Some more fun stuff for mommy

Awhile back I saw an ad on Facebook for baby/pregnancy related coupons and discounts so I signed up and from time to time in my email I get some offers for different products through this site I signed up on.

Last week I got an email for a 1 day only sale on nursing covers at a site called Udder Covers (I found the name amusing!) - using the promo code in the email, you could purchase a $32 nursing cover for free - just pay the $9.95 shipping and handling. They also had gift sets on this site for $37 - since the promo code was good for $32 off products on the site you could get the gift set for just $5 plus the $9.95 shipping and handling. In addition to the nursing cover, the gift set also comes with a Milk Bands nursing bracelet that helps you keep track of which side you last nursed on and for how long and at what time, as well as 5 ply 100% cotton breast pads to help you from leaking. Since the set was only $5 more we opted for that and it just arrived today!

I got the black nursing cover, as they had various colors and patterns to choose from:

 

I thought it was a pretty good deal for $14.95 when normally it would have been $46.95! I just looked - good thing I acted when I did too - they're all out of this particular pattern, both separately and in the gift set!

We were also watching something last week that made me think of maybe trying yoga to help with stretching and strengthening a bit. Since I have some Amazon gift cards still in my account I went on there to look and see what they had and came across the Summer Sander's Prenatal Workout DVD. It includes some stretching and simple weight work to help keep your body toned and build up your muscles since you'll be carrying your kiddo around and need that upper body strength. It's got 3 different workouts - 1 for each trimester - and each workout has a "full length" 50 minute version and an "express" shorter version. It had mostly good reviews and seemed to be one of the best pregnancy workout DVDs so I decided to get it.

In the DVD, Summer is 7 months pregnant, so it's nice seeing someone with a baby belly doing the workout with you and being able to watch as she does things so you can do it correctly too. I tried the full length version yesterday since I had time. My arms were a little tired so I wasn't able to the 2nd set of bicep and tricep exercises, but the rest of the DVD wasn't bad - I used 5lb weights instead of a resistance cord and that worked just fine. Also, they have you do floor stuff on an incline of pillows too - I need to get a few more cuz my couch pillows weren't working as well.

I felt really good after the workout though and seemed to have more energy than I seemed to be having lately too. I'd definitely recommend this DVD to anyone that's pregnant and wants to work out properly and safely!

18week exam and we know the gender!

We had our 18week, 1 day appointment this morning and just got back a little bit ago.

I had another cervical ultrasound first before the ultrasound technician pulled out the belly scanner and got a better look at baby that way. The doctor said my cervix length is great - measuring at about 47mm - and he said 30-35 is the average so anything better than that is really good! He said it's safe to say that having had the LEEP done prior, it shouldn't have any affect or give us any problems. I also seemed to put on a good bit of my weight this time around, which the doctor said is normal - when we went in for our first appointment I had gained about 5lbs from where I was pre-pregnancy. The second appointment there wasn't any change - maybe a 1lb at most. This time though, I gained about 9-10lbs, so he said being that I'm about halfway now, the fact that I've gained around 15lbs so far is typical.

The technician also asked us, in the event that baby is cooperating and she could tell what the gender is, if we wanted to know.

We said of course - the suspense has been killing us and while our anatomical survey isn't until next month's appointment (on Oct 18), we were hoping she'd be able to tell us today as we can't stand to have to wait another 4 weeks, lol...

First she got a good profile:

Then she showed us the little arm:

And then we took a peek below...

It's a boy!!

He wasn't shy at all about showing off his package to us! lol...

He was pretty active again today, all moving around. The ultrasound technician clocked the heartbeat at about 170bpm. After we took a look at his package, he decided that was enough for us to see today and decided to roll over and turn his back to us - we got a pretty good view of his spine though! Jaydran's gonna be a little stinker though - the doctor was trying to hear the heartbeat and he wouldn't stay still enough. Our doctor was trying to find him and at first all we could hear was movement! lol... the doctor clocked the heartbeat at about 160bpm but before he could find it he commented that "Well, it's not like he's not alive - we can definitely hear movement, he just doesn't want to stay still for me to catch his heartbeat!"

Hubby's excited - he wanted a boy first because he's always said little girls need big brothers. I would have preferred a girl just so we had 1 and it didn't matter to me what the rest of our kids are, but I'm fine with it, so long as we hopefully have a girl someday =) I'm a little nervous though because I have NO experience with infant boys! My younger sibling is a girl as is my cousin that lives nearby that I helped out with a bit when she was born. All the kids I babysat for, while some were boys, most of them were already potty trained and the only boy that was still in diapers was nearly a toddler so it wasn't like he was pooping his diapers much in the few hours I was watching them.

I should point out - my "mommy instinct" was wrong. I had several dreams the past month where in them baby was a girl. It wasn't until the other night I had a dream where they said we were having twins, but they could only find a set of boy parts, and no girl.

