I thought I would be so thrilled to see my Baby Ticker in the 160s... it's at 168 days until fully cooked, today... but I'm not.
I'm impatient. Nothing in the world matters besides meeting the Lentil.
What's wrong with me? I've always been a "be here now" kind of girl, or at least, one who strove to be.
I don't like this about myself. I should be reveling in my last days as a single person. Whooping it up.
Yet at the same time, I can't believe I'm 40 percent done!!! I'm 16 weeks today, or four months pregnant! Yee haw! Only four more weeks until the halfway point. Only eight weeks until viability (god forbid I have a 24 weeker!!! After my months of working in the NICU, I always swore I'd flee for the hills if I went into labor at 24 weeks. But still.)
Today I'm going with a friend to scope out a few more baby things for the registry. My mother grew up on the Upper West Side, so when I told her that was where I was headed for baby shopping, she asked what store. When I told her a store named Albee's, she told me, "I went there in 1951 with my parents to buy a baby carriage for your uncle. And I got my first bike there."
How's that for cool??? Now I want to buy everything there.
The big question (the big and boring question, at least for anyone not in my exact situation) is what kind of stroller I should get. My friend offered me her second McClaren Quest, for free. I should just take this and call it a day, right? I mean, what an amazing offer! But the handlebars are all torn up and I'm a New Yorker and so I use a stroller like Americans elsewhere use a car. And I don't want to spend 3-4 years pushing a stroller with torn up handlebars. Is that wrong? Selfish? Consumeristic?
And then I kind of like the Vista G-deluxe. Which is a pound lighter than the Quest, and reclines a little further, and has bigger wheels. But isn't, you know, a McClaren. Umbrella stroller to the stars and all that. Certainly the most popular stroller in NYC, at least among lightweight ones that you can carry down subway stairs. And can be fixed anywhere, because they are are so popular.
So this is what I am obsessing about, since I can't meet my baby (!!!) just yet and I don't seem to invested in the rest of my life.
Sorry, I'm practicing becoming a really boring person now. In preparation for parenthood (goddess willing), when I will be discussing my child's digestive habits at length, I suppose.
I'd take your friend up on the offer (you can always find something to fix the handle bars) and then at the same time, look at other options. Play with them all. I chose the Baby Jogger Summit after going in to Buy Buy Baby convinced that I wanted the BoB stroller. But I completely changed my mind after having the guy show me how several different strollers compared, and practiced opening and closing them. One of my good friends lives in New York, and she says the Uppa Baby Vista is THE best for the city.
ReplyDeleteWait to get too much, you need to get the Baby Bargains book! The new edition comes out in April, and they have fantastic and very helpful reviews. Oh, and here in NC, March is consignment sale season, you definitely want to look at the consignment sales. Last fall I got a like new Medela breast pump for $10 (yes, TEN dollars) and a Bloom Stylewood baby lounger for $23. Look at local mom discussion boards/websites; they usually have them in churches, Y's and community centers and they are fantastic! I bet every area has the same schedule.
Oh, and I tell you, things dragged for me about the same time in pregnancy, and now they're starting to move more quickly. I want to meet my little boy, but at the same time I'm trying to savor every second (much easier to do once I started to be able to feel him moving).
Sorry for the novel! LOL
I had many of the same questions about strollers...
ReplyDeleteALL the experienced NYC moms I have asked have said to get a new stroller. As you said, in NYC, strollers get used ALOT and most have said the strollera are trashed by the time you are done! Plus NYCers tend to use stollers longer since we walk longer distances with the kiddos on a daily basis.
I went to Albee's too, a couple weeks ago with my mom. I ended up putting the UppaBaby G-luxe on my registry. It folded pretty easily and weighs several pounds less than the McLaren. The reviews I could find online actually had the UppaBaby rated better than McLaren.
As for meeting the kiddo... I keep forgetting I am pregnant. I keep thinking about races I want to do, places I want to go or bike trips I want to go on. Then I remember I'll be giving birth in June!! And then the realization that I have no idea what my life wil be like after that! I am looking forward to meeting her and I am so excited an happy. I can't wipe the smile off my face when I think about her but... I guess becasue it took so long, it seems more like a dream that she is on her way and real life is the one I have always known. Hmmm. That might be a topic for the therapist!! :)
Good luck with the stroller situation tomorrow!
Bethany
Thanks for the comments, ladies! And no apologies for length... I love it!
ReplyDeleteI do have the 2010 Baby Bargains book. I might scan the new edition in the bookstore but probably will not buy it. Strollers is really the only thing I would want to check out. That and infant car seats, to see if they have a review yet for the Safety First 35. Consumer Reports really liked it for safety, and it's much cheaper than the Graco.
And Bethany, I had JUST settled on the Uppa Baby G-luxe, too! It's slightly lighter than the Quest, reclines a little further, has slightly bigger wheels for a smoother ride, stands when folded, has a bigger sunshade, and... oh yeah, costs less!
But I'm just wondering if it is worth it to buy a brand new stroller for those differences versus one that is nearly as good... for FREE. Only I wouldn't really be buying it, I'd be hoping to be GIVEN it.
I feel like it's wrong and wasteful and selfish of me to want a new stroller when my friend is offering to give me this brand new stroller FOR FREE. And is even planning to take it to the McClaren Body Shop to get the handlebars replaced and wheels oiled.
Oy.
Bethany, I think you are a runner? Hence the reference to races? (Also I think I saw this on your blog?) I was running until about 6 weeks pregnant... then my best friend gave me an elliptical when it was icy and miserable and dark out... and I haven't run since then. And I miss it. I wonder if that's why I am going crazy to get out of NYC -- when I ran I was at least outside, sometimes in the park. But I am worried about it being very uncomfortable. First, that I will get woefully out of breath... despite my continued workouts, I get SOOO out of breath (hate that!). And then, my breasts are SO big and heavy. My running bras are not comfortable anymore. I could squeeze everyone in there if I have to... and may, this coming week, when i am away from home (yay!) and away from my elliptical. But at the same time, I keep having dreams about running. So I do miss it. Even while it intimidates me as well.
Finally, Albees was a disappointment. Their store registry is not connected to their online registry! How dumb is that??? And it was very crowded and they were not particularly friendly. Old world NYC and authentic and all that it may be... but I don't need the attitude. I suspect the local stores in Brooklyn will be nicer and friendlier -- Boing Boing and Lulus.