Just When I Was Over My Fear...

I realize that having a baby WILL put you in the projects.

I've always had this irrational fear that I'd end up living in the projects if I had a baby.

See... My dad used this lie to scare the crap out of me and keep me from having babies at a young age. Even after I graduated from grad school, began a career, got married, and bought a house, I was still afraid to come off birth control in order to have a baby.

After trying to conceive for a year and actually getting pregnant, I relaxed and started to believe that having a baby is cool.

Well... after having to spend all this up-front money to get prepared to bring a baby home, I'm starting to believe that there was some truth to my dad's story.

Get this:

Maternity clothes = $400
Mini Crib = $300
The travel system (stroller and carseat) = $220
Additional car seat base = $50
The glider = $250-$300
A bedding set for the mini-crib = $200
The bedding set and mattress for the cradle = $50
Outta pocket insurance estimate = $975!!!
Birthing classes = $200

Dude! We're gonna totally be in the projects before this is over!

But I will admit that having a baby is PRICELESS!

Can't Fight Cravings

I love food! Like... if I could marry food, I would. Actually, I married Zack because he cooked all the time and loves to eat like I do.

I just assumed that I would have the craziest cravings once I got pregnant, but I have not. I don't crave pickles and ice cream, peanut butter and pork chops, or anything else gross sounding...

But even still... every once in a while, I get the urge to eat something particular.

A few weeks ago, I craved Popeyes chicken... a two piece (white) spicy with cajon rice and a biscuit with honey. The lady at the drive through barely asked me what I wanted before I yelled my order into the drive through box. It took every ounce of will power within me to keep from tearing into the chicken box on the way back to the house. Needless to say... once I sat down in front of the tv and set my meal up on the tv tray, I became a lioness feasting after a kill.

Lately, I've been totally on a Pizza Hut kick. I ask Zack every day if he wants a pizza from the hut, and everyday he says "no". I was telling my mother how he felt, and then I mentioned that I'd be cool with a bowl of marinara sauce and some pepperonis to dip in it.

Zack kept urging me to eat veggies but my body doesn't want them. So... because he refused to eat pizza with me, I went with a good friend of mine who was more than happy to indulge in my need for marinara sauce.

When we got to the Pizza Hut buffet, we indulged in all kinds of pizza, and I was sure to drizzle my slices with EXTRA marinara sauce...

Talk about heaven!!!!!

Improvising

This is what happens when your pants are too tight to button or zip and its too hot outside to wear the belly band. I got the idea from a supervisor at work who said she used to loop a rubber band around the button and button hole. I upgraded the idea to use a elastic hair band.

Its actually pretty comfortable!

P.S. Please excuse the partial view of my bra :-S

Avocado!

Today, at 15 weeks and 1 day, our baby is an AVOCADO!

I'll admit that I'm not a huge fan of avocados because they're oily and flavorless, and to be honest, I had never heard of or seen avocados until I was grown and out of grad school. I don't think people in the hood do too much cooking with them... I doubt the local grocery stores sell them in East Point.

Either way, I feel like I have an avocado tucked away in my stomach... I'm uncomfortable sleeping or lying on my stomach, and I can't eat as fast or as much as I did during the first trimester.

I welcome it because some day soon we'll be a watermelon!

Sometimes They Come Back

I generally have "good" skin. I don't usually get breakouts, nor does my skin react to different chemicals and stuff. I typically wash my face with Biore face scrub once every week or two but can pretty much get away with splashing my face with water.

I didn't even have many breakouts as a teenager, and when I did, it was only one pimple on the side of my nose or in the middle of my forehead. I treated those pimples with toothpaste in order to make them dry up and go away.

But now???


My forehead is constantly broken out with little bumps that are sensitive to sweat, sun, and my beloved Biore face scrub. If I'm outside for more than 30 minutes and start sweating, my face feels like its on fire.

These hormones have my face screwed up!

Who Likes Surprises?

Not me... generally...

But we've decided to keep the baby's sex a surprise. The decision to do so has really been like a playground see-saw with Zack on one side and me on the other.

Initially, Zack was all about keeping the sex a surprise until delivery, but I was all like, "But people won't know what to get us for the shower!"

Then... Zack was like, "I can't wait to find out what we're having so that we can paint the baby's room and start buying stuff!"... I, at the time, was indifferent and feeling a little under pressure at the fact that we were actually gonna have a baby.

A few weeks after that, I really started feeling that we should keep it a surprise. I talked to Zack about it, and he was indifferent.

Then finally.....

We talked about it, and I remembered the argument given by a co-worker who was keeping her baby's sex a surprise.

IF PEOPLE KNOW WHAT YOU'RE HAVING, THEY'LL ALL GET YOU GENDER SPECIFIC CLOTHING AND TOYS, AND YOU WON'T HAVE ANY OF THE THINGS YOU ACTUALLY NEED FOR A BABY. AND... YOU'LL BE SO SUPER EXCITED DURING DELIVERY TO GET YOUR BABY OUT TO FIND OUT WHAT YOU'RE HAVING!

Because the truth is, we want to get gifts we can actually use like bottles, onesies for different stages, and other stuff, and I'll need all the motivation I can get to deal with labor (because, truthfully, I don't even handle cramps very well)

I'm sure I'll purchase plenty of clothes after the baby is born, and even more clothes will be given to us by grandparents and family.

So, If you like surprises... the sex of our kid will definitely be one to enjoy!!!

Screw You, RH!!!

Yeah... How about Restoration Hardware called me yesterday evening, not long after my post about the crib, to tell me that the crib was sold out and that they weren't going to charge me for it...

Talk about PISSED!!!!!

Patrick wakes me up out my nap to apologize and tell me that they didn't have my beloved crib. In order to keep from raging out on this poor sale/customer service rep, I told him to cancel the entire order and to have a nice evening.

I've been searching online for a comparable crib but haven't even come close to the one I loved and I REFUSE to pay $1300 for the only other Expresso colored crib at RH...

So...

SCREW YOU, RH!!!! Screw you for your inability to update your website in a timely enough manner to reflect what you actually have in stock! Screw you for sending me a confirmation email for the crib then calling me three days later to tell me you don't have it. Screw you for forcing me to buy something I don't want!!!