getting crunchy

Sorry for the lack of posts lately - I can feel the third trimester of this pregnancy starting to tire me out and make me want to just sit on the couch like a beached whale (and I know it's just going to get worse).

As I enter the last trimester of my pregnancy, I am finding myself becoming more and more "crunchy" with my wants and needs as a pregnant woman and a soon-to-be mother. In the beginning, I had been set on a natural delivery, then I graduated to not caring so much and believing it inevitable that I will have an epidural during labor and delivery. Now I'm back to wanting a natural delivery, and I'm back in the big time.

 

I know that a natural delivery would be best for my child...and for me. Not only would I not be introducing her little body to unnecessary medications, but there are so many benefits to a natural delivery - including less risk of problems with breastfeeding right in the beginning. On a selfish note, a natural delivery would be best for me - I want something to be proud of, I want to know that I did this myself, and I want to feel like a super hero when I am holding my little girl in my arms. I've been researching different comfort and relaxation techniques to help me through labor and I've been talking with my crunchy mama friend, Ashley, about tips and tricks that she had researched while she was pregnant. Surprisingly (to me, at least) Seth is completely on-board with a fully natural birth - he is going to study our birth plan as well as the different comfort techniques that I want to try so that I won't have to worry about thinking on D-day.

Of course, this is all in hopes that a natural delivery is what is best for both me and baby. If medical intervention is what is needed to make sure that we both stay healthy, then that's what I am willing to do. If I decide (only after all other options are exhausted) that I need medication, then I am not opposed to it. I just want to know that I tried my hardest to do this the way that women have been doing it since...well, forever.

I've started writing out our birth plan and every time I look at it, I get more and more excited and pumped up. I know I can do this, and if I can't - that's fine with me too. I want to go in knowing that things happen and that I should not feel bad about myself if things don't go my way. You can't plan out every moment of life, sometimes things just happen.

In addition to a natural delivery, Seth and I are hoping for 2 hours of skin-to-skin contact, delayed cord clamping, and delayed use of eye ointment on baby, in addition to a few other things. We are doing our research and hoping for the best results possible.

Before I became pregnant I had wanted to look into cloth diapering. Then I became pregnant and that went out the window. Now that Avery is getting closer to being here, I'm back to wanting to try out cloth diapering. Again, my friend Ashley is right down the road and willing to help me out with this journey as well (I seriously couldn't ask for a better crunchy mama bff!).

Cloth diapers are expensive. Like really. But they save so much money in the long run! Seth (surprisingly again) is on board with this too - I guess anything to save money works for him haha. I've heard of the good brands to use - bumgenius, Gdiapers, Fuzzy Buns - and they all seem awesome...just well, expensive. So I started to look elsewhere.

I've found a company that I'm seriously considering going with - Giggle Life, based in Canada - yes, they are a Canadian company, yes, their products are made in China, but for us, these may be the best option. I want the best for my daughter, but we need to do what is best for us too because we need to have money to give her the best of other things too. These Canadian-Chines diapers may not use the absolute best materials (hey, the have bamboo ones too though!), and they may not be the best quality - but from the reviews that I've read on different sites, they sure seem to measure up just fine to the more expensive brands. As of right now, if we get some cloth diapers, we may only use them at nights and on weekends or any time we are just hanging out at home. My mom will have Avery during the days after I go back to work, and disposable would be easiest for her and I am totally cool with that. I'm just so excited to begin researching these even more and to meet with Ashley tomorrow to learn more about cloth diapering!

And last, but definitely not least, here is proof that my baby is my sister's twin. It's cute, but a little creepy lol. I can't wait to see Avery (aka mini-Amanda) in real life!

just call me a guinea pig

Over the weekend, Avery and I participated in some pretty cool research! Not only was I able to see her cute little face (pics at the end of the post), but we were also able to see how her brain is working.

On Friday, I spent an hour watching our baby girl fidget around in my belly. It was truly amazing - our little baby was sucking her thumb and just making sucking motions in general (pro-breastfeeder? let's hope!), turning her head, and moving her itty bitty arms all around. And I got a 3D picture of her face (& she looks like my sister)!

This ultrasound is going to be used as part of a fetal anatomy study - looking at the fetal eye and mouth development in conjuction with the other part of the study - an MRI.

Sunday evening was my MRI. I was asked a bunch of questions prior to it (like word association, etc.) and had to give saliva samples throughout the test so that they could monitor my cortisol levels to test for stress/anxiety. Then I had the MRI.

You have to lie really really still in those things - like, you can't move. It was ok for me - they played some relaxing music that reminded me of yoga class, so I just practiced meditating. Baby girl, however, did not care for the experience whatsoever.

