Latest Adventures in Crafting

As my baby grows older, parenthood is becoming less physically demanding and seems to require fewer accessories. Timmy can pretty much eat and drink from whatever a restaurant gives him. I no longer need to carry around burp cloths or little toys. Most of our outings are just to the parks and playgrounds we can walk to. Lugging my big and heavy diaper bag around seems more and more burdensome as the days go by. With this in mind, I present to you....The Diaper Clutch!



It is a little thing to hold a couple diapers, a disposable changing pad and some wipes. I could throw in keys or a cell phone too. You could also throw it into a bigger diaper bag so it's easy to find amidst all the baby accessories when taking a younger baby out on the town.



It snaps shut, is fully lined and the only exposed seam is just a little teeny thing at the bottom of the inside.



I can't take credit for the design. My friend and I have become obsessed with sewing, and she came up with the pattern for this. I really love my little clutch and I get better and more efficient with each one I make. I think they'll make good gifts for my friends having babies.

My next project is to make a little sleeping bag/nap mat for Timmy to take to daycare. I have the fabric but I'm still trying to settle on a design.

There is this style, or something more like this. If the final product isn't completely embarrassing, I'll post pictures when it's finished.

Space is at a premium

Since we decided to stay in LA, I have been throwing out and donating old stuff, organizing what we are keeping to better utilize the minimal space we have and trying to consolidate/label stuff in our little storage space above our parking spots. Our storage units (2 of them) are probably the size of big freezers that hold ice cream sandwiches near checkout at Quicki-marts. About 65% of their contents are baby-related. The problem is, they're jam-packed and we keep generating more stuff for storage as Timmy outgrows another round of clothes or toys or accessories. Luckily, my mom just got a storage unit for some of my grandma's furniture she inherited that she hasn't made room for yet, and offered some space to me. Some space. Here's my problem:



These are the clothes that Timmy has outgrown in his short 18 months here on Earth. Just the clothes. I also have stored in our garage his infant swing and bouncer, exerSaucer, Baby Einstein floor gym, bumbo seat, boppy, and pack 'n play. There are things that I would love to store if I had plenty of space because we never use them anymore, like the giant glider and ottoman in his room or some more old toys or one of my two giant strollers, or his high chair when he moves on to a booster seat soon.

Everything I'm saving is something that I will probably want to use again whenever we have another baby. I also am saving a few things just for Timmy, keepsakes like his baptismal outfit and hospital blanket. I'm definitely starting to feel like the stuff I own owns me, but I can't bring myself to get rid of any of it. Then I start to wonder how long it will take to reach the point where it's cheaper to buy new stuff for the next baby than to pay to store our old stuff.

Ahh the joys of Apartment living!

Size Doesn't Matter?

What do these pictures have in common?




Both show Timmy wearing PJs from baby gap this week. The first is a size 3-6 month organic sleeper that he has been wearing since March. The second is a size 18-24 month short set. Why such a big disparity?

Holding Pattern

That might not be the right way to describe my life right now, but it is good enough to give you the basic idea. I haven't found the time to blog lately, and this doesn't seem too tragic since there really isn't that much going on.

The 30-second summary is that my nanny started last Wednesday and today was my first real day of studying while she was here. Of course I got much less done than I thought I would and I'm decently behind the paced schedule. I know it's possible to catch up but I just can't devote my full attention to it yet... PJO is taking a big test on Saturday so until that is over, I have to pick up a little slack around here.

I could wax poetic for multiple entries on my renewed love affair with Trader Joe's and how that will be the answer to significantly reducing our monthly grocery bill.

I'm also pretty excited about our new savings account at SmartyPig. While our savings is an emergency fund right now, we're really saving up for a down payment on a house. We're shooting for 15-20% since mortgage insurance is a bitch, which means that right now our projected completion of our savings goal is in 2040. Awesome. So maybe we'll have a house by the time we're grandparents.

This brings up the big thing that's been our minds but not in our conversation until after this CFA exam... possibly moving after the Bar. Since I won't be working until at least October 2010, I told PJO that next year is his big chance to try living somewhere new if he really wants to. It would be very difficult to justify looking for two jobs in a new city unless we had to, but if he could find a job somewhere new, why not give it a try for a year? We really would like to be settled in one place once our kid(s) are in school, so this upcoming year may realistically be one of our last chances to really try a new city.
This little (and expensive) apartment is becoming claustrophobic... Jumping over an exersaucer, stroller, high chair and coffee table to get from one side of the room to another is exhausting. 500 more square feet would be amazing, a backyard or a garage would just be delightful. I'm not sure I'm willing to wait 6 or 7 years to be able to afford an actual house with a yard in Los Angeles. So we've been talking about moving somewhere more affordable. You know, where you can get a house on a plot of land for less than $1,000,000. Geez, so much to ask, I know.
The plan is for PJO to look for jobs after his test is over, and if he finds something we'll move and try it out. If he doesn't, we'll stay. It takes a lot of restraint to not search for homes on zillow.com all day long, especially when the alternative is studying for the Bar.

