[25 weeks] Hello Third Trimester!

I honestly can't believe it - as of last week we've entered the third trimester now. Baby is alive and kicking and I'm rocking the bump! I've noticed my back hurting more, it is far more difficult to climb stairs now with all of the extra weight and I definitly become breathless far more quickly as junior pushes on my diaphragm (amongst others....).

While junior has definitely preferred a healthy, balanced diet similar to his daddy's (lots of fruits and veggies, yogurt, and lots of milk) I have noticed a greater affinity towards red meat - mostly in the form of steak and cheese sandwiches, and a particular fondness as of late for crunchy green grapes, strawberries and oddly enough, cupcakes once in a while. Definitely a weird combination.

On another note, we finally decided on a mattress. According to Baby Bargains, foam is better than spring mattresses, but we prefer spring because of its durability and its perceived ability to regulate heat better than foam. Baby Bargains suggested that if we are looking for a spring mattress that we look for one with at least 150 coils or more as that will produce a firmer mattresses for baby. In our research we encountered cheap mattresses, high end mattresses, organic mattresses...it was dizzying. Reading reviews didn't help much - because babies can't quite tell their parents how comfortable a mattress is :) We figured that if parents noticed their little ones were content with their mattresses simply by sleeping soundly, that was good enough for us! Based on our research we narrowed it down to two mattresses: the Sealy Baby Firm Rest and the Serta Nightstar Extra Firm.

Sealy Baby Firm Rest, retails for $89.99

http://www.amazon.com/Sealy-Baby-Firm-Rest-Mattress/dp/B004EWG4ZA/ref=zg_bs_tab_pd_mw_2?pf_rd_p=1331612482&pf_rd_s=right-10&pf_rd_t=2101&pf_rd_i=list&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0GH8FC9SJS7G5F9SKJGG

Serta Nightstar Extra Firm, retails for $79.95

http://www.amazon.com/Serta-Nightstar-Extra-Firm-Mattress/dp/B000S9A37I/ref=sr_1_1?s=baby-products&ie=UTF8&qid=1331001088&sr=1-1

Both featured heavy duty coils and a full perimeter border wire that provides additional support and keeps the edges firm just like an adult mattress, and both nicely can also become a toddler mattress - which is nice because we have a convertible crib-into-toddler-bed. And they both also have a 25 year warranty! The Sealy Baby Firm however has 204 coils vs. Serta's 150 coils, of which we worried the 200+ coils would be a little too stiff for junior. Additionally, the Serta is just slightly bigger (Serta's 52.5 x 27.3 x 5.8 inches vs. Sealy's 51.6 x 27.2 x 5.8 inches) - ensuring a snug fit, and giving me peace of mind that our son's little fingers won't get caught anywhere. The mattress arrives this Tuesday, and if it ends up being too soft we'll send it back for the Sealy. But for now, fingers are crossed!

Update: We received the Serta and we just found it to be too soft with not enough coils. Amazon made it so easy to return the mattress - you just initiate it online and someone from UPS came to pick it up! We then ordered the Sealy right away from Diapers.com (they have $10 off too!) and remarkably got the mattress the next day. It's perfectly firm, well made, and so comfortable looking that Ken sometimes jokes that he'd like to take a nap on it.