Review of Rockabye Baby – Lullaby Renditions of Metallica

A co-worker of UWS Dad‘s gave this to us as a gift for Hunter.  We decided to give it a listen with Hunter since he is starting to recognize sounds around him.  He seems to like it so far.  He is pretty content just hanging out while it plays in the background.  My vote is a positive one too.  The songs are definitely Metallica but are played with instruments like the xylophone, bells, guitar and many others that we cannot identify.  Overall, we give this a thumbs up for children.

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Pediatricians

Shortly after having Hunter Tom, aka UWSDad, changed jobs.  This caused a change in our insurance.  Unfortunately, the wonderful pediatrician we found no longer could be Hunter’s doctor.  She does not accept our new insurance.  I searched high and low to find another doctor near our apartment and have had no luck.  I have even gone back to the wonderful doctor and paid full price! 

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Parenthood has ever changing ideals

We are not even parents (technically) yet and so many of our ideas of what we want have changed.  I had done extensive research into baby gear, clothing, blankets, etc.  I had decided (since UWS Dad is not into details) that we would not purchase an infant car seat rather just a convertible one.  This would eliminate the need to purchase another car seat later on and would save us money in the long run.  Well, we attended the Biggest Baby Shower and spoke to a representative with Britax, the manufacturer of the convertible car seat I wanted to purchase.  This person advised us that though convertible car seats are technically for babies starting at 5 lbs, there is always a chance that the baby will be too small for the car seat.  This means that the hospital will not release your baby to you.  Rather than worry about this, we have decided to purchase an infant car seat.  The car seat we decided on has a few perks to it.  It accomodates a baby up to 32 lbs, it costs less $$ than the convertible ($149.99 vs. $309.99) and it takes up less room in our apartment.  So, last night in the pouring rain, we trekked out to Babies r Us  in Union Square and purchased the Graco Snugride 32 in Lemon Grass.  It looks like it will be a safe, reliable car seat for Hunter.  Now, we just have to figure out how the darned thing works.

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Your pregnant belly – to touch or not to touch

Prior to becoming pregnant, I was not sure where I would stand on this topic.  I always assumed I would be offended by people who would just come up and touch my belly.  I am a stickler for personal space and will take a step back, on people quite a bit, to make my point that the person is too close to me.  Now that I am pregnant, I hardly even notice when people touch my stomach.  It may be because not that many people have done it and no strangers have done it.  Plus, many have asked before doing it.  I think that the main reason I am not offended or upset by it is that this may be my only pregnancy and I am enjoying everything about it.  I am even enjoying getting quite big at the end of this pregnancy though it is hard at times to accept.

There is one person who has not had any interest and that is UWS Dad.  I am not sure his reasoning but it isn’t a big deal, just a fact.

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Biggest Baby Shower – Big City Moms

Big City Moms Biggest Baby Showe

On Tuesday, October 6th, I attended the Biggest Baby Shower hosted by Big City Moms.  It was awesome to say the least.  They had vendors that served all needs from car seats and strollers to photographers and bakers.  Kelly Rutherford, from Gossip Girl, spoke at the event on behalf of Bugaboo.  They had a bingo game in which you had vendors sign your bingo card as you visited them.  At the end of the night, you turned in your bingo card and got a raffle prize.  Now, don’t be mistaken about the raffle prizes.  They were not bottles and bibs only.  I actually don’t know if those were prizes but they were much better than that. 

We won a Phil and Ted’s travel cot.  It weighs less than our baby will weigh when born.  And it folds into a nice compact bag.  I guess Hunter will get to travel earlier than we planned.

We also won a maternity photo shoot with Leshem Loft, which I will need to use soon.  Being that I am in my 9th month, time is of the essence.  I had never thought about having a maternity shoot but it is exciting to think about doing.  It will be a great way to memorialize my first pregnancy.

Back to the prizes though.  Some people won strollers from Orbit and Phil and Ted’s.  Some won a car seat.  This was no joke of a baby shower, trust me.  For anyone who is pregnant at this time next year, it is worth every penny to attend this event.  Warning – have your husband or someone very strong on call to carry the gift bag for you at the end of the night.  Oh yes, I forgot the mention the gift bags, which are in addition to the raffle prizes.  100 lucky people (i.e. people willing to spend more $$) were able to enter the baby shower an hour early.  They also got the mother of all gift bags with that additional money.  I am going to leave something out but will highlight some great gifts in the bag.  We got a pair of Robeez shoes, a Bugaboo microfleece blanket, toys from Cloud B, bib from American Terry, photo frames and so many other things I cannot remember them all. 

