Wednesdaily

[ellenmillion]

I semi-accidentally left free prompts open all night for the abstract paintings. I thought about it before I went to bed, shrugged, and decided it was too much work to close them. About to run off and do that now. (Which means you have a moment or two to squeeze one in, if you haven't yet!)

http://www.ellenmilliongraphics.com/abstracts2.php

We have a winner for the first incentive prize! Congratulations to Meeks! I will tackle another batch of paintings this afternoon. We're $35 from having ALL free prompts painted, and have until November 4th to hit that goal! If we get to $235, I will do a second free window of prompts on that day, and there are two intermediate goals for drawings of free stuff.

It got windy enough last night that our air conditioner vent started flapping, and I had to get up and stuff a t-shirt into it. We need to insulate and seal it for the winter. Blowing snow this morning, and icky-warm. (Just about freezing, which is a wretched driving temperature.)

I've got breakfast and lunch finished, bread is rising, and I've sanded the drywall and wiped it down in prep for the next coat. I thought I would enjoy doing drywall - it's sort of arty, and I've got a steady hand. But no, it is SUPER frustrating and takes a BILLION coats to get anything resembling a good surface, and you can't cut corners and it's particularly hard matching a textured existing surface and the dust drives me crazy and I hate it (both having to wear a mask, and the fine layer of white over EVERYTHING in the house). At least one more layer is needed in the nursery, and I'm suspecting two on the window, which is not only next to a textured surface, but also has a bunch of fancy curves and corners to navigate neatly. That will make about 7 coats on each. I would like to be done with it now.

Curtain hardware is at the post office! I am not sure if I want to drive in to get it, in this weather, but it would be awesome to get that hung. I've also got the last piece of crown molding ready to paint, and then that can go up, too. We've started looking at things to fill the room with, sort of a-gog at all the various options. Parents, did you have any must-have items? I mean, a cradle is a must, and within a few months, a crib, and I'm going to get a glider-rocker, but was there a playpen, swing or bouncer-type thing that you found indispensable?

Some design work to do today, dishes, drywall (ugh!) and painting. One of these four, I am looking forward to... guess which!

Comments

[jenny_evergreen]

Unfortunately, it's a total crapshoot when it comes to those things. Will liked a very basic bouncer. Finn never really liked anything. With every single item on the market, one person's kid couldn't live without it and another's couldn't stand it.
Your best bet; get them as cheap as you can and don't be afraid to get rid of everything your baby doesn't like.
When the baby is a little older (mostly able to sit up), you'll want one of the exersaucer type things...again, it's a crapshoot. It helps to know your baby before you get one; Will liked certain kinds of toys, so I went for an exersaucer that had a couple in his line and he liked it, but any cheap option is great in the interim.
In general, nothing is ever going to beat an actual person. I swore by my sling with BOTH of my babies. I had two different brands and I was most pleased with my Hotsling.

Good luck!

[pixiewildflower.livejournal.com]

(hugs)

[jenny_evergreen]

What timing! Moolala has a deal on slings from Slingling! I have both Hotslings and Slinglings; I liked my Hotsling a bit better, because they were less stretchy, but that was the fabric more than anything and I don't think Hotslings uses the same fabric anymore. Plus, this is a great deal for someone who isn't sure they even want to use a sling, getting them at almost half price. :) The buy two get one free deal is nice, though, if you think you might really use them, because you'll need one for you and one for Jake and the extra will come in handy when you have to wash yours.
Anyway, I'm pretty sure you aren't interested, but wanted to let you know in case I'm wrong! :)

[ellenmillion.livejournal.com]

Oh, I'm terribly interested! I am planning to have at least one wrap or sling, and to use it as much as possible - I'm a little concerned that I won't be able to use it as much as I want because of my back, but I really love the idea of hands-free toting, and having her close like that. Thank you for the headsup! I've got a whole new area of research to do now. :P

[jenny_evergreen]

You might be better off with a mei tai or other wrap-style sling, but I have my own back problems, and the sling was AWESOME. (With my joints, I found the tying of the wraps to be very intimidating; I liked that I literally just put the sling over my head and was ready to go.) I wore Will CONSTANTLY, literally for hours on end, and it didn't bother my back at all. For contrast, I tried my sister's old front-wearing snuggie carrier and couldn't wear him for even 15 minutes in it. The way the sling spread the weight out across my back and shoulders was almost soothing, actually.
Honestly, if you are strong enough to be able to carry her in your arms for more than a short period, you will be fine with any sling...they are actually better for your back THAN carrying her most of the time. Actually, it's pretty important for you to learn asap if you will be able to carry her or not; if you can't, you might have to have additional help, especially in the early months, or go really hog wild with the non-carrying baby holders and hope she loves one.

If you can, why don't you test yourself by carrying around something that weighs 10lbs or so? That should give you an idea of how much you'll be able to take initially. You will build strength by wearing her as she gets heavier, so it's pretty consistent; the only time you'll have a shock is if you don't wear her for a week or so and then go to do it again.