So have we talked about how my life recently has been planned out according to where the nearest bathroom is? Well it is! I'm now at the point that there HAS to be a bathroom at the place we are going, I need to know ahead of time where they are and map our shopping around the facilities or it's a rough trip!
This last week has been a week of projects for us. The hubby has been working on a bookshelf to put in our office and I've been checking off projects for the baby room. (Its almost done!) I also finally signed up for a natural birthing class (upcoming in a couple weeks) for me and the hubby to attend. I'm really hoping that like my mom I can endure childbirth without an epidural but I'm totally aware that plans can change! (but I'm still hoping the class will at least help me!)
Developmentally:
I can't believe as of tomorrow (30 weeks!) I'll only have 10ish (depending on when Teagan decides she wants to come out) weeks left!! I think there is no longer a question of me being pregnant anymore... wouldn't you agree that I defiantly have a baby bump now? My belly has defiantly been growing and the pregnancy book says it will be growing about 1/2 inch a week now!
Teagan is now about two and a half pounds and just over 15 inches long! (I"m telling you I can feel that length with the amount she moves around and pushes on me I wouldn't be surprised if she's actually longer!)
SymptomCheck!
Stretch Marks: I'm sad to say I now have stretch marks on both my hips :(
Hair growth: Its a lie I tell you! I still haven't gotten the amazing pregnant lady locks... instead I've gotten a chewbacca belly. I think I've mentioned this before but I still have the weird amount of hair on my belly and random black hairs that grow on my arms. And the lady bear whiskers (Yes I'll admit to those!)
Canklecheck2k15: I still have ankles! I've done my best to make sure I don't stay on my feet for too long and it seems to help with the swelling!
Belly button: It pops! with help haha. It still hasn't popped on its own, but I found out (thanks to the hubby) that if you push on either side of my bellybutton it will pop!... but it also looks like my belly button is super tiny, so if it does pop, it may not be noticeable.... but I still feel like it will probably pop out on its own before this pregnancy is over!
Question Time!
So since my wonderful family and neighbors (and me... I have little self control at this point) have purchased quite a bit of clothing for Teagan I have enough clothes to do a load of laundry. So heres the question:
Did you, or do you use a certain type of detergent for baby cloths or just your normal detergent that you use for your clothes? My research says it doesn't really matter now a days (except for cloth diapers... that has a BUNCH of rules when it comes to detergent) but I'm curious if you mommies use a different kind just for the babies/kiddos clothes. Let me know!
Upcoming:
Next weekend my parent's are making their way down to my house for what will probably be the last big push to finish Teagan's room before the baby showers. The good news is there really isn't that much left to do... just things that involve ladders and walls... and me and the hubby will happily give wall hanging jobs to my dad!
I also have another doctors appointment this week and a chiropractor appointment that I'm looking forward too. I'm hopping that the doctor may schedule us for another sonogram soon because its been 10 weeks since we last saw Teagan!
Hey Friends and Family,
So I came back south this week with four dogs. That's right the puppies I puppy sat came home with me. And let me tell you... I'm glad I had the SUV because if I had had the car... well some dogs would be strapped to the top (hehe) They stayed through the week until their owners came back from vacation.. I learned a couple things this last week with them here: 1: I will never again have 4 dogs at one time its just too much to be looking after. Noah only had two of each animal... I see why now haha 2 dogs and two cats are fine by me! 2: I've forgotten what its like to have a puppy in the house... let alone TWO puppies! AND two puppies the size of full sized dogs! 3: I think that will be the last dog sitting job I'll be doing for a long while. Not because I don't love it, but because I'm getting to the point of pregnancy that I'm getting too big, and any other time after that I'll have a newborn so I guess that chapter of my life may be closing... at least for a while. But my dogs had a BLAST with the two great danes and love any time they get to play!
Other then that, not much else has happened on the home front. I've been slowly chipping away at the long list of projects for Teagan's room and compiling lists of things that need to get done in the next two months... lets just pause and think about that for a second... just a little over TWO more months!! AAHH!! I don't have the nesting thing going for me yet... just the "hey I need to make a bunch of lists of all the things I've had planned to do and get them down on paper to see if I can actually get all it done in the time left over!"
