First Quilt

Here's a pic of SugarPlum's first quilt made by my mother.

The Name Game

Danielle and I cannot seem to agree on a first name for Sugarplum and we may be one of "those" parents who just waits to see what the baby looks like before naming. This gives me both a sense of a relief about not being locked into a name and maybe wanting to add something to the short list later but then I also feel a little flaky about not being able to decide on a name. At any rate, I thought I'd share them with you. Please note that the name with the most votes does not necessarily mean we'll use that name. It's just for fun.

Please cast you votes to the right.

***BTW- thanks for those who provided feedback on Gracie and the poop situation. I think we are going to reevaluate the food she eats. I was making homemade food for her in the past (rice, ground chicken, carrots, celery and parsley) but stopped about a month ago (laziness) and switched to Pedigree dog food (total random choice). I may have to go back to the homemade or find a good canned choice for her. We mix it with her kibble.

Daycare #2- Child Development Center

I toured another daycare center which has "Child Development Center" in it's title and is owned by a very large teaching/medical facility so I had high hopes for this center thinking that it would be at the top of it's game being developmentally stimulating for little SugarPlum. They have a waiting list with the first opening in July 2010 so I thought it would be the stuff. However, I wasn't all that impressed.

Hilltop (daycare #1) offers formula and solids in their tuition, is $50 less, has better pick up and drop off parking, has staff who have been there for over 14 years in the infant room, changes their schedule every 30 minutes, starts the day off with "lots of hugs, smiles and holding", has accommodated same sex families, close to home, offers groups for parents, uses stimulating activities such as reading, puppets, music, songs, art, and toys. Their ratio is 1:3. The only drawback: don't love the neighborhood, and they follow Pittsburgh Public School snow days (could pose a problem).

CDC (daycare #2) does not offer any extras in their tuition. Hot meals only start when the child is 1 and is in the 1 year old room. They have a teacher with a BA in child ed in each room. Their ratio is 1:4, it's close to work, the children are held in a room with other children up to the age of 2 until all the staff and children arrive for the day, their schedule changes every 60-90 minutes. I didn't see anything about the use of music, puppets and art. I did notice a lot of use of toys.

Both allow me to drop in any time to feed, have lunch or say hi to our child. Both will accommodate same sex families, although CDC said in the 5+ years she's been there, she's never had a same sex family in their infant room. Both offer codes to get into the facility. However, CDC said the code can be given by the family to extended family. I'm concerned about this because it seems like really easy access for loony family members.

So while there are other pros and cons for each, daycare #1 is the top contender at this time.

Gracie Strikes Again

Gracie ate Slice's poop this afternoon. I'm so deeply disturbed by this. Why must she be so gross?

19w6d Photo Shot

I'm not brave enough to do a side shot but you get the gist.

Crib Bedding???

This week we are in the planning phase for the nursery. Ironically (?), I had a girl's nursery planned right down to the accessories but I had nothing planned for a boy. It feels like boys room are more themed orientated than just decorated. So the challenge is deciding on colors, layout, bedding, etc. Danielle and I are trying compromise on color. We don't exactly want a typical blue nursery but we're not against it. We've tossed around a few colors but we're not sure. However, my purchase today may help move the decision along. While at BRU I scored an Amy Coe 4 piece crib set and mobile. The bedding alone generally goes for $169 and I got the bedding and mobile for..............$16.00. No that's not a typo $16.00. Even the sales associate was surprised. I don't know if it was mismarked or what because bedding NEVER goes that cheap. Even the ones around it were $70 on clearance. So I figured even if Danielle doesn't care for the bedding for the nursery we can send parts of it to daycare or use it as a back up. Either way, I'm super excited about this purchase.

Game On....

Now that we know what we're having, GAME ON!!!! I hit up Carters and bought our SugarPlum a few (okay slightly more than a few) items. Baby clothes are so cute.