A MUST read for moms

I was just forwarded and email with this attached from my friend Julie and think it's so cute!

***Mommy Lessons***
By Elizabeth Davies
Chatting with an elderly woman in the supermarket check-out, I joked that I just might drive around for an hour on the way home in order to keep my snoozing newborn asleep. She laughed, adding, “Not with the price of gas, you won’t!” What that woman didn’t realize was that, to the exhausted mother of a newborn, a sleeping baby is priceless. $4 a gallon for gas? Fill me up. Heck, go ahead and triple the price. It’s worth it to hear that glorious sound of snoring in the back seat. Three months into this roller-coaster ride of motherhood, I’ve learned more than I ever did in four years at college. I feel as if I’ve earned a bachelor’s degree in parenting, and yet something tells me that, years from now, there still will be more to learn.

I’ve read entire books, scoured magazine articles and searched the web for answers. Some weeks, it’s about feeding. Other weeks, it’s sleep training. And yet, with all that information, there were some things I simply had to learn on my own.

Here are some of the lessons parenthood has to offer:

* The human bladder can hold out much longer than you ever imagined.
* Daily showers are overrated.
* Playing endless rounds of Pat-A-Cake can be more fun than a raging
party on a Saturday night, so long as you have the right little
person to play it with.
* A jumbo pack of Pampers has 88 diapers. That only sounds like a lot.
* People say dumb things. They ask when the baby is due, long after you’ve
given birth. They say, “What a sweet little girl” to a child decked out in navy
blue race cars and footballs.
* You can survive without steady amounts of food and sleep for
lengthy periods of time. You aren’t pleasant to be around, but
it’s do-able.
* A seven-pound person without the ability to speak, walk or form
complete thoughts is somehow able to undo even the best-laid plans.
* A numb arm and cramped neck are a small price to pay for a baby
who isn’t crying.
* Your spouse is a far more extraordinary person than you realized
on your wedding day.
* If ever you said, “I would never do that,” you will be forced to
eat your words. Thought you wouldn’t let your child cry in the grocery store? Once
you’ve spent 30 minutes changing, dressing and loading your child
into the car, then driving 15 minutes to the store and
simultaneously spending 40 minutes shaking a rattle with one hand
while picking out produce with the other, you’re not about to go
home empty-handed.
* Time speeds up once you have a child. Somehow, 24 hours passes in
a flash – even if you’ve spent most of it awake.
* The external stuff just doesn’t matter, so long as you’re making
memories with the people you love.

It’s entirely likely that, long after I’m gone, my son will remember me as a woman who had spit-up on her shoulder, wrinkles in her clothes and a layer of dust on her furniture. I’m okay with that.

I must walk!

That's what I was told by my doctor today at our monthly appointment. She said that I need to start walking 20 minutes every day in order to increase my stamina for birth - AH! In order to get me moving, she referenced a delivery that she had last week where the woman was so out of shape that she couldn't push and they had to use a vacuum to get the baby out! Of course that did it for me, so I will be lacing up my running shoes tonight and taking Rocky on a very long 20 minute walk, even if I have to carry him most of the way :) She told me that prenatal yoga is great, but that I must get in the cardio in order to have a successful birth. Not that I'm opposed to exercise at all (my husband IS a trainer), but it's been a while since I've really hit the pavement and it's been cold in LA these days. Never thought I'd have to buy maternity work-out clothes, but I guess that's my next purchase.

Other info from the doctor today:

I've gained 20 lbs so far which feels about right. Not sure where the other weight is going to go that I know I'll gain in the next 3 months. Hopefully it will all be in my belly!

Our little boy looks great and healthy. When we saw him today, he was all curled up with his hands hugging his chest and his knees folded in. It's getting tighter in there for him!

An hour before the appointment this morning I had to drink this orange liquid called glucola for my glucose tolerance test - it tasted like REALLY sweet gatorade. Once I arrived at the office, the nurse took blood and I'll receive the results in a few days. I'm pretty certain that everything is ok on that front...no gestational diabetes for me!

