Out with the old...

...in with...the Newbie...

This will be our last Christmas as a couple. The last holiday without the excitement of a young child learning about the big things that happen at the end of December...Santa and presents!

It has been wonderful to spend the past several years with my husband and our respective families (we trade-off every year) in low-key fashion. Not going overboard on the presents, decorations, or holiday music, or food (okay...we do go overboard there!). At this time in my life, the significance of the holiday season is much more related to a time of rest. Getting away from work, or at least being in a VERY quiet office because everyone ELSE has gotten away from work, is the best present ever.

As my husband and I had our little Christmas last evening, I couldn't help but be a little wistful over the change that is coming. We are still as excited (and nervous!) as ever about bringing a little life into the world, but we do realize the irrevocable change that is coming. So as I spend the next few days with him and with his family, I plan to savor this last special time that we have.

Merry Christmas, baby!

The Crib Gets a Test Drive!

Walker, son of our dear friends Jack and Sarah Greenman, paid a visit to our place last week and took a snooze in the new crib.

It works!!

The Nursery Evolves

Last weekend was definitely house project weekend. We spent Saturday shopping for all the tools and inputs for the Sunday all-day project. The result? A new border around the walls of the nursery and some curtains to continue the wooly sheep theme. Baaa-aaah!

While I really am NOT a DIY kind of wife (though I LOVE my DIY husband!), I did quite enjoy breaking out my sewing machine and making the curtains. It was a lot more fun than going to a curtain store and getting charged an arm and a leg for curtains a specific color and length. We're quite pleased.

And after rearranging the furniture a bit, we've got room for a rocking corner, where we'll place a rocking chair. It's really starting to look like a baby room!

An artist's view

Our Long Beach, CA friends Cari and Eric were visiting the weekend after Thanksgiving, and we took them to the Nasher Sculpture Center in the Dallas Arts District. It's my favorite museum space in Dallas, with its open space and natural lighting, as well as the garden walk behind the museum. Cari was actually the first person to tell me about the Nasher when I moved here five years ago, but she hadn't been able to visit it yet. So it was fun to go there with her.

She took this picture next to a Picasso sculpture. Not an exact likeness (thankfully), but I can definitely appreciate the emphasis placed on the belly as well as the bosom! Yeah...that's kinda what it feels like!

Second Half Belly Bumps

We marked the official halfway point a couple of weeks ago, so I thought I'd start a new post with the progress of Newbie in belly. It is definitely starting to look like more than just a big lunch. Watch as the belly starts to bypass the boobs in its forward protrusion...

20 weeks

24 weeks

The Nursery...continued

As soon as I started looking for bedding, I realized how much of an industry nursery decor is. Holy moly...there are a lot of different bedding designs, many with matching accessories like curtains, mobiles, rugs, diaper bags, lamps, even light switch covers. You can literally blanket a nursery with anything from teddy bears and frogs to trains and barnyard animals. Or, you can be high-brow and do strips and polka dots, ensuring your baby will grow up in Restoration Hardware-ville.

Given that we already had some animal-clouds painted on the ceiling, we had already set ourselves in the direction of cute animalia, and we found some decor with sheep motif that was cute enough, without having so many different accessories that we'd be tempted to dress up the nursery in baa-aaa-ad taste.

Here's the crib bedding set.



We liked the pale green that dominates the palette as a balance to the yellow and blue paint in the room.


And there is some plaid in the pattern that reduces to uber-cutesy impact.



So, with sheep on the ceiling and sheep in the bed, it's like we're casting a spell of sweet sleep and dreams for Newbie.

"Mocktails"

While I couldn't stand the thought (much less the smell) of alcohol (particularly wine) in my first trimester, I'm over the aversion now. I don't CRAVE cocktails, but I miss having them...for social reasons, stress reasons, etc. But I'm too much of a rule follower to ignore the advice of the midwives.

So here's the solution...MOCKTAILS...non-alcoholic drinks that make you feel like you're having a cocktail. There are three categories for mocktails:

Taste-Alikes--Drinks that try to be similar to the real thing. My favorite is a substitute for a vodka tonic: Tonic. Sure, it lacks the vodka kick, but add an extra lemon (or lime), and it's almost as refreshing as the real thing.

