Nearly 1 month in the new place already...

[rkold]

I am in love with an expensive stroller and the worst part is, I can't even figure out how much I am really going to use a stroller. I do know that I definitely prefer the Graco car seat to the Chico simply because the sunshade is nicer! The Chico has this tiny dinky one and I don't see why they can't make a larger one. So the Graco is winning, but I am confused as to how you adjust the baby seat belt and I am realizing I don't care if it wakes the baby up, I'm not going to want to tug around the damn thing. Even if it just snaps into the base, it doesn't want to unsnap for me and it just feels awkward. I don't like carrying so much weight in one hand like that. The car seat alone is like over 9 pounds and that is sans baby!

But strollers... I love the UppaVista. It's so high up and cute and the only negatives I can think are I am worried about it fitting in my car and the fact it has really wide wheels. Now of course for walks outside or even malls it should be fine, its not like I actually live in NYC. I'm meh on the NYC mini jogger all my cousins adore. For one thing you definitely can't use it until the baby is 6 months old.

In other real life news, I saw my other two pregnant cousins yesterday and like my cousin who just got married they're both showing a lot more than me. One is due in July (the first of the 4 of us) but the other one is only 10 days ahead of me. I'm wondering if they are having boys or girls but they won't say. Both of them listen to their husbands more than I do.

We're still debating names. I've realized I have different tastes than most people I know in doing this.

I've been feeling meh on dolls. I think part of it, is I just feel so different from other owners sometimes. I want my dolls to look nice at NY Dolpa, but I'm even more concerned with what I am going to wear and how I will look. I want to look pretty. Perhaps I am just vain.

I've also been feeling meh as I start to wonder about NY Dolpa in 2011. I'll have an 8 month old. Can you really take your 8 month old to Dolpa? I really don't care if the rest of you would feel comfortable leaving behind your make believe or even possibly real child for 2 1/2 days at 8 months. *I* don't feel comfortable doing it and spending time with doll people in NYC just doesn't rate as highly to me. It's not that I won't want breaks, but there is a huge difference between 6 hours apart and 2 +days for me. It just makes me think a lot.

Comments

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

That's one reason I got out of the doll hobby, I just couldn't connect to or understand most of the other owners. But I think they also weren't right for me too, I am a lot happier with my 1:6 dolls.

I think you could take the baby with a carrier, but it really depends on your baby's disposition at the time. At 8 months I could have totally taken Noah, now he is too impatient when we are out and gets really cranky.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

..I don't know I just find myself falling out of/wondering if I still belong in several of my hobbies at the same time. I like my 1/6 but not enough I really want to go back to purchasing them, just enough to not want to sell them all off. I discovered I had another Momoko I didn't know I had when I was packing up.

It's not crankiness so much even since presumably I could leave for a bit, it's more... I can't think of anywhere where you could easily nurse or change a diaper. I don't think the bathrooms had areas to do either of those two activities which you really need when spending 6 hours or so in a location with a baby.

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

*nod* I meant more for me than to recommend 1:6 dolls to you. Anyways maybe it's a hormones things? Pregnant women go through wacky hormone swings.

All I can think of is getting a hotel room nearby or doing it in the car or bringing a bottle of pumped milk but that doesn't account for the diaper changing.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I'd prefer not to pump in a case like this and I can't really bring myself to spend $400 for a hotel room for the week end. Since it's not like I could easily find someone who wants to share a hotel room with someone with a small child. It just seems like a lot more trouble than the event is worth and it makes the whole thing seem a bit like a turn off.

I think it is less mood swings vs. re-evaluating my interests.

[pure-trance.livejournal.com]

Yeah I probably wouldn't want to go either in that case.

As for hobbies I know what you mean, I have going through something somewhat similar in an abstract way lol. I have been thinking rather than being a collector I want to just focus on gettin my very very favorite things (in the past I would end up hoarding stuff and burning out) and also focus on quality rather than quantity (this is mostly referring to handbags).

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I've always for the most part been a quality over quantity person so that is less of an issue. I like hoarding things, but I just feel like maybe other things would give me more pleasure right now. I think I'd like to do more and collect less.

It just seems like next year will be a hassle.

[twotone]

The stroller sounds great (except for the question of whether it'll fit in the car)! I hope the carseat works out for you, too.

I hope you have a good time at NY Dolpa this year.

How is the future baby-sitting situation for you? I remember my mom once said that she'd much rather babysit during the "drinks and poops and cries" phase rather than the chatty toddler or child phase. :p

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I agree with your Mom. XD;; I actually don't mind the smell of baby poops that much (vs. say the smell of cat poops which I can not deal with) In the TMI department I've heard things like that do smell differently based on your diet. If I say went to Dolpa over a long week end, K would be the baby sitter XD; I do expect my Mom will want to watch her grand daughter sometimes. But if we say wanted to go to a movie up here I'm not sure who we would ask yet. I'm hoping to join a bunch of mother and baby groups and will seek advice that way. I do like chatty toddlers and small children but they're a lot more energy intensive than babies. And I have seen how some small children are just better behaved than others. I think there is something to be said for parental expectations.

I hope NY Dolpa goes well this year too. I'm a little anxious just because I need to eat semi-frequently and no Dolpas are known for their food lol BTW do you want to go strawberry picking at some point? It's nearly season so figured I would ask.

