News from the front line: 22 weeks in

Used to be when I was out somewhere I didn't really notice babies, unless I heard them crying.  Now every trip to the grocery store, mall, or anywhere else is a chance to do some homework and check out strollers and infant car seats live and in action.  It reminds me of starting driver's ed: all the traffic signs and signals had always been there but I had seldom paid attention to them.  But once I started learning to drive, I couldn't help noticing them every time I was on the road (which is a good thing!).  Now with a little one on the way, every trip out is an opportunity to see what works and what doesn't in the land of baby gear.

Tonight's trip to Kroger provided an example of each.  First, I saw a couple with their baby in an infant car seat in the grocery cart.  I kept sneaking furtive glances to see what brand the car seat was and how it fit in the top of the cart.  It looked like our car seat brand but I couldn't ever get a good view of the label.  I also saw a mom schlepping her big travel system through the aisles and carrying her groceries in her hands.  Needless to say, that didn't seem like a very good system!
Speaking of car seats, we pulled the trigger and bought one today after much research.  We were out running errands and were near Buy Buy Baby.  The car seat we want isn't available in store at Babies R Us so we thought we'd see if BBB had it and if they'd take our BRU 20% off coupon.  Yes on both counts, and the helpful sales guy (who seems to have a Masters in strollers and car seats!) even carried the floor model out to our car and showed us how the base attaches to the backseat of the car.  This car seat will hold our little guy till he's 30 pounds and is top-rated for safety.  So, cross one big item off the list.  Here's what the kiddo will be riding in:

Last weekend we went to a wedding reception celebration for our friends (and next-door neighbors) Marinda and Brian.  It was a great party and a chance for me to wear my cute new maternity dress, which I bought at Kid to Kid, a local consignment shop, for $5.  With Amy's wedding in San Fran coming up in May, I'll have at least one more opportunity to wear this one or another I bought.  This one's so cute, I'm actually disappointed I won't be able to wear it post-baby.

Here we are all dressed up:

In other news, the belly continues to get bigger.  I suppose being short-waisted, there's not much place for the belly to go but out.  But looking at pictures for the last few weeks, you can really tell that the belly has really started showing and growing within the past month or so.  Weight gain is still pretty reasonable, about 13 pounds, and seemingly pretty much all of it in the belly area.

Here we are:

At my office we have a tradition of celebrating birthdays, holidays, and sometimes just Fridays with a food spread.  This past Friday was a coworker's birthday in my area so we celebrated SBA-style with tons of food.  I made a fruit salad with fresh strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, and bananas, and another coworker brought in fresh pineapple.  The token healthy selections went over quite well but were outnumbered by the breakfast casseroles, quiches, and desserts.  Everything was delicious, but the hit of the day was a fantastic homemade sopapilla cheesecake.  It was so good I wanted seconds.  Since everyone expects the pregnant lady to eat a lot anyway (as if "eat for two" means "eat for two linebackers") and I was, after all, wearing elastic waist pants, I splurged and went for that second piece.  While I wouldn't want to eat so heavy every day, may as well play the pregnancy card to splurge once or twice, right? ;)