Someday soon I'll find the time to write about the doubts and fears that have been plaguing me regarding being a working mom now that I'm only spending a couple hours per day with my baby.
Someday soon I'll find the time to review the iPod Bar Bri program and how it's working so far.
Someday soon I'll find the time to talk about the recent additions to our baby gear and how freaking big and old my 5 month old child is. And how I can't believe he's not a newborn anymore. And how I am amazed every day at how much I love being his mom. And how I could never imagine spending all day with a baby before and now I'm quite sad when I go several hours without him.
Someday I'll find the time to complain about the lack of consistent sleep and how I'm still swaddling my 21 pound baby and how I had to teach him to drink from a sippy cup this week so the nanny could avoid starving him.

But for now, you just get the boring non-update on my life. Sorry!


ok, also a couple pictures:

So what do we think?

I wrote this post back when I was pregnant of all the stuff I had registered for and bought. We're only a month into using any of this stuff, but here is what I think of it so far.

Crib and 6-Drawer Dresser: Love these. Of course, any crib and dresser will be fine to use for a month, I think the test of whether these particular ones were worth the money will come years from now. But I love the way they look. Timmy has slept in his crib in all but 2 nights since coming home from the hospital. The dresser has worked out great as a changing table.





Bedding: Really, anything would work. We bought one of those bedding sets, and we use a mattress protector under the sheet (has already come in handy when he soaked through a diaper one night), and then a sheet-saver on top (to catch the spit-up if there's any).

Dutalier Glider & Ottoman: REALLY Love these. I knew it would be important to have a comfortable one, but I had no idea how grateful I would be when I was rocking a crying baby at 2am for an hour. This one is particularly good for tall people because it's huge and it reclines, so both PJO and I fit with plenty of room. The ottoman has a stationary foot rest, which can be nice at times. And it has these cool (but discrete) pockets under the arms for nursing pads, nipple cream, mylicon or whatever else you want to keep nearby when you nurse.



Graco Snugride Carseat: I guess this is fine. It looks and feels much cheaper than I thought it would (especially considering it costs $100), but I guess it does its job. It's fairly easy to carry and snap in and out of the car seat base and stroller.

Graco Snugrider Stroller Frame: This has been awesome. It's pretty lightweight and has a decent size basket. PJO and I are both tall and this is pretty comfortable to push around. I think the wheels are kind of a pain because they're cheap and hard plastic, but I only plan on using this stroller for a few months. When we get our next one, we'll probably get something that can do more "off-roading"

Baby Bjorn - still haven't used this because they tell you not to with newborns since the discs in their spines would compress if they can't sit up straight yet.

Sling: A friend let me borrow her sling. I love it and so does Timmy. It is a little difficult to get him in and out, so if I buy one myself, I might buy one that is a stretchy material rather than silk. Pics from a few weeks ago:





Bouncer: We got the boppy Cradle-in-Comfort one. It has already been worth it. He won't always go in it, but when he has, he has been content for up to a few hours at a time.

Swing: This has proven clutch as well, but it's not like he will always go in it. The vibrating chair is especially important I think. When he was screaming and nothing else, not even being held/bounced/rocked would help, the vibrating chair in the swing would calm him instantly. Worth every penny (and that's a lot of pennies!)

Pack-n-Play: so far, a total waste of money. I wanted it for traveling and the days I took him to his babysitter's house or Grandma's, and thought I could use it as a bassinet in the beginning. Well, he HATED sleeping in it (I think because it wasn't firm enough). I'm sure eventually he'll take naps in it, but for now, I have a huge thing taking up space in the nursery (because it has a changing table and mobile). If I could do it again, I would probably just get the smallest, simplest one.

Monitor: Since we were going to use the pack-n-play we didn't think we would need a monitor. Even once we started using the crib, we figured we would hear him fine because we live in a small apartment. Well, when he was four days old and would only sleep in the crib, we panicked and got a monitor because we wanted to make sure we would hear him (hahahahah). We still use the Sony Babycall Monitor and love it. It works really well and can be plugged in or on battery, so you can bring it anywhere.

