Week 19 and Week 20 pictures

Our first Halloween in our new house required a second set of pumpkins to be carved after our first pair fell victim to the California heat. We're very happy with how they turned out, and we had a lot of fun on Halloween night greeting about a dozen parties of mostly adorable trick-or-treaters.

A couple days later (19 weeks, 3 days), it was time for mother and fetus to step into the voting booth. Though I realize it defies logic, I will still contend that my underage son was partially responsible for Barbara Boxer's convincing victory. Note: strategically placed "I Voted" sticker.

Week 20 finds more of our beautiful roses in bloom. I still can't get over how big and perfect they are.

And finally, here are some pictures of the mother-to-be, looking very maternity-ish and bumptastic this morning at 20 weeks and 4 days. Nowadays, when I hug her, I hit the bump first. It blows my mind how totally pregnant she is. Here are a couple pretty pics. The front view:

... and the side view:

Too many choices

I think there is sometimes a danger in being too educated. My friend has an amusing blog on the topic of too much education and not enough employment, but that's not the point of this post. I want to talk about the way that too much education can hypothetically paralyze you from making a decision.

Wow. When we got married, you should have seen the spreadsheet I made in preparation for visiting possible venues. It was very elaborate. Color-coded. And this was all before we even went home to see any places! (In our slight defense, we had to pick a place in a visit home that lasted less than a week, and we lived 3000 miles away.) Getting married - yeah that takes a lot of work, but in hindsight, there were only 4 major-money decisions we had to make - venue, band, flowers, and photographer. All the other "low-cost" stuff was in the noise. At a wedding, who cares if you have a program or place cards that color-coordinate with your bridesmaids' dresses? Having been a bride, and also having been a guest, I will tell you: no one. It looks good in pictures, but history proves that's about all it's for.

With preparing for a baby, yes there are major-money decisions involved. Furniture, strollers, high chairs, etc. But it seems like I have a good lead on some free furniture, and the rest of the stuff I'm getting from my brother. (Thanks bro!) So I don't really need to worry about the bigger ticket items. Then this leaves all the little stuff. And OH MY LORD there is a lot of little stuff. Monitors and bouncy seats and deluxe diaper bags and smaller diaper bags and diaper pails and portable diaper pads and sheets that don't shrink and bumpers that won't kill your baby and nipple covers and breast pumps and all the other stuff that confounds my eternal hope for minimalist ownership (mainly due to lack of closet space).

Holy cow, the choices. I can't deal. I just want to go to someplace like JustBuyThisForYourBabyAndBeDoneWithIt.com and buy one of everything that I won't already have from my brother and then I'll be done with it. But this goes against the core of my being as a scientist, a researcher, and (if I'm being honest) a Type A personality.

We (well, Bill, but only because I have been crazy busy at work) spent hours researching which fridge to buy. And you know what? Turns out all fridges built in these modern days are pieces of crap that don't last more than 5 years if you get one with an icemaker. (And really, what's the point in getting without ann icemaker). My point with this is that we did a lot of research and it really didn't matter, because in the end, we bought the one with the ice-holder IN THE DOOR! More shelf space, yo.

Now, with baby crap, Bill has already told me on multiple occasions that he will go along with whatever decisions I make. He said the same thing for our wedding, but that did not exactly come to pass. However, this time, I'm pretty sure he means it. He could really care less about what sheets we (I) pick out.

So in my endless quest to find the "perfect" crib set, I will probably devote (waste) hours of time pondering the following questions that Baby Bargains and Google told me I should be concerned with:

• Will the (hopefully 100% cotton) sheets shrink? (Probably, if the package says machine wash cold, gentle cycle)
• Does it come with a diaper stacker, which I don't want? (Probably, and they're a waste of money.)
• Is the blanket unnecessary? (Probably it will cause your baby to overheat and die of SIDS)
• What's up with the bumpers? And the bumper ties - on top only? Top AND bottom? (Not that it matters, since bumpers will also kill your baby either way.)

And while we're on the subject of crib sets, I always imagined I would love something gender neutral (use it for more than one kid!) without cutesy animals. Something modern and sophisticated and calming, more for my enjoyment and decorating tastes than the kid's, since there will be enough visual stimulation for the kid in other ways. Something not unlike this:

But since I've actually started browsing the 1001 matching crib sets in earnest, I've discovered that I melt into goo every time I see a cute blanket involving smiling monkeys and/or lions. Mainly monkeys. Tell me this doesn't turn your heart to goo:

People, I am not generally a "melt into goo" kind of girl, so this portends big change.

(Of course, if the blanket is made with part polyester than YOUR BABY WILL OVERHEAT AND DIE and what kind of mother ARE YOU ANYWAY.)

So, in summary, don't read about which stroller to get as you are lying in bed trying to turn your brain off from the day. No good can come of that.

In other news, what's new with me? Not much really. During the 1st trimester (and beginning of 2nd), not much changed, except for my wasteline. What else has changed recently:

• My bra size. Multiple times. I probably need new bras yet again (I've already purchased new ones TWICE), but I am in denial. What even comes after DDD? I find it extremely annoying. Bill is thrilled.


• Yes I am starting to feel some stuff from the inside in the past week or so. Mostly when I poke my belly or if I am in a weird position (like lying on my belly reading). Only one time was unprovoked: at 18 weeks to the day, I was taking a little rest on the bed, and I flipped from my back to my side. A second or two later, I felt something else flip too. Weird! Then today in a meeting I felt like maybe there was some action going on, but also, maybe just some weird stomach thing from having an unhealthy snack of a coworker's leftover halloween candy.


• I've surpassed the "ate a big lunch phase" enough that strangers recognize that I'm pregnant. That's kind of neat. So far no inappropriate comments or touching.

Also, why are there no cute maternity winter coats? My wool houndstooth knee-length coat from Ann Taylor (outlet!) is the one true love of my winter wardrobe. The closest I can find to cute is a red peacoat from Motherhood Maternity. I'm trying to convince myself I like it, and I'm worried if I wait too long, they'll sell out, and then I'll be stuck with something boring. I think my standards are too high.