It's a boy!

It's a boy! Welcome our new son, Byrne Claude Rathmann. 7 Lbs 12oz. Born November 18th. Mom and baby are both doing great!

Baby Toys

I know many of you think that some of my ideas are a bit nutty and it will probably only become more so now that we are having a kid. Everyone has their own parenting style and we hope that, although you may not agree with ours, you respect us enough to follow our wishes. We are only trying to do what we feel is best for our baby.

There has been recall after recall of toys from China being laced with lead and other hazardous materials. That being said, we feel very strongly that we do not want our child to have your normal plastic toys from China that may or may not have hazardous materials/chemicals in them. Or toys that use batteries only to be dumped in a landfill to seep into the groundwater.

There are a lot of options out there these days and I have included some links to some websites below. Wooden toys, bamboo, organic cotton, rubber and recycled plastic bottle toys are a great options.



http://www.greentoys.com/
http://www.ecotoytown.com/
http://www.nmctoys.com/
http://www.sprigtoys.com/
http://www.toysrus.com/family/index.jsp?categoryId=3252099

Rubberwood Toys

Rubber trees produce latex that is then used to make rubber. When the trees fully mature, they no longer produce latex and are burned. Some toys companies are now taking this abandoned rubberwood and making beautiful toys. Many of these trees are also grown without pesticides, making them organic as well as sustainable.

Bamboo Toys

Bamboo is a sustainable tall grass that grows abundantly and without need for much care or water. An entire forest can regenerate in just three short years. Easy to grow and easy to maintain, bamboo is also light, flexible and a wonderful material from which to craft green toys.

Organic Cotton

Organic cotton is cotton that is grown without the use of harmful pesticides. Organic cotton is also grown using plants that have not been genetically modified. The growth of conventional cotton uses more pesticides than any other crop and accounts for a large percentage of the world’s pesticide use. The use of organic cotton reduces the amount of these chemicals entering the watershed and also from irritating your child’s skin.

Recycled Toys

Manufacturers that make recycled toys use materials that have been previously utilized and then turn them into new playthings. Some companies, such as Green Toys, are using recycled plastic from used milk jugs and making colorful, safe, and fun preschool toys such as tea sets and beach buckets.

The Waiting Game

My due date is tomorrow but we don't necessarily expect the baby then. Could be tomorrow, could be a week. We will just have to wait and see.









We put up some really cool chalkboard decals in the baby's nursery. We have an elephant too that will be more space for the babe to draw on than the giraffe. The tree was really for me. I love these, they are so cool!

I am still working so that I can have more time after the baby is born. This week will definitely be the last week of work, if I make it that long. My mom is coming up the 24th so I plan on having a baby by then hopefully.

What the wives tales say

We are getting very antsy and anxious not only to meet our babe but to find out the sex. I am sure many of you are curious as well. Check out what the predictions say below.

Cravings - Sweet or Sour
I have definitely been craving sweet (I don't know that it changed with pregnancy, I always crave sweets!)

Wives tale says we will have a girl

Am I carrying the weight out front or in my hips and butt

Luckily I am carrying out front

Wives tale says we will have a boy

Fetal Heart Rate - Above or below 140

Our baby's is above 140

Wives tale says we will have a girl

Do i have acne
Nope

Wives tale says we will have a boy

Did i have morning sickness?
Yes, but it wasn't severe

Wives tale says we will have a girl or boy not so sure since it wasn't too too bad. If it was bad would have said it was a girl



Is Jeff gaining weight?
Yes

Wives tale says we will have a boy

Chinese birth chart
Based on age and conception month

Wives tale says we will have a girl

One more week?

Only a week left until the baby is due. Hopefully the baby isn't so cozy in there that it delays its arrival. We are both ready to meet our little one.

We have been busy wrapping up last minute things and enjoying our last days just as the two of us.

Waddling Weeble Wobble

I kinda feel like a weeble wobble now since I have to roll around to get out of bed or off of the floor. Either that or a duck since the waddle is in full force and I have to think about it in order to walk normally.

Bigger=Slower

I am still feeling pretty good, but I am definitely slowing down. Enjoying going on walks, as long as there isn't an incline at all. I used to always outpace Jeff on walks and try and get him to keep up with me. Now I keep trying to get him to slow down.

We are getting a little impatient for the baby's arrival. Although we know the baby needs to cook a little longer, we are ready to meet the little one.

6 more weeks to go!

Getting ready for the ride of a lifetime

Don't ask me why they had this at an airplane museum. My parents came up to visit over Labor Day and the airplane museum was just one of the day trips we took around Oregon. It was so great to have them up here and the weather was fairly cooperative.












A beautiful day at the beach

Home Stretch - The third trimester

The baby is kicking around a lot now and has even had the hiccups a few times. It is such an odd feeling when the baby is wriggling around inside, I can just sit and watch my belly move around. I am still feeling pretty good, just now starting to feel like my belly is getting in the way. I am sure that feeling will only increase as my belly does.

The baby's room is all painted and full of baby stuff, thanks to so many of you! We are growing very anxious for the little one to arrive. It still feels like we have a long way to go, I know the time will pass very quickly though.

Baby Showers

Let's hope the baby's head is not anywhere near this big!


It was so good to see everyone when I was in St. Louis for the showers. Most people seem to think the baby will be a boy. We will just have to wait and see, only a few more months. It seems like we still have a long way to go and I am starting to get impatient. I am still feeling great just anxious to meet our little bundle. I am thankful for the time we have left though since we are still not completely ready.

Sorry it has been a while since my last post. Everything is still going well just trying to make sure I eat enough since my appetite is diminished. I guess the baby is already infringing on my stomach space. The baby has been moving around more and more especially in the last few weeks. It feels like Schnitzel/Spaetzle is doing somersaults in there. The baby seems to be the most acrobatic after I eat so they are either trying to make room or they are a food lover like their mother!

No I am not having twins! Why do I keep saying they? I try and say baby or Schnitzel/Spaetzle as much as possible, but it is hard to do that every time and I just can't bring myself to call them "it". My baby is not and it! If anyone has a better solution let me know.


We had a great visit with my sister, Laura, this past weekend. She helped me paint the baby's room the perfect color called 'Froggy'. We had a great time showing her all the sites around Portland. Below we are at the Pittock Mansion which was built around the same time as the house Laura is restoring and there are beautiful gardens there.














I am anxious to go back to St. Louis in a few weeks and see everyone for a long weekend. Unfortunately, Jeff will be staying home this trip and taking care of the dogs. Looking forward to seeing those of you that are in St. Louis soon!

9 years

We had our 9 year wedding anniversary on June 23 and went out to dinner to celebrate. I was about 19 weeks along and now you can really tell I am pregnant.

Baby's First Picture

We had our ultrasound Saturday and the doctor said everything looks good. It was really cool to see the spine, toes and the heart beating. We would think we were looking at the baby's head and the tech would say it was the belly. We were only able to tell what things were on our own about half the time. In case you can't decipher the image above, the head is on the bottom right and the butt is up in the air with their knees at their nose. The little one has already mastered some yoga it looks like. The picture below is primarily just the head top on the left.

We were able to resist the urge to look when she was examining the nether region so we are continuing with the plan to find out the sex at birth. Even if we had looked we probably wouldn't have had a clue what we were looking at though.

Oh yea and they tell you to drink 5 cups of water 1 hour before the ultrasound. Not only is that an insane amount of water for anyone to drink, but a pregnant woman. I had to pee so bad when we got to the clinic and of course they wouldn't let me go! Luckily they only needed a full bladder for the first 5 minutes or so of the ultrasound so she let me relieve myself so I could enjoy the images of the baby.

Pooch

My baby pooch has started poking out in the last few weeks. I am kinda at the point where people may wonder if I am pregnant or eating too many muffins for an extra big muffin top!

I am really feeling much better which is good since we just got back from a trip to Boston and Nantucket for a friends wedding that was planned pre-pregnancy. I was glad to have been in my second trimester and past the sickness and over tiredness.

For a couple weeks I have been feeling the baby moving around and now that I am 17 weeks along, they are apparently the size of a turnip!

Happy Grandmothers Day!

We went home for Mother's Day to let everyone know our big news. Our mothers were both shocked and excited to find out that we were three month pregnant. We were very glad that we didn't have to keep it a secret anymore. Ever since we decided to start trying we could not wait to tell our families.

Welcome to our baby blog

We thought this would be a good way for family and friends to see and hear how things our going through the pregnancy and birth.

You are probably wondering why this blog is called "Schnitzel or Spaetzle". We have decided that we are not going to tell people what baby names we are thinking about or find out the sex of the baby until it is born. When we were out to dinner with the Heinz family eating Schnitzel and Spaetzle we jokingly said that we will name the baby Schnitzel if it is a boy and Spaetzle if it is a girl. So that is what we have been calling the baby ever since. Given that we both have a strong German heritage we figured these were fitting temporary names.

I will try and keep you up to date with pictures and updates in the coming weeks and months.

Love you all,
Jeff, Karen and Schnitzel or Spaetzle