Author Archives: Chantel

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Gift registries

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We will be registering at the following locations:

  • Target (and Target.com)
  • Babies ‘R Us (and BabiesRUs.com)
  • Diapers.com

We explored Babies ‘R Us today and I perused Diapers.com. We’re just starting and we are taking our time to really select the right stuff for us. I’ll post once it’s all up for your shopping pleasure.

Of course, let me remind everyone that we’re strong advocates of “less is better” so we encourage folks to not get us stuff. If you wish to financially share in our joy, gift cards to Target, grocery stores, food places, etc. would be best.

Thanks!

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16 Weeks

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Tomorrow starts week 16.

Baby looks like this type of avocado, for those unfamiliar with avocados.

How your baby’s growing:

Get ready for a growth spurt. In the next few weeks, your baby will double his weight and add inches to his length. Right now, he’s about the size of an avocado: 4 1/2 inches long (head to rump) and 3 1/2 ounces. His legs are much more developed, his head is more erect than it has been, and his eyes have moved closer to the front of his head. His ears are close to their final position, too. The patterning of his scalp has begun, though his locks aren’t recognizable yet. He’s even started growing toenails. And there’s a lot happening inside as well. For example, his heart is now pumping about 25 quarts of blood each day, and this amount will continue to increase as your baby continues to develop.

::BabyCenter.com

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15 Weeks

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So 15 weeks. This week I had another baby doctor appointment. Baby’s doing fine, everything’s good. Next one is the end of June.

How your baby’s growing:

Your growing baby now measures about 4 inches long, crown to rump, and weighs in at about 2 1/2 ounces (about the size of an apple). He’s busy moving amniotic fluid through his nose and upper respiratory tract, which helps the primitive air sacs in his lungs begin to develop. His legs are growing longer than his arms now, and he can move all of his joints and limbs. Although his eyelids are still fused shut, he can sense light. If you shine a flashlight at your tummy, for instance, he’s likely to move away from the beam. There’s not much for your baby to taste at this point, but he is forming taste buds.

::BabyCenter.com

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Recyclable Baby Strollers

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Baby Planet offers a full product line of strollers made from aluminum instead of plastic and the company offers a free recycling program. Of course, the more eco-friendly option is to go used, but you never can tell what all happened in the stroller.

They have different lines to choose from. The Endangered Species line features the giant panda, the monarch butterfly, and the lemur leap frog in its design. These sell for approx. $170. I haven’t checked if it’s available at Babies R Us. As far as I can tell, it’s available online through a few different vendors.

I lean toward the frog one since we’re having a boy.

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Greenifying the delivery

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Having a baby can take a huge toll on the environment. By minimizing the things purchased for baby, making smart choices about the produces you do use, and just living simply in general, you can definitely minimize the impact. So far I’ve looked into what I think are the most sustainable options for many common items necessary for the early stages of childrearing. For the actual delivery itself, there’s not much that can be done to greenify a hospital birth. Short of a home birth, one way to have a more eco-friendly birthing experience is by offsetting the carbon emissions.

A Carbon Neutral Delivery

by Dr. Alan Greene

Depending on where you deliver your baby, many of the equipment and material choices may be out of your control. One thing you can do, however, is offset the carbon emissions generated by the energy used to run the delivery room and all its equipment. When you arrange for a carbon offset, you make up for the “dirty” emissions-producing energy you couldn’t help using, by making a financial contribution to projects that promote “clean” renewable energy (wind and solar, for example) and other efforts to reduce global warming. There are now many organizations worldwide that make it easy to invest in carbon offsets.

Here are some ways to have a carbon neutral delivery:

  • You can purchase a $15 Wind Power Card to ensure that the energy used by your baby’s delivery is replaced on the national power grid with wind energy, while offsetting more than 1,000 pounds of CO2 emissions. Go to http://www.renewablechoice.com .
  • You can donate to CarbonFund.org and select from a menu of certified carbon offset projects that include planting trees in severely fire-damaged forests and an innovative project that converts cow manure into methane that then generates the electricity to run a water desalination plant. Be­cause CarbonFund.org is a nonprofit, your contribution is tax de­ductible. Go to http://www.carbonfund.org.
  • You can plant a tree yourself. Over its lifetime, a tree will absorb one ton of carbon dioxide.
Be sure to record this special gift in your baby book. Someday you’ll be able to tell your little one that when born, the energy that was used in the labor and delivery was offset and at least a little bit of global warming never happened.

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One American child generates as much CO2 as 106 Haitian kids.

China claims its one-child policy has prevented 400 million births—saving 1.5 billion tons of CO2 in 2004 alone.

