Baby Roddy Update

As of 15 minutes ago, we are officially 3 cm and 70% effaced!!!

The doc doesn't think we will make it to our due date next Friday... C'mon baby, we want you to come out and play! :)

Easy Breastmilk Storage Tip

As I did my daily stalking on the baby board of WeddingBee.com, I came across this post discussing an easy and crafty way to store breastmilk in the freezer or fridge.

Simple tools such as a gift bag, scissors, and tape can help you achieve a more efficient way to store the milk. The creator provided both written instructions and a How-To video as well. So give yourself a few minutes and check out the website. This may just work for you!

http://greenlitebites.com/BreastMilk/

Incriminating Evidence...Preggo the Clown :)

Preggo the Clown... Yup that's me! OK, so here is the story. My niece is on a gymnastics team and the gym obviously holds competitions. Well May 15, was the Level 5 states competition and their theme was "The Big Top." I am sure you guessed what that entailed...Clowns, animals, Ring Masters, you name it. So because I decided to volunteer with the registration, I had to dress up. Yeah, imagine me 8 months pregnant trying to find any costume in the middle of May. Well with a little creativity and help from my Mom and Party City, I was able to come up with a decent costume.

So without further ado... I now introduce, Preggo the Clown!

So what do you think?

It's Preggo The Clown!!

And she is coming to a place near you! Ha, I promise I will explain soon enough, so stay tuned!

What's in a Name?

For some people the name of their future children is very important. It can be the name of a close family member (alive or deceased), a name given by someone that is no longer with us or even a name of a location that has special meaning to you or your SO. There are a gazillion (OK, maybe not that much) reasons as to why someone chose the name they did for their child, even if it is as unique as Apple or Moonbeam.

The reason I bring this up is because more often than not this can become a very sensitive issue - like relationships get destroyed when other people "steal" a name.

My hubby and I struggled with revealing the name of our DD because it is something unique to us and our relationship. Do we reveal it or do we not? At times we were overly anxious about it and it made this whole process quite depressing. We kept saying to ourselves, "Would someone really take our name?"... unfortunately the answer could be yes. This unknown factor was killing us. Because of this we were keeping track of those that were pregnant, especially those due before us. Sad, I know but this is what was happening to us. I am very happy to say that 3 of my beautiful cousins are due before me and they too are having girls (Yay to girl power!!). Now having said that, can you imagine what was going through our minds at that time when we found out? The problem I was having internally was that I didn't know these cousins well enough because we weren't really close so I didn't know whether they would take our name or not, but I didn't want to take a chance. Our chosen name is not a common name so if it is used it isn't because of coincidence. Our decision... We kept our mouth shut.

As time went on we have relaxed quite a bit about this whole naming process. No, we haven't revealed the name yet at all but have agreed on a time we felt was "perfect" to reveal the name. The baby shower. This will be our chance to celebrate the coming of our dear daughter and also give her the name that we have chosen for her. It will be a beautiful moment for us and our guests. What a better way to include them.

Using our baby shower for the revealing also satisfies our fear. My family is huge so I am positive there will be quite a bit of people at the shower. So when we reveal our name, essentially it is our time to put "dibs" on the name and advise them that it is taken. If someone chooses to take the name (family or friend) others will know where it originated from. We felt this to be the better option than adding more stress to the labor and delivery process which is coming on fast.

So my question is... Can you really have "dibs" on a name? Does it make it more acceptable to claim a name if you are expecting?

Do you have name(s) for your future children already picked out whether you are expecting or not? How would you feel if someone you told the name to, used it for their child?  Would you be OK with it if they approached you about it before using the name? Also, what if you never revealed the name and out of coincidence, your family member or friend chose it for their child, can you be upset about it?

My take from this whole experience, is to make sure that if you have a special name picked out for your children, do not share it with anyone, especially if you are not expecting. Be sure to have back-up names and try if you can to not stress about it. It takes all the fun out of it.

Only 8 Weeks Left...

And there is just so much to accomplish before our DD arrives. Today hits the 32nd week of my pregnancy, so that means we can have the baby in as little as 5 weeks (37), 8 weeks (40 weeks), or the latest which would be 10 weeks (42). Time really does fly, my Dad really wasn't kidding.

So since there has been so much to do, this blog has been neglected. BUT I wanted to provide some sneak peaks at what we have been doing...

Decor for the nursery:
The baby's name hasn't been revealed to our family or friends yet (I promise it will be soon) but I needed to get started on the letters of her name that will be hung up on the walls of her nursery. Because of my taste (or maybe lack there of), I wanted each letter to be of a different design / pattern. So here is the 'S'.

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I am not sure if I ever mentioned that my hubby loves to paint as well. It is one of his many talents. Anyway, he decided he wanted to be a part of the decor, so he started to paint a picture for the nursery. It is his own interpretation of this painting sold by Pottery Barn Kids. Please note this picture is not the completed painting.

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Lastly, one of the many projects my Mom was trying to complete for my surprise shower was a shadow box. It is something that I have created for many Mommies-to-be in the past and this time, it was for me :). Because of time constraints and all the work my Mom has to do, the project got assigned to me. I loved every second of it. Here is the contents inside the shadow box. Again, an unfinished project picture.

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