In Case You Were Wondering

We were chatting with some friends at a get-together last weekend and one of them asked if there was an accepted way of introducing cats to new babies like there is for dogs. Well, we had no idea so we added it to the list of things to figure out. As it turns out, of course there are good ways to introduce cats to babies. After doing a bit of research we are now prepared. The recommendations sounded eerily similar to those for dogs, but who's counting? We'll bring home something that Stetsi's worn at the hospital for the cats to smell and hopefully get used to. Then when we get home we'll let them smell her and hopefully they don't freak out. And hopefully they don't get jealous. Or depressed. Or agressive. Our guess is that Gigi will pretend Stetsi doesn't exist, and she may ignore us too for a while, but Pepe will be curious and decide to be Stetsi's best friend. We're already having to pull Pepe out of the co-sleeper... a sign of things to come?



That's right, Monday morning on my way to work I picked up a co-sleeper in Hillsboro that we found on Craigslist. For those that haven't been in babyland recently, a co-sleeper can be anything from a pen-type thing that sits on the mattress to an oversized bassinet that attaches to the side of the bed. Ours is the latter. Here's a little picture.

In other news, we're heading up to Seattle tomorrow for the weekend. It's our "babymoon". I.e., one last trip where we can enjoy what's soon to be our former lives. Staying in a nice hotel, eating great food, strolling around on our own schedule. Maybe we'll even swear more than usual just for good measure. So until then, you're on your own Gigi. You too, Pepe. No fighting.

Oh, and here's a little video of Stetsi rolling around. Nothing happens for the first 30 seconds, so just move the cursor to about half way and let it roll. And for perspective, the camera is held at Nicole's ear as she lays on the couch, looking down towards her belly.

Music, Laughter, and Friends

Now that Stetsi is getting better and better at hearing sounds, she would've been busy listening to a lot of laughter and music this past weekend. Whether it was the live guitar & violin music at a wine bar, giggling with Nate and Eric about a cougar wearing a cougar fur jacket and matching hat (even though the animal print was over the top, she was pretty hot), singing Happy Birthday to our 1 year old friend Nora, laughing at a line-up of about 6 babies sitting by themselves propped up on the couch for some classic photos, listening to Eben serenade Preston with a very thoughtful congrats song, and laughing at our friends doing squats with the intent to touch their elbow on the floor (which they did quite easily) as we were walking out the door. We had a blast seeing friends this weekend.

Even though saying "catching up with friends" is no longer the truth in many cases because we enjoy following our friend's blogs, it is always great to see them in person and enjoy spontaneous conversations. I feel like I walked away with some great mom-to-be advice, stories, and ideas thanks to our friends.

So, I'm at 32 weeks now. This past week was definitely better than the previous one both physically and mentally. Staying out past 11pm 2 nights in a row is a good indicator that I'm doing alright. I am having more freak out moments where I just zone out, my eyes get a little wider and I either want to cry or hide under the sheets. Last time I had zone out moments on a particular topic was a year ago daydreaming about our upcoming trip to Africa and Germany. How times have changed. So far, those "freak-out" moments don't last long. It could be sparked from not feeling that I'm overtly excited enough about becoming a mom or being hard on myself in a moment of weakness where I truly think I'm going to suck at this mom job; I do have quite the potty mouth and I like my alone time.

Something that I've found odd at this point in my pregnancy is that I don't think I've felt a Braxton-Hicks contraction which are apparently really common now. I get cramps after eating too much at night and feel tightening of my stomach sometimes but only after eating a big meal. Just thought it was a little weird.

Here's a picture of me from this weekend after a workout. I can't say enough how much I love Lululemon workout clothes; I'm just glad they still fit. My bathing suit on the other hand is getting to the point where it's almost indecent to wear at the pool; I have to pull it up inch by inch like I'm wearing hose and just pray it still covers me. I just don't see the point of getting a maternity suit at this point and if I have to wear my bikini to get by the last few weeks, whatever, I'll do it.

