Checkup & Boutique Shopping

We are in week 25 now. I can't believe it; only a few more months before we meet Sweetpea. Well, we had our doctor's appointment for a checkup last Wednesday, and Sweetpea seems to be growing right on schedule. We got to meet with the nurse practitioner this time, since the doctor likes everyone to meet with the practitioner at least twice during the pregnancy. In this visit, I got my belly measured and was given a small bottle to drink (choice of orange or fruit punch flavor, neither looked that great) for the glucose test on my next visit. I wasn't sure if this visit was the sugar test visit, so I didn't eat breakfast beforehand and was pretty hungry, but it turns out I'll be getting the test on my next visit.

It's nice to confirm that the baby is okay before long trips. I'm in Virginia this week and next. Before leaving, I got a chance to stop by and check out a baby boutique called The Tender Thistle which is closing. From the ads, I knew some of the brands they carried Bunnies by the Bay, Trumpette socks, Peanut shell, Melissa & Doug, Dr. Seuss, Kalencom and OiOi diaper bags, etc. I was disappointed to see that most things are only 25% off, but I did purchase a couple things. I always thought those socks that looked like babies had shoes on were adorable, and I couldn't resist, so I got Sweetpea a pair of Trumpette socks. They normally sell for $6 a pair but I found one baby ballerina socks in peach on sale for $2. Aren't they cute? Now I can add these "footwear" to the two Robeez shoes I got her :) Another thing that drew me to the store was the trendy nursing covers advertised, they carried the award winning Bebe Au Laut Hooter Hiders (funny name). I became more fascinated as I did some research. It's carried by Nordstrom and other baby boutiques. When I first saw it, I thought to myself, I can make this... but then, I'm not sure if I'd have time. One of the unique things about the cover was that it has a boning on top that allows moms to keep watch of their baby. I thought it would be nice to have, so I don't have to hide every time the baby needs to be fed. I called Sweetpea's daddy and he said for me to go ahead and get one, so I have a nice little treat for me. I was originally thinking of getting the Yoko print, but someone else claimed it by the time I went back to pick one up, so I selected Windsor. They also carried nicely patterned Peanut Shell slings which I'm also fascinated by, but I think I'll hold off for now. As I mentioned, there were actually a few baby items I've come across that I think I can make including baby slings, nursing covers, and burp cloths. I saw the boutique sold burp cloths with simple ribbon sewn on two sides for $8. Stay tuned for future posts to see what baby crafts I undertake.

Baby Buys

Because we had been planning for our pregnancy, I had told daddy ahead of time that I would purchase an aerobed I had seen on sale if I was pregnant. I figured that it would be nice to have extra sleeping accomodations when family come and visit our little Sweetpea. Unfortunately, when I found out, it was no longer available, but I did see something else that may come in handy. So, my first baby gear purchase after being officially pregnant was the Supreme Snuggle Nest in green with white polka dots. I figured it would be easier for us when the baby is born, and while I recover, to have the baby in our room at least for a couple months. And, from what I read, this also helps the baby transition to their crib easier because they don't feel as lost in their crib. Daddy and I were pretty excited when it arrived; we set it up on our bed and imagined and talked about how tiny Sweetpea is going to be. We were still letting the thought of being parents sink in :)

Another major item that we have out of the way is our car seat and stroller. We spent hours researching and visiting Babies R' Us, Merry Go Round, and other baby stores to test them out. Our pick? We decided to go with the Chicco (Pronounced Kee-co, not chico) Keyfit 30 travel system. It was rated number 1 in Consumer's Report for safety, ease of use, and fit to vehicle. When we tested it out in the store, it really was very intuitive and easy to use; the base contains a bubble level and easily adjusts up and down, so no need for towels to prop up the car seat for proper fit. For those who haven't heard of Chicco carseat or strollers, the company, design, and fabrics are Italian, but I think they may outsource their work to Asia. Anyhow, Keyfit 30 came in four colors; we thought we might like Atmosphere, but we didn't really like the color when we saw it at Merry Go Round, and daddy thought Race looked to bright red for him. We got to see a different model stroller in the Adventure color while we were in Virginia for the holidays and ended up deciding on that. On second thought, Poetic might be nice as well, but we had no reference other than online pictures since no store seemed to carry it yet. Here's a link to the travel system's features. Thank you Ta-ee and Uncle Philip for giving us the travel system for Christmas.

For those who are curious or in the market, here are the results from the latest Nov 2007 Consumer Reports (earlier report published that year was actually faulty, govn't caught the error). The top 3 seats were: Chicco Key Fit followed by the Britax Companion and Peg Perego Primo Viaggio. The "best buys" were Baby Trend Flex-Loc and Graco Snug Ride with EPS. Here's a link to the report ratings.