I did have one issue with some of the other mothers-to-be there.  My husband, Tom aka UWS Dad, and I both attended and had super passes.  Therefore we each got a mega gift bag.  I saw that both our bags had girl shoes in them.  I could have asked for a bag with boy shoes but is that being grateful for the bag itself?  I heard so many women complaining in the middle of American Girl Place that they had things they could not use.  THESE ITEMS WERE FREE and one should not complain.  I guess I am not a diva and did not put up a tantrum about it.  I overheard one woman tell another that she insisted that they give her a bag with shoes for a boy.  I plan on giving one pair of my girl shoes to a friend or charity.  I plan on keeping one pair in hopes of having a girl with my next pregnancy 🙂

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New Orbit stroller

Check out the new Orbit stroller.  It should be available sometime in early 2010:  http://is.gd/3wRY1  They are calling it the Orbit G2 stroller.  I wonder if I should hold off on buying my stroller until this one is released.  Yeah right, I cannot afford this stroller!!  Plus, Tom aka UWSDad would kill me for purchasing something so expensive!!

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30 weeks and the countdown is on

30 weeks ago we never imagined that we would be planning a nursery for a new arrival.  We struggled for so long to get pregnant yet once it happened all of our struggles were forgotten and we were carried away by the pure joy of that + sign on a home pregnancy test.  Now, here we are at 30 weeks and scrambling to get everything ready for Hunter’s arrival.  We have 10 weeks before my due date.  However, do we really have 10 weeks?  Most first time moms who have had boys this year have delivered them earlier than their due dates.  I am not talking 2 days but more like 2 weeks.  I am trying to prepare UWS Dad for this possiblity and get him motivated to set up the nursery.

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Expectant Mothers Dinner

Big City Moms is having an event this Tuesday at Kidville on the UES and I will be attending.  Let’s hope Hunter and I are lucky (again!) and win something great for his nursery.

Speaking of nurseries, we are approaching the final stretch.  I am entering my 3rd trimester and am getting anxious about the set up of Hunter’s nursery.  We still have quite a bit to do for his room.  Actually the 2nd bedroom still has our stuff in it.  My parents have asked when the room will be ready so they can order the nursery furniture.  I am getting worried now since every day is one fewer day we have.  All in all, UWS Dad are getting excited about Hunter’s arrival.  However, we are willing to wait the expected 3 months that are remaining.

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Stroller of the Week: Maclaren Quest

I won this stroller at a Big City Moms event back in May.  UWS Dad and I went to Planet Kids to pick out the colors we wanted.  Of course, Baby J/ Hunter is not due until November so we had a while to wait before it would be used.  I am not a patient person and am surprised how well I have handled this 9 months being pregnant thing so far.  I would look at the box in our 2nd bedroom and move it so I could get to something else.  This went on for a little while until I could not help myself any longer and I opened the box.

I was pleasantly surprised.  This stroller is quite sturdy and well-made.  The instructions were pretty easy to read however I would recommend going to your local baby store and having them demonstrate all the features.  It comes with a rain cover so there is one less accessory to purchase.  For more details, check out their website: http://is.gd/1GNqB or you can always go to your local baby store to see it in person.  Some of my favorites are: Buy Buy Baby, Planet Kids, Babies r Us and Schneiders Baby.

This is a great mid-level umbrella-type stroller (it will run you about $245) that will suit your city or suburban needs for babies from 3 months to 55lbs.

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Check out my husband’s new blog: UWS Dad

Tom is a blogger by night, writer in Corporate America by day.  He has decided to take his exceptional skills as a blogger and apply them to his personal life.  He has started a blog named appropriately UWS Dad: http://uwsdad.wordpress.com/

I cannot guarantee that you will like what he writes but I can guarantee that you will always be entertained.  Please keep up with us as we navigate pregnancy and parenthood (come November).

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