Bell Pepper

I'm 18 weeks along today. The start of month 5. Things are getting exciting around here! I'm feeling the baby kick more and more, though it still feels more like little bursting bubbles then recognizable movement. S is starting to get jealous that I can feel it but he can't. I've offered to reach over and kick him myself whenever I feel the baby move, but he doesn't seem completely satisfied with that option. So, he has to settle for other ways of sharing in the pregnancy experience. Like, I'm not sleeping very soundly, so he's not getting much sleep, either. (That sounds fair, right?) And he has uncharacteristically started getting headaches of his own, out of sympathy for me (and, I'm guessing, the aforementioned lack of sleep). Though he doesn't need to rub it in quite so much that he gets to take pain killers for his headaches.

We reached another milestone this weekend when we actually went to a baby supply store. Not to shop, but just to browse and to start to feel each other out for what we like, don't like, and don't care about. We limited our browsing to a few select items:

1. Strollers. I like the "travel systems" that integrate a heavy-duty stroller, infant car seat, and car base into one coordinated unit, but mostly because I'm too lazy to pick things out individually. I'd like to find a car seat that isn't too heavy to carry around, and will fit in a normal-sized sedan. S, being the ever-committed engineer, was mainly interested in examining all the hinges and latches and critiquing the folding mechanisms. We both like neutral colors. Still need to do a lot of research before we're ready to commit to anything.
2. Cribs. We both like natural wood, in not too dark of a stain (no dark cherry). We like ones that look and feel more sturdy, as opposed to the ones that just look spindly. We also like cribs where the front can be dropped down to make it easier to get the baby in and out. These requirements still leave a whole lot of options that neither one of us has much of an opinion about.
   
3. Changing tables. S heard from various people that changing tables are optional, but I'm very much not a change-diapers-on-the-floor type of person, so I'm insisting that we get something. I like ones that have some top surface area beyond the changing pad, to hold changing supplies in easy reach. I made S stand in front of a changing table and pretend to change a diaper ("Now you need wipes. Now you need a new diaper. No, that hand is keeping the baby steady. Do you really want to put that down on top of the squirming baby?") and I think I've convinced him. He is also now insisting that shelves are better than drawers. Not a whole lot of options have this design, so this one might take some hunting.
4. Nursery themes. I'm not sure how far I'd want to take it, but I at least like the idea of matching crib set, wall border, and lamp. Maybe matching curtains. So, we browsed what they had. I'm against anything too "girly" for a girl. I have no problem with a flower or a butterfly, but anything with lace or ruffles we both rejected. Same with anything trying too hard to be masculine. (When the kid is under one, he's just not a baseball player. Sorry.) Or anything too yuppy (eg, yacht themes, seriously). We were left with lady bugs and frogs. I also like teddy bears and alphabet themes. S liked a muted jungle thing because he thought the lion was really cute. He also fell hard for a dinosaur theme, which I didn't like much at first, but it's starting to grow on me.
5. Gliders/Rockers. Okay, this wasn't really on our browsing list. We were just tired and wanted to sit down. I really liked the big squishy ones that look more like overstuffed armchairs, but S challenged me to try to stand up out of one of them while holding a baby and he was right, I couldn't do it. That brought us back to traditional gliders, of which only a small set felt comfortable against my back. But let me tell you, there are worse things than test-driving gliders.

We have no plans to register or shop for anything anytime soon, but I feel confident now that I can browse on my own and have an idea of what S will like. I'm also confident that we'll be able to find things that we're both happy with. (When we shopped for a new bedroom set for ourselves several years ago, to took us ~18 months to find something we both liked, but we have a bit of a deadline this time around.)

Our congenital anomalies exam (less formally and more hopefully known as "big ultrasound, and peek at baby's private parts") is in less than a week. In the lead-up to the exam, I'm again starting to feel nervous. I'm also unbelievably excited to find out the baby's gender. And not just because we'll be out of excuses to start talking about names.