Week 17

I am currently staring down a bottle of water flanked by an apple juicebox and a cup of apple juice. I can't really explain why 2 of the 3 beverages are identical, only that by the end of the work day I need to drink them all. Morning sickness - easy. Needing to sleep about 12hrs a day - a piece of cake. Drinking more than 8oz of fluid in a day - impossibly hard. But my hands started swelling up yesterday, so something needs to be done.

In other news, I had to go shopping for maternity shirts this week. They're surprisingly comfortable and not quite as tent-like as I imagined. Apparently mellon is the "in" color for pregnant women this year. I managed to avoid that and every shirt that had a bow over the belly. Bows just make me laugh. I don't know why.

I'm at 14lbs over my pre-pregnancy weight this week. I think that's pretty good and am pretending the water retention isn't helping me out. The Boost shakes at 300 cal per 8oz have been the key. And blueberry mini muffins. Man, I love those things and I haven't let myself have them in years.

This is the first week in forever that I haven't thrown up once!!! On the downside, I no longer have an excuse for putting off getting my teeth cleaned. Luckily we have a dentist/spa place (really! haha) that I plan on trying out.

All of the weight I've gained has gone pretty much to my belly, although my thighs skimmed some off the top. I've had a lot of stretching pain this week, where it feels like my belly button may shoot off at any second. I only have 3mm to go before said button is completely flat. It's become hard to sit up straight, or lay flat. Bending over has also become a lot more difficult.

We checked out 2 daycare places this week. The first spent about 30min explaining their teaching philosophy and all of the things they do with infants. I just sat there, thinking about how I wasn't planning on doing any of those things. Did I know babies needed a mirror wall? Nope. It was a lecture on how bad of a mommy I was going to be! Luckily I took mental notes, so I will be doing all of those things NOW.

The facilities of the place (rooms, toys, etc.) were nice. The real thing that set them apart were the staff. Everyone seemed really into the kids, interacting and playing on the floor with them. We also liked that they had two different rooms for infants, 6wks to 6mo and 6mo to 1yr.

The second place we visited didn't go as well. For starters, a mom held the door for me, voiding the whole "this is a secure facility" idea. The rooms and toys were really great looking but their staff seemed to be having turnover issues. Their only infant teacher was quitting. They also group 6wks to 1yr together, which I didn't like as much.

The cost is another thing to think about. The first place was going to be about $1,800 per month for the kids. The second was about $1,700 per month. Neither had the option a part-time schedule for infants, either. We have one more place we're going to look at. Our plan right now is to reserve spots at a place and then make the final call during my maternity leave.

We ordered the cribs and changing table/dresser this week. It came down to a $250 crib and a $300 crib, until we realized that the shipping cost for the first was $200 while shipping for the second was free. Who knew that the more expensive crib would be cheaper. hehe Here's the crib and the changing table/dresser. We also got the rails to convert the cribs into full size beds someday. The furniture will arrive next week.

This weekend's baby project is to fix up the nursery closet. I want to add a second shelf and possibly some wire baskets. What doesn't fit in the dresser thing needs to have a home in the closet, except for bedding that I store under the cribs. I also want to install a ceiling fan and valence.

Monday is when we should be able to find out what gender(s) we're having! Both babies are about the size of small baked potatoes at this point.