Earth Day

Today is Earth day.  

What better to blog about than some eco-friendly house and baby products?

If you know me, you know I LOVE using eco-friendly products.  

For cleaning I like chlorox greenworks and Mrs. Meyer's cleaning products.  I think recycling is essential.

I try to buy organic, and/or locally grown foods.  I like love reusable bags, I think they hold so much more and you don't have to worry about bags breaking.

(although sometimes I forget them...If I leave some in my car, they are always there!)

They are also great for when you need a bag to schlepp whatever else you need into/out of your car in a snap.

But what about baby products?

For starters, we (read Rick painted and I picked the color) painted the nursery with a low-VOC paint.  This means that the paint emits less harmful chemicals as it "airs out" than normal paints.  This proves to be beneficial to  everyone so that no one is breathing in toxic chemicals.

 Please note this is the nursery so far. It is not finished.

I have registered for many organic products (clothing, blankets, mattress-which by the way your baby spends about 16 hours sleeping,  do you want it to be on a mattress that is treated with formaldehyde? (the same chemical used in embalming) , BPA free bottles, pacifiers, and utensils. 

These products are safer and do not leave the lingering effects of chemicals on your baby.

Something else that is eco-friendly are cloth diapers.  While not the first choice for everyone, it is an option. Now there are options for half cloth/half disposable diapers.  I have registered for G-Diapers which is this hybrid type of diaper. A cloth reusable outside with a disposable biodegradable inside.  I have heard great reviews about G-Diapers and am curious to try a diaper that will not sit in a landfill for 100's of years (G-Diapers breakdown in 90 days) and does not contain bleached fabrics and other chemicals.

For more info on G-Diapers go to http://www.gdiapers.com/gdiapers101 .

pictures from www.gdiapers.com

I realize that using the above products are not for everyone.  I do not judge anyone for not using or using eco-friendly products, it is simply my choice.  I hope that I did not offend anyone :o).

What products can you not live without?

Happy Earth Day!!

Hellooooooo 3rd Trimester

Only one thing for today.

  

Hellooooo 3rd trimester!!

I am so glad you are here. 

I am 28 weeks today, only 9 more weeks until 37 weeks (always fun to add a little math).

What's so important about 37 weeks? 

If my baby is born anytime after 37 weeks (wishful thinking that its somewhere after 37 wks to 40 weeks)  

than he/she is not considered pre-term!

The countdown is on. 12. weeks. until. 7.11.2011.  =)

Happy Monday!

Only in Philadelphia

This week I had a unique experience....

  While walking on a a sidewalk in Philadelphia (in the gorgeous 70

degree weather that we had recently) I hear someone yelling something.  I then realize that the man 

(parking attendant) across the street was yelling at me.

"It's a boy!"   

umm...thank you?  

Only in Philadelphia would you have a complete stranger yelling 

their guess of which gender your unborn child is at you!

If he's correct I will be asking for lottery numbers! 

(although a babies gender is 50/50..slightly better odds than the lottery.)

There seems to be many theories to a baby's gender depending on how the mom is carrying...

What are your guesses?

Weekend...Where Did You Go..?

Why do weekend's fly by sooo quickly?!?

Fridays.  Friday evenings are minimal to non-existent as I can not seem to leave work on time

and we all know how traffic on 76 is on Fridays'. 

Saturday mornings are blissful.  The knowledge of the whole weekend ahead of you to do as you please.  

I particularly love when nothing is scheduled. That, currently, is my ideal weekend. 

No Schedule.

Which if you know me is not quite like my normal planning personality.  But it is what I have

treasured on the weekends recently. I want nothing to do, I always end up doing many 

things as sitting still tends to be difficult for me, but, not having a

time crunch is what I  l.o.v.e.

Monday will start my 26th week...and I officially have less than 100 days until my due date ;o).

Upcoming appointments include bi-weekly check ups and my glucose screening test.

I am currently enjoying Mexican food, especially with guacamole.

Here's to almost completing my 2nd trimester and trying to relax.

Break it down.

After writing my last entry I thought it would be interesting to see exactly how much I popped within the past few weeks... 

See below, for an almost bi-weekly (I missed week 19 in the collage) bump comparison. 

Please note:

My dogs must be in the picture.

My hair alternately is down and half up. Which was completely unplanned.

 Currently I have not had any crazy pregnancy cravings on a regular basis.  I needed to have ice cream one night, and needed to have tacos with guacamole one night.  Other than those two instances I have not had any crazy cravings.

What are your thoughts on my "bump"?  It will be interesting to see how much my stomach grows in the remaining 14.5 weeks!!

Fast Forward to Week 25

 I am now visibly pregnant, as evidenced by my co-workers whom I do not frequently socialize with coming up to me saying 

"Oh my gosh, I had no idea you were pregnant until now!"

Yes.  I have popped.  

Week 5 on the left.  Week 25 on the right.

Over the past 2-3 weeks I have endured some painful stomach stretching.  I no longer fit into any of my pre-maternity clothing (mainly shirts, the stretchy pants still fit).  If you had any question before about my pregnancy, you would not now. (Side note: my dogs love to jump into my "bump pics").  

By looking at the comparison picture it is easy to see 2 things; 

1-I look pregnant.  2- I think I may grow my hair out a little.

Currently I am enjoying being pain free 

(more to come on that story... please pray my kidney stone continues to not act up, 

or as my MD say's "resolve itself one way or the other.")  

and feeling my baby move around and do only what I think of as somersaults in my stomach.

I have come to learn that my child is stubborn, already...read I have no idea if the baby is a boy or girl because he/she did not want me to know.  Baby F also seems to enjoy periods of rest throughout the day, but always is awake for my morning drive to work and tends to move around to faster beat songs as I drive.

I can't wait to finally get to meet my little one. Due date is 7.11.11

Introduction

So, I guess I should start by introducing, explaining, attempting to not be so formal about myself...?  I am writing this blog partially to document the rest of my pregnancy, 15 weeks left!, as it progress and to put in writing how I have been feeling so far.  

I found out in October that I was pregnant with my first child.

Yes, you are seeing this correctly. I took 3 pregnancy test.  I took the first two non-digital test and swore I saw a line.  Being skeptical, my husband was reluctant to celebrate until it was official.  So I then made him buy a digital test.

There was no mistaking it.  Pregnant.

My next obstacle was figuring out if I could sit through a dinner with my Mom and not tell her. 

Nope. Not.going.to.happen.  

So much for keeping it a secret for a little. 

So, by the end of the night our immediate family 

Mom's, Dad's and siblings knew about our upcoming bundle of joy.