Baby, it's HOT outside!!!

This is what the Weatherbug on my hope page looks like right now. Can you BELIEVE this crap? It's only April? And, to add insult to injury, look at Monday and Tuesday's forecasts. That's right kids, it's only going to get hotter.

Last week, on 2ps, people were complaining about SNOW ADVISORIES!!! It seems terribly unfair somehow. Of course, I can't stop thinking about how hot it is going to be, and how big I am going to be, come July and August. I think I'll spend my 31st birthday in an ice bath.

It's too bad we can't just pack up and move to Seattle, because I'd do it in a heartbeat. We have a family all ready to go up there, lot's of great stuff to do, FABULOUS weather.

That's right, I said it. I think overcast days and rain are fabulous. Sunshine is so overrated. It's sunny here 300+ days a year. It's over 100 degrees for like a third of the year, if not more. BLAH.

In other news, my husband and I got this postcard in the mail for a baby safety seminar, so we were like, okay, it's free and we know NOTHING about babies, so let's go. Well, we walk into the hotel, the bellman takes one look at me and tells me where to go. !!! Yeah, I guess I officially look pregnant now! We walk back there and we're a few minutes early, so there are a bunch of people just hanging out waiting. I have to admit, it was a bit weird to be surrounded by that many pregnant women. It kinda freaked me out a bit.

So we get in, the guy gives us a packet with all sorts of articles photocopied from consumer magazines, lists of recalls, and websites/phone numbers that you can use to check for new recalls. He talks about baby items and what's monitored by law and what isn't. He tells us about babyproofing, and talks about how babies are "head heavy" so they tend to fall into things head first, like the toilet or out of a crib, and then get stuck.

Then came the big sell, haha!

Actually, it wasn't too bad. Apparently the guy who was supposed to do it couldn't make it, so this guy was just going through. He told us about the stuff, made by a company called Babee Tenda. They were selling a crib and a feeding table. Now the crib, this thing was ugly as sin. It looked like something out of a third world orphanage if you asked me. He climbed in and bounced around to show us how sturdy it was. He told us how the mattress had the wet pad built in. That sounded gross to me, and besides, the mattress looked too soft and lifted in the corners when he pushed down on it. Add to that it was really just encased in plastic, and I don't care how "safe" it was.

Then he moved on to high chairs and walkers. Now, I know walkers are not safe, and I've known that for years, since before my nephew was born 12 years ago! Lately, I've been reading how the Exersaucers aren't that great either, and I've been wondering what you could use as an alternative.

I also have not really been into the traditional high chairs either. Lots of reading, lots of looking at different types and weighing all the pros and cons led me to really consider the Stokke Tripp Trapp chair. It's spendy, but I liked that you could use it at the table and it didn't have a lot of crap on it to break or stain. It also seemed a lot sturdier than the lightweight plastic stuff out there.

Well, he had this thing he called a feeding table. Basically, it's like a lower high chair made from wood and metal instead of plastic. The tray is bigger than a regular high chair, and the seat was designed so that you could use it for infants as well as bigger babies and toddlers. It could not only replace the high chair, but you could use it the same way you would a walker because a) there is no way the baby's feet can reach the floor to propel this thing and b) there isnt' that wide piece of fabric between the baby's legs distorting it's hips as it grows (which is also why I'm heavily researching baby carriers, but that's another post!) and causing it to get pigeon toed or bowlegged. It has an actual chair.

After he was done with the seminar, he went outside of the room to fill out orders, but let us stay in there to look at the products. My husband and I went to check out the table. First of all, HE sat on it, haha! It held quite nicely. This thing is STURDY. Then I played with it. It's pretty easy to use. Everything that was supposed to adjust I was able to adjust with no problem. I could get the removable tray in and out with one hand. I could adjust the height no problem. I was able to move the chair forward and backwards and figure out how to remove the covers and straps to clean them. Not bad.

So, we ended up ordering one. Since we were already planning on getting a Tripp Trapp, that would have been like 3/4 of the price anyway, and add to that not having to get a walker/exersaucer thing, plus, the table comes with an insert so that when your kid is older it becomes a regular play table/desk... it's not too bad. Also, it's collapsable so you can take it places with you, which may or may not come in handy. We'll see.

We have until Tuesday to cancel the order, so we came home and I did some research online. True to what he said, no recalls EVER in the 60 years they have been making these things. Nice. Also, I read a ton of reviews on different sites, and usually the bad ones had to do with either the sales tactics (which I agree, leave something to be desired) or the accessories (which we didn't buy, actually, he pretty much told us not to bother!). There were accounts where the sales people basically called them bad parents if they didn't buy, used major scare tactics, and went in for the hard sell. We must have gotten lucky, because our guy didn't do any of those things. I figured there would be some scare tactics, after all, it was a baby safety seminar, but it wasn't over the top. There were some people who came knowing about the product, and had questions about the accessories, but he pretty much told them not to bother with the add ons, with the exception of a machine washable chair cover, for obvious reasons. He just said that he wasn't going to ask if we wanted anything, he wasn't going to try to talk us into anything, if we wanted something, great, let him know, and if not, thanks for our time.

Most of the people who actually had bought the product and used it loved it and rated it highly. The few who didn't like it when they got it home usually were doing something with it that wasn't following directions - for instance, leaving the footrest on for a toddler and then the kid got their foot caught behind it. Well, DUH. They tell you outright that it's only for infant use and to take it off when they get bigger.

So, we've got our first piece of baby furniture ordered! How exciting! We also learned a few things, such as, we need to baby proof the toilet, ha ha! We'll probably end up inadvertently Sara-proofing it as well, knowing me.

Finally - some perspective.

The ex told me that I needed to look at myself, and realize that I tended to push people away from me. I was thinking about that yesterday, and I realized - I'm not the one who had my boyfriend break up with me and my best friend kick me to the curb, as she says, in the space of two months. Maybe someone needs to look in the mirror?

I am now in my second trimester, I'm looking all happy and pregnant, and miracle of miracles, dang if this baby hasn't completely cleared up my skin! WOO! Life is good.