I'm hoping to go to BuyBuyBaby on a less crowded day so can measure for trunk space. I've been scoping the lightly used ones on Craig's List. I've also decided I need a glider. I sort of wish I had one now. XD;

[twotone]

Yes! I was meaning to e-mail you... I got e-mails from both Bishop's Market and Lyman Farms this weekend, saying that their strawberry-picking season has started! Apparently they've had a bad winter/spring so the strawberry season is not expected to do so well. :p

If you're up for it, I'd love to go sometime.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Wow, that is early. I don't remember the weather being particularly off this year (unlike last year with the neverending rain) but...

Yes, I'd love to go one week end! When are you free?

[codename-windy.livejournal.com]

I think it is good that you are re-evaluating your interests. Nowadays, way too many new parents feel they are entitled to keep on going the same way they were before the baby. I mean, I guess people are different and all, but personally I'm a firm believer that once you have a child, that child should be your priority.

That being said, it's probably not yet necessary to decide on NY Dolpa 2011, right? When you go this year, you can check out what type of facilities they offer. That, combined with learning what type of baby Ryuchan is, after she is born, will most likely help you to make the decision. ^_^

[rkold.livejournal.com]

Wellllll I also think too often there is a bias in the baby-less to stick people with small children in a children ghetto. Just because I will have a small child, I'm not going to start eating fast food only. I want my daughter to enjoy Indian food or other ethnic foods and to know how to behave in public and the best way to do that is to actually take her somewhere. I also unlike some of my friends have no problem with breast feeding in public, though being discreet with a scarf is best. I don't think breastfeeding mothers should be forced to stay at home or not feed their babies because some people can't deal.

Children are a priority but they're not your only priority and I do think it is important for your child to see that you have other things in your life, it's just deciding what those other things are and what you want to share with them.

I know already the food selection is dreadful. I've been in the past and it is not something I am looking forward to. I'm pretty sure the facilities are lacking. It might seem a bit early to think about, but it's just one of those things in my thoughts as I consider how I want to spend my current money.

[dilettantka.livejournal.com]

"Doing more and collecting less" is what I'm moving into too, lol, though it's not because I'm having a baby. :) It's good to really think about the logistics of events like that and consider if you want to take a break from it for a little while. it's not like you can't go back to that fandom or hobby later if you find you still love it.

I saw some really cute (and small, and impractical) gyaru-style strollers at Sunshine the other day, lol. Had no time to take a pic, sorry.

It's good to have different taste in baby names, I think. I wouldn't want my kids to have the same names as everybody else. (I never had that problem, XD)

[rkold.livejournal.com]

I like collecting it's just... rethinking what I need and want to collect and the money I spend, or something like that. I love trying to be a circle and hanging out with circles, to me that is fun, but I look at my boxes and boxes of doujin and think, do I need more. I mean when it comes down to it after awhile they're all sort of the same. >>;;; I don't know if it is just the baby, I think moving has also made me rethink things some. I think the other problem is I like say dolls, but I'm only so keen on the fandom. But I do want to do more. Right now it's hard but I want to grow things and learn to knit and when we get our next place I want to quilt. (I might even try to do that here.)

If you see them again, get a picture! The stroller I like is cute, but has big wheels, the nice thing about it is great for walks. The Uppa Vista (http://www.amazon.com/UPPAbaby-Eco-friendly-Vista-Stroller-Yellow/dp/B002VC47AO/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1275441900&sr=8-2) The seat is super high so you can see the baby and the baby can see you better and the seat is reversible! *____*

I want something sort of unique, I am just getting irritable because everyone seems to be a critic. My daughter is getting a first name that starts with "A" and a middle name that starts with "V." I don't really care if the entire world thinks the "V" name should go first, I'm naming after my grandmother and K's grandmother and my grandmother is going first. It's been one of my fondest wishes since 1994 to have a daughter to name after my grandmother. I want to include K's family and he wants his grandmother since he feels bad he knows so little about her and never got to really know her since she died when he was 1 1/2. (Maternal grandmother, paternal died last Spring.)

[spazzygirl19.livejournal.com]

Hey there ... I don't think it applies to the strollers you're currently looking for ... but I know that I've seen lately on the news something about recalls on some toddler strollers?

And you know the baby cribs with the 'slide-down' sides are now banned, right?

And I have put the question out for an 'emergency' doula for you when you're out here.

[rkold.livejournal.com]

The strollers that were nipping off baby's fingers are the extremely popular Maclaren strollers. Maclaren use to be one of the most popular and highly recommended brands, you still see tons of people with them and you wonder if they know about that whole disaster. Maclarens are meant for 6 month and older because they can't recline enough for infants or support infants enough. A Maclaren would compete against the mini joggers my cousins like but not the Uppa Vista since its meant from birth to toddler. :)

I didn't think the drop side cribs were banned just that many of them were being recalled. All of the brands with the safety issues are made in China. (you would not believe how many brands of cribs there are!) I plan to get a higher end crib that is all solid wood and has no plastic parts that can warp and easily break. Its problems like that which is one reason my book recc'd never get a used crib.

Thanks! I'm also going to ask around once I figured out which doctor/midwife ob/gyn type person I want to go to. The nice thing about moving somewhere new is I get to start from scratch. This is of course also a negative lol