Help Support the Economy!

Give a boost to our local economy (well, Target really isn't local, but still...) and check out our registries! Thank God for Ted's sister, because I would have been in serious trouble if she had not helped me get everything together.

We are also baby registered at the Apple Store (baby needs an iMac) and Nordstrom's (I can use a Kate Spade as a diaper bag, right?) and Beltway Liquors (we'll need some assistance getting through the first few weeks).

The registries are a work in progress, so check often (as of posting, only the Target registry is complete and posted!).

What We REALLY Need for the Baby

Many new-parents-to-be suffer from anxiety about the upcoming bundle of joy; a central theme of my personal anxiety is "How can I avoid traumatizing my child to the point where he will require therapy for the rest of his life?"

However, I love that other people have a different idea of what exactly will traumatize a child. Here is a great list of potential gifts for our child that will cause minimal trauma.

What not to get us

I know a few people have purchased random things for the baby (UVa bibs, drinking onesies, holiday themed outfits, Baby's first spotting scope, ceremonial tantos - it goes in, across then down, etc). However, there is one thing that we not only are not registering for, but has instead caused us to create the anti-registry:

The Belly Cast Kit


Yes, that's right, you can immortalize how big you were in paper mache. Reasons we're against this:

• You have to put it somewhere. Many of the reviews suggest hanging it on the wall with one euphemistically calling it "a conversation starter"
• The cat would sleep in it
• The nursery will be crowded enough with the baby, his stuff, the cat, the dog, me and the real Gretchen all visiting. No need to add a second, statue Gretchen
• Our friends would probably try to wear it (Matt)
• My friends or I would make an alien burst through it at some point
• It might get rigged to dispense beer (Phi Psi)
• Gretchen would make the cat sleep in it

Looking at the reviews, I can see why some people really like it. It seems like they may have had a lot of trouble getting pregnant, or that being pregnant was super important to them, and the fufillment of a dream. I think they also have more space then us, and possibly less creativity in terms of how things can get misused...

Want Baby Names?

Ever find yourself wishing "If only I could hear someone call out long lists of names, so I could see what they sound like and name my baby?" Wondering what to do with yourself on a Friday at 4:00pm? Have I got an offer for you!

Condensed Baby Tips

From the same folks who provided us with those invaluable pregnancy tips. Now we know what to do after the baby shows up.

http://www.c00lstuff.com/1133/Do_s_and_don_ts_with_babies/

Pregnancy tips in a condensed form

Loyal readers may recall that I commented on my generations attention span in my last post. Finally, someone has taken all of the complicated advice, dos and don'ts and best practices of childbirth and pregnancy, and distilled them into sound-bite sized chunklets. They even went so far as to illustrate them with cartoons, which, given the proliferation of adult swim and the 18 plus year run of the Simpsons, seems to be a great choice. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you, the only pregnancy resource you will ever need:

http://www.officialdatingresource.com/pregnancy-tips/

Baby Monitoring for Millenials

SBefore anyone points it out in the comments, I am aware that Gretchen and I are actually the last days of Gen X (the very last in my case) and thus not technically Millenials. However, since we're on the edge, we exhibit trends of both groups.

One interesting trait of our population segment is that we're used to a lot of information flow. One potential negative aspect of that is that, as a generation, we have a touch of ADD. Baby development and monitoring has adapted to this; so far we've had a heartbeat monitor and an ultrasound and we'll have more ultrasounds, tests, scans, monitors and information as we proceed towards the actual birth then any other time in history. Even finding out you're pregnant happens far earlier, with greater accuracy and without having to see a medical professional. We think its really neat, older people sometimes seem surprised at how much we know and think that its strange to have so much monitoring.

Where does the tendency towards ADD come in? Gretchen would really like to be able to see things now, to be able to hear the heartbeat at home or take her own ultrasounds. Ideally, she'd probably like status emails and twitter posts from or about the baby. As fast as we get information, and as much as we get, it seems like a slow pace if you're used to digital markets and constant, user generated content. Like blogs. Wait a minute...