Under Construction

As my many many (4) followers may notice... there are suddenly a lot more posts around.  I am finally getting around to importing the posts from my first and second trimester from my old blog.  My old blog was more of a teaching blog, and no longer seemed like the appropriate place for these posts.  Plus, my sister's husband found me making my blog no longer anonymous which is vital if you plan on bitching about your family, job, etc.

Feel free to poke around.  Some exciting stuff has happened in the last 6 months we:

• got knocked up.
• decided we should probably hurry up and get married and made the mistake decision to invite people.
• got an ultrasound the revealed that Carlos, I mean Bug, is a girl.
• found out that there is a person inside of me... not just gas.

Enjoy!

Book Review: Baby Catcher

Baby Catcher: Chronicles of a Modern Midwife By Peggy Vincent

My baby sister has been reading almost as many baby books as I have since she found out about my pregnancy. Like me, she's an amazon junkie and takes reader reviews seriously. So when she saw Peggy Vincent's Baby Catcher and its rave reviews, she couldn't pass it up. Agreeing completely with the reviewers, passed it my direction, but not before making a few notes in the table of contents.

A few reviewers warned that this book is not for pregnant women. Bad things can happen during childbirth, and Vincent does include two such stories in her book. Worried that it might freak me out, sis inked a little sad face on any chapter that included anything sad. She also rated each chapter so that I'd make sure to read the best chapters if I ran short on time.  (Did I mention my sisters have been freaking awesome?)

I read the book, in its entirety, even the sad parts, because, despite being an exhausted mushy-minded pregnant zombie lady, I couldn't put it down. Vincent does an exceptional job of illustrating that, although there really is no such thing as a normal birth, childbirth is a natural process that woman are more than capable of accomplishing without medical intervention. Many of these stories are highly motivational and provided me with more confidence that I am will somehow to be able to make it through labor and delivery. And, frankly, I fear for the women who said this book is too scary for pregnant women. I think most women are aware that complications can happen and won't completely shatter because they read about it.

For the non-expectant, this book was an exceptional account of the midwifery and the world of home birth. I also provided an insider's look at how medical practices have evolved.

Despite my overall satisfaction with the book I do have one minor complaint. Vincent's depiction of hospitals is almost entirely negative. In the first chapter of the book she tells stories of women being strapped down and heavily medicated to the point where their birth experience can be described as nothing short of torture. She ends the book, and her career, practicing once again in a hospital and leads readers to believe that, though women are no longer being tied down, they are still being severely mistreated in this setting. I was surprised and a little put off by the tone in which she ended the book.

Overall, I would give this book a 4 out of 5 and would highly recommend it for anyone interested in reading inspirational birth stories.

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Top Ten Thing I Wish I Would Have Known: First Trimester

In the last few weeks, a handful of friends have found themselves knocked up.  As was I, most are panicking as pregnancy has gone from being a wish to a reality.  I don't envy them at all.  I absolutely hated the entire first trimester of my pregnancy. 

The following is a list of things that I wish I would have known before I got myself knocked up.  They are all things that I really should have known, in hindsight.  But when you are thinking about having a baby, you aren't thinking about the crappy stuff.  You are thinking about giggles and cuddles and cute little baby socks.   I assure you, the first trimester has none of that fun stuff.

