Target.com - One Thumb Up, One Thumb Down

Well, I received all the items I ordered from Target.com and I wasn't too happy with the maternity clothes. I have to give the Liz Lange maternity items a thumb down. I ordered 9 things - some leggings, wrap sweaters, shirts; they all looked awful on me. I looked like a big fat house. Now I know that I don't always look like a big fat house, most of my maternity clothes are pretty cute. I realize that I am going to get larger but I am still not going to wear ridiculous clothes like that. I felt very frumpy and frumpy = bad. So I shipped them all back to Target today. Bummer because I have to pay for return shipping and it was kind of heavy since I returned every single thing. Oh well, better than keeping the awful stuff. Also, the material looked pretty cheap to me. So bottom line is ick!

I will give a thumb up to the cosmetics I ordered though - the Boots #7 foundation primer is so awesome, much much better than the Smashbox one I am replacing or any of the ones I have purchased at Sephora. The Boots #7 mascara is okay too - worth it for costing so much less than Sephora, and also the concealer. So I was happy with that. I saw that they have Boots #7 at CVS so I'll probably try more of their stuff. I am getting tired of paying so much for cosmetics at Sephora - especially with all the baby spending to do - I just am not seeing the value in it. It's no longer all about me.

I went back to the Santa Monica library yesterday and got some more cool books to read. Some fiction, some science fiction (yes, I love it) and some more mommy books. I even got this for DH:















Yeah, I thought that would be pretty funny for him to read. "Dad is great! Give us the chocolate cake!"

I have to say I was disappointed by the motherhood & sex book:















I found myself thinking "blah blah blah" while I was reading it. Nothing really groundbreaking in there. Stuff like - "sex is about communication" and "listen to your body" - it was like a really long article in a woman's magazine.

I am interested in reading this book though:




















Looks like it might have some interesting perspectives. We'll see.

Last night I put our new bookshelf together. I will have to take a picture of it because it looks really great, I am happy with it. I was envisioning Baby Cummings taking it to the dorm with her when it's time to go off to college. I'm telling you, it's that cool. When we get back from our trip I am going to finally pick a wall decal and get going with the rest of the decorating.

Unfortunately, I have not been able to work on my quilt at all. We've been so busy in April and that will continue through May. I don't have a moment to myself. So it looks like the quilts will have to wait. I was hoping to have them done by the shower but now I am just hoping to have them done before Baby Cummings is born. Oh well, life happens.

We leave for Hawaii in the morning! Time for our usual tug-of-war about when to go to the airport. I like getting there early so I can relax and have a (decaf) coffee (or previously, an alcoholic beverage) and know that I will absolutely make the flight. You never know what the security line will be like and things like that. DH, on the other hand, flies at least once a week. He knows how much he can push it and doesn't like to waste his life in the airport. I think this is a good thing especially when flying for business and you can catch the next flight if you have to. But I don't fly that much. The last time I went anywhere on a plane was our Portland trip in November. So I like to take my time and build in room for unforseen delays. So, we'll see. I am learning to trust DH more with this since obviously he has much more experience with travel but it's hard. Plus I am all excited about going on vacation so if I'm at the airport it's like I'm already on my way!

I have some friends who make fun of me when we travel together because I'm so crazy about getting to the airport on time. I guess I have a problem with this and I should learn to relax a little!

Well, no matter what, I'm sure we'll get there. And then it will be time for fun and relaxation!
Have a great week everyone!

Nice Weekend, More Loot

DH and I had a nice weekend - although he was pretty sick so that was a bummer. Here we are on Saturday in Laguna Beach. yes, we love wearing hats.















Here I am in my new bikini - it is not a maternity suit but still it was so comfortable. I think I actually like it more than my maternity bikini because it was so nice to wear. It even stayed put during an active game of Frisbee.















Here is a close-up of the belly:




















I am drinking water in the suspicious looking party cup - if anyone is wondering. I was the only one, however, the rest of the family was enjoying wine, beer, etc. Ah, the jealousy.

I am not sure if I mentioned that I went to Babystyle again last week. I got some super awesome khaki pants and another shirt and a dress for an upcoming wedding rehearsal dinner. 75% off the sale prices for maternity clothes = great deals. I'm going again today or tomorrow to check out the prices on baby clothes because they close for good on Wednesday. Last I checked baby clothes were only 50% off and what kind of going out of business sale is that???

This weekend was also our aunt's 80th birthday. She had a party on Saturday which we had to miss because we were at our little family get-together in Laguna (other side of the family). So we took her out to dinner on Sunday. She looks great and she was also so nice to get us a bunch of fun clothes for the baby - even though it was her birthday. She is really excited about the birth and things which is really fun. She is being very supportive.

Baby Cummings has really been kicking lately, in fact, she's having a little aerobic session right now while I'm writing! DH says he can feel it sometimes and he thought he saw it yesterday. So that is really fun. We have been working on names but not settled on anything yet. DH and I have a favorite but we're not telling anyone ... sorry! We hope to have it settled by the shower so we can announce it there.

We leave on Wednesday for Maui and are very excited about that!!! Hooray! Maui!!!
Until next time!

Oh and one more thing - Super Auntie also got DH another baby book to read:















Very funny!

Random Thoughts

So yesterday we got our first gift from our registry!
A bottle drying rack:














It came from my cousin Suzanne who is also a baby mommy so it must be a useful gift. She also got us a super cute leetle outfit - so teeny and adorable! And a baby book. I have to say I am a little daunted by the baby book - lots of stuff to fill out. But it will be a fun thing for DH and I to do together.

We have been charging forward on trying to find names. I found a pretty cool naming combobulator on babble.com that I was having fun with. My mom is also coming up with names although I have to say some of them made me laugh. But that's the thing with names - you just have to throw lots of stuff out there and then see what you like. DH has started a name spreadsheet and we're starting there.

I got through some of my library books and this one was particularly interesting:




















It was written by an anesthesiologist and it describes all the pain relief methods that can be used in labor. It was heavily biased towards epidurals but it had a fair explanation of all the pain relief methods from aromatherapy to hypnobirthing.

I liked it because it described all the different pain medications you can be offered at the hospital. When you look at the medical pain relief options, I do believe that epidurals are best because they have the least affect on the baby and also they do the best job at blocking pain. Some other medications only take the edge off or make you "out of it" and also can affect baby's breathing.

One message I keep hearing in the books I am reading is doctors and nurses really do not appreciate mothers who come in to the birth with a detailed birth plan and rigid ideas. It seems like most medical professionals don't even like birth plans at all. I still want to write one just to get my thoughts clear and to have me, DH and our doula on the same page, but I'm not sure I'm going to be pushing it to my doctors and nurses. DH thought it would be best to use it as a discussion point in my prenatal visits so that's what I plan on doing.

For the birth itself, I feel like I don't need a piece of paper with my preferences on it. I know what my preferences are and between me, DH and our doula, we can work together to make the best decisions for the birth. Of course everyone will all be working towards the same end result: a healthy baby. I look forward to our birth classes coming up in June. I am hoping that our teacher, Judy Chapman, has some additonal insight on usual and customary practices at our hospital and some tips on how to best communicate with our doctors and nurses to get the outcome we most want.

Oh, two funny things. I said that I rented a prenatal exercise video at the library. Well, as I suspected, the only exercise I got out of it was walking to the library to rent it and walking to the library to return it. It was due today and I never used it. Oh well, bummer.

Also, I bought another bikini so I would have two for our trip to Hawaii (we leave on Wednesday). Well, luckily when I tried it on at the store, about 2-3 weeks ago, I made them agree that I could return the bottoms for the next size up if I needed to. I wasn't sure. Well, I tried them on this morning and they look MUCH smaller than they did when I bought them. So I am going to have to go and get that bigger size. I hope I don't have too much trouble. I have the receipt and it still has tags but this store does not take returns or exchanges. Hopefully it will work out.

Well, that's about it for today. Our mattress got delievered and it fits in the crib - hooray - and I hope the bookshelf will be there when I get home today. We have to put it together but hopefully it won't be that hard. Then I'll be able to visualize the space better and order our decal.

Until next time!

The Nursery!

So today I will share with you what we've done in the nursery so far. We're coming along pretty well but there are still some things that need to be done.

This is a picture of the whole nursery - it was hard to get it all in one shot. Just to get an idea. I may take the art off the wall but I may just move it - it's kind of cute for a nursery. We plan on getting some wall decals and I have to search for them. So many to choose from!
















Here is a picture of our dresser - this was hard to assemble but it is really big! We can fit a lot in it. This will also serve as our changing table. I am going to get a changing pad to put on top of it.




















And here's the crib, I love how clean and modern it looks:















Here is the sofa bed we already had in there decorated with some of the stuffed animals we've been picking up. I love our dinosaur, the colors are just amazing and it's actually a pretty good size. You can also see our giraffe blanket we bought. This blanket was 75% off at Planet Blue's annual sale. I can tell you that we still paid $50 for it. I can't imagine why this thing was $200 to begin with but it is a pretty big blanket and really soft. It was a little ridiculous to pay that much but it was right when we were first pregnant and it was exciting to find something for baby at Planet Blue.

We also have a frog, a dino and a stuffed lion rattle from my mom & Ron. They got us the lion because Baby Cummings will be a Leo just like them. Shoot - I forgot to take a pic of the crazy owl my mom bought. It looks funny, it is a strange owl but she says it was the only owl she could find. Oh well, another day.















These are our purple hippos!!! I love them!! We got a rocking hippo, a floor hippo thing and a tiny hippo to complete the set. These were on sale at Babystyle. Before we knew if Baby Cummings was a boy or girl I tried to convince DH that these hippos were gender neutral, I wanted them so bad. They are so soft and cuddly. But he wasn't having it. So when we found out we were having a girl I was so excited to go and rescue these guys! We got to the store and this was the last hippo rocker left. Thank GOODNESS we got there in time. I love it!!! The flash on the camera kind of sucks but they are a really cute purple color.















We picked up this poster at Casa Home (going out of business, sad) and it's my inspiration for the colors in the nursery. We're obviously not doing anything too matchy matchy and I like how this poster has different animals and different colors.















We bought a few things online that should be arriving in the next week or so. I got the best price on our crib mattress at diapers.com. It was so great - no shipping charges! Also no tax in California. Sweet!

*Warning - this is a plug*
Hey all you moms and preggos - diapers.com is awesome. If you are new to diapers.com and you ever want to order something on there - use this code puhleeze and you will get $10 off your order and I will get $5 off my order.

Here is the code for $10 off diapers.com - I don't think it ever expires:
EADX1682

That is my referral code. Use it! You could use some other random code to save $10 or you could use this one and save me money too! Wouldn't that be nifty?
*Plug is over*

If anyone is interested in what crib mattress I picked - it's this one:

Sealy Baby Posturepedic Crib Mattress

I picked it because people on Walmart.com said in the reviews that it fit the crib well. I also went on Consumer Reports (yes, I love it) and this is the low-down:

You don't have to spend a fortune to get a good-quality mattress, but don't skimp, either. A mattress that costs between $90 and $200 will generally serve your baby well. Prices for foam and innerspring mattress are comparable, ranging from $50 to $530 (for mattress constructed with tufted organic cotton), but you can't go wrong if you spend in the range of $90 to $200. Low-priced models (less than $90) tend to be mushy and flimsy. Higher-priced models tend to be firmer, and therefore safer.

Also note what they said on what not to buy:

Buy a new crib mattress, if possible. That way, your baby will be protected by the most current flammability safety standards. Buying new also ensures that the mattress you buy is sanitary. If you buy a used mattress, you don't know how it was cared for or stored. Mold can grow within improperly stored crib mattresses, and bacteria can fester on the surface from liquids (diaper leakage, spit-up) that weren't properly cleaned up. So buy a new mattress, especially for your first baby. If you take care if it and it stays firm, you can save it for your next child.

So anyway, we spent $120 which is above $90 but not too pricey. We feel fine about it. Sealy is a respected brand - not too much research needed here. Done and done.

Since DH and I love reading so much, one thing I wanted in the nursery for sure was a bookcase. Have to have somewhere to store all those books we're going to get at Santa Monica Public Library! We have these awesome bookshelf things in our bedroom from Design Within Reach (our fave furniture store):




















We have two of the tall ones and each one holds like 70 books with a very small footprint. We really have them wedged in there. They are so great for apartment living. I just love these things. They disappear under your books. I wanted one for the baby room but didn't want to spend so much on them. I actually got ours used from Craigslist for 1/2 off retail which is why I bought two - it was such a score. Obviously, the chances of finding it on Craigslist again were slim to none. What to do?

So I googled the name of the thing: "Sapien bookshelf" and hey! I found a decorating website that referred to the "poorman's sapien" - perfect! It was on Overstock.com and I have always had good luck with them. So here is my knockoff!




















It's a little shorter than our originals but that's fine for the nursery. The crib is pretty low to the ground so I don't want to dwarf it. This knockoff was only $100 or so and for some reason when I checked out Overstock said I had a $22 coupon and then shipping was only $1. So I got the whole thing with shipping for $88. That is awesome. DH and I had to give each other "high five" after that score. Retail success!

So I still want to get some white floating shelves to mount on the wall for decoration as well as some wall decals. I feel like I have so many options for the wall decals now and there are so many cute choices. I will update here when I pick them.

I think the nursery is coming together. I like it because it's colorful and eclectic - just like us!
Until next time!

This Week = Consumer Spending Week!!!

Before I start this post, here is a picture of me today, 23 weeks (It was really bright out so I couldn't look at the camera because that's where the sun was coming up):




















Boy oh boy have DH and I been hitting up the loot. So much so, that I have decided to make it this week's theme. I know, I know, we shouldn't be buying so much stuff before the shower but there are two great stores going out of business this month so we figure we're getting special deals. I got some great deals at Babystyle on Montana this weekend, as well as another store we really love, Casa Home on Main Street.

Behold, the loot!!!

I got great maternity clothes on super sale at Babystyle (two jackets, a long sleeved blouse, a short sleeved blouse, a long sleeved T and a tank top - for $70!!). I am sad Babystyle is going out of business because I think they have better clothes than Pea in the Pod.















This is my favorite, this shirt is a silk/cotton blend. Originally $94 (silly price), I got it for $7! I already wore it yesterday and it was really comfy.




















And I totally needed a few new jackets. Although it's been getting warmer, when it's overcast here I need one. I can't button my old ones anymore. This jacket was originally $148 or something silly like that and I got it for $12 - notice the really cute buttons:




















We also got some nursery stuff at Babystyle and Casa Home that I'm going to post later this week. Ooooh! The suspense!!! I am also going to post some pics of our nursery work-in-progress.

Also this weekend was Lindsay's weddding (super fabulous of course) so I got to wear my new pink dress. Really puts into perspective how expensive (lame) this dress is when you look at all my other treasures. I got this ONE dress for $150 + tax that I won't get to wear that much but I got ALL that other stuff for $70 INCLUDING tax.




















Oh well, you gotta do it sometimes. I also wore my shoes from my wedding - I was happy to get to use them again and for people to actually see them. At the wedding they were pretty much hidden under my dress. I did wear my sweater almost the whole time. Not because I felt my arms looked fat - but because there was a little breeze and it was an outdoor event. I was actually really glad to have it. I am so Michelle Obama with my J.Crew cardi! Today, wedding: Tomorrow, tea with the Queen of England! Okay, maybe not, but still - looking stylish.

Also SPEAKING OF LOOT - Trish and Sami came to visit us this weekend. We had a nice time, DH made pizza (on the BBQ, first time for that) and we also went to PinkBerry. Here is Ms. Sami looking very cute in her PJs. It does look like she has a cat tail coming out of her head - Jocey just jumped out of her little cat house where Sami was playing with her.




















They brought us so much super cute stuff! DH and I couldn't believe it! Here is a picture of everything we got - whoa -
















And a close up.... Left to Right: pink & leopard tiny security blankie made of minky fabric, cute soft little elephant, finger puppets arranged in a baby hat, very cute and stylish burp cloths - everything was given to us in the little stackable storage boxes there:















Can ya dig it? Left to Right: Pink bunny blankie friend, stylish bib, Mary Jane socks:















These little socks are so cute! Like little Mary Janes! There were a whole bunch in the box, lots of colors. I know that the socks will really come in handy at first. So adorable.
















And I will leave you with one last bit of consumerism before I log off for the day. Friday night DH and I had a nice date night. We went to dinner at La Serenata on 4th (soooooo delicious I recommend it so highly) and then we walked around the 3rd St. Promenade. DH wanted to buy me a little treat, a new perfume. I picked this one by Philosophy not only because it smelled so great but also because it's called Baby Grace.



















This is what the package says on it:

If God has a face, surely it is that of a child.
and if there is a place called heaven, it must smell like a baby,
and if we do live forever, it must be in the pure joy of a child's innocent laughter,
and if we have lived before, than the arrival of your baby feels like a reconciling with the most important spirit you've ever loved or will love.
In the eyes of a baby, we feel all the fragility and all of the magic of the universe and beyond....

How could I NOT pick that fragrance?!! I almost cried just reading the box. It is really wonderful. A special gift to use every day in anticipation of our big event.

More consumerism to come later in the week!

Santa Monica Public Library Rules!!!

Well, it's definitely my bad for not getting a card at the Santa Monica Public Library earlier. Super Auntie (my sister) is a librarian and is always getting on me for buying books. At least I was buying them used on half.com but still, I read so much I really should be going to the library. Growing up, our mom always took us to the library. We would go every three weeks (when the books were due back) and we'd check out the max # of books - which I think was 40. Of course as we got older we checked out less books because you go through novels at a much slower pace than children's books.

The main library branch is so close to my work and home - pretty much right in between them - I don't know what's taken me so long to get a card. It was so EASY! I got my full library card in a few minutes and was off to the stacks! I also went and said hello to the Teen Librarian there who is friends with my sister.

I got some exciting books!

I thought this one looked cool - it was published in 2008 so it should have great info:




















And this will definitely be helpful - less pain, more joy, sounds good to me!




















I thought this book would be interesting, it talks about sex throughout pregnancy, post-partum and then with kids. DH will probably be very glad I picked it up:
















And look! I got a fitness video. We'll see how that works out. Better to borrow it from the library than to buy it and not use it. Who knows, maybe I'll use it:




















I also got a few fun non-preggo books:



































The new book section at SMPL is so big! They have new fiction, non-fiction, mystery, sci-fi, etc. all displayed just like a book store. It was so cool. I am definitely starting a new habit of going to the library. Plus it's nice to get out at lunch and go for a walk. All good things.

Well, we have a very busy weekend this week. Lindsay's wedding and then I have a girls lunch with my good friend Tiffiny. Looking forward to some girl talk. Then we have Trish and Sami coming to eat dinner with us and stay over on Sunday night. No rest for the wicked! Also no quilting with a schedule like that. But I'm really excited about all the new books - I can't wait to crack into them.

Until next time!

No News is Good News

Well, it has been a week since my last post and I don't have much to report. I think I've had a little growth spurt because I've been getting lots of comments at work about my size...

"Wow! That shirt makes you look REALLY pregnant!"
"Oh, you are wearing maternity clothes now?" (I have been wearing them for a while.)
"You are only a few inches smaller than Deepa." (Another coworker who is due a month and a half before me.)

I haven't been doing much baby research lately because I'm back to working on the two quilts. I had to take a break for a few weeks because it really is a lot of work. DH has been on a business trip and the last two nights I put in about 10 hours adding the borders to the quilt tops. They make a big difference and I am really getting excited about the finished product. I am so amped up after I finish from all the sewing and concentration, I can't get right to sleep even though I've been up past my bedtime. So I read a little in my quilting book. One thing I'm going to do is sign the quilts with a fabric pen and with that you are also supposed to name them and add the year they were created. I am going to name the owl quilt "Hoot Hoot" and the monkey quilt "Just Hanging Around". I feel like those are cute names. Of course I'll post pictures when I'm done.

I figure I have about 20 hours of work left more or less. I still have to sew the backing material together (should be easy). Then I have to layer the quilt - which consists of making a "quilt sandwich" with the top part, bottom part and batting in the middle. You then use pins to secure it all together. Then comes the actual quilting part - sewing all three parts together in a pattern so that nothing shifts around. I am going to use a method called "stitch in the ditch" where you sew along your seams - this will help my quilting blocks to really stand out. I put a lot of work into those blocks so I want to showcase them. Then I do the finishing touch - the binding around the edges.

I have a lot of leftover material - especially of the owl quilt material. I over bought because I got much of it downtown and didn't want to make another trip if I was short. So I think I'm going to make some stuffed owls to go with the owl quilt. If I have enough monkey fabric I'm going to make a stuffed monkey head pillow. I think it would be hard to make a whole monkey. Or maybe I'll make a cute smaller patchwork quilt for the stroller & for travel. That would actually be kind of fun. That would be an easy quilt after the ones I am making.

Sufi (our doula) called and she said we'd talk more about things in July - so now that's settled and one less thing to worry about. I have still been working with our registry and I think it's about set. We really need a lot of things! I can't believe how much stuff there is to get.

Well, not much to report here! Until next time~

Our Girl! Ultrasound Pictures

We had a ton of ultrasound pictures taken today. Unfortunately it's a lot easier to see the baby when the ultrasound is moving around. When you go to capture the picture, it never looks as good. But we're happy to report that both legs have the right # of bones as well as both arms. We could see the dividing line of her heart so we're on our way to a properly functioning 4 chamber heart. You could really see it pumping! Her stomach and bladder looked great, as well as her brain. It is so amazing that we could see all this stuff!

Dr. Bruksch told us that out of 800 babies born in our group last year, 600 chose to have this diagnostic ultrasound. 3 babies were terminated because of the results. Things like a non-functioning heart and such. One baby was found to be growing their intestines outside their body - but miraculously this baby was born by c-section and operated on right after birth and survived. Wow!

I put some orange arrows pointing to things so it was more clear. Believe me - when people used to show me ultrasounds it always looked like a blob. And sometimes it was even hard for me to see what was going on. But these are so much better than those earlier ultrasounds where it looked like we were having a grasshopper!

My mom came to the appointment with us and I sent her home with her own baby name book to have fun with. I told her not to be offended if I didn't like any of her names. Ha ha. I have some in mind but now I can really dig in to the task because I can visualize better.

Without further ado - here are the pictures. You can click on the picture to view a larger version.
Enjoy!! Here she is!!!

Baby Cummings is a GIRL!!!!!

Hooray we are all so excited!!!
More to come later including ultrasound pics!

We Picked Our Doula!

Well, all the doula interview hours have finally paid off and we have picked one that we are very happy with. Her name is Sufi and out of all the doulas we met, she clicked with us the best. We did really like all the doulas we met, three from the Chapman Family Center and two from Meet the Doulas at Yo Mama Yoga.

Most birth doulas have similar plans - they are there for emotional and physical support and cannot do anything medical like check you for dilation or things like that. But they are all trained in labor & delivery and support your decisions and help you to stick to your birth plan when possible. Of course - anything can happen with a birth so you can't be inflexible with your plan, but they are there to help you reach your goals as best as possible.

Sufi will help us to develop our birth plan - we will meet with her twice prenatally to go over that as well as what we've learned in our birthing class. Then when I go into active labor I call her and she comes over to the house when the time is right. We're going to try and chill at the house as long as we can - just relaxing in a more calm environment before heading to the hospital. Sufi will help us to know what stages we are going through and also help DH to be the best labor coach possible. She also knows about accupressure techniques and different positions to make labor more comfortable - she has all sorts of great tools.

One thing that could put a wrinkle in things is if I have group B strep. This is a bacteria that many people have and it can affect the baby when going through the birth canal. If a mother has group B strep, she has to go to the hospital earlier and be on antibiotics - most likely through an IV. So we'll see about that later on in the pregnancy. I really hope that I don't have it.

I have to say DH has been a really great sport about all this. Some of the doula interviews took about an hour and he sat through the whole thing while we discussed labor plans and feelings about birthing. Of course he's going to have to sit through a lot more than that in the actual labor but I'm happy he's been so cooperative with the process so far.

This is a really exciting process for us and I really want us both to own it. I have been enjoying all the research I'm doing. The Chapman Family Center recommended this book to me:













Ina May Gaskin is probably one of the most famous midwives in the country. I read her book because she includes lots of positive birth stories. It's interesting because our culture here in the US is really focused on scary, emergency birth stories. They can show a c-section surgery on television but not a vaginal birth - because of censorship. Also, lots of the baby reality shows on TV show mothers freaked out and all sorts of medical interventions. This book has lots of stories about how great and empowering birth can be. A lot of it really is your state of mind. It's just like anything else. You can choose to be scared and freak out or you can choose to enjoy it. This is one of life's most amazing events!

This movie really got me going:













It's Ricki Lake's documentary about childbirth. I almost wasn't going to mention it on my blog because it has some pretty strong opinions. Well, I guess the Ina May book does as well. This movie showed some awesome home births and also had some interesting facts about birth in our country vs. other first-world nations. It has balance as well - the producer of the film got pregnant during filming and ended up having to have a c-section, and they showed how that can also be a beautiful birth. Definitely all births are special and to be celebrated!

I just got this book in the mail the other day and it's interesting.













I would say the Bradley Method and Lamaze are two of the most popular birthing courses offered. I thought I'd read Dr. Bradley's book to see what he has to say about things. I like some of his ideas but some I think are a little too rigid - it's like you have to follow exactly what he says or you are doing it wrong. This is pretty opposite of what Ina May has to say about things - she is more go with the flow. It's interesting to read though - I like getting different perspectives.

I believe the birthing class we're taking explores some Bradley Method and some Lamaze, a little bit of everything. I have a friend who took a hypno-birthing class and she really liked that. So there are lots of options.

I get a lot of people saying to me that they can't believe all the books I'm reading or all the research I'm doing. Well, even before I was pregnant I would spend a lot of evenings reading. This has just focused much of my reading onto these kinds of topics because it's really what I'm interested. If you can believe it I'm also reading some fiction books on the side. You have to take a break from all the research sometimes. DH also really enjoys reading too, so most evenings we'll read together in bed before going to sleep. So for me I'm just kind of going about my normal reading pace but selecting a lot of birth/baby type books. Also, I am just fascinated by all of this. I think about it all the time and I even dream about it. When I first started learning about labor I was a little overwhelmed and a lot of this reading has helped to reassure me and to get excited about it.

