My very first shower my sister-in-law threw for me when we came down to visit them…I thought it was really very sweet, but I didn’t know ANYONE THERE — I really didn’t even know HER very well…so it was a very akward thing, all these people that were HER friends coming to my shower to be nice to the poor girl with no friends… I mean we got really nice stuff and all, but it was just sooooo weird. AND she invited my husbands ex-girlfriend whom I had to sit next to and chat with…that was weird for both of us because they dated for like 2 years and apparently she had her wedding dress all picked out and everything- but he broke it off and we met a few months later. (To be fair, she was my SIL’s roommate in college, so it wasn’t just out of the blue)

The only other shower story I have – is my shower with my youngest daughter. I was really excited to be having a shower since it was my first girl and first baby in 4 years, so we needed pretty much everything and its just really FUN getting girl stuff after 6 years of walking past the little girls section going…”*sigh* that stuff is really cute”.

So I am all pumped about my shower and I WENT INTO LABOR the night before and had the baby. 3 weeks early, which NO one was expecting. I asked them (SIL and MIL) if they could just postpone it till the next week and then I could bring the baby, AND my mom would be in town and could come– they said NO~!

Nothing had even been bought yet, but they had the party anyway, without me. My boys opened all the gifts and when I got them home I didn’t even know what had come from who! And to top it off my MIL didn’t even COME TO THE HOSPITAL to see her newest grandbaby– she was too busy with the shower.
Blah…humbug

1. Don’t get induced unless medically necessary

Years of study have shown that inducing labor often leads to a C-section.

2. Labor at home until you’re approximately 3 centimeters dilated

Consult your DR if your water breaks, they may want you to come into the sterile hospital environment to avoid infection. Also many hospitals start the 24 hour to birth clock when you check in, and your body may need longer than that.

3. Choose your hospital, and your practitioner, carefully

If having a vaginal birth is important to you, shop for a doctor and a hospital with low C-section rates.

4. In the delivery room, ask questions if your practitioner says you need a C-section

Some situations are true emergencies, and a C-section is necessary within minutes to save the baby’s life. That’s not a time to negotiate. But in other situations, parents should ask questions about whether a C-section is absolutely necessary – such as if the Dr says the baby is too ‘big’ or the DR is following a time table.

5. Get a doula

Doulas, or birth assistants, can help advocate for a mother when she’s in labor.

My daughter was born on Sunday, May 2nd, around 4:30 a.m. At the time, I was a little over 38 weeks and never thought I would get that far. In fact, my doctor had kept telling me he would be very surprised if I didn’t go into labor a week earlier.

It wasn’t until Sunday morning at 3:00 a.m., when I went to get my 4 year-old daughter from bed, that the contractions began.  I called my parents to come get my other daughter, because I didn’t want her to see me in a lot of discomfort and get scared. While waiting for my parents, I took a shower to ease the pain and avoid my daughter having to watch me endure the contractions. In the shower the contractions were coming on sporadically.  Sometimes they were really close together but not consistent.

By the time my parents got to the house, the contractions were coming very close together, but since I was trying to get my daughter ready to go with my parents, we hadn’t been able to time them. So we had no idea exactly how close they really were. My doctor had told me to wait till the contractions were about 5 minutes apart for a few hours to make sure it was the real deal. Since my first delivery was 33 hours long, I figured I would definitely have a couple of hours.

Ready, set, go!

As soon as my oldest daughter was gone we timed a couple of contractions and they were 2 minutes apart.  That’s when my husband called the doctor’s answering service so they could page him and tell him we were leaving for the hospital. We live 45 minutes from the hospital and I wasn’t looking forward to the drive, which is why I stopped to go to the bathroom before we headed out. Just then, as I was going to the bathroom, I felt a large release and then a very strong urge to push. I called out to my husband and told him I was worried that I needed to push and that I thought our daughter was coming now and wasn’t going to wait for the hospital.

After hearing this, my husband called 911 and the very nice dispatcher told my husband to get some towels and a shoe string. At this point I was squatting, feeling my body changing to make way for Madelyn.  And after just one contraction, the head was out.

My husband was trying to get me to lay down on the floor so he could help me. But just like that — with the 911 dispatcher on the phone and another contraction on its way — our daughter was born. We cleaned off her eyes and her head and all I could do was hold her and just smile. Thankfully, we live very close to the rescue squad. The ambulance arrived very quickly and was at our house just a few minutes after the baby arrived. Once there, the rescue squad members cut the cord and helped me deliver the placenta. The baby arrived just an hour and half after my contractions started.