The only unfortunate occurrence today is that we learned that we missed the boat on having our structural ultrasound done. A structural ultrasound is an in depth ultrasound to look at all of the organs of the baby, make sure they're developed, sound, and seem to be working properly. After 24 weeks of pregnancy, the baby is almost too big for the doctor to see enough in the ultrasound, and we're at 27. I didn't realize there was a cut-off and took my time making the appointment. We're bummed that we won't get a better look at what's going on with our boy, but we're also confident that he's healthy and very well put together :) For any of you pregnant ladies, if your doctor doesn't bring up the structural ultrasound around week 18, make sure you ask about it.

How to make your baby wiggle!

As I'm sure most first time pregnant women and moms are, I'm extremely paranoid. Maybe I'm more paranoid than others, but since this is all so new to me, sometimes I get a little freaked out and panicked. Today is a good example. Ever since my little boy bun started to move and kick, he's been extremely active, even having a bit of a schedule to his activity. Last night and this morning (two normally active times), I couldn't really feel him move. I have read in some of my pregnancy books that when you start your third trimester, you should be more aware of the baby's movement and if they don't move for a few hours, call your doctor. WELL - After being at work for two hours sitting at my desk and not feeling anything, I got scared and called. They told me to drink something cold like ice water or very cold juice and to sit (preferably lay) down and wait for an hour. If I didn't feel any movement, I was to call back and go to the office immediately. Well, I got a big glass of ice water, drank it and sort of laid back on the chair in my office w/ my feet up on another one and in no more than 5 minutes, my little boy was moving around and kicking me again....Phew! Ever since then, he's been back to his normal antics -moving, punching, and kicking. Maybe I'm getting more used to feeling him move that I'm not noticing it as much, who knows. The morals of this story are that you should ALWAYS call your doctor if you're the least bit concerned about anything AND if you ever want to make your baby move around, down a big glass of ice water!! Guess babies in utero get cold too ;)

My friend Melissa just told me about these great bars for pregnant women and new moms called Belly Bars. She said that she ordered them online by the case and loved to eat them. I plan to order some too! It looks like they are also sold at some Whole Foods and Targets, among a few other stores. Wish I would have known about these when I was so sick that all I could eat was pasta, crackers, and had the hardest time taking my prenatal vitamin. Check them out!!

27 weeks - 2/3 down, only 1/3 to go!

Today marks my 27th week and I'm pretty sure that means the start of the third trimester - woo hoo! In honor of the being 2/3 of the way done with my pregnancy, here are 2 pictures of me this weekend!

Toy of the Year

This toy was featured on www.coolmompicks.com this week and I decided that it was too good to not share here as well. Not only is it a cute toy, but a commemorative keepsake as well. My son, being born in the same year as Obama's inauguration as our 44th president, will have one of these wooden planes on the shelf in his room. Maybe one day he'll even get to play with it, or not - I haven't decided yet. You can purchase Obama's Air Force One at http://www.craftsburykids.com/.

Fun Facts!

-The bigger your belly gets, the SMALLER your boobs look....just saying.

-The word "pregnant" comes from the Latin pre- meaning before + (g)natus meaning birth = before (giving) birth. The word "prenatal" has exactly the same origin.

-My belly button has almost popped out all the way. Does that mean I'm almost done??? :)

-There was just an earthquake here in LA about 3 hours ago and I didn't feel a thing, can you believe that?

What to expect?

There are so many strange things that "happen" during pregnancy like weird physical changes, odd feelings that arise, raging hormones, and a host of other unknowns that can cause anxiety and stress. We try hard as women to just accept them, but just because we are pregnant doesn't mean that coping with these changes comes naturally or isn't scary. I get an email every single day from www.whattoexpect.com and they've been lifesavers for me. I will go through something bothersome or questionable(like my nightmares) and sure enough within a few days, I'll get an email addressing the exact issue I'm having. Everything from what happens to your body, to how your baby is growing, and how to deal with change. It is the one single information tool that has been the most helpful to me in the last 5 1/2 months so I highly recommend that all of my pregnant friends sign up! You just put in your due date and they send you emails that correspond to the week you're in. There is even an email every week for dad that you can forward to him. The site isn't very user friendly and I'm not sure what other info they have posted on it, but the emails are amazing! Check it out! www.whattoexpect.com

Today I'm wearing one of those maternity shirts that has no form to it WHAT SO EVER and it makes me look ginormous from the side. I keep looking at myself in the mirror with disbelief, but I know that it's me and my belly under this shirt - AH! I wonder how it would look if I tried to belt the bottom so you could actually see some sort of separation between my legs and belly...probably awful. This is what I need to get used to :)

26th week update!

