My Pregnancy Advice

1. Tums can be your best friend.

2 If water gives you heartburn, take a Tums before drinking.

3. Only tell a select few people you are pregnant before you hit the 12 week mark. I told everyone and has yet another loss, meaning I then had to let people know there would be no baby to bring home.

4. Start researching diapering options. Cloth diapers have come such a long way and you may like them more than disposables. #makeclothmainstream

5. Don't be afraid to ask questions. There is so much that can go on with our bodies, you may be surprised. This pregnancy has led me to learn about cholestasis and symphysis pubis dysfunction, among other things.

6. Understand that every pregnancy is different, even your own pregnancies can be completely different from each other!

7. Download an app like Ovia or Baby Center so you can see the week by week developmental progress on baby as well as learn a bit about the changes your body is going through.

8. The best fed baby IS a fed baby. No matter which you choose, breast or bottle, as long as baby is fed don't let anyone make you feel bad about your choice.

9. Join eBates to do your pregnancy and baby needs shopping. You will earn cash back and it quickly adds up. It's a free app and I absolutely love it! (And you can buy much more than baby related stuff, of course! So many stores participate here!)
Click eBates to join!

10. Be prepared for changes no one tells you about! I will share some of those in my next blog post!

These are 10 of my picks from my experiences with pregnancy!

Nature Lullabies

Little Fox will be here before long and I'm getting excited as well as nervous!

Just a few weeks left at most!

I decided to check out YouTube for some lullaby/nature sounds to play for him now so he has familiar soothing sounds after he is earth side!

This one is 4 hours 12.5 minutes of beatiful music accompanied by soothing sounds of nature.

I love it so much I'm thinking of using it during labor!

We are a very nature oriented family so we look forward to many outdoor adventures with him once he is able to be out and about!

Click the pic to be taken to the YouTube video

What are your lullaby favorites? Feel free to comment with them!

My Favorite Pregnancy App! Ovia!

There are quite a few pregnancy apps out there including those that are more "forum" oriented. While the more forum centered apps are "meant" to be supportive and helpful, they can also be full of drama and judgement, neither of which are my cup of tea.

Shortly after I became pregnant, my friend did as well. She started sharing things from an app to a popular social network we are both on. I loved the posts and had to try  Ovia for myself.

I quickly downloaded it free from my app store to check it out!

The first fun thing I did was pick my theme! You have several choices of what baby's size can be measured against.

Screen shot from my Ovia account

I chose "Weird but cute animals" and have had so much fun seeing what critter size Little Fox is every week!

   

Another awesome feature of the app is the "Ovia Exclusives." There are several helpful and awesome deals to be found here! I'm not sure if the deals offered stay the same or change, but they are definitely worth a look! I took advantage of the free Bamboobies offer so all I had to pay was shipping and handling for a pair of breast pads and a sample of Boobease 100% organic nipple balm. All I needed to do was use the code "OVIA" to get the discount.

There are so many great features in this app that I encourage you to check out. Insightful facts show up daily on your home page. Another favorite feature of mine is the Food Safety Lookup.

I have no complaints at all about the Ovia app. It's free, educational, fun, resourceful, and easy to use. Enjoy!

Visiting Our New Baby: Etiquette Rules

Newborn babies seem to beckon visitors to your home like moths to a flame. Seriously. People will seemingly be crawling out of the woodwork to gaga over your little one.

I'm not keen on having a lot of visitors after Little Fox is born and definitely don't want overnight company.

So...without further ado, my Etiquette Rules for visitors wanting to come by to see our new baby!

1. Wash your hands before holding
     the baby. 
     No, I'm not being paranoid. Baby's
     immune system isn't fully in place
     and they are much more likely to
     be affected by illness.

2. No kissing the baby
    Yep. This accompanies rule #1.
    Kissing the baby greatly increases
    their exposure to germs, even if
    you show no symptoms of being
    sick yourself. Plus the risk of the
    cold sore virus (herpes) freaks me
    out.

3. Do not touch baby's face or put
    your fingers in baby's mouth. 
    Seriously. Just don't. Why do
    people feel the need to put their
    fingers in a baby's mouth?
    Again: Germs. (And dirt, etc)

4. Keep visits short
    Pushing out a baby vaginally
    or recovering from a c-section is
    painful, tiring, and messy work.
    And the mess doesn't stop at the
    hospital. Bleeding from down
    yonder, leaky boobs, hormonal
    displays of emotion are not things
    us new mamas want to share with
    everyone.

5. Mom and baby's comfort trumps
    yours. 
    This may come off as rude, but it's
    true. After going through delivery,
    whether vaginal or c-section, and
    bringing home a newborn, hosting
    and entertaining visitors are not
    high on our list of priorities.

