A very busy week!

Last week, the nesting hit high gear...
The new car seat covers finally came. Yes, I'm reusing Alia's infant car seat for our new baby considering Alia just outgrew it a month ago. And since it had a similar car seat cover on it for the duration that Alia used it, it's like brand new still! So here's the carseat sans cover...freshly washed and like new....



...and here she is all dressed up in her new outfit!


We also hung a new closet pole beneath the existing one for our new baby's clothes, and with Alia's help, pulled out the newborn clothes and got them all ready for the newest Lalvani...

and my how tiny those newborn clothes are!!!

I got the new crib put together...


...and dressed the bed with linens that match Alia's...

..and rearranged the baby's room.....









...whew...and I wondered where the week went and why I didn't have a chance to write much! And I didn't even mention that I did a major overhaul of the garage, and framed dozens of new photos and placed them throughout the house!

What? Me Worry?

Let's talk about pregnancy. I am 17 weeks along. I think I've mentioned that a few times over the last few days. And reading up on other people's blogs, I realize that I haven't taken a single belly shot this entire pregnancy. Furthermore, after graduating from Dr. H's care at 12 weeks, I don't think I've bothered to scan in and share any of my more recent ultrasounds. And I have to ask myself...why not?

I suppose it's because my first pregnancy wasn't so long ago. I went through all the firsts of a first time pregnancy less than a year ago. So I suppose there just isn't the same amount of excitement about desperately having to pee, desperately needing a cookie, desperately needing whatever.

But that's not to say that I'm not excited. I am. I totally am. The main difference, I suppose, is this time I'm much calmer. More at peace. And didn't have to go through almost three years of infertility treatments and drugs to get knocked up. My body decided to throw me a bone this time. So I guess this is what it might feel like for all those other girls.

I think another big difference is that I know what's ahead of me, and I know I can handle it. I am capable of functioning on very little sleep. I am capable of figuring out what a newborn needs with all their mixed wires. I am comfortable knowing that I do babies really well! Although I am still a hyper-planner when it comes to certain things, I find myself holding off on ordering the new crib...you remember the old one? Well I'm ordering another one since the girls will be sharing the same room. And the bedding? That's already decided too! Oh, and a double stroller? Figured that out yesterday. I think I'll order it when we get back from Turkey. Whatever.

See? I'm still me...only minus the annoying hyperactive must-do-everything-now part of my personality. Right now I'm happy to enjoy sitting here with my feet up and typing out my thoughts about things. Strollers can wait.

Because they just weren't cute enough in their original state

I have a lot of onesies...one might say that I have over-bought plain white onesies in preparation for the new little one. So last week I set out on yet another "can't wait for baby to get here" project. Enter the tie dye.

I bought a little teeny-bopper tie dye kit at Michael's, thinking that it might be fun to tie dye a few things for Alia. Well, let's just say that it didn't stop at a few things...this girl has many-an-original-Mommy-made-onesie!

Here they are drying on the line after being dyed and soaked overnight.

And here they are all dry and washed and ready to be worn by the new little one...

The basic pink and white

The little bohemian...

Green and purple...

All yellow...the white tie dye markings didn't come through very well...

Ajay's favorite...the baby pink and purple...

Turquoise and purple...

The back of the turquoise and purple...

Another pink and white...the white circle is targeted for little one's belly button...

The long sleeve purple, red and white...

The back of the purple, red and white...

Rocking Chairs....comparative shopping and selection!

Okay, let the nesting begin. The past few weeks I've been focusing in on the final touches of Alia's room. My sister in law, Lena, highly recommended having a nice comfortable rocking chair with an ottoman for the late night feedings in the nursery. And since I'm a new-Mom-to-be and have a burning desire at a genetic level to nest, I have taken to the streets...well, malls actually, trying to find that perfect piece that will serve the purpose and look great in Alia's room.

First, I thought about what we have already...and would it work for the new purpose? In our TV room, we have this cool wooden rocking chair. Maybe I could paint it white? But...no cushions...no ottoman...not super-inviting to curl up in. Maybe this should stay in the TV room.

Then, I began my search outside of my home, and nearly finished my search, at Pottery Barn Kids. I saw this rocker online (click for a bigger picture).

It's hard to tell in this photo, but it's tangerine with white circles throughout the fabric. And it comes with an ottoman. Circles! To match Alia's circle-theme rug!

And Alia's circle-theme bedding!

And her circle-theme wall decor!


I mean, how perfect, right?

I had read somewhere to never buy a nursery rocking chair without sitting in it first, so I thought I'd test drive it the next time I went to the mall. Strangely, when I tried to pull up the price online, it kept saying inquire within, different fabrics cost different amounts, etc. Even though I had selected the fabric, the website still wouldn't cooperate. Flash forward a few days. I went into the store, I sat in this dream of a chair, and fell in love. It was cushy. It was supportive. And after walking all the way from the parking lot, the ottoman was right there to take a big load off my poor swollen feet. I sat in the chair, loved the chair, rocked in the chair, and said "this is the one" in my mind.

The smiling sales associate approached, observing my maternal bliss...I might as well have been trying to breast feed the nearby teddy bear. I asked her to please write up this chair with that fabric and the matching ottoman and let me know what it costs. She happily told me she has the same chair at home, and now that her babies are toddlers, they've moved the chair to the living room and bought a new slip cover for it. Great idea. This chair could possibly grow old with me!

After a bit the happy salesperson came back with an invoice. She hadn't worked out the total at the bottom, or the tax, or the delivery fee. She had written up the prices next to the item numbers, and I suppose was praying I couldn't add. The chair...get this...was $1999. The ottoman was $899. For a total of $2898 before tax, shipping and handling. I think I said something about ordering it after I talked to Ajay or some sort of b.s. but I basically fled from the store.

Now here's the disclaimer part...we have nice furniture in our home. We have some very high end designer furniture. I don't mind paying a premium for high quality, high style things. But three grand for a freaking Pottery Barn rocker made from pine? Are you kidding? I mean, seriously, are they joking? The fabric wasn't linen or silk. The frame wasn't hard wood. The design certainly wasn't too inspired. It was a basic nursery chair that will end up with excrement on it eventually.

So I headed across to Crate and Barrel, where I located their one single upholstered glider...the Bayside glider with ottoman.



Nice, right? Simple. Comfy. I began to think about this option. The chair's price tag was available for all to see...$899 and the ottoman was $399...so we're talking less than half of what the same quality chair costs at Pottery Barn Kids. Okay, now maybe we're talking. Then I sat in it.

For a living room, this would be an awesome chair to curl up in. However, for nursing, the back was too reclined, like at a 30 degree angle, and didn't really offer the option of sitting up straight with good posture like breast feeding requires. It really didn't offer a lot of support. Too soft...too squishy. Not quite right. And the colors...aside from the off-white canvas chair shown in the photo, the colors options are somewhat muddy and muted for my insanely bright nursery. And even I know better than white fabric on the "nursing chair".

Now what?! Frustrated I headed home. I googled rocking chairs. I came up with a lot of hideous options like this one...(sorry if I offend...just not this girl's style)
Finally, I ended up at the Babies R Us website, scouring for anything that might work stylistically as well as support-wise. At the very bottom of the page, and after going over what seemed like a million of the ugly chairs above, I saw this one...

And look! There's storage in the ottoman. I could put my cat in there just for fun! Or I could hide candy bar wrappers in it! (ask my sister about this old habit of mine...I used to put wrappers in between her water bed mattress and the frame when I was little. I know it's gross! I don't know why I did it. What do you want from me?)Okay, the next day I headed to the store to check this bad boy out. I sat in it. Nice. Comfy, but still supportive. High-backed to support my weary head. Both the chair and the ottoman rock...don't know that I need this feature but I don't dislike it. Stylish? Not terribly stylish, but definitely neutral, and with all the other crazy colors that are going on in the nursery, I figure a little neutral isn't a bad thing. And the price? I was sitting on the tag...what's this? $499? What about the ottoman? Oh, that includes the ottoman???? Wrap it up Skippy! It's time to celebrate with some cake!

Here's the chair in it's new environment, just waiting to make itself useful

And the winner is....(Stroller comparison shopping)

Finally, I've made my choice. I have handed my American Express card to the clerk and have said "place the order". I have decided on my stroller after researching and researching, test-driving and test-driving. I've looked online. I've gone from store to store. I have thought long and hard about what my lifestyle is and how my stroller needs to perform to meet my needs in the best way.

Since I took a lot of time with this evaluation process, I thought I'd break down my thought process and share it.

First, I wanted to buy a single stroller that I could use from birth to the toddler years. I hoped to have car-seat capability. I needed a stroller that was lighter weight, because I have a more suburban lifestyle...in and out of the trunk, ease of break-down to put in said trunk, etc. If we lived in the city and had a "walk out the door to the sidewalk" lifestyle, my criteria would be quite different, I'm sure. Furthermore, I wanted something stylish and high quality. I wanted a smooth ride for little Alia. I love the modern style, and there are so many fantastic looking strollers out there, so I'd be lying if I said "looks don't matter...it's all about safety"!

In my quest for the perfect stroller, I looked at the Bugaboo line, the Mutsy 4 Rider Light, the Quinny Buzz, Stokke, and Mountain Buggy.

I don't claim to be an expert, and I certainly don't know how valid any of my selection criteria is since I do not yet have either the stroller or the baby that goes into the stroller. I'll probably be better equipped to comment on those types of things after the stroller comes and after the baby comes, and after I've taken the baby out in the stroller for a stroll. Like I said...being an American raised in a litigious society, I feel the need to place that major disclaimer. This is only a breakdown of my thought process.

So, that said, where was I? Oh, yes....the contenders.


First, and obviously, is the Bugaboo line. My sister in law Lena has had a Bugaboo for years and loves it...I think hers is the Cameleon. She bought it while they lived in Brussels, and now they live in Manhattan. My experience with this stroller and my niece riding in it was a fairly thorough test drive. We traveled half way around the world with them when my niece was 3 months old, and have utilized this stroller with them countless times since then. On the positive side, it's a very smooth ride, and it's obviously a high quality stroller. It's great looking, and Madonna had one (hello? could it be more stylish???). It has carseat capability and has different options for seating as your child grows. However, it's the cons of the Bugaboo for my lifestyle that eliminated it from my criteria before even giving it a real chance. My sister in law has always had the big city lifestyle where you walk out the door and hit the sidewalk...they walk everywhere. This is not my lifestyle. In Los Angeles, we like to drive to the mailbox. That said, fitting the stroller in the car, and the process of accomplishing this is paramount. This is not an easily collapsible stroller. It's kind of heavy. And it's big. Really big. Which isn't a problem for sidewalk strolls, but I honestly don't know that it would fit in my trunk with all the other crap I keep in there! Finally, I should also mention that during another trip with the before mentioned Bugaboo, the carseat adapters were accidentally left on the airplane, rendering the whole stroller frame useless until the adapters were replaced. From the point that the adapters were lost, my sister in law's trip became adapter-finding focused. And heck, who could keep track of adapters and a baby and baby's belongings, and your own belongings while traveling on a plane? I mean, my sister in law is the single most organized person in the universe, so if she managed to leave them behind on a plane, I estimate that I could hold on to the adapters for about 37 seconds...or the amount of time it takes to purchase them and get to the car. And they did find the adapters...a couple of days later...after scouring the local stroller/baby stores. But like I said, if this can happen to Lena, I can't be trusted with that kind of responsibility.

Another thing I should mention is that Bugaboo also now offers the Frog and the Bee, which are dramatically different from the Bugaboo Cameleon stroller that I'm familiar with. But I didn't evaluate either of them beyond spinning them around the store and trying and failing to collapse them.

Next up is the Quinny Buzz. I saw this great looking stroller out and about at the mall. I thought it might just be the one for me. I visited the Quinny Buzz at our local Babystyle store...the clerk enthusiastically demonstrated the stroller for us. Throughout her demo, she told us over and over that this is the stroller she has at home and she couldn't love it more. On the pro side, I love the clean lines, I love the fun and funky colors it comes in. I like that it's narrow in the front, so it'll fit through store aisles relatively easily. It's easy to handle, and it seems that it would be a smooth and comfortable ride for Alia. It collapses fairly easily. It re-opens like a dream...it practically opens itself back up! It has a bassinet option for newborns. It allows you to use the Maxi Cosi carseat with it, too. On the cons side, for me, I felt that weighing in at over 35 pounds, it was just too heavy for lugging in and out of my trunk. I also felt that the under-stroller storage (not shown in this photo) was small and impossible to reach from the rear...I'd have to go to the side of the stroller to access the small pouch due to the main hardware of the stroller being along the backside of the stroller and blocking the access. And given that I have already purchased my carseat, and it is not a Maxi Cosi, I would have to double-buy another car seat for this option to work...see, I've already had my carseat past the 90-day store return policy. And we really don't need a second carseat for Ajay's car because his car is nearly impossible to fit a car seat in. So in the end, I ruled out the Quinny based on how heavy the base was and the lack of good underneath storage for Mommy to put her cigarettes and beer in. Just kidding, I don't do those things anymore.

Let's talk about the Stokke. This I'll give brief mention to. For a city dweller, it would be near the top of my list. As a suburbanite, it's not for my lifestyle.
I went to The Right Start and saw this beauty gleaming in the front window. I've also seen it around town and have always thought with particular reverence "ooooh, ahhh, the Stokke" every time I see it. It's lovely.

