Photo contest for Toddle Along Tuesday - 4/3

I've been getting a lot of questions about next week's Toddle Along Tuesday topic. We're doing something a little different this time around. The topic is your favorite photo. It can be of anyone or anything, taken at any time, the only rule is that it must be taken by you.


So what's different this week? It is going to be a contest! M will be my guest judge and he'll select his favorite photo out of all of your submissions. I usually leave the linky open all week, but this time I'll be closing it on Friday, April 6th at 11:59 PM EST. He'll pick a winner over the weekend.

The prize? A free 200x150 ad space on the blog for a month! I just started using this amazing new ad system called Passionfruit Ads. Gone are the days of sending payments and HTML codes over e-mail. You just input everything (banner/ad, link and PayPal info) into the site and then your ad magically appears on the blog! This will save everyone involved so much time, and I'm super excited about it. So I'm celebrating with this contest :)

My co-host will be Staci from Gatorette and Me. Check out some of her beautiful pictures!

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns about the contest. Hoping to see lots of you participate! Have a great weekend :)

I want to freaking punch the scale

It's hard not to feel like a failure when your baby doesn't gain a single ounce or grow even a fraction of an inch in more than 7 weeks. Now, had she been experiencing an upward trend and this was just a fluke, I wouldn't be so upset. But, our little babe hasn't even put on 2 pounds since she was about 7 months old. I can't help but feel like I'm a terrible Mom.

About a month ago I wrote about my frustrations in trying to get her to eat and I appreciate all of your advice. I have tried so many different things with her and I really thought we were making progress. She has outgrown some of her clothes in the last couple weeks so I was sure that she had at least put on a little poundage, but no dice.

On average, I would say that I spend at least half of the time she is awake feeding her or trying to get her to eat. It literally consumes our days and has been consuming me. Seeing that number on the scale yesterday - the same number I saw weeks ago - knocked the wind out of me.

So our next steps are blood work to {hopefully} rule out any metabolic issues and a follow up in 6 weeks. I am supposed to continue to feed her high calorie foods as often as possible and hope for the best in the meantime, I guess. I wish she liked chocolate because it's Cadbury Mini Egg season and I know for a fact that they have been to blame for my seasonal freak weight gain in the past...

Are you sure this is my child?

I have had a 28 year love affair with chocolate. I just can't get enough...ever. I may or may not have eaten chocolate cake for breakfast a few days ago. There's a probability possibility that my afternoon snack yesterday was chocolate frosting out of the can.

So when we offered Carina a little bit of chocolate cake for the first time, we expected that she would devour it faster than her beeline for the door when M comes home from work. Yet, she met it with suspicion, and ultimately, apathy.

What is this crumbly brown ugliness you have set before me?

I will try it, despite my better judgment

Hmmm...

I don't think so.

I am not impressed. NEXT!

Who is this child? Surely she can't be mine.

Does your babies enjoy the same things you do? What foods don't they like?

Staying healthy during your pregnancy means staying active

This is a sponsored post written by the good folks over at NutritionFix.com.

Long gone is the notion that once your morning sickness subsides, moms-to-be are in for months and months of delicious food binges, and daytime TV. Doctors and midwives have come to a similar conclusion that when it comes to preparing for the birth and losing the baby weight, staying active is the best policy.

Mommy friendly versions of yoga and pilates have been growing in popularity, but there are also surprising amounts of pregnant women who maintain their activity levels with high intensity workouts like crossfit and long distance running. Moms-to-be should discuss safe and reasonable ways of working out with their midwives and doctors. Certain websites like NutritionFix.com offer detailed ingredients list for supplements, but it will be very important that you to discuss with your doctor any supplements you plan on taking to find out if they are safe for you and the baby.

Getting the baby weight off is a worry of many new moms, and staying active during pregnancy can help you transition into a more active mommy-hood. Working out with your partner can also be a good way to counteract the sympathy weight they are sure to gain as well. Staying active also helps reduce the likelihood that you will suffer from pregnancy specific health condition like gestational diabetes or preeclampsia.

