That Pumpkin hung around on the porch all morning – even took a nap in our chairs!! Good for Pumpkin, bad for allergic husband.
Mid-morning I set out to the Cville Birth Expo to gather information about local resources.
VIDEOS
I met my friend Holly there with Baby Finn, and also ran into Lynsie from Body Pump – who is I think 39 weeks and hanging in there!
I got a lot of good information on pre-natal yoga offerings, doulas, cloth diapers and even baby sign language [which is a long time away, but so cool!]
After the expo, Holly and I met Hillary and her friend visiting, Emily, for lunch.
We had a lovely ladies lunch out on the patio of Bizou.
I ended up ordering the burger
And I was pleasantly surprised to find a reasonably sized burger, a satisfying portion of fries and a good-sized salad on the side! So interesting that I didn’t want to order a salad for lunch, but once put in front of me it tasted good. Matt was right! The fries tasted great as well.
After lunch Holly and I went to Petit Bebe, a neat maternity store on the downtown mall, to check out strollers and things. She is such a great resource to talk to! I learned all about her Uppababy stroller and love its versatility and giant under-basket!
I don’t know if it’s too soon to start thinking about strollers, diaper bags, cribs and the like, but I sure am excited about them already.
Hoping to go for a workout walk later this afternoon – it’s so pretty outside!
Baby expo- whoa! I’ve never heard of such a thing! What a great idea- and very helpful I’m sure!
And I don’t think it’s too early to think about any of those things- go for it! It’s not like you’re going to run out of stuff that you need/want to get by the time the baby is born.
Looks like Pumpkin needs a can of tuna.
All of the baby gear is very overwhelming. Take them one at a time for research, sit on your decision a while, and then once you decide, be done and move on! Poll friends and all that, but then make your own decision!
It’s NEVER too soon! I have a Peg Perego stroller that I love for everyday use as well as a jogging stroller to use at the park or non-paved terrain.
And baby sign language rocks! My 16 month old can combine 3 signs to communicate “more cheese please.”. It is so helpful in her being able to communicate her wants and needs. She is also in speech therapy three times a week due to multiple ear infections that resulted in bilateral PE tubes. Since she couldn’t hear correctly for months, she stored words wrong as she was aquiring language. So for words like “trash” she says “tra,” etc. Needless to say, sign language has come in very handy and from what I unserstand the area of the brain used for sign language is also the area that develops language so hopefully all this will go towards spoken language soon.
I love that there is a sign for please 🙂
My son always signs “please” even though he can now say it. 🙂
Oh baby things! Such little creatures but they sure need a lot of items 😉
sounds like a baby-filled afternoon! I hope you found some great stuff at the expo!
Baby signs is great, my kids are 8 + 6 and they still use some of the signs every now and then. Please help more eat drink thank you and potty were our go to signs that we taught them
I don’t think it’s ever to early to think about those things! I am not even trying to conceive and still have fun reading baby blogs, looking at baby stuff, and thinking about when the time comes what I will do with baby…but maybe I’m more into babies than most?!
I think a jogging stroller was our first baby gift when I was about 12 weeks – definitely not too early. I couldn’t live without it! Happy weekend, Kath.
Baby sign is amazing. Check out Signing Times, it’s a great resource. http://www.signingtime.com/
Also, I know you walk a lot, obviously, but I NEVER used a stroller. I bought a super expensive Phil and Ted (http://philandteds.com/products/push/vibe) when my second child was born and it was such a waste. My maya wrap (http://www.mayawrap.com/) was all I ever needed. With my first, I traveled long distance every three weeks (New York to Utah and back) and after the first trip through security with the stroller, I never did that again. I’m sure you’ll get exactly what you need, but don’t feel pressured to buy all the ‘stuff’ because a lot of it you don’t need.
I had my babies at home with a midwife, nursed them exclusively, co slept, signed, EC’d, cloth diapered when necessary and used slings – it was a pretty amazing journey and I wish you and Matt all the best on yours.
it’s gorgeous here too now – sorry you missed the glorious weather!
I don’t ususally order a burger…but your burger looks amazing! I think I am always turned off by the bun…however, that bun looks perfect!
You got a photo of a Boba Carrier!! How cool 🙂 lol I work for Boba so that made me happy!
a restaurant with decent portion sizes??? thats one in a MILLION these days…lucky you found one 🙂
What a fun baby expo! Who knew so many local resources exist? I hope my community is as involved and active as yours when I need a baby expo, some day.. 😉
Just found your blog again after not having checked it out for a few months! Congratulations on your soon-to-be baby!
We have the Uppababy Vista and love it! So light and easy to get around, plus the bassinette is great for the beginning, when it’s better for the little ones to lie flat, rather than in car seats.
I’ve now seen it on sale on Gilt.com for something like $499, which is an awesome deal! I think we paid around $700 for it (Canadian dollars, though…).
I would love to go to a baby expo, too! I have to see if they have something like that in our area!
$499 is a great deal! My store matches online prices, so I will definitely shop around first 🙂
I adore how excited you are! And I am loving Baby Kerf as well! I am in no way ready or interested in having a child yet, but I am enthralled with all of the information you’re talking about in each post. Thank You for being so candid! 🙂
🙂
It must be exciting to think about buying thing for the baby. That burger looks so great!
wear that baby in a carrier and then by a maclaren when they are a little older. Free the baby from the bucket!!
OMG totally agree. We used a Didymos from the time #2 was about 30 minutes old and he’s been back wrapped or belly wrapped since! He’s 2.5 and we’ve traveled a ton (Sweden, Morocco, Germany, Italy, NYC, etc.) and thank goodness all we ever brought with us were Didymos wraps. It made life so easy. I am so thankful for thebabywearer.com where I learned tons of wrapping tips.
Thanks for the site recommendation!
That burger and those fries look SO delicious! And Emily (? I think that’s who I’m trying to get at, the girl at the right on the photo) looks like she could be a Younger sister!)
Just wanted to let you know that a baker from Great Harvest Bread just got selected in the show the Voice! Christina picked him! Just thought you might be interested and you could pull for him 🙂
Oh, his name is Lee Koch from CA.
Oh wow!! I just saw him in concert when I was in Temecula last week!
Fun! He must have had to keep it all a secret since the show hadn’t aired. Hope he does well!
Ha! Wait till Dad hears he is going to have to learn baby signs. Sign me up though–I’m ready!
Definitely in salad mode today!!
Baby sign language is fantastic! Helps them to communicate without frustration. I’m convinced it really helped my son developmentally. You’re going to be great parents!
We have the UppaBaby Vista and LOVE it! Especially for the bassinett that comes with it for use up to 3 months. I would highly recommend it!!
Another good review! Thanks!
Baby sign language is so cool! A friend of mine taught her daughter just a few words, and even that is so cool to see her do!
I love reading all of your posts. Your life seems so happy and full of events and visiting with friends. I love seeing that 🙂
Buying baby stuff is so wild! Makes you wish these things existed when we were babies.
I highly recommend spending the time to give cloth diapers a chance. I use the organic Flip system by Cotton Babies with my five month old, and I’m loving it! Also, baby wearing makes strolls through parks and crowded places alike more pleasant. ( Added bonus, the weight of baby helps burn calories, I understand!)
Do you think you will use cloth diapers on the baby? It seems like a lot of work, but better for a baby.
http://faithfulsolutions.blogspot.com/
Yes, that’s the plan
I have a 4 week old and we use the uppababy. I am in LOVE (with baby and with stroller)!
Just a tip…the 2012 model is $700. We got the 2011 model (which is nearly identical) for under $400. Try to get an older model to save money on the more expensive strollers!
Great advice. I might be able to get the 2011 floor model from my store too – that would save a ton but I’d have to act fast!
Baby sign sounds so cool!
Keep your receipts on everything you buy baby! We didn’t open a ton until my son was born and we knew we were going to use the stuff. I had all this stuff that I thought I would use and never did – if I didn’t use it, I just took it back. So glad I didn’t open all the stuff!
LOVE our UPPABaby Vista! Its seriously the best stroller on the market (in my opinion). We have gotten several friends hooked on it. They are made locally to me, just south of Boston, so we were able to go straight to the factory and get it for almost half price!
Glad to hear it’s a good one. Saves me tons of research time to have 4 friends with great reviews
It’s never too early to look into what your choices will be. Research is good.
We went with the BOB revolution stroller, mostly because I wanted something I could use as an ‘everyday stroller’ and a ‘jogging’ stroller without having to buy TWO separate ones. I also love the look of 3 wheeled strollers for some reason… We plan to use the Baby Trend Snap N Go EX Universal Infant Car Seat Stroller with our Chicco Keyfit 30 carrier for the first few months and the ERGO baby carrier ( Go to the thrift store and purchase an old playpen, stroller, crib, etc (I paid less than $5 bucks for my items) and then trade it in at Babies R Us for a 25% off one item coupon. We saved $50 bucks on the chicco keyfit30 car seat this way!!
Happy Shopping!
Seriously $500 for a stroller? I could find an old car for that price…..
Love love love our Uppababy. Especially as much walking as you do! I’m due 7/31 and will be getting my Uppababy retrofitted for a rumble seat (I have the 2008 model which doesnt automatically fit a rumbleseat. I bought it from another mama for $200 with a brand new bassinet – wahoo!!). Anyway love following the BERF since I’m pregnant again and wanted to throw my two cents in about the awesome Uppababy.
We’re due the same day!
It’s definitely not to early, research and buy while you have the time and energy. While it’s fun to do all the final preparation and organizing, it was much easier to do things like shop, carry, assemble, paint while in the first two trimesters than the last. Have fun getting ready for the baby! We were very happy that we invested in a quality double jogging stroller and Britax car seats that our kids (5 and 6) are still able to use.
I have the UppaBaby and LOVE it. The bassinet is great and if you get a wooden stand (search Amazon for a cheaper off brand) it works great for a napping spot in the living room.
Can you tell me what was done to retrofit your uppababy vista? I am thinking about it for my 2007 so I can get the rumble seat.