    If we are tired, we need rest. If we
    are hungry, we need sleep. We
    need to hold and bond with baby
    for necessary biological reasons.
 
    Your "need" to hold the baby is not
    a need but a want. Hand the baby
    back to mama without pouting.

6. If mom and baby are
    breastfeeding, respect
    boundaries.
    What I mean is don't expect mama
    to "cover up" or go to another room
    so you feel more comfortable.

    If mama wants privacy to nurse
    that may mean visitation has been
    long enough.

    Do not offer advice or question
    mama's decision to breastfeed. It
    isn't your place to do so.

    If mama lets you know you are
    welcome to stay, offer to bring her
    a drink and offer to burp or change
    baby after to help out if she is
    comfortable with that kind of help.

One other thing to remember:
Don't just show up announced. Call (or maybe text so as not to wake the baby) and ask if mama is up for a visit. If not, don't take offense. 

Bringing home a newborn and recovering from delivery is an emotional, physically exhausting and uncomfortable time with lots of learning and adjustments to be had.

Target Baby Registry Gift Bag: So Many Goodies!

I went ahead and did a baby registry at Target. They have some adorable and useful baby items, so I couldn't resist!

I have to say that as far as registry gift bags go, Target definitely delivers a nice one!

Items placed in my personal basket
for ease of visual reference.
Items came packed in gray and white
chevron with arrows bag, seen
behind samples.

One time use samples that are perfect for diaper bag use include Aquaphor Baby Healing Ointment and Boogie Wipes.

A Pampers diaper clutch is also included and is a very well made little bag with a snap shut handle to attach to diaper bags, etc. In the clutch is one disposable diaper and a travel package of 6 wipes. If you use disposables, there is also a coupon included. (I cloth diaper so I will just leave my coupon on top of the diapers in the store for another mama to use!)

Other nice items in the bag are a Mam paci, Munchkin Latch newborn bottle, a sample box of Honest Company disposable diapers, Johnson's Baby Head to Toe Wash, Babyganics laundry detergent sample, AND a coupon for buy one get one free at Starbucks!! (That may just be the best part of the gift bag! 😉)

I can't say for sure if every Target gift bag contains the same items, but I would think the other locations have gift bags just as nice!

Happy Registering!!

The Labrynth in Cloth Diapering

Yesterday marked the 30 year anniversary of the Labrynth release. I can't even begin to count the number of times I have watched that movie over the years. There was so much awesomeness about it, that it really is no secret it has such a cult following, even now.

David Bowie, of course, was a huge part of the awesome that the Labrynth became.

I had been searching for a Labrynth themed cloth diaper for quite some time with no luck. Then a while back I stumbled across this beauty in a diaper bst group:

Bubble Bunz OS Fitted

Super excited, I had to snag it! When I received it, I was so tickled by the print in person and how well made it is. I can't wait to put this on Little Fox as soon as he is big enough!

One thing I am truly grateful for is that we are cloth diapering and I got my stash completed a couple of months ago. Not having to worry about diaper expenses in the future is such a relief and a blessing!

#clothforthewin

#clothallthebabies

Unexplained Itching? The Horror!!!

I had hives with my daughter but they were short lived, manageable, and tolerable.

While I've had no hives with Little Fox, I've had itching from time to time pretty much all over. It was short lived, though but my OB had me tested for cholestasis of pregnancy and at that time, the results indicated a negative result.

Little Fox looking healthy this past appointment

Fast forward to a few days ago: the itching returned with a vengeance, especially on my tummy and leg areas. It's absolutely horrible at night, and I had tried benadryl, vinegar bath, coconut oil, lotion, and calamine lotion....there was no relief!

I called the on call OB at about 1 am and she put in a prescription for Hydroxyzine and triamcinolone acetonide ointment (steroidal ointment).  I took the hydroxyzine tablet and used the ointment where the most severe itching was and had......no relief!! For several nights I wanted to literally get out of my skin!

Luckily I had an early morning appointment with my MFM OB and made him aware that the itching was unbearable. He drew blood to recheck for cholestasis and prescribed me prednisone.

I took my first dose last night and the itching was gone! An entire night of peace!

I'm still waiting for my blood results but for those of you wondering, cholestasis is a liver condition that usually shows up in the third trimester. It can cause intense itching that is especially bad at night, which is why I'm getting retested. (Update: Cholestasis testing, bile value, showed no indication of cholestasis. So...itching unexplained still!)

It really is wild and amazing, what can occur to your body when pregnant. Some things are amazingly awesome, like feeling those baby movements, while others are quite hard to deal with or explain.

*My MFM Dr let me know that the use of prednisone during pregnancy can result in premature rupture of the bag of waters. Unfortunately, the intensity of the itching was so severe, this was a necessary medication and would be used if my testing for cholestasis comes out positive.