Birth Announcement

Our little bean arrived!

Crib Wars

It's been a while since I've updated...March has been a busy, crazy month!
I started the month with PARP activities at school, including a kick off event, author visit, and story contest. The PARP craziness is continuing through the month....I'm looking forward to March 30 when it's over.

March weekends have been filled with judging OM tournaments, running errands, and best of all, Sarah's Baby Shower! It was adorable, and I can't wait to meet her little peanut super soon. 

 
 

This past weekend, we made our first significant baby purchase: the crib!
I'm so in love with the one we found, but it wasn't without some blood, sweat, tears, and serious power shopping. Originally, we had our hearts set on the Westwood Meadowdale. Westwood is one of the top rated companies by Baby Bargains (my personal baby gear bible), so we were pretty pumped to find a crib by that company at Baby Depot. I also researched it extensively, and was happy to see it exceeded safety regulations, was NOT made in China, and was constructed from 100% poplar hardwood--no fiberboard. Not to mention, it was adorable and would match the antique furniture we're planning to use in the nursery. My awesome MIL offered to get the crib for us, so we waited a few weeks after deciding on the crib to meet up with her and make the purchase. Big mistake. On Saturday, we went to Baby Depot, 15% off coupon in hand, ready to get down to business. The missing floor model should have been my first clue that things were not about to work out in our favor, but I optimistically found a salesperson and asked about the crib. Well...not only was it no longer available in the store, but was also unavailable EVERYWHERE. Apparently, it had been discontinued and sold out in a matter of 2 weeks. The crib was g-o-n-e and it was not coming back. Ever.

So, back to the drawing board. I sucked up my preggers hormones, stifled a freak out, and went home to commence MORE research to find another crib that met my over the top standards. Lo and behold, a quick trip to the Baby Depot site yielded a perfect substitute. This crib was by Suite Bebe, a division of Munire, which happens to be another high rated company. Google reassured me that this particular crib met the same safety standards as our original choice, was also not made in China,and was constructed from mahogany. YES. We were back on track.

We called the JC store and....no crib. Not order-able. Ugh.
We were directed to call Elmira.
No crib. Order could take up to 6 months.
DOUBLE UGH.
We decided to try Scranton and....
THEY HAD ONE CRIB IN STOCK!
We begged them to hold it for us, jumped in the car, and drove like maniacs to my parents' house. We borrowed the van, hit the road, and arrived in Scranton an hour later to collect our hard won crib.
Success!....almost.

Once the crib was purchased, the store luckily had it right in their warehouse, so we could take it right then and there. Except...the box didn't fit in the van. So, we busted out our Swiss Army knives that my mom got us as a gag gift this Christmas (no joke) and ripped open the box. After some serious pushing, shoving, pleading, begging, coercing and a 15 minute fight with the rear seat release, the crib was in the van, and we were on our way. Here's our guy's beautiful little bed: http://www1.burlingtoncoatfactory.com/babydepot/Barcelona-Crib-Cherry-381129683.aspx

In the end, everything worked out in our favor. I actually like this crib better than the original, and the color matches our existing dressers perfectly. The price was unbeatable (especially with an extra 15% off!), we paid no shipping, and we already have it in our possession. I went today and ordered the bed rails and toddler guard, and our local Baby Depot honored two 20% off coupons I had, so we saved even more.

This week, our handyman is finishing up the walls (and painting!) so next weekend, we should be able to move things back into the basement, paint the nursery, and possibly even set up the crib! Saturday marks the beginning of the 3rd trimester, so I'm starting to feel the pressure of getting things done.

Today, we were able get our pediatrician in order (just waiting for final confirmation that we "got in" with the doctor of our choice) so we're really starting to check things off the list! Kaycee and Sarah are just a few short days away from becoming mamas....I can't wait to join them in 3 months!

