Registry Advice

Hey, any new mom or baby equipment experts out there? Rob and I are in the process of building our baby registry and I have little to no clue as to what we really need and what we will actually get the most use out of.

Any advice in the way of brands that are good, products we don't really need but may think we do, and especially any "must haves" hints would be greatly appreciated.

Name Change Progress

To keep myself accountable, I'm listing what I've accomplished so far in the name change quest.

1_ looked up the order to change your name online
2_ Gathered necessary documents
3_ Found out what both the SS office and drivers' license require

Tomorrow, I leave at 8:30 am for the SS office to hopefully really make my first move!
Then I need to order more original marriage licenses for the dmv
and then, I can get my driver's license changed.

After that, I think it will just be a matter of calling credit cards, utilities, and insurance companies.

we'll see how long these steps take...

20 week appt by the numbers

95/50 - my blood pressure, can it get any lower...
7.5 - the month's weight gain, Yikes!
14 oz - the baby's total weight
89th - percentile of our baby weight-wise (looks like I'm not the only tubbo in the family)
8lbs - what we can expect our baby to weigh...let's hope it's not more

I also got a little peak into our baby boy's personality. Our office checks the baby's heartbeat every visit with a small hand-held dopplar (think walkman with a microphone on the end). This week my midwife was having a hard time counting the baby's heartbeat. He was squirming around, moving all over, she would get a few beats and then he was off again. She was finally able to pin him down using the end of the dopplar, but that little boy was not happy about having to stay still! He pushed and kicked against her in attempts to free himself. I guess it will be useless to try to slow this little one down when he's got playing on the brain.

Belly Shots

Me and the belly at 20 weeks





After our "boy news", I guess I'll be the only one with Barbie BandAids for a little while longer. This is from my flu shot earlier in the day.


And, my handsome husband (just because it's my blog and I can!)

It's a BOY!

Rob and I had our 20 week ultrasound this afternoon at 3:45. Our baby is 14 oz and about the length of a banana. The ultrasound tech and dr. checked out all our baby's 2000 parts and gave us the best news of all that we have a healthy little one. We closed our eyes while they checked out the bladder, leg bone structure, etc., but asked them to write down the gender on a piece of paper and seal it in an envelope so we could open it later.



Below are some of the shots we got from the ultrasound (much different from our little jelly bean of 7 weeks.)


sleepy little baby


We already think this kid's got great cheeks!



After the ultrasound, we took our sealed envelope to Loxley's. Loxley's is a Robin Hood themed/tree house restaurant off rt. 30 in Lancaster. Really cool. Rob told the hostesses of our plans and they we so excited to help us with our plan. We shared a great dinner and gave last minute guesses and phone calls to family before we ordered dessert. We gave the sealed envelope to our waiter with the instruction, if this says boy bring us the berry filled pastry with blueberries only, if it says girl bring us it with raspberries.

We got blackberries which took us by surprise! Blackberries! But the words written below the pastry left no doubt... It's a Boy! The staff was really good to us and had a lot of fun with it. I think they were as excited for us to get to dessert as we were.

A deadline

To let you in on a secret, officially, I have yet to change my last name. After we got married, all my financial aid was in my maiden name and then passports, etc while we were abroad and then… I decided an address change and name change may seem a little too sketchy for my credit card company once we moved to PA. Basically, until now our life has been in a crazy whirlwind and I will avoid government offices like the plague if I’m able. I’ve also heard that you have to change some things first and I always forget which one it is… Rob never seemed to care what my last name was and so I was able to float along being known as Hartley socially, with none of the legal hassle.

However, I now have a hard deadline in the very near future. We will soon have a child and I hate the thought of being in the hospital with a newborn and explaining why my name is different, but Rob claims the baby so it should have his last name. no no no. I have less than 20 weeks to make myself a legal Hartley. Any encouragement or tips will be greatly appreciated as I am no less daunted by this task only I have more urgency!

Pregnancy Brain

After we first got pregnant I read about “pregnancy brain.” At first, I thought it was silly, but now I’m a believer, or at least I’ve got a scapegoat.

Whether it’s preoccupation with thoughts of a baby or an actual hormonal change… I have no clue, but this symptom of pregnancy causes women to be a little scatterbrained.

