Since announcing our pregnancy I’ve had friends, family, co-workers and even strangers offering congratulations, advice and a hand with carrying groceries.  As I near the estimated due date, however, the tone of these conversations has turned to one of frantic anticipation.  Every phone call I make or receive includes some variation of the question “Have you had the baby yet?”.  As excited as my husband and I are to welcome our little girl to the world, it is becoming apparent that we have an entire support system standing in the wings, waiting for the big announcement with bated breath.

It has also become clear that a simple “She’s here!” phone call will not be sufficient – our daughter’s grand debut deserves a little more sparkle than that!

The plan is to call the VIPs from the hospital (ie. our parents and siblings, best friends, etc.) and then send out a birth announcement by email and also by mail to the less technologically inclined of the bunch.  I set out to create my own, however I am not very crafty and realizing there is just too much else to do to get ready (also, its a once-in-a-lifetime type deal, maybe better left to professionals!!)

After pouring over many options and receiving tons of advice from friends, we’ve decided to go with Stork Avenue for our baby announcements.  The designs are fantastic, however what caught our attention is that we can order using a “print at home” option and receive the announcements right away (or wait for the professional quality announcements through the mail).

I’m thinking of keeping a few extras for her baby book as well

As of this morning I am finished work, and have nothing to do but wait for our little bundle to arrive.  My excitement is dampened a bit by the incredible back pain I have been experiencing for the past six days now.  It feels as though her entire weight is resting on my tail bone, and no position seems to help alleviate this.  I was awake and wandering around the house until 2am last night as the pain made it impossible to sleep.  Eventually I became tired enough to just sort of…pass out, I guess!

I’ve done some reading on the internet and although most information I’ve come across indicates that lower back pain usually means the baby is “sunny side up” (with her face towards my front instead of my back, which is preferred for labour), more and more doctors are finding that mothers experiencing such pain are indeed delivering babies in the correct position.  Since around 36 weeks our doctors have been able to feel that our baby is indeed back-out and head down, so at least that is a comfort!

We have two weeks to go until the official due date, and other than the extreme pressure on my tail bone and pelvis I’ve not experienced any other symptoms that would lead me to believe progress is being made! Hopefully we will find out more at our next prenatal visit tomorrow, but until then as long as she is healthy and happy I’ll let her start the process on her own terms

The recalled sleepers

A major baby clothing manufacturer (Rashti & Rashti) just issued a recall for over 16,000 of its baby sleepers in the second recall in 6 months.  The first recall was for 6,200 of the”Taggies Sleep ‘n Play” outfits, specifically the Butterfly Applique’ and Fun Dog Print.  Now joining those two patterns with the increased recall is the Dinosaur Applique’ and Pink Toss Print versions.

With the increased price competition for everything nowadays, it’s not unexpected that quality is going to suffer, but frankly I find that items specifically made for babies should be held to a higher standard… I mean, a choking risk from the baby’s own clothes?  Ouch.

If you have these items or want to know more information on the recall, visit the Rashti and Rashti Website.

I began this pregnancy with every intention of chronicling our journey on this website, or at least in a physcial diary.  Now there are only four weeks to go and I wonder where the time (and motivation!) has gone.  No time like the present to begin, I guess!

During the second and beginning of the third trimester I remember complaining that the pregnancy felt like it was taking forever, and in response hearing from been-there-done-that mommies to saddle up, because the last 6 or so weeks would feel the longest.  At the time although I appreciated their advice, I could not possibly understand what they meant.  Now, with less than 4 weeks to go, I finally get it – these past few weeks have felt like centuries!  Everything is basically ready to go; we have the nursery set up, the cloth diapers have been ordered, the name has been chosen (and remains a secret!) – we are as prepared as first time parents can pretend to be.

The waiting truly is the hardest part.

Why BabyFever?

2008 was a record year for babies and 2009 is shaping up to put 2008 to shame.

Why such a boom?

A combination of demographics with generation X and Y simultaneously having babies.
The unique financial conditions that allowed people to feel secure in home ownership and having a family,
Following this, the removal of those securities causing many to group together and depend on family.
Everyone else is doing it, so it seems like the ‘right time’.

These are just a few thoughts, but regardless of the reason it seems apparent that the same sort of generational oomph that existed with the baby boomers is now repeating itself.