I daresay that 14 weeks is just about the most boring time of pregnancy thus far.  I’m over the first tri yick, I’m feeling pretty confident (knock wood) that this one is sticking, the excitement/fear of finding out is over, and I’m out publicly, so I don’t have to haul out an excuse if I’m seen in the baby section of Target.  The ultrasounds are done until 20 weeks, I have an appointment on Friday for the basic weigh/pee/doppler check. I won’t even have to take off my PANTS.  I’ve gained some weight, but I’m not showing.  I can feel my uterus now, which is weird, but all of that damn TTC/thyroid weight is keeping me from looking like anything but chubby.  I can’t feel movement yet, of course, and that’s probably my next mental milestone, which I imagine will happen about the time I look more pregnant than fat. I figure that will happen around Christmas (when I’ll be 20 weeks).  Anyway, this part is boring. Sigh.

Awww yeah, talkin’ bout ass.  Perhaps because I FEEL like ass; my illness has left my sinuses and head, and headed south, with the benefit of feverish ooginess. FAB.

So, since I’m laid out on the couch with the laptop and flat ginger ale, I’ve been researching the crap (ha!) out of cloth diapers.  I’m into this idea, after seeing how it’s done by AnneMarie last summer.  We have a washer and dryer and clothesline (and high efficiency front loading washer, to boot) and since it is my mission to prevent allergies in my kid, cloth appeals.  (I even have an allergy to Always Dri-Weave. Don’t ask.)  I realize that people might be rolling their eyes at my allergy fanaticism, but if you’ve not dealt with the grand trifecta of allergies, eczema, and asthma, you have no idea.  Imagine scratching furiously at your legs while sneezing and gasping for breath. FUN! Therefore, I’m into the cloth diapering idea.  I also like it from a financial standpoint; if I can prepay diapering costs (while I’m EMPLOYED, remember) that’s one less expense later on.  And if we have another kid, I save big bigmoney, and if we don’t, I sell the lot and recoup some money.

If I get a job and have to used disposables in a daycare situation, well, I’ll have the income to supplement that, but I’d still want to use cloth as much as possible. (When I was like, 19, I worked for 2 weeks in the town dump hauling trash back to the dump from where bears dragged it out.  Worst thing to have to deal with was a diaper, and not because of the plastic, but because of the neongreen gelatinous goo that remained years after they were trashed. The plastic turned to dust, and the goo looked like a science experiment from outer space… and by gathering clues from the surrounding trash — you learn alot about your neighbors in the dump — the diapers had been there for years.) And so, I begin my quest for cloth info.

AnneMarie has given me a lot of info, not the least of which was an actual demonstration of how to diaper a baby in cloth.  I’ve been researching different styles and such, and I like the packages on babybecause.com.  For about $100, I can get 24 prefolds, 6 covers, 4 doublers, and 2 Snappis.  That’s the middle package, there’s one up and one down in size and price.  I also know I’ll have to order the Gerber E-Z liners, and I’m thinking I might want a couple fitted diapers as well, maybe kissaluvs? I’ve heard both good and bad about fuzzibunz, and they are pricier than the kissaluvs to begin with, but maybe I’m missing something.

In the packages, they have the choice of ImseVimse covers (what Annemarie uses), Bummi’s Super Snaps, or Bummi’s Super Whisper Wrap.  The prefolds come in bleached or unbleached (I expect to get unbleached.)

I know a few of my readers use cloth, so I’m hoping y’all will chime in with suggestions.  I’m also curious as to how many sizes I can expect to need, and if quantity needs will change with size.  Oh, and I also plan to use disposables for the first 2 weeks or so, and perhaps at night, depending on the needs of the baby.  And in case it isn’t obvious, we don’t have a service up here.

So, CDing mamas, what’s your ideal stash?

ETA: If any of you have any of the abovementioned stuff that you’re looking to get rid of, I’d pay a fair price if you wanted to skip the hassle of eBay and such, just email me.

So, we just found out that Dave’s company is changing insurance providers…. next WEDNESDAY.  If anyone has any reassuring "your pregnancy will be covered, so relax" stories to share, I’d love to hear them! And if anyone has anything to say about Aetna as in insurer, I’d love to hear that too.  (We don’t know what plan yet, but that’s the company we’re being switched to.)

And so, we own a carseat.

I’m a bit of a geek, and even I can roll my eyes atmyself with my researching obsession, to make sure I have the best most safest and highly rated infant seat I can buy. I know, I know.

"Baby Bargains" has been thumbed through several times, and I have a list of necessary stuff that we’ll need for this kid.  Since my last check is May 31, and I’m due May 12, and I have NO JOB to return to, our plan has been to know what we want now, eventhough it’s really freakin’ early, and keep our eyes open for sales and such.  Which is why there is a carseat in the sewing room right now. Oh yeah, and a crib arriving today that will be stashed in the garage for a few weeks.

