KiDECALS Review and Coupon Code

One thing I did not anticipate when having a baby was the importance of labeling... everything! One would think the ultra-organizer in me would have thought of this, but alas, I did not. When Leif goes to daycare, his bottles must be labeled, and this posed a problem. I didn't want to write on the bottles, so with the couple minutes I had to make a decision, I put on some clear address labels. Problem solved! Well, not really. Turns out those address labels don't stick on or stay very well.

Enter KiDECALS. These labels are meant for kids' items, and they are dishwasher proof and washing machine proof! Not only that, but they have lots of cute design options. KiDECALS sent me some labels to put to the test. Here is what I chose!

I love the design of these labels. I opted for the mega pack so I would have plenty of large and small labels. The small ones are perfect for bottles and bottle tops. The bigger ones would work great on books, bigger toys, and more.

Before I could give these my seal of approval, I had to test out the washability. I mean, cuteness counts for nothing if they fall off in the sink! However, I was pleasantly surprised. After a week of washing bottles in both the sink and the dishwasher, the labels actually seem more sealed to the bottles! Nice.

If you would like to pick up some labels for yourself, your kid, your dog, your kitchen, or just about anything, here is a code just for you! Enter the code TEAMAWESOME at checkout to take 10% off your entire order. They also ship any order for free! Go to www.KiDECALS.com to check out all the options. Happy labeling!

Anywhere Chair Winner!

The winner of the Anywhere Chair is..... Jen M!

Jen, please respond to my email with your shipping address within 48 hours. Thanks!

RundBaby Anywhere Chair Review and Giveaway!

As Leif is wiggling about so much now, having turned six months old, I have come to understand the necessity of many options to... let's say... "restrain" him. That may sound medieval to some, but if you're a parent, you know exactly what I mean!

Add to the mix that Leif does not like to miss out on any action, and some of our options disappear. The Pack n Play? Not unless you plan to sit outside it! The swing? No more. Even the Bumbo is too low to the ground because he wants to see everything.

That's why I was so intrigued by the RundBaby Anywhere Chair. It is ingeniously designed to help your baby sit just about anywhere. They are made locally by Melissa Rund of Rund Baby, who also makes lots of other items and sells them in her Etsy shop as well as at The Market, which is where I first stumbled upon them.

Melissa was kind enough to give me an Anywhere Chair to try out and review! One place we frequent without quite enough "restraints" is Grandma's house, so that is where we brought our Anywhere Chair and put it to the test.

The fabric easily fit around the dining room chair and Leif, which meant he didn't get upset about getting settled in (unlike the carseat, the stroller, and the highchair). Once he was in, he was pretty excited to be able to see all around just like the grown ups! The added bonus was that our dog was keeping an eye on him, and she is his favorite thing in the world. You can see how happy he is here!

The verdict: The Anywhere Chair is awesome, adorable, and super useful. We plan on using it at Grandma's and also in the restaurant high chairs, and I'm sure as he grows we will find more places for him to sit as well! I will also be taking advantage of those handy ribbon loops by attaching a couple favorite toys to them.

Melissa also makes lots of other baby items - I was excited to see she is working on new diaper bags with the super cute fabric she carries! You can see what she is up to at her Facebook page!

That's not all, folks - now you can enter to win an Anywhere Chair! Melissa has set aside this red and white chevron Anywhere Chair for one lucky winner. Enter below! Make sure you like her Facebook page as well. If you win, I will email you for your address - be sure to respond within 48 hours. Good luck!

Back to School, Starting Daycare, and Wipes Redux

The lack of posting the last couple weeks is due to the inevitable fact that I had to go back to school. I am now in my ninth year of teaching somehow! This year is so different because of Leif. Who knew it is so hard to leave your baby at daycare? Well, I didn't!

Leif is enjoying daycare, which makes things so much easier! He's gone from 3-5 hours of napping a day to about an hour of napping because he is so excited about all the kids around him. This makes him one tired boy at home, but it pretty much matches my energy level after a day with high school students. All in all, we are adjusting, but hoping our energy increases a bit soon. We are lucky that we have daycare we trust, in a convenient place, with kids to entertain him, and last but certainly not least, they use our cloth diapers. Win!

