Push Present?!?!

Push Present -- what it is?

According to Wikipedia, a push present (also known as a "push gift" or "baby bauble") is a present a new father gives a new mother when she gives birth to their child. In practice, the present may be given before or after the birth, or even in the delivery room. The giving of push presents has grown in the United States in recent years.

The tradition of gift-giving to commemorate a birth has long roots in England and India. The term "push present" first appeared in a publication in 1992. In 2005, when the Southeast-United States jewelry chain Mayors marketed diamond earrings with the line "She delivered your first born, now give her twins." Fortunoff, a jewelry and gift chain store, established a push present registry in 2007.

There is, however, no evidence that the present was invented by the jewelry industry to sell more goods, and until recently it was passed on largely by word of mouth or peer pressure among both mothers and fathers. According to Linda Murray, the executive editor of BabyCenter.com, "It’s more and more an expectation of moms these days that they deserve something for bearing the burden for nine months, getting sick, ruining their body. The guilt really gets piled on." Other sources trace the development of the present to the increased assertiveness of women, allowing them to ask for a present more directly, or the increased involvement of the men in pregnancy, making them more informed of the pain and difficulties of pregnancy and labor.

A 2007 survey of over 30,000 respondents by BabyCenter.com found that 38% of new mothers received a push present, and 55% of pregnant mothers wanted one. About 40% of both groups claimed that the baby itself is already a present and did or do not wish an additional reward.

The trend has generated a backlash, as some couples dislike the implicit materialism of push presents, and would prefer increased help in chores or baby care, or save the money for the child's education.

So, my question is - Did you get or are you getting a push present? If so, what was it or will it be?

Obviously, baby Patterson is quite a blessing and miracle to us after five years of TTC. I would be completely happy not getting anything else at delivery except a healthy baby. But, there is always talk of the push present on babycenter.com so I'm wondering how many people actually get one. The other thing I am curious about is - Did you get or are you getting the father-to-be a special gift once the baby is born?

38 weeks!

I had my weekly appointment yesterday. Things appear to be moving forward - the doctor said I am "pretty thinned out" although I am still at 1cm dilated. My weight stayed the same as the week before (YEAH!) and my blood pressure is still looking good. She had a hard time telling for sure if he is still head down so we did a quick ultrasound to make sure. Looks like he is really getting squished in there! It was so cute though - I saw him puckering and licking his lips and even sticking his tongue out!

She asked if I wanted to be induced next week (She would induce at 39 weeks.), but I told her that we wanted to see if he would come on his own first. As I mentioned last week, she leaves on her honeymoon on February 13th so if he's not here by his due date on the 9th, we'll likely induce. My birthday is February 11th, and I would prefer that he has his own day so we'll see how this works out! Don't forget to log your guess on Baby P's arrival!!

38 weeks according to babycenter.com:
Your baby has really plumped up. He weighs about 6.8 pounds and he's over 19 1/2 inches long (like a leek). He has a firm grasp, which you'll soon be able to test when you hold his hand for the first time! His organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.

Nursery Preview

The nursery is finally complete (almost)! After 17 weeks, we have the dresser we've been waiting for, but there is still no word on the nightstand. A little background -- the crib was delivered just before Christmas (within the 12-14 weeks as promised), and we were told at that time that the dresser was "on the truck." Two weeks later, Jason called the store and once again we were told that it was "on the truck" and would be here the end of the following week or beginning of next which would have put it at this past Tuesday/Wednesday. Since we didn't get a call on Tuesday, I called on Wednesday to find out the location of our dresser. This time I was told that it was scheduled to be on the next truck which meant at least another 4-5 days before it would arrive (if it went on the truck that day). I let the sales person/owner know that I was not happy - it wasn't even close to the approximate time frame she told us on SEPTEMBER 25th when we ordered, and this baby is coming in the next three weeks! She did apologize but also kept re-iterating that she was glad she got the crib to us earlier and it would only take 15 minutes once the dresser arrived. UGH! Who wants to worry about getting a dresser together in their final weeks of pregnancy or after they bring their baby home? So, I did a little research and found that another store about 90 minutes away happened to have this exact dresser in their warehouse! The store in town was willing to cancel our order so Jason drove north on Friday to purchase and pick up the dresser. To me, it was totally worth the extra $20, tank of gas, and his time. I feel much better now that the dresser is in Baby P's room and has items organized. Now, I just wondering when we might see the nightstand?! :-) (Sorry for the drawn out story.)

