If you are a believer in all of the gender prediction myths, here is some information:
I don’t really believe in any of the gender prediction myths, but I’d love to hear what myths anyone out there has heard before.
On March 13, Peter and I found out that we are expecting Franza baby #2.
When I was pregnant with Emma, I started having ptyalism (lots of saliva) in about the 6th week. At first it was just annoying, but then it would start to make my stomach upset.
In week 4 this time around, I mentioned to Peter about how “spitty” I felt, but I figured it was just a salivary gland that was acting goofy. I was pretty sure my period was coming on Friday, and I was starting to get excited about having a delicious, homemade beer. He made a lighter, wheat beer specifically for me, and I was going to reward myself with a nice glass of beer after the crazy work week I had. I’m not a big beer drinker so this was an odd request, I’m sure.
I felt really PMS-y, and Peter even commented that I was really moody. Friday passed, nothing. So no beer for me. Saturday passed, nothing. Again, no beer. On Sunday before church I took a pregnancy test and was shocked when I saw a light line. “Peter, come tell me if you see what I think I see,” was about the same thing that I said to Peter 4 years ago when I had a positive pregnancy test with Emma.
Sure enough, a line. We were kind of shocked–probably more me than Peter as usual. It wasn’t a surprise by any means, but it is still crazy when you see a line appear!
Because I assumed it would take a while, I had purchased a pack of little pregnancy test strips off Amazon for like 4 bucks. So now I had 14 extra little strips. Naturally I took a test every day for a while and watched the line get darker each day. When a dark line appears, it makes you want to walk out of the bathroom and do a mic drop. Bam! Passed THAT test.
I had been to the doctor a month before for my annual checkup, and my doctor told me everything was looking fine and dandy regarding my health. I think she was a little surprised to see me back in her office a month later. Here is the first picture of the “monkey in a hole” as Meem would say:
I downloaded this really cute applique pattern from Planet Applique a few weeks ago, and I finally had some time to try it out. It’s a cute Mary Jane shoe pattern, and it took me a while to figure out which colors I wanted to use with it.
I had a leftover red Carter’s onesie from Valentine’s Day that I didn’t get to use, so I was trying to think of something I could do with it. I think this is a pretty cute idea! This onesie looks so cute with a pair of little black jeggings.
I have a lot of these plastic take-out containers because I can’t bring myself to throw them away. They aren’t recyclable in our area, and I just feel bad throwing out something that resembles a Tupperware container.
I told my husband I would try to find a use for them. He thinks I (sometimes) hoard stuff like a squirrel. I’m not THAT bad, but I understand what he means. It’s the same reason I had 30 little empty K-cup containers a few years ago. I just feel like I should try to reduce-reuse-recycle when possible.
Anyhow…Emma really enjoys plopping toys into little spaces lately, so I decided to make her a toy container. She can put think blocks and things into the hole, and maybe when she gets older, I will do the same thing with colored buttons or markers (with a smaller, circular hole).
I made an outfit for Emma. It was a little hard because I am learning about tension and how it can really screw up sewing if you don’t have it set correctly.
I had to make a few tweaks to this outfit, but it turned out OK enough in the end. Don’t mind the little pieces of thread all over the place.
I used to (like before last year) LOVE the holidays. Now I am slightly terrified of Christmas. Last year, I was 9 months pregnant, went into labor on Christmas Day at 12:30am, and had a baby at 4:06 pm on Christmas Day. So this year…I am a little unsure of what is going to happen. What is Christmas like with a baby? Will I enjoy it the way I usually do? Will it be better? What is it going to be like having people at our house this year? Will everyone behave themselves? Will I feel so stressed on Christmas or will I enjoy it?
I just am such a big Christmas fan normally, and now I feel like this paranoid wreck about it. For 28 years, I had an expectation of how Christmas Day was going to go…and it usually followed the family traditions, so nothing was out of the ordinary.
Now this is going to be the 2nd Christmas in a row that I have no idea what the heck is going to happen. Slightly nervous.
In an effort to get excited about the holidays again, I decided I am going to dress Emma in holiday clothes as much as possible. Because…why not?
They make these great food pouches now-a-days for parents who are on-the-go. You see them everywhere–CVS, Wal-mart, Target, Babies R’ Us, etc. I even got a few as samples when I was pregnant. And yes, they are really great for when you are out at a store or in the middle of a restaurant where you want to try to actually eat your meal that you ordered.
A few companies have made these nice little spoon attachments that allow you to squeeze the food right onto the spoon tip, but unfortunately the spoons are just too deep for many babies to use. Even at 9 months old, my daughter has trouble eating off the spoon tips.
I also love recycling and reusing, and I felt guilty about buying these pouch foods for on-the-go use when they cannot be recycled at all. I found these awesome reusable pouches from Squooshi that are made a nice, durable plastic, have a double strip Ziplock-like zipper on them, and have a nice durable plastic top (just like the store ones!). Fortunately, they came with these awesome sip lids that come with their own cover and everything. They are called Choo Mee Sip’n. I love them!
I just recently bought an extra pack of them because I take them everywhere we go. Emma loves chewing on them while she eats, and she doesn’t hurt her gums at all because they are made of silicone. When she’s done with the pouch, I just put the cap on, and put it back in the fridge.
One of the best things about them is that they have a valve on them, so you child only gets food when they suck on the lid. That’s right…no squeezing the pouch or turning it upside down to watch all of the cool blueberry goop stain your upholstery. 😉 They cost about $6.99 online, and you will have to pay shipping and handling, too…but they are worth it! I can even give Emma a pouch during a long car ride, knowing that she won’t be able to squirt the food all over the place if she gets bored. If you are going to use food pouches, I highly recommend these lids!
I bought this cute little outfit for Emma a few months ago, and I was waiting until she was able to fully sit up on her own to take her pictures.
Yes, then I procrastinated a bit more, and then I finally took her pictures one raining afternoon in October.
I wanted to dress her up like a little flapper girl with silly pearls, a headband…you know. The whole nine yards. Here are just a few of the pictures.
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When I made my registry, I didn’t want to put anything super expensive on the registry. I am always trying to think practically. Will I use this? Do I need the $120 swing or is the $69 swing just as good? My advice is buy the swing that comes with the A/C adapter; that means it might be $120. This things gets used everyday for long periods of time. You will become tired of buying batteries. Does that mean it needs to play music, vibrate, have a mobile, have lights, etc? Nah, just make sure it has a power cord. | ||
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My husband was a big advocate of this device, and I have to say…the baby’s room never smells poopy. Also, you can get a 3-refill pack on Amazon.com for $19. Every once and a while they have the 3-pack on sale for $16. Buy in bulk! | ||
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This was also on my husband’s list. At first I thought it was dumb to have a video baby monitor. Once she was born, I felt differently. It tells us the temperature in her room (Note: 68-72 to help prevent SIDS), has night vision, plays music in her room with the touch of a button, has an intercom built in, and saves me many nights of going into her room when I hear a little “waa.” Sometimes I see that she is just sleep-talking. | ||
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We keep our Pack-N-Play downstairs. I love the napper device that attaches onto the top, so you can put the baby in when they just come home from the hospital. It’s a great make-shift bassinet! I would recommend buying one with a higher changing table attachment to prevent back strain though. And if you can get one with a storage caddy for all of the diapers, wipes, etc. that you will use, then yay for you! | ||
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If you pump, buy a billion 5-ounce bottles. I didn’t start needing these until about 5 weeks into it, but now I feel like I am scrounging around the house to find a clean, empty bottle for the fridge. | ||
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Notice that I specifically said the Halo. This guy has a zipper, so it is easy for husbands to put on the baby :). We bought the lightweight cotton one because the fleece just looked like it would be too warm. The baby sleeps wonderfully when she is swaddled. When she is not swaddled, her arms flail about and she smacks herself in the face. Begin screaming…. | ||
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I didn’t think we would use pacifiers a lot because I’ve always been told they are bad for tooth development, but we heard many pediatricians swear by them for 0-6 months of age. Now our daughter loves her pacifier at certain times. When she was 1-2 weeks, she only liked the Soothies because they are shaped just like a bottle nipple. Then we switched to Nuk because they seem to stay in her mouth longer due to their shape. | ||
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My husband also wanted a bottle warmer. I thought it was silly, but I think this is a great resource for the 2nd floor houses. It quickly heats the bottle, and we also have the cooler for keeping another bottle cold. This helps in the AM because we can wake her up, pop a bottle in the warmer, change her, and then the bottle is ready to go. | ||
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Someone bought this for me for my Baby Shower. This KICKS the Sleep Sheep’s butt any day. You can set the sound timer for 15, 30, 45, 60, or always-on. It has your typical white noises like ocean waves, heartbeat, rain, etc., but it also has some lullabies. The thing that makes this thing extra awesome is the projector that shines little cartoons on the ceiling! It comes with 3 disks that contain different images. BTW the Sleep Sheep only stays on for 23 or 45 minutes. It sometimes takes 45 minutes to put a baby to bed, and by the time she falls asleep, the sheep stops, and she is awake again. The Sound Spa is awesome because it helps give just enough white noise that the dogs, the TV, and other things don’t wake her up. | ||
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My mom bought me a 10-pack of cloth diapers to use as burp rags. We use these for 3 or 4 different purposes, two of the most important being burp rags and poop-splosion rags. When she poops so much that is comes out of the diaper on all sides, we put one of these under her while we change the diaper. Sometimes we even use one to wipe her bottom after a huge poo instead of using 25 wipes to get her clean. And then there is always the bathtub if no amount of wiping will get her clean…. | ||
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I originally put a cheaper baby carrier on my registry and ended up receiving it as a gift. It looked cute, but when the baby was born and I tried it, it was the most uncomfortable thing for both parent and baby. It didn’t fit my husband well at all, it was too big on me, and the baby did not look comfortable in it. Then I read a bunch of Amazon reviews and found the Ergo Carrier. Moms everywhere loved it, so I found a sale at Target and bought one. I WISH I bought one sooner, because it was absolutely perfect, so comfortable, and it came with the newborn insert, which would have been great for those first few months when I was trying to figure parenting out. I LOVE the Ergo carrier and would recommend it hands down over any other carrier. It is a bit pricey but so worth it! |
Babies involve a lot of stuff, which means your house becomes a mess. So what to do? Buy a billion bins at Target!
Now most of these tubs are actually for my husband. After having a baby for 2 days, he came down the stairs with his hair all disheveled saying, “I can’t find a single thing in the baby’s room!” Then the next day, he tried to put clean clothes away, and they were just all over the place :). So I used my teacher labeling machine to label lots of tubs. Since then, I haven’t heard him complain about not being able to find things, and everything has ended up in the right drawers. Yay!
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| A planter to help contain all of the stuffed animals! |
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| A cute tub to store diapers, antibacterial hand stuff, thermometer, diaper rash cream |
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| A tub to store all swaddles because my husband can’t ever locate these things |
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| A tub to contain the billions of socks |
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| The changing table/dresser |
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| Everything we use at night |
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| My husband doesn’t ever know what is in each drawer :). |
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| A tub for the boob juice |
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