Luckily, everything went smoothly and there were no complications. And after the placenta was delivered we all made our way to the hospital to be checked out. The baby was perfect and I only required a few stitches.

I had fully intended on a birth in the hospital and with drugs but I wouldn’t change a thing about how things went. My husband did an amazing job and helped me bring our beautiful daughter into the world.

A lot of parents today do not realize that their baby products may contain harsh chemicals that can possibly harm their children. Even products that advertise words such as “natural,” and “fragrance free,” may still contain harsh chemicals.

It is always important to read all of the ingredients contained on the label of your products. If you would like information on which products may contain harmful chemicals, SkinDeep, a cosmetic safety database, is a site that breaks down any harmful ingredients that your products may contain.

Additionally, if you would like to purchase baby products that do not contact harsh chemicals, but don’t know where to shop, I recently came across a website that contains a lot of natural products that your baby can use.

The website is called Baby Earth and contains everything a parent could need from nursery gear, to clothes, to bath products. I really like that a lot of Baby Earth’s products are natural and free of harsh chemicals. One of my favorite products is the SwaddleMe Bamboo wrap, which is eco-friendly.

Another company that sells natural baby products is Burt’s Bees. Burt’s Bees products can be purchased online, and also at stores such as CVS, Target, Ulta, and Wegmans.

If you have been listening to the news recently, you may be aware of the single, unemployed mother that already has 6 children and just recently had 8 more children (Octuplets) through in vitro fertilization (IVF). Nadya Suleman, who lives with her mother, now has 14 children. While I certainly believe and standby a single woman’s right to have children; I do not standby someone that chooses to have children he or she cannot afford to support financially.

Nadya is currently unemployed and lives with her mother, while struggling to already care for her 6 children, and now she brought 8 more children in to this world without a means to support and care for them. Her own mother, out of desperation, has threatened to leave town.

Nadya Suleman has a degree in Child and Adolescent Development from California State University, Fullerton, and is pursuing her Masters Degree in Counseling. However, her children currently range in ages from newborn to 7 years old. So even if Nadya wanted to go back to work, how would she be able to afford daycare for all of the children that aren’t currently in school? In today’s society, the average cost of daycare for 1 child is about $800.00 to $1,000.00 per month, not including summer camp, which can also be costly.

On a positive note, the octuplet babies are currently breathing on their own and are being tube-fed. The octuplets range from 1 pound 8 ounces to 3 pounds 4 ounces, and are progressing well. Hopefully, all of Nadya’s children will be able to live healthy and happy lives, despite their mother’s shortcomings.

I am curious to hear everyone else’s opinions. Please leave a comment expressing your views and opinions regarding this matter.

I am sure everyone is feeling the down-turn of the economy in one way or the other, especially if you have a baby on the way, or have mounting daycare expenses to pay. While having a baby is a miracle that only a parent can even begin to describe; having to pay all of those extra expenses, like buying clothes and shoes every few months for your growing bundle of joy, can certainly put a strain on your finances, and even add stress to your relationship.

That is why I highly recommend purchasing gently used, and sometimes even new baby clothes on EBay. A woman I once worked with use to sell her baby boy’s clothes in lots and buy them in lots from EBay. By doing this, she barely spent any money at all on baby clothes, and even made some extra money for the purchase of diapers and formula. Babies grow so quickly, so you can usually find very nice clothes and shoes on EBay for a fraction of the price that you would pay at department stores.

I recently bought my baby daughter 6 pairs of shoes in excellent condition from EBay. These shoes included name brands like Baby Gap and Stride Rite, and I received all 6 pairs, with shipping, for about $35.00. At the department stores, one pair of Stride Rite shoes is usually around $40.00. The seller was Auctionmojostores, and I was extremely pleased with the quality of his baby shoes. All of the shoes looked brand new and were shipped quickly. I was so pleased with the shoes I received, I contacted him and he said as his daughter outgrows her shoes and clothes, he will be listing the items on EBay. Here is the link to his EBay store if you have a daughter or granddaughter that needs gently used, name brand clothing and shoes: http://shop.ebay.com/merchant/auctionmojostores_W0QQ_nkwZQQ_armrsZ1QQ_fromZQQ_mdoZ.

Of course, after my daughter out-grows the items I purchased, I will be relisting everything on EBay as well. As you can see, by buying and selling baby clothes on EBay, you can save money, possibly make money, and help other parents in need during the tough times of our current economy. EBay truly creates a situation, where everybody wins.

