Sobremesa Stories

Letting stories unfold around the table

Five on Friday: Fall Conferences And Baby Registry Madness

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This was one of those weeks that I was a little nervous for, mostly because it was packed full.  But like I’ll describe in the point below, we made it and I am feeling good! Now on to a weekend of some fall fun and sweet time with our favorite people!

1) Parent-Teacher Conferences

There are so many things I love about being a teacher.  Usually I actually enjoy parent-teacher conferences because I love the glimpse I get into kids’ lives and I love hearing how my students feel about my class when they don’t have to act cool for their friends.  But as a rapidly-growing pregnant mama who has gotten used to taking 20 minute naps with her puppy every day after school, working from 7:00 AM to 8:00 PM straight for two days was pretty tough.  I was really anxious about feeling dizzy and exhausted (and/or having heartburn) during conferences, but I managed to make it through with nothing but a few dazed conversations in the last 30 minutes when my energy finally faded.  And then I came home and crashed on the floor with this girl and life was good again.  I did it, guys.  Fall parent teacher conferences are DONE!

Five on Friday Parent Teacher Conferences

Olive obviously missed me a lot while I was gone at conferences…

2) Thrift Store Book Finds

I could spend hours sitting on the floor of bookstores flipping through different books.  Doing this in a thrift store is even better because I can get about 10 books for $10! That’s a a deal I can handle! I remember reading some stuff by Phillip Yancey several years ago and really liking it so I grabbed this one off the shelf when I saw it in our local thrift store.  This issue of being disappointed with God and what life with Him looks like has come up a lot in conversations with other people in our life stage so I’m super curious how Yancey will address it.  I’m only a few chapters in so far but I’m loving it!

philip-yancey-disappointment-with-god

3) Honoring All The Mamas

This month (and specifically yesterday) is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.  We know way too many moms who’ve lost their babies, whether in the womb or out of it for just a few short hours.  I’m praying for and thinking of all you sweet mamas who’ve lost the little ones your bodies nourished and held for far too short a time. Your grief matters, your babies matter, and I hope we will always give you the time, space, and love you need to process this heartbreaking part of your stories. We love you, we celebrate you, and we long for the day when all women (and men) will hold their sweet babies in their arms again.  I love these cards from Dr. Jessica Zucker that give much better words than just “I’m sorry,” so if you’re looking for something poignant to give a mama friend, you should check these out (disclaimer: there is a little bad language in those cards if that makes you uncomfortable!).

Miscarriage Cards

4) Organization Attempts

Y’all, I am NOT a planner person.  Every August, I buy a super cute planner from Target, write in it for two weeks, and then tuck it neatly away in a drawer for the rest of the year.  I’ve somehow managed to keep my schedule straight in my brain for years, but blogging has pretty much flipped that upside down (and I’m sure baby will too).  After fumbling around with social media and post planning for a while, I signed up for a free trial with Coschedule this week.  It’s been fun to explore it and keep all my blogging and social media posts scheduled in one place and I’m curious to see how I like it! Do any of you bloggers out there have a scheduling service you love? I’m very open to suggestions! Check out this screenshot of my calendar below.  So cool!

Coschedule Screenshot

5) Baby Registry Research

Oh. My. Heavens.  Is there anything more overwhelming than figuring out what in the WORLD I will need to keep a tiny human alive and happy once they arrive into our home? I sat down with my sister in law and she shared with me some of her tips about big ticket items like carseats, strollers, and high chairs.  Then my sweet friend Kylie met me at Target to grab a quick coffee and wander the baby aisles to she could tell me what things were (breast pumps are terrifying, guys) and tell me what things were either unnecessary or just plain overpriced.  I’m so grateful for women like that who will share their wisdom! Mamas or mamas to be, do you have any advice for me about things to register for or things to skip? Because if it’s up to me, I’ll just order cute diaper bags all day (and probably end up using them as a normal purse in addition to whatever practical diaper bag I get).

Happy Friday, friends! And seriously, PLEASE feel free to share any wisdom or suggestions about favorite baby products.  I’m not kidding when I say our baby will probably come home to nothing but lots of cute outfits, baby books, and a cute diaper bag if I’m left to my own devices! 

Head over to  A. Liz Adventures, Fitting It All In, Life in Leggings, Grace and Love Blog, Momfessionals Friday Favorites, and Running 4 Cupcakes for more Friday favorites!
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Comments

  2. I remember how exhausting conferences were last year when I was pregnant, not to mention parents, who were strangers to me, touched my belly! ha. I’m glad you survived and hope you can catch up on some rest. I’m looking forward to hearing how you like co-scheduler. You may find some use in my baby registry 101 post, especially when it comes to my opinion on diaper bags : ) http://itssimplylindsay.com/baby-registry-101/
    Lindsay recently posted…DIY Carmen Miranda CostumeMy Profile

  3. Honestly, when it comes to bringing home a baby, you need a car seat to get them home in, and a safe place for them to sleep. If you’re planning on bottle feeding, a few of those would be handy, too, but the hospital will give you ready-to-feed samples. Think of it that way, and things get a little less stressful! Everything on top of basic safety and feeding is an awesome extra 🙂 I mean, obviously, you’ll want as much ironed out ahead of time as possible, but these are the only areas you absolutely HAVE to have figured out by baby time 🙂 As far as a product that has made my life easier, we love our Rock-n-Play. It’s easy to just put a baby down in long enough to, say, answer the door or go to the bathroom, without fiddling with all the straps early on. It also keeps them at a bit of an incline that’s supposed to help with reflux, but it hasn’t kept either of mine from spitting up like adorable little faucets. 😉
    Katie {Always, Katie} recently posted…#BlogtemberChallenge: Wishlist…My Profile

  4. For the baby, remember to have clothes in premie, newborn and 0-3 months-my big butt son didn’t fit in anything smaller than 3 months from the day he came out on!! Also I highly recommend wearing ALL THE BABIES. Seriously. It’s amazing and helps bonding so much.

    • So smart! Haha my little brother was 11 lbs when he was born so he was the same way. 🙂 I love the idea of baby wearing! Do you have a favorite carrier you’d recommend?

  6. Honestly, you don’t need as much right away as you might think you do! Toys are basically useless for the first few months. A swing or rock ‘n play is great because the first thing I asked when I brought my son home was, “Where do a I put him?” The hospital has the “bassinets” but I didn’t think about what to do once we got home! Luckily we pulled out the swing and he was happy in there while we unloaded the car!
    Rebekah recently posted…Curls for days: Sapphire-8-in-1 Curling Wand ReviewMy Profile

    • That’s good to know 🙂 I think I was worried we’d bring baby home and realize we were missing something important…even though we live about 5 minutes from Target and I’m sure will be fine 🙂 Thanks for the tips!

  7. Ah pregnancy! I love reading posts of other pregnant women who are similar in how far along we are! I had a girl I work with write a list of must-haves for a baby. Some of the things I feel like we may skip out on for now, but we’re going to register for pretty much everything because you get 10% off things that people didn’t buy you from registries! I’m planning on buying a pack n’ play that has that little vibrating seat thing included, a crib, cloth diapers, and some onesies (and I’m buying hardly any newborn onesies- if my baby comes out small, my parents can run to the store and pick some more up and wash them for us if we need to, but who knows how big the baby will really be). And a car seat and stroller. But other than that, all those other things I’m not stressing over right away because babies won’t use any of it! Also, make sure you call your insurance company to talk to them about which breast pumps they cover. I know I have to order mine from a company via the phone after 28 weeks pregnant, and I get a choice between a Medela and something else. (I’m choosing the Medela). Apparently there are no stores in Atlanta where I can just go buy my own breast pump and have it covered by insurance. Other people said not to even worry about it because the hospital will order it for you after you deliver and it’ll be covered by insurance. I feel you on long working days too! I’m a nurse, so I leave my house at 6:10am and depending on which hospital I’m at, I either get home around 7:30pm or 8:15pm. I stopped working two days in a row except on weekends, and weekends totally drain me. I go to bed at 9pm on Sunday nights. That online planner is neat, but I love my small $3 planners that I keep in my purse! I would be LOST without my planner and I’m against using electronic planners- like my phone. I’d rather just take out my planner and write my plans down! I never even though about thrift store books but I’ll need to start looking at them! I just got another library card and have finally been going and I forgot how much I liked going to the library! We grew up going to the library and it had been WAY too long!
    Liz recently posted…Cabin Weekend and Vacations!My Profile

    • Yes, that’s totally my thought too! We’ll register for lots in case people want to buy stuff for us and then really evaluate what we need when we have to buy it ourselves. That’s such a good tip about the breast pumps and insurance too. I heard that from somebody and that’s awesome! I have a feeling I’ll need a good planner too once we have little one and my brain starts to get a little foggy. 🙂

      Thanks for the thoughtful comment, Liz! Hope you’ve had a good week!
      Lauren recently posted…Womanly Wednesday: A Guest Post On Having A MiscarriageMy Profile

  8. Ah pregnancy! I love reading posts of other pregnant women who are similar in how far along we are! I had a girl I work with write a list of must-haves for a baby. Some of the things I feel like we may skip out on for now, but we’re going to register for pretty much everything because you get 10% off things that people didn’t buy you from registries! I’m planning on buying a pack n’ play that has that little vibrating seat thing included, a crib, cloth diapers, and some onesies (and I’m buying hardly any newborn onesies- if my baby comes out small, my parents can run to the store and pick some more up and wash them for us if we need to, but who knows how big the baby will really be). And a car seat and stroller. But other than that, all those other things I’m not stressing over right away because babies won’t use any of it! Also, make sure you call your insurance company to talk to them about which breast pumps they cover. I know I have to order mine from a company via the phone after 28 weeks pregnant, and I get a choice between a Medela and something else. (I’m choosing the Medela). Apparently there are no stores in Atlanta where I can just go buy my own breast pump and have it covered by insurance. Other people said not to even worry about it because the hospital will order it for you after you deliver and it’ll be covered by insurance. I feel you on long working days too! I’m a nurse, so I leave my house at 6:10am and depending on which hospital I’m at, I either get home around 7:30pm or 8:15pm. I stopped working two days in a row except on weekends, and weekends totally drain me. I go to bed at 9pm on Sunday nights. That online planner is neat, but I love my small $3 planners that I keep in my purse! I would be LOST without my planner and I’m against using electronic planners- like my phone. I’d rather just take out my planner and write my plans down! I never even though about thrift store books but I’ll need to start looking at them! I just got another library card and have finally been going and I forgot how much I liked going to the library! We grew up going to the library and it had been WAY too long! Okay, sorry for the longest comment ever :)!!!
    Liz recently posted…Cabin Weekend and Vacations!My Profile

  9. Julie is a blogger who just recently had a baby and blogged throughout her pregnancy. She has a lot of good tips for baby registry and a couple posts about what products they actually use post baby too. may be worth checking out!
    http://www.pbfingers.com

  12. If there is one thing I love it’s giving baby registry advice…. honestly, you don’t need much of that stuff! Stroller (I love the citi mini), crib, carseat (I love Britax), a baby carrier like a moby for getting stuff done around the house if your newborn won’t let you put her down. Breast pump and parts if you are planning to breastfeed. A dozen or so outfits depending on how often you do wash. If the baby is due in the winter definitely pick the little footie outfits as socks never stay on. MINIMAL toys. Some kind of toy to set the baby in when they are older is nice (like a bouncy seat or activity center). If the babies room is far from your main level, you might want a little bassinet in the living room to set your newborn down when she falls asleep for those tiny 10 minute naps and the crib is too far away.
    Erin recently posted…5 Fabulous Tips for Hosting an Ordinary Birthday PartyMy Profile

    • Hahaha and I love getting baby registry advice! 😉 I’ve definitely heard that those big ticket items are the more important ones and you figure out the littler things along the way. And that’s a great tip about toys too. Once we have our little one we’ll have a better idea what kind of toys he’ll even like! I think we’re going to get a pack n play or a small bassinet to keep downstairs. Another great tip! Thanks for sharing, Erin! 🙂
      Lauren recently posted…Womanly Wednesday: A Guest Post On Having A MiscarriageMy Profile

  13. I honestly could’ve got through these first four months with just diapers and a wrap and we would’ve been good haha. I did a post today on things I didn’t really need, but your needs might be different than mine, and every baby is different and has his or her own preferences!! I methodically planned my registry but then towards the end was like WHATEVER and just started putting stuff I wanted on it. I figured your only have your first baby once, and therefore only have one big shower, so even if baby #1 doesn’t use something you might need it for 2 or 3 or 4 😉
    Jacquelyn @ The Lowcountry Mama recently posted…Five Nonessential Baby “Essentials” for the Natural MamaMy Profile

  14. I’ve heard so many amazing things about CoSchedule and just haven’t been able to pull the trigger! You’ll have to let me know what you think after using it regularly 🙂 I’m an old fashion paper planner kind of girl, but having something I can use as a calendar AND to schedule my social media would be amazing!
    Erin @ Very Erin recently posted…So You Want to Start Meal PlanningMy Profile

  15. Yay! Well done finishing up conferences! I hope you enjoy a restful weekend. Let me know how you like CoSchedule! I just started using the free version of Buffer, which I love, but it’s pretty limited if I’m not willing to pay for it. I’m interested to hear about other options! Oh, baby registries . . . it was so fun and so stressful to research and pick out all that stuff! I used the registry cheat sheet from Lucie’s List as my jumping off point. I can’t find it on the website, but I’ll email it to you. It was so helpful!! I have no idea which items will be useful yet, but it at least gave me an organized way to work through all the confusing baby stuff.
    Brittany Bergman recently posted…Cultivating Gratitude & Sharing Love // 22My Profile

  16. Those two days must have been rough….so glad you made it through! I absolutely love those cards. I know way to many moms that have lost their babies way too soon, and I always try to remember to do something special for them every once in a while. I also lit a candle in remembrance the other night. It just breaks my heart.
    Shann Eva recently posted…Mid-Month Goal Check OctoberMy Profile

  17. I pair up Coschedule with a Medium Monthly Planner from Mochi. This way I can see my posts separate from my social media schedule. It’s the system that’s worked for almost 4 months now and I’m loving it.