1. Early pregnancy feels a lot like the worst PMS ever.  I swear, I was absolutely positive that I would start my period at any second because I was a crazed hormonal bitch complete with crying and cramping and bloating.  I had terrible PMS as a teenager, and have been on birth control since, so I kind of thought that this was a symptom of being of the pill, rather than a sign of early pregnancy.  Nope.  I was so terribly grouchy and crampy that I even partook in a few glasses of wine the weekend before I found out, something which is definitely haunting.
2. Your body really doesn't need time to get the pill out of its system.  I got my BFP about 6 weeks after I stopped taking birth control.  I was pretty sure that I'd messed something up and it would take me forever to get pregnant because I'd been on the pill for so long.  Nope.  (BTW, I will never ever ever ever miss a pill!)
3. You don't have to be ovulating to get knocked up.  Confused?!?! Let me clarify.  Because I was so convinced that there was no way I could be ovulating so soon after stopping birth control, I started doing the daily pee sticks to find out if I was in fact ovulating.  DH and I had decided to stop trying to prevent pregnancy, but we weren't going to get all crazy about getting knocked up either.  We had sex the day before ovulation, not during, which I now know is a very good way of getting knocked up.
4. Its common to have a meltdown instead of being happy when you get your BFP.  I felt terrible for a long time that I was so miserable when I found out I was pregnant.  I felt overwhelmed.  And I felt like I was giving up my freedom.  Well duh.  I knew that going in, and still decided to have a baby, and still was upset about it when  I found out.  Since then, many friends have told me that they felt the same way.   I think it must have more than a little to do with the flood of hormones you experience, and, lets be honest, its an overwhelming experience.
5. Morning sickness is a complete misnomer.  Before I got myself knocked up, I pictured morning sickness to be kind of like it is in the movies.  I figured I'd go about my day until I felt suddenly ill, I'd puke and that would be the end of that.  Bullshit! I was nauseous all day, every day, from the moment I woke up, to the moment I fell asleep.  And I was dizzy all the time.  I pretty much just wanted to die from about 5 to 13 weeks.  But no vomit.  Nope.  None.  I even tried to make myself puke a few times, and nothing.   
6. Maintaining a healthy diet is much much harder than I thought it would be.  Because of the nausea, eating was incredibly difficult.  One would think this would prevent me from gaining tons of weight early on, but it had just the opposite effect.  I couldn't eat meat (or even smell it for that matter), or veggies without wanting to die.  Pretty much all I could stomach was fruit, sourdough bread by the loaf, and sugary foods (ice cream, doughnuts, an entire pack of chips ahoy cookies).  I don't normally even like sweets, but I couldn't put them down.  Forget about the all organic diet I had planned on following.  It was all crap, all the time.
7. Everything stinks.  Meat. Chinese food. Students.  Perfume. Cigarette smoke made me want to die.  And you can't tell anyone that you are being tortured by this new, overwhelming sense of smell because then they will totally know you are knocked up.  Suffering in silence doesn't help.
8. You will have to pee all of the time.  I had no idea that a baby no bigger than a pea could make me pee so much.  The first and third trimesters are the worst, and let me explain why.  As you can see in this ultrasound your uterus and bladder are next door neighbors.  Even this tiny change in size causes pressure on your bladder, increasing the number of times you have to go.  My doc explained that at some point early in the 2nd trimester, your uterus kind of pops over the top of your bladder, providing some relief until baby is significantly bigger.   

9. Everything makes you cramp.  Having to pee.  Having to poop.  Having gas.  Having sex.  Having an orgasm.  Sneezing.  All of a sudden, you'll feel like you are starting your period.  This made me constantly worry that the baby was going to fall out.  It didn't.
10. Did I mention that you will be a raving lunatic?  Though DH will disagree, my mood swings have subsided quite a bit since the first trimester.  Most of the time, I was pretty sure I hated him and I was trapped in a terrible relationship that I would have to now stay in because I was having this baby.  And there was crying.  Lots and lots of crying.  One time I cried because I couldn't eat anything except for PF Chang's, including anything from the countless similar places closer to home.  I felt bad making DH go get it for me, so I didn't eat.  And I then I cried about it.  Not just a little.  A lot.  Sobbing.  Hysterical.  To the point that I couldn't breathe.  DH pleaded with me to just let him go get me the damn food.  He would have gone anywhere at that point.  But nope, that made me cry more.  The worst part is that you know how crazy you are, but you just can't do anything about it. 

If you still want to have children, you are a braver woman than I.  I don't think I ever want to go through that again, but I'll tell you if its worth it after Bug makes her appearance.  Hopefully she'll be neat freak and clean up after me as soon as she can walk.  She'll later become a wealthy lawyer so that she can support mommy and her love of expensive cabernet savignon.  Then, maybe it'll be worth it. 

