Babies R Us Meltdown

Okay, it wasn't really a meltdown. But it was close. Adam and I went to Babies R Us last night to buy our bassinet (an Arms Reach model that attaches right to your bed), and on the way there we started talking about the things about the new house we don't like. There are more pros than cons, but the house is old and drafty, and we found out the electric bills for the past year ran as high as $250/month. Yikes!

I was feeling very stressed by the time we got to BRU, and then when we got there we found out the Arms Reach was out of stock. It wouldn't have been a big deal for a normal person - we were able to special order it to pick up later this week and we don't even need it for 4 months! But I was completely hormonal and I had to fight back tears until we got to the car. Luckily Adam is more used to my crying spells at this point. Early in my pregnancy he was really concerned when it happened, but now he knows to just let it pass. I even cried once because a cashier at the grocery store was so nice to me. She was just the sweetest old lady...

I am feeling better now, thankfully. We briefly considered finding a different place, but after looking around a little we found that unless we want to rent a less-than-desirable apartment, we're not going to find a better deal. I talked to the landlord today and he said he would work with us on any weatherproofing that might help.

It's funny how the most exciting things can be so nerve-wracking! My life right now is about 70% excitement and 30% gut-wrenching anxiety. There are so many things up in the air, it's just overwhelming sometimes.

Double Chin Alert!!

Woah!! Sometimes I nearly fall over when I see myself in the mirror. There are some very unglamorous things about pregnancy! It's all worth it, but I'm glad it's not swimsuit weather.

We had a fun weekend. I found out that ANOTHER girl at work is expecting! There are about 25 women on our floor, and 3 of us are pregnant with due dates only weeks apart. We went out to lunch Friday, and we're going to do lunch every week to talk babies. It's fun to share tips, and we're going to band together to get a better space for pumping. Right now the company has designated a hot, dingy storage room.

The sun was shining on Saturday for the second time this year (!), so Adam and I walked around a cute area of town. Little Guy got his first taste of a Winchell's donut (delicious!). Today we finally got to see the inside of the rental house, and it's a go! It's an old, small house in a cute little community, and we can't wait to move in. We'll be moving in less than 3 weeks!

We need baby gear advice! Some things have been easy to pick out, but we are at a loss for what stroller/infant seat combo to go with. I'm also curious which diaper brands are the best value. Any advice/tips are welcome!

Say Hi to Little Guy!

I started a scrapbook for Little Guy with pictures and letters that I write to him. I also print these blog entries with the comments to put in there, so feel free to write messages to him any time. Everyone is welcome to send hand-written letters to him too! One of my favorite things is this little journal my mom wrote to me when I was a baby, so I want to do the same for my baby. It's also a good opportunity to tell him about his family and let him know what the world was like while he was just a tiny thing. (I put in the front page of the newspaper from Inauguration Day, for instance.)

Now that our scary tests are over, I've had time to think about how grateful I am to have health insurance! We are very lucky to be able to move on from that experience without the burden of medical bills. You normally only hear bad things about insurance companies, but our insurance company has been wonderful. We haven't had any billing problems and they cover so many things other companies don't, including a breast pump! I agree that the number of people in the US without medical insurance is a crisis, and I hope Obama manages to extend some sort of coverage to everyone. But I also wonder what this experience would have been like if we had universal healthcare. We may not have had access to some of the tests, or had to wait a lot longer to get in to the doctor. On the flipside, it's always in the back of my mind that we would be in serious financial trouble if we lost our jobs and insurance.

Gotta run - the quiche I'm making is burnt on the sides and runny in the middle... typical suppertime at the Fortneys!

Relief, Finally

We had our fetal echo today, and Little Guy's heart looks great. The doctors have run out of tests, so our ultrasound scare is officially over. The one upside of the ordeal was all the extra ultrasounds we had. Little Guy was a little hyper today. He would not sit still, and then he got the hiccups and started jerking around like crazy. It was really cool to see what he was doing at the same time I felt his movements. It is such an enormous relief to know he's okay and not have to feel nervous about any more tests. Here's his 22 week glamour shot:

He's 1 lb, 2 ounces, compared to the 16 lbs I've gained. Yikes! I packed on 6 lbs in the last 4 weeks. My doctor said it's fine as long as I don't jump up that much every month. Some days I am ravenous, but I can think of a few diet changes that wouldn't hurt.

I am very excited to see Barack Obama sworn into office tomorrow. Just like my pregnancy, it's something I hoped for but almost seemed too good to be true. I don't expect him to work miracles overnight, but for the first time in my adult life, I actually have faith in the country's leadership. I have way more trust in Obama to make good decisions for my child's future than most politicians.

These wonderful changes are keeping us very busy! We have so much to do, and suddenly time is moving so much faster. The renovations on the house we are probably going to be rent should be done in less than a week - we can't wait to see it all finished!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! We are excited to see the new year; it's going to be a big one for us! I unfortunately was not able to stay awake to greet the new year - I made it to 10:00 though, which was midnight in our hometown, at least...

We saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button on New Years Day, and it was a wonderful movie. I want to say more about it, but I don't want to give any of the experience away. It's almost 3 hours long, so I was nervous going in - I usually need a million bathroom breaks and get the worst jimmy legs when I sit still that long. The movie was so amazing, I only got up twice and didn't get a single leg twitch. Don't miss it!

We got more good news about our little guy today. A blood test showed that he doesn't have spina bifida or any other spinal disorder! We have one more test to go: an echocardiogram on January 19. When we first had the scary finding on the 12-week ultrasound, they told us it could be a sign of a hundred different scary conditions. Often it's nothing, but they've put us through a bunch of tests (many of which we've had to wait until later in the pregnancy to do). We've ruled out most of the major things, thankfully, and I'm feeling more confident that everything is fine.

We've been through so much anxiety lately, and although it would be impossible not to worry when you get scary news like that, I'm learning not to react so strongly to the "maybes." My New Years resolution is to worry less. I think worry is useful if you use it to plan and think things through. But so few of the things I worry about ever happen, a lot of that worry is just extra weight to carry.

When I think back on my worries in 2008, it's so silly! Everything worked out great. First I was worried about my new job - whether I'd chosen the right job, whether it would ever go anywhere. Then I was promoted just five months later to a job I still enjoy working with great people. I worried about saving up money, but we met our baby savings goal months before we'd planned. I worried about being able to have a baby, and our little miracle happened so fast I could hardly believe it! I worried about finding a new home for our crazy kitty, and we found the sweetest family to adopt her. Then of course there were all of our baby worries, and he is looking great.

I know having a child is one of the most amazing and terrifying things you can do, but I'm going to make an effort to remember my past experiences and save my energy for being a good mom.