Pregnancy: Baby gear and you

Now that we officially know we are having a boy, we have been registering for some baby items. This is a very hard thing to do online, especially for a girl who is new at this. I have been looking on babiesrus.com and reading reviews of everything from breast pumps* (more on this in a minute) to strollers to baby holsters...that is what I call them, but I mean those things you carry babies around in that seem like backpacks, not a sling, but...well a holster.

Some people feel very strongly about these items. I am not kidding, one lady wrote enough to fill up the entire page of a Word document stating her feelings about a Pack N Play!

I figured if Josh and I went to the store together, we may have more luck picking out the larger items (car seat, stroller, holster, highchair etc.) That was not an entirely incorrect idea. The one flaw was bringing Josh. After about his 10th lap around the babies r us store with the Jeep jogger stroller, I finally gave up trying to get his opinion. This notion was solidified when he said, "I don't understand this baby toy." Josh is a smart guy, but apparently, easily distracted and occasionally outsmarted by 5 piece puzzles.

Did I mention that this was actually our 2nd attempt at going to a babies r us? The first one was in Waldorf. If you do not know Waldorf let me sum it by saying, you should not go there unless you are packing heat, which we weren't. However, ever since I became pregnant I kind of feel indestructible or something. Anyway, we go into the baby section and wait for someone to come help us. We waited for about 20 minutes and no one ever came back to give us the gun thing to do the registry, despite the fact that we told about 3 people that is what we were there for.
Finally, when my blood had irrationally reached it's boiling point over this "intense" waiting period I decided the wait was over and it was time to raise a little hell. As we were walking out, I went to customer service desk and said, "Whoever works in the baby section, should be fired." I did not know it at the time, but I said it to the girl who actually is suppose to be in the baby section. As we were walking out of the store someone said, "Did she come back to help you?" I said in a loud voice, no not shouting, just loudly, "No! No she didn't!" We promptly left. As Josh put it, don't mess with a pregnant lady on a mission.

I will close with Josh's discovery of the breast pump.
Josh made a comment that since I will only be pregnant for a few more months, I would be able to enjoy a beer with him this summer. After a second or two he said, "Wait, will you be able to drink if you are breastfeeding?" I said, "Yes, I will just pump and dump."

*Josh stares at me blankly*

"I will drink a beer, pump out the milk, dump it and then I will be able to feed the baby alcohol-free milk."

*Josh stares at me blankly*

"Do you not know what I mean by pump?"

*Josh stares at me blankly*

"There is a thing you can buy that pumps milk out, so you, the father of the baby, can help in the feedings. I hook it up to my.."

Josh interrupts, "That's a enough!! I don't need to know!!! Just drink the beer and do what you have to do!"

It starts...

This is the original Confessions of a Minivan Lover. It was sent out about a month and a half before I was pregnant.

Wrote 8/23/07
Hello! I haven't spoke to some of you in a while, others have had the pleasure of conversing with me on a more regular basis. You, lucky ducks you! Anywoo, I feel the need to share something with you all. Josh and I ...no no we aren't pregnant!...but we each had to take our cars into the shop this week. Long story, totally unrelated issues. All of this was rather last minute and we needed a rental car and quick! We ended up with a Dodge Grand Caravan! Those of you not "in the know" this is a .....min...mini....miniva...MINIVAN!

(I am allowing space here for you to reread that, let it process and move on)

I have driven said minivan a few times. As if that wasn't bad enough...I. actually. love. it. I love driving a minivan! I think I all of the sudden turned 37 and I am afraid at some point, possibly very soon, I am going to start wearing aquanet and inappropriately red lipstick to the grocery store. God, help me if Josh and I start wearing matching sweater vests and throwing co-ed tupperware parties! Front-butt jeans here I come!
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Wrote 12/20/07

Onto to the new news:Some of you may have heard through the grapevine, for others this make knock you off your rocker... Josh and I, well more me than Josh, are pregnant! We are due at the end of June/ beginning of July, which means I am almost to the end of my first trimester. We went to our first sonogram yesterday and the lady said the baby is doing very well. He/she was kicking and wiggling all around, the baby not the nurse. It was truly the most amazing thing I have ever seen. It literally took my breath away. I think Josh is still in shock and I will report back about his reaction when he comes back to earth. Anyway, we could not be happier and to leave you with a little insight in how we are going to handle parenthood, I leave you with this. When I told Josh we were going to have a baby he said, "Do you think it will like me?” To which I replied, "Probably not."

Love you
Nikki, Josh and baby :)


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Wrote 2/7/07

For those of you who may not know the story behind the minivan lover title, I will provide a brief description at the bottom of this message. I think by now you all are aware that Josh and I are going to be having a baby this summer, round about July 2 or so. (Although I must admit, I really would love for it to be July 4, how cool would it be to have fireworks every year for your birthday!?).
Anyway, yesterday Josh and I went to our second sonogram and found out that we will soon be the parents of a sweet little baby....boy!!! I know some of you are probably reading this thinking of people you know who had a sonogram and were told they were having one gender, but ended up with the opposite gender. Well, I am here to tell you that this little bean is, for sure, without the slightest shadow of doubt, a boy. The technician lady said, "Here's one leg, here's the other, can you guess what the baby is?" There was no mistaking, we are having a boy!
We are completely thrilled. Josh has no, and I mean NO, experience with babies and I think he was feeling a little nervous about a new baby and that baby potentially being a girl. I have always wanted boy first too, I need someone to protect my little princess who I'm sure will be here at some point down the road. When the tech. confirmed yes that was a wee-wee not a hoo-hoo and we were having a boy, Josh jumped up out of his chair as if he himself alone won the Super Bowl.
The typical next question involves names. We are thinking, Thore or Rufus. Kidding, kidding. We are fairly sure his name will be Parker Scott Phillips.
I am also getting the question of what my "theme" is going to be. My theme is "I'm having a freaking baby and too stressed out about picking the right car seat than to worry about whether to buy trucks or boats." The sub theme is "I need to sell my freaking house and quick!"Although, I do really like the colors brown (like a mossy brown) and green (minty/sagey) so maybe I am developing a theme...
We are very excited and it's so amazing to know I'm going to have this new little man in my life and I GET TO MOLD HIM! :)
Love to all