Luckily, like clockwork, right at about 13 weeks, it all got better.  The sun was shining, birds were chirping and I didn't want to stab DH anymore.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.   And soon you will forget just how terrible early pregnancy can be. 

But for now, you have been warned.

37 Weeks~ Merry Christmas

I'm writing this post early, because I'm hitting the 37 week mark on Christmas day.  Its actually Christmas eve right now and I'm frantically getting ready to head down to my parent's house with DH and Daisy dog.  This will, no doubt, be a harrowing experience because 1) My parents have Boo, a pit-chow mix who is EXTREMELY dog agressive.  They also have a pug-chihuahua mix that Boo has eaten twice and spit out.  The little dog now must wear full armor if the two of them are to be around food.   2) Daisy has a melt down whenever she is more than a foot away from me if we are in a strange place.  She will likely need to be crated to avoid the likes of Boo, and she will not be happy about this.  Commence the whining of a lab and howling of a husky. 

Daisy is showing signs of neglect this week.  She was already re-decorating our yard by pulling up weed control fabric that we have under our rocks, broken an orange tree, and helped the Dashunds that live in back of us dig their way into our yard.  Her latest distructive behavior is to actually start eating away at the fence.  Poor puppy is missing the days when mommy could take her for a nice long run.  Now, daddy is still fully capable, but keeps bitching and moaning about how he has too much to do.  I've been off for a whole week now (so thankful for winter break) so I'm hoping she'll be a little more content.

I am feeling the effects of the third trimester big time.  I AM SO FREAKING TIRED!  After making tamales with my family on Saturday, I was completely and totally wiped out.  I spent most of Sunday and Monday sleeping.  My to do list is almost as long as it was when I started the week, and I still haven't finished the thank you cards for my baby shower which was on the fourth.  I know, I'm terrible.

Here's a few fun and exciting things that happened this week:

• Strep B culture came back negative!  Woohooh!  This is most fantastic because I'm hoping to get away with only an IV plug during delivery.  I'll fill you in more on the birth plan later (if I make it that far), but the tentative plan is to go au natural.  The rest of the plan is mainly to wait an see how it goes.
• I got a SUPER hot fireman to put in Bug's carseat.  We found out in our newborn prep class that 90% of carseat are installed incorrectly, and that most firestations have someone who is trained to put them in and they do it for free.  SWEET!  I'm all for safety and pretty firemen.  It is, however, very strange to have a baby seat in my car.
• Bug is FULL TERM!  We made it!  Though its still 3 weeks until our official due date, she can now come any time. 

Pregnant Dreams

This is something somebody should tell you about before you get pregnant: You will have the most insane dreams of your life.  For me, its been enough for me to want to check myself into the looney bin more than once.

A few nights ago, I hit the bizzare dream trifecta. 

During the first, DH and I were staying in a wierd little B & B with 4 rooms upstairs and a large room downstairs.  In my dream, I woke up in the middle of the night hungry so I went down to get something to eat.  One of my students, not one of my fav's either, came out from the room next to ours.  She looked exactly like this student, but had an interesting hair cut a la Cheri Oteri in Liar Liar.  She began bitching about a low grade and, in order to get me back, she cut off her own head and screamed that I had done it.  My student, now just a head, bounced around on the counter screaming that I'd cut off her head.  I didn't want to be accused, so I dumped a bucket of water on her head to shut her up, making me look so much more guilty.  The screaming woke up the other occupants, a stipper in room number 3 and an arguing couple in room four.  Not to be outdone, the man in room number 4 dumped his wife over the ledge, killing her.  He also held a gun and threatened that anyone who called 911 would be shot.  The only thing I could think of was that this would probably get me off of the hook for the headless student thing.

Waking up from that dream was a head scratcher, and after one of my many trips to the bathroom, I decided to try to go back to sleep.  After many tosses and turns and grumbles from DH, I fell asleep, only to have bizzare dream #2. 

