Hellobee Boards

@Silva: I'm so glad you are feeling a little better and I'm wishing you the best of luck with your appointment tomorrow. And I'm so impressed that you and your husband are doing painting projects! I'm super envious because I totally lack the DIY skill.

@T.H.O.U.: Thanks for mentioning the consignment sale. I just looked online and I see that there is a big one near me at the end of April. But there are several baby consignment stores scattered about my county. Do you think the pop up consignment sale is better than just normal brick and mortar shops, or even craigslist? I haven't yet explored any of these options.

@T.H.O.U.: Oh, DH is super helpful for these things. Especially since I'm pregnant. Ours starts at 9am, so we'll get there early and he'll wait in line for me to get in so I won't have to stand for 45 minutes. Then if there's anything big I want (like I'd an additional swing) he'll help grab it and get it to the holding area. And there's no hiding what I spend from him - he took over the finances a few months ago, lol.

@agold: If your consignment sales are anything like ours, the prices will be much better, but it's a much crazier experience. When you consign at a store they give you ~25% of the original retail (if in good condition) and they sell it for 50% of retail. In consignment sales the seller chooses the price. In my experience the consignment sale prices are more like 10-25% of retail. But at my sale the demand on gear is CRAZY. You have to get there right when it opens (which means waiting on line) and RUN to what you want and grab it. All swing, jumperoos, etc will be gone within 20 minutes. And then at the end there will be a giant line to check out. But you can get tons of toys at great prices, clothes for $1-2/piece, and good deals on gear if you're fast.

You can probably get better prices on Craigslist, but it's harder because you have to wait for what you want (unless your area has tons and tons of stuff). Plus, I personally find it kind of stressful buying used stuff with people in person - you have to examine the stuff and see if it's worth buying, and the person is right there. At a sale it's much or anonymous.

@ShootingStar: Good thoughts about all of that. Thank you so much! The consignment shop I looked at that is happening in April said that they have a pre-public shopping hour you can go to on a thursday at 3pm for a $10 admittance fee. I planned to show up at 3 pm but maybe i would need to go earlier. And so true about inspecting items in front of people who are selling them. I've emailed a couple of people on craigslist and I ask "do you smoke? do you have pets in your house?" because I wouldn't take anything from a house that has either.

@MrsSCB: I'm so glad you had a great anatomy scan!!

So girls - I'm 19 weeks. Is this too early to buy a crib? The one I want finally has a sale going on and I don't want to pass it up.

@MrsSCB: Fun! I wish I had asked for size/weight! They just said measuring 5 days ahead!

@T.H.O.U.: Thanks for the tip. I will definitely plan to go earlier if I do go. You always have such great information!

@MrsSCB: Yay for a great u/s!!!

@agold: @pregnantbee: We also bought our nursery furniture last time at 20 weeks. And it's a good thing too, because it took a couple of months to come in! We bought the crib for this baby two weeks ago.

@pregnantbee: Yes, I think the "making it feel more real" is what is making me feel more nervous!

@pwnstar: Good point. The crib is actually back ordered so it will take a couple of months to get it.

@pregnantbee: Will emptying the room be a hassle for you? I have to empty the closet in my soon-to-be nursery and I'm dreading it!

@agold: Oh, it's a PAIN to clear the room. For the last 4 years, it has been a dumping ground for stuff we don't want to look at, our server room, the "office," the "guest room", etc. Pretty much gave me hives every time I walked in there. My husband is amazing and has already moved all the server stuff out -- we converted a closet in the hall to be wired for electricity and ethernet. We just got rid of a bed in there. Next up: find a new home for a desk, filing cabinet, and all the stuff under the desk. And we're getting the room and rest of the house painted, too. It's just a lot.

Well, baby IS real. I also remember how weird it was to make our first big baby purchase. That's why we waited until around 20w. You can do it!