I also had another doctors appointment Wednesday. My new doctor is SHORT... and when I mean short I mean I doubt she's even five foot. I'm used to short people (shout out to my sister and mom!) but my new doctor is a very petite person for sure! Besides that, she seems like a really nice lady and is actually pretty young (just got out of doctor school and got all her board certifications) so she's more versed on all the new procedures and the latest exciting things in OB. She measured my growth and says Teagan is right on track, has a good heart beat and looks like she gonna be active (she was rolling all over the place again). She also said I passed my glucose test so YAY that I don't have to take that nasty thing again!. I've gained another 2 pounds since my last appointment for a total of 16 pounds in 28 weeks. She like my other doctor says I'm on a good track for weight gain but continue to eat plenty of protein and less carbs (..... that night I'm pretty sure cake was involved....) I go back in another 2 weeks and by then there will only be 10 weeks left! (If she's not late or early)
Developmentally:
At this point, Teagan is starting to put on some of the "baby fat" and no longer looking like a skinny stick baby. She just over 2 pounds and about 15 inches long. (So says the book and app) She is SUPER active in my belly now. I see my stomach move and jump and roll all the time and its pretty fun! The hubby still likes to listen to her heartbeat through my stomach and she still kicks him every time he does. I've been playing some music next to my stomach a little each day and I think she likes it because she gets really squirmy when I do. The book also says besides being able to hear, she can now at this point process light and dark. So if I were to shine a flashlight on my stomach (I totally did this by the way) she reacts to the light with a swift kick "TOO BRIGHT! I'm trying to sleep!" (Just like her daddy lol)
Symptom Check:
Belly button: I had a scare this week! I thought it was going to pop! It was so close to the surface I thought for sure it would, but thankfully it was just Teagan pushing on my belly and when she moved it went down some... But I know its going to happen any week now! At this point its almost even with my belly!
Cankels: Still don't have them! Thank goodness, but I do notice my feet and ankles swell when I've been on my feet for a while.
Back pain: I still get muscle aches and middle back pain from either standing too long or sitting too long... My mom loaned me her heating pad and it has really helped a lot! Down side though is we live in Arizona and it makes me sweat haha
Naps: Don't know if this is a symptom but I pretty much take a nap every day now (even when I don't mean too, I conk out on the couch)
Question time:
Fun one this week! With my showers getting closer I'm curious what your favorite shower game you've played was? Mine still to this day was being blindfolded and having to pick out safety pins from a bowl of uncooked rice (its harder then it sounds!)
Family and Friends,
Holy COW! Goodbye month six HELLO month 7!! We have been SOOOOO busy this last month! I wouldn't say that nesting kicked in, but it's definitely hit that I only have a few months to finish all my half started projects!
Quick overview of the last three weeks (in no particular order because I can barely remember yesterday):
So project wise I have been working on the items for Teagan's mobile. For those of you who follow my Instagram you've seen the crochet pieces I've made. They include a sun, rainbow, clouds, raindrops, and snowflakes. Soooo... I can tell all of you now part of the theme of her room is weather. (It will all make sense when it all comes together I promise! I've also made a bunch of mini cloth diaper key chains to be included in my shower invites as a reminder to guests to not purchase disposables (no diaper raffles at my showers!) As you'll see in my pics below I've had a change of scenery. Last week I came to my moms for the week to spend some time with her and also to dog sit for some of my old (not in age!) neighbors. They have two great dane pups:
Haley
Stelle
The major plus side to visiting my parent's is my mom really helps me focus on getting projects done. I've made two "hooter hiders," some more cloth diaper key chains, helped my mom plan the shower she's throwing, started on the shower invites, and started another project for Teagan's room that will get done MUCH quicker with her help!
Before I headed to Phoenix I did have another doctors appointment and I've gained another 4 pounds for a total weight gain so far of 14 pounds in 26 weeks. My doctor says the weight gain is going well but she would prefer I leave my Italian roots of carbs and increase my protein intake.... we had pasta that night lol. She checked Teagan's heartbeat BUT... they surprised me with a glucose test (so gross... all you mommies out there know what I'm talking about!) and poor Teagan was on such a sugar high she was bouncing around my tummy and kicking like crazy that I didn't get a chance to catch the BPM. (but we know she's alive because of all the movement!) After all this my doctor informs me she is retiring from OB at the end of the month and she's handing me off to one of her partners and that I'm also going to have to start coming every 2 weeks instead of every 4 weeks. She also measured my belly and said Teagan is measuring a couple days ahead of her gestation date but that's normal so no worries. :) I'm still on track for a healthy pregnancy as long as I don't suddenly start gaining more then pound a week! So here are some growth pics and its crazy how my baby bump has grown in three weeks! :
On a plus side, my bellybutton still has not popped (any bets for when this is going to happen?) and I still don't have cankles! But other then that, these past three weeks have been rough on me. I've had the worst heartburn of my entire pregnancy accompanied with acid reflux so Zantac and antacids have been close at all times. My body is also starting to react to the extra 14 pounds in my back. I have had really bad middle back pain and neck pain from trucking around my bigger belly and chest. It has really made me commit more to really trying to strive to gain only the recommended amount for pregnancy so I'll have an easier time getting back to my pre pregnancy weight. Oh! and I officially can't see my feet just by looking down, but barely.