In this dream, I was a hardened gang member on the streets of Santa Cruz.  For anyone who has never been to Santa Cruz, you should know that aside from a few drunken students and crazy homeless people the gang problem is minimal, at worst.  You probably know it better for the boarwalk.

Well, me and my hommies, dressed in pink jackets (including the fellas) looking more like the pink ladies from Grease than gang members, were in an all out battle for turf.  We were in a hot and heavy shoot out, when one of my pink guys got hit.  It was my job to provide cover fire while they took him to the hospital.

Insane in the membrane, I know.  Another trip to the bathroom and back to bed. 

The last dream was at least one that is common to the preggo ladies, so it made me feel a little less crazy.  I was at my mom's house and there was some kind of a party happening.  I saw a baby hanging out in the carseat on my mom's kitchen table.  My sister was playing with her and she happy and giggly and smiling.  I was just thinking, "I wonder who's baby that is?" when someone flipped on the music.   The baby immediately came to life, dancing in her carseat, rocking her fists.  Then I remembered all the times I was in my car, driving home from work when I switched from NPR to some kind of music station and my belly started shaking.  Bug is a notorious dancer already and without fail, will begin "dancing" in my belly at even a hint of music.  At this realization, I thought "Thats my Bug!".

That was my first Bug sighting, thought I've heard mom's say that they have recurring dreams starring their babies.  This dream was much happier, and left me far less puzzled than the other two.  DH wasn't as excited when I told him, especially because it was about 5:30 am when I woke up from this one.   

So make me feel better....what was your craziest preggo dream?  Did you ever get the chance to meet your LO in a dream?

How Daddy Proposed

It's been a year since Daddy proposed to mommy.  It feels like a long time ago because so much as happened.  Mommy and daddy decided it was time to try to make you, and daddy was we were so excited to find out you were coming. Mommy and Daddy had a shotgun beautiful wedding and they were so annoyed happy because everyone invited themselves decided to come.  Now, we are just waiting for you to make our lives complete.

Last year, Mommy was pretty sure that Daddy was going to ask her to marry him because she'd given him until the end of the year to propose before she told him she was going to leave him it was almost exactly 4 years from their first date.  Daddy was taking mommy to Napa for the weekend because Mommy likes to drink a lot of wine it's very pretty there.  After checking into our hotel, Mommy and Daddy went from winery to winery place to place drinking steadily because Daddy figured he'd have a better chance of getting a yes if Mommy was drunk looking at the beautiful scenery.

Then we got to Mumm, one of Mommy's favorite places because the only thing Mommy likes more than wine is wine with bubbles in it. it is the prettiest. Daddy asked mommy to take a walk through the art gallery and he was acting very nervous. 

They walked back and forth and looked at all of the crappy modern art pretty pictures until they go to the end of the hall that overlooked the vineyard.  It was a very pretty spot that looked over the vineyard and the tasting room.  In fact, it was so pretty that Daddy kept getting interrupted by drunk bitches at a bachelorette party nice ladies that kept asking him to take their picture. 

Finally, Mommy and Daddy were alone and daddy pulled out a beautiful ring and told Mommy she was his best friend and asked if she'd be his friend forever.  Of course, mommy said yes.  But not before another stupid bitch, too drunk to notice she was interrupting, asked to have her picture taken.

36 Weeks

36 weeks is another milestone that I have been counting down toward.   The risks involved with a delivery at 36+ weeks are much lower than even a week before and Bug only has to hang on for another week to be considered full term.  Only four more weeks until she's due and I'm starting to get nervous, excited, panicky, you name it.

I realized about a week ago that I hadn't been scheduled for an appointment between 31 and almost 38 weeks.  Since I've been seeing my doctor like clockwork every 4 weeks, I thought something was amiss.  Realizing that a strep B culture is supposed to take place between 35 and 37 weeks, I decided to call my doctor's office.  After almost an hour on the phone, I convinced the confused receptionist that a January 3rd appointment would not be between my 35th and 37th week of pregnancy, she scheduled me for an appointment on Friday, a day shy of the 36 week mark.