And surprisingly enough, you have to actually go through a very physically intense process before your pregnancy is over. This process, also fondly known as labor and delivery requires physical and emotional strength. Having maintained a strength and endurance during your pregnancy, getting through delivery can be a bit easier.

Once you have a bouncy bundle of joy in your arms who requires all of your attention, new moms can get overwhelmed with attending to the baby, their partner, and themselves. But simple dietary changes, especially if you are no longer breastfeeding, can make a world of difference. By adding meal replacing protein bars and weight training to your traditional workouts, new moms and dads can start getting back to normal sooner, rather than later.

Thanks to NutritionFix.com for chiming in on the importance of staying active while pregnant! Now, to get off my rear and take Carina out for a {very} brisk walk... ;)

14 week bumpdate

Looking about the same as last time, I think! But oh man, not until I uploaded this photo did I realize how desperately I need to do something about my hair. The brown to brassy to blonde is just not a good look for me. What do you think? Is it time for me to revert back to my natural brown blah-color? Or should I stick with blonde?

Okay back to the pregnancy survey...

How far along? 14 weeks

Weight gain/loss: 118 lbs. Back to my pre-pregnancy weight.

Feeling: Better! Almost like my old self.

Maternity clothes? My sister let me borrow a bunch of her summer maternity clothes and I am so excited to wear them all!

Sleep: Carina has been waking once each night for the last week or so. It's completely throwing my sleep cycles off and I am a zombie.

Food cravings: Pepperoni pizza

Movement? Still not sure. I keep on thinking I'm feeling something, but then it just turns out to be gas...

What I miss? Bailey's. Random, I know.

Best moment this week: Hearing baby's heartbeat at last week's appointment.

What I'm looking forward to: Spending Easter with my family.

Next Appointment: Not until April 20th. My anatomy scan should be shortly thereafter. Still waiting on the call to schedule it.

Milestones: Baby now has fingerprints. Amazing.

Toddle Along Tuesday - Naming Baby Deuce

Coming up on 2 years ago we announced that we had chosen names for our first baby. Since Carina emerged from the womb sans peen, we didn't get the chance to use the name Luke Robert. So, should this baby (who we affectionately refer to as "deuce") arrive with dangly parts, that will be his name.

Luke is also Latin, like Carina, and means bringer of light. I have always loved this name. Robert is after M's dad and my grandfather. My grandfather is a deacon in the Catholic Church and baptized Carina (he married us, as well).

Thinking of a name for another girl was much harder. There were a few names that we both liked, but not a single one, in my opinion, really measured up to Carina. I want to love the name we choose for our baby as much as I love the name Carina, so I had a hard time with the thought of settling for one I merely like. Which is why I'm so glad we stumbled upon Aurelia, which is Latin and means golden.

We love it. It seems that there are many different ways to pronounce it, which had me a little reserved about it for some time. But on second thought, we really aren't the type to get annoyed at having to correct people, and I don't think it's that bizarre or out there. FTR - we'll pronounce it "Aw-RAIL-yah". Ellen would be the middle name, after M's sister.

Thinking about our Luke Robert or Aurelia Ellen is making me really excited about this baby :)



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My co-host for Toddle Along Tuesday this week is Mindi from Simply Stavish and this week's topic is baby naming! Share how you chose your baby's names, names you'd like to use in the future, or just talk about baby names you like. There are no rules, except that you link up a relevant post rather than your whole blog.



Next week's topic is a simple one: your favorite photo! It can be of anything - you, a pet, baby, whatever you like. Also - we're going to change things up and make it fun; it will be a contest and M will choose the winner! Only rule is the photo has to have been taken by you, your husband, a friend, or family member: no professional photographers, please. Prize will be a free 200x150 ad space for a month :)

Would you like to submit a topic idea and/or volunteer to co-host one week? E-mail me!

