Why we need iPod speakers in the nursery...

As soon as I saw R post our Eggy budget on this blog, I knew someone would ask why iPod speakers made it on the list of things to buy, and something as obvious as diapers did not. And sure enough, within 24 hours, someone asked that exact question!

I was thinking about this last night while R, M and I were at a Decemberists concert.

I've been following this band for almost 10 years now - it was my 6th Decemberists concert, Marc's 4th, Richard's 3rd and Eggy's 1st. Last night's show was good, if a little predictable. But as I was listening to Colin Meloy sing "Red, Right Ankle", just him and his guitar and a brief bit on an accordion,  I got tears in my eyes at how sweet the song is. And I made a mental list that it should go on Eggy's playlist. I have these day dreams that during those 1st three months after we bring Eggy home from the hospital, I'll be swaying along to some of those songs in the nursery, hopefully comforting little Eggy into sleep.

Who knows if that will really happen, but its a vision that helps me get through the fear of what else will be going on those 1st few months. If anyone has suggestions for other songs that little Eggy might like, I'll add them to the list! I know Uncle E is going to send me songs by fabulous divas, Abba will probably suggest Beethoven and my mom will throw out tunes by Rob Thomas. We'll just have to see which ones Eggy likes best!

Our first purchase! Crib and dresser...

Now that was a little painful... but we were able to finally settle on a great crib & dresser/changing table.  According to BabyBargains book, the Bonavita by LaJobi scores an A-!  Now, Tiger mom might not normally settle for those type of grades, but after seeing & feeling the furniture at Baby Furniture Warehouse (an AMAZING place in Reading & Braintree, MA).  Here it is:

Our eggy's first furniture!

Eggy Budget - and how we're doing

Having a kid was definitely NOT as easy as it seemed... then come the expenses!  Kinda feels like a bit of a money pit, but I'm sure it will all be worth it in the end!

Eggy money pit

Here's what we're budgeting to spend in preparation for the li'l gummy bear for the MAJOR items (I'll keep tracking & updating based on our actual spend, as I think it will be over this):

• Total Budget / Actual Spent    $  5,000     / $  1,635
• Crib  $     400     / $  450 Bonavita Peyton White Crib
• Mattress  $     150
• Bedding  $     100
• Dresser  $     600 / $       630 Bonavita Peyton White Dresser
• Changing Mat  $       -
• Glider Chair $     1300
• Closet Organizer  $     600      / $ 555 EasyClosets
• Bassinet (maybe)  $     100 / FREE from Ian/Marla
• Bathtub  $      35
• Baby Monitor  $      80
• Bouncy Chair  $      50 / FREE from Ian/Marla
• Breastpump  $     250
• Soft Carrier (Baby Bjorn)  $     100 / FREE from Ian/Marla
• Play Mat  $       - / FREE from Ian/Marla
• Humidifier  $      40
• Nursery Decorations  $     200
• Speakers for iPod  $     100 / FREE (Lisa's B-day gift)
• Diaper Pail  $      30
• Infant Car Seat  $     200 / FREE from Ian/Marla
• Stroller  $  1,000
• Clothes  $     200
• Burp Cloths  $      50
• Washcloths  $       -
• Bath Towel  $       -
• Bottles  $       -
• Receiving Blanket  $       -
• Misc  $     415

Eggy Ultrasounds - coolest thing ever!

So, we have an amazing OB-GYN, Dr. Mimi Yum, who happens to be one of our closest family friends.  We're really fortunate to have Mimi as our doc, because not only is she amazing, compassionate, caring and dedicated - she's also awesome at her job.  Anyway, we had our first ultrasound on Nov 18 - this was a big moment, since it was our first time seeing a baby in a live ultrasound!

Our little gummy bear at Wk 8 (Dec 15, 2010)

Isn't Eggy cute?  Doesn't he/she look like a Gummy Bear?

Gummy Bear or Eggy?

At this time, Eggy was about the size of a pear... 2 months later on Jan 19th, which seemed like an ETERNITY, we had our Week 17 ultrasound.  Lisa described the stress level as reaching it's peak at ultrasound reads (after you hear everything is going well / baby appears to be doing well), then slowly degrading until the next ultrasound!  It's so true...  anyway, we were nervous again heading into Wk 17, but we had an AMAZING ultrasound doc (his name was Al Bundy - no joke!).  Anyway, unlike the previous one, he was very comforting and wanted us to ask as many questions as possible.  At this point, Eggy is more like a real person!

Look at the size of that head! It's like sputnik!  Wk 17 (Jan 19, 2011)

It's crazy - you can actually make out the head, nose, mouth, hands, etc.  I literally got the shivers as the doc moved the ultrasound device around - seeing the baby's skeletal structure, hands, legs.  The babymaking process is truly amazing - what the human body does and how it develop never ceases to amaze me.  There are even 3D ultrasounds, which provide even MORE detail as to how your kid looks and is developing.  We'll prob get one around Wk 24.

Hopefully we'll find out the gender then, so we can stop this nonsense of "I hope we have a boy", "I wish it were a girl!".  Really, we both just want Eggy to be happy & healthy...

This is getting more and more real!

MorphThing

Here's what MorphThing.com thinks our offspring will look like.  To me, this Morph looks like a girl - but as much as Lisa (and my dad) would like it to be a li'l lady - we don't really know yet!

What could our eggy look like

Lisa's Baby Bump - Wk 18

Here's Lisa's baby bump profile right around Wk 18!  Starting to show - I think it looks cute!  She's right on track for putting on the pounds (I've done my part with sympathy weight gain too!).  More to come...

Lisa's Baby Bump - Week 18

Hello world! This is the blog dedicated to our eggy - expected to arrive around Jun 27, 2011

"Eggy" is Korean for "baby" - we use Korean words as code, so we can talk more freely in public.  Then again, "eggy" sounds like "egg" which people can probably easily associate with "baby".  So, we're probably not just talking to ourselves.