List of things I will blame on Pregnancy Brain

1. Mailing letters only half way addressed
2. Forgetting to buy groceries which were written on my list
3. Leaving stove top burners on long after dinner's over
4. Undercooking/overcooking supper
And my favorite
5. Putting a chicken in the crockpot only to return home from work to find that I forgot to turn it on!

I’ve also moved up a few notches on the clumsy scale, breaking two of our nice pretty glasses from crate and barrel L (does PA have crate and barrel?) and dropping a fridge pack of coke creating the need for some creative can opening techniques.

All this in the past couple weeks.

Rob is really sweet when pregnancy brain attacks; saying things like, “I hated that glass, I would have thrown it against the wall”, “I wanted Chinese tonight anyway”, or “If you had got everything at the store I would have thought something were wrong.”

Our Turnip

Today marks our 17th week of pregnancy. The baby weighs about as much as a Turnip; I've been very excited as we've moved out of the bean and seed size comparisons and into the fruits like apples and avocados, but I must admit that the 40 week pumpkin comparison we're looking forward to is more than just a little frightening.

17 weeks feels much better than 13 weeks. I'm no longer dealing with morning sickness, I can drink and eat more, and although my energy hasn't completely returned due to the whole new life being created inside me, I do have much more energy than in the first trimester.

We find out the sex of the baby in about 4 weeks and I can't wait. It took awhile for Rob to bring me over to his side on that decision. But now I can't imagine not finding out. I'm terribly excited. It will be another way of making this process seem so much more real! I also think I felt the baby move a few nights ago, it's still early for that, but I can't wait for more regular movements.

Aside from morning sickness, we've had a pretty smooth ride so far. I had trouble staying hydrated early on and about the only thing that I could get down was my preggo-margarita creation : a little bit of water, a lot a bit of lemon juice topped with a lot of salt. I carried that little tonic with me everywhere I went. I've only gained about 1.5 pounds so far which is on the low side so I've been encouraged to eat more. Milkshakes here I come.

Physically, I don't feel much different except I brush my baby bump often when I'm closing the fridge or car door. Not used to that quite yet. And I feel like an old lady sometimes with back pain. Not from baby weight gain but from whatever internal adjustments are going on. My sciatica hurts...and I'm only a little embarrassed by that.

Pregnancy hormones are shifting into high gear though, I've started to have really vivid dreams, difficulty deciding what shampoo to buy, and there is that one episode of a little bit of a boo hoo break down in the dentist chair a few days ago. Ohh, my. And I don't mean a tear in the eye...I boo hoo-ed. I've heard that all women who experience childbirth lose their sense of modesty. But, I'm also guessing that it becomes difficult for them to be embarrassed because of random crying sessions and babies pooping on them. Oh motherhood, I am excited.

Next week we're flying down to Atlanta and driving down to Farm Day. As excited as I am to see everyone and everything we can while we're "home", I must admit that most of my thoughts drift toward getting this southern baby some real food. I have been craving fried catfish and spicy chicken biscuits like never before. I absolutely can't wait.

Lancaster FALL Living?

Could it really be Fall already? It's barely September and the cool came even before August ended. This is definitely not what this Georgia girl is used to. The temps dipped down into the 50s a few nights ago! What? isn't that supposed to happen in December? NOT AUGUST! Where are we?

I must admit though, after my initial shock at having to wear a sweater while Rob was grilling a few nights ago and my sadness after the local weather man touted, "Summer's over! No more 90s!" (who's happy about this?, I wondered), I am enjoying this season called Fall. It is definitely a reprieve for me and Rob as we have had one continuous season of Summer for well over a year. I'm looking forward to a more pronounced Autumn season complete with Fall festivals, apple harvests, molasses cookies and pumpkin pies.

I'm just wondering, how long will it last? How long before Fall becomes Winter here? I can deal much more easily with the heat than the cold. I hate that my nose and toes freeze all winter long and don't thaw out until spring, how much worse will it get here? We had dinner with friends the other night and they recalled last year when their heat went out and the weather INSIDE was 32 degrees (outside being a mere negative 5) is that possible? I thought that could only happen in Alaska. I can't handle that, my house must be warmer than the fridge at all times.

I've heard that pregnant women are typically warmer than others making the summers unbearable, but hopefully making the winter a little more bearable for me. Here's hoping that this little bundle I'm carrying is a personal hot water bottle this winter.