On a cool note the hubby can hear Teagan's heartbeat just by putting his ear to my tummy! When he told me 2 weeks ago he could, I told him he was hearing mine but he insisted it was faster and was hers, I did some research and sure enough, if positioned correctly after 25 weeks the baby's heartbeat can be heard by ear through the tummy. But it is funny because since that day, every time he ttys to listen to her heart, she immediately starts kicking his head like crazy... it's like a game to her hehe
Developmentally:
I am officially in my third trimester! Month 6 flew by and we (me and Teagan) are now in the 7th month of pregnancy! It's amazing to know I have roughly 13 weeks left! That's less then a semester of school!
Teagan has gained about a pound in the last 3 weeks and weighs just over two pounds now and is about 15 and a half inches long! It's still crazy to know that if she does decide to come early, from this point, she can survive outside the womb with some help from medical professionals (but I tell her every day to stay in till the end of the recommended time).
On a side note, being at my parents came with some cool presents for Teagan. One of my dad's co workers (who I've never met) found out our plans for cloth diapering and bought Teagan some along with a bag full of other goodies for breastfeeding! It's amazing to get gifts in general but I was floored when I got one from someone I had never (and still haven't) met before! So shout out to you dad's friend!! One of my life time friends and neighbors (basically another sister) that I grew up with since I think 1990 is visiting from out of state and got Teagan a bunch of cute outfits and swaddle blankets. They are so cute and I'll have to do a baby haul to show off all the goodies!
I've got a few more days here in Phoenix and love the time I've had to catch up with all my old (not by age!) neighbors! But the heat has been affecting me (as you can tell from week 27's pic) and being this pregnant in the heat has made me contemplate climbing in the freezer. haha but no seriously, for those who don't live in Arizona we've broke records this week! yesterday it was 117 and today 115 and tomorrow it's supposed to be at least 114! SO HOT!! It's been tough on the dogs too because they can't get exercised because its too hot to walk them! Even at 6:30 AM its already in the mid 90's! I've had to get creative with laser pointers but really the heat is just draining them of energy anyway :)
Question time!
Did your bellybutton pop? Did you get cankles?
So I know this post has not been the weeks worth of posts in length but my brain is melted from the heat haha so it's all you all get for this week!
So the last post I did on cloth diapers covered all the different types and the cost associated with them. I even ended that post with a chart comparing all the prices for each cloth diapering system. The question I've been getting since then is "what system do you plan on going with?" Lots of people knowing me to be the thrift and cost savvy person I am assume I'm just going to go with the cheapest system and call it a day, (flats with covers) BUT I'm not. I have an awesome amazing friend who does flats and is a genius at it, and I may use flats as doublers, but I'm really trying to avoid a lot of folding; especially with us being first time parents AND first time cloth diapering parents at that.
BUT! Before I get into what we are hoping to use as our system, I do need to mention some of the many accessories that come with cloth diapering. A lot of them are similar to what you would use with disposable diapering, just different. Now this is where I'm not quite an expert and will only be mentioning the accessories that I know about and plan on using. But trust me, there are a BUNCH of accessories, for a really good look at ALL the accessories associated with cloth diapering, watch the video below! This lady has a great youtube channel that has a lot of cloth diapering info and sources for those who are curious! And in all honesty her and a couple other cloth diaper ladies on Youtube are where I got a lot of my info on modern cloth diapering from!
Now for the accessories I'm going to use:
Pail Liner/Wet Bag:
Back in the day (when I was a baby and before that) mommies used to have what is called a wet pail. They'd have a pail with water and bleach and maybe vinegar where they would put the soiled diapers in it until it was time to wash the diapers in the washing machine or (God bless these ladies) or wash by hand. But, this way is NOT recommended anymore because bacteria grows and mold and other nasties that end up growing in the pail.
SOOO what is recommended now is to have a pail or hamper with a liner or wet bag in it to hold the soiled diapers until they get washed (as mentioned before diaper laundry is usually every other day to every 3 days depending on the age/amount of soiling baby does and size of diaper stash). Both the liners and wet bags have a waterproof material like the diapers on the inside to keep them from leaking all over your baby room or changing area.
Pail liners are usually the size of a trash bag and fit over a normal garbage can or diaper pail (yes the ones for disposables, so if you have a pail already, the liner will work with it!) The specific ones I registered for is by planet wise and is $17 each. Its recommended to have two of these so one can be in the wash while you use the other one. So I registered for two for a total of $34.
Pail liner
Another way to store soiled diapers are wet bags. These like pail liners have the waterproofing material inside, but the bags as a whole are much smaller as they are usually used for on the go. They are usually also equipped with a zipper closure and a strap of some kind to attach to a door knob or diaper bag or stroller, etc. They also come in many different sizes from small (usually can hold like ONE diaper or most use it to store pre moistened wipes) to extra large (these are the equivalent size to the diaper liners but MUCH MORE expensive).