As soon as I entered the tube, she started freaking out (punching and kicking and flipping) then got hiccups.

Oops, not the best study subject I guess.

They performed the MRI for about 45 minutes - watching baby's brain activity and taking pictures. The pictures are super cool - you can see everything!!

Oh, and we got $120 for participating, so there's that. And a cute baby blanket...the people working on this study are seriously amazing!

I will receive the MRI pictures in the mail, so I will share when I get them. But here are the 3D pictures of Avery's face!!

reading is sexy...but its even hotter in the kitchen

On Sunday I started a project that I've been meaning to do for a few months now - ever since we moved my bookshelf into the kitchen. Styled bookshelves have become one of my home-decor-stalking guilty pleasures and I couldn't wait to try it myself! 

So when Seth finally said he was moving my books into the garage for storage, I was kicked into gear. Hellz no are my Harry Potter books going into the garage...oh hell no! 

 

And so began my little project.

You know, things would really be better if I had just invested in a "real" bookshelf - like, a sturdy one, not the $20 one at Target. But, alas, I am poor and do not have the extra moula to splurge on such finery. 

We put out the "fine china" - aka plates, bowls and cups we got from our wedding but have never used - as well as my similarly unused punch bowl and drink dispenser (but they have a job booked in March!!).

I wanted to incorporate my hardcover books into the kitchen bookshelf along with dishes and some jars that were taking up counter space (sugar, flour, tea, etc.), but wanted to make sure that the shelf looked mostly like it belonged in the kitchen. Using some artistry and some husbandly help (for the heavy stuff), I think I came up with a pretty decent display:

Before you think of doing anything like this, please please please mount/brace/somehow attach you bookshelf to the wall. Especially if you are planning on having glass sitting on the shelves. The photo above, although nice looking, was taken after a cute thrift store jar fell and broke and a punch cup fell on my head then the floor (not breaking, amazingly). Um, we still need to take our own advice as the bookshelf has not been stabilized yet (bad future parent move?)...but its gonna happen, I swear!

The mixed book covers just aren't cutting it for me. 

I saw a cute display on pinterest once where the books were all recovered with brown paper...and I just happen to have a bunch left over from Christmas! I should've blogged my pretty wrappings, but alas, I did not. So just know that they were super cute! But...not the point! The point is I have a lot of that craft paper left over so it won't cost me a penny to recover my books (if you want to follow suit, just know that I scored these rolls of brown craft paper at the Dollar Tree...I'm in love with that store)!

 Here's to hoping that I will have another post about covering those books...when I get around to it. 

false alarms and true progress

After a rough start to our weekend, Seth and I actually made a dent in baby room/front closet/laundry room cabinet/kitchen organization!

We were both a little anxious on Friday afternoon - I decided to call my OB because little miss Avery was not dancing around as much as she normally does and I was having some cramping going on. After a trip to the OB office and an ultrasound, Avery was doing great - just, ya know, sitting on mommy's cervix and playing with her toes. Even though she was doing great, I was still sent to the hospital for some monitoring due to the cramping I had been feeling - a few hours later, I was cleared to go and everything is just fine with both of us (Mommy and Avery gave daddy a pretty good scare though!). Even though I was anxious to get cleared to go home (once at the hospital, it was pretty clear that everything was ok), I was even more anxious to keep my dinner date with Ashley and little Jack - Ethiopian food, who could pass that up? 

Saturday after work, Seth picked up the dresser and crib for Avery's room and the glider came in today (yay yay yay yay!). We are planning on getting the carpet cleaned soon (hopefully this weekend) so once that is done, we can start building baby furniture!!

Sunday was pretty busy - we pretty much destroyed our house while organizing. While I went out grocery and baby shopping (more on that in a bit), Seth worked on clearing out Avery's room, which has become a catch-all once again...oops. After buying a storage bin, we were able to move my book collection out of the room, and using a few cheapo laundry baskets, we were able to organize sheets, purses, wrapping paper and craft supplies into the top of the front closet (which also serves as Seth's closet now). 

Since we have moved the bookcase into the kitchen, I have been dying to make it look cute, but still be functional, and I got to do just that on Saturday (DIY post coming soon). This little project of mine not only spruced up our kitchen a bit, but cleared off counters and freed up an entire cabinet in the laundry room!

We have been so excited to start organizing Avery's room, and our first project was to wash the clothes that we already have for her and hang them in her closet. I cleaned my washer first to get the gunk out (1 cup white vinegar, 1 cup Simple Green, poured into washer, washer set on hot and let go through a cycle - and voila! shiny washer) before putting her cute clothes in there. We separated her clothes (darks, lights, whites) and got to washing! The laundry detergent that we picked up last weekend (and blogged about the deal we got in this post) has a lovely clean scent (but not too strong of course, safe for new baby skin). Hanging up her clothes really made us realize that she's so close to being with us, we just can't wait to see her little face!