For a boy we're doing a Mario Bros themed nursery - my mom's going to help me make a Mario Bros/Mario Kart mobile and once we move I want to paint the room to look like the first level of the original game, with the blue sky, the reddish brick ground with the boxes and green tubes and the castle... and then put in all different Mario characters like Mario, Luigi, Yoshi, Peach, Toad, Bowser, etc. It'll look awesome if I can do it! Also, out at the new Toys R Us Express shop they put in the mall, we found several different Mario plushies for $5. They were smaller ones and they had Mario, Luigi, Yoshi and one of the yellow turtle bad guys - I'll have to remember to pick those up!

Hubby said we can go on Sunday and put together our baby registry - we're probably going to do Target and Walmart and maybe stop by Babies R Us, although their prices are really high compared to Target and Walmart yet most of the items are the exact same! I'm excited - I love to shop!

Also, we're going to Dallas at the end of October and seeing a Cowboys game since hubby's a huge fan - I found a few baby items online we have to get while we're there! In addition to picking up a mini kids jersey (since they sell em at the Walmart down there like the stores up here have Bears stuff), I saw this really cute set of baby stuff:

 

It's a Cowboys baby bottle with a bib and pacifer for $19.99. Since we don't want to pay shipping we figured we'll probably just pick it up down there.

So much fun! While I can't be super girly with a boy, we at least know he'll enjoy playing video games, watching football with daddy, rocking out to music with mommy, and we can take him to some of the more family friendly super hero movies (like Iron Man 2 and Spiderman).

A fun/interesting observation

At the time we got pregnant, everyone we knew that was already pregnant either had their baby sometime in the fall of 2009 or last spring, or they were due this fall. We figured that we would be on the tail end of people we knew having babies, since the last baby's due date that we knew of was in October (this coming month) and ours isn't until the end of February.

But it seems, rather than being at the end of the previous "baby boom" we're instead at the very beginning of the next cycle! It seems we announced our pregnancy a bit early, as in the past month or so we've learned of several others we know that are due either right after us or sometime in March!

Let's see...
First one I heard about is my friend's baby sister who is due about 2 weeks after me.
Then I learned that my first college roommate (the girl I lived with my first year at college, in the dorms) is about 5 weeks behind me.
I also learned that a girl who is close family friends with my inlaws is also due sometime a few weeks after our baby is.
And then just last week an old friend of hubby's and mine from youth group announced that she is pregnant too - due the week after us!

How exciting!

And I keep hearing of people who know other people who just recently learned or announced they are expecting sometime mid-spring next year!

It's the new baby boom cycle!

Baby bumps and more

Hubby and I were at Walmart a few weeks ago and started looking at some of the baby stuff they had in their baby section - some of it was really cute! I can't wait til we go registry shopping! Hubby wants to wait until we know what baby's gender is though so we can shop accordingly so everything isn't all gender neutral colors - while stroller/carseat/high chair and bigger items we'll be reusing for when we have more kids are fine, we'd like some gender specific stuff for baby, not to mention I got 2 different nursery themes I want to do (Mario for a boy, Winnie the Pooh and friends for a girl).

If we find out we're having a girl, I told hubby I am rushing out to Target and picking up a few of these little outfits that combine cute pink, purple or black tutu skirts with cute little graphic tees - I saw a few of em in the store and just fell in love with how uber cute they were!

Also, we went out for our 2 year wedding anniversary this past Monday and I wore one of my new maternity tops out. Here's a pic of me in it, with my 4 month baby bump - for the longest time I couldn't tell if it was baby or if it was just fat, but I can't really "suck in" my belly at all now and it seems firmer so we're pretty sure it's baby! A month ago my jean capris were fitting tight enough that I stopped wearing a belt with them, but just recently it seems baby has moved upward in my uterus as I have to wear a belt again with my capris and my regular jeans rest easily on my hips again, just under my belly! I also noticed that in the shower, my belly sticks out further than my boobs! While I've never been stick thin since I was a young kid, my belly has never stuck out further than my boobs - this is a new experience for me!

Our next doctor's appointment is this coming Monday, where I'll have cervical exam #2. I think we'll probably ask the U/S technician if they can tell anything gender-wise, although our scheduled anatomical survey ultrasound isn't until the end of October... WE CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT!!!

Maternity Clothes

Last week my mom took me shopping for some maternity clothes. What I really needed was a pair of close-toed shoes, as the weather's been going from summery 70+ temps to fall 50-60ish temps and the only casual "work" type shoes I own that are close-toed are all heels. I had been wearing my flip flops all summer as they're comfy, but I needed a more comfy shoe to wear when it's cooler out.

Anyways, my dad had told my mom a few months ago to go ahead and take me maternity clothes shopping so I don't look all frumpy or am wearing clothes that are way too small and tight on me, so on my quest to find some shoes for cooler weather, we decided to pick up some tops and maternity pants.