Despite my husbands requests to "make sure I asked for pictures", the appointment was mostly routine except that:

• Doc says Bug is head down.  She figured this out when she feeling my cervix for dilation.  Note to the ladies..... don't mention to your husband that the doctor can feel the baby's head through your va-jay-jay.  This may not bode well for your chances of getting lucky that evening.
• Doc checked my cervix for the first time since my 8 week appointment.  Its not an entirely fun experience, but she warned me that it would be TERRIBLE, and it wasn't as bad as she made it out to be.
• The strep test was the least fun.  Mostly because I didn't read the fine print that Doc needs to swab your vagina and around your anus.  Not so comfy.

Other highlights of this week:

• Friday was my last day of work for two weeks.  Though I will be spending the next two weeks re-writing my lesson plans (thanks to the fact  that my sub freaked out when I mentioned that she might have to do a few labs with the kids), I'm on winter break
• DH had the house cleaned from top to bottom and all of the dishes done when I got home from my appointment on Friday.  Consequently, we will likely stay married for another week.
• I spent all day yesterday making tamales with my crazy family  and lived to tell the tale. 
• Feeling more and more Braxton Hicks and hiccups are at least a twice a day event.  I do not enjoy hiccups when I have them, and enjoy them even less than she does.

I started thinking about when might actually come.  I'm hoping for January 11th, so then her birthday will be 1/11/11.  DH is hoping for December 31st for the tax break. 

Sisters

I was never one of those kids who begged their parents for a baby brother or sister.  In fact, I was pretty happy with my parents all to myself and was a little pissed off when they came around.

Being the big sister sucks.  I got in trouble all the time for not being a good enough big sister because I was much more content to be alone than playing with the two of them.  They are two years apart, and have always been very close, and they banded together to make my youth a living hell.  They'd steal my stuff and, more often than not, return it broken or not at all.  They'd wake me up early, not caring that I liked to sleep in, and pull my eyes open by my eyelashes.  They'd whine to my parents how unfair it was that I got to do things that they didn't get to do and, because of my baby sisters superior powers of persuasion, they got to do most of they got to do all the things I'd waited so long to do shorty thereafter. 

When we were really young, my parents had the brilliant idea to have all of us sleep in the same room.  The baby, probably about 3 at this point, was in a small toddler bed between me and my middle sister.  More frequently than I really care to remember, rather than having an accident in her own bed, baby sister would move from her sleeping space to the foot of my own to relieve herself.  This atrocity was only topped by the time middle sister pooped in the tub with me in it.

Now that I am "with Bug", they are finally paying me back for all the pain they caused.  This is the card they got me for my baby shower.

And I know they will.

Already baby sis has used her nanny expertise to "help me" with my registry... and by help me I mean request my password and remove everything she thought was crap and exchanging it for something better.  I'd be annoyed but she also has been collecting good from her clients that have included 2 bjorns (though as you've seen below, we're also getting an ergo), 2 swings (so that I don't have to drag one up and down the stairs), an arms reach cosleeper, a snap and go stroller frame, and a crib, all in almost new condition.

Knowing I was freaking out about having to put Bug in daycare so young (since I'll be returning to work in late March), baby sis also polled my entire family to see when they'd be able to come and watch her for the day, or even a week, and made a schedule so that there is someone watching her, at our house, until school lets out at the end of May and I'm back home.  9 weeks of FREE daycare from the people I trust most.

For those 9 weeks, middle sister switched her work schedule so that she'll have Wednesday, Thursday and Fridays off to watch Bug.  She won't have a day off for 9 weeks.

