The picture we sent out to all our family. :)
Baby bump at 12 weeks.
I've felt amazing these whole 14 weeks. Between 5-6 weeks, I did have some morning sickness. But then it went away and I've felt amazing! Such an answer to prayer.
I'm trying to drink the water recommended for pregnant people, 64oz! The last couple days I've almost got 96oz in. But that's thanks to the new exercising plan I started. (walking two miles a day.) After baby is born, I've already got a walking buddy set up for two days a week. And I have a great paved park near my house, where I can walk. My plan after I've recovered, is to get into jogging/running with baby, so that when I'm pregnant with baby #2, I won't just have to walk. :P
In a little over five weeks, we will find out the gender of our baby. I think it's a boy and have the whole time, so we will see. :) We've got a girls name picked out - Eliza Catherine Taylor. Eliza is a family name on my side of the family and Catherine is a family name on the Taylor's. Together the names mean: My God is my vow+pure
For boys names we have got our list down to 6 names.
Even thought his first name would be Samuel, he would go by his middle name for a little bit.
Samuel Joseph Taylor II -His Name Is God+God shall add (another son) - His Dad's name. :)
Samuel Lee Taylor - His name is God+meadow
Samuel Boaz Taylor - His name is God+Strength
Samuel Hudson Taylor - His name is God+Son of Hud
Samuel Asher Taylor - His name is God+blessed
Seth Joseph Taylor -Appointed+God shall add (another son)
I've already started a baby registry at amazon. They had the best prices of any other baby place. Trust me, I priced things to hours. ;P I'm hoping to have a baby shower before the summer consignment sales. So, I'm working on a detailed list of needs and what everything will cost. I'll be attending the HUGE sale at the fair grounds to get most of baby's things and then going to another sale on their 50% day to buy baby clothes. This isn't until July, but I'm looking forward to it already!!:)
If you want a lot of kids.(Like Sam and I) Register for gender neutral baby items!! bedding, stroller, swaddle blankets, cloth diapers, slings, etc.
Basically, everything but clothing and that baby's personal baby blanket. :p
Also, baby consignment sales are amazing, but I wouldn't get everything at the sales.
Here's what I'm planning on buying new:
crib - depending on what the sale has. I want something VERY sturdy.
breast pump
cloth diapers - I'm going to use these for all my kids, so it's worth it to buy new.
swing - If I don't get it as a baby gift and it the sale doesn't have the kind I want. (swing+bouncy seat.)
crib mattress
baby monitor - I will look at the sale, but because of the way the house is set up and with Grandad's tv so loud just below our room, If I'm on the other side of the house and my baby is crying at the top of it's lungs, I wouldn't be able to hear a thing. So, I really good monitor is important and to me, worth the cost.
stroller+car seat - yes, this is $$$, But here's my take on it. Car seats are only good for 6 years.(so they say!) If I buy my car seat new, I will have no problem using it for those six years and then longer, because I know it's not been in a car accident(lord willing) and it's ok to use. For the stroller, It will always be a good idea to have a single stroller. Even when baby two comes, depending on the ages apart, I don't know if I would get a double stroller. The new baby can go in a sling and the first baby in the stroller. And then when baby is ready for the stroller, it would be a great time to teach baby #1 to hold on to the stroller/stay next to Mom. I do see at times at double stroller being beneficially, but I think a single stroller is essential to a Mom.
7 comments:
Congratulations, Sam and Anna!
I'm so excited for you!
Yours and my mom's baby is due around the same week. :)
~Kelsey
How fun! And congratulations to you and Samuel! Is your new blog set to private? If so could I get an invite pretty please?:) I'd love to be able to keep up with you guys:)
-Morgan
Congratulations on the baby!!
As an experienced mom, you are right on about getting gender neutral baby items. I used the same towels, washcloths, crib bedding, blankets, carseat, stroller, etc. for all of our kids.
Buying used is a great way to save money since most baby items are perfectly fine to reuse!
To save you more money, I would recommend getting an infant carseat that has a higher weight limit (one that will hold baby to a year+), otherwise you will have to buy a convertible seat when baby is between 6-8 months old. Believe me, it is soooo much easier to have the removable seat with base in car.
I know it can sound weird that a carseat can expire, but it is true. They deteriorate over time and the plastics break down. Picture plastic patio furniture that has been outside in extreme heat and cold (just like a carseat is in the car). After several years that patio chair will begin to crack and become weak. It could even break when someone sits in it.
In a car accident, great force is placed on a carseat and I would not want my child (or any child) to be in an expired seat.
You can search on you tube and find all kinds of crash tests on carseats - they even crash test expired seats http://www.youtube.com/watch?hl=en-GB&v=wvCRz7BRAM0&NR=1&gl=GB .
I'm not trying to judge you......just wanting to pass on what I have learned along the way. When it comes to carseat - more $ = a better seat with more safety features and higher weight/height limits for extended rear-facing. 2 years is the current AAP recommendation for rear-facing, but with the right seat, it's possible to make it to 2-3 years.
Thanks for the suggestion! That was my original plan. Was to buy something like this carseat: http://www.amazon.com/Britax-Marathon-70-G3-Convertible-Seat/dp/B00834D5SO/ref=br_it_dp_o_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=FU8E77FMXNJI&coliid=I24HA2X4F6H5VX
- It works for a baby 5 pounds-70 pounds. My Mom and sister have said it's REALLY nice to have the infant car-seat that you can easily put in your grocery cart when you go to the store or stick it on your stroller when your on a walk, etc...
The car-seat I was looking to buy, was this one:
http://www.amazon.com/Chicco-Cortina-Keyfit-Travel-System/dp/B001OD6YS4/ref=br_it_dp_o_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=FU8E77FMXNJI&coliid=I3NYNR73QRLZXB
- it can hold baby from 5 pounds-30 pounds. It's also one of the top rated car seats. Anyway, what car seat would you suggest?
Kelsey: That's so exciting!:)
Morgan: I've not posted on the other blog at all. I think I'm just going to stick with this one. If I switch to the other, I will make sure I invite you.:)
Both Britax and Chicco are good brands with excellent safety ratings (I have 3 Britax seats in my car right now). I did use Graco for my infant seats. They are a little less $ for basically the same safety features as Britax and Chicco.
Graco infant seats get really good safety ratings. - Graco SnugRide 35 and Graco SnugRide 30 will hold a baby to 35lbs and 30lbs, respectively. The Chicco KeyFit 30 will hold to 30lbs.
I am pretty sure all of these seats have a 32in height limit. You have to stop using an infant seat when baby hits one of these limits - doesn't matter which one they hit first.
Bare in mind that since these seat are made to hold a larger baby, they are larger than 'bucket' seats of the past. They do not fit in the seat part of a grocery cart (I know, I tried) and will only fit in the large basket area.
I can only tell you what worked for me..... first baby was moved to convertible seat at 8 months old. For the other babies I had a larger infant seat that held them to a little over a year (my kids are long and hit the height limit). Having the infant bucket was so much easier, because babies do fall asleep and will sometimes continue to sleep once you get home (if you are able to leave them in the seat). Some fast errands are easier to accomplish by just unsnapping the seat and you are off - especially if you have a toddler.... one of your hands holding the baby seat, the other holding your toddler's hand.
Getting a Britax convertible seat is great because they are one of the best seats out there for extended rear-facing. They exceed US carseat safety laws!
You are doing a great job with all your research!! I don't want to discourage you AT ALL!!
Thanks for all the great info and ideas! I will look into the Graco car seats a little more. :)
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