Basketball and Daycare

First and foremost, GO BLUE! It feels like I was Stetsi's age the last time we were in the tournament. And we even held on for the upset win, nice. I know Nicole isn't thrilled that Michigan sports are distracting me in a season other than fall, but hey, big changes are afoot, right? You know, I really blew it... we were trying to think of songs we knew all the words to to sing to Stetsi in the womb, and I overlooked the perfect song - The Victors! Oh well, never too late to start, right?

Our summer is shaping up before our eyes. Between Stetsi's arrival, visits from Bieganskys and Mathers and Fines and Dahls, and weddings that will take us to Maui, Malibu and Montana, it's going to be a hectic summer. Hopefully Stetsi is social and loves to travel like her parents...

We went to visit a day care Wednesday morning. It's hard for me to find a positive in it, but I guess the kids there did seem happy. I think growing up with a stay-at-home Mom makes me look at day care with a critical eye, but it does seem to work out all right for a lot of people. Just imagining handing off Stetsi to other people for 30 or 40 hours a week where there are four kids per "teacher" is tough. At this point we don't know Nicole's return to work plans, we're just going to see how it feels after a couple of months and make a decision. But it seems that daycares have long waitlists (the one we visited apparently has a waitlist of about 40 for infants), so we at least need to cover our bases. And to add an extra layer of uncertainty, we will probably move within 6 months of Stetsi's arrival, so we're not sure what neighborhood to aim for. I guess we'll need to step up and figure it out pretty soon.

On a lighter note, we were amused in this week's doctor visit (every other week now) when the doctor put his hands on Nicole's belly for about two seconds and then announced "well her butt's up here, head's down here, and legs are over here". We just looked at him like "how the heck did you know that?" and he said something like "feel a million abdomens and you'll know". Then he showed us how to tell what's where, and how to move her head around. Haven't quite figured all that out, but she's definitely acting like she's going to be a soccer star, kicking all over the place.

I'll leave you with a picture of me with my sympathy pregnancy belly. Nicole says I'm bad at sympathy.

Baby Shivan and her friend Stetsi's progress

March 12, 2009 was an amazing day. I couldn't stop smiling. My dearest friend Manju gave birth to a baby girl, Shivan Arya Haridas. Here is the first mom-daughter shot.
Manju is a mom! I vividly remember the two of us sliding down her stairs with toilet paper stuffed in our pants back in elementary school or enjoying a lazy summer together talking about boys, eating lots of ice cream, and talking about what we want to be when we grow up like it's so far away. Now, we'll be talking about our wishes for our girls when they get older and probably wishing they will stop growing up so fast. Congrats Manju and Abi! We love you guys.

I'm going to miss sharing the pregnancy ride with Manju but I'm very appreciative of all the gems of wisdom she's shared about her labor already; epidural is our friend! I've reached the single digit countdown; Being at this point of 9 weeks to go feels like she's coming tomorrow and like we still have all the time in the world before she shows up.

If it wasn't for Shivan's arrival, I would say this past week was one of my worst. I got sick with a cold for the first time during my pregnancy, felt short of breath a few times, extreme fatigue, had quite a few episodes of painful cramps, and much more generally achy than usual. Sitting too long hurts my butt, laying on my side gives me side cramps so I need to roll back and forth like I'm a dog scratching his back, and standing too long makes me a little light headed. Being active has actually helped the most in feeling pretty good, just need to shake the shortness of breath and I should be smiling much more next week.

My mom treated Stetsi to her first nursery rhyme over Skype the other day, the same nursery rhyme she sung to me. Thanks Mom for singing "Hoppe Hoppe Reiter" to Stetsi. I'd like to believe Stetsi really appreciated something a bit more appropriate compared toThe Bangles and the Stetson Cologne jingle her uncool parents keep subjecting her to.

I uploaded my Week 31 pregnancy shot to our Picasa Pregnancy Album. This is the first 4 week interval where I really noticed a difference (definitely feeling it!). Wow, I'm getting big. Keep in mind, mornings are the slimmest which makes sense because it's when I feel the best. I'll take a morning/evening shot one of these days so you know what I mean.

