May 22nd, 2013

Pumpkin in DVF for Baby Gap

DVF Baby Gap

Pumpkin’s custom closet is definitely a personal envy of mine. What good is a custom closet if you don’t fill it with cute clothes right? Since pumpkin has so many cute outfits, I thought I would document them weekly (on Wednesdays). Sometimes I’ll write about news or sales for baby clothes as well.

The outfit above is from the Diane Von Furstenberg’s line for Baby Gap. There is nothing more DVF than a wrap dress and I love her’s in green. On the website, it looks like only one in pink is left. I bought her one other outfit for her size from this collection. I bought two other outfits that are for size 18 months. So next year she’ll be able to look great in DVF as well!

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May 21st, 2013

National Preeclampsia Awareness Month #awarebecauseicare

awarebecause i care

It’s nearing the end of May, but that still gives us time to spread awareness about Preeclampsia. May is National Preeclampsia Awareness Month and ViaCord is helping the cause to educate women about this pregnancy disorder.

I remember the fear and uncertainty when I was diagnosed with preeclampsia. My doctors didn’t even really want to tell me the diagnosis. But all the signs were there. Fortunately for me, the disorder ended with the healthy birth of my daughter. It’s amazing that something we barely know about does cause 76,000 maternal and 500,000 infant deaths each year.

But with awareness, people will start talking and be more aware about their options and the symptoms to look for. Preeclampsia is a pregnancy and postpartum hypertensive disorder that impacts at least 5-8% of pregnant women each year (300,000 women in the US alone). Some of the systems are high blood pressure and excess protein in the urine. Both typically show up after 20 weeks pregnant and up to 6 weeks postpartum (which now makes sense how I had high blood pressure after birth for so long. That really puzzled my doctors for some reason).

The cause of preeclampsia is still not understood. But these symptoms could suggest preeclampsia: headaches, abdominal pain, visual disturbances (oversensitivity to light, blurred vision, seeing flashing spots or auras), swelling, and shortness of breath. I never had the headaches, ab pain or shortness of breath. I had swelling, high blood pressure and protein in my urine. I wish I knew then what I know now about this being a pretty serious condition.

ViaCord is providing a space to share your baby bump. Encourage others to share as well with #awarebecuaseicare. For every photo of a baby bump you share, ViaCord will donate $10 (up to $10,000) to the Preeclampsia Foundation.

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May 16th, 2013

16 weeks postpartum

postpartum hair

Hi everyone! This week marks Pumpkin’s 16th week with us. It’s unbelievable how time goes by. Well I do believe it because you are in a tired haze for most of it! lol This post is not about pumpkin though. It’s a look at where I am at 4 months postpartum.

I am losing my hair. I think everyone knows that at some point after having their baby, their hair will start to fall out. Before baby I would shed in clumps so it’s no surprise that I would shed post baby. It took until just this week for my hair to start falling out. I find it funny that I never got shinier or better hair while pregnant, but it’s still falling out.

My belly button still isn’t normal. Okay how long does it take for the darkening of my belly button to go away? And will it ever go back to it’s normal size? Also when does that Linea Negra line go away? It’s still up and down my tummy.

Not getting a ton of sleep. While there were some great weeks of pumpkin sleeping from 10 – 6am, now she’s all over the map. I haven’t had this little sleep since the first couple of weeks she was born. She’s also fighting naps which she now definitely needs because she does all the signs of being exhausted. To her credit, she’s just so interested in the world around her, it’s hard for her to tune out. I think she inherited that from mommy. I’m horrible at napping. I’ve basically cut out the 8am-9:30am nap that I used to get because I always felt worse after.

I don’t recognize my face sometimes. I’m not complaining about losing weight, but when I look at myself in the mirror, I don’t always recognize myself. My face looks longer. It’s a really weird observation post pregnancy.

I feel better when I get out of the house. Yes, it takes a village and two hours for us to get out of the house, but I feel so much better when I do. That’s why I love the support groups, mommy and me and Gymboree so much. It gets her active and gets me out. I also love taking pumpkin for walks. Right now it’s my only form of working out, but I love it.

I am still sore after long walks. Still healing from that c-section. Also my hands are still swollen/joint pain. Going to try to use Deep Blue essential oil and see if that starts to help. Alleve is no longer helping.

In the end, it’s been an amazing 4 months of my life. It seems like every day I look at old pictures of pumpkin and can’t believe she was ever that small. Today I packed up the first set of clothes she has outgrown. My baby is growing so fast and learning to do new things every day. I’m incredibly thankful for the last four months with her and as I near going back to work, I’m going to treasure each day (even when exhausted) that I get to spend with her.

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May 15th, 2013

Yankee Candle Company creates Regal Popcorn candle

regal popcorn candle

There has always been something about the smell of movie popcorn. I’m not even a huge popcorn lover, but when I go see a movie at Regal Theaters, I typically get a small popcorn.

Now you can fill your home with the captured aroma of Regal Entertainment’s popcorn. Yankee Doodle Candle has created a popcorn-scented candle called “The Movie Night”.

“When you smell the freshly popped popcorn at Regal Cinemas, it brings back great memories of past movie nights. We are pleased to partner with Yankee Candle to capture those memories with their launch of the Movie Night™ candle,” stated Ken Thewes, chief marketing officer for Regal Entertainment Group. “Along with capturing the popcorn aroma for their home, everyone who purchases the candle will earn a free popcorn for their next trip to Regal.”

If you are a Regal Crown Club member and purchase a movie ticket from June 1 through June 30th, you can get 25% off of a Movie Night candle. When customers purchase the new candle, they can get a coupon for a free small popcorn redeemable at any Regal Entertainment location through July 21.

I’m not sure why this is, but The Movie Night candle is part of a line of candles for Men. Huh? Yeah there is a line of candles for men that include things like MMM,Bacon!, Man Town, Riding Mower and First Down. Could make a good Father’s Day