When I was pregnant it seemed as though my belly had a sign on it that said “Please Touch.” Everyone and anyone would come up to me, rub my belly, and ask how far along I was. I consider myself to be a polite person, and did not want to be rude; but, I became very uncomfortable with strangers always rubbing my pregnant belly. So, I had to think of some creative ways around it. If I saw them coming at me, I would say something like, “ Oh it is very sensitive right now, please don’t touch it.” Or, I would back away enough distance, and extend my hand for a handshake instead; sometimes catching them off guard, but they would still smile and stay for a quick chat. Although, there were those times that I was just caught off guard and it happened anyway. It is nice that even strangers care, but personally, for me it became a little unnerving after awhile.

As if being a parent isn’t worry enough, every day you hear about another recall of children’s products. Whether it is lead paint in toys, tainted formula, or defective car seats, accessories and clothes, it seems like everything we buy, we have to second guess!  Now it has just been released that over 500,000 Stork Craft Cribs have been recalled.  The brackets that support the mattress can break and lead to suffocation!   So far, the CPSC has been informed of 10 injuries, including one child who suffered bruises to his head, and another child that became trapped between a gap in the mattress and drop side rail. The cribs that are being recalled were manufactured and distributed between May 2000 and November 2008, and were sold through January 2009 at major stores such as J.C. Penny, Kmart, Wal-Mart, and Babiesrus.com.

If you have a Stork Craft Crib, it is advised that you immediately find a different and safe sleeping area for your child.  You can also contact Stork Craft’s Toll-Free Number at (866) 361-3321 to order a free replacement kit that contains new mattress support brackets.

What a heck of a day. Didn’t get a mile from home on my way to work at 8:30 a.m., wet and foggy out, I was stopped in traffic. Started to move forward and I let off the brake, then my foot slipped (wet shoes) when I went to hit the brake and it hit the gas instead, and I got into a decent fender bender. The cars aren’t that bad, my front bumper is pretty messed up (other car looks fine), but more importantly the lady I hit complained of neck pain and was on the phone before I could pull over and get out and ask if she was ok. She nodded and was calling 911 because we were on a busy 2 lane route blocking traffic. She then noticed that I’m pregnant and said “are you pregnant?” I said yeah and she kinda did a ‘oh geesh’ and rolled her eyes and let me know an ambulance was coming.

I called my husband and he was just about to get on the train to go into the city to work, so he wasn’t that far away. The cops and paramedics showed up and we got our cars off the road. The paramedics wanted to take me too after finding out I’m about 30 weeks pregnant. I called my doctor’s office and they said not to refuse treatment and go get checked out even if I felt ok, which I did. I told the paramedics my husband was going to take me to the hospital (he had arrived) I was already registered at, and they said ok and left. I don’t think they would have let me not go with them if my hubby hadn’t showed up and said he was taking me to our hospital. The cop didn’t give me a ticket, just a case number.

We went to the emergency room and I love this hospital, it’s just not too busy. They took me up to L&D within 5 minutes and had me on the monitors for about 3 hours. I was having some small contractions and the baby’s heart rate was all over the place, from 170 to 120. We had lunch and the contractions stopped, and the baby’s heartbeat leveled out at about 150 for a good hour, so they sent me home. The doctor there was actually the one from my group that I have an appointment with on Friday, she was really nice.

I had a feeling everything was ok. The baby was really active, trying to kick the monitors off my belly. They did blood tests to check for placental abruption and any bleeding since I’m RH- (I just had a rhogam shot anyway) and all came back negative.

They let me go home around 1:30 p.m. with a list of signs to watch for. I feel ok. Just a bit sore from tensing up during the hit I think. More importantly the baby is fine. I feel horrible, but accidents happen and on a scale of 1-10, this was a 2.

It is very upsetting. I never had an accident before I got pregnant, and now I’ve had 2 in 3 months. I’m getting scared to drive.

Why do people feel the need to comment on how big or small you are? Who are they to say? Just because I’m not huge like they may have been when they were preggo, doesn’t mean that I am small. No there is nothing wrong, I’m measuring fine thank you!

Sorry, I’ve noticed since I’ve been working, that people all the time are asking me how far along I am, and when I tell them they are shocked, because I look small apparently. It’s just frustrating because everyone is different!! Some people have bigger feet than others, do they feel the need to comment on that? I don’t think I look small at all.

Thanks for letting me get that off my chest, because I think I might explode at the next customer who tells me I’m small!