Happy Easter!

Today is 36 weeks and 5 days! Yesterday Kevin and I finally bought our stroller! It is the Chicco Cortina Travel System in Synergy. We were thinking about gettting a Graco stroller, but the one we liked went from $179 to $269!! And the one we really liked was $299 (The Chicco). I've talked to a few other mommies (and one daddy) about their strollers, and most have recommended a Graco, a general umbrella stroller, or a stroller that cost over $500 (no thanks!). So, we were going to get the Graco but I was hesitant - one online review said the wheels had fallen off! And when you compare it to the Chicco, it is obvious the Chicco is extremely well made. Kevin made a comment that the Graco looked like it was made from old cafeteria lunch trays whereas the Chicco is made from lightweight aluminum. It also isn't as long as other strollers and turns on a dime and is lightweight and...so many other things. I love it. If the Graco's didn't go up in price so much we probably would have gotten one of those, but now for a difference of only $30 we got a VERY nice travel system. It's Italian made too - Baby will be traveling in style! That's a picture of the exact one we got, I thought red would be fun! It's bright and I learned in my baby class that black, white, and red all stimulate a baby's eyesight.

We also found out on Friday that some black stuff we found in Harlow's room was mold! But a common household mold. So now her room is quarantined until the duct work gets cleaned. At least it's not the toxic kind, how scary!

I have noticed the contractions where my belly tightens up have been happening very frequently, probably 10-15 times a day, but they don't hurt. The Dr said these weren't 'real' contractions. Today though twice I felt VERY strong painful contractions, both lasted maybe 5 seconds each and were about 2 minutes apart. I just happened to be calling Kevin when the second one started and had to hang up because I couldn't talk. But that was it, there weren't any others like that. So I'm anxious to see if I've dilated any in my appointment tomorrow morning.

That's it for now!

Kevin and I went to a 'You and Your Baby' class Saturday morning. It's a class on how to take care of newborns. We learned how to give baby a sponge bath and swaddle her. I also found out that I need to return her sleep wedge because it can increase the risk of SIDS. I looked at it today and on the outside of the package it says it lowers the risk of SIDS. Sounds like they might get themselves in a lawsuit! I also found out that you can't use baby powder or diaper rash cream, which I didn't know. These classes are really helpful. Tomorrow night I have a breastfeeding class and then all we have left is getting help on our carseat and that's it!

Originally posted April 12, 2009