On the subject of cloth diapers... when I last posted about using cloth wipes, I tried out a homemade wipe solution. Turns out that is a no-go. Leif's perfect baby skin got bright red again, and it must be from the soap in the wipe solution. We are back to dry wipes with the occasional water bottle spray, and the redness has disappeared.

Leif turned five months recently - here is my favorite picture from all the ones I took. What a cutie!

The Winner of the Woolzies Dryer Ball Contest is...

The Winner of the Woolzies Dryer Ball Contest is...

Karey S!

Karey, please send me your shipping address within 48 hours (by 1 p.m. central on August 24).

Thanks to all who entered - watch for more giveaways soon!

Cloth Wipes (A/K/A I'm Getting Crunchier)

(Looking for the wool dryer ball giveaway? It's in the post below. Ends 8/21/13!)

 As you know, Leif has been in cloth diapers for about four months now, and he went from having acid-burn-like rashes to almost no rashes at all. Almost. However, he seems to have very sensitive skin, and he still had redness a couple times a day. I tried adding fleece liners (homemade by my mom - just cut up washed fleece!) which helped some, but they didn't fully solve the problem. Enter the wipes.

 Even "sensitive" wipes still have lots of ingredients! After I noticed the ingredients list, I thought I better try cloth wipes. Another incentive was the fact that the cloth wipes can go in the same bag as the diapers when changing, instead of having to throw them away - one less step! I bought some flannel, and my mom washed it, cut it into baby washcloth size pieces, and serged the edges for me. (Have I mentioned how awesome my mom is?) They were ready to go!

 I'm going to spare you before and after shots (or spare Leif, that is). The difference has been amazing though! His red spots are now nonexistent. At first I kept the wipes dry, and I left a peri bottle (got one at the hospital after delivery) full of water next to the wipes. My husband Titus wanted something with soap in it though, so he could feel like Leif was getting really clean. Challenge accepted. :) After perusing some wipe solution recipes online, I chose the following:

1 cup hot water,
 1 Tablespoon coconut oil, and
 1 Tablespoon Dr. Bronner's baby soap.

 I mixed them together and poured it over my wipes, which I had folded into my wipes warmer. In retrospect, the only thing I would have done differently is had the wipes cut to match the size of the wipe warmer better. Other than that, we are pretty happy with this experiment! I may add some essential oils once in a while, but honestly they smell great right now with the coconut scent coming through.

The lack of redness is reason enough alone to continue using cloth wipes, but think of the cost savings as well! Disposable wipes aren't cheap and the cost adds up. Cloth wipes are also environmentally friendly.

 If you have questions, just ask below! Since I am not giving you a boring picture of wipes or diaper rashes, here's one of Mr. Leif practicing his rolling skills.

Woolzies Dryer Balls Review and Giveaway!

If you have kids, you are aware of the amazing fact that laundry increases exponentially the second you arrive home with a newborn. My little guy is only four months old, but he creates more laundry than my husband and I combined! Add to that our decision to cloth diaper, and we have a LOT of laundry on our hands.

When reading about using cloth diapers, I saw many recommendations for wool dryer balls. According to seasoned CDers, using wool dryer balls significantly lowers their diaper drying time. We use prefolds and Flip inserts, and I like to wash them nightly. They take about two hours to dry in our not-so-new dryer, and that is with two plastic laundry balls in there. We stopped using dryer sheets a while back when I heard about the chemicals in them, but the plastic balls don't seem to help with static or drying time.

Needless to say, I was excited to try Woolzies dryer balls! I had to see if these six white balls lived up to their claims. I was not disappointed!

Here are the dryer balls I was sent. I was so happy to find them in the mail - my husband thought I was a little crazy, I'm sure!

I was actually disappointed that I had already dried that day's diapers, but I had a load of clothes to dry so I used the dryer balls right away. I honestly don't pay much attention to how long it takes clothes to dry because I use the auto-dry setting. However, I can definitely say that the clothes were soft and static-free!

