Extreme Baby!

I spent some time this morning checking out extreme baby gifts, both in terms of weirdness and expense. Okay, mostly expense. I just can't get over how much some of this stuff costs!

Don't want to compromise your style? Try this leopard print high chair from Nicole Reid for $885.
If you take your cues from Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes (or L. Ron Hubbard...), here's a portable sonogram machine for $24,000. But hey, free shipping. (http://outlet.med1online.com/p-2967-acusonsiemens-cypress-portable-ultrasound-free-ship.aspx)
What looks like a baby cage is really the Cencio Intellicot Cot, a crib designed by a team of students in the UK. I could not find a price, and you know what that means. It's features include: integrated video monitors, automatic rocking, a mechanical raising feature (to prevent back strain when picking up baby), air circulation for temperature control, and a plexiglass viewing window. I'm sorry, but it still looks like something you'd keep a baby in if you worked in a lab. (http://www.intellicot.com/features/)
If you prefer a more lavish and beautiful crib, this Gold Cherub Crib from Bed and Baby will do. If you get the bedding and mattress, this baby will run you about $2300. Their mantra is, "Having an ordinary baby? Get an ordinary crib. Having a special baby? Get a special crib." Because "special" is all about spending money...
This isn't that expensive at $82, but promises a lot--this Why Cry? Baby Crying Analyzer Monitor promises to tell you what your baby wants when he or she is crying. If only it were that easy...
Let me preface by saying that I'm not a big fan of dolls, but this one from Anne Geddes really freaked me out. It's $180 and looks way too real.
If you really want your little girl to grow up into a celebutante, here's "A Star Is Born" dressing table from Bliss Living ($250).
This classic pram (short for perambulator) from Posh Tots is a mere $990.

I would call this the chopper of strollers. Starting at $2,500, this Kustom Kids stroller can be upgraded with features such as a DVD player or Ipod speakers. Doesn't every little girl dream of being a princess? For only $47,000, she can sleep in this carriage bed from Posh Tots.
This has to be the most extreme thing I found: a $52,000 pirate play-ship for the backyard (Posh Tots). Granted, it's pretty sweet. But you know what else you could buy for that price? This actual house--a beach-style cottage located in a marina with views of Lake Livingston. (www.har.com)

I See You!

I was reading through Psalm 139 the other day, which is a great psalm for thinking about pregnancy from God's perspective. I think most people are familiar with the whole being knit together in the womb verse. But something kind of new and fresh really wowed me.

13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.

As I read the last two verses, I had the realization that while Rob and I have to wait another six months to meet our baby, God already knows him or her. His/her frame isn't hidden from God the way it is from us. That only makes sense since God is the one doing the knitting together, but I hadn't thought of it that way--as a knowing, as an intimate connection. Not only does God see and know our baby, but but all the days of his or her life are already written in God's book.

I don't want to get into a whole thing about predestination or preordination, but looking at simply what this verse says, I feel a great peace. God is forming our child and sees our child and knows our child. He already has his or her days mapped out. With all that in mind, what do I have to worry about??

I Don't Have to Be a Mom Yet to Know This Is the Best Mom Book Ever!

I found this book at Marshalls for $3 and can't wait to use it with my kids! The name is Mom's Guide to Being a Superhero. It's basically an idea book of inside and outside and otherside games and activities. Here are some of the contents: Make Rainbow Crayons, Observe Worms, Make an Ant Farm, Stop Bad Dreams, Fix Plastic Toys, How to Juggle, Make a Tambourine, Play Chinese Jumprope, Whistle Using Fingers, Make Face Paint, Make Pom Pom Animals, Make a Rocket, Raise Tadpoles, Make a Snow Globe.

This is the kind of book that makes me think about galavanting around with my kid(s) up to our ankles in a stream catching tadpoles with our rain boots on. I'm sure these are the kinds of things every new mom wants to do before she gets too tired from actually taking care of her baby. Here's to pushing through the tiredness to still having loads of fun!

What I really need right now is one that tells me how to balance my washing machine so it will stop buzzing when I try to wash towels.

Christ-Centered Birth

So, yesterday Buck (Rob's dad) did a sort of mini-seminar for the teachers at church about Christ-centered teaching. To sum it up very quickly, the point is that we can't earn our salvation through our works, but only through Jesus' work. Most of the time we get that right. But then we send a mixed message when we teach lessons that basically look at the things the Bible says to do and tell people to do it through their own effort, as though we couldn't earn salvation without Jesus, but we can do good works without him. Not true. We couldn't do it in the first place on our own, why would we think we could do it now?

What does this have to do with pregnancy and birth?

Well, I became very convinced along the way before birth that creating babies is something only God can do. I have so many friends that have struggled with infertility and just expressed what a miracle it was when they became pregnant, or when they were provided with a child to adopt. So many important people in Scripture were born to infertile mothers (Isaac to Sarah, Samuel to Hannah, John to Elizabeth). God made sure to make the point that HE is the giver of life. I mean, yes, we play a part in making babies (I think we're all aware of what that is) but God is the life-giver and the one right at this moment knitting my baby together. (Wow.)