Today is a sweet moment in American history and I can't start this blog post without commenting on the fact that we have a new President who couldn't be more inspiring to our country as a collective and as individuals. I watched Barack Obama's inagural speech this morning and couldn't help but be consumed with the prospect of a greater time for this country in the next few years to come. My baby will be born in the same year that President Obama was sworn into office and I can't wait to tell him the story of "where I was" when it happened and how it made me feel. GOBAMA!!

So this is week 26 of pregnancy for me and I feel HUGE! I know I have 3 more months(at least) of growing which makes me wonder if at some point I'm going to just topple over! Imaging my belly twice the size it is now is virtually impossible, but I know that eventually it will come to be. I am just waiting.

Here are a few updates of what's been going on in the last week:

-Baby boy is kicking and moving SOOO much which is fun and sometimes shocking especially last night when my belly was vibrating!

-I tried to put on a shirt over the weekend that was not maternity and I snapped a button off of the chest area. That's when I decided that now is the time to retire my non maternity clothes until after the birth. Lee is afraid I'll need a whole new wardrobe from stretching out and ruining my old clothes :)

-We decided NOT to do private cord blood banking after doing some investigative reading and getting more facts. We will donate our cord blood to a public bank and hopefully help to save a child in need. If anyone out there wants to know exactly why we chose not to private bank, please email me to discuss.

-I have finally made an oh so important decision about the bedding for the baby's room. I am getting a crib skirt made in the colors black, white, and red at the store La Bella Cosa that I posted about last week and just registering for various sheets that I like. We will not be using a bumper in his crib until the day when he is able to stick his limbs through the slats and then we will buy a mesh bumper like this one http://www.breathablebaby.com/. It has taken me alot of researching and thinking to come to this conclusion so this is a GOOD thing to check off my list!

-On Saturday morning Lee & I toured St. John's hospital in Santa Monica where we plan to deliver our little bun. The tour was very informative and made me a tiny bit nervous, especially when we were in a birthing room and the tour guide was talking about squatting bars - yikes!! Speaking of the rooms though, they are INCREDIBLE...hard wood floors, huge, built in dad bed, and a big plasma TV on the wall. Maybe I should have a C-section just so I can stay in those digs for 4 nights instead of 2!! If my belly gets too much bigger, I might be heading down that road anyway. All in all though, the tour was great and it was pretty neat to be in a room with so many pregnant women.

-Went to my second pre-natal yoga class on Sunday and again it was awesome. Any of my pregnant friends on the westside of LA should join me - Sunday mornings at 11:15 AM, Santa Monica yoga. I also plan to do more exercising during the week now that I'm getting bigger.

-My books tell me that this week the little bun is opening his eyes, that he weighs about 2 pounds, and is roughly 9 inches long. I am just 1 week shy of starting my third trimester and cannot wait to enjoy it. Sleeping comfortably is getting more and more difficult, but I now use 5 pillows all over my body for support and it's going quite well.

More tomorrow of "what to expect".....

Maybe I'll be pregnant forever!!

Besides the morning sickness, feeling HUGE all the time, not being able to get off the couch once I'm sitting (already), and a collection of other issues, pregnancy is great!! Not sure if any of my friends who have been preggers can attest to this, but I find that people are much nicer to me now that I'm pregnant. I especially notice this at the grocery store. Last night someone let me cut in front of them in line because I was carrying my purchases in hand and the cashier asked if I needed help to the car because I had 2 TINY bags of groceries....it was great, however I did not take him up on the offer. More people smile at me, say "bless you" when I sneeze, and hold the door open for me when I need it. People are much less likely to be rude, push me around, or act like they don't notice me when waiting in line at Subway to buy lunch :) This is a very refreshing experience, especially living in LA. If only people in traffic could know that there's a pregnant lady behind the wheel, then I'd choose to be pregnant ALL the time!

Here is a picture for this week...week 25! Not the best pic, but you get the idea.

