Weekly Randoms 10/8

ladystout08

Put the date backwards at first. Need caffeine. 

kaf1788

I have a new manager (for the 4th time this year...) and he's a youngish (late 20s) single man who I think is kind of nervous about managing a pregnant lady. I'm completely taking advantage of this and have already told him I'm not coming to work after Christmas regardless of when I actually give birth and that I'm working from home the second the sidewalks get icy. Wondering what other pregnant lady demands I can make because I'm pretty sure he's just going to let me do whatever I want haha.

ladystout08

I just ordered a bunch of stuff for Target pickup because I can't be bothered to go shopping in the store. 

leighbrek

@kaf1788 That's hilarious. Totally take advantage while you can!

I told DH  he didn't have to wait around with me for the GTT and that I'd just walk to work when the appointment is done... I'm stupid. The walk is only 20 minutes, but I totally didn't think about having my purse, laptop, and lunch bag going through a semi-sketchy neighborhood. This 20 minute walk is going to take an eternity!

DLpanda08

I think I’m single handedly making our relay for life bagel sale a success. It’s directly across the hall from my classroom and they smell insanely good.

bradleysmommy28

@ladystout08 I ordered from BJs last week for the same reason and discovered my coupons didn't work so now I'm annoyed that I actually have to go to the store tonight because of coupons.  I despise all shopping at this time.

leighbrek

@galactickates Look!  Soul mates for the shopping aversion, lol.

sparkymcgeee

The next couple of weeks is insane for me.

DH just got a promotion so he's transitioning to that role and has to go out of town later this month for a business trip. 

DD is 7 and my parents are taking her to Disney World for her eighth birthday (they take all their grandkids when they are 8 or about to be 8) and she leaves Thursday. She is going to have so much fun but she has a little bit of anxiety about being away from home and being on the plane and stuff. Plus she is missing some school because of it. She doesn't get back until the 23rd. 

DH's trip is the 24th. DS has a field trip on the 24th.

Then Halloween is the following week and there are activities and and stuff. I'm going to be miserable until November. It all hit me how much is happening when I was doing the calendar today. It's a lot. So if I'm a little MIA this month that is why.

sweetyjenj

I put a few strings of color Christmas lights up in the house, since DD LOVED them last year. Since I want to take down decorations before baby comes (rather than leaving them up all January) I figured I might as well decorate extra early. Then it's also done and I can focus on baby things as time gets nearer We're coming up on my favorite time of year. 
Surprisingly, I love the busy stores and hustle and bustle of the season. It might not even be Halloween yet, but we don't really do anything for Halloween besides go to a Halloween party or two. And this year DD will be 2, so we got her a costume for daycare celebration and bring her door to door with her older cousin. 

sparkymcgeee

I'm the total opposite @sweetyjenj. I told DH we are getting a SMALL tree this year and I want to do minimal decorating so I don't have to deal with any of that with a newborn. He is in charge of taking everything down and I might have him do it NY day because I will be induced on the 4th if baby hasn't already come. I am kind of dreading the whole season this year because of how close it is to my EDD.

bradleysmommy28

+1 to limiting holiday decor.  The year DS was born the decorations made me depressed and they stayed up until February when he was discharged from NICU and we had time to take them down.  Even though DS is almost 6, we've prepped him for a minimal xmas so I'm thinking small tree, stockings and not much else.  I don't want to deal with it since my c-sec is the day after xmas.

Jackiemxoxo

We are boarding up for the hurricane here. Luckily, we will be on the west side of it but still in the cone of uncertainty. Lots of rain/wind. I am mostly dreading the barometric pressure these things bring. BH contractions are not fun. 

UnbreakableKimmySchmidt

We don’t have a ton of Christmas stuff to begin with but waiting until at least after thanksgiving to put it up! Debating about ordering a pottery barn personalized stocking for LO. By some chance we got one last year on Facebook local kids exchange for free with my daughter’s name on it. Now I will have to buy a matching one for LO. Not sure if I want to order it this year on the off chance we change our mind about the name...but it might be fun to have it if he comes before Christmas!

sfgiantsgamerbabe

+1 to minimal Christmas decorations this year. It bums me out because I love my Christmas decorations but with baby due right after Christmas it will be our small tree and a few lights. I’m the weirdo that decorates right after Halloween so they’ll be up for a while. I may spend the day after Christmas taking everything down (assuming baby stays put). I usually leave everything up until the new year. 

alexandraseattle

@kaf1788 Great job at making your new situation work for you!

