Feeling unprepared…

Last week I caught a cold. Or really bad allergies. I’m not sure, I only know that what normally would have taken me 24 hours to get over, has taken me a full week — because I’m not taking any medication…unless you count lots of sleep and orange juice.

The good news is that I’m finally on the mend, and I’m hoping tonight I can go to bed breathing and not spend two or three hours tossing and turning because I can only breath out of one nostril.

There is no bad news. Well, not really anyway.

Bagpiper and I are still struggling with the crib issue. We know what we want, we’ve seen what we want, but for some idiotic reason, the Exchange (think Target, but for the military) won’t ship overseas. We actually ordered the crib weeks ago, only to get an email a week later saying the item we requested does not ship to FPO addresses. Never mind that beneath the listing online, it clearly said: “FPO/APO Available”.

Anyway, so we’ve hunted around the BX on Kadena, saw a crib we liked, but it wasn’t in stock. They don’t know when it will be in stock again, but they did tell us they were having a big baby sale next weekend. The problem? Ninety-eight percent of everything in the catalog is only available online and only available for shipping to CONUS (continental US).

Again I say: What is the point of having the Exchange if they aren’t going to ship to overseas military bases?

Seriously, because if I lived in the continental US and the Exchange didn’t have what I wanted/needed, I’d have the luxury of going to Target, Wal-Mart or Babies R Us. I don’t have that luxury. While I would not trade the experience of living in Japan for a quick trip to Target, it would still be nice if the Exchange shipped to FPO addresses.

To be fair, there are furniture stores on base that do sell cribs, but they don’t sell the kind we want. And I’m sorry, I’m not going to pay for something I don’t want. The cribs in the furniture store are not convertible, and I don’t see the point in paying for a crib that will be in use for a year or so. I want a crib that converts into a regular bed. It just makes more sense.

So yesterday, Bagpiper and I decided to shop around Japanese stores to see if we could find a crib we liked. We didn’t find squat. New plan is to wait for next weekend and see if the BX on Kadena gets anything in that we like. If not, we’re just going to order off of Amazon and be done with it. Either way, by next weekend, we will either have a crib in our home or have one ordered online.

I hate feeling like we are totally unprepared for Baby. Only three months to go, and it’s going to go by fast. I want to have the nursery set up within the next month and a half. Even Bagpiper is feeling like we are unprepared, so that’s why we decided, next weekend (payday weekend), no matter what, we’re ordered the crib.

The paycheck after that, we’re buying the stroller and carseat. November we will buy baby items like diapers, wipes, baby powder, etc. By the end of November, we’re going to be as prepared as we can be.

My next OB appointment isn’t until September 23, and it will be the appointment that tests me for diabetes. I’ve been really good about my diet, and semi-decent about exercise. I don’t always go outside for walks, but I do make it a habit to go up and down my (steep) stairs several times a day. And other than being sick last week, I’ve been feeling good.

Baby is responding to sounds more and more now. The other night Bagpiper was practicing some music and Chopper (the band dog we were watching for the weekend) was singing along and Baby was dancing in my stomach. She’s kicking around right now while I type this blog…

…I’m still waiting on the yarn I ordered and mistakenly sent to my mom’s house in Texas. I really want to start some sweaters for the Baby. I have finished a hat, however. I’m going to start a pair of booties this evening and the rest of the week will be devoted to knitting baby blanket #1.

That’s all for now!