For my stash I registered for a small ($10) medium ($18) and Large ($19) wet bag. The small and medium bags will be used as my everyday diaper bag wet diaper holders and wipe holder, and the large wet bag I'll take with me if we have an overnight trip to a place.
Large wet bag
Small wet bag
So with these you will need a pail of some kind to put the pail liner in, I already have a wicker laundry basket that I'll put it in. You may be wondering about the "smell" but actually letting your diapers get air help with the smell, plus with spaying diapers (next) down after you change your baby gets rid of all the bad smells. Also if there does happen to be a funk smell before you wash your diapers, you can always sprinkle some baking soda in the pail or hang an air freshener in the pail.
Total cost of pail liners/wet dry bags for my stash: $81
Diaper Sprayer:
The diaper sprayer is just what the title is. It's a sprayer for soiled diapers.
These are attached to the water system on your toilet and have a little hook thing that you can hang it from the tank between uses. Basically when the diaper is soiled you use the sprayer to spray off the poo and pee into the toilet and rinse off the diaper. The waste gets flushed (like its supposed to! Check out my first diaper post if this comment confuses you) and the now rinsed diaper goes into your pail liner or wet dry bag.
This specific sprayer is $45. Though they can range from $40-$70 depending on brand and you could also make your own if you are a savvy plumber.
Liners:
Diaper liners are a way to avoid needing a diaper sprayer... kinda
As you can see from the pictures, they come in both disposable and reusable form. Basically you would put one of these in the diaper as a barrier between the baby's bum and diaper. These are used as a stay dry (so the baby doesn't feel wet after going) and a protectant of poo getting on the nice white inner part of the diaper. The disposable ones are just flushed between changes. The reusable ones are like diapers in the sense that they need to be washed and its probably best to spray them off after being soiled. The reusable ones can be made from pretty much any material, such as fleece, micro-fleece, bamboo, hemp, flannel... etc (except microfiber, that can't touch a baby's bum, but can be stuffed into a pocket diaper for slow absorbency). The cost can differ depending on the material or you always can make your own for cheaper :)
A lot of mom's who want to cloth diaper literally from birth will often times use liners when the baby is first born because the baby's first poo's are like tar and super thick. Also, new moms often worry that these first poo's (and other poo's) will stain the diapers so they use liners do avoid the brown. But fun fact, as long as baby is exclusively breast reading, the poo is water soluble and technically doesn't need to be rinsed, but I sill will be ringing them!
As for my stash, I'm on the fence, I'm contemplating making some liners because as you can see, purchasing them can be pricy, but I may also purchase a pack of disposable liners for the first few poo's, not because of the staining but because I don't know how the birth will be and if I'm not the one changing Teagan, it may be easier for those changing her to have a liner. Also having the disposables will be helpful for traveling or if we have our family watcher her.. so I still am not sure on these.
Snappi:
I've mentioned snappis in my other diaper posts but here's what they look like:
These are basically the new age pins to keep the prefolds and flats secure on the baby. With covers some parents choose to not use the snappis because they count on the covers keeping the cloth secure, but with the diapers not secured around the baby... well blow outs happen! They are not recommended to use for more then 6 months before replacing because the plastic wears out. One can be used throughout diaper changes and really you could get away with just buying one, but extras are good to have just in case one breaks or you are like me and tend to loose things.
This specific pack of five is $15 and will last through the time that we will be using prefolds.
Wipes:
I have talked about the cost of wipes in my first post, but they are considered an accessory. The cost of wipes can very depending on if you get disposables or cloth wipes (Check out my first post for the costs!). Making cloth wipes are a very cheep option as they can literally be made out of most cloths, even old clothes! And if you are cloth diapering, why not cloth wipe too?
Cloth wipes can be purchased and have a variety of prices depending on where you buy them from. they tend to average about a dollar a piece to two dollars or more a piece depending on the material, size and maker of the wipe. I did register for some, but just got some coupons in for the fabric store and will defiantly be making my whole wipe stash for the price of what it would cost to get one pack!
Total Accessory Cost: $141 (plus the cost of making wipes)
What we choose:
So here we go! Here's what our choices for our cloth diapering stash is:
First I started a couple months ago when I purchased 5 bumpkins pocket diapers for $10 a piece from woot.com
These five diapers however are NOT enough and bumpkins are not as easily available in baby stores as other brands are.
So I registered on amazon for the brand bumgenious freetimes and 4.0s. The freetimes are an all in one diaper with the extra absorbency attached as flaps instead of the absorbency being sewn in all the way around. (there is a pic of these diapers in my second diaper post under the All in One section) These are about $20 a piece and are "one sized" fitting from "8 pounds" to 35 pounds. The 4.0's are pocket diapers where the absorbency is added into the diapers and cost roughly $18 a piece and have the same weight limit. Knowing I'll need about 24 cloth diapers for my stash I registered for 13 of each kind (nice to have extras!) making this stash $260 for the freetimes and $234 for the 4.0s.