So back to the demo. The girl at the store was happy to show it to me. Cough cough, sniff sniff. As she pulled the demo out of the window, she sneezed. She covered her mouth with her hand and then grabbed the stroller with said germy hand and wheeled it to me. I didn't want to touch the snotty handle, but felt obligated...so I kind of took the handle where I best estimated her germs hadn't reached, making for a difficult push around the store. Then she demonstrated with a leaky nose how easily you can raise the bassinet, switch from bassinet to the toddler seat, sniff sniff, sneeze, and demonstrated with difficulty raising and lower the toddler seat, as well as showing how it not so easily converted from a forward facing to a rear facing position. For me, the pros are the Stokke is a beautiful, stylish, modernist, versatile stroller. It is capable from birth, and is versatile. Did I mention how stylish this one is? The cons, for me, were the difficulty of collapsing the thing, and once it's collapsed, you still need a full size something to put it in because it doesn't really collapse too much...it's big! And heavy. I couldn't imagine lifting this bad boy in and out of my car every day. And as the most expensive option in my selection process, and let me tell ya, it's expensive...I thought it'd be made out of titanium rather than plastic. And the storage....it's bag is definitely big enough for whatever you want to put in it, but it's a soft sided bag located in the front of the stroller, so you can't just wing something into the space below...you have to stop, open the bag, place the stuff in, then close the bag with the drawstring. And finally, there is no car seat option...but the sneezey salesperson did point out that you don't necessarily want to leave your sleeping baby in the same car seat all day...it's good for them to change positions from time to time. But still, I'd like the option of letting my kid rot in the car seat if I so choose. And did I mention that I still feel this stroller has cold germs on it?

Okay, now let's roll on down to the Mutsy 4-Rider Light. This was my runner up. I first saw this online, and then went to visit in person. It, too, is great looking, versatile, offers two infant options, either the bassinet and/or a Peg Perego car seat. This stroller also drives nicely, has a nice, large and easily accessible under-stroller basket. It's fairly easy to collapse, and is pretty easy to set back up. It's around 25 pounds if I recall correctly, so it's definitely lighter than the Quinny Buzz. It also comes in a wide variety of colors. And accessories? My goodness...can we talk?

This is the "Fun Seat" that provides a toddler with the capability to "drive" his/her stroller...what could be better?

This is the little rocker adapter to convert your stroller to a nice spot to sit in the living room in front of the TV...not that you would do that. They also have something like this for the bassinet...can we say dual purpose delights?

And this is a meal tray...I can

already see Cheerios spread out on that bad boy!

And finally, here's the good looking tiger well equipped for those blustery Laguna Beach winters...the rain, the sleet, the snow...well, okay, for me, this may be an accessory I would pass on, but you never know!

Finally, we come to my purchase's downfall. Collapsibility. Sure, it's easy enough to get it to collapse, but it's still big. And sure, the wheels do come off, but what a pain to have to take off all 4 wheels just to get the thing to fold flat enough to fit in between the beer bottles and empty kegs in my trunk. And while it weighs almost 10 pounds less than the Quinny Breeze, it's still heavy and bulky.

In the end, I chose the Mountain Buggy Urban.

The Mountain Buggy Elite

It's usable with the bassinet from infancy. It collapses very easily. It's lightweight and collapses flat meaning less bulky for easy in-and-out of my trunk. It's narrow in the front for maximum maneuverability through the sale aisles at Bloomies. It's also quite rugged if I ever want to take it to the beach, on trails around my house, or even a leisurely jog (but who are we kidding?). The under-stroller basket is both large and very accessible. And yes, it has universal car seat capability! I don't have to buy a different car seat if I ever get it together enough to have the car seat adapters and the car seat and the stroller in the same place at the same time! Did I mention that it glides like a dream? No, there's no "Fun Seat"...and my poor baby won't be able to spread her Cheerios on her non-existent meal tray, but hey, do I really want to be that Mom with the Cheerios trailing behind her? And no, there's no rocking chair or bassinet adapter, but you know, we have furniture in our house...and if we find we're lacking, what a great excuse to do a little shopping. There. Done. I did it. And I only woke up 19 times the night of the purchase thinking "but the "Fun Seat"! Do I need the "Fun Seat"?"

Baby Changing Table Project

Yesterday the crib and changing table/dresser arrived. I couldn't wait to get started, so I chose to start on the dresser....seemed logical...it was the smaller of the two boxes.

Here's the crib box:


And the dresser/changing table:


The top removable baby changing station went together in a snap...the rest should be a breeze...right?


Except...holy crap! Look at all those pieces...I sense I might actually have to concentrate and follow the instructions!


I assembled the feet to the base of the dresser...


Assembled the side walls of the dresser to the back braces, and then installed the top two drawer guide gliders (note, I was tempted to install all three drawer gliders, but the directions said only the top two...and because I committed to following the directions, all of them, I did what they said and stopped with the top two)


Then I attached the top of the dresser to the sides, and then installed the backing to the dresser.


Then I installed the bottom drawer glider...why it was important to do this later rather than before, I have no idea...but look who's following the directions like a good girl!!!


I assembled the drawers, minding there were slots to slide in the base of the drawer...miraculously not a single side drawer component was assembled facing the wrong way, so everything slid right together.


I installed the drawer gliders to the drawer, again, miraculously they all ended up facing the right way, so that when it was time to put the drawers in the dresser....


the drawers all worked! Voila! The baby's first piece of furniture!