Baby Buys Advice

Its been almost 4 years since Rebecca and I registered for anything. And to be honest I'm not sure a whole lot of thought went into our wedding registry, save our china pattern. I do remember stealing away the Target scanner from Rebecca to scan items that I wanted - workbench, bungie chords, etc. Later on I heard that those were some of the more fun items that couples picked out.

I feel like registering for Blueberry is a much different situation. Registering for a baby isn't about emotions or feeling, it's about research, ease of use, and practicality. This is where all of you come in. I would love to hear about your experiences with baby products, whether you are the Mom, the friend, Nanny or Lala.

We've already gotten some great tips from Renee Hall (mother of triplets and wonderful blogger). And will pass those along with the rest once we have received a bunch.

So, I would love for you to use these categories:

Couldn't live without...

Used only once/Never used...

A great 'nice to have', but not an absolute need...

*If you loved specific brands or realized that store brands were sufficient, we would love to hear that too. As well as specific information about baby monitors and strollers.

Happy thoughts and thanks for helping us register for Blueberry.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you'll miss it.'

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you'll miss it.'

-Ferris Bueller

Ferris never said anything truer. Life over the past couple of weeks has been amazingly busy.

Rebecca is celebrating the end of her first medical school year with four year end exams. They are topical and the information begins back in August. Fortunately she doesn't have to heavily excel in them to keep her grades high, but that doesn't alleviate the stress of them. These exams, Shelf exams, are designed to teach medical students how to prepare and study for Step exams (or at least this is how I understand them). Her tummy as continued to grow making space for Blueberry. Rebecca had a doctor's appointment last week for blood taking, no fun stuff. It looks like we'll be waiting another 4 weeks to find out Blueberry's gender. We're a little tired of waiting. :)

According to BabyCenter.com Blueberry will double in weight and grow inches in the next few weeks. Blueberry is the size of an AVOCADO. Hmm...no, guacamole jokes. Legs are more developed, ears are close to final position and the 'patterning' of his scalp has begun - I pray for no cow licks. They are awful. Blueberry is also started growing toenails (wow). Also, his Grandma Pierce bought Blueberry the first gift - a 'My First Medical Kit' with fun medical stuff.

Blueberry also got a great little picture frame for the sonogram picture from Lala! (Pics to come.) When were we in the Bahamas we searched high and low, close and far for a onesie and found this great one!

Life for me is going well. It's been a tad difficult balancing a new store and school. Sometimes when I get so passionate about something I'll let others slide. I think we all do it. I am thankful that I recognize when this happens and am able to fix it pretty quickly. My family made the trek to visit us two weekends ago and it was great having them here. A lot of time was spent on the front porch relaxing.

I'm gonna try and take Ferris' advice this week and slow down a little bit. I believe golf will be on the agenda Thursday. I'm pretty pumped about that!

Good Afternoon from Sunny West TN!

It has been a couple of weeks since my last update. I can't describe the relief I received from putting my thoughts into words and the support my blogging community has given. Thank you all so much.

Rebecca and I had an amazing week in the Bahamas. It was full of relaxation and support before final exams for Jane, work changes for me, and the impending birth of Blueberry. The last couple of weeks have been such a growing phase for Jane and Blueberry. Blueberry is now the size of a peach and Rebecca is actually starting to show a little bit. That was a very quick change, she went to school looking "regular" and came home looking pretty pregnant. It is surreal to see a bump on Jane and to know it is there as evidence of our baby Blueberry. We will soon find out the sex of Blueberry and, I think, have finalized names. We're keeping them under wraps until we find out if Blueberry is a BOY or girl.

This has been the first week of working at my new Gap store in Columbia. The store and staff are great! All of the leaders want to be Store Managers some day and it is great to have a team that wants a retail career instead of a paycheck. Next week I will be training in Atlanta for a few days and hope to see a few of my old peeps!

This weekend we are in West Tennessee to celebrate the initiation of three great men into my alma mater chapter of Sigma Chi. Being on campus has been a throwback of memories. It was five years ago that I graduated and the campus has exploded with change. There are tons of new buildings and people. The great thing is that it still feels like the UT Martin that I know and love. The quad specifically brings back memories of class, fraternity life, SGA, and great friends. I miss the college days, and wholeheartedly think they are the reason I am who I am.

Signing off now, looking forward to Sigma Chi festivities and getting back to SC on Sunday.