Total for Cloth diapers 8 pounds to 35 pounds (including 5 already purchased) will be: $544.00
Now if you noticed I put quotes around the 8 pounds, and if you remember from previous posts this is because the "one sized" diapers are not the best when it comes to newborn sized babies. They are often too bulky and don't have a good fit around the legs which can cause blowouts. So I will also be doing diaper covers and prefolds.
Green mountain diapers are the go to place now for really good prefolds and I registered for 2 dozen newborn sized prefolds (6-10 pounds) for $50 and 2 dozen size small prefolds (10-15) for $58.
Prefolds totaling: $108
With prefolds comes the covers so I registered for Rumparoos covers: 9 newborn (4-15 pounds) at $10 a piece because newborns use the restroom more then when they are a little older. I also registered for 6 one sized ("6"-35 pounds) Rumparoos diaper covers averaging $15 a piece. These though, I will have to purchase different sized prefolds. But, I'm waiting to see what I get at the showers and plan on using these as a supplemental purchase if I don't get all the freestimes and 4.0s that I registered for. Each came to $90 for the covers.
Covers totaling: $180
So my diaper stash WISH LIST in total:
$50 - 5 bumpkins pocket diapers
$260 - 13 freetime AIO diapers
$234 - 13 4.0 pocket diapers
$90 - 9 newborn Rumparoos covers
$90 - 6 OS Rumparoos covers
$50 - 2 doz NB sized GMD prefolds
$58 - 2 doz Size Small GMD prefolds
The total will cost roughly (give or take a pocket/AIO diaper): $832 plus whatever cost of making cloth wipes and all the accessories for $141.
Now this may not be what we actually end up with! Like I said all but 5 are what I registered for. The hope is that I'll get the majority of what I registered for in the diaper area. But if worse comes to worse I'll stick with my 5 pocket diapers and do the rest of the stash with prefolds and the rumparoos and that would look like this:
$50 - 5 bumpkins pocket diapers
$90 - 9 newborn Rumparoos covers
$90 - 6 OS Rumparoos covers
$50 - 2 doz NB sized GMD prefolds
$58 - 2 doz Size Small GMD prefolds
$74 - 2 doz Size Med GMD prefolds
$80 - 2 doz Size Large GMD prefolds (if not potty trained by the weight)
Total cost out of pocket to us: $492 (plus or minus the $80 size large) plus the cost of wipes and the accessories for $141
But it's important to remember that either one we go with will still be way cheaper in the long run then using disposables! Especially if we have another baby, because then we would only need to buy a couple replacement covers/diapers and snappis. So there is HUGE savings across the cost of two babies!
My registries for Amazon and Green Mountain Diapers are on the Registries and Wish list tab above if you would like to check out the looks of all the diapers in details!
As always questions are welcome, just keep in mind I'm not an EXPERT, as I have not actually tried these out on real babies and have only done lots of research! I also welcome feedback and support :)
Life Update:
Wow these past two weeks have been crazy busy for us! After my last post, I started working on trying to get on paper our plan for cloth diapering. I have my general idea, but finding specific brands and lining them up with a realistic registry for my future showers proved more time consuming then I thought! I'm leaning more and more towards an Amazon registry but was struggling with making sure I was getting everything I needed. I got the thought that I just needed to get to a store and tangibly see and feel things to get an overall list going. The hubby and I went to Buybuybaby and "registered" (they give you a bunch of free stuff when you make registries!) for a bunch of stuff so we could get the list of registered for items to copy to the amazon registry. It was however helpful because I got some sheets for my portable crib and got to ask the "experts" in the store questions I had about strollers and monitors. So we got a nice little list of things "registered" for... However when we went to turn the scanner in, the lady got after me for not registering for clothing or toys... is it just me or are these the items you're NOT supposed to register for because no matter what people are going to get you clothes and toys? I told her this and she looked all shocked and tried to assure me that people ONLY get things from registries... well apparently I'm the only person EVER who's not followed exactly what was on a registry lol But yeah I've got a pretty good grasp on the diapers we are going to register for now so check out the registry link (for now I'll put all the registries I'm messing with so ya'll can check them out and give me feedback!) to see what I've got and let me know what else to add!
The hubby has still been working off what we now like to call the "crud." He's defiantly better but still has a lot of phlegm and so I've definitely upchucked a couple times this last week! Smells STILL get to me too. I tried taking out the trash the other day and was gagging the whole way to the garbage can and then when I got back into the house I could swear I still smelt the garbage and had to run to the bathroom... I'm pathetic... I just hope that I won't have this same reaction to dirty diapers! But as my dad says "that's what the straps on the changing table is for, not for baby safety, it's so you can run, throw up and come back and finish changing your kid." hehe my dad is a wise man.
