Baby Elise's 1st birthday!

Elise modeling her birthday onesie & tutu.

Birthday parties.  There's so much made now about babies having blowout birthday parties to the point that they are hyped almost as much as a Sweet Sixteen party.  I have to admit, I felt a lot of pressure (most of it put on by me) to throw Elise a great party, not that she'll remember it or anything like that.  I knew that I wanted to keep it somewhat low key,and somewhat low budget, so I decided on inviting just immediate family and our neighbor who adores Elise and has watched her on several occasions. 

I have become a Pinterest junkie, so finding cute ideas and themes was easy.  After looking around, I knew I wanted to do a sock monkey theme.  I also knew that because of my work schedule and other events going on prior to her party, I wasn't going to be able to hand make or design all of Elise's decorations.  Etsy has many people who design invites, thank you cards, banners, food labels, and favor tags based on almost every theme available.   After conversing with the designer I chose Designing for Peanuts and she priced out a package for all my needs.  She made pretty much everything a breeze and was a great communicator.  I would definitely consider using her again whether it's for another birthday or a birth announcement. 

Smash cake and party hat!

Finding pink plates and utensils was easy.  Target and Party City have very reasonable prices for both.  Luckily Elise wasn't messy when eating her smash cake, which the hubby was kind enough to make as I was running around cleaning the house like a mad woman.  I'm thinking a tarp or an outdoor cake eating near a hose reel may be necessary for any other 1st birthdays we may celebrate in the future.

The menu consisted of pulled pork (I used a pork shoulder that was ten lbs. and was under $15 at my local grocer), baked beans, broccoli slaw, potato salad, orange fluff, and banana bread.  I did go crazy at Trader Joe's and bought quite a few banana products; banana chips, apple banana squeeze apple sauce, flattened bananas, and we made dark chocolate covered frozen bananas to serve as a treat before cupcakes and ice cream.

My pork got rave reviews.  Everyone was under the impression I slaved over it all day.  My secret?  Ten hours of slow cooking in the crock pot with chicken broth and a few grinds of Trader Joe's African Smoke grinder.  Once the ten hours were up, I let the shoulder cool, cut the fat off, then shredded the meat.  The morning of the party I put the shredded meat in the crock pot again with a bottle of our favorite bbq sauce and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. The best part is we had leftovers and it always tastes better the second day. 

I think she had fun. :-)

So all in all, birthday party, great success.  Is it bad that I'm already browsing Pinterest and getting ideas for next year?

She's here!

Baby Elise joined our family exactly four weeks ago today at 4:46 p.m.  She decided not to arrive on her due date so we had to make a trip to the hospital for a non-stress test to make sure the baby was okay.  Due to the gestational diabetes my midwife had told me that if she didn't come before 42 weeks that they would induce me by rupturing my membrane to get things going.  I left the hospital feeling frustrated.  I wanted to avoid having my membranes ruptured as much as possible.  Up until this point I was all "Water birth, no drugs, all natural."  Little did I know that this labor would be anything but normal or natural.

Registering & Getting Ready for Baby

Well,  Baby Elise should be arriving in 25 days.  We've already had the baby showers and we're at the point of doing the final preparations of getting her room and all the needed supplies before she comes home.  I had a great time seeing my family and friends despite the fact that I am not always comfortable being the center of attention.

The showers were the fun part, registering however when you're not around babies all the time can be a stressful experience.  Did I register for all the things I need, did I register for enough or too many big ticket items (keep this in mind for people who go in on group gifts),  will everything I register for be available by the time the shower rolls around?  I decided to register at Babies R Us and Amazon.com.  I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with Amazon, plus we have Amazon Prime, so free two day shipping is always handy.  I waffled between registering at BuyBuy Baby & Target, but settled on Babies R Us because there was no BuyBuy Baby close to my out-of-state relatives.  Thinking back on things, I wish I had registered anywhere besides Babies R Us.

Gestational Diabetes Fun

It's been a month and a half since I was officially diagnosed with Gestational Diabetes.  My sugar levels have been pretty normal so far, except for the few cheat days I've been allowed (work picnic, baby shower, Memorial Day BBQ.)   Even when I cheat I haven't been able to make myself be terribly bad, I haven't had a piece of cake since my diagnosis.  I've never really been a sweets craver except for my Americone Dream ice cream, I do miss tortilla chips like crazy though.

I've lost 8 lbs. since being on the low carb diet, which seems crazy to me.   The diet is pretty restrictive, for example, breakfast can't exceed 30 carbs,  two hours after I need to check my blood sugars and then I can have a 15 carb snack.  Lunch and dinner are 40 carbs and my snacks after each meal and blood testing are also 15 carbs.  I have found that if I eat closer to 20 carbs for my late night snack that my fasting blood sugars are below the 94 that the dietitian set the limits for.  I have done some reading and found that if you don't have enough carbs your liver will produce extra for you at night and that can spike the sugar levels and cause an increased reading in the morning.

I do have a list of forbidden foods that I'm looking forward to eating once the baby is here.  I want a rootbeer float and onion rings from A & W (there is one on the way home from the hospital.  I joked with the hubby that I want him to stop off before we get home with the baby.)  I have also wanted sushi, so that is also on the hit list.  Lastly, a large bag of lime flavored Ann Arbor Tortilla Factory chips and a bowl of guacamole and a tall glass (or pitcher) of lemonade would rock my world right now.

My midwife told me that as long as my sugars stay normal that there should be no problem with having the baby as natural as possible, which is the ultimate goal.  I would feel like a failure if I had to have a C section (unless the baby is breech or is in serious danger) or if I had to use painkillers.  Hopefully nothing changes before now and mid August. *keeping fingers crossed*

When asshats attack or people say the darnedest things to you when you're pregnant..

I'd like to say that I think of myself as a pretty mild-mannered person.  I try to be polite to strangers, for the most part if I come into contact with someone I've never met I tend to be quiet and observe.  I guess that's why I've been so floored by some of the ignorant and ridiculous things people have said to me since I began showing my baby bump.

I work in retail, so I come into contact with people all the time.   I don't know if perhaps because I am so available to them they feel so free to say things, or if I have a "humiliate me, I enjoy it" sign on my back.  My first awkward encounter happened during my fifth month, my bump barely visible.  An older man approached me, asked where something was and as I started walking him to the item's location, he said,"Oh you don't need to take me over there in your delicate condition."  I brushed off the comment told him I was tough and took him over to the product.  After he thanked me for helping him he grabbed my stomach and asked when the "blessed event" was.  I normally don't get grabbed like that, if someone is grateful I've helped them I've gotten hugged, but that's the extent of it. I was flabbergasted and if I wasn't at work I probably would have reacted much worse than I did.  I backed away and told him that I had personal space issues and to unhand my unborn child. 

I thought because I didn't have any strange things happen during my sixth month that I was home-free.  Well you know what happens when you assume and boy did I get hit with a barrage of stuff during my first week of month seven.   This merely was just the quiet before the storm.

It's done!

Okay, so it's been a few weeks, but the Pepto Bismol nightmare is now over.

Pink, pink, PINK!  My eyes!

Now here's the more serene color...

 

Ahh, much better. :-)

Excuse the mess on the floor,  I forgot to vacuum before I took the picture.  The next couple of things we need to do involve buying a crib, which is easier said than done, buy and apply the tree decal to the wall, and paint the dresser, desk, and chair.  I can tell that the nesting is starting to set in, I want to clean all the time, which is driving the hubby nuts.

Here is the decal I am thinking about ordering for the room:

I found it on Etsy and I like the fact that it has a growth chart on it.  I'm thinking I'll change the main tree to dark brown, but not sure if I want to have the owl to be pink still or perhaps green or orange.  I guess I should allow some pink in the room.

Glucose nightmare

I had to go in to take my glucose screening test today.  Let me start by letting anyone who hasn't had the "privilege" of drinking the stuff they give you before you go in for the blood draw that it tastes very similar to McDonald's orange drink that has been sitting out for a week and is starting to turn.  This liquid must be consumed within fifteen minutes of starting to ingest it and an hour after finishing it, not eat or drink anything until after you have your blood drawn.  Sounds like a good time, right?   Halfway through the hour of waiting to get my blood drawn I began to get nauseous.  Normally I would combat this with oyster crackers, but alas, eating not permitted.  Luckily the last half hour went by quickly and I was called in so the phlebotomist could do her thing.  She must have noticed that I was uncomfortable because she asked if I was feeling well.  I made it through the blood draw process and then promptly lost my cookies in the parking lot.  I am sure if some random stranger stumbled upon the neon orange splatter in the parking lot they would think some kid went crazy eating pop rocks and then lost it.
 

One of the Extreme Couponers and her "stockpile."  This is one of three rooms she has full of stuff.

I was still feeling crappy when I got home so I vegged out on the couch and took a nap.  I woke up to the television showing Extreme Couponing.  I felt my blood begin to boil and shaking my head at these people.  I am all for people saving money and having adequate supplies of toilet paper and soap.  What really got to me was the woman who bought 300 toothbrushes and what looked to be 200 two liter bottles of soda and no plans to give them away or even use them.  It was merely the thrill of the deal and a sad sense of security of having three rooms filled from floor to ceiling with their stockpiles.  Very few of them bought produce of any kind to feed their families, most of it was processed crap.  I got so worked up I had to change the channel and I can say I would rather watch anything, even 16 & Pregnant than ever watch that hot mess again. 