Last, but definitely not least, I would like to share what I picked up on my little solo shopping trip! There are so many things that I want to make Avery's room perfect, if only I could get them all! I went to Target first...and...for the first time ever...it was a bust. I was so disappointed. But Home Goods and TJ Maxx were right across the street so I still had some hope. 

Those 2 stores make me wish I could just swoop in and take what I wanted - every time I go in, I find like, 9,345,754,789 things that I want to get. 

My mission yesterday was to find a crib mattress (which we will probably end up ordering, I didn't come home with one), a storage ottoman (for blankets and to save some moula as the glider ottoman is a little pricey), a nightstand (with drawer and shelf for under the window/next to the glider), a lamp, and a rug. I only came home with 2 of these items, but I'm so excited about them!

First, some insight into our view for baby's room: we are not into matchy-matchy baby themes or jungle animals, or any of the really baby-esque designs out there. Or a lot of pink. We just want a relaxing space that we can enjoy - baby don't really give a shit what her room looks like, I'm sure - and that we will be proud to show off. Our theme (if you can call it that) is slightly eclectic - mixed patterns (chevron!!) and colors that are different yet still compliment one another. I think we are on the right track so far: soft seafoam walls, black furniture, taupe and white linen glider, light pink, peach and white accents. Ahhh, dreamy. 

So here is what I purchased: 

 Mercury glass lamp (on the right): $20 at TJ Maxx - we are both in love with this lamp - it adds a perfect element of shiny-chic that we need. 

 

White and peachy-pink chevron print rug: $15 at Home Goods - a subtle print for the floor that will go nicely with her blankie (thicker chevron gray and white). 

If there's one thing I love to do, its shop, and I hope to do more of it soon. I'll keep you posted!

shake it like a polaroid picture

Last week, Seth and I had a pretty delicious dinner: Greek salad with homemade dressing and couscous. My more sophisticated palate allowed me to add beets, chick peas, feta and cumcumbers to my salad (gasp! I just remembered that I have kalamata olives in my fridge for that salad...and I forgot about them) and Seth's kindergarten palate only allowed him to add feta. Yes, just feta. If you don't know Seth, you also don't know that when we go to a coney he orders, "Greek salad with feta only," well, gosh darnit, man...isn't that just a bowl of damn lettuce with feta on top?!? And can't you ask for lettuce and feta instead of making the restaurant charge us full price for a half-assed Greek? Ugh. 

So we made this at home to save a little money on the non-Greek Greek salad. 

Um, and have you ever tried Near East brand couscous (or rice)? I've loved it for years - its delicious and you should def pick some up if you haven't already tried it!

But hey! I made my own dressing! Very wifey of me, no? I didn't just make a meal (well, I guess boxed couscous doesn't really count), but I made a condiment too! Sir Seth The Picky even liked it! His review: "its a bit tangier than I'm used to, but I like it." And he used a lot of it. 

So here it is: 

Homemade Greek Dressing

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

1 1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1 1/4 tsp. dried oregano

1 1/4 tsp. dried basil

1 tsp. pepper

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. onion powder

2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1. Put all that shit in a bottle!

 

2. Shake it like a polaroid picture! Shake it, shake it, shake it, shake it!

 

 

You're welcome. 

coupons are my best friend

I am proud to say that Seth and I had an extremely successful shopping trip on Sunday which was totally unexpected and incredibly budget-friendly of us!

We went to Babies R Us on Sunday with the intention of ordering Avery's crib...and that fell through. Apparently you can't have things shipped to the store for free? At least we couldn't with the crib we chose:

Anyway, we decided that our best option was to order the crib from Walmart, where you can get items shipped to the store for free (no shipping fees)! We also ordered our glider and dresser for Avery's nursery from Walmart as well:

 

We are so thankful to Seth's parents, grandparents, Aunt, Uncle and his brothers and sister-to-be for helping us out with these huge items...we really need them and they will help make Avery's nursery into what we have always imagined!

On to our super-budget-y shopping trip though!

While at Babies R Us, we noticed that all of the Babyganics products (organic cleaning supplies with minimal ingredients) were buy one get one free! So we picked up a few things:

 

With our coupons (3 $5 off rewards, a $2 Similac bottle coupon, and a $4 Similac bottle coupon) we were able to score all of that for $16 (which is a steal, considering that one bottle of the laundry detergent is $14.99)!!

In true Babies R Us fashion, we received like, 900 coupons back on our receipt - and we plan on visiting again (maybe this week) to see what kind of other deals we can snag!