I was reading a great little book Krista gave me with a Scripture-based look at birth, and it asked a question I hated, basically asking if God would give us anything to do that we couldn't do. They wanted you to answer "No, God only gives you things that you can do," but even the verse they gave didn't match up with that. The truth is that God gives us things that we can't do all the time so that He can show His mighty power in helping us do them. His power is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12).

Why would I think that after trusting God to create the life in me, I could trust my own strength to give birth to that life? Seriously, the thought of giving birth without drugs in my home is scary to me. So much could go wrong. I don't know what labor's like--what if I simply am too weak to do it? But after this morning, I thought that in the same way God accomplishes his gospel work AND the work after, I can trust that He accomplished the baby-making and will accomplish the baby-birthing.

Yes, I have a role, as we all do in our faith. We have big roles! But the more completely we see our weakness and need, the more we give God the opportunity to be our strength.

2 Corinthians 10:9- But He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

First Bump Picture!

This doesn't show it fully, but this is me all decked out in derby gear for our costume youth group tonight. This will be a dress rehearsal for next week when I skate the half marathon. I still can't believe I signed up for that. I skated eight miles today, and eight miles is reeeeaaalllly long. Anyway, here's me in my cute shirt.

Vivid Dreams

***This post is for my Dad, who complained that there were not enough personal and "unique" posts so far. Dads always know best. :)

One of the "symptoms" of pregnancy is having vivid or strange dreams. I have nutty dreams anyway, but try this one (from last night) on for size:

I dreamed that I woke up in my bathroom, just moments after delivering my baby. Apparently I slept through both labor and delivery, and Rob (along with some man I've never met, in real life or dreams) had helped deliver the baby. I was really sad to have missed the whole thing, and we had to call Cathy my midwife and tell her she missed it as well.

Now, if that's not weird enough, the baby boy I gave birth to in my sleep could already walk and talk.

Does this mean I'm having a boy? (In the bathroom? While asleep??) Guess we'll have to wait and see if it was a vivid, prophetic dream.

What I'm Reading

I just checked out two new books from my midwife. This one, The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth, I read several years ago. My friend Stacy (her blog is linked to the right--Indo Gunters) let me borrow it after she had her baby. She was the first person I knew who had a home birth, and honestly, I thought it sounded nuts. But after reading this book, I remember thinking, Uh oh...if it's crazy, it's catching.

It's been a while since I've read it, so I'm looking forward to delving in again. It completely opened my eyes to things I never knew or thought about that happen frequently during hospital births. The downside to the book is that it takes a fairly (okay, strongly) anti-hospital stance. While I became convinced that a home birth is the choice for me, I want to be sure and support the choice women have in birth. I would never want to make a woman feel guilty or bad about choosing a hospital birth.

Keeping that in mind, this IS a great book for information on why women choose a home birth, and why a birth in the hospital may not actually be the safest birth. More on that to come...

Stuff I Heart

I love love LOVE baby stuff with a sense of humor, especially onesies like these from Wrybaby.com:









And these, from Rebel Ink Baby:






I just love that these embrace the funny side of babies, as there are already so many sites and designs that show the cute and lovely side. There are a few that take it a step (or leap) further than I would like. The "Bring on the Boobs" logo, for example. Yuck. I guess mostly I don't like the ones that draw attention to breasts and breastfeeding, which starts to make it feel like dirty humor to me.

My Mom doesn't like the Rebel Ink onesies, probably because they are all black. But she has already bought a "What Happens at Grandma's, Stays at Grandma's" snapsuit. So, how do you feel about baby humor? What takes it too far for you??

This Whole "Baby" Thing

I had always planned something ambitious for my first pregnancy: keeping a daily journal, taking weekly pictures, writing frequent letters to the baby. But somehow, I've made it through the first trimester without doing any of these things. In fact, I think it's been several months since I've even picked up the journal MaryBeth gave me before I moved. Meanwhile, the days are slipping into weeks, slipping into months. Before I know it, I'll be holding my first baby in my arms. Hard to believe!

This week I was reading through a few blogs from moms that have such great insight and honest thoughts about pregnancy and child-rearing. (I'll post some of their links soon.) I've always been scared to create a writing blog, as I feel like it would be presumptuous of me to assume I have something worth other people reading. But maybe there are other people like me who love surfing through blogs, hearing from other people who are just trying to piece it all together.

I'm not sure that I have a unique perspective or huge revelations, but in lieu of journaling about my pregnancy, I love the idea of posting thoughts that won't stay in a vaccuum. Not that I have any great wisdom, but I have lots of questions and I like to reflect about everything. I also have some great, wise, and fun friends and moms that I'd love to draw and quote from.

And to be honest, I do feel a little different. I said to my friend Heather recently that I'm missing that gene that other women have that makes them enjoy things like baby showers and romantic movies. I'm a recovering cynic (a pessi-realist, if you will) and have a wry sense of humor. What does it mean for someone that has never just loved babies to have one? How will I adjust to being a mom when I'd choose a game of poker over shopping most days of the week?

I hope this won't just be deep reflection and a lot of reading. I want to post ideas, neat gadgets and great buys, and links to neat sites or articles. We'll see how it goes. But know that this isn't coming from a place (or person) of super wisdom or insight--just an almost-mom trying to figure out this whole baby thing.