Breast Pump: Couldn't live without this. I ordered the Pump-in-Style Advanced. It works great. In about 20 minutes I can get about 5-10 oz., including time to set it up and clean the parts. It's painless and simple to use. I would say to shop around online because I paid $240, and it's $330 at Babies R Us. I also bought the quick-clean microsteam bags to try, and they're pretty easy to use.

Milk Storage Bags: I use the Lansinoh ones, and they're good. Sturdy, stand up-right in the fridge, don't leak or puncture.

Nursing Pads: Also use the Lansinoh ones, but I got some free Medela ones with the pump and they're fine too. Really, I think any nursing pads are fine. Just make sure you have them! And at least for the beginning, have nipple cream. I used Medela and liked it. The Lansinoh cream was way too thick to get out of the tube, even after you massage it. I also liked this one. I don't really use it too much anymore though, it's just not that necessary at this point.

Nursing Bra: LOVE this. It's so comfy and convenient. I haven't worn any other type of bra since Tim was born ... I bought a few.

Bottles: I have the bpa-free plastic Dr. Brown's bottles. They seem to work really well. There are more parts to clean (because of the vent inserts), but it's not bad at all. So far they don't leak. I can't compare them to other bottles to know whether the bottles really do reduce gas, but I don't notice any difference in Timmy after I breastfeed v. bottlefeed.

Bathtub: Sure Comfort Deluxe - Seems to work well. It doesn't fit perfectly in our Kitchen sink, which is where we bathe him, but other than that I would recommend it. I like that there is a sling in it to use when the baby is really little.

Diaper Genie II Elite: I would recommend this. It keeps the nursery stink-free, even with about 6-8 poopy diapers a day. I can see why some people hate it, because we went through a whole refill in 2 weeks. But I think those will start to last longer once we start using less diapers.

Baby Einstein Play Mat: He likes it, but he's still a bit to young for it...He LOVES looking at himself in the mirror.

Boppy Pillow: Like it. I use it sometimes for breastfeeding, but he likes to sit in it and do some modified tummy time in it.



Crib tent: We returned it before ever using it.

Diaper Bag: I bought this one and got this one at my shower (it's actually chocolate brown, and the inside is this print in a water-resistant material). I love both. I've gotten a few free ones too (from the pediatrician, hospital, etc...), but I don't really like them so they're still in the closet.

Nursing Shawl: LOVE this! I haven't had to nurse in public too much yet, but I have used it and it's really easy and convenient. I have also used it to pump in my car once. I like how the bamboo part lets you see the baby and your nipples (in case you need to fix a latch or something).

Clothes: I pretty much dress Timmy in footed sleepers or onesies these days. My very favorite sleepers are these from baby Gap... the fabric is a little nicer, the snaps are better than zippers in my opinion, they fit better and they have the built-in mittens. They're more expensive, but I would rather have 3 or 4 of these than 10 of the carter's zip-up footed sleepers.
As far as sizes, Timmy surprisingly fit in newborn clothes for 3 or 4 weeks. We actually had to buy a couple more things for him to wear. But besides that, we haven't had to buy anything. People have bought us (and keep sending) so many clothes that we had to get a huge plastic container to store clothes he couldn't wear yet because his dresser and closet were full. This includes bibs and shoes, which I would never recommend anyone buy... we haven't used them once. Although I did make him try some shoes on yesterday... He wasn't really a fan.




Blankets: Honestly, we could have gotten by without anything but these. Best. Swaddling. Blankets. Ever. Especially for a BIG baby (because those hospital blankets didn't really work so well. And these are big enough to use for everything else too, including covering his car seat when we go out in the sun.



In a few months, we'll be shopping for a stroller and a high chair. But otherwise, we're pretty well stocked.

The Random Thoughts in My Head Today

Every semester, I make a finals study calendar -- it starts a few weeks before exams do, and it is color-coded by class, allotting days and half-days to study or attend review sessions before that particular exam. My favorite part is planning it all out, followed by crossing out days that I finish.
Every semester, I edit my finals study calendar almost every day... I have to adjust my expectations once I realize how far behind I am. I spent about 6 hours outlining one chapter of my Bankruptcy book today ... I was supposed to finish that whole outline by the end of today. Looks like Community Property can wait until Wednesday.