Things We Actually Say

M and I have compiled a list of things we never thought we would say, yet have, while caring for our little one. Some of these are cut & pasted from Twitter, others are just famously {or infamously} remembered by us.

Carina, please eat your breakfast, not your crayons.

No, Carina, we don't put monkey in our hoo-ha. 

Carina, did you just leave a pee pee trail through the hallway?!?

We don't throw eggs at Daddy. 

No no no, no playing in the kitty litter.

Carina, we don't roll around in our poopy. 

Up to no good again, aren't we?

No, Carina, we don't eat rug.

Carina, we don't chew on the kitty's fur.

I NEED AN ADULT.

We don't go fishing in the dirty diaper pail. 

Kitty food doesn't taste very good, does it?

No, Carina, we don't put our mouth on the toilet seat. (!!!)


Okay, let's hear what you actually say ;)

Steppin' Out Saturday (okay, well...Monday)

I needed to get out. M worked most of the weekend last weekend and by Sunday night I was exhausted. I couldn't think straight and I don't think I had changed out of my pajamas in longer than I would care to admit. So, when a friend of mine suggested we get out for a little while on Monday night, I couldn't possibly have gotten out of the apartment any faster.


Top: Gap Maternity
Jeans: Old Navy Maternity
Mary Janes: Kohl's (children's section!) No lie - I think they're Size 4; I have tiny feet

Kitty wanted to get in on the pictures

The stripes actually make my bump look smaller than normal!

My "I ate way too much pizza" face

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Mommy is not enjoying this game of hide and seek

Carina has this hilarious compulsion to hide things. She'll sequester away her toys, favorite stuffed animal, shoes, and I've even caught her trying to hide food in between the cushions of the couch. All this, I don't mind so much; I think it's funny.

Toy stash in the media center drawer

What isn't funny is when she steals objects I need (read: phone, keys, remote control) and simply smiles when I ask her where they are.

Remote control between the couch and wall

Car keys in the seat of her "car"

This is what happened yesterday. We were all set to go outside and enjoy the nice weather when I couldn't find my phone. Bad timing: M was in the middle of a doctor's appointment, so there was no response to my e-mail asking him to call me so I could hear the phone ring. After searching for 20 minutes, I remembered that Gmail allows free calls within the US so I typed in my number and sure enough a few seconds later I heard my phone ring.

I turned around but couldn't find my phone for the life of me. Then, I tried to see things from a baby's point of view. Do you see that black thing in the hole? She dropped my phone inside her activity table and it got stuck at the opening of one of the legs.



I laughed and laughed and laughed. How can you get mad at this sweet little thing?



Does your little one steal and/or hide things?

Sell out

Somehow this post is less painful for me to write if I sing "Sell Out" by Reel Big Fish in my head as I'm typing. Bear with me, please.

I know I've alluded to the fact that money is really tight a few times now. We've cut back quite a bit, I clip coupons religiously, and we don't buy anything we don't need. I haven't bought myself any new clothes since early on in my first pregnancy. (Quick background - unfortunately, post doctoral fellowships don't pay much at all, even if it's at an Ivy League University. My non-compete agreement from my company is rock solid and boooo they aggressively enforce it; it doesn't expire until the end of August. I've looked for other jobs but nothing I've found would have me making enough to pay for daycare and still have some to spare.)

For a little while we thought we might sign up for WIC and energy assistance - we qualify for both. We just kept on putting it off in the hopes that we could figure something else out. And luckily, I think we have. But, I have mixed emotions about it.

This blog has always been for me. First it was my outlet when we were trying to conceive, then it transitioned into my pregnancy journal, and finally Carina's baby book. Now I guess we've come full circle with the impending arrival of baby geek #2. My focus has always been what is going on in my life - with just a dash of product reviews and giveaways of items I think you all will be interested in.