Mortality and Comedy

At last week's girls night, we talked a little bit about the first time we remember our lives being finite, grasping the concept of what being an individual means, and getting a glimpse into just how short life is. A few days later, I stumbled across this short reading on the 100 years perspective and how it might help you stay mentally healthy in your everyday life but not getting all worked up about the little stuff. When you're in the middle of a dilemma, think about how a 100 years from now, who will care or even remember?
The timing ended up being quite ironic because Nate and I met with an attorney for the first time to set up our will and power of attorney. Earning my own paycheck, moving to a new city all alone, getting married, getting pregnant have all been big moments to help me feel grown up. Visiting this attorney to set up a will brought it to a whole new level, at least for me. Stopping to think about who would be Stetsi's legal guardian if something were to happen to us and what directions I'd like to leave my husband if I'm sick in the hospital unable to make the decision myself is very sobering (and I'm sober enough already right now).
The appointment went in and out of reality for me. What I mean is there were moments where it hit me really hard thinking about dying and thinkging of the chance Stetsi could be without her parents or being a vegetable in the hospital but then the moment would vanish and be replaced with what felt like solving a problem on a piece of paper - if you have scenario A, which option would you choose.
I'm determined to make this week a bit lighter and sillier; I started the week off by booking our babymoon weekend to Seattle at the end of the month and laughing at the Jon Bovi skit on hulu's SNL.

Scatterbrained Thoughts

I had a bit of a moment the other day. I was leaving a voicemail enquiring about a tour at a daycare center up the street. It was the first moment I recognized that I was doing something specifically for our baby and it really made me feel like a Dad. Not a huge thing, but it definitely gave me the feeling that we were about to enter a whole new realm.

We're casually looking for a new house, and school quality is on the list of considerations for the first time. Not at the top of the list since we don't really know how long we'd be there, but it's a consideration nonetheless. And proximity to a park or something resembling a park is on the list too. But probably the biggest consideration is being able to walk to whatever we need, primarily groceries, and restaurants and greenspace. There are plenty of neighborhoods that would meet those criteria, but most of them are on the East side which would mean a longer commute.

I do have to give a shout out to Marc for proposing a manly shower equivalent. Since Nicole gets her shower (details coming soon, ladies), Marc and I will escape to Seattle to sneak in what will probably be my last baseball game for a while, Tigers-Mariners in mid-April. Looking forward to it, as long as Stetsi doesn't decide to pop out a month early.

Another quick ha ha moment, Nicole decided to go to Ikea last Sunday as she was restless. I had a convenient excuse of being in the middle of baking our first loaf of homemade bread. She made it a solid five minutes there before deciding there were too many people there with small children and bailing out. But she couldn't really bail out, she had to continue through the Ikea shopping maze for another 20 minutes. She now describes it as "the Target toy section on crack".

I'll leave you with a picture Nicole took as I typed this blog entry... Gigi loves to get comfy on my lap. Live it up for another two and a half months Gigi, then my lap might get a bit busy.

Stetsi in 3D

Friday afternoon was especially fun. We were treated to a 3D Ultrasound of Stetsi. We knew it would be cool and we'd be in awe of how great technology can be, it did not disappoint. These days, it's possible to get both 3D and 4D Ultrasounds. The only difference between 3D and 4D is the time capture (time being the 4th dimension) so it appears as though you are watching a video. 3D still plays like a video but just more fragmented. It looked like she was moving around a lot during the Ultrasound but I didn't feel her like I do at night. She must literally be bouncing off the walls like she's on a trampoline at night.

I asked whether it was normal to feel her so far back in my lower right side and she said it sure is when you have a baby that measures as long as yours does! She's currently measuring 17 inches long and about 3.5 lbs, both in the 80th percentile. I still have 10 weeks to go! I have a feeling I will be cussing (blaming Nate for getting me into this) and screaming quite loudly during delivery.

We got her in a few positions. The pictures below show her sleeping and smiling. Check out our picasa album by clicking on "check out more pics here" on the right hand side to see her sucking her thumb, sleeping with her face resting on both her hands, smiling a little more, and even biting her nails (already a habit she's picked up from me).