I could never become a complete recluse during finals like some of my fellow students ... instead I take on projects, host dinner parties and go shopping ... really, anything to avoid studying. Kind of weird, given my supreme satisfaction that comes from crossing out things from my to-do list.

Speaking of to-do list, I crossed off a few things from the "pretend like I'm ready and mentally prepared to have a child in a month" list:
1. We registered for classes. Well, I requested a few time slots... we'll see if they're open. We decided to forego "childbirth preparation" in favor of "infant CPR and safety" and "Baby Care." The dates are Dec. 6th and 13th, 3 and 4 hours respectively. If they're full, I guess we'll figure it out later or go to a class after the baby is born (obviously, just the CPR one by that time).
2. We bought the last few things from our registry we hadn't received and some diapers/wipes.
3. We have more baby clothes than we'll ever need (thanks to PJO's mom and sister (who has two little boys already). Today I started washing the ones he could wear early on.
4. I bought a breast pump. I decided to skip renting one, even though I have a feeling that would have been smart, because a one-month rental comes to about half the cost of buying one. Anyway, I bought the Medela Pump-In-Style Metro bag. (I hate the look of the bag, but I think they're all ugly, and this one at least can be removed from the bag). I went back and forth b/w this and the Avent Isis Duo-whatever-it's-called. That was only $200 on Amazon (new), but Medela seems to get slightly better reviews. I found this website, and they were selling either the 2007 or 2008 version for $240 (no tax, free shipping). The 2007 version came with a manual pump and a couple other things, so I opted for that (I'm pretty sure it's about $320 on Amazon. Anyway, I think it's a good option for anyone buying a new pump... I had mine a week later and everything was perfect.
5. That was a lot of preparation this weekend, assembly of gear can wait until a lot later.

Speaking of baby, it's so weird to think about how differently the next month or so will be depending on when and how he makes his appearance. I'm trying to distract myself and not think about it so much, but it's kind of amazing how many surprises are in store for me. I mean, I could be at home, celebrating the holidays with a baby or I could be hugely pregnant until sometime in 2009.

Holidays. We're hosting our third annual Thanksgiving this Thursday. My parents and two brothers come over, and PJO and I make Turkey and ham, Cranberry sauce, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes and green bean casserole. Last year, we tried to get creative and make the Lemon Turkey featured in Bon Appetit but this year we'll go back to traditional fare. Usually we all go for a walk by the beach after dinner. This year, the outdoor ice skating rink is open already and is just a few blocks away from our apartment. We're dorky Californians, and this is REALLY cool, so we might go there (and of course I'll be sidelined, again... wah, wah).

We have no plans for Christmas. We have no idea where we'll be, and more importantly, no idea what kind of mood I'll be in that day (only sliiiiiiiiightly exaggerating). New Years Eve, I will be drinking a glass of champagne, regardless of when Uno decides to be born. I'm still enjoying the holiday season though, outlining to Christmas music on our Cable music channel.

I ordered an embroidered stocking and engraved pewter stocking-holder for my cat, Furious George. Yeah. I know. I was given one for me, PJO and our other cat, Sweet Pea, 3 years ago as a gift. Poor Georgie was the outcast with his "Meow Meow" generic stocking the past 2 years. I decided that just because he was the younger pet didn't mean he should be treated differently and he OBVIOUSLY needed a matching stocking. So it has snowmen on it and says "George" ("Furious" didn't fit in the 10 letter allowance) and it will be here this week.

I wanted to order one for the baby, but there were two problems. One, we still don't have a name. Two, that HAS to be bad luck to order personalized things before he's even born. Oh, and three, even if we did have a name, what if we changed it? If he's born before Christmas, I hope he doesn't mind using the "Meow Meow" stocking for his first Christmas.

Well, if all of that doesn't demonstrate some kind of attention deficit disorder, probably nothing will. Now I'm going to bed so I can outline approximately 10 chapters of Bankruptcy tomorrow, none of which I have read or taken notes on.

7 Months ... Holy Shit!

Two months from today is Uno's EDD. Part of me feels anxious for that day to get here, but then I remember that before he arrives, I need to attend two weddings, go to NYC, host Thanksgiving dinner and do enough work to get respectable grades in my 17 units of law school, and oh ya, learn how to be a parent... hence the "holy shit!"

