Oh... my... god...

My sister-in-law suggested I take this fun survey to see what the online clairvoyant, Madame Zaritska, can predict about my labor/delivery experience.

I answered a bunch of questions (my favorite color, what time of day I was born, my most persistent craving, etc). And this is what she had to say:

"The day you deliver, outside will be cold. Your baby will arrive in the evening. After a labor lasting approximately 5 hours, your child, a boy, will be born. Your baby will weigh about 15 pounds, 1 ounces, and will be 17-1/2 inches long. This child will have dark amber eyes and a lot of auburn hair."

It will be cold outside?! Does that mean this baby is staying inside of me until JANUARY?? I guess that would explain how he will be FIFTEEN POUNDS.

Baby weight poll

So, how big is this bambino going to be? You tell me! Take the poll on the right.

He is our sunshine

"You are my sunshine" is a pretty classic lullaby and one that everyone knows. My mom-in-law sang it to Mike and Erica... my mom sang it to Dave and I... and Mike has already started singing it to the Rhino from time to time. So when I came across this on a blog, I knew we had to have one.

We hemmed and hawed over what color to get, but finally decided on the light blue. It arrived last week, and I promptly went up to Michael's to find a dark wood frame for it (to match the furniture in the little guy's room). We hung it up on the wall right by the door, above the cute little cars/trucks light switch:

After Mike hung it up, we stood and looked at it for a minute, and Mike declared, "He is our sunshine!"

We haven't even met him yet, but it's already true.

Stocking up

I went grocery shopping on Friday to pick up some produce and a few things Mike and I needed for the week. I intended for it to be a short trip, but for the first time during my pregnancy, I found myself wandering down the baby aisle.

I had pretty much avoided that aisle up until this point, mainly because 1. it always seemed too early to buy stuff like diapers and 2. I didn't know what most of it was or what I would need anyway.

But I recently realized that this baby is coming sooner rather than later, so after consulting with a few parent friends, I got a list of "must have before the baby arrives" items. Diapers, diaper rash cream, baby soap, wipes, etc. I really only want to buy stuff that I know we will use, and not stuff we just might need. (Although I do feel the need to be prepared for any and all circumstances, I remind myself that we have two vehicles and access to countless grocery stores, Targets and Babies R Us. If we need something unexpected, one of us can go get it.) I've done some brand research over the past couple of weeks and got brand recommendations from friends, and this is what I ended up lugging home:

Luckily, I had some really awesome coupons and Fry's was having some good sales, so I didn't spend an insane amount of money. I stored it all away (all those stacked diapers and wipes make me feel like such a mom) and excitedly showed Mike when he got home. I'm not sure he found it quite as thrilling as I did, but then again, what normal person would?

We went to Babies R Us on Sunday to pick up a few more things, and I came home with some bottles, a bottle brush, a package of plain white side-snapping t-shirts, a "sheet saver," and some formula (in case we need to/want to use that right at the beginning). Ok, ok, and two pairs of basketball shorts off the clearance rack for next summer. So sue me. They were cheap.

Dare I say ... I am feeling freakishly close to being ... ready.

33 weeks

*The baby is now ... 4.5 pounds. Pineapple!

*How I'm feeling: It's the last week of the long days at work! Whahoo! Hopefully returning to a normal, 8-hour day will improve my back issues/restlessness. Other than that, I'm still doing really well. I'm usually pretty uncomfortable by the end of the day, but I'm still sleeping pretty well and am staying active.

*Physical differences from last week: Nothing really to speak of.

*What's been on my mind: It's stock-up time! All of a sudden, I realized that we could potentially have a baby in just a few weeks. It sort of lit a fire in me, and I spent the weekend stocking up on all the basics (or at least, what I think are the basics). More on that in an upcoming post.

We're sort of in the home stretch at this point. All of a sudden, I have a million questions for my doctor again, after having several visits where we didn't have much to talk about.

Want to know what is on Mike's mind? One thing and one thing only: the car seat. The man will not rest easy until that darn thing is properly installed and inspected. (Thank you, Daddy Boot Camp.)

*What I'm looking forward to: Putting the finishing touches on Ryan's room. We only need a few more things, but we're waiting until after the baby shower at Mike's office on Friday (another thing I'm looking forward to!) before we finish buying stuff off our registry.

*Other random thoughts: We had our child birth class on Saturday. I was expecting to leave feeling overwhelmed and wondering how I would keep all the information straight. But in reality... I didn't feel like I learned much. I guess by the time you're 33 weeks pregnant, you've read and considered most of the important points. Even Mike said he didn't get a whole lot of new information. We did practice some "relaxation" techniques for a bit, but we really glossed over it and it was kind of cheesy, so it was hard to take it seriously and benefit from it.

I did leave with a couple more questions for my doctor about what we would do in certain situations, and it did get me rethinking the *epidural/no epidural/some other kind of pain medication* debate again. But really, I don't think I'm going to be able to make a definitive decision on that until I'm in labor and truly know what I'm dealing with.

I think I know why people use cloth diapers...

It's the cutest laundry you'll ever do!

There one was a place called Pumpkin Town...

I guess Mike knows me pretty well... Look what he bought for me to read to the little guy: