The Mom-to-Be with the Grandmothers

This photo was taken at Katherine's shower in late September. On the right is Lee's mom, Tuni Chilcote and on the left is Katherine's mom, Anne Readey. They are standing in the dining room at Tuni's home in Cleveland Heights, where the shower was held. Many thanks to Katherine's close friends from high school, Dana and Julie, for hosting the event.

The Baby Industrial Complex

I've coined a new term for Babies R Us in my own head: "the baby industrial complex". Because, well, it seems very consumer-oriented to me, and maybe worth of a conspiracy theory or two. We just bought a changing table from The Complex, however, so I guess that I am guilty of supporting them ... All of this makes me wonder: When it comes to mass-produced baby gear, are there any local, independent stores that sell this kind of stuff? I know that there are many boutiques that carry baby stuff, and over the months, we have bought stuff from some of these places. But when it comes right down to it, when you need everyday baby gear, Babies R Us seems like the most convenient option. As we do more shopping and talk to more people with kids about where they shop, however, I am sure that we will find a few alternatives.

Finding Community

I feel lucky that Katherine and I have made such good friends in Cleveland. As we get closer to our due date (less than three weeks away!), our community is evolving, and we are welcoming new friends with families into our lives. Last night, we went to several parties, and at each one, we heard stories of pregnancy, birth, and raising kids, and got lots of advice. I sort of feel like a walking NPR "story corps" sometimes, but that's a great thing. The sense of community that we have found here in Cleveland makes me very excited to bring our baby into this world.

Gettin' closer

Obviously, it's been a while since Rowdy's baby blog has been updated, but it's kind of amazing to be coming into the home stretch having passed the 8 month mark. I recently read that this part of the pregnancy can get a little boring, and I can certainly echo that sentiment as I find that there are more limits on my activities, energy etc. Of course, on the flip side (literally and figuratively) Rowdy is moving around like crazy - obviously just building up his/her energy for the journey ahead.

We've finished our childbirth education classes, hired the doula, and once the nursery furniture is in place (let's hope it comes this week as promised!), we'll be all ready for labor and delivery...whoopeeee!!! (Hopefully, the sarcasm came through there). Not going to say that I'm incredibly excited about the whole labor experience - just trying to mentally prepare and stay calm. Of course, both of those exercises could be completely futile in their own right (doh!)

And, once I'm past the labor/delivery stage, I have sleeplessness and breastfeeding to look forward to...so I'm working on accepting the fact that my body will continue to be on hormonal overdrive for 3-6 months post-baby (at least?) Of course, everyone I talk to says it's more than worth it and I know that's true. In the end, I'm just really looking forward to meeting the little guy (that's a gender neutral term, yes?)

First Post from the Mom to Be

Very exciting to have a space dedicated to this next adventure in my and Lee's lives/relationship/marriage. We're both very excited about this event and can't wait to share all the wonderful moments with friends and family - which hopefully the blog will facilitate.

We're half-way through the pregnancy and both beginning to feel a little anxious about the whole thing (or at least I can speak for myself). It seems like there's so much still to do and even though we have SOME time to work with, I'm assuming the second 20-ish weeks will go as quickly as the first 20 weeks.

We've been lucky to have a lot of great friends who have already gone through the experience very generously share advice, breast pumps, diapers etc. So I know we're in good hands as this event unfolds! Can't wait to start posting pics and giving everyone the updates on the Rowdy Chilcote's daily antics (okay - the baby isn't really named Rowdy Chilcote - but we had to come up with a temporary name since we're not finding out if it's a boy or girl - and just calling it "baby" or "alien" all the time gets a little old).