Friday, May 18, 2012

{18 Weeks}

Truman and I finally made a trip up to Lincoln to plant our garden!
We just did the basics: A few veggies, few herbs, few flowers. Didn't want to overwhelm myself the first year. I'm hoping to develop my green thumb through the years...

My easy and cheap attempt to dress up our patio.
 My lovelies.
 Planted our Bread & Cup gift certificate.



Celebrated my very first Mother's Day this week, as well. Beans and Trums treated me with Captain Crunch in bed...what more could a pregnant gal want!?
 Also celebrated with these lovely ladies. I'm blessed to come from a line of strong and beautiful women.
 That's more like it.



Still no movements that I can feel yet, but I'm hoping to notice something within the next few weeks.
It's ironic because it took the nurse about ten minutes to get a steady heartbeat the other day because the little babe wouldn't stop moving. She told us to prepare ourselves because we have a mover!

This week I have had intense cravings for everything tangy and sour. Strawberry lemonade slushes from Dairy Queen and sour gummy worms have been my favorite. I wish I could go back to craving vegetables like I did in the first trimester. My dad also introduced me to Jalepeno pickles last night (a.k.a. God's gift to man) and I downed half a jar. 

Questions for Moms:

As I'm getting closer to reaching the halfway mark, I've started to put more thought into things we need for the baby. It's overwhelming. I feel like there are so many unnecessary things out there I'm just not sure what they are. I want to keep it simple and get better quality items that I really need rather than loads of things that will sit unused. This is where I need some help :) I have three main questions that I could use some advice on. If you have experience or suggestions I would really appreciate a response!

1. I've been talking to a few moms about rocking chairs. At first I thought it was a definite necessity, but I've found that moms who used the Baby Wise technique didn't need the rocking chair because they put their baby down to sleep right away rather than soothed them to sleep. I'm going to have a chair in the nursery no matter what I'm just contemplating a stationary one. Good idea?
Is a rocking chair necessary or can I get by with a regular one?

2. What items are necessary for a newborn? If you can suggest a specific brand you like for baby carriers, swaddles, bassinets, etc. that would be great.

3. What books did you find were most helpful in preparing for the first year? I plan on reading through Baby Wise before little Faeh comes but I would love other suggestions.


Whew! That was a long one, sorry. If you made it through the entire post I'll give you a high five. 
Thanks in advance for the advice!
J.

11 comments:

Carolina said...

You definitely don't *need* a rocking chair! I didn't use one at all with Cole. I put him to sleep by rocking a little bit but just in bed sitting up or on a regular chair or couch. I never wore Cole (wish I had!) because I was scared but as far as carriers go you can get the Ergo which is highly recommended. For a sling/wrap which tend to be comfier for you, Moby, Beco, or a ring sling. You can also make your own, they have a lot of tutorials! Are you going to co-sleep or will he/she just sleep in a bassinet and then crib? I don't know what brand my bassinet was, but Cole was in it for about 3-4 months before he was too big and we got the crib. We also used a swing and bouncer quite a bit, but you may be able to use a baby-wrapping method for that! Let me know if you have any questions that I could answer!

MandySchw said...

Jordan, Honestly, my favorite place to snuggle my babies has always been perched in the corner of my couches! :) I rarely use anything fancy either for other things. Slings were annoying to me, carriers never fit me or them very well, and honestly, I loved homemade flannel blankets to swaddle my little one. We use cloth diapers, and I don't even use the fancy ones. just cotton prefolds and simple elastic leg plastic pants. It cost me $60 to get enough for the first two months, and then only about $24 for each size as he has grown. There are lots of handy things for baby, but necessary isn't how I'd describe them. :) I did use a "moses" basket instead of a bassinet when they were first born. I found it easier to transport and move around the house or yard as I needed to. My kids always slept better in the midst of noise rather than in perfect silence.

Baby Wise is great, and I would highly recommend adding to your reading a book about marriage...even if its just something encouraging. The hardest thing about adding another person to your relationship is to NOT ignore the marriage relationship. Keeping your marriage in your mind and on your reading list is almost essential when your stress levels are high and your sleep amounts are low.

This is such a blessed time! :) I am so excited for you!

Allison Nichole said...

I'm not a mom (nor a pregnant gal) but can I feel I must say that I love jalapeno pickles (I have a friend who cans them) and DQ's strawberry lemonades are also a guilty indulgence of mine. Your baby has good taste.

Erin D. said...

1. I would still go with a rocker of some kind. There is something very special about rocking your babies, whether or not you use the self soothe method or not, there will be days they aren't feeling well or just need some extra cuddle time and I'm a sucker for rocking the little ones. :-)
2. Carrier: Ergo or Moby wrap. Swaddles: aden+anais Natural baby products: California Baby or Burts Bees "baby bee" Co-sleeper: Arms Reach Co-sleeper.....as you said so many choices, but these are a few of my favorites.
3. "Prayers for New Mothers".....this is just a precious book for this season of life with babes

Lindsay said...