Feeling HUGE and tired

Today I am so unbearably tired that I walked into a wall in the ladies room at work :) Not sure exactly why, but I can assume that my little boy is growing so much and so fast that he's taking up all my energy. I guess this is my first selfless act as a parent - giving up myself and energy so that he can grow. When I look at it that way, it doesn't feel so bad. However, I know that tonight I will probably be asleep on the couch by 8:30pm and leave Lee cleaning up from dinner! I would like to thank him in advance for taking care of the dishes..haha...

So since I can barely keep my eyes open, this will be a short post. My first pre-natal yoga class was this past Sunday and I LOVED it. I felt stretched and relaxed right after the class and then sore all day yesterday, but I liked it. For any of you local moms-to-be, I HIGHLY recommend the class I took at Santa Monica Yoga. Sundays from 11:15 - 12:30.

After class I went to this adorable shop in Culver City called La Bella Cosa(another resource for local moms) and had such a great educational shopping experience with a woman there named Janet Palmer. She was so incredible knowledgeable and helped me out with a ton of questions that I had. I picked out our crib and got some fun ideas for what I might do in the baby's room. Not only are the products that they carry top of the line, but they custom make baby bedding (specifically crib bumper and skirt) from hundreds of different fabrics. The price is not cheap, but so incredibly worth it to have custom bedding. I could go CRAZY in there!! They also do custom furniture and have the most comfortable rocker/swivel chair I've ever sat in. This is not only a great place for moms-to-be, but for anyone buying a shower gift. They carry Under the Nile clothes and sheets which are unbelievably soft organic cotton. Happy Shopping!!

http://www.labellacosa.com/

I'm off to take a nap....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Baby Bjorn Babysitter?

This weekend while out shopping I came across a new product called the Baby Bjorn Babysitter and just fell in love! I was completely set on the quilted Oeuf as my bouncer of choice which I wrote about last week, but now I can't help but lust over this new one from Bjorn. The main reasons that I love it so much are that it folds down for easy travel and the color choices are great. With the Oeuf there isn't any color choice that's gender neutral. So now I'm converted and will be adding this little babysitter to me registry. If only it could feed and change the baby too :)

After I wrote the post about the oil I use for stretch marks, I got a message from a friend of mine about a product that she has used through her whole pregnancy (she's due at the end of this month) and has not gotten ONE stretch mark. Not ONE stretch mark in 9 months is pretty amazing, so I figured that I must pass this info along. The product is called Tummy Honey Butter which you can buy at Due Maternity on-line.

http://www.duematernity.com/tuhostprbu.html

I was at the Farmer's Market in Santa Monica on Saturday shopping for fruits and veggies when my friend Julie told me about some amazing olives being sold at one of the stands. I moseyed over to the stand in need of a taste before I bought the very expensive small container of 20 olives, and wow, that taste made me a spender! The man who gave me the taste asked "are you with child" to which I replied "yes". He then said "you know olives are the new pickles"!!!! I couldn't stop laughing, it was like he knew me already!!! I think I made olives the new pickles :) Along with the olives I bought some amazing, very sharp garlic cheddar cheese. I ate both all through the weekend and although Lee wouldn't kiss me, I enjoyed every mouthful of my purchases....

Weirdest thing about being pregnant

Last week my cousin asked me what the weirdest thing about being pregnant is or what has surprised me the most. I didn't actually think of my answer until the next day so thought I would share it here. For me, it would have to be all of the blood that my body is producing. Reading through books and articles, it specifically says that women produce more blood during pregnancy (for the baby) and that hormones stimulate the blood to flow more. The place where it's most evident is in the respiratory area and the mouth. I have fallen victim to this. I constantly have a slight bloody nose and can't even brush my teeth without a mouth full of blood. I know it sounds gross, but it's pretty fascinating. So as a result I have gone through many tissues and brush/floss my teeth often to keep my gums healthy. This is one symptom of pregnancy that no one told me about!

Yesterday I forgot to post one of my favorite things that I use EVERY morning/night after the shower. Mother's Special Blend Oil:

www.mothersspecialblend.com

The container I have now was given to me as a gift, but I've been told that you can purchase it at Whole Foods. I rub it all over the belly and other places where I'm afraid stretch marks will occur. It smells great and feels good too!

This weekend I'm starting pre-natal yoga on Sunday at Santa Monica Yoga and am really excited! I will give a full report of the class on Monday.

A few of my favorite things....

As I continue doing all of my baby research regarding the best products to register for, buy, and to use long term, I've come across some great websites that have provided me access to certain products and ideas that I wouldn't have found on my own. These are some of my favorites...