In 2007, a Hungarian couple had 300 trees planted to offset their newborn’s lifetime carbon footprint.

American children make up 4% of the world’s population, but they consume more than 40% of the world’s toys.

In 2006, volunteers picked up 68,720 lbs of toys and 33,469 lbs of diapers during worldwide beach cleanups.

– MotherJones.com

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Pregnancy t-shirts

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I found these funny pregnancy shirts online. Love them! Which one’s your fav?

For Blake:

http://logo.cafepress.com/0/3666986.3155160.JPG

http://www.dirtees.com/cgi-bin/store/cpshop.cgi/maternityshirts.munchkinandmom.3155160+would-kill-for-caffeine.html

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It’s a boy

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The little circular thing is the boy parts.

The recent sonogram indicated that my little girl has boy parts. Or my little lemon has a penis. Or my little boy doesn’t have any girl parts. Or it’s a boy.

The sonogram tech said, before we started, that we wouldn’t be able to tell the sex for another month or so. Then at the end she told us it’s a boy, she’s 100% sure. Of course, with my big mouth, I couldn’t help but blurt out that “he’s gonna have a big pecker.”

In the photo, imagine you’re looking at legs in the shape of >. That circular thingy at the top of the legs is supposed to be the little boy’s… thingy.

So now the search really is on for a middle name.

Benjamin {middle name} Buck

Although now that it’s confirmed, I’m open to rethinking Benjamin as well. Any ideas?

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Sonogram – 14ish weeks

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The length of the baby. You can see the spine, head, chest/belly, and legs. I couldn't really make out any arms.

Blake accompanied me to my sonogram on Friday.  At my doc’s, they just have the portable ultrasound machine so they sent me to the hospital imaging center with all their fancy, expensive equipment. I had to drink 30 oz. of water, hold it for 1+ hours and proceed to have my bladder squashed by the photo-taker thingy that gets slid around my belly.

Per the not-so-friendly tech, the baby is growing on schedule and has all the necessary parts. She was measuring all the baby’s parts for my lady parts doctor so she took tons of photos. At one point, Blake thought the baby was winking at him… with its heart. Yeah, we were looking at the heartbeat. That set off a round of giggles. And I’ll never let him live it down.

Baby from the front. You can see the face, torso, arms, and legs.

When we got the photos, three of the five we were given were downright scary. The face/head is all bone so it resembles the alien inside the alien suit in the movie “Independence Day.” {If this comparison is offensive, please see my previous post.}

I'm having a ... head!

In third photo, it’s just a head floating in my belly. Now, it’s cool that I get these updates on the little lemon growing inside me, but really, these are the best photos she could do? With that fancy equipment?

We’re happy that the baby is growing on schedule and has all the right parts so far in all the right places. The next estimated delivery date is November 17. So really sometime in November.

I go to my lady parts doc Thursday so maybe she can explain all the photos and results in more detail.

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I’m an offensive pregnant woman (so they say)

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One thing I’ve learned so far in the pregnancy is that people can be very touchy about the words I use to describe the baby. They are very easily offended, as though simple strange verbiage means I won’t love my baby or be a good mom.

So I use phrases such as “growth in my uterus,” “alien,” and comparing it to various foods – that shouldn’t be offensive to anyone. For example, “growth in my uterus” is a perfect description of the baby currently growing in my uterus. “Alien” is a great descriptor given the photos I received during my most recent ultrasound (see next post).

It’s my baby.

However I choose to describe it is really only my business. The baby will grow up with my and Blake’s non-traditional personalities so I doubt my little alien is offended.

And this is a huge adjustment for me personally – all these hormones, the responsibility, all of it. There are some moments where I’m scared out of my mind. If the worst way I cope with it is give the baby odd but still loving nicknames, I think we’re doing ok. It could be a lot worse.

Chill out folks. It’s ok. I’m offensive and obnoxious in general – what did you expect when the crazy pregnancy hormones started surging?

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Car seats

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So, apparently there aren’t any eco-friendly car seats, short of getting a used one which isn’t recommended given all the recalls on various brands. The best we can do is with whichever one we get, we need to air it out for as long as possible prior to putting baby in it.

Safety 1st Complete Air Convertible Car Seat

Blake and I looked at a few at Target and I decided we should definitely get one that converts from an infant car seat to a toddler one. From there, we have several options. After walking down the car seat aisle, wantonly punching the seats to gauge the cushioning, this one seems the coolest:

However, this may be the only thing I’m not picky about. Assuming the car seat meets these criteria, brand doesn’t matter:

  • Convertible from infant to toddler
  • Not part of a current recall
  • Side impact protection

If anyone sees or hears about a cooler seat, let me know.