Ninja baby, 23 weeks, and more cuts

Today marks day 1 of Week 23! Only 17 weeks (or so, depending on an early/late baby) to go.
Apparently, 23 weeks also means that my sweet little fetus has morphed into a death machine of karate kicks and ninja chops. He has been kicking NON-STOP since Thursday. Maybe he'll be an action hero when he grows up, or a champion swimmer. I've actually been seeing my stomach move from the outside today, and it was not as subtle as I expected for this point in my pregnancy. Our little one was in there dancing or hula hooping or something, because the area under my belly button was waving like an ocean and randomly protruding as I sat on the couch this morning. My absolute new favorite thing is a little game I've been able to play with my guy, mostly in the morning around 6am. He kicks, I push back, he kicks again...I push in a new spot, and he follows! I think it's just amazing that he can feel me poking him and respond like that.  It's so miraculous and amazing that there's a little person developing in there, it sometimes takes my breath away to think that my husband and I made this little person, and that he grew all the way from a poppy seed when we first realized I was pregnant to what is rapidly looking more and more like the newborn he's soon going to be. I can't wait to meet him and be able to play with his cute little toes and fists from the outside (I think my organs are pretty excited about that, too).

I've been taking classes to earn my admin degree (a sloooowwww one class at a time. I think I have 4 down and 9 or 10 to go) and I just finished up my last paper of the semester. I still have to edit and turn it in, but let me tell you, I am so ready for this class to be over. I'm hoping our handy man will be in this week to work on the basement walls so we can start focusing on the nursery. I'm getting anxious to register and set everything up. 17 weeks, or about 4 months, seems so long and so short all at  the same time. I have so many ideas of crafty projects I want to try pinned to Pinterest; it's important to me that the nursery be very personal and custom. I'm hoping to make some individualized wall art, my own mobile, a crib skirt and curtains, and some other little accessories for the room. I'll have to post my projects as I get them done, hopefully with tutorials if I don't get horribly lazy.

Onto the depressing stuff...
ME just announced on Friday that they're also cutting 28 positions next year, with 2 librarians included in those numbers. Nothing yet from my school, keeping my fingers crossed...

The most nerve-wracking time of the year.

Until last year, I would have never thought of February and March as being a time of the year that was particularly stressful or sleep-depriving. But, after going through the entire budget process last year (and having my position cut, and happily/mercifully/amazingly/gratefully restored), February and March are now my absolute least favorite months.

Local schools have recently been announcing their plans for budget cuts. The latest comes from Vestal; you can read about it here: http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20120221/NEWS01/202210384/Changes-weighed-Vestal-schools?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE

The Vestal Superintendent makes it a point to say that the cuts mentioned are only options at this point, not decisions set in stone. Still, it makes me horribly nauseous and nervous and scared when I read that Vestal is considering 2 (TWO!?) library media cuts. If I'm not misinformed/mistaken, I'm pretty sure they made library media cuts last year, too, when they didn't replace retirees and now the LMSs  are covering multiple buildings. How are they going to cut more?

It also scares me that librarians are on the table again. It makes me worry about my job. I have to say, I'm a lot less freaked out this year than last year so far, but maybe that's just because I haven't actually heard anything yet. I keep getting these horrible flashbacks to last year (the year anniversary of that nightmare is tomorrow) when my principal found me in another teacher's room, and white-faced and grim, told me I needed to go to the conference room immediately...
...The instant panic that overtook me.
...Telling the teacher I was with that I thought I was losing my job...and being right.
...Walking down that long hallway with my heart in my throat.
...Sitting around the same table where we now have our monthly birthday breakfast and looking at the faces of my colleagues, most of whom looked as confused or scared as I felt as we waited for the meeting to start. ...Embarrassingly crying SO hard in front of everyone as they told us our positions were slated to be cut.
...Walking back down the hall and hearing other teachers sob, shell-shocked and stunned.
...Calling my husband and my mom in the car and trying to stay calm while I told them the news.
...Meeting with the union and an alarmingly HUGE number of teachers that heard the same thing on the same day in the church across the street.
...Going home and starting this blog and every other day after that while I considered my future, held my breath and crossed my fingers.

I really hope it doesn't happen again this year. Please, please, please.

