2 of 5

This is the second picture of the five good ones we have of Twuck. All other ultrasounds, images, etc you see on this blog are either computer generated images or someone else's baby; they are merely posted to aid visualization of current growth. We will not be having the super-fancy 4D ultrasounds - they generally involve a longer exposure time and more powerful equipment, and though no one has ever proven ultrasounds unsafe to mother or baby, I am scarred by my lab experiences where we used sound waves to break open cells. Well, the emotional scarring goes beyond that, but I digress . . . :-P Ultrasounds - fancy and otherwise - are wonderful tools for those that need them. Fortunately, it looks like this time, we won't.
I think I'm starting to look pregnant, a little. Maternity clothes are actually staying up for the whole day now. They should - the scale says I've put on four pounds since my last midwife visit. Fortunately we're getting to the time of year that swimming is an exercise option, since I'd prefer not to wear the maternity shirt that says "I'm not fat, I'm pregnant! . . . And fat."
Now that we know we're having a boy, I can start customizing the cloth diapers I've already gotten (I found 5 for $5 each; new they're $18 each!) so that the extra absorbency layer snaps a little further forward. I'll be glad when we get settled so I can have my sewing machine back!

18 and a half weeks

It's a boy!

Everything is perfect and in its proper place. From all they can tell, this little one is perfectly happy and healthy.

Yawn

image courtesy about.com/pregnancy

We go for our ultrasound tomorrow. I can't decide whether I'm more excited or anxious. Yes, we are going to find out the gender, assuming baby cooperates. The only gender dream I've had the baby was a boy; we'll see if that was prophetic or not.

If you have the time and inclination, say a little prayer for the three of us tomorrow . . .

Pocket Diapers

Like my AIOs list, only the products with the best/most reviews are listed here. Not that number of reviews was a problem - it seems everyone and their mother has an opinion on pocket diapers!

-Green Acre Designs (~$16) mostly rave reviews, some leaking reported (especially of breastfed poo?)
-DryBees Pocket AIO ($15) good at containing blowouts, solid colors better than prints, fit issues w/ some babies, especially good w/ hemp inserts, runs large
-Snap Ez Pocket ($16) just as good as the AIOs, fit issues w/ some babies, most use other brands of inserts, many size options

So to me, Snap Ez Pockets > Snap EZ AIO. With a ~$10-12 drop in price, I can stomach the extra annoyance of using inserts. DryBees sounds like a good option as well, particularly with hemp inserts. Bum-Ware AIOs remain a reasonably priced option, as they are only a little more expensive than the pockets, and I'm a fan of the AIO concept.

There. That wasn't as hard as I was afraid it would be. :-P

argh

So I was thinking that I was starting to get a handle on this whole cloth diapering thing; I was pinning down brands, types, and amounts needed - until I realize that some (if not all) pocket diapers have PUL outer layers. In my mind, this makes them an AIO. Apparently not to anyone else though. So now I have to slog through the wilderness that is pocket diapers (which previously I had categorically ruled out) and figure out which of those are the best, and whether they are better than the AIOs I'd already picked out.

Not like I don't have plenty of time, though.

very little is more beautiful

. . . than the sound of a baby's heartbeat. Thankfully, we got to hear it yesterday, strong and clear, despite all the wiggling about the little seemed to find necessary.

one week

. . . until our next appointment. I keep telling myself I've gone three weeks without hearing the heartbeat, I can surely wait one week more. But if you hear that a clinic has been broken into and nothing taken, nothing disturbed except the doppler, well, perhaps you should find out where I was that night.