on Monday. After this one is when they'll be deciding if he's too big to try a vaginal birth. At the last one his belly measured in the 95th percentile and was really broad, so they're afraid he could get stuck after getting his head out. We'll see how this one goes. After a few more non stress tests is when they'll decide as to how early he should be born. As far as I know, no chance of giving me until 40 weeks and definitely not going later. So right now it's looking like sometime between November 4th and November 11th, probably closer to the 11th. But I'll know more later. I've done some research on c-section recovery and at first I was really freaked out. It means I'd need A LOT of help. Probably more than Doug and my Mom and even my sister can give. So we'll just have to leave that in God's hands. In the end I'm going to go with whatever they suggest. I'm not just a simple case anymore and I'm not just asking for one so I won't be fighting them on the issue. It's a real concern if he would get stuck, very life threatening and would require an immediate c-section. Even if they'd schedule one and then afterwards say "Well, he probably would have been ok coming out normally" just the fact that they thought there was a high risk would make it worth it to me. I've done research to make sure I get the safest car seat, crib mattress, crib, feeding him, diapering him etc. Why would I gamble when it came to delivery? Hopefully they won't be thinking that, but if they do then I will listen.
So, I guess that's it. Here's some nursery pics. It's not quite finished and we've put away more things, but it's definitely coming together!
Me at 35weeks3days and after dropping
Before pics of the nursery
After:
It's not perfect but I think it's amazing compared to the before pics! I think most people would never have even bothered using this room!
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