Registry hell

Trout and I went to a big store to do a "mainstream" registry. First off we were harassed by a "customer service" rep while getting the information set up at the in-store kiosk. She walked up to us, said something in a high flute-y voice that went something like "dah dah dah dah dah dah dah, baby?" Then she touched my screen which halted whatever I was typing in. I looked at her and said, "I was trying to do something" and became increasingly irate. She continued talking her spiel about doing the registry and I continued ignoring her. It was very bizarre.

We got a scanner and scanned some stuff, went to a co-workers party, and came home. This morning I go to check the registry and add some items online and guess what?

Nothing I scanned was on the registry. The registry is up, the registry exists. But the hour I spend looking at all that crap I might not need and having anxiety attacks over it, has been erased. Not a big deal expect we don' t have this particular store where I live. We have to drive to the city where we currently work. I thought of trying to rebuild it online, but there are way too many things that are offered exclusively online and not in the store. I was overwhelmed by the items in the store. And I scanned some things for the baby's room but not necessarily in the baby section.

Ugh.

We might stop back after the midwife appointment tomorrow and re-do it, but I'm a bit grumpy after the whole incident.

Have I talked about my ass lately?

My belly is still pretty free of stretch marks (though I can see some trying desperately to show their faces at my belly sides), my ass is RIDDLED with them. We don't have any full length mirrors and I'm a bit on the short side, so I didn't notice this until I was at my parents house getting out of the shower with their fancy long mirrors. Nothing is more horrifying to see a significant body change when you were not expecting it, in my opinion.

Now, these stretch marks aren't near the outside of my ass cheeks. Much closer, and parallel, to the...um....center? It is actually kind of funny, but confusing at the same time. It looks like I've been whipped.

Confusing because I have not out grown my underwear except at the elastic. In other words, the cheeks still fit. After discussing this with my mom and my astonishment to the physiology of it all, she enlightened me, "Your hips have spread, so your ass needs to spread with your hips."

Ah wisdom...about my ass.

I got the massage...ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! They had a pregnancy massage table with a large middle section cut out and covered with springy trampoline material and foam. It was comfy. I always feel bad for masseurs who work on me because I hold my stress in my body. I don't realize I am stressed out until my body fails in some way. Poor lady was working my upper back, trying desperately to release years worth of stress and tension in the knots. It takes a couple of sessions for that to happen, sorry.

My MIL looked at the Registry I have dubbed the "hippie" registry. Big mistake. I was lying down in the other room because my back was spasming, so I could hear every.single.comment she was making on the items. "Velour diapers?! I've never even heard of such a thing!" "What would this be for?!?!" "20.00 for one diaper?!" "Why is everything 'organic'?" It was painful and upsetting as I lay helpless. I realize that not everyone agrees with choices we are making in how we raise our kids, but come on. Benefit of the doubt? I didn't realize how uncomfortable people can be with, you know, cloth diapers and wooden toys. You would think I was planning some sort of ritualistic sacrifice or something.

I'm still going to do a "traditional" registry at a big well known store to appease the masses, but it will probably only have big ticket items. On the hippie registry I plan to include a note somewhere that hand-me-downs are appreciated as well. But apparently doing that takes the fun out of gift giving?

It is times like this I wish I were more creative

So I could use this early morning insomnia induced free time to do or create something. But alas, that usually equates to web surfing.

Crunchy Domestic Goddess is having a giveaway from Reusablebags.com. I browse that website way too frequently and fantasize about a house without plastic food storage.

All of these contests are forcing me to stop lurking on blogs that I read. Are there any rules or restrictions to these contests? As you can see, I'm still overly giddy to participate and would love nothing more than a contest of crunchy lifestyle items every day of the week.

27 weeks

And a lovely picture. If Trout would have waited two more seconds, I would have been smiling. That and I should have been warned that my hair could have used a quick comb through. Large and in charge my friends:
I'm starting to round out a bit more. I'm also starting to feel more pains. Because we commute, I'm in the car/on a bus for at least 2 hours per day. The middle of my back is starting to get sore from this and it makes getting to work, and sitting in front of a computer all day, a bit uncomfortable. Also, because I still primarily favor my left side while sleeping, it is making the back pain a bit worse. I find myself sleeping on the couch more as I can sleep on a back for a longer amount of time that way. I've also found that walking on the treadmill (ie exercise in general) does not aggravate my back and may even be helping.