I’m kind of a snob, I guess, but I’m a deal-huntin’ snob.  I wanted the Snugride infant seat, but I didn’t want it covered in friggin’ POOH.  KMart had one that was a lovely, neutral, black and white check, and when I was there yesterday, it was on sale. ON SALE! And there was one left. And now it’s in my backroom.  Graco’s MO is to make their licensed and/or super-gendered stuff cheap, and the neutral, not ugly stuff more expensive.  Me? I done got us a nonugly, nonlicensed carseat for $65 — after tax. Yee to the ha.  As for the crib, that came from Marden’s — a brand that was recommended by Baby Bargains, a style that I liked, at the cool price of $136.  Found it online for $400. So, I’m a snob about quality, but I have no shame in scouring KMart and Marden’s for deals.

It’s weird though, to have a CARSEAT with 6 months left to have someone to put in it.  The crib isn’t as freaky — of course, it’s not in my HOUSE yet. (I haven’t even seen it, it was one of those marvels of technology — my mom calling on her cell from marden’s with me on my laptop googling the model number and cross-referencing recall lists — wirelessly, of course)  It might be here today; my dad is coming down to stay with us as he leaves in the early morning for Austin.  Even if it does come today, it will go inthe garage for a bit, as we need to work on realigning the upstairs a bit, moving the sewing stuff to the guestroom/office, moving the old PC to the basement, etc. So, yeah. I have a crib. And a carseat.

Here’s the thing, though — I’ve been so conscientious of researching all the stuff that the kid will need from 0-3 months, I kind of forgot about everything else.  Like, um, oh, TOYS?  I was in toysRus yesterday, and walking by the Little People stuff, and there was Christmas music, and OH MY GOD NEXT YEAR WE BUY TOYS.  I swear to you, I started to tear up. I was so afraid I’d start crying, that I left.

The emotions, they run high. Argh.

Yeah, so we conquered that big ol’ fear of miscarriage by, err, an eager return to marital relations. (Seriously, a miscarriage will fuck up your head for a good long time… anyway)  It was made easier by having ready access to the doppler, which I’ll be sending back soon, but not before I laid down and made a recording for posterity’s sake. I am nothing if not a multimedia momma to be.

Heartbeat at 13+ weeks

13 weeks! Sorta second tri, depending on who you ask. As far as how I feel, I feel much better than I did a few weeks ago, though I could still probably spend most of my day asleep if I was allowed to.  My appetite is back, yeehaw, so that’s all good.

Tonight is the last night of progesterone, which is sort of exciting and scary.  It will be nice to leave behind the mess of the whole thing, and the annoyance of having a refrigerated medication.  (Man, that sucks. I have a new respect for those that are on cold meds forever.)

I still have the doppler, and listen maybe twice a week, for about 30 seconds.  I listened on Monday, before my ultrasound, just to make sure it was all cool, and it was the first time I’ve actually FOUND it right away. Last night, I had Dave listen, and it had shifted.  As soon as it picked it up, Dave exhaled in a way that made me realize he’d been panicking.  But then he thought it was cool to hear.

I’m really excited to be pregnant, as you can imagine, but I’m so excited to be pregnant with DAVE’s kid.  This is his family, this is the first whole relative of his, the first whole family he will be a part of, and he’s into it.  He’s into the idea of a sling, he’s into being there for me, for the baby, for the whole thing. (He’s a little freaked out by co-sleeping, but is totally into keeping the kid in our room for a good while.)  Watching him watch the ultrasound is almost as exciting as watching the ultrasound. It’s cool.

When he tried to describe to his coworker what the baby was doing on the screen, the guy didn’t get it, so Dave got down on the floor and did an imitation. And then came home and reenacted the imitation.  I mean, that really just puts it into perspective right there — even I wouldn’t get on the floor to describe the experience.

I’m more emotional, still.  My mom is in NY unexpectedly to help my aunt who woke up with a detached retina this weekend.  She’s widowed, and her local kid is an asshole who won’t help her, ever, so Mom drove down to take care of her.  While she’s gone, my dad thought it might be a good time to visit his mom, who he hasn’t seen since we all went to Meg’s wedding in 2003.  For some reason, the idea of my dad flying to Austin for a long weekend totally made me cry. It must be some sort of maternal thing, and a mortality thing (I don’t think my dad has EVER visited his mom alone, not for any reason except why would he?) and just, awww. Also making me cry like a first runner up beauty queen are the drunk driving ads that show home videos, you know the ones. UGH. So hard to watch all of a sudden.