Latest Nikki pic

Actually taken last week but only just uploaded.

Diaper stash

I think things are more or less complete with the diaper stash. We got our newborn package yesterday from Abby's Lane. That included 18 Indian prefolds, 4 covers, and 5 Snappis. I also ordered an Imse Vimse farm-themed diaper cover so, with the bubblegum Swaddlebees cover, that makes six covers.

I think I will get more prefolds though. The organic Gerber prefolds I have seem pathetic now compared to the Indian ones. They are thick and fluffy. I think if more first time parents just held a cloth diaper they wouldn't even consider plastic disposable ones. Cloth diapers seem like something actually meant to touch an infant's skin. I wish there was big money to be made in the cloth diaper biz and that they got handed out to new parents at the hospital like they do with disposables.

Little Update

Aaron got sick for about 24 hours last week, then I got sick this weekend. Not sure if the illnesses are related ... but we were both puking ... I went to the hospital this weekend, just to make sure everything was OK, and it is. Had a follow-up appointment (which ended up also being our 32-week appt.) today and am now measuring a little over 2 weeks ahead. We saw a new doctor today, and he was really nice and, as Aaron said, seemed to really like his work. He seemed to have all the time in the world during the appointment, and we had just made the appointment earlier today.

We have a picture of me we took last Thursday, at around 31 weeks, but then the camera battery died so we haven't uploaded it yet. Will soon. And will hopefully post more week-to-week pictures in this later part. Next appt. is Feb. 15.

We got our near-final batch of cloth diapers in the mail today, including a farm-themed diaper cover, which is my favorite so far. I'm sure he'll blog about the diapers soon.

Diaper station

(see previous post)

Progress

First of all the babymoon trip to West Virginia was kind of a bust. There were snow warnings last week that never really played out but we were cautious and waited to reserve the cabin. Then Saturday we decided to go ahead and rent the cabin for Sunday and Monday nights but we called the rental office and they were closed for the weekend. We looked into other options but ultimately we decided to stay home, relax, and prepare for the baby.

We did get two major things out of the way. The first is to find a doula. Our hospital has a doula program that is well-regarded but we decided we'd rather have someone that was there only for us and who we could establish a relationship with ahead of time. With the hospital's program you can meet all the doulas ahead of time in an open house but you never know who will be assigned to you. With this out of the way the only thing we have left is to take our Lamaze class and we are ready to deliver.

The other major accomplishment of the weekend was to buy a diaper changing table. I wasn't originally going to do this. We have an antique washing table that I was going to convert to being the diaper table. But I started loading it up with diapers and accessories last week and it just doesn't have enough room. Plus it is too short even for Nikki. So we decided that the next best thing was to buy a piece of furniture that we could still use when we no longer needed it for diapering. We settled on a pine IKEA kid's dresser that has an optional screw-on extension to make it a diapering top. I'll post a picture here soon.

I ordered a few more diapers -- Swaddlebees this time. I also ordered some of their reusable wipes.

The rest of the weekend was spent watching season 4 of The Wire. It is really good and really depressing. We also managed to both get a lot of sleep this weekend. That, if anything, makes it a babymoon weekend because we won't be able to do that for much longer.

30-Week Appointment

All's well! We just got back from our appointment, and everything looks good. Even though I'm measuring 2 weeks ahead, the ultrasound showed she's in the 82nd percentile for size (for 30 weeks gestation). The doctor said the ultrasound was "perfect" -- a relief, because I was kind of worried after our last appointment, the way the other doctor was acting about me measuring 2 weeks ahead, mentioned that there might be too much amniotic fluid, etc. (Bad bedside manner!) But now it all looks good. The tests from 2 weeks ago are good, too: glucose and iron levels are fine. Also, we really liked our doctor today (we rotate which doctor we see within the practice), and not just because of the news today.

'Young' parents

The Washington Post has a front-page article today on parents who choose to have children when they are unusually young. 'Young' in this case is (*gasp*) in their late twenties! Can they handle it??? It's further prove that this people in this area forsake everything (including civility) for their careers when it being a parent in your late twenties is a news-worthy alternative lifestyle.

Next up: People who never work more than 40 hours a week!

Edited to add: In unrelated but ironic news -- researchers have concluded that dinosaurs reached sexual maturity and gave birth earlier than was previously thought. And we all know what happened to them!

Diapertime!

Our new diapers already came! I ordered them from a place in Virginia -- Abby's Lane -- and they were on my doorstep in less than 48 hours. The above video is a slideshow of the different kinds. I like the ease of the Thirsties and bumGenius but the HappyHeinys and FuzziBunz seem the most expandable. Also picture is a diaper pin substitute called a Snappi, shown with an old school cloth diaper.
(Thanks to my lovely model, Leopold, for being so easy to work with)

Link

The NY Times has an interview with Tereson Dupuy, owner of Fuzzi Bunz.

Flowers

Pretty and alpiney.

Diapers!

I just ordered 100 bucks worth of diapers. In this case that equates to only 6 diapers because I ordered some of these new fancy ones. I decided to try a few different brands out and see what I like best. Nikki said that Fuzzi Bunz were rated the highest in something she read so I got three of those (in hot pink, choo choo train pattern, and pink gingham). I also got one each of bumGenius (in grasshopper), Happy Heinys (in lavender), and Thirsties (in aqua). This is in addition to the 1-2 dozen orgnaic prefolds that I already have. I think that maybe puts us 1/3 of the way there (?!?) for diapers. I am hoping we can get my mom to help us make some when she's out here. I'll also probably buy 6-12 of whatever brand we decide we like most.

I ordered all of these from a place in Virginia called Abby's Lane and got free shipping because it was over $50. The only brand I didn't order is SwaddleBees, which I intend to get through Amazon.

First Yoga Class

Just a little update .... Last night was my first prenatal yoga class. There were 9 other pregnant ladies there, all between 22 and 35 weeks along. The majority of the class was spent just talking about our due dates and physical complaints (followed by the instructor suggesting exercises for those complaints ). At the end, we did some strength exercises but didn't really get into breathing or relaxation exercises. It was nice to talk with other pregnant ladies, and I'm glad I'm taking the class. There are some DC stock characters in the class: The older Takoma Park mom-to-be, the bejeweled bare-foot instructor, and so on. All were very nice, though, and some are entertaining. The class meets on Wed. evening the next 5 weeks.

Commuter tales

On the way home from work today I got stuck on a narrow side street, waiting for a school bus to make its pick-up and move along. After waiting a minute or two I realized what the hold-up was -- The school bus driver and the student he was picking up were finishing the cigarette that they were sharing. I love DC!

Video camera

Nikki and I decided several months ago that we needed to get a video camera before the birth. With both sets of grandparents in other parts of the country, we are going to be needing to upload a lot of baby videos. We thought we'd find a good deal over the Christmas shopping season but nothing ever seemed right. Well, today the amazon.com deal of the day is a Canon ZR830 for only $169.99 -- over $200 off list price. I just had to get it. Stayed tuned for the full seiferthobbins.com multimedia experience.

Babymoon

I was all set to announce the details of our babymoon -- a trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks -- but there may be a last minute. A friend of ours will be in town for her mom's wedding and we've been invited to the reception in Martinsburg, WV. So we are thinking we'll just make a long weekend of it. I looked some last night at cabin rentals in the mountains and there are some nice deals to be had. Considering that it got into the 70s yesterday, it'd be nice to go somewhere where it seemed wintry. More to follow...

The Baby Preparation Train Rolls On

It's been a busy first week of the year. We're feeling more and more everyday like we're about to be a family of three.

Sunday we took a tour of Holy Cross, where we will be having the baby. The overall atmosphere was very calm and the labor/delivery rooms were especially nice. The recovery room were not quite as nice but still better than any hospital room I've ever been in. I think we'll be really happy there. You go first to maternity 'triage', then past a lot of high-tech looking nurses' stations and equipment but after that it seems like a pretty natural environment. I mean it's not, it's a hospital but they do a good job of creating the feeling.

We've decided against the hospital's doula program. We are going to be contacting a few people this week instead. We decided that we'd rather the doula work for us, not the hospital. Hopefully our doula will consent to being blogged about.

We are still somewhat considering a CNM but we haven't seen any good options yet. There are a few that deliver in hospitals about 30 miles away but from what I've heard we still face the same hospital issues (pushing pain meds, etc.). Then there are birth centers. Nikki and I discussed this briefly and there is just something odd about the options in this area. Something doesn't feel right about the people out here. We both feel it but can't really nail it down. We both feel so much more comfortable out west. It might sound strange but I feel like the birth options are a lot like the beer options -- they just fall a little off the mark. In both cases I think you feel like you are seeking out individual alternatives when you should be seeking community. It makes you feel disconnected. There's some kind of hidden cultural connection you make when you drink a Deschutes Black Butte Porter (or to some extent a Saint Arnold Elissa). All the beer out here is just sort of boring and a little off. Same with the birth options -- you learn about them and you don't feel like, "Ok, I'm going with that portion of my community that strives to give birth the way a woman's body was meant to." Out here I just feel like we are fighting to carve out some individual preference in spite of something. It's frustrating.

I seem to have wandered completely off my intended topic, which was to describe what we've been up to the last week. More about that soon.

Happy New Years

Nikki and I really burnt the candle at both ends this new years. We started a movie at about 10 and couldn't even stay up till midnight. I guess that's the married life. I had intended to buy a growler of fresh beer at Vintage 50 in Leesburg but didn't quite get that far. We stopped at Whole Foods in Falls Church and I found this:




That's right, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That's a Bell's Two Hearted Ale mini-keg. One of the best discoveries of my life.


Meanwhile, Nikki and Nino partied so hard that this was the scene at about noon today: