The Best Baby Product Book

I had been telling some friends that I wish there was a consumer reports book that covered just baby stuff.  Someone mentioned there was a book so I started looked and this weekend I came across this book and it gets an A+ from me.

The Baby Bargains book 9th edition is easy to read and the rating scale is very easy to understand.  It covers a lot of the big ticket items along with things like bottles, clothing, diaper bags and slings.  It also has sample registry in the back so you don't forget an item you might need.

This book is designed to help you not waste money on things that really are not needed or are over priced or not good quality, as well as giving you ratings on items to make sure your money is well spent.

This book was money well spent as I have already changed some of my registry items and also found the items I did get were a good buy (that made me happy).

If you are expecting and are not sure what you need or what is good then I would suggest picking up this book! 

14 Weeks

14 weeks:  "This week's big developments: Your baby can now squint, frown, grimace, pee, and possibly suck his thumb! Thanks to brain impulses, his facial muscles are getting a workout as his tiny features form one expression after another. His kidneys are producing urine, which he releases into the amniotic fluid around him — a process he'll keep up until birth. He can grasp, too, and if you're having an ultrasound now, you may even catch him sucking his thumb.

In other news: Your baby's stretching out. From head to bottom, he measures 3 1/2 inches — about the size of a lemon — and he weighs 1 1/2 ounces. His body's growing faster than his head, which now sits upon a more distinct neck. By the end of this week, his arms will have grown to a length that's in proportion to the rest of his body. (His legs still have some lengthening to do.) He's starting to develop an ultra-fine, downy covering of hair, called lanugo, all over his body. Your baby's liver starts making bile this week — a sign that it's doing its job right — and his spleen starts helping in the production of red blood cells. Though you can't feel his tiny punches and kicks yet, your little pugilist's hands and feet (which now measure about 1/2 inch long) are more flexible and active."

How I am doing:  I am doing well and seem to have more energy to get up and do things.  Today we road out the Hurricane Irene that turned out to be just some heavy wind and rain were we live.  I made crumb topped blueberry muffins, home made sticky cinnamon muffins and honey wheat bread I was a baking fool between Friday night and Saturday.  I also had enough energy tonight to work on the baby scrapbook.  :-)  I have not put any pictures of my belly because there isn't much to see right now, I just look chubby but soon I am hoping I look more pregnant. 

Dr. Apt. and Getting the Room Ready

Today I had a Dr. apt that lasted all of 5 minutes with the Dr.  It went something like this:

• Check in 
• Get called back 
• Give a urine sample (as usually - what are they checking it for anyways?)
• Weight check (didn't go up from the last time yay!)
• Blood pressure check (no concerns)
• Sit in room on table and wait and wait (thankfully he didn't take to long)
• Then Dr. comes in "Hey I am Dr. Blah blah I don't think we have met before" me "Yes we have back when blah blah" Dr. "Oh"
• Dr. has me lay down to listen to the babies heartbeat 
• He goes "Oh there it is" and then stops and I don't really get to hear it and he doesn't tell me what the bpm are
• Dr. then tells me to come back for blood work in 3 weeks using an acronym I have not heard and when I ask what that stood for he acted bothered to tell me
• Dr. then tells me to setup my 18 week ultra sound appointment in 4 weeks
• He turns and tells me now that we have a heartbeat at 14 weeks our chance of miscarriage goes way down
• Dr. leaves my chart on the counter and walks out and leaves the door open, thanks dude I needed to fix my shirt and pants

Needless to say I don't care for this one Dr. in this practice.  I am so glad Jerry didn't come because it really was a waste of time, seeing as though I have a doppler at home to hear the babies heartbeat.  But I am happy that tomorrow marks 14 weeks!!!!!!  I am feeling good, just tired because I have weird dreams and wake up several times a night to use the restroom or just because.

Nursery:
I found someone on Etsy that makes the alphabet letters like in my inspiration room and I had been eying them for some time now.  I didn't want to buy the letters until I got a little further along.  Sooooo yesterday I ordered them and Jerry and I will paint them and put them up when we do the trim work in the room.

This is the picture form the Etsy listing

13 Weeks

Yesterday we hit our 13 week mark.

13 Weeks:
Fingerprints have formed on your baby's tiny fingertips, her veins and organs are clearly visible through her still-thin skin, and her body is starting to catch up with her head — which makes up just a third of her body size now. If you're having a girl, she now has more than 2 million eggs in her ovaries. Your baby is almost 3 inches long (the size of a medium shrimp) and weighs nearly an ounce.

How I am Doing:
I am feeling ok and seem to have a little more energy back.  I am still tired more than usual but still better than I was over the first 12 weeks.  I feel very plump but still not looking pregnant.  Sleeping is spotty as some nights I am up several times a night to pee and some nights I wake up in the middle of the night wide awake or with heartburn and I end up getting up watching TV and falling back asleep on the couch.  Not complaining through because it could be worse. 

The Adventures of Putting the Pack'n Play Together

Tonight we decided to put together the Pack'n Play together.  For all of you who will be doing this task in the future I would advise that you read all the direction before starting.  Obviously by the previous statement you can probably gather by now that we did not read all the directions before starting.  It started out looking like it would be easy but just as we would finish one thing we would realize that we need to undo what we just did because we missed a step.  All I can say is this Pack'n Play probably won't be getting packed up and taken any were any time soon.  I will say though that I do like the Graco system with the infant sleeper and the changing table and we have it in our family room so our little pumpkin can nap down stairs and so we don't have to run up and down stairs to change diapers all day :-)

Loving My Doppler

A couple of weeks ago I purchased a Doppler so I could assure myself everything is ok and listen to my growing babies heartbeat.  I am so glad I did purchase one.  It has been very nice to listen to my little ones heart pumping away.  I swear last night I kept hearing a THUD and PING sound every now and again, with the heartbeat in the background.  It sounded like the baby was bouncing off the walls of my uterus.. LOL  I even called Jerry over to listen and he said the sound was as if you had your ear under the water in a tub and taped the side of the tub.  I think the baby was bouncing off the walls because we had Chick-Fil-A for dinner. 

I swear I could just fall asleep to the sound of my our babies heart beating.

1st Trimester Screening Results Are In

Today I received my 1st Trimester Screening results which I went for last Thursday.   This screening checks for Downs and Trisomy 18/13.  Everything came back within the normal range.  We didn't have any reason to suspect that we would get abnormal test results but it's nice to know all is well!

Thank You and Update

Jerry and I wanted to let all of you know we really appreciate all of your well wishes.  It was great to finally be able to share this information with all of you as it has been hard for us to keep it quiet for this long.  I did slip a little and tell some folks I work with, but they guessed it any ways :-)

How I Am Feeling:

The number one question I received when telling people I was pregnant was "How are you feeling?"  I am doing well (knock on wood).  You always see in movies woman getting morning sickness and so everyone expects this what every pregnant woman goes through, but I have found that is not the case.  I do need to make sure I don't get HUNGRY HUNGRY because that will make me nauseous.  I do take all of my vitamins right before bed and I think that is key to keeping the nausea down.  

I have been very tired all the time so working out has been little to none.  I started last week going to the gym with Jerry but I have only made it there once a week (better than nothing).  My waste is growing but I don't think it is the baby (LOL).  I am starting to feel as though I have more energy now that I entering the second trimester, I am hoping now I will be able to get out and work out (never mind this heat has kept me in too).

Cravings:

This can change from day to day but in particular I am not so big on craving meat it is more of the sweets.  I have been craving fresh food like fruit salad and grapes but there is ice cream in those sweet cravings too.  The thought of frozen meals doesn't sit well with me, so using the bulk meals I made and froze has not happened in some time.  Mostly I want to eat foods cooked from fresh ingredients, like my husbands veggie soup and our roasted chicken with carrots and potatoes.   

Baby Development:  Week 12

"The most dramatic development this week: reflexes. Your baby's fingers will soon begin to open and close, his toes will curl, his eye muscles will clench, and his mouth will make sucking movements. In fact, if you prod your abdomen, your baby will squirm in response, although you won't be able to feel it. His intestines, which have grown so fast that they protrude into the umbilical cord, will start to move into his abdominal cavity about now, and his kidneys will begin excreting urine into his bladder.

Meanwhile, nerve cells are multiplying rapidly, and in your baby's brain, synapses are forming furiously. His face looks unquestionably human: His eyes have moved from the sides to the front of his head, and his ears are right where they should be. From crown to rump, your baby-to-be is just over 2 inches long (about the size of a lime) and weighs half an ounce."

Special Thank You:

I went into work on Thursday and one of my work friends Stephanie had left a present on my desk.  I was VERY surprised!!! She bought me 2 of her kids favorite books and a very nice card.  She is so thoughtful!  Thank you Stephanie!!! 

A Big Warm Welcome to Our Blog

You might of figured it out by now, but just in case you didn't "We are having a baby!!"

June 13, 2011 we saw that second line

We have been keeping this a secret for some time now hoping and praying we would be able to get to week 12 when we could share this good news with all of our friends and family and that time has come.

The baby is due on Feb. 24, 2012 and we will find out if we are having a boy or a girl on Sept. 10, 2011; so get your votes in now!

Having a baby is truly a miracle and it is amazing to me how it all happens.  Jerry and I am no stranger to the heartbreak that can come when trying to have a baby and because of that we are stronger for it.  We are very excited to welcome our new family member into our world and I am sure time with both fly and stand still in that process.

So join us on our journey and watch our baby grow from now until birth and beyond.

Introducing Our Baby 11 Weeks 6 Days Along!  The baby measured 8cm head to toe, so little.
The baby stretched out for us and showed us his/her little legs and arms
and look at that little nose, so cute!!