As my belly continues to grow with baby and the calendar guides me into the third trimester of gestational bliss, Adam and I have determined that Snowball is really, truly coming to join us in March and there is no turning back now. The day we discovered we were really going to have our own little bambino, I must admit, I had a moment of “oh crap”-ness. Feeling the sudden shock and reality of knowing that we were really joining the parent party paired with 12 weeks of feeling like I may never live another day without my head in the toilet…by the end of the first trimester, I began to think “what have we done?”. Were we planning little Snowball? Absolutely. Was I thinking I would get pregnant the first time out of the gate? Absolutely not. But, of course, we wouldn’t have it any other way.
Our next big purchase was the crib and dresser. We looked and looked for a black crib that we liked as much as the one we ended up purchasing but to no avail (although depending on the light, it’s pretty tough to determine if it’s black or brown). We did our research and the crib report card folks give this one an “A”. So, at least if Snowball’s mom isn’t that smart, the place that he/she rests his/her head will be. We hope this will get us through at least two Brehm babies, if not more. 
Ahhh… the next item on our list was to pick out our Travel System. Let me just say, it was apparent that Adam and I are not yet parents as we stumbled through trying to figure out all the bells and whistles that come along with the modern travel system. Again, if they decide to require taking a test prior to getting knocked up (other than just the pee on the stick kind), perhaps they could have a “Are you Smarter than a Car Seat and Stroller” section on the exam. Luckily, there was not a child actually in the system as we fumbled our way through the clicking, folding and strapping on the model. We purchased a Chicco system (thanks mom and dad:) and have yet to take it out of the box and test it out at home. 
The other night we also purchased our crib mattress which was possibly the funniest purchase to date. I mean really, what the heck do we know about a mattress for a person that is miniature. Nothing. That’s what we know. But, knowing nothing, we are now the proud owners of our very first crib mattress. Adam used the scientific method of taking the two finalists and putting them on the floor at Babies R Us and then laying down on them and wiggling around. Really, we’re pretty sure they’re all the same but with different price points… but we had a 15% off coupon so we went for the model that required a bit more coin. This baby better love us.
All in all, shopping for baby has been pretty much like the blind leading the blind but it’s been a total trip. We’re off to register soon as well so I am sure that many more stories will abound.
To the third trimester and beyond…