Cool Mom Picks:
This wesbite is a list compiled from a few different moms of their favorite products (for baby and mama), websites, resources, and ideas. I have already spent hours on this site and have gotten some great ideas.

www.coolmompicks.com

The Zrecs Guide:
This is a guide that is sometimes referred to as the "Z" guide where products are rated by safety factor particularly, how many toxic ingredients are found in each product. You can search by category or by brand. This site has really helped me figure out which products to register for, especially the ones that will go into my little boy's mouth or touch his food.

www.zrecsguide.com

Safe Mama:
This site also rates products that are considered safe and environmentally friendly, but the format is more article based than list based. I love this site because they typically do extensive research to find the best products.

http://safemama.com/

My Registry:
My friend Jennie used this site to register for all of her baby items and I will do the same. It's brilliant because you can compile a registry from a handful of different stores instead of being limited to the products at one.

www.myregistry.com

Although I can't say that these few products are my favorites yet since I haven't used them; they come highly recommended and are my products of choice so far for my little bun!

Crib:
We are purchasing (thanks to my Mom & Dad), the Sparrow crib from Oeuf (pronounced UH-F which means egg in French) in white. In all of the research that I've done, it's the safest and most environmentally/baby friendly crib I have found besides getting one hand made w/ recycled wood that I purchase myself.

http://oeufnyc.com/new/product.php?productid=16193

Bouncer/Lounger:
This lounger has come highly recommended to us and it's also from Oeuf so I'm pretty excited to get it!

Babycook:
I blogged about this item once before on my photography blog because I was so impressed with it. My friend Sophie who is from France had one of these gadgets before they even came to the US and she used it with her little girl ALL the time. Finally Williams Sonoma got smart and started carrying the babycook, however I believe they're the only retailer in the US.

It's called the Beaba Babycook

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/e203/index.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1%7C16%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7Cbaby&cm%5Fsrc=SCH

As far as others major purchases go such as the changing table, bedding set, and a stroller...we're still deciding, but should come to our conclusion pretty soon!

My resolutions....

Happy 2009 to all of my friends and family!! This year is going to be a pretty AMAZING year for Lee & I, one we will never forget for the obvious reason that our little baby boy will be born. The closer we get to the due date (16 more weeks!), the bigger I get, and the more he kicks me, the idea that we're going to meet him soon becomes more of a reality. Now that I got all of the fear out a few weeks ago, I'm very anxious and beside myself with the idea of him - what he'll look like, if he'll cry, how big he'll be, who's eyes he will have, and if he'll be good at baseball or swimming (just kidding Lee!) We all know that he'll be a baseball star! ;)

With this new year and a new light in our life, I thought that I should make just a few resolutions, but none too overwhelming. I have a ton already for my business, but felt that I at least needed 1 or 2 personal resolutions to embark on this wonderful year we're going to have. Here are the few I came up with:

1. Go through cookbooks on the weekend and pick out recipes for the week instead of just throwing things together. (I'm happy to report I'm on week 2 of this resolution and it's going very well. Last night was minestrone soup w/ mini meatballs)
2. Get up 1/2 hour earlier while I'm still working so that I'm not rushed in the morning.
3. Every time I buy a piece of clothing or pair of shoes, I have to give something away to Goodwill (not including maternity clothes)
4. Confronting parking tickets and not letting them inflate.
5. No ridiculous spending on the baby - he ALREADY has gifts and clothes. I don't need to go overboard!!

So there you have it - my resolutions. Feel free to check in with me in a few months and see how I'm doing. I set myself up for success with these and actually the hardest one is going to be and already is getting up earlier in the morning!

Speaking of not spending too much on the baby, we got the most adorable baby clothes from my sister when we were in San Fran for the holidays. Not only did she and her family buy us the most adorable organic clothes from baby Gap, but also gave us some of the cutest clothes that they had saved all of these years since my almost 11 year old nephew was a baby. She even had clothes that she bought from Gymboree YEARS ago w/ the tags still on. I totally scored!!

Here is a picture of one of the baby Gap outfits. I am not looking to hot in this picture, forgive me. It was christmas morning and I had the pregnancy bloating thing going on. Thank you to my niece Lia for taking this picture.