@pwnstar: Ah, gotcha. We figured that we'd have maybe a 3-4 year gap, and I knew I wouldn't want to buy a 2nd crib, so we didn't convert the crib. We collapsed the crib and bought DS a twin bed instead. So we'll just reuse the crib. All of DS's furniture is white, so the crib will look great for a girl, too.

@agold: Maybe you mean your internet modem/router? The thing that brings the internet in and spreads it through your house? I love some technology, but I wouldn't want baby sleeping directly over a router! Most modems go right into a cable outlet (assuming you have cable internet) so you may be able to wire it to any other cable jack that is active/on/hot. You could even get a splitter for your TV cable jack and have it go there.

@T.H.O.U.: I admire your techy knowledge! And yes, its an internet modem/router. We want to move it from the upstairs to the downstairs so we will hire someone to do it. One of husband's co-workers was actually once a master electrician so I'm hoping he will do it in exchange for pizza and beer. Otherwise we will pay someone and probably not get new closet doors like I want. Rather baby not have magnetic waves going into her pretty little head than get pretty little closet doors. Thanks for this info. I didn't even think to ask about it here but its been a decision I've been bothered by so I'm glad it just got resolved.

@pregnantbee: I think using a hall closet for a teeny tiny office sounds great!! I've seen pictures on line where cribs are nicely put into closets with doors removed. And so funny your husband has his own server. I just know of "servers are down!" being something that happens at my work that I love! (haha.. i'll take any kind of momentary break I can get.)

@pregnantbee: That is so very funny!

@OldpuebloJenn: High five! What color are you painting the room? I've been having a color crisis over here. #firstworldproblems I think we're just going to paint it the same tan we used for DS's room.....but not 100% sure if dark grey and light grey would also still look ok with it!

Whew, I was away for the weekend visiting my DH's extended family, and I feel like I've gotten so behind here!

Re: the name discussion -- all of his relatives wanted to talk about it and threw out tons of ideas, which I actually don't mind since we aren't set on anything yet. I need all the help I can get! Lately I've been liking Julian as well, but I'm feeling so indecisive.

@T.H.O.U.: You're inspiring me to check out consignment sales. I made a registry, but mostly to keep track of what I want (and to placate my mom). I don't think we'll have a shower, so if I can get deals when buying stuff myself, I would be very happy! Also, I didn't even know they could really estimate the weight of the baby! His size is really interesting to me because at my first US at 8ish weeks, they changed my due date from the 9th (which was based on LMP) to the 16th, but at every US since he's measured ahead. Makes me wonder if maybe the date change wasn't necessary? I asked my doc about it (my previous doc is the one who changed the date) and she said it won't really matter unless we need to start talking induction near the end. But just something I'm curious about.

@Silva: I hope your appointment goes well and brings peace

@agold: I think now seems like a good time to start buying! I've been nervous, too, for some reason. But I have to start sometime. Since I'm planning that we'll buy most of our own stuff, I really need to get moving to spread out the expenses!

Also, something that's really weighing on my mind at the moment and distracting me from everything -- I learned today that my friend's husband is very sick in the ICU. I'm so sad and worried for her. Please send out good vibes, or prayers if you're the praying kind. I just can't imagine what she's going through, plus they have a young toddler. I think they can use all the good thoughts they can get.

@MrsSCB: I'm sorry about your friend's husband and will send good thoughts their way.

@MrsSCB: Sending good thoughts for your friends husband.

@pwnstar: How did your appointment go?

@pwnstar: Yay, glad you had a great scan

@pregnantbee: @Pirouette: @AprilFool: @MrsKerch: @pwnstar: @agold: Thank you for the well-wishes, he had a relatively good night and is responding to dialysis. Hopefully things only get better from here.

@pwnstar: I'm glad you had a good scan as well, yay!

Also, something I learned yesterday, eating a ton of beets can make your pee a bit pinkish. That led to a few tense moments in the bathroom yesterday

@MrsSCB: Oh, I'm glad to hear that. WOW. Had no idea about beets/pink pee. Must keep that in mind!

@MrsSCB: Great update! Hope he gets better and better!

@Silva: YASSSSSS!