Speaking of parents, they came over last weekend and brought a bunch of cabinets to install in our garage! The hubby's current organizational system of his tools was anywhere he could find space on the floor, or getting the extra strength storage totes and shoving a bunch of stuff in them and stacking them everywhere. The crazy thing is we have a four car garage (yes 4) and only one car has been able to fit FOREVER. But all the cabinets are in (THANKS DAD!) and now we can fit TWO cars in! So I guess I'll include a pic of the garage in this post. As you can kinda see (its really hard to take a pic with the cars in and when its dark outside, I'll have to post another pic with the cars out during the day) we have a 3 car tandem. The tandem part is the hubby's workshop area where all his tools are housed, the far left is his little workout area with a few yard tools (we're working on getting some hooks to organize those or debating on getting a shed for behind the house). Then we have space for our two cars in the remaining areas.. except when the hubby is doing a woodworking area, then the SUV spot becomes his work space and the SUV gets kicked out until his project is over and he puts all the tools away.
This is me standing in the single car part of the garage, you can see a tiny bit of the hubby's workout area next to my vehicle
Hubby's new play area
Then came this week. It wasn't too eventful, but we were pretty busy this week which is why I decided to just do a two week combo post. (and because developmentally besides getting bigger, not much is happening with Teagan) The beginning of the week consisted of me balancing our budget.. I know, riveting stuff right? The balancing part doesn't take too long, its logging and checking all the tax write offs in my excel spread sheets that do! ie. work write offs, medical miles and expense write offs, making sure they are all in the right categories and have matching receipts etc... so yeah that took a day, because my back has been getting really stiff if I sit for long periods of time at a table now, so I'd work for an hour then have to go rest. Then I went to the store to try buy some more maternity cloths. I've given up on regular cloths at this time, my shirts from the flat stomach days officially barely fit over Teagan and the breasticals (that's what I call them now) So I need more shirts and the few maternity shorts I have are not enough to get me though the week... Sadly the target (only department store besides stores in the mall that actually still sell maternity cloths where I live) I go to was out of my size and so I just bout more baby cloths (see buybuybaby lady! at this rate I won't need to register for baby cloths because I'll have bout the lifetime supply already!)
Then we headed up to mesa at the end of the week to go to the hubby's parent's house to see them before they get ready to go on a trip next month. We went up to get cat food, yes cat food, my pets all enjoy Natures Domaine (Kirkland's version of blue buffalo) pet food and my stupid Costco (and all the other ones in Tucson) refuses to carry the cat version of the pet food! So, every so often I have to go up to mesa to stock up on cat food. But at least we get to spend some time with the hubby's family while we are there. (Especially since I seem to start become a baby whale and probably won't be traveling as much the bigger I get)
Mitiz is always present during picture time :)
Developmentally:
These last two weeks Teagan has continued to grow and put on weight, she should be a little over a pound now and about a foot long. This week (week 24) she is considered viable.. meaning if I were to go into preterm labor at this point, she could more then likely survive outside the womb with extraordinary measures and help from doctors. But as I've told her, she can stay in as long as she wants. She kicks and moves around like CRAZY now. And I'm happy to report that her kicks are strong enough for her papa to feel! Along with him, my parents and some of my friends have been able to feel her kick too :) There have been a couple days where I'm pretty sure her goal is to come out through my ribs because she's lodged herself up in there and it HURTS SO BAD, then she'll dive back down (yes dive.. or more like cannon ball) to my bladder and I'll have to run to the restroom before I wet myself lol (more on that later)
Symptom Check:
Nausea: I continue to be pathetic! Smells still get to me and I STILL have a horrible gag reflux. Mix that with my horrible allergies and the gross phlegmy nasal drainage and well yeah, I've puked or gagged/ dry heaved quite a few times these last two weeks.
Back Pain: Since I've gained the extra baby weight my body is fighting back! I have back spasms daily and my wonderful hubby has been rubbing icy hot (GODSEND) on my back each night in hopes that it will help.
Sleep: I'm really struggling with sleep now, I have a hard time getting comfortable because I used to be a stomach sleeper and I'm at the point that I definitely cannot sleep on my stomach without squishing Teagan or her beating the crap out of my stomach. AND when I sleep on my side my side goes numb and my back is hard because of my heartburn. So I've kind of gotten to a point of propping up a bunch of pillows and semi sleeping on my side back in a slightly inclined position.. I last for a few hours then wake up (have to pee)... I'm just hoping that once my stomach gets big enough it will be more like a prop to not constantly try rolling on my stomach in my sleep.
Heartburn: Speaking of Heartburn, this last week has been brutal, my trusty Zantac has helped, but not to make it all go away. I've still been suffering and I keep telling Teagan that if she doesn't come out with hair I'm sending her back!
Bellybutton pop: Hasn't popped yet, but I swear it will in a couple weeks at the rate I'm loosing depth!