Cravings

I hate sounding like a stereotypical pregnant person but I'm afraid I'm going to.  I always thought it was cheesy the way people would say that you get particular cravings when you're pregnant.  Just a coincidence, not true, that will never happen to me.  I'm here to admit and tell you, I was wrong!

Around week 14 of the pregnancy, I noticed I was really wanting ice cream a lot more than normal.  I guess I should have prefaced this by stating I am not a sugar-a-holic.  Quite the contrary, I love my salt, which is another pregnancy story for another time.  I would go to the store and pick up a couple of pints of Ben & Jerry's Stephen Colbert Americone Dream and enjoy them wrapped up in my throw on the couch.  Week 16 marked a turning point in the noticing I was suffering from cravings.  I had been eating spicy Indian food like crazy, and maybe another coincidence I found myself craving guacamole and tortilla chips.  According to those baby size tracker websites the wee lass growing inside of me was the size of an avocado.  I felt a little creepy about wanting guacamole so much while the baby was that size, almost feeling like I had just ate my young.


The guac craving seems to have subsided slightly but my intense of love bacon has been coming back to me.  I hadn't eaten it since the beginning of the first trimester because just the smell of it cooking made my stomach churn. My new want to eat all the time but I know I shouldn't is a BLTA (bacon, lettuce, tomato, avocado) sandwich made on a pretzel croissant.   I am proud of the fact that despite these cravings I haven't ballooned up to the size of a house.  I just hope in the last three months of all of this that I am not McMansion size bound.

Craigslist brings the lols

Being a first time mom to be doesn't mean that I want to buy everything brand new.  I've been looking on several websites for great deals, trying to be as frugal as I can be.   One site that leaves me frustrated at times is Craig's List.   The hubby and I have found several deals on CL in the past including our stove, a furniture dolly,  the hubby's motorcycles, and the list goes on.  I don't know if I am clicking on the wrong ads but I have found some real laughable listings.

 One of the examples is a listing for a crib for $300.  I click on the link, look at the picture and decided to see if this crib is actually worth that much new.  After a little google-fu I discover that the crib was one of the cribs affected by the 2010 recall because it was unsafe.  No where in the ad did it list that they have  installed one of the immobilization kits.  I sent them a message asking if they complied with recall before listing the crib. A day or two later I received an answer back from the seller saying thanks for the interest in the crib but it has sold.   Not even a week later I saw the same crib listed again, but for $25 less and using the same exact picture from the first ad.  I debated in my head to flag the ad and post a Re: ad informing people that this crib could be dangerous.  Part of me wanted to be a safety advocate and the other part of me felt like hopefully people would be smart enough to do their homework like I did.  In the end I decided it wouldn't be worth my time to keep chasing down the crib rip off artist.   It's not worth me getting my panties in a bunch over this fool, and if they get the amount that they want to sell the crib for more power to them.

In the meantime, the great crib search is still on.  Wish me luck!

Embracing pink

I was talking to a coworker today about how I've been trying to avoid being that cliche "pink buying mom" but after going shopping, I was in pink overload.   He told me to embrace the pink, some of these outfits will be cherished one day.  Sometimes it just takes me a voice of reason to come to my senses.  So here we go, pinking it up!

Turtles & kitties, oh my!

According to several sources, the baby is now 22 weeks and the size of a large mango, 11.5 inches.  I was feeling all 11.5 inches today as she was pushing up against my ribcage.  Oh the joys of being short waisted! :-p

19 weeks

 

 So this what 19 weeks looks like.   Totally crazy to think the baby is the size of a 6 inch heirloom tomato.  Besides surviving morning sickness, this is the first time I've truly *felt* pregnant. Next Wednesday is the big day, we find out who is stowing away in my belly, boy or girl.  The majority opinion of my work friends is that the baby is a girl.  We'll see if they're right.

Baby talk

Even though we don't know the sex of the baby yet, it's never too early to think about color.  I've been looking all over the web for inspiration for the baby's room; there are so many cool ideas out there for a turtle/woodland themed nursery.  I can't even begin to list how many cool things I've found on  Etsy and Amazon.com.

1. Turtle lamp - Carter's Laguna collection,  amazon.com.
2. Tree bookcase - by Shawn Soh.  At $2500, this is way out of my price range. Need to figure out a way to fabricate this for less!
3. Bilingual eco wall cards #'s 1-10, by Art and Philanthropy on Etsy.
4. personalized applique name pillow, by Whimsy Co. on Etsy.

I've been trying to figure out a way to make the bookcase out mdf or a similar material. The original bookcase is made out of powder-coated metal but there has to be a way to make it more child friendly and out of wood.

Oh, to my one reader, I finally updated so you would have something, even though it's small, to read.   Thanks for kicking me in the butt to update. ;-)  You know who you are.