My focus will still be what is going on in my life - and I will post just as much as I have up until now. The change will be this; in addition to my regularly scheduled posts, I will be posting maybe once a week about other products, stores/companies, sponsored topics, and giveaways that might interest you. It might not seem like that big of a deal, and it really isn't (as most other bloggers do this), but it's still hard for me to make this change.

Maybe I'm being silly in caring so much about this, and in explaining myself like this to you. Maybe the majority of you really don't care? I just would hate to turn you off, lose you as a reader, or have you think I've turned to the dark side or something. I'm not doing this to be greedy. And I promise I'm not going to turn my blog into an endless stream of commercials. I'm humbling myself before you and admitting that it was either this, or financial dire straits for us.

I hope you understand. And now for some super cute {and silly} baby.

Hello, 2nd Trimester!

Oops, forgot to put on makeup today

How far along? 13 weeks

Weight gain/loss: 116 lbs. Up 1 lb. from last week, but 2 lbs. down from my pre-pregnancy weight.

Feeling: No more nausea, but I've had some on and off headaches and I'm still tired all the time.

Maternity clothes? Absolutely.

Sleep:What I wouldn't give to be able to sleep in. I am sleeping 8+ hours a night consistently yet I'm still tired.

Food cravings: Apple pie.

Movement? I hope within the next few weeks!

What I miss? I'm not going to lie, booze.

Best moment this week: Going out for pizza with a friend!

What I'm looking forward to: Mid 70 degree weather today and tomorrow.

Next Appointment: Friday. I think we'll schedule our anatomy scan!

Milestones: 2nd Trimester!


You know, I probably should have taken pictures of me standing in the same direction as last time. It would be much easier to compare! 13 weeks last time.

Toddle Along Tuesday - Music to our ears

Carina loves musical instruments. From listening to M play the oboe to banging around on her own, I have a feeling that music is going to be a big part of her life. Her favorite musical toys include the Melissa & Doug Band in a Box, Little Tikes Xylophone, and the Mozart Magic Cube.

You're doing it wrong ;)

That's better

CLANG CLANG CLANG

Some xylophone before bed?

Don't mind if I do

Even kitty wants to get in on the fun. OLE!

What musical toys does your baby love?


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My co-host for Toddle Along Tuesday this week is Nykki from Another Day in Paradise and this week's topic is your child's favorite activity! Maybe a craft, toy, game, or thing to do. Let's share some fun ideas with each other! There are no rules, except that you link up a relevant post rather than your whole blog.

Next week's topic is baby naming! Share how you chose your baby's names, names you'd like to use in the future, or just talk about baby names you like. Would you like to submit a topic idea and/or volunteer to co-host one week? E-mail me!

First World Problems: I tearfully downgraded my iPhone

I'm not going to go into detail about how frustrated I am with AT&T right now, suffice it to say that after hours on the phone with customer service and in the store, we were finally able to figure out how to combine my line and M's line into one account. We actually had to cancel M's phone number that he has had for the last 15 years, and get him a brand new one on my account (umm...ridiculous?) Anyway, our goal was to save money since things are really tight right now, and we figured it was about time to get him off of his family's plan.

What we didn't realize until after we had already canceled his number that if we kept all of our current services, the family plan was actually going to cost us MORE than it had cost individually. Lovely. So we canceled all of our texting (crazy, right?) and at that point we had just broken even. Meaning, after all the time we spent wasted and M losing his number, we were at the same price per month at which we started.

I spend most of my days at home, and when I'm out with Carina or at the grocery store, I don't really need internet access. So, I decided to "downgrade", and opted for a basic phone. I'll still use my iPhone around the house with our Wifi connection, but when I'm out and about the basic phone will work just fine. This will save us $30 a month, and every little bit helps right now. (Sidenote: I just discovered today that my awesome new phone doesn't even have CALL WAITING: hello stone age).

Bye bye iPhone

I'm embarrassed to admit that I'm sad about it. Even though I can still use the device at home, I'll miss feeling like I can be connected when I'm away. Or? Maybe it's for the best...