#Kanklewatch2015: I haven't completely gotten kankles yet, but I've gotten close! When I'm on my feet for a long time my feet and ankles definitely swell! Also my heals go numb and tingly.. is that normal?
Question time!
Ok I know I've asked registry questions a lot, but now that I've started some, Could a few of you mommies out there look through mine and tell me what I can take off or what I need to add, or if something I put on there is the WRONG brand. I'll post both the amazon and the buybuybaby links, but keep in mind I'm going to be consolidating to probably just the amazon registry and maybe a target registry or something that's more easily accessible. Thanks in advance ladies and the couple dad's that read this too! thank you guys too!!
Sorry this one is a little late! Our house has become a cesspool of germs. Just as I started dropping the cold, monsoon allergies (for those not from Arizona, we have five seasons here... winter, spring, summer, monsoons, and fall... and monsoons are humidity with wind and sometimes rain... its the wind..) kicked in and in came the phlegm. And we all know by now my gag reflux, especially when it comes to phlegm. So I've been super gaggy this past week. And when I finally started feeling better... the hubby starts getting sick.. Oh joy.. so yeah.. we are a house of germs right now... stay far away from us!
Life Update:
But on an update note, my parents came over the 4th of July weekend and helped (ok they did all the work) out with A BUNCH of projects: Dad hung up curtains in the baby room, finished painting the baby's room, installed these tabby things on my old crib so the side can't go up and down anymore, painted the ceiling of our back porch from when we installed lights last year and had to go through the ceiling to get to the electrical, (that's right.. he literally painted it after an EXACT year of telling me to hehe) replaced some lights that had gone out in my kitchen (we figured they were just mood lighting haha), patched some holes from mine and the hubby's failed attempts at hanging things around the house (see we try to do things ourselves, but that ends up just adding to dads fix list when he comes to visit), hung up my diplomas in the office room, hung up some other things in the guest room, created and installed a special bookshelf system in the baby room, and cleaned out the trap thingy in my bathroom sink. And my mom helped me clean out the guest room closet (I had moved all the stuff from the baby room closet and combined it with the guest room closet so it really needed organizing and throwing away of junk), helped me hem the curtains in the guest room, (I actually sewed these ones under her tutelage) and clean and organize the office/craft room. My mom and dad also brought this sorty thing to put in our under the stairs closet (Harry Potter closet) and we organized and cleaned it out too. So basically my dad fixed all the stuff I had previously broke and my mom helped me finish unpacking from when we moved in almost 3 years ago. So YAY to finally unpacking the last box!!
We also went to the fireworks with the pups for the second year in a row, they were unimpressed and thanks to Teagan's control of my bladder we had to leave a little early. BUT! on a plus note, this is the first year it didn't take an hour or more to get home through traffic! So WIN! Another plus to my parent's coming down to visit is my dad always makes breakfast :) so we enjoyed waffles, pancakes, biscuits, homemade gravy, breakfast sausage, and eggs. Big step up from our regular bowl of cereal!
But other then the germ cesspool of our house this last week I haven't done much outside the house. We had some friends over for dinner and I have been working on the sewing projects for the baby room. (these I won't reveal until the room reveal) Another one of my really good friends moved away and gifted me with a rocking chair for the baby room, which is perfect timing because I had been looking for one! And the hubby and I have been in talks about a possible baby moon in the next month or so. As of now we are thinking of someplace in state but maybe a little more north because it's Arizona and it's hot here.
Developmentally:
Since the last post we had our followup sonogram and got a couple more pictures of little Teagan. They reconfirmed she's definitely still a girl, (for all those joking "it" could have been tucked) we even got a little anatomy lesson when they zoomed in on her parts. haha This appointment was pretty boring as the lady was mainly trying to get a good picture of the heart and placenta because the last sonogram Teagan wasn't cooperating... well she was being a booger this time too and it took a while to get the pics the lady needed. But we didn't get called back for a third scan so it seems they got what they needed.
The hubby liked this pic because she's folded in half haha
I also had another regular doctors appointment this week too. She said the results of the scans support a normal pregnancy and has no concerns from the scans. I have gained another 4 pounds since my last appointment for a total weight gain of 10 pounds in 22 weeks. My doctor said I'm on a good track and if I continue to gain an average of a pound a week for the next 18 weeks I'll be good! So this shall be my goal! She said my target weight gain is between 25 and 35 pounds for a healthy pregnancy and luckily I have two dogs that demand walks to keep me in somewhat of shape.
I've noticed my feet start to swell now when I've been on my feet for a while but not enough to where I loose my ankles! (#kanklewatch2015) I've also noticed to my dismay that my bellybutton is continuing to rise! I'm pretty sure in the next couple weeks I'm going to have an outie (insert crying imogicon here) I also have more stretch marks on my chest and left hip (just the left... weird), they are purple and angry no matter the amount or kinds of stretch mark cream I put on them! I've also gotten a lot more breakouts... now this could still be hormonal breakouts or the fact that it's over 100 degrees and all you have to do is walk up the stairs to break a sweat (especially when I'm a walking oven these days!).