Right about now, they are more than making up for the pain they put me through.  I'm feeling very lucky to have sisters

35 Weeks ~ Crunch time

I have been feeling very relaxed for the last few weeks up my pregnancy.  Last weekend was my baby shower, which did so much to help me feel like we are prepared for this baby.  I went to Target and got the last few essentials that I felt like just in case she fell out early. (BTW, you may notice that I have and will continue to refer to giving birth as "when the baby falls out".  I'm hoping it will be a self fulfilling prophecy.)

However, yesterday I logged into the Bump and saw that I only have 35 days left.  5 weeks sounds like a lot more than 35 days in my crazy pregnant mind.  I also realized that Bug will be full term in only 2 more weeks.  It still doesn't feel real and I really can't imagine that we will have a baby so soon. 

I am now, as I have been throughout my pregnancy, counting the days until the next milestone that will give her the best chance of doing well at birth.  At this point, days make a huge difference in how well she'll survive outside of the whom.  So although I'm looking forward to meeting Bug, I'd like her to do more cooking.

I'm so close to the end of my pregnancy that, due to the timing, I really only have to work for another week.  I wanted to be a teacher, in part, because it gives me plenty of breaks for mommy time and that thought is paying off big time now.  I have one more week until we are off for two weeks (hooray for winter break).  When we return its only two weeks until my due date, and 10 weeks until we are off for Spring Break (another two weeks off, love this schedule).  I'm planning on going back after the break, but preparing for not going back. 

That means, crunch time.  This is the stack of paperwork I need to get through before going to work tomorrow.

On top of that, I have 10 weeks of lesson plans to write by Thursday when I meet with my sub. 

It doesn't help that I've been feeling pretty crappy this weekend.  I feel dehydrated, a little dizzy and nauseous and physically exhausted.  I haven't been taking great care of myself and have been eating out ALOT  because well, see for yourself....

Pardon the crappy camera phone pics, but I'm two lazy to take/download pictures with my actual camera right now. 

Swollen doesn't even begin to describe my ankles and feet.  I thought swelling would be an annoyance, but its actually pretty painful.  The skin is stretched so tight that it feels like its going to rip. 

I also have baby brain, bad.  I don't want to think about anything except getting ready for the baby, which is why I'm blogging and not working right now. 

Did I mention I have a yoga and newborn care class that I'm supposed to be going to this week, too?  I just need to get through this week, and life will be a whole lot easier.

Mommy and Daddy Never Agree ~ Breastfeeding

DH and I discovered very early on in our relationship that we are polar opposites.  He's clean, I'm messy.  He's organized, I'm chaotic.  He's conservative, I'm anything but.  However, we have somehow managed to always find a way to get to a middle ground and come to terms we both can live with.  (ie, there will be no discussion of politics unless someone really wants to sleep in the guest bedroom)  Why should anything about raising this child together be different?

Take breastfeeding.  I just assumed this is something we would do and didn't even really discuss it with DH because I assumed he felt the same way.  Why wouldn't he? 

I should start by saying that DH is 12 years older than me, and his mother is no longer with us, so the ideas that he has about how he was raised and the things his parents did are completely from his memory.  Based on when he was born and from what he remembers about his family, his mother didn't breastfeed and the idea seemed a little weird to him.  He didn't know the benefits and in his own internet research, he learned from who-knows-where, that there are no benefits to breastfeeding over formula feeding... what?!?!?!   Where he found this, I don't know.

My OB recommended a list of more reliable internet resources for him to look up the benefits of breastfeeding, and after looking them up, he decided he was on board.  Until I registered for a breast pump.

"Why do you need that?" 
"So can still breastfeed when I go to work." Duh!
"You're still going to breastfeed when you're working?"

Really?!?!

He hasn't been unsupportive in any way, but every time we talk about it, it is obvious that we are coming from two very different directions.  When we talked about how long, he'd only pictured that I'd do it until I went back to work and the idea that you can send breastmilk to daycare completely baffled him.

Please remind me to keep breathing!
 

Safety 1st Pro Grade Lever Handle Lock: Nesting and Pregnant Brain Prove to Be a Poor Match

I have been in full on nesting mode for weeks now.  Since I've been less than helpful around the house, I haven't wanted to bug DH with projects I think I can do myself.  So far, it hasn't gone well.