Yet, if it does, I feel better prepared, if that's even possible. I feel like I lived through it once, so I can live through it again. I probably should be MORE scared with a baby on the way, but I feel like it's a bridge I can cross if and when I get there. We have more savings this year, and have sort of kept it in the back of our minds that it could happen again. We were OK last year; we'll be OK again. We have to be.

So, there's that. In the meantime, I'd much rather focus on the exciting, fun things that are happening than dwell on what might be. I have officially started my 6th month of pregnancy and am in the last 4 weeks of my 2nd trimester. Time is flying! Here's some bump updates:
Here I am just 2 short weeks after the last photo post, right after we found out it's a boy...

And then two weeks after that...I feel like I triple in size every 2 weeks! Maybe I should lay off the pudding I want to devour every night...

I can't believe I'm over halfway done with this pregnancy, and into the 6th month. Only 4 short months to go! Also, big congrats to Miss Kristina and her TWINS on the way. So many babies coming soon, our guy is going to have quite the little circle of buddies! 

Oh, so THESE are pregnancy symptoms

**Disclaimer: I started this post about a week ago and forgot to finish it. Don't mind the schizophrenia.

So, I've been waiting for this. After coasting through the first trimester with nothing worse than the queasies, bragging about how I feel awesome and no major symptoms so far and walking around like Queen Pregnancy, I knew the other shoe had to drop sometime. Apparently, for this pregnancy, it was the halfway point that did it.
In the last week, I've simultaneously developed the following:

• Back pain when I sit on the couch/stand/lay for extended periods of time
• Hip pain when I lay down on one side for more than an hour--resulting in me flopping over like an out of breath whale to readjust "the sandwich", my husband's term for the fortress of pillows I surround myself with nightly. 
• Foot/leg pain when I stand for long periods.

(Side note: all of the above severely limits my potential for feeling comfortable. I've been rotating between the 3 options as frequently as possible)
Also:

• Sinuses that have ceased to function--breathing through my nose is no longer a viable option for actual oxygen intake
• Heartburn. Oh my god, that evil, evil heartburn. I read somewhere that it means the baby is growing hair. He better come out with a head of lush locks at the rate I'm going. I get heartburn at the following times: When I eat. When I'm hungry. When I lay down. In other words, constantly. 
• And, my favorite as of last night--Charlie horse-style cramps in my legs! Awesome!

So, to be blunt: I. am. freaking. miserable.

Hilariously, my midwife said to me, "I can just tell you love being pregnant. You can always tell the ones that like it. You have that glow!". I didn't have the heart to do anything but smile lamely and nod, like, Oh yes, I just love  feeling like everything from my esophagus downwards is broken/malfunctioning. It's a miracle! 

Don't get me wrong, it's nothing terrible and I have had it so easy thus far, especially compared to the horror stories I've read. I also generally do like being pregnant. I know it could be (and may get) much, much worse and I've really lucked out. I think it's because the beginning was so easy that I feel super cranky about these new symptoms. Plus, I keep telling myself getting up every hour is excellent practice for when the baby arrives.

Here's where the old post ends and the update starts:
So, I broke down and bought a Snoogle. Check it:

Yes, I know it looks like the most ridiculous thing in the world. But pregnant ladies, I am telling you: THIS WILL CHANGE YOUR LIFE. It's crazy expensive online, but I got it for about $35 bucks at Burlington (using a 15% off coupon). YES. Because of this little stuffed miracle burrito of comfort, I can now sleep through the night, sit on the couch, and generally exist without misery. The website has about a million suggestions for ways to use this beauty: http://www.leachco.com/snoogle/snooglepositions.html
My personal favs are Back to Back and Donut Delux. Oh jeez, now I want a donut.

In other news, one of the sweetest ladies in my work family, Gina, bought my little guy the absolute sweetest little gift yesterday. He's now the proud owner of a squeal-inducing giraffe onesie set (with little giraffe feets and a little giraffe hat!), Brown Bear, Brown Bear (a super cute book) and matching stuffed bear. I see some serious cuddle/reading fests in our future. Thanks, Gina! We love it!