To end all of this...here are some pictures of how the nursery turned out:

Looking straight in from the doorway. (I'm still looking for something to go on the little shelves. The other hanging item will have pictures in it after he is born.)

This is the right of the window above. Again, standing in the doorway.
(The nightstand will go where the lamp is on the floor.)

Standing between the crib and recliner.

View from the closet.
(We'll complete his monogram above the crib after he is born and the name has been decided.)

The bedding is called All Star Sports bedding by JoJo Designs, and I love it! I really wanted something that wasn't too baby-ish and that would hopefully last through the time he is in the toddler bed. This was also Jason's favorite design and the best part is that I found it brand new on E-bay and got it for $76! What a deal!!

Final Baby Shower

My neighborhood girls hosted a wonderful shower last night for me and Baby P! When we were planning the date, I wasn't so sure I would even be there...but it all worked out. We had a wonderful dinner at Baxter's, awesome chocolate peanut butter cup cake from Coldstone Creamery, and great conversation. Oh, and Baby P was blessed with some cute clothes and a convertible carseat!!

Doesn't that look delicious??

Kelly, Julie, Sarie, Jenny, Tisha, me, Sue, Becky, Tiffany, and Mandee

After dinner, they each filled out a "Baby Profile" to guess the name, birth information, favorite foods, hobbies, and occupation. It was fun for them to try and guess his name, especially! If you're wondering, we're still not 100% set on the name...guess we'll wait to see when he arrives.

I'll update on the dresser in my next post. For now, I'm going to spend the rest of the day lounging with my feet propped up. :-)

37 weeks!

Only three weeks left (give or take)!!! Things are still going well - our bags are packed (as much as they can be) and the clothes/towels/etc are all washed. I am starting to have some minor puffiness in my ankles especially when I am on my feet for a while, but I can still wear my wedding rings! So, since I had yesterday off work, I enjoyed a wonderful pedicure...hey, who doesn't want pretty toes when they go to the hospital?! I'm also starting to feel quite a bit of pressure down low and lower back pain - hope this means that things are progressing. The only thing we are waiting on besides baby P is the dresser! argh!! I am calling the store tomorrow to find out what is going on - it's been almost 17 weeks since we ordered it! This is getting ridiculous!

Don't forget to put enter your guess for Baby P's arrival!! One more bit of information - I found out yesterday that my doctor is leaving on her honeymoon on February 13th, so we'll definitely be having this baby boy before then. Good luck!!

Here's the 37 weeks info according to babycenter.com:
Congratulations — your baby is full term! This means that if your baby arrives now, his lungs should be fully mature and ready to adjust to life outside the womb, even though your due date is still three weeks away.

Your baby weighs 6 1/3 pounds and measures a bit over 19 inches, head to heel (like a stalk of Swiss chard). Many babies have a full head of hair at birth, with locks from 1/2 inch to 1 1/2 inches long. But don't be surprised if your baby's hair isn't the same color as yours. Dark-haired couples are sometimes thrown for a loop when their children come out as blonds or redheads, and fair-haired couples have been surprised by Elvis look-alikes. And then, of course, some babies sport only peach fuzz.

Guess Baby P's Arrival Info!

You may have noticed that there is now a link on the right-hand side for ExpectNet! online baby pool. Click on the link enter your guess of the baby's arrival date, time, weight, and length!!