We went to Old Navy first and found these 2 tops in the clearance section:

 

Now they're not exactly maternity tops, but they're loose and fall-ish. We figured while it's still 60-70+ out I can wear a simple tank top or a cami under them and then when it gets cool I can wear a long sleeved shirt under them (I have ones in both white and black).

Next we went to Target and we found this maternity top:

 

We also bought a stretchy white maternity cami that I wear under it. I love this top though - it's probably my favorite! It also has a zipper accent in the back, I guess for easier access to get in it, but I'm not entirely sure of its purpose...

Next we went to Gordman's where we found a bunch of Motherhood Maternity brand clothes for good prices:

   

The red top we also bought in black. The purple one in the middle I actually wore the other night when hubby and I went out for our 2 year wedding anniversary dinner. The only thing I don't like about these tops is that they have a tie in the back that I often forget to untie before I try and put it on and then I get stuck before I remember to untie it! The other purple top is a hoodie with the baby doll top effect to it as it has the empire waist with the rest flowing out.

We also got me a pair of maternity jeans with the stretchy band and a pair of black maternity pants to wear for a more dressy look with some of my tops.

I tried on some of the maternity dresses but HATED the way they all looked - they were all like cotton and clung in all the wrong places, making me look fat instead of pregnant - yuck!

We also found a pair of shoes for me at Payless when we stopped out at the mall. They're a black loafer with a 2 inch block heel and a slight platform (I hate flat shoes and can't wear them).

I'm a little disappointed though as on TV I keep seeing H&M commercials for this really cute poncho top for $19.95:

The problem is... the nearest H&M store is located over 50 miles away - by the time we spent the gas and paid the tolls and spent the nearly 3hrs in roundtrip driving... it wouldn't be worth it just to go for 1 item. Normally I would order it online... except they only ship to places in Europe! What is that?! Grrrr

I still want to get a pair of those Ugg boots for winter as my only boots are heels and I'll need a pair once it starts snowing, and I'll also need a bigger winter coat as with my belly getting bigger I won't be able to zip up my leather coat and I don't think my other coats will fit well either.

Quad Screen and Insurance Stuffs

So at our next appointment on September 20 we have the optional Quad Screening which is a blood test that can determine if baby has spina bifida or Down's Syndrome among a few other things. Hubby and I were talking about it and right now we're leaning towards skipping it.

While it is covered under our insurance (which is a $250 yearly deductible, with insurance covering 85% and with us having to pay up to $2000 out of pocket max), we decided it's not really worth the extra expense - I'm only 26 now, as is hubby, so I'm at low risk; from what we've read, a lot of the time the tests come back with either a false positive or a false negative; and honestly, even if our kid does end up having a deformity or is a special needs baby, what difference is it really going to make?

Hubby and I aren't too keen on abortion (hubby has his personal reasons for it, so he's extra sensitive about the topic, whereas I think it should only be a valid option in the case of rape as I don't feel the victim should be forced to live with a constant reminder for 9 months or in the case where carrying the baby to term poses a serious risk to the life of the mother) so it's not like if the test comes back positive for anything we're just going to terminate it - neither of us feel right about that at all.

Since we're delivering in the hospital, it's not like there won't be someone nearby to help with whatever when kiddo is born, so the only real benefit of knowing ahead of time is to mentally and financially prepare ourselves, but no matter how much you prepare mentally, it most likely won't hit ya until kiddo is actually here and you're "dealing with it" ya know? And financially... as cliche as it sounds, if it happens, it's in God's hands and help us provide.

I also read that if there are any major defects, like a missing limb or whatever, it'll show up during the later ultrasounds and that the further along you are, they can tell via ultrasound by looking at certain facial features and stuff whether or not baby is developing Down's Syndrome.

I have no problem with people that decide to do the Quad Screening, but for us, we just don't really think it's that necessary and we're both fine with not doing it.

I'm a little confused about the upcoming anatomy ultrasound though. I called our insurance today to ask about whether the Quad Screen was covered and asked about the anatomical survey too, as our doctor said that since it's not a necessary required ultrasound, some insurance companies don't cover it and when they mentioned having a few cervical ultrasounds they said our insurance is a pain about things like ultrasounds even though they'd get it approved for us. I asked the lady about the anatomical survey being covered and she said it wasn't coming up in the computer and said my clinic would have to send over the procedure code so they could find out and look into it. But then later when I said it was an ultrasound she was like "oh, well all the ultrasounds are covered under your maternity benefits."

So I guess that means the anatomy ultrasound is covered...?

That one isn't until closer to the end of October so I think I'll mention it when we go in for our appointment on the 20th and ask them about sending our insurance the "procedure code" for it just to be sure. We both want to know what we're having, but it would be nice to know if insurance is covering that one or if we're going to have to pay out of pocket for it.