Do We Need Anything???

So I feel really weird addressing this subject in this manner, but I have fielded numerous questions about this over the last several weeks.  I will post the information here so it is readily available for those who want it. 

We will NOT be having a baby shower for Beana, primarily because many of the things that we got at Gracie's shower are still brand new and in the packages.  Also because, as the mother of a wonderful friend says, 'we don't celebrate the baby until the baby is here.'  It's hard for us to not follow that philosophy at this point.

For those who really want to know what we still need in preparation for Beana, our Amazon, Wal-Mart and Babies-R-Us registries are still active.  I assumed that they would be eliminated by the retailers after a certain period of time (Target deleted our registry), but I just found out that I am wrong.  WE ARE NOT ASKING YOU TO BUY US THINGS, but people are starting to ask, so here are the links to what is left of our registries...

We do NOT need any clothing for the first 6 months - I repeat, we do not need any clothing.  I think that we are also good on blankets, changing pad covers and bibs.  For several reasons, we are also planning to do cloth diapering most of the time.  Cloth diapering has actually come into its own, and is quite different than it was 30 years ago...it's not just a piece of cloth, a couple pins and a rubber cover.  It's going to require a little money up front to get our 'stash' built up (compared to just buying disposable diapers as we go over the first few months), but in the long run it will be more cost effective.  Donations accepted if you wish to give them, but they are certainly not expected!!!  :-D 

Amazon.com Registry (click the link)

Most of the stuff here is related to diapering.  

Babies-R-Us (click the link)

There are only a few things left on this list.  The most important at this point are the bottles.  

WAL-MART REGISTRY  (click the link)

Many of the things available for purchase online can be shipped to the local store, eliminating shipping charges.  If you are shopping in the store, print this off and take it with you.  The cashier can scan the bar codes and the items that you are buying - it will be reflected on our list so we don't end up with duplicated items.  Under the two bar codes there is a little box that says 'Sort this list by:'  click on "received" and give it a minute.  The list will sort out the things that have not been purchased.  

There are some things that are more important than others for us to have sooner than later.  Things that we need to get in the near future are: 

- breast milk storage bottles and bags

- crib sheets

- waterproof crib mattress pads

- Fisher Price floor jungle gym

- Angelcare monitor
- Bumbo seat and tray

(Crib and mattress are already taken care of, just not reflected on this list)

Things that can wait are:

- Tiny Love developmental toy (in a few months)

- jogging stroller

- play yard gates

- shopping cart cover

24 Week Update

Miss Beana has been dancing up a storm over the last few weeks.  She is on the move 24/7, which is more than I could ever say for Gracie, who slept for 6-8 hours a day with very little movement during those hours.  We had our 24 week appointment on Thursday, which included another level 2 ultrasound, a visit with one of the MFM docs and a visit with one of the midwives in our OB practice.

The ultrasound was, again, an amazing experience.  Beana was having a little dance party during the entire ultrasound - it was weird to feel her moving and watch it at the same time on the screen and see which body part it was that I was feeling.  She was in a head down position at 20 weeks and she was still that way on Thursday!  Yippee!!  The ultrasound wasn't quite as detailed as the 20 week ultrasound, but we still saw pretty much every structure of Beana's body.  We were also able to see the placenta pretty well, as well as blood flow through the umbilical cord.  Placental size and health and cord flow were two of the things that I was most concerned about (in addition to cardiac structure and function), and both looked really good on Thursday.  Heart structure and function is still looking good, too.

 Although you can't see her face, this is a shot of her arms up in front of her face.  It's similar to a few ultrasound photos that we have of Gracie.

You can see her heart with such clarity here...

Overall, Beana is measuring in the 39th percentile for growth - she was estimated to be 1 pound, 5 ounces.  I am not real crazy about the 39th percentile, since Gracie was only in the 30th percentile at 32 weeks, but as long as she holds steady in her growth and stays at or above the 39th percentile, all is well.  (I forgot to ask where she measured during the 20 week ultrasound.)  After our experience with Gracie's IUGR (Intrauterine Growth Restriction) not being diagnosed until postpartum, I am just a little nervous.   

The MFM doc basically came right out and said that everything looked good.  Jeff was surprised by this, because he was expecting him to give us the same line that the other doc gave us 4 weeks ago..."Nothing of concern seen at this point."  He said that if everything continues at it is now, we will have additional ultrasounds at 28 and 32 weeks, and then start weekly biophysical profiles (ultrasound and non-stress test combo).  We will also have a second NST each week since that information is considered to be valid only for 3-4 days. 

Nothing exciting during our midwife appointment.  My blood pressure was just a little higher than I hoped it would be, but it was certainly not high enough to cause concern.  I have gained a total of about 22-23 pounds so far, which is good.  Fundal height measurement was 24 cm...right where it should be.  Heart rate was 145 beats per minute.  We discussed a few other business matters...

The day of our next scheduled appointments will be quite eventful...I will be returning a 24-hour urine collection jug, doing the 1 hour glucose test, receiving my Rho.gam injection, having an ultrasound, seeing the MFM doc and seeing the midwife.  We decided to ask how much pressure we are likely to receive for induction as we get closer to our due date - in all honesty, if things are looking good, I have no desire at all to induce early.  Her response was that much of those recommendations would come from MFM, but as long as there were no concerns from us or from the medical team, it shouldn't be much of an issue.  But, she did say that it's not overly likely that they will 'let' me go past my EDD. 

Our next appointments will be on July 1st...hopefully there will not be much more to update until then.  Please keep our friends Lisa and Chris in your thoughts and prayers as they get closer to meeting their second little one later this month.