Hey Jordan!

1. I never did the rocking them to sleep thing, however, it is nice to have a rocking chair for when Judah has woken up in the middle of the night sick or fallen out of bed maybe.

2. As far as a specific brand we usually just went with the cheapest option except when it came to diapers....I go with Huggies for sure...I just feel like they do the best job. I have tried Pampers, Parents Choice, maybe another...not sure. :)

3. I read Babywise...but really just used it to figure out how to get them on a schedule for feedings and then when I started weening out a feeding I referred back to that book. Another one I have referred to is Toddler 411 but I know they have one called Baby 411...its just nice to have something to refer to sometimes...

So excited for you guys!!!

Anonymous said...

I'll write more later Jord, but for now I'll say one thing: ready Baby Wise with a VERY open mind. Take the full feeding and the sleep/eat/play routine (and even be open-ended with that) or it might drive you CRAZY. Babies are not little machines or clockwork. They do need good sleep, but if you expect this perfect little scheduled day you're going to go nuts. <3

Anonymous said...

Meant to say take the full feeding and the sleep/eat/play routine...and leave the rest, or it might drive you crazy :)

Notes From A Ragamuffin said...

Yes, most moms have warned me not to take Baby Wise too literally. I want to establish good sleeping habits early on but I want our kids to be able to adapt to change and not need a strict routine all the time so I'll definitely keep an open mind!

And Lindsay...thank you for the diaper advice! We are definitely going the disposable route, but I haven't done any research on quality so thank you :)

Anonymous said...

1. While I rarely rocked my babies to sleep, it is a lovely thing to rock your baby in a rocking/glider chair. And honestly, it didn't transition from a wonderful "want" to a "need" for my boys until they got a bit older and started getting sick. When I was pregnant with Connor and Noah was about a year and getting sick/ear infections, it was a life savor! Middle of the night ear infections = lots of rocking chair time. Way better than being 8 months pregnant and walking/bouncing around a room for an hour carrying a 14 month old!
2. Pampers worked best for my boys until they were a bit older. Then we did/do Luvs during the day and huggies overnights at night. I think that's the only specific brand I have. As far as necessities, I would suggest one fun play thing that "contains" them once they are mobile (jumper, activity center, walker, etc). It's super helpful when trying to unload groceries or whatever. I would have considered a swing necessary with Noah, but Connor never liked it and so therefor never used it. I didn't need near as many clothes as everyone told me I would. My kids both hated the bumbo seat thing. And feel free to use/borrow any of our stuff, sometimes you just dont know till you try it. Every kid is different.
3. I'm scared to even say anything on this one because people are so passionate about it... but maybe since there's already a few comments people won't read mine;) Babywise was probably the most helpful book I read as far as a starting point with babies. It has it's plus and minus's to it as everything does and you can take some and leave some of it. I'll leave it at that for now and we can talk more this weekend about it if you want:) I didn't care the "older" -wise books much at all. I would suggest different older baby/toddler books. The hospitals also gave me a book (each was a different one, can't remember what they were) that were great as far as super practical advice on the day to day baby care stuff.

Amanda Fries said...

Hey Jordan! I'm glad to see that you are reading Babywise! We used Babywise with Bailey and she is such a good sleeper and takes her naps so well! Baby's are very content when they know their needs will be met (plus, it's makes like much easier for you and Truman)!

We did get a full rocker/recliner. It was a hand me down and so I had to put a cover on it to match the room but even though I don't rock her to sleep, it was nice to feed her in and even though I didn't rock her to sleep, there are still times that I rock her for a little bit....especially when she is sick.

Having a bassinet is really nice for the first few months! I got a Moby wrap and LOVED it although I have friends that have other brands that they love too (Mei Tai is one). Also, I have heard you can make your own Moby!

We have read and will continue to study Shepherding a Child's Heart. As far as preparing for labor and delivery, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth is a very eye opening book about natural birth (I really enjoyed the book even though I totally had an epidural)!

Love your updates!

Anonymous said...

-First of all - very sad we missed you guys over mother's day weekend. We were down in Beatrice spending time with Mom. The garden looks great - I saw Kali out watering the other day. If she's ever gone overnight or something and you want me to water, let me know!
-What's the Bread and Cup certificate?
-I loved my rocker/glider for nursing in. Never rocked Myles to sleep (we did/do Babywise and loved it - its my mental sanity!) But I bought ours for $30 off craiglist, so don't think its a several hundred dollar expendature. Same with all "baby stuff". I mentioned this last night, but I didn't buy anything new. Seriously. I got it all gently used - craigslist, garage sales, Once Upon a Child. We were in a similar financial situation as you guys - so I knew I had to either shop extremely smart, or go with very little. I found great stuff and never paid full price. I'll help you this summer, if you want.
-Just re-read your rocking chair question - I think a regular one is fine too. I'd say whatever's most comfortable for you. For several weeks (or months) the baby will just nurse back to sleep (in the nighttime) so rocking or not won't really even be an issue, most likely.

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