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Materinty Clothes and Shopping and Crying, Oh My!!

Friday, February 5, 2010

I wore MATERNITY CLOTHES today!!  In honor of such a momentous occasion, I took a picture, and I even took ... a BELLY SHOT!



You may have noticed a lack of belly pictures, and to be honest, I have been embarrassed to take any.  I started showing very early, and after hearing about a thousand mothers tell me I probably won't show until the 4th or 5th month, I was feeling fat.  I was sure that I was just gaining pudge, and I didn't want to go showing that off to the Internet.


Well, guess, what?  I have lost SEVENTEEN pounds since getting pregnant, and I still gained THIS bump ...



I am assuming it is baby-related and not fat-related.  I also read that if your abs were not in such great shape when you get pregnant you are likely to show earlier because there is not much resistance.  I'll be honest.  My abs were NOT in tip-top shape when I got pregnant, so I think it just popped right out.


So, NO MORE SHAME!  I have a bump and it is not fat!!  I'll just tell strangers that I am like 5 months along when they ask! ;)


In addition to all this excitement, Jeremy and my mom when to Babies 'R Us today ... and I got so overwhelmed that I cried.  Kind of a lot.


The crib I thought I liked was WRONG WRONG WRONG in real life, and they didn't have the swing or bouncy seat I wanted to check out.  I was also very underwhelmed by the car seat stroller combos.  The seat does NOT seem secure in that stroller.  What if we move to San Francisco and have to go downhill all the time and the seat pops out??


Anyway, it was all just too much.  Like the first time I went shopping for my wedding dress and the consultant wasn't bringing me the dresses I asked for and I felt like the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and left crying.  The moral of the story is that I went back a few weeks later and the second dress I tried on was the one and I bought it and took it home with me and looked at it lovingly every day for 10 months until the wedding.  So, the next baby shopping trip will probably be amazing.  Right?

6 comments:

DancingButterflys said...

Yep, the next shopping experience will be better! And I had Evenflo stroller/carseat combos both times, and was very confident with them. The seats click right in, and you HEAR them click, so it's not just guesswork. That, and Evenflo has very very few recalls on ANYTHING. Graco has recalls all the time, on various types of equipment. I started to disregard Evenflo, since it was among the least expensive ones... me, thinking that more money = safer. But then, I read about them, and bought one for Joshua. And I wouldnt buy anything OTHER than the evenflo for Emma. It's all a matter of what you're comfortable with, I am just sharing my experience with it.

Jess said...

Brunette gals always look good in purple.

You look fantastic and glowy and pregnant-y!

Veronica M. D. said...

Amanda -- Yeah, I heard the click, but then I grabbed the seat and pulled up, and it was all loosey goosey, and I tried like three brands, and they all did that. The guy at the store said that I did it the right way and they were "secure," but I yanked one right out!! That scared me!!! I will definitely check out the Evenflo ones, though. Thanks for the tip!

Jess -- AWWW! You are a gem!!

Julie said...

1) I heart that top and you look lovely in it.

2) I've not had kids, but all my friends who've been pregnant have had all the same emotions as you had today the first time they tried to find baby things. So a few more trips and you'll be a pro. Probably counseling other moms-to-be. :)

3) I'm in the middle of watching "Ghostbusters," so your Stay-Puft reference made me laugh due to excellent timing. You are not, however, anything remotely resembling said Marshmallow Man.

:o),

Cousin-in-law Julie

Arwen said...

You look adorable. Glowing, even! And you clearly have great taste in maternity clothes - that shirt is beautiful!

Okay... advice coming... I can't help it...

I know everyone gets a carseat/stroller "travel system" or whatever, but there are better options! You'll spend a little bit more money, but it will be so worth it.

The travel system strollers are bulky and don't steer very well. I know because my sister has one. Ironically, Branwen and her husband went the travel-system route because it's cheaper, but ended up buying another stroller like the one we have because they didn't like the travel system, thus spending MORE money, total, than we did.

So, in my (not-so-humble) opinion, here is what you need:
1) infant carseat
2) stroller frame for infant carseat (often called a "snap-n-go")
3) lightweight glorified umbrella stroller

For the carseat, I don't think it really matters what kind you get. As far as I know they're all pretty much equal, safety-wise. We have a Graco Snugride (from 2006) which we will probably replace if/when we have another baby, because that sucker is heavy. My one recommendation is to find one that will let you tighten/loosen the straps from the front, because it's very annoying on ours to have to do it from the back every time. Also, look at height limits - some infant seats have 26-inch upper limits. My kids hit that height at 4 months and 3 months respectively, so we were really glad to have a seat with a 29-inch limit.

Here is an example of a stroller frame. This one is the actual "Snap N' Go" brand, but there are other ones - Graco makes one, and Kolcraft - that look roughly equivalent in function and price. They're lightweight, don't take up much space, and steer much more easily than a big travel-system stroller. We love ours.

As for the real stroller, we have a Maclaren Triumph, which we love (you can test-drive one at Babies R Us) and I'd recommend any of the Maclaren strollers I've seen. They're very well-made and lightweight. Yes, a little more pricey than your standard Graco, but nothing near the price point of a Bugaboo or similar. And there are lots of options in the lightweight stroller market. You can look around. But having a lightweight stroller is key, IMO.

(Google "stroller reviews" and you'll find plenty of information about your very, very extensive options.)

And oh, welcome to parenting! The choices will make your head spin. :)

Are you still thinking about cloth diapers? Because if so, I have a screed of information for you!

Branwen said...

Veronica, I've known plenty of women who start showing right away and you must be one of them. Lucky in my opinion because it is nicer to look genuinely pregnant instead of just "thick-waisted" ;) You look beautiful and adorably pregnant!