Look-Alikes--Drinks that are served up in cocktail ware, to make you feel "pinky" fancy when drinking them. My favorite example is the virgin chocolate martini. Dredge the rim of a martini glass with some cocoa and sugar, shake your milk and chocolate with ice in a shaker, and strain into the glass. Yummy!

Totally Unlikes--Unique drinks you've either never had before or rarely have, so that the unusual-ness itself adds to the enjoyment. The best I've had is at a local restaurant called, Alo, which serves Mexican and Peruvian "sips and bites." They have a great cocktail menu, which includes some fun, pregnant-friendly choices, including a fruity, floral soda I'd never find in a grocery store.

So with all the options in these three categories of "mocktails," there are plenty of options to enjoy, as well as make me forget that I'm giving up anything. CHEERS!

What is it about mac n cheese?

I don't know why...but I have had pretty consistent cravings for mac n cheese ever since about week 10. It's not something I normally eat (too much Kraft blue box in college, I think). But Central Market makes a mean version that I hadn't tried until I became pregnant. Now, it's like my comfort food of choice.

So tonight, after a particular roller coaster of a work day, how fabulous to come home to some meatloaf and mac n cheese. Did I just say that? I don't really even LIKE meatloaf!!

My Prenatal Yoga Wish

No hot yoga certainly doesn't mean "no yoga." So I've been trying out a few studios around town, ordering a couple of DVDs from Amazon, even leveraging the free podcasts on iTunes. The trick is finding something that is suitable for a regular practitioner who just happens to be pregnant.

There are plenty of yoga studios in Dallas that offer challenging classes. I went to one a couple of weeks ago that kicked my butt so much I was sore for two days afterward. It was a regular Vinyasa class for non-pregnant people, and since I was only 15 weeks, I could perform just about every pose except for the ones where you lie directly on your belly (like floor bow). Great class, but clearly not going to be sustainable as the mango-sized baby grows to be the size of a watermelon. So I tried a Prenatal Yoga class at another studio. But there, I was one of the least pregnant women in the room, and so didn't get as much out of the entirely modified, mostly stretching, and props-based class.

Same goes for most prenatal yoga videos. It seems that there is a booming market for prenatal yoga classes that cater to women who have really never taken yoga before or are only considering yoga once they get into their third trimester. So as I practice to the video, I'm wondering how much benefit I'm getting.

Then there's iTunes. I won't waste words expounding all the ways I love iTunes. But there are some pretty mediocre yoga podcasts out there where the instructors either talk too much (about the metaphysical and not the poses themselves) or don't talk enough (where exactly ARE they in this series?). And prenatal yoga podcasts are effectively non-existent.

Now, don't get me wrong...I know I'm ranting, but I do acknowledge that yoga is a very personal practice. Every body is different, and every day is different. There is no one-yoga-fits-all and so the probability of standardized yoga formats that deliver against the needs of every individual is close to zero. And I'm not draconian in my desire to push my body to unhealthy extremes.

But here's my wish. I wish for a yoga class that offers challenge for regular practitioners but includes modification for growing bellies and changing bodies during pregnancy. A class where props are used when needed, rather than as a matter of course, and where poses can be taught in first, second, and third trimester fashion. Ultimately, a class where I leave feeling not like I am settling for easy classes just because I'm pregnant, but like I furthered my yoga practice.

Hot Yoga Withdrawl

I love hot yoga. The relaxing warmth of the room, the sweat, the way my heart races during the peak of the standing series, and then the welcome transition to the floor series. Because the postures are performed in the same order every class, I find the series to be more meditative than a vinyasa or "flow" class, and it's easier to measure progress and changes from one class to another.

And I love the studio I'd found in Dallas. Sunstone Yoga has several studios convenient to both home and work. So I could go in the evening on workdays and in the morning or afternoon on weekends. Very easy to get in 2-3 sessions each week.

After my first ob/gyn appointment at 7 weeks, I was told that I could continue my practice. While I was a bit surprised (I had read some conflicting guidelines online about whether hot yoga and pregnancy were a good combination), I was ecstatic. I'd just have to figure out how to make modifcations as my pregnancy got further along.

But then I decided to change practitioners because I was seeking a more "hands-on" rather than "medical practice-on" experience for my pregnancy and delivery. In choosing the Dallas Birth and Women's Center, I knew I'd have the kind of care I was seeking. But with the "hands-on" care also came some stricter advice. At 13 weeks, I was told, "no more hot yoga." My heart sank. "Really? Even if I'm careful?" Nope. And from that day forward, I followed my midwife's advice. It's been a long 4.5 weeks without my regular practice.

The Nursery...furniture

Next comes the furniture. Ashley researched some antiquing methods to apply to some furniture we have that has been in our family for over 50 years. It had been painted and even antiqued before, so this was a super-antinquing job! A combination of sanding, applying wax to edges, then painting, removing wax with steel wool, then applying two coats of polyurethane, and...voila! (To be fair...this "voila!" took a couple of weekends worth of work.)





And then once we had the furniture selected, we needed a crib to match. We went to Craig's List to look for some gently used cribs (and really...how rough can a newborn be on a crib anyway?) and were lucky to find an antiqued one. Though, I must say, factory-antiqued is not quite as authentic as Ashley-antiqued. However, we are quite pleased to now have crib, mattress, and mattress cover all set up. So the room is furnished! I just need to find bedding, drapes, and a rug to coordinate.

The Nursery...beginnings

Nesting definitely takes on added meaning when the baby room starts coming together. And for us, that meant relinquishing the "junk" room (to which we always kept the door closed) and converting it into baby bliss. We had already painted the room yellow before we moved into the house so that it would be marked as future spot of future Smiths, but Ashley added some beautiful atmosphere by painting the ceiling to look like a blue sky with clouds...some of which are animal-shaped. Take a look:

Early belly bumps...sort of

We decided to follow the tradition that so many others have--taking pictures of the belly bump as it grows over time. We didn't start until 9 weeks, and we're not as regular as clockwork, but that also makes the progress a bit more significant.

9 weeks
10 weeks

Yes, I did look bigger at 9 weeks. Maybe it was something I had for lunch...

15 weeks

This is the point where I realize that watching yourself get larger is not as fun as once previously imagined...thus the pictures become less frequent...

18 weeks

Ladies and gentlemen, we have switched to maternity pants!

The Dallas Birth and Women's Center

After an initial visit to an OB-GYN, we decided to pursue an alternative for bringing Newbie into the world. We wouldn't have known about this option had our friends not had their baby there in November of last year. Their account of the experience was so moving, and so atypical of new parents talking about the birth experience, that we decided to explore further.

When we visited the Birth Center, we were given one-on-one attention (even though we didn't have an official "tour" appointment) and the option to ask as many questions as we wanted. There is a calm about the place that is VERY non-hospital. While initially, it was a bit unnerving to think how intimate a space the birth-suites are, how home-like, the arguments for choosing a birth center over a hospital were strong in my mind:

The only focus is on delivering healthy babies.
The center only delivers about 20 babies each month.
The midwives have a hands-on approach to prenatal care.
There is no disease present...just pregnancy, a natural event.

I've had a lot of feedback from family and friends about our choice, much of it positive, but some of it curious. So for those of you who want to know more, please feel free to visit this website:
http://www.birthcenter.net/

Another look

Ever the over-achiever, I was measuring large for dates at my 13 week check-up, so I went in for another sonogram, to confirm the baby's development and due date. Turns out, the initial date was spot on! Newbie is still scheduled to arrive around April 14. One reason for the large measurement could have been the fact that Newbie is standing up (and running at the time of the image). I love that the little lass or laddie is already active!

Early image

We got our first glimpse of Newbie at 6 weeks and 6 days. The dotted line shows the length of the body, and the "X" marked where we saw the flash of the heartbeat.

Can't say there is any family resemblance yet, but it's certainly visual proof!

And so it begins...

Nesting the uber-active behavior in which moms-to-be engage as they prepare for the arrival of a baby.

I usually think of this as a race to get the baby room set up "just so", but I imagine blogging fits quite well into this definition nowadays. Well, I'm not doing so well in the baby room race, so I'll take a first step into the blogging arena.