Third Trimester Here We Come!

This week I (or should I say we) officially begin the third trimester. These weeks have really flown by. I can't believe it's only about 2 1/2 more months until Itty Bitty arrives. I also can't believe my belly has to get even bigger. It may not look big to you, but I already feel huge.

I'm feeling good that we've got the nursery furniture, but there's still a lot to do: pick a name (that's a high priority), pick a pediatrician, take childbirth classes (those start next week), work on our birth plan. That's just to name a few. I know it will all get done. In the meantime, Patrick and I are taking a few days away to relax. We're spending a few days at the bed and breakfast where we spent part of our honeymoon and then on to visit my family in west Texas. 

A Room for Itty Bitty

Well, after a few weeks of searching we finally got Itty Bitty's furniture this weekend. We had been looking on Craigslist to try to find some nice, but gently used nursery furniture to try to save a little money. We figured if we hadn't found anything in another week or two we would just go buy some furniture at a retail store. Until Saturday, we'd hadn't found anything we really liked. Then, Saturday morning we noticed a posting for a nursery set in San Antonio. It looked really nice but the folks selling it were asking a little more than our budget could handle. Well, we decided we'd make them a lower offer just to see what they'd say. Luckily, they accepted our offer! So, we rented a U-Haul trailer and we were off to San Antonio to pick up the furniture. The couple who sold it to us were very nice and the furniture is great. Even though it's several years old, you'd never know it; it hardly has a scratch on it. I had kind of been secretly admiring a glider/rocker and we ended up getting that with the set as well. It is SO comfortable. Thanks to my wonderful hubby for all his work driving and moving furniture this weekend! I hope Itty Bitty will like his room.

Nursery Bedding

Well, a couple of weeks ago we officially picked out the bedding for the nursery. Here's what it looks like. I actually found it several months ago and liked it but wanted to make sure we didn't find something we liked better. We wanted something that was basically gender neutral so it would have potential for more long term use. I think the colors will go well with the blue bedroom. Plus, it's never too early to start learning those ABCs, right? 

We won't be using all the pieces shown here, but many of them. I'm not a big fan of crib bumpers and I've read some safety information that suggests not using them because of risk of SIDS, so we probably won't be using those unless Itty Bitty starts having major issues with hitting the side of the crib. We'll post pictures of the actual nursery (complete with bedding) when it's complete.

Make Room for Baby

Now that Itty Bitty's arrival is just a few months away, baby prep is in full swing. We decided to convert what used to be our workout room into the nursery. Luckily, we painted the room a nice blue color a couple of years ago so it will work well as the baby's room with no repainting necessary. A couple of weeks ago, Patrick sold his weight machine (willingly I might add) and we moved the spinners for the bikes into the garage. With a little cleaning of the closet, the room was cleared in just a few hours. Here's how it looks now.

We're in the process of deciding on a crib and dresser/changing table and hope to have those set up in the next few weeks. As you can see from the picture, we already have the infant carseat (thanks to our great friends Amy and Chris) and a few books. 

We've also recently gotten our first shipment of cloth diapers in the mail (thanks to our great friends Desi and Ray). We've decided to give cloth diapering a try. After doing a lot of research, it seems they are both better for the environment and very cost effective. Who knew that disposable diapers cost several thousand dollars over the 2+ years the child uses them? Cloth diapers, while expensive upfront, will end up only costing a few hundred dollars (plus the cost of washing them at home). Plus, we found some cloth diapers that have adjustable sizing so they are supposed to fit the baby pretty much all the way through potty training. We'll see if they live up to their marketing. We're only going to get a few cloth diapers to start, see if we like them, and if not, it's not a huge investment. Here's what the cloth diapers look like. Harry the Bear kindly agreed to model them for us. 

They're sure not your grandma's cloth diapers. No pins or plastic pants needed. I think they're actually pretty cute.