My boss's last day is at the end of the month. I report to one of the executives, so it's unlikely a new person would start in that role before I go out on leave mid-December. My boss was really nice and set me up to work from home one day a week before giving notice, so that'll be nice. Hopefully I can just get my work done, coast, and avoid all of the drama/bullshit outside our department. If they try to dump her workload on me, I plan to say a lot of "that's not in my job description..." and/or play the pregnancy card. I don't get paid enough to deal with that level of responsibility.  

MrsDho11

We don’t have many (or really any) decorations because we still rent and move pretty frequently. Last year was the first time we stayed home for Christmas, so I went out with DD (she was 1) in an Ergo and bought a Christmas tree all by myself because H is a huge Scrooge. Then I put it up and decorated it by myself, and I continually reminded H that he needed to watch DD carefully when he was in charge and they were in that room because she would pull that sucker down if she could. And of course, she pulled it down one day while they were in there together.

even though my due date is like 4 weeks after Christmas, I don’t think we’ll get a tree. We’re traveling for a few days before and home Christmas night, but I don’t think I’ll be up for tree procurement, decoration, and defense from toddler on my own so pregnant this year!

molosmiles

@Jackiemxoxo Stay safe!!!

kmos816

No decorations here for any holiday this season! DD even asked for Halloween decorations- but not this year. We have enough on our plate to add that in!

galactickates

Omg we're going Christmas crazy at our house.  We decorate at all last year because we were selling our house so we're going nuts this year in the new one! I can't wait to get out my Christmas village and the 5,000 other boxes of decorations and lights

gorgeousariel

@Jackiemxoxo stay safe! We've been watching it yesterday and this morning to decide what we needed to do. Thankfully ( for us) it didnt shift to the East. We actually got more rain yesterday than we did today. 

mtengl

I love decorating for Christmas so I think we still will. I say this now but who knows how I will feel after thanksgiving. Luckily DH helps a lot with decorating and it is a big tradition with us so I think we still will.

bradleysmommy28

One of my friends makes adorable baby blankets and sent me the pic of baby boys.  I am in love and little things like this make me super excited for the next few months!

skilouise

We will decorate some for Christmas, though not as much as normal years.  Fortunately a good portion of our Christmas decorations can also double as generic winter decorations (snowmen,  antique skis, etc), so those at least can stay until the end of winter. 

jgil85

@Jackiemxoxo Stay safe! 

AliKay20

All this Christmas talk before Halloween is making me happy. Hahaha. UO? Perhaps! Loving this season right now and looking forward to actual sweater weather come this Friday!! I think we stay in mid-60s for the next week after. 

To those that already put up lights and started decorating for Christmas, I’m totally OK w that and Halloween existing at the same time.   

I haven’t thought of our Christmas decor plans but some of you bring up good points on why going minimal may be best for you all. I might just hang some ornaments on our faux fig leaf tree and put a strand or two of lights! We went all out last year as we celebrated our first Christmas in our new house. 

Totally random but today DH & I laughed over dinner how clueless we were w DD and the fact that we had no idea about the bottle nipple sizes. It wasn’t until our ped became very concerned watching us bottle feed DD. 

“Does she usually sweat this much while drinking her milk? Is the nipple size correct?” 

She looked so concerned. She mentioned it could be something more serious but we’d have to run some tests (heart related concerns). She had us check DD’s bottle nipple size first though before having us worry about the next step. It turns out it was the wrong size (meaning we should have changed it from newborn status). Poor DD was working so hard to squeeze out that milk from the bottle. 

AliKay20

Also, it feels like the calm before the storm for many of us. With holidays coming around, the next couple of months will be crazyyyy!!! 

galactickates

@AliKay20 i'm glad you mentioned something about nipple size because I would probably do the same! I'm glad we have so many STM+s on our BMB for me to ask a million questions to! 

ladystout08

We'll definitely decorate for Christmas. We usually do it the weekend after Thanksgiving and DH and DS love doing it. Well, DS is like me and loves decorating for *all* holidays (see also: our giant 8 foot inflatable spider on our front porch). I'm not due until the end of January anyway and DH is a stickler for taking stuff down around New Years. Plus if MIL comes up he'll likely rope her into helping. 

emmaaa

I usually wait until the weekend after Thanksgiving to decorate and take everything down on New Year's Day. This year I think I will decorate the weekend of Veteran's Day and then take everything down the day after Christmas to give myself time to get the house back in order for baby's arrival. 

kianarain

All this décor talk is getting me excited about the holidays! That said, I think I might just do a tree and not worry about all the other stuff. We're usually running around like crazy people on Christmas eve/Christmas anyway, might as well leave ourselves minimal cleanup since we won't be home a ton to enjoy it.

Also, kinda random but speaking of prepping/cleaning for baby's arrival - fully planning on hiring a cleaner to do a big sweep of the house near the middle/end of January. We usually do it ourselves, but I'm already struggling to bend over & am totally the type to stress myself out even more if the house isn't clean. The last thing I want to worry about is vacuuming & wiping down counters when I return from the hospital. (But totally would worry about it if it wasn't at least tidy, if not immaculate.) 

I know we've talked about pro cleaners before, but I can't bring myself to regularly splurge for it. I do think a little extra peace of mind in those first few days will be worth every penny though.

AliKay20

@kianarain great idea! I could get DH to do majority of deep cleaning but I think a one time splurge on getting someone to clean for us would be nice! Esp since we have a good excuse to do so before baby arrives. 

Off to my local mom group to see if they like certain cleaning services in the area!! Thanks.

ladystout08

@kianarain my husband just hired cleaners for every other week because I too am getting to the point where I can't bend over and such. They save my sanity. I'm going to talk to them about a big deep clean after the holidays (hopefully) before the baby gets here. I want them to deep clean her nursery too after the contractors are done in there. 

saltedcaramel518

@kianarain I was telling my mom that I wanted to look into hiring someone to do a deep clean of our house before the baby comes, and she said she would pay for it as a Christmas present *praise hands*

Smaller chested ladies, I have a bra recommendation: https://www.gap.com/browse/product.do?pid=7146431520002&cid=1114958&locale=en_US.

I ordered one in July and have now outgrown it.. so I just ordered 2 more in a size up. It's really comfortable, and I think it could work as a nursing bra if necessary. 

kaf1788

@kianarain that's such a good idea that I'll probably steal! My condo is too small for me to justify getting a regular cleaner but one deep clean after the holidays/ before baby would take such a load off mentally. 


Now I just need to find a way to break my sweetgreen addiction for lunch so I don't go broke before then!

kianarain

Yay, the fact that you all agree makes the expense feel even more justified! @saltedcaramel518 I think that will probably work out similarly for me; my mom has been trying out new cleaning crews and hinted that if she finds a good one she'll send them my way before baby comes. Fingers crossed but either way, it's feeling like a must at this point. 

wkuandrea

my in-laws sprung for bi-monthly cleaning service for us as a birthday gift! Sometimes marrying an only child has its perks

jgil85

I'm definitely planning on getting cleaners to come and do a deep clean before baby gets here. I think were also going to have our carpets professionally cleaned beforehand too. 

I've been cleaning like a crazy woman lately and it's really kicking my butt. Everything is so sore so I can't imagine keeping this up much longer. 

greenhillgirl

We always have very minor decorations because of living in an apartment. But I do hope to get them out right after Thanksgiving. DH tried to tell me no this year cause I'll be so far along and I said yea right. It's my first Christmas of my life I won't be at my parents house for Xmas. I'm getting my decorations mf. 

One thing I LOVE doing as I've been using a fake tree is getting a really spruce scented candle from Target or TJ Maxx or Bath & Body and lighting it while I gaze on my fake tree from the dollar store. Instant holiday!

tosh24

Hell no! I'm still putting out every decoration I have *and* putting up my 4 Christmas trees! As soon as December 26th is here every year, I'm basically counting down until Christmas again lolol....I expect that baby will be here late December and I don't plan on taking my decor down. I put everything out and kept it up when DS was born too and FWIW, newborns LOVE the twinkling of the lights on the tree. DS was mesmorized by them!

drabong88

I love Christmas it is my favorite time. We will still be putting up all of our decorations. When I was little it looked like Christmas threw up in our house and I loved it lol. We put some halloween decorations this week and it is finally cooling off here so I can't wait to start putting up the Christmas decorations 

leighbrek

28 weeks today, and this baby is WILD. My poor ribs and bladder are getting a severe beating. When the midwife said, "If you don't feel movement for a while...." I immediately laughed. I can't remember the last time I haven't felt baby having a party.

We're doing decorations for sure. I'm all about ambiance and happiness, lol. DH can put it away if I'm out of commission.