So yes, part of it is about research and being prepared, but mostly it's just me wanting to learn and getting excited about what's coming. This is a very special time in life so I want to experience all I can and really try to slow down and live it fully.

Whew! How did another post that was supposed to be short end up rambling on again? I don't know!
Well - stay tuned for the big announcement tomorrow - it will be posted here first!

Editor's Note: Comments

Hello - I've had a few people confused about the commenting system so I changed it. At first I was reviewing all comments before posting in case we had a spammer or someone who wanted to say something mean. But all the comments have been positive and productive so I've enabled commenting at any time.
So comment away!

Buying a Dress: Not That Easy

So April 18th I am looking forward to going to Lindsay & Luke's wedding. It's at the St. Regis in Laguna Beach (first class!) and in the evening so I will need something a little dressy. After work on Friday I went to shop around a bit on the Promenade to see if I could find something. I tried several stores and was not finding much that was flowy with an empire waist. The most hilarious store was Club Monaco where everything was super fitted and looked so small! For a second I thought I had stumbled into a children's store. Ha.

I ended up at Banana Republic, not my favorite place ever, but Santa Monica has a huge store and they always have lots of dresses. I was happy to see that BR was having a $98 dress sale. All dresses for $98! I knew I could find something. I did find some dresses that I thought looked loose around the belly and picked up 2 sizes larger than I normally wear. I figured that would be enough. Um, no, it wasn't. I had to get a dress 3 sizes larger than I normally wear to even get the thing to zip at all. I knew my belly wasn't the only thing that got bigger but I really didn't think it would be that drastic. And I don't know why but my arms are all blobby too! Really! Look at this picture of me from yesterday:









Ah! Is that my arm? What the heck? To be fair, I didn't know DH was taking this picture and I usually position my arm in a more flattering way and not stuck against my body with all the skin smooshed willy nilly. But what this picture also illustrates is that certain other parts of my anatomy have also grown quite a bit - to my dismay. I felt okay with where I was on top there and then this pregnancy just goes and blows them up. Oh well.

So anyway, back to the dress. I had to get a dress 3 sizes larger just to zip it up. Well, a dress that much bigger just didn't look right on my frame. Even though I have some things that got bigger, my bones are still the same and the larger sizes hung funny. I can sew some but I didn't want to buy anything that looked funny in the store. We're busy next weekend and I just didn't want to mess with it.

On Saturday DH and I ventured to the Century City mall to try out the maternity store there - A Pea in the Pod. I was happy to find a dress that actually worked:



















I was NOT happy to pay $148 for this dress. I mean sure, it looks okay, but to me, the quality was not at all worth $148. But shoot, it fits and I was done with it. I really didn't feel like going around to more non-maternity stores and trying to find more things that maybe would work on my growing self. Plus, trying on clothes has never been one of my favorite things and even less so now.

The only downside of my new dress is it doesn't have sleeves to hide above mentioned arms but I am planning on wearing a cardigan. Also, I kind of don't care! If it's warm I'll take the cardigan off! I realized a long time ago that when I go to other peoples' weddings it is SO not about me or what I'm wearing or how my hair looks. I mean, I look nice because I try to take pride in my appearance and out of respect for the couple but really - I'll be in 3-4 pics or so max and the focus is so definitely not me. So yeah, my arms might look flab-town but I'm over it. Maybe I'll just do pushups. HA ha ha ha ha.......ha ha...not.

Oh! Another thing happened this weekend. A stranger asked me "do you know boy or girl?" It was a register clerk in a lighting store (not Pea in the Pod which would be obvious) and I was a little taken aback. I mean. I didn't think I looked that preggo. DH said I should have asked "what do you mean?" But I just replied with "we don't know yet". I guess I am looking preggo all the time.

A few other notes about my trip to Pea in the Pod - their prices suck. I bought some pants that were marked down from $48 to $40 - gee thanks. $40 cotton capris that would cost $20 anywhere else. But they have the special maternity pants thing that I really appreciate. I'm actually so glad I bought them because Sunday was hot and they were refreshing. I also got the peach shirt I'm wearing in the pic above for $28 - not too bad but it was marked down from $58. Who in their right mind would pay $58 for that cotton made in China shirt? Sheesh! These stores really anger me. I spent almost $300 on just a few things. But, Pea in the Pod did have a really affordable and super comfortable maternity bra. It was $35 - much less than the bra I just bought at Footsies for $60. And more comfortable. I wish I had known about it before because I just could have bought two at Pea in the Pod. I may end up buying another from them eventually. I have been having nothing but trouble with bras.