I'm also rounding out the last week of month 5--here comes month 6 and the last month of the second trimester! Woo hoo!

It's a boy!

Today we went for our anatomy scan. It was so exciting and surreal to see our little baby a. actually looking like a baby, and b. moving around in there. Our ultrasound tech was completely amazing and spent so much time with us, showing us all the important parts...plus the most important "part" that let us know we're welcoming a little mister! With two male pets, my husband, and this little guy on the way, I'm going to continue to be in a house surrounded by boys...or as Doug put it, "The house of dude prevails!" Doug was so excited, he immediately wanted to go out and get Lego sets and Star Wars onesies. I think I'm gonna need some serious lady time in the near future...pedis anyone?

I think the most amazing thing is to see how he's grown from this itty bitty bean:

6 weeks

To our little "Casper":

8 weeks

To this cute little peanut with a teensy nose and tiny feet:

I seriously can't believe that in about 4 1/2-5 months we get to meet him! I feel like he already has quite the personality. He was tapping his little feet in there today, scratching his head, and rolling around. He even had the hiccups (which I think is hilarious since I get them all. the. time). I found out I'm feeling so much because he's positioned really close to the front of my stomach, and my posterior placenta means there's no cushion to muffle the movements. He also has a beautiful set of kidneys, a nice strong spine, no signs of birth defects, and the four chambers of his heart are formed.  The u/s tech said we got a "A+" and that he was a very active baby (oh dear). Since he's so close to the front, she'd nudge his little body from the outside and he'd sweetly settle into a new position so she could examine his different parts. What a good little guy! We even got a (slightly creepy looking) 3D since he was so cooperative:

Look at his little 3d gremlin face!

I'm going to be honest, the anatomy scan was a BIG deal to me, especially seeing the spine. I used a heating pad on my stomach very early in pregnancy to deal with muscle cramps (before I found out that's a big no-no) and had myself convinced I gave the baby spina bifida (and was driving everyone around me crazy worrying about it). I burst into tears in the car afterwards because I was so relieved that he was healthy and growing normally. I think this is just the start of a lifetime of mommy-worry. God help me. 

So, now we get to start planning the nursery and considering names. It feels so much more real now than before, knowing that "it" is a "he". I admire people that have the patience to wait to find out what they're having, but I wouldn't trade this knowledge for the world. I can't wait to meet this little gentleman. 

Um, Mrs. Laura...

"...somebody told me that you're having a baby!"

So begins some of my most favorite conversations with my kids lately. Usually, my pregnancy been discussed in the lunch room or on the bus and they want confirmation (and are always surprised when I tell them it's true), though one little girl told me her younger sister announced it at the dinner table (Apparently she shouted, "I HAVE GOOD NEWS! MRS. LAURA IS HAVING A BABY!") There have been some truly hilarious reactions from my students, especially since they span Kindergarten all the way to 4th grade. Here's some of my recent favorites:

A K boy (as he runs after me down the hall): "HEY! HEY MRS. LAURA! I heared you're gettin' pregnant!"

A K boy: "You're pregnant?! (cue disgusted look on his face) Why?!"

A 1st grade girl: "Congratulations! I can't believe you just had a baby!" (I explain I haven't had it yet. She stares at my stomach for a good minute) "Wait. It's IN there?"

A 1st grade boy: "You're having a baby? Ugh. ANOTHER one?" (I explain this is my first child, so yes, I'm having a baby, but no, not another one)

A 3rd grade girl: "Are you excited?" (Yes) "You won't be when it's time for it to come out."

A 3rd grade boy: "You're pregnant? Well that's not good news. Who wants a baby?"

A 4th grade boy (shaking his head sadly): "I really hope it's a girl...for your sake. Boys can get pretty messy."

A 4th grade girl: "If it's a boy, I really like the name Carlos. Yep, definitely Carlos. It sounds AWESOME."
(I told her I'd run it by Mr. Laura)