The real test was the load of diapers that usually takes two hours to dry. How much could these six balls cut off my time? The answer? 40 minutes! That is a third of their regular drying time. Just think of the time and energy savings, not to mention less wear and tear on the diapers. Woolzies dryer balls are the real deal!

Here are their claims and how they truly stacked up:

-Reduce drying time by up to 25% - check!

-Reduce wrinkles - check!

-Reduce static - check!

-Hypoallergenic - check! (I can't wear wool sweaters, but these balls do not bother my skin at all.)

Last but not least, Woolzies balls are made by women in Nepal, and the Woolzies website states that this gives them a steady source of income. This makes me feel even better about using them.

I highly recommend these dryer balls and will continue to use them with every load of laundry. You can buy your own set at www.woolzies.com - or, you can try to win them in this giveaway!

*I was not paid to review Woolzies Dryer balls. I was given a set to try and provide my honest opinion.*

Adventures in Cloth Diapering Part 3: A Few of My Favorite Things

We are very much in our cloth diapering groove - we've found our favorites and are in a great routine!

Here is Mr. Leif in our favorite diaper - a Flip cover in the Albert print.

I bought and tried numerous types of diaper covers, but my favorite type of cover is Flip. They are one size, meaning they fit from 8-35 pounds I believe. This saves you money! In addition, covers can be used multiple times before being washed, so they are a money saver in that way too. I also like the little flaps inside the Flip cover. These help the inserts and prefolds stay in place. There are many colors and a couple prints to choose from.

For the inside, during the daytime we like the Flip stay dry inserts. They are very trim and fit perfectly with the Flip covers. You can fold them for small, medium, and large settings, which go along with the rise snaps on the covers. We are on the small setting. 

When summer got hot here in Minnesota, we found we needed to keep Leif very dry to prevent heat rash. My mom had some extra fleece at home and just cut it into pieces the same size as the Flip inserts. These fleece inserts do double duty, as they also protect the diaper from diaper creams.

At night, Leif needs a little more diaper! Our latest concoction seems to do the trick. We use a Flip cover, an Imagine bamboo prefold which we trifold, a Thirsties soaker, and a fleece liner on top. If it is put on correctly, there are rarely nighttime leaks, even when he sleeps 10 hours straight! We also use the prefolds during the day sometimes - mostly when the Flip inserts are all dirty.

There are lots of diaper creams out there, but only a few are truly cloth diaper safe. I try to stick with those so our diapers will last a long time! We like CJ's Butter and Grandma El's. I really like the CJ's Butter is available in a stick so you don't have to touch anything. Makes clean-up a breeze! However, Grandma  El's is what we reach for when we see some redness, and it usually clears up by the next diaper change.

Adventures in Cloth Diapering Part 2: Building the Stash

Once you have done some research and hopefully have seen some cloth diapers in person, it's time to start building your stash. This is the fun part!

Depending on your budget, you have lots of options. I wanted to keep costs in mind, so I went with a majority of covers and inserts and prefolds. This way, I can reuse the same couple covers all day, which saves money. However, I did buy some pocket diapers for daycare in hopes that they will find them easy to use. Pocket diapers can only be used once before washing because the inside gets dirty. Some people love pockets and have a whole stash of them, but I find myself grabbing for them last.

Here are a couple pictures of my beginning stash! I have already sold some of these after finding they didn't work as well for us. I only lost a dollar or two on each one I sold.

I ordered from Diapers.com with two 20% off codes, which meant almost 40% in savings and free shipping. I also ordered from Nicki's Diapers, which I like because they have great customer service and they are in Madison, Wisconsin (a seven hour drive, but in the big cloth diapering world it seems kind of local!).

Once you have chosen the types of diapers you want, you aren't finished. You need wet bags for traveling, wet bags or pail liners for at home, snappis or pins if you are using prefolds or flats, cloth diaper safe cream, soakers, and safe detergent.

In my next blog I will go over some of my favorite diapers and above-mentioned accessories!