Ha, I did ask M if he'd install Twitter on his iPhone though, for when we go out of town ;)

My first "conversation" with Carina

A few days ago Carina was playing at the table while I was enjoying a cup of coffee. Her face contorted into a funny little grunt as she spread her hands out on the side of the table and got up on her tippy toes.

"What are you doing, Carina?" I asked. She looked at me, flexed her feet up and down, and then returned to a state of deep concentration.

"Carina, are you pooping?" I guessed.

"YEAH!" she exclaimed.

"Would you like me to change your diaper?" was the next logical question.

"Yeah," she replied.

So I brought her into the nursery and sure enough there was a turd, so I changed her diaper.

Simple, sure. Gross? Probably. But after we went back to playing I sat back and smiled. For the first time in her almost 15 months of life, she verbally communicated her needs to me. Amazing. Seems appropriate that it would be about poop, right? ;)

So happy to have a clean diaper ;)

Just for fun - I added a little poll at the top left. Do you think baby #2 will be a boy or girl? Get your guesses in!

Smartipants cloth diapers - Review & Giveaway! CLOSED

Our cloth diapering adventure continues with this adorable reusable one size fits all pocket diaper from Smartipants. I had heard about Smartipants from Kristin, a fellow blogging Momma, and had them on my list of diapers to try for quite some time now. We received the diaper in Cool Blue, and it has snap closures. All of the Smartipants diapers are constructed with breathable fibers, are free from any chemicals or irritants, and are made right here in the USA.

Trying to escape from me and the camera

Smartipants was the vision of Jessica, a mommy of four, who was constantly looking for an economical, yet easy to use cloth diapering system. When she couldn't find what she was looking for - convenient, easy to care for, and comfortable diapers - she designed and made them herself!

This was the first diaper with snap closures that we have tried. In all honesty, I was a bit nervous to try them because I was afraid we wouldn't be able to get a good fit around Carina's tiny waist and chubby thighs. Well, I am happy to report that this diaper actually fits her more snugly (without leaving any red marks) than any other diaper we have! It also doesn't tend to bunch in the front like many of our other aplix diapers.

We were fortunate enough (if you can say that, lol) to experience both a pee and a poo with our Smartipants diaper. I usually double stuff our pocket diapers because Carina is quite the heavy wetter, but the single patented smart-sleeve insert does the trick every time! The unique Leak-Guard Technology keeps moisture contained, and she stays perfectly dry.

In addition to its fantastic absorbency, I also am in love with the smart-sleeve insert because you can stuff it from either end of the diaper and you do not have to remove it after baby goes potty. It agitates right out in the wash! No need to go digging and get your hands all dirty. I wish all cloth diaper makers would follow this cue!

When M does the diaper changing he grabs for our Smartipants diaper first because he loves the cute color, and the fact that the whole diaper (insert included) goes straight into the diaper pail. I think he hates getting pee (or worse) on his fingers more than I do.

Fit and closure up close

The snaps on the Smartipants diaper are unlike any I have seen yet. Not only are there multiple rows of snaps to allow for the rise to grow with baby, there are multiple overlapping snaps at the closures! This allows the diaper to accommodate wee babes (7 lbs.) all the way to 35 lb. toddlers. I am very excited to try this diaper early on with our baby on the way.

So many snaps for the perfect fit!

Shop
Smartipants diapers and accessories can be purchased online! A 3 pack of reusable diapers is only $36.95 - I cannot get over what a great deal this is. Check out the Smartipants Facebook page for news and blog posts as well!

Win
Smartipants is generously offering one of my readers one of their fantastic pocket diapers. The winner can pick whatever color they would like.

How to Enter:
This is a Rafflecopter giveaway. Click "Read More" below and then follow the instructions on the widget. All currents count! Giveaway is open to residents of the US only.

The first entry is mandatory - Visit Smartipants and tell me one feature that you like about their diapers, and what color you would choose if you won. Once you complete this entry, the widget will give you the option of completing the rest. Complete more steps for more chances to win!