I'm also getting head butted in the ribs, I think. Either that or someone has completely flipped.

I may get a massage this weekend if I can while visiting my parents/ILs/friends in the hometown. I haven't had one in a while.

Save me from myself

I just spent 3 hours building a registry. It was mostly clothes, diapers, and diaper accessories. Still have no idea what I would actually need in terms of the big stuff. Crib? Stroller? Vibrating chair? Baby bucket? (we did by a convertible seat) Some other whats-its that I didn't know existed? I haven't fully researched slings yet either, so I need to get on that.

I'm happy I at least got started but still overwhelmed by what I have to do still.

Sometimes I am still fascinated by the internet

People give things away. With no strings attached. Who knew that a series of tubes could be so generous?

Adventures in Babywearing is giving away a Rockin' Baby sling. This is the first internet contest for baby gear I've signed up for and I am WAY more excited than I should be.

Milestones ( 99 bottles of ...) and sadness

A woman at work told me that, though she is VERY excited for me, she is still holding her breath to when I pass 26 weeks. Why 26 weeks? That is when my former co-worker gave birth and a week later lost her son. She mentioned she had a suspicion others at my workplace were patiently waiting for me to pass this as well, though I have a lot more things going for me to assume a healthy pregnancy. It sits on my mind as well. It was a terrible lesson to learn that pregnancy does not always equal baby at any stage of the game. I still think about her and her son constantly.

Also a blogging buddy suffered from her second miscarriage, after ultrasounds, reassurance and the beginning of the excitement that comes with feeling like you are close to being in the clear. I was so, so heartbroken. I actually had to move myself away from the computer after reading her post for fear that I was going to lose it. I had one of those moments were I felt violently ill and the only logical thing I wanted to do was strangle the computer. There is no logic to stuff like this.
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I have to separate my thoughts this time because I need to make it clear that there is definitely a schism in what is going on in my head at this moment. It is possible to feel totally conflicting emotions. This is one of those days. I also do not want to make light of the above statements with a "In other, HAPPIER news..." statement. My thoughts are independent of each other.

I have 99 days left according to my ticker. I find this exciting and terrifying. My most recent obsessive thought is that "I need to get more diapers I need to get more diapers I need to get more diapers." I still can't decide half of the time what the hell I want. I am one of these people who gets royally PISSED if I spend money on something I later find to be useless. This leads to indecision. Baby needs diapers! Aghhhh.

Weight gain has remained steady. I started going back to the gym at work, which is actually one of the gyms at the university, which means I walk on the treadmill while 18 year old girls either stare at me or avoid me like its contagious. The cardiovascular machines around me tend to stay empty. I actually think it is really funny. But it makes me feel old.



I broke the camera, as I mentioned in the previous post. I am at a Bakery with WiFi with my laptop so I took this picture. We still don't have the wireless hooked up at home and I rarely use my laptop. And, Trout had some friends in town so there are a bunch of hungover "boys" sleeping around my house. Someone was sleeping in the hammock outside when I left. The girls working here at the bakery were looking at me funny.

Nothing much out of the ordinary

And that is always a good thing. Trout and I went hiking but were ill prepared for the mosquitoes so we had to cut it short. I had to stay on very easy trails in order to not over do it. Our digital camera is now officially defunct, so we have been taking pictures with the film camera. Trout took some belly shots today but it will be a while before I can post them.

I'm still reading up on cloth diapers and spent a gross amount on time on Eipwek's website reading about her stash and following links. My goal is to get a lot of different types to try and see what really works best. I'll eventually get to making a registry on a build-your-own-registry site so that we can get some of the hippy things that we want. I'm a little freaked that people might be too scared to buy some of the items I'm gaga over (mei tei? what's that?) but I underestimate people.

25 week belly pictures to come! And a midwife appointment this week. This appointment is special because we will be writing our final check for the services (you get a discount if you pay by a certain week) soon to be rendered. I hate owing money and it will be a HUGE monkey off my back.


****ETA: Supervisor was surprisingly civil. The conversation stuck to the specific incident that prompted the discussion (making a particular schedule through July '08). I basically said it would probably be smart to assume I am not available December -March. Conversation over. Baby steps.