Adventures in Cloth Diapering - Why Cloth Diaper?

First off, let me state for the record that I had no intentions of using cloth diapers before or during my pregnancy! I was with the crowd that thought, why touch that stuff any more than necessary? Get it in the garbage and move on!

So what changed my mind? Primarily the acid-like diaper rash Leif had. My body hurt just looking at it! My sister-in-law graciously loaned us her cloth diapers to try out, so without having to pay a cent, I could see if they would actually work for us.

And work they did! Leif's rash went away very quickly, and because of that I was sold. The laundry wasn't anywhere as disgusting and scary as I thought it would be. Although there are still some newborn poo diapers that I would rather just throw in the garbage, they are few and far between.

The cost savings is what initially got my husband on board. Here is a link from Diaper Decisions that breaks down the cost of cloth diapers versus disposables. I also learned that used diapers have a great resale value! I never would have guessed that someone would want to buy my cloth diapers when I am done with them. They can also be reused on future children, although at the moment I definitely have my hands full with just this little one!

Another factor that convinced both Titus and I to cloth diaper are the environmental benefits. Here is a link from the Real Diaper Association showing how detrimental disposable diapers our to our environment.

The number of chemicals in disposable diapers also grosses me out. I go to so much trouble to use "clean" shampoo, baby wash, creams, etc. - why would I want chemicals sitting on his bum all day, every day?

The cloth diaper experiment was a success, so it became time for us to buy our own. I did lots of research and found most people suggested trying a bunch of different types of diapers to see what works for you. I will admit that it has become an odd hobby of mine, and I will probably keep trying different kinds until Leif doesn't need diapers anymore. That said, I found some favorites, so I will blog about those soon!

Before I purchased any diapers, I also went to my friend Genevieve's house and she showed my friend and I all her diapers and how she uses them. It really helped to see them in person and know how to use them! Thanks, Genevieve!

If you are interested in cloth diapering, I highly suggest talking to someone who already does it and having them walk you through their stash. (If you are anywhere near me, I would be happy to do this for you!) There are also great web resources out there for you.
Green Mountain Diapers has helpful information here, and there is a seven part You Tube series starting here.

Leif's two month shot, in one of his first cloth diapers! (I have since sold this one because it wasn't one of my favorites.)

From Pregnancy to Parenting - a blogging shift

Now that little Leif is here, the focus of my blog necessitates change! So, I'd like to focus on parenting - the joys, the struggles, what works for us, what doesn't, and more. If there's something you'd like to hear about, just let me know!

One of Leif's newborn pictures, courtesy of Courtney Draxten.

Leif's birth story

Baby Boy C, now known as Leif, entered the world at 10:33 a.m. on Thursday, March 28, 2013! He was 8 pounds 6 ounces and 20.5 inches. To hear all about his birth story, read on...

I went to my 39 week appointment on Monday the 25th expecting it to be very routine as the last few had. For some reason, I asked my husband to tag along, even though he hadn't been going to the last few appointments with me. I'm glad I did!

The nurse took my blood pressure as usual, but then she took it again. And again. Then she had me lie on the examining bed and took it again. And again. My blood pressure was going up and up instead of down, which was a problem. My doctor came in and explained that he wanted me to come in to be induced in two days (Wednesday the 27th). I had other plans, though. Could I just go back to work for the week and let this little baby come when he felt like it? The doctor was pretty adamant that no, I could not, and in fact, I could not go back to work at all! Well, when he put it like that, I certainly didn't want to lie around the house for who knows how long waiting for my baby to decide to come. So, I acquiesced and scheduled our induction.

The next couple days went by soooo slowly! I got my substitute teacher ready, made sure our bags were packed, and.... waited. On Wednesday I had my dad take me out for lunch so I could relax and get my mind off things. Then Wednesday evening finally arrived, and Titus and I headed to the hospital.

I was given Cervadil to help start labor around 6 p.m.,  with the understanding that it wouldn't do much and I would need Pitocin in the morning to further things along. However, around 9 p.m., right when I was going to try to sleep, the contractions started. For about five minutes, I thought, "Oh, so this is what labor is like! I can handle this!" Wrong. The contractions got extremely painful very quickly after that.

My body wasn't ready for an epidural quite yet, so I had a shot of some type of pain medication first. That lasted all of a half hour, but it was long enough for my body to prepare for an epidural. I had no "birth plan" to speak of - I just figured whatever would happen, would happen, and because the contractions were too painful to deal with, I was definitely ready for the pain to stop! The anesthetist had to wake up and come in, so that took a while, but boy was there relief when the epidural started working.

I think I got a little sleep between then (maybe 3 a.m.?) and when the doctor came at 6:30 a.m., but the nurses were always checking on my progress and the baby. When the doctor came and said everything was good to go, I thought that was it - baby time! Instead, he laughed and said the hard part was still to come. He'd be back in a while to check on me.

So began about three hours of torture. After two hours, they turned the epidural down because I was having a hard time knowing if I was pushing correctly. Once it was turned down, I felt a horrible pain and knew the baby was not moving the way he was supposed to be. However, being this was my first time delivering a baby, the nurses seemed to think it was probably normal pain and I needed to keep working. I stuck it out for another hour, but then I stopped and insisted on seeing the doctor.

When the doctor came in, he could also tell the baby was stuck. He was going to try a vacuum, but if that didn't work, he would have to perform a C-section, so I warily signed the release forms.

The vacuum was painful as I had to push again, and it didn't work at all. Instead, the baby's heart rate decelerated, so my c-section became imminent and an emergency. Titus couldn't come with, so he had to stay up in the waiting room while I was wheeled off.

In the operating room, there must have been over twenty people working. It was nice to know there were so many hands on deck, but it was also frightening! I think our hospital has three anesthetists, and they were all in my room! The baby was still stuck, so my doctor had to work hard to get him out. However, once he was out, he was healthy, big, and had a full head of hair!

The recovery process was difficult to say the least. Of course, it was totally worth it, though!

This is Leif and me the day he was born. He looks like such a peanut now!

Leif on Easter, the day we got to go home. This is still a favorite position of his! :)

March 18; almost 38-39 weeks

It is almost time to meet baby boy Christianson! Almost everything is ready in preparation for him. Titus still has a couple items on his list to prepare, like the Pack and Play and the carseat, but other than that, we are ready. (Maybe not mentally, but who ever is?)

Today we are happily stuck at home in a blizzard. It's nice to relax since we don't have to go anywhere. Just hoping the baby agrees with us, as it would be pretty hard to get to the hospital today!

Our friends Brianne and Aaron had their baby last Sunday, and we went to meet baby Graham in Fargo on Saturday. It was exciting to see what will soon be happening for us as well! They are doing great, and Graham is adorable.

The picture below is from a few days ago, so 37-38 weeks. I am all screwed up on the due date now, but I guess he will come whenever he wants to anyway!

March 3; 35.5 weeks or 36.5 weeks?!

As you may be able to tell from the title, our due date may have gotten moved up a week! I asked the doctor at my appointment a few days ago if he thought April 2 was still our due date. Well, he looked at the first ultrasound, which is apparently the most accurate for dating purposes, and it said March 26! That is a full week earlier! Luckily I have things ready at school (although my sub is in Vegas for a couple more weeks...) and most everything ready at home. Now it is more about the mental preparation.

This weekend has included lots of baby preparation. My mom and I went to Target and bought most of what was left on the registry. Last night I put together the monkey bouncer, and today I put together the swing. Titus is in charge of boxes, and he is less than impressed with how many of them there are. :) Right now he is setting up the Pack and Play. His last assignment is to practice installing the car seat, so he is ready to put it in when the baby is here!

I have been feeling pretty decent all things considered. The baby has moved down, so I am able to eat more than bird portions of food, and that is nice! He seems to have moved out of the ideal position again though, so hopefully he finds the right place before too long.

The nursery is almost complete, so I am posting pictures of it. It's hard to get pictures with everything in them, so they are a bit awkward.

We had a great baby shower at the Stigens last Saturday, and I will post about it soon!

Dresser/Changing Table (just missing the changing pad... and pictures of people we actually know!)

Crib- Mom made the skirt, Steve and Diane provided the oar, and my dad hung it. We may hang his name from it later, but not now since that is TBD!

Bookcase, audio system (a must!), and bouncer

Curtains made by my mom

Matching pillow by Mom; rocking chair passed down from Andersons to Rajaniemis to us!

February 19; 34 Weeks

(Warning: This post is as scatterbrained as I am at the moment... so at least it's fitting!)

Lots can happen in two weeks' time! We traveled to the cities last weekend because I had one more meeting for my summer writing institute. While I was at that, Titus went to Ikea (his least favorite place on Earth) to buy a dresser and bookcase for the nursery. The bookcase got vetoed after putting it together, but the dresser works great.

 We also got a new recliner, which I am very excited about!

While Titus put together the dresser, I took pictures of the crazy snow we got.

My friends and coworkers, Erin and Desiree, held a shower for me at work after school today. It was great fun! Erin thoughtfully made cotton candy cupcakes after remembering I liked them on Pinterest. They were delicious! And now I know that cotton candy frosting is at the grocery store... that could be dangerous.

My coworkers were very generous, and I had to take a picture of all the things they gave us before I put them away.

 This is Erin, Desiree, and me at the shower - be kind to us, as it was pajama day at school!

In baby news, he is the size of a bag of sugar today. Five pounds! With the help of a couple wonderful chiropractors who will remain nameless here, I believe the baby has moved back into the correct position! We won't know for sure for a while, and he of course could move anytime he wants, so fingers crossed. However, I'm pretty sure I'm feeling kicks in my ribs today instead of a back.

Last, here are a couple pictures of the nursery. It is still a work in progress, and things are being moved in and out as my whims change, but it's coming along. My mom finished the curtains and is now working on the crib skirt.

My aunts and cousins are having a shower for me this Saturday, and after that I think our nursery will start to look a little more complete!

February 5; 32 Weeks

Only 8 weeks (or less?) to go! If you know me, you know I am planning on being ready a month early... just in case. Of course, as a teacher this involves quite a bit of planning ahead for my absence. I'm getting there though!

At my last doctor's appointment, I found out the baby has moved to a new position. He was in the best positioning all this time, but a couple days before my appointment, he moved to a transverse (sideways) position. It's not a big deal now (although it means his back is shoved up under my already tender ribs), but he does need to move back pretty soon. Hopefully he does that on his own!

On Saturday I went to my friend Brianne's baby shower - she is due two weeks before me. There were four of us pregnant women there! It was really fun to see her and everyone. It was also fun to watch all the fun things she was opening (and add some items to my list)!

The nursery is coming together, but there is still work to be done. We are going to the cities this weekend as I have a meeting on Saturday. Then we will be making a trip to Ikea for a dresser and bookcase for the nursery. Once those are put together, we can do a bit of decorating, and it should definitely resemble a nursery by then! :)

January 22; 30 Weeks

The 30 week mark happened to fall on my 31st birthday! We had a birthday dinner at Titus' parents' house, as well as a dinner at Bello's with my dad and Shelly.

Nursery Progress

It has been a busy week in the nursery! Our future nursery is our former office, which looked like this before:

That was right after we moved in, so the shelves are admittedly much fuller now! We moved all of this downstairs to our "extra" room, which is our new office. My dad and Titus took apart the three sections of the desk and moved them down. Yay for lots of help!

The next step was painting the nursery. I chose the color Divine White from Sherwin Williams. My mom painted the room over three days. My dad came over one night to install our closet shelves and a new light fixture.

Yesterday, Titus and his dad put together the crib and installed the curtain rod. I attempted to put together the cube storage unit for the closet, but I got as far as taking all the pieces out before realizing my ambition far outweighed my current energy level. Thankfully, Titus put it together for me tonight so I could start getting baby's stuff into his room. Instead, I washed the clothes we have so far for the baby - it may be the only time I enjoy doing laundry! It is amazing to think that anyone could ever be so little to fit into those clothes.

My mom is making all kinds of things like curtains, a crib skirt, and much more. They will be added soon! Then it will really start looking like the nursery I've imagined in my head (and on Pinterest).

Today we bought a rocking recliner, and it gets delivered Friday - I am excited to get it and hopefully find it very comfortable even at 30 weeks. :)

We still have to get a dresser and bookshelf, but at least our little boy will have a place to sleep when he gets here! Thanks so much to our parents for helping us out with everything. Here are some pictures of the progress!

January 20: (Almost) 30 Weeks!

Sorry for the lack of posting lately - there has been quite a bit going on! Plenty to write about, but I find myself dreading the weekly bump picture (I will probably add one to this post later... probably).

Last time I posted, we just had our 3D ultrasound. The next day I had a good checkup, but the doctor wanted to make sure my back pain wasn't due to kidney stones, so I went back to ultrasound the following day to check. That meant three days straight with visits to the hospital/clinic - not too big of a deal in the long run, but I am also directing the one act play at the moment, so my schedule is a bit tight. Anyway, there were no visible stones, but the ultrasound tech said my kidney was getting squished where my back hurt. Lovely! The only cure: having the baby... so I guess I will put up with it for a while longer. :)

Two days later (Sunday), Titus was playing basketball and someone's elbow landed on his chin and throat. He had to go to the ER for stitches and also had a bruised larynx. He is all better now, but I was a little anxious at the moment!

A few days after that, I wasn't feeling great. Titus went to play more basketball Wednesday night (after making many promises regarding his safety to me), and I told him I'd call if I got worse. I think he thought I was exaggerating! The next day at school I did feel worse, and I was also having many contractions. Finally during 3rd hour I counted them, and I called the nurse at lunch. She told me I needed to come in for observation, so I did.

I was given a shot to stop the contractions, and it worked, but it also had some unpleasant side effects - the worst being my heart rate and the baby's going waaaay up. (They did warn me this would happen!) Both of our heart rates were monitored the whole time, though. After a few check-ins from the doctor and many more from the nurses, I was free to leave that evening. I was even cleared to teach the next day, but lo and behold, we had a snow (actually, freezing rain) day! Usually I'd be upset that my lesson plans were messed up, but boy was I thankful for that day off!

Since then I have been feeling pretty good, and there have been no more scary moments. Well, except for the birthing class we took last Saturday - I'm pretty sure Titus found that scary. It was also his first experience changing a diaper (on a doll, however); he will have to get used to that pretty quickly!

Nursery update - my parents have been very gracious to help get the baby's room ready! My mom just finished painting the nursery yesterday, and my dad installed our closet system and a new light a few days ago. Next up: putting together the crib! I will post pictures soon!

There is the lengthy, delayed update on all things baby. :)

Jan 2: 3D Ultrasound

Our hospital offers complimentary 3D ultrasounds, so we took them up on the offer and had ours today. Personally I think he looks like a mixture of Gollum from Lord of the Rings and Homer Simpson, but hopefully that is just for now. :)

Here is a picture of him sucking his thumb!

January 1; 27 weeks

We have officially made it to the third trimester! Only three months (or less) left before this growing boy joins us. Exciting and scary all at the same time!

Titus and I have enjoyed lots of time with family over Christmas break. Yesterday we ventured to Fargo, where my friend Brianne and I went shopping for nursery fabric. We stepped into Bed, Bath, and Beyond as well, where I got a little overwhelmed with all the things we still need to get for the baby. Trying to remember that it will all come together eventually! Brianne is due two weeks before me, so we got a bump picture in - see below. This was taken after our shopping trip - much shorter than our usual excursions, but of course much more exhausting! :)

We have spent the past few New Year's Eves at home, but this year we were invited to a little gathering at our friends' home in town. Almost everyone there had a baby of their own, so by next New Year's we will fit right in!

Tomorrow we have our 3D ultrasound, and Friday I have a doctor's appointment. Hopefully all goes well!