Oh, Amazon, I love you!

Never, ever pay extra for expedited shipping with Amazon. I swear, they're so good at shipping that they put their own rush shipment options out of business. As much as I wanted my fetal monitor ASAP when I ordered it on Thursday, I can't justify an additional $15 of shipping on top of the $65 monitor cost, so I figured I'd just make myself wait. And guess what? It came today anyway, as fast as it would have come even with expedited :) :) :).

I was out shopping when it came but NoodleGuy called me to tell me that it arrived, so I knew to be excited by my treat when I got home! Of course, I went right upstairs, while NG was playing Wii, because I wanted to get the hang of it myself as I anticipated getting a little panicky/frustrated if I couldn't find the heartbeat right away, which is a common thing with me, at least up until now, with my handy-dandy retroverted uterus. And, as expected, I couldn't find the h/b. But you guys would be proud of me, I hardly panicked at all. I noted that I also was having a hard time picking up my own h/b, and I was pretty sure that I was alive :). So, I went back downstairs, googled a bit regarding the monitor I bought and saw that alot of ladies had commented that you needed both a full bladder and gel (which hadn't come yet, shipped separately) to get the h/b. So, I drank a glass of water and proceeded to cuddle into the couch for an hour nap.

Post-nap, NG and I headed upstairs to try again, so I could lay down while trying. I, indeed, had a full bladder this time and we had some sexy gel (aka As.tro.glide) that worked like a charm. First we went for my own h/b, NG applied the gel and then used the little wand. No problemo, though I don't think that the heart rate was that accurate as I said I was 120bpm and I've been measuring a steady 80bpm at all doctor's visits, but I had heard that the at-monitor's rates can be off. And truly, alot of these new gadget's heart rate monitors seem to be a little wonky as the elliptical at the gym has been trying to claim lately that my heartrate is 222bpm, even when I barely break a sweat. And as I'm pretty sure my heart would be exploding and/or I'd drop on the spot with a heartrate like that, I'm a little dubious of the accuracy of such claims.

Anyhoo, we were able to ascertain that I was alive so we moved on to Bug. We knew to go right above the pubic line at this stage of the pregnancy and squirted some gel there. NG started moving the wand around but was waaaay too dainty, I know from my OB that you have to press down pretty firmly, not sure if it's just for me with that tilted uterus or everyone. So, I took over, and started moving to the left, where Bug was found last time. No luck. Shifted to the middle, no luck. But as soon as we moved to the right...there it was, strong as anything! :) It registered at 164bpm which, again, I think was falsely high, but it was definitely not my own h/b and it was wonderful to hear.

We're going to try to restrain ourselves from using it except 2-3 times a week, will try for 2. Both because I don't want to be come too obsessive but also I don't want to disturb Bug too much. While I read up on fetal monitors ALOT before buying one, to make sure they were safe (and they are), some people suggested that the radio waves could bother the babies a bit, their little ears or just disturbances in the fluids. We don't want to make him/her mad at us quite yet, so we'll stick to a once or twice a week hello or if I just feel in need of a little reassurance.

On another note, I went shopping today for some clothing that would fit my burgeoning belly. I'm realizing that maternity clothes are either a) not that easy to find or b) WAY overpriced, so I'm trying to be creative with non-maternity clothes. I did buy a few non-maternity, but versatile, items at both Gap and Old Navy, only to get home and realize that there is a 30% Fri.ends and Fami.ly sale starting on Thursday (3/18) through next weekend. Oy, haha! So I'm going to return everything I bought tomorrow and re-buy it on Thursday. I know it sounds insane, but it will save me $45, so it's worth it. Here's a link to the coupon, usable in-store and online - and online they both have pretty nice maternity sections. Make sure to select your charities if you print it, they really do give the money! It's their best coupon of the year, happens once around now and again before the holidays. I wish I had thought to check for it, since I knew it was imminent, before I went shopping today! :)