The latest snafu happened after I started hearing strange noises coming from down the hall.  It was kind of a thump THUMP boing that was happening over and over again.  Since it was past my new pregnant lady bedtime (8:00 pm... yep, it's sad), I didn't feel like getting up and let it go.  After awhile it stopped, so I didn't worry about it.

The next morning, the door to Bug's bedroom, which is always closed was wide open.  This is what I found.

Apparently what I'd been hearing was repeated attempts by these two to open the door.  Stupid lever door handles.  Good thing I got Bug's co-sleeper set up and ready to go.  BTW, this is before they noticed that I was there.  As soon as they did, they avoided eye contact, acting like I'd caught them in the act.  Since then, I've caught George (the striped one) spooning that ladybug pillow pet on several occassions.

Because they have become quite good at working together to get the door open and since my biggest baby fear is that one of these ding-dongs is going to spoon Bug and suffocate her, I decided it was time to do some baby proofing.  With a little bit of research, and a trip to target,  decided to go with the Safety 1st Pro Grade Lever Handle Lock.  Should have read the reviews a little better.

Like I said, my projects have not been going well but the installation seemed pretty idiot proof, so WTH.  I was very proud to have done a fantastic job of installing... see.. look!

That's exactly what I told DH when he came upstairs to see what I was doing, and decided to test my work by shutting the door.  I'm sure you see where this is going.

Of course, it didn't shut because it ran directly into the door frame.  Had I installed this on the other side of the door, it would have worked fine, but would have been completely ineffective in doing anything other than locking myself into the baby's room.

DH helped me take it off and informed me that he prefer that I consult him before starting any more projects.

My next one will be finding the right color white paint to match the door.  

Baby Carriers

When we were registering for our baby shower, DH looked completely and totally overwhelmed by Babies R Us.  I've never seen him look so confused as we walked through, aisle by aisle as I tried to explain to him what all the stuff was for and why we might need it.  Not that I had any idea, but I did a great job of faking it.

We finally got to baby carriers and when he saw this Bjorn he commented on how cool it looked.  Since this was the first thing I'd heard from him since we'd entered the store, I decided we were getting this damn baby carrier no matter what. 

Had I seen this video, I may have reconsidered.  Hindsight is 20/20.  Please note how everyone in the video is wearing black, red and white.  Now, for your viewing pleasure... a youtube video illustrating the amazing things you can do with this baby carrier.



Yesterday was our shower, and WOOHOOH, DH got the one thing he asked for!  He was once again overwhelmed by the massive amount of baby crap strewn around our house so I suggested that he try it on.
Mistake.

DH is 6'1 and not a tiny man.  While we were able to extend the straps enough to get it closed around him, he looked like Chris Farley in Tommy Boy doing "Fat Guy in a Little Coat" .  He voluntered to starve himself until the baby gets here, but in all honesty it isn't that he's too fat, he's just too big.  It sits in a very uncomfortably on his ribs.  No good.  Many customers also complain that it causes back pain and a sweaty baby.  (And in all fairness there are a lot of great reviews)

Possible solutions:

• Extenders for the Bjorn.  So far, haven't found anything but mentions of these.
• The Ergo.  Ergo seems  like it might do the trick.  It looks like it will fit lower on the waist and they offer a waist extension for $8 on amazon.  DH mentioned that this one doesn't look as cool.
• Sleepy Wrap. I ordered one of these for me because my sister raved about them.  You can also use them for breastfeeding.  It is highly adjustable, and based on my research it looks like this is something that has worked for a lot of new parents who aren't so small.  Mine is on its way, and I'll let you know more when I get it.

What do you think?   Any advise on getting a properly fitting carrier for DH?

UPDATE:

The sleepy wrap is working well for DH, but he doesn't really carry the baby much yet.  The Ergo will work with an extender, so we are going to get one for the spring when we are out and about more.