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that the nursery is complete... i.e. bedding washed and put on the mattress I made PJO go buy with me today to put in our crib that was delivered this week which has the matching mobile attached to it already... I always try to rationalize being so ahead of schedule by saying that I wouldn't want to wait until 8 or 9 months when I have final exams and papers and other really important stuff that I couldn't possibly spare a single minute setting up the nursery. First of all, this just isn't the rationalization that prompted me to do all of this in the first place. Second of all, there is no better time to procrastinate than during finals, and I really couldn't afford to spare a singe minute this weekend considering I have a final paper due in a week that is sitting right at the 3-page mark. BUT YAY, it's done and I can send people pictures of it now!

Finally, here's a picture of the steadily growing baby bump from right before I headed over to the shower yesterday:

Shower Power

Yesterday, my best friend from school hosted a baby shower for me. It was so much fun! Coming from someone who generally dislikes showers (well, really just those thrown for me ... I hate opening presents in front of people, especially when I am not giving them something too), that's saying a lot.
The people were a pretty good mix of law school friends, work friends, and old friends. The catering was all courtesy of the boyfriend of the hostess (who is amazingly skilled) plus Sprinkles cupcakes in my favorite flavor (Red Velvet), PJO's favorite flavor (chocolate peanut butter) and everyone's favorite stand-by (chocolate). My mom helped put on the shower, which included a book of pictures from my birth to now with captions, plus some of my writing gems from childhood (I was a very, uh, creative, writer). Everyone had a few laughs at my expense. There was a special blue martini for the guests in Uno's honor and lots of wine and champagne. Everyone decorated onesies with outrageously inappropriate sayings on them. They all wrote a piece of advice on cards for me. Then they all showered Uno with baby gear, adorable clothes and blankets and lots of my favorite children's books.
We have almost everything we registered for now (just a few small things left) and we got a few things that I never even dreamed about. My mom had an antique music box she used for my brothers and I restored and gave it to us, and the music brings back a lot of memories.
It's kind of awesome that we now have pretty much everything we need, but the real benefit of the shower was being able to hang out with that many of my girlfriends at one time. Some of them I see every day, but others I hadn't seen in a long time. And I think it was only better because most of us had never been to a baby shower before. We had a few old pros (especially my mom) who helped run things. The rest of us had a normal party except there happened to be really cute baby stuff everywhere. Plus, there was a novelty in it all for most people, so it seemed like people genuinely enjoyed this glimpse into the world of baby.
I'm glad that I took advantage of my baby shower opportunity and really had a great time! Although I got married and will be having my first child at a young age, I don't feel like I will look back and wish I had waited until I was more mature or better off financially or whatever to do all of this "the right way." PJO and I are incredibly blessed and we're certainly not skimping on anything that we feel is important.

"I'm not like other moms, I'm a cool mom!" *

I'm going to be a young mom when Uno is born and I still feel like a college kid sometimes. I'm certainly not ready for the suburban-living, mini-van-driving, letting-herself-go version of the moms I knew growing up.

I sure as hell won't be buying any mom jeans:

But I am not obsessed with holding on to my child-free early twenties either. There is something to say for looking chic and put together while toting around a baby, and if I can choose looking fashionable over looking frumpy without sacrificing comfort, convenience or my savings, then I choose looking fashionable! Of course, "sacrificing my savings" is relative, depending on how much I need (item of the moment).

I had no idea what to really look for in a diaper bag, but I figured it should be waterproof/washable, roomy on the inside, and have a few compartments for various things and bottles. I LOVE big bags so I thought it would be fun to shop for. but really, a lot of them are U-G-L-Y.

Anyway, I was pretty excited to find this today.



Stella McCartney's spring 2008 line for LeSportSac is 75% off, so this otherwise ridiculously overpriced bag becomes somewhat more reasonable. I'm sure I could have found something a little more practical, but when you combine my usual impulsiveness with pregnancy hormones (the scapegoat for pretty much everything I do these days), this bag became a necessity.





* Name that movie!

The Baby Stuff We're Getting ... and What We're Not

Stuff we're getting soon:

* Crib – we still haven't fully decided on what to get… at first, I wanted a crib and changing table from pottery barn kids, but I just couldn't rationalize spending so much money on something that I'm pretty sure isn't of quality that deserves that price tag. I started looking at BabiesRUs and online for cribs that had good customer reviews and were in the $200-$400 range. The Baby Bargains book (Thank you SO MUCH to those of you who recommended it!!!) has a really extensive and detailed section on cribs and other nursery furniture, but their top picks are still more expensive than I think I want to spend ($600 for a crib, more for matching dressers). I don't want to buy something that looks cheap or will fall apart soon, so I would invest in good quality if I was sure it would last… but it's hard to tell what is actually good quality and what is just expensive. I think we'll try to decide this weekend on nursery furniture.
UPDATE - we ordered the Munire Essex Crib and double dresser today... The crib is mahogany wood in a cherry finish, converts to a toddler and full size bed and seems really sturdy. The dresser is a 6 drawer dresser (side by side) so we plan on using it as a changing table in the nursery (with plenty of storage), but we figure it can easily be used in a regular bedroom with the full-size bed too. The place we bought it from had a sale this weekend with no sales tax added, and there is no delivery charge if we pick it up from the store, so it was actually really reasonably priced as well. I absolutely love it! My only concern is with the delivery time frame... reviews online said the manufacturer is notoriously delayed. At first, they quoted us a 12-14 week window. When we said that wouldn't work, they supposedly found a huge warehouse in northern California with two left in stock, so we should get them within 2-4 weeks. If it's going to be longer, we can change our order, but I really hope we don't have to!

* Dresser (also using as a changing table) - what exactly we get depends on the crib, but I am thinking I want a 6 drawer dresser, so that it's long enough and low enough to use a changing table but still with enough storage room for all the stuff.

* Glider & ottoman (well, we already got this because PJO's mom gave us the money to buy it while it was on sale as an early Christmas gift... we got Dutalier and I LOVE it!)

* We are also going to buy a starting supply of diapers/wipes/detergent and a back-up container of formula at some point before the baby is born

Stuff we're registering for:

* Infant car seat (Graco snugride – cheap, safe, good reviews)

* Stroller frame (Graco snug-ride; it's cheap, lightweight and has good reviews… Once Uno is too big for infant seat, we'll look into buying a regular stroller (I think waiting to buy it until 4 or 6 months when we'll actually need it makes more sense than buying it now... as of now, we like Maclaren, Chico or peg perego)

* Baby bjorn carrier – some people don't like these, but I think we'll use it a lot since we're outside so much. This seemed sturdier than a sling which is why I want it instead.

* bouncer and swing – most people say to just buy one of these, but I put both on my registry and figure I will probably use both at some point, and worst case I can decide later whether to keep them

* bedding - mattress, several plain crib sheets, sheet savers plus the cute stuff that's a waste of money but I can't resist. We also registered for the changing table pad and cover

* Bottles / Nipples - We registered for Dr. Browns and Born Free glass bottles (2 of each brand for both the small and bigger size)... I plan on breastfeeding and pumping, so I will use bottles but probably not exclusively. I want to make sure to have more than one brand in case Uno doesn't like the first one we try, and I figure we can buy more later if we need more.

* Boppy pillow

* The standard bathing stuff, first aid and grooming kits

* baby monitor - although I don't know if we'll really need this, since we're in a little apartment.

* A few blankets and swaddlers

* Pack 'n play – I wasn't going to get this, but since I'm not really sure what our childcare situation will be (i.e. we aren't sure that we'll have someone come to our place), I thought we should have one of these. I also could this as a bassinet if we decide we want one. We weren't going to use a bassinet at all since the nursery is about 10 feet from our bed (my mom never used one for us either), but I figure it won't hurt to have this in case we decide to use it as a bassinet.

* Crib Tent - I can't decide what to do about this one... My thought is that I should have something to keep the cats out of the crib... I can't really imagine actually using it, it doesn't have great reviews and it's UGLY. But what if I need to keep curious cats away from Uno? I'll probably end up never taking it out of the box, but it's still on here in case I decide I need it.

stuff we will buy later:

* baby clothes - Especially given that I am apparently destined to have a large baby (who will likely not fit in 0-3 month clothes ever), I am not planning on buying any newborn clothes. After the baby shower, I will figure out what clothes we still need, since I know most women can't resist buying cute little baby clothes.

* Regular stroller

* High Chair

* (maybe sooner) Breast Pump – I think I'm leaning towards getting a double electric pump. At least until June, I'll only have to be gone for class for a 5-hour stretch on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, so I probably won't pump at school. Therefore, I would rather have a pump that can build a good supply efficiently, and if I still pump when I'm gone for longer stretches during the day, it will work well. BUT I still don't know if I want to drop $250 or so before having the baby in case there is a reason why I can't breastfeed. Baby Bargains recommends waiting and possibly renting one for the first month to see if it works for you… this might be a pain, and I might just buy a pump earlier, but it makes sense to me. We'll see. I think I would probably get the Medela Pump in Style Advanced because it has the best reviews and is the median price of the best-rated ones, b/w Ameda purely yours and the Avent Isis iQ.

Thoughts?