This week has been a big week for us and the babe! We have gotten a lot checked off our to do list and are getting as ready as we can for her arrival.
We started our week with a trip to "Babies R Us" to test out all the items on our registry. We did our registry online, but we wanted to see and touch everything in person, so it was a good excuse to check out the big box store. We walked up and down the aisles pushing buttons, rocking in the rockers, testing the swings and playing with the toys. We spent most of our time in the stroller/car seat aisle. I wanted us both to push the stroller and fiddle with the car seat to make sure we were both happy using them. I chose the same brand (Chicco) that my sister has so I've seen it in action and used it a few times, but Alex is a novice.
He pushed the stroller up and down the aisle, tested the breaks, checked out the cup holder and made sure it was sturdy enough for his little girl. He tried several times to knock it over and it stood up to his tests, so the stroller is a go! The car seat was also given the Alex test and passed. My favorite part of shopping with him was when he called the car seat base a "docking station."
On Tuesday we met with a pediatrician, because according to all the what to expect websites that's what you're supposed to do with your first kid. We got a few recommendations and the same name kept coming up, so we chose to schedule an appointment. We asked him all of the questions we could think of and that we had googled. He was patient, kind, has all the right credentials and answered everything in the ways we were looking for. We feel like he will be a good fit for us and our little one to come!
On the way to the appointment I asked Alex if he had any specific questions he wanted to ask and he had one. Alex's question was, "If the Sorting Hat was going to sort you into your house at Hogwarts, which house would you be placed in?" Unfortunately he chickened out and didn't ask it, but that may become an interview question when we hire our next employee...
Yesterday we had our first birthing class at the hospital and it went well. There are four other couples in the class and all of our due dates are within a few weeks of each other. We went over the basic's of anatomy, the stages of labor, etc. We also practiced breathing and my birthing coach, aka Alex, had to practice massaging my back, I didn't complain.
The instructor also encouraged us to be reading and talking to the baby so she'll learn our voices. She said that rhymes are always a good place to start. On our drive home from the hospital I was trying to remember my Mother Goose nursery rhymes, but Alex had a different idea of rhyming. He sang, in it's entirety, the theme song from Fresh Prince of Bel Air, beatboxing and all. This little girl is going to be cultured...
Next week I'll post a bump picture, until then just picture normal me with a beach ball in my shirt. It's basically the same concept :)