I think I'm going to go back on ebay to get some shorts for our trip to Hawaii. Maternity clothes are SO much cheaper used. I also want another maternity bikini and have been having a lot of trouble finding another one I like. I love the one I already bought but there aren't a lot that are cute like that. So we'll see how it goes.

My mom comes out tomorrow night to stay with us because our big ultrasound appointment is first thing in the morning on Wednesday - she is coming with us. That should be fun!

We have our final doula interview tonight so hopefully soon I'll have an update about that.
Thanks for reading!

This Week = All About Doulas

*Editor's Note* Just want to remind everyone that next week, Wednesday April 8, is the day we hopefully find out the sex of Baby Cummings. We're having an extensive ultrasound where they do all sorts of measurements and things like that. My mom is even taking the day off from work to come out for it. So look forward to some new pics next week! And some news!

OK - so now on to my regular post: doulas. This week we are meeting with several doulas in hopes that one will be that special person who I will use for my labor doula. I am really excited. We are meeting with one tonight, Ofelia, who actually has a website: Mothering the Mothers. It's a good website to look at to get an idea of what birth doulas do as well as post partum doulas. Ofelia does both. At this point I'm just looking into a birth doula but I may be open to a few post partum doula visits as well, we'll see.

On Saturday we're meeting with another doula named Sufi - I am really excited to meet her. She has assisted in home births, hospital births and also has trained with midwives. Both Sufi and Ofelia are familiar with our hospital, Santa Monica UCLA, and both have a lot of experience. Sufi mentioned that she helps you to labor at home for as long as possible, which is something I'm really interested in. We live so close to the hospital that I'd rather hang out in the comfort of our home as long as I can before going to the hospital - especially since I will stay there for two days after the birth. The rooms at SM UCLA are pretty nice, especially the upgraded rooms, but nothing beats the comfort of home.

We also have one more doula to meet one on one - I've called her and left a message but not heard back yet. I received these three doulas as referrals from the Chapman Family Center. The website says rates are from $175 - $1200 but I think that's a bit outdated because some of the rates I've seen go up to $1400. For $175 you can have a trained doula who hasn't attended many births. I was much more interested in someone with lots of experience.

On Sunday we're going to the Meet the Doulas event at Yo Mama Yoga. Hopefully they will have several doulas there to meet and greet. DH is going to meet all of them as well because part of their role is to help the husband know how to be the best helper he can be during labor. Also having the doula there helps to free up the husband to just concentrate on this awesome experience. It will be DH's first time doing all of this as well so I want him to be able to take it all in without having to worry about what's going on with the hospital staff and such.

For me, the decision to select a doula was about having someone experienced on my team. I know I will have my doctor but sometimes doctors are more in a hurry to get things over with and really they are just there at the end to catch the baby. And yes, there is the nurse at the hospital but if labor goes long they can switch shifts. I want someone I've chosen ahead of time that helps me with my birth plan and is helping me to get the outcome I would like for the birth. It makes it more exciting for me because I can visualize it more. Also, I think it will help to have someone experienced with me when I'm trying to stay at home as long as possible.

We will also be taking a childbirth education class at the Pump Station. Judy Chapman is the teacher and she said she takes a max of 7 couples so it's really personalized. I think it will be fun to learn all the information and also to meet 7 other couples who will be having their babies about the same time we will. At first DH couldn't believe we'd be devoting 5 Sunday afternoons to this but the more I've been talking about learning about the birthing process the more he's been getting into it. If you're curious, this class is $250.

This stuff can all add up but I am only going to give birth one or two times in my life so I'm not really fretting about costs. If you think of what we spent on the wedding - this is peanuts! And as much as I loved our wedding day I think this day is going to be even more amazing and tranformative. Can you imagine? This is when we're going to meet our new family member! A little person who is 1/2 DH and 1/2 me. I think we're both pretty special so it's going to be incredible to see how this little person is going to turn out! Hopefully Baby Cummings is more mellow like DH and not such a spazz like me. Ha ha, we'll see.

Well anyway, it's definitely getting more exciting as the pregnancy progresses.
Until next time!