My latest buy? A lamp for our nursery. I had been eyeing a lamp from Pottery Barn kids and saw this on sale at TJMaxx last week. Here are pictures, the first two are the ones from PB and the last, our new lamp. It's a bit harder to see the swoop in the lamp shade since we haven't removed the plastic, and you can't hardly see the gingham in the PB pics but you can see it clearer on the enlarged view on their website but they are pretty much similar style and can grow with the kid(s) :)


Well, hope some of the information has been useful. There are still quite a few things that we need or would like to get for the baby. Those bundles sure do add up.

First Diaper Change

There are many things that mommy and daddy have never performed on babies before. Cutting toenails and fingernails is one action. We always argue as to "who will cut sweetpea's toenails!" Just the thought of holding sweetpea's tiny little hands and chipping away at her finger/toenails just makes me shy away because her fingers will be so fragile. Maybe some of you can give pointers out there!

Daddy did get to visit his two nieces this past week. One was 1 1/2 years old and the other was 2 1/2 years old. While the older one was potty trained, the younger one was not. I had the opportunity to babysit on Monday for them. Well, with babysitting comes the change of diapers. One thing that daddy has not performed before is changing diapers. But this past week, I was able to do my very first one! With my sister's help, I was able to remove, clean up, and change my niece's diapers. But it was just #1. The first time was just gross doing it because I never really handle other people's underwear... So the next day comes by and I babysat my two nieces by myself. I had to change the younger one's diapers 4 times and three of the times were #2! It actually was not as bad as I thought because it was not mush like I expected. It was more solid and manageable to look at. And it did not super stink, which was a relief...

Sweetpea's College Cost

Sweetpea's College Costs have been worrying me for a while now even though she is not even born yet. Consider the facts for 2007:

Four Year Public School Tuition $5,836 per year
Four Year Private School Tuition $22,218 per year
Source: Collegeboard

A good rule of thumb is that tuition rates will increase at about twice the general inflation rate. With the inflation rate hovering around 3% for some time now, I can expect college tuition costs to increase by 6% yearly. Recalling the future value of money formulas from my college days:

(1+i)^t
where i is the interest rate and t is the number of years,
we substitute the i with .06 interest and t for 18 years. We have
(1+.06)^18 = 2.85.

So in 18 years, the costs for college in 2026 is roughly:

Four Year Public School Tuition $5,836*2.85 = $16,632 per year
Four Year Private School Tuition $22,218*2.85 = $63,321 per year

Now call me worried or what? These are high costs, and that does not include room and board! And I would not want my kid in $250k debt by the time she gets out of college. So what is a father to think of when it comes to future college costs?

1) Coverdell Education Savings Account
2) 529 Plans

Stay tuned for the differences between the two and the course of action that I will be taking. And remember, you can post without logging in now!

Blog commenting

Hi everyone. We were wondering why the comments section were almost always empty :( It turns out that some of our friends and family wanted to make comments on our baby blog, but gave up when they had to be a registered google/gmail user... so to make it easier for you guys, we've changed our setting. You can now post without registering for an account :) Yay! Looking forward to your thoughts and feedbacks!

Oh, to make this post still somewhat baby related, here's a funny quote I read in our Uncle John's Legendary Lost Bathroom Reader said by Robin Williams on birth: "She's screaming like crazy...You have this myth you're sharing the birth experience. Unless you're passing a bowling ball, I don't think so. Unless you're circumcising yourself with a chainsaw, I don't think so. Unless you're opening an umbrella up your butt, I don't think so." Hmm, hope it's not too bad.

It's a GIRL!

The majority vote was correct! Our Little Sweetpea is a girl! Congrats to those who guessed correctly.

We are very excited since daddy wanted a little girl as the first child... Time to think about names and buy cute girly clothes!

Sweetpea's First Photoshoot

Hello World! I have been developing in my mom's belly for some time now, about 20 weeks to be exact! The doctor got a glimpse of me with an ultrasound and looks like I am a healthy baby. The four chambers of my heart are beating loud and strong; my skeletal structure is intact; mommy was giving me good blood flow through her placenta and I am growing right on schedule.

During the ultrasound, I think my mom was kinda teary eyed when she first saw me! Daddy was very happy as well and was sorta teary eyed too! I can't wait to come out and meet everyone!

The ultrasound technician said I was very photogenic. She took lots of pictures of me and made lots of measurements. Daddy has posted some pictures of me below. Daddy and mommy would like to keep my gender hush hush for now because they would like to share my gender with all my grandparents, uncles, and aunties first! Don't worry, they will post the gender here soon.







"Hmmm... What a beautiful profile! Do I look like mommy or daddy?"














"My what ticklish feet I have!"









The results of my poll entitled "We find out Sweetpea's gender on Jan 23. Will the baby be a boy or a girl?" are listed below!
Boy - 6 votes (37%)
Girl - 10 votes (62%)

Stay tuned for more about me!