Waiting and Baby Stuff, etc.

Well, we're pretty much ready for Paisley to be born.  She's due in 5 days, which doesn't mean a whole lot, since most babies are not born on their due dates.

I think we have all the stuff we need.  My midwife came for our home visit a few weeks ago and she brought a birthing tub and a birth kit, so we've had those things around for a while.

We ordered all of the baby stuff that we think we need, and we had a week that felt like Christmas because Amazon split our huge order into about 11 shipments.  That was fun.  Now the nursery is full of baby stuff and mothering stuff.

My shopping spree was a big success except for one thing: sheets.  I found these really cool crib sheets where the top zips off and you just zip a new one on when you need to, instead of having to remove the whole mattress to replace the sheet.  Apparently it's something nice to not have to do that.  I was feeling great about this discovery until my "sheets" arrived.  I guess for this particular brand, the "sheets" are the replaceable zip panels that go on the top of the mattress.  They are not a "sheet set" that would include the part that you zip the panel to.  So, I ended up with two panels and nothing to zip them to.  Oops!  Now I need to order a "sheet set."  (Really not urgent, though, since she'll she'll be sleeping in a co-sleeper in our room for a while.)

There are some things we're waiting on: I got a case of newborn disposable diapers, because we're planning to cloth diaper, but we'll wait until she's big enough to fit the "one-size" cloth diapers to try them out and decide what we like.  We're waiting on a high chair because we don't know when we'll actually start feeding her at the table anyway, and storing it will take up a lot of space in the meantime.

We didn't buy any toys.  We're just no fun.  I think we're going to have her play with cardboard boxes and wooden spoons and those sorts of things.  Neither of us feel any urgency about getting "stuff" for her.  We did receive one toy that I actually registered for.  It's pretty cool.  It's a soft shape sorter so, when she is approximately 9 months old, she will be able to put the red ball that rattles into the red circle hole, and the green triangle that crackles into the green triangle hole, etc.  It looks like a lot of fun.  When I squeaked the squeaky shape, Chalcy got excited.  It made me wonder how we will help Chalcy know not to steal baby toys since they seem pretty similar to dog toys.  Chalcy is good about leaving our human things alone, but she sometimes guesses that dog toys are hers and she'll start playing with them before I actually give them to her.  They're irresistible!  So, not sure how big of a problem that will be, or what we'll do about it.

We're also waiting to buy a stroller, because we decided not to get a travel system, and because Jeff and I don't agree on [and, let's be serious, we're clueless about] what we want in a stroller.  I really hate junk.  I like things that do what they are supposed to, and perform well.  Sometimes (but not always) this means I like expensive things.  I'm fine with buying used stuff that is in good condition, but price is almost never the deciding factor--reviews are.  Who cares if I can get a stroller for $50 if I have to hunch over to push it, and the wheels get stuck whenever I go over a crack in the sidewalk, and it takes many attempts to get it to fold up properly, etc?  Why pay to have a terrible experience every time I try to use something?

I've done research, and I think I want a BOB Revolution SE stroller.  Jeff thinks I would never use it.  He thinks we'll use a stroller about once a month--at the most.
"Where do you think you're going to use it?" he asks.
"Oh, lots of places," I say.
Him: "Give me some examples."
Me: "Uhhm...well...we'll use it for walks, and when we go places--like when we go shopping, and maybe I can do races with her.  We want her to be active..."
Him: "Don't you have some kind of baby carrier for those places?  And do people even run with strollers anyway?"
Me: "Oh, they totally do!"

Jeff has a point though: I have two products for baby-wearing (a Moby and a Maya wrap).  If I actually use those (and I think I will), when will I want the hassle of using a stroller instead of just wearing the baby?  For running, but otherwise probably not very often.  (Or maybe just when the baby is bigger?)

But here's the thing: even though I really like running, and I do think it would be fun to do races with the baby, I usually run at the gym.  Will having a fancy stroller really make me start running outside regularly?  Eh.  It's not something to bet hundreds of dollars on. 

So, we'll wait and see how important a stroller seems later. 

But anyway, we feel like we have all the baby stuff that we think we'll need.

And the nursery is about ready.  Actually, it kind of isn't, because I can think of so many crafty projects that I would like to do, but they're pretty low-priority.  The furniture is all set up, and the baby stuff is all washed.  So, that's fun.

We installed Paisley's car seat in my truck.  I'm really worried that people are going to give me dirty looks, because we put her in the front seat.  (Aren't babies supposed to be rear-facing in the back seat?)  The truck manual says that's the place to put a car seat, though.  And my front passenger seat has a LATCH system specifically for installing car seats. So, I turned the front passenger airbag off, and that's where she will be.

I've had a few times now where I've had contractions that seemed like they would either fizzle out or they could become more intense and we would have a baby.  They've always fizzled out, though.  It kind of makes me think of our goats, and how last year I kept thinking Caroline was about to have her kids (!!) and then she wouldn't.  That happened a few times, and I wonder if she was just as confused about it as I was. 

Pregnancy is getting really uncomfortable.  So, any time now would be fine, thanks.

I think that's everything that's happening here.