Jason and I have already entered our guesses -

Amber (Momma)	boy	7 lbs 5 ozs	21 in	Feb 5, 10:30 am
Daddy to be	boy	6 lbs 12 ozs	19 in	Feb 4, 1:17 pm

FYI - At my appointment this morning, the doctor said my cervix was soft and I was dilated to 1cm.

I can't wait to see who is the closest. Just a reminder that our actual due date is February 9th.

What is this??

Yep...that's a carseat in my car!!!! I can't believe it was time to install the carseat...we are actually going to be bringing a BABY home! Jason installed the bases in my car and his truck this week while I was doing the baby's first loads of laundry. Can I just say that I love the smell of Dreft!?! It makes the clothes smell so much like baby!

We working on getting things checked off the list knowing that this baby could very well be here anytime. A couple things that I want to get done this week are: packing the hospital bags (I know, I've been talking about this for weeks! I'm going to get it done.) and create our list for announcing baby P's arrival.

I will update again after our appointment this week!

Thoughtful Friends

Every day, I am amazed at how many people are cheering us on and have been praying for us and Baby P. The past few days have been no exception - from my work shower and boss giving me a couple days off to our small group and then tonight. I just had dinner with three friends who have been praying for us to have a baby for probably three years! Sue opened up her home and made a great dinner of fancy grilled cheese and homemade chicken noodle soup with awesome mini cakes from Janet's Cakes & Catering.
These were the little cakes...guess I should have tipped the plate a little more so you could see them! They had the cutest little baby boy candies on top and her frosting is divine!!

Sue and Liz got us our convertible carseat!!!

Kay, Sue, me, & Liz

These ladies have had a huge impact on my life...I'm so lucky to call them friends! THANK YOU!!

Work Shower

Today, my work had a shower for me and Baby P! It was so nice...Monical's pizza and cupcakes for lunch, a game, and a few gifts.
There were two teams, and we had to cut pictures of our magazines to see what we thought baby P would look like! :-)

This is the quilt made by one of my co-workers. She makes them for everyone when they have a baby so I was excited to see what it would look like. How cute is this?

They also gave me a gift card to Target which I know will come in very handy!! Thank you to everyone for a great time and thinking of us!

36 weeks!

Four more weeks to go!! I had an appointment yesterday - everything went well, measuring right on track and baby's heartbeat was in the 130s. The movement has definitely been slowing down. I assume it's because he's running out of room in there, but today I started getting a little nervous. After checking in with my doctor's office, they had me come in for a non-stress test just to make sure everything was okay. It was right after lunch so I did feel a few movements and baby is doing just fine. The nurse did say that I had one contraction in the 15 minutes, but I didn't feel it. I'm starting to feel some pressure, lower back pain, and sleep is getting interesting. :-) I'm excited to hear if anything is going on at next week's appointment!

Here's the stats according to babycenter.com:
Your baby is still packing on the pounds - at a the rate of about an ounce a day. He now weighs almost 6 pounds (like a crenshaw melon) and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. He's shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered his body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected his skin during his nine-month amniotic bath. Your baby swallows both of these substances, along with other secretions, resulting in a blackish mixture, called meconium, will form the contents of his first bowel movement. At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term.

35 weeks/35 days!

Things are still going great - only about 35 days to go! I am starting to feel him moving into my ribs at times, but it's all good. I think he's just reminding me that he's there and doing well! :-) I still need to get clothes washed and our bags packed, but that will have to wait until this weekend now. This is a busy week for me at work with over 4,000 high school students and teachers coming for a statewide theatre festival.

Here's the latest info according to babycenter.com:
Your baby doesn't have much room to maneuver now that he's over 18 inches long and tips the scales at 5 1/4 pounds (pick up a honeydew melon). Because it's so snug in your womb, he isn't likely to be doing somersaults anymore, but the number of times he kicks should remain about the same. His kidneys are fully developed now, and his liver can process some waste products. Most of his basic physical development is now complete — he'll spend the next few weeks putting on weight.