Her heart rate this time was 142 bpm and she was kicking the doppler which was pretty fun to hear. We pointed it out to the hubby and he giggled a little. :) But since then Teagan's been kicking like crazy and it's been my goal for the hubby to feel her. So far a no go... we put his hand on my belly and I'll feel a kick and ask him if he felt it and he'll say no, then he'll ask "was that one?" to a non existent kick. We'll get there! She's getting bigger and stronger each day! She's about a pound now and each day her little parts grow and develop more!
Question time!
So I've been trying to compile a list for gift registries and have been struggling with whats REALLY needed. All the places have their lists of what they recommend (one has a 3 page list.. of pretty much every item in their store) but as the hubby and I are trying to raise Teagan without unnecessary excess I'm stumped as to what the bare minimum needed really is? I know the basics, diapers, bottles, some clothes, the baby furniture, stroller, but what am I forgetting? what are the things I'm gonna need but cant think of? anyone?
HAHAHA CJ's Face "SAVE ME"
So for this week I'm hoping to have another cloth diaper post up for a mid week post on the accessories needed for cloth diapering and what we are planning to diaper Teagan in. I'm also going to try to go to a couple baby stores to "shop" for registry price comparisons so I can decide on where my official registry is going to be.
The day has finally arrived that you all have been waiting for! The Gender reveal party was such fun over the weekend up in Phoenix! I had so much fun I forgot to take all the pictures I wanted! (oops!) But I did get one of the color reveal. But first a little summary so you can feel like you were there:
So we started the day with getting the house ready and all the food ready. I asked/demanded my dad make deviled eggs. but I made him dye half of them pink and half blue. (super cool trick we do sometimes for Easter) We also had a bunch of veggies, fruits, and chips/dips for snacks. Grandma Pam got chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with half pink frosting and half blue frosting. Then we also made hamburgers and hotdogs (but that was after everyone showed up).
I also had my little project in my room for the reveal. I had gotten a bunch of black balloons and stuffed them with the gender's color confetti. As I started to blow the first one up I was asking my mom if the balloon was big enough when a sharp edge of the confetti paper popped the balloon in my mom's face! I quickly shoved her into the linen closet (yes this actually happened haha) until I was able to clean up the confetti mess! I'm pretty sure my mom saw the color then, but she claims she didn't the whole time... (this women was in the military and can keep a strait face pretty well....) So I blew up the rest in my room and only popped on more in the process... confetti is still probably under the bed lol
So when people showed up we had the food table and some sitting down tables to hang out at. When people walked in I had a poster with all my symptoms and which way they pointed boy/girl, and based off the symptoms, the guests picked a gender pin (pink or blue clothes pin) to wear as their official pick. The majority of the guests picked boy btw :)
Then came the time everyone had been waiting for! The hubby and I went to my room and slowly passed out the balloons (I was still super freaked out that one of them would pop prematurely and the surprise would be ruined!) then I passed out strait pins to everyone and counted to three and had them pop the balloons:
Baby McCabe is a girl! So all of you who were insisting she's a boy... sorry, maybe the next baby! It was such a fun day and I'm so grateful to all my family and close friends who were able to make it to the party!
Now for the fun part: her name is: Teagan Rae
This is an Irish and Scottish name (after the hubby's heritage) meaning Beauty and Grace :)
Quick update:
Since the party (well actually since the day before the party) I have developed a cold. This totally sucks because every time I cough, I get kicked... I'm pretty sure I'm getting bruised from the inside. So much for pregnant people never getting sick! But honestly I think its because of monsoon season and all the wind and the fact that I can't get my allergy shots. This too shall pass right?
Tomorrow I have another sonogram so hopefully this time she will cooperate and the Dr can get all the scans she needs. Then my mom and dad should be coming down here for the 4th of July weekend! They came last year and we went to watch the fireworks, but I don't know if we will this year because it's supposed to rain (as of now, well see Saturday) We should also be finishing up the painting job in the baby room and hang up the curtains. Just a couple steps closer to it being done! (I still have a bunch of decorative projects to do)
Developmentally:
According to the app Teagan is about 3/4 of a pound now and about 10 and a half inches long (I'll confirm tomorrow) At the scan tomorrow if I get any 3D images I may be able to see eyebrows and eye lids that have developed! This will end my 5th month of pregnancy and I'll be entering my 6th on Saturday! That means I have a little over a month left in my 2nd trimester!! Aaaahhhhh time is catching up with me!
Well that's going to be all for this week! I hope the wait wasn't too long! This next week I have a regular OB appointment and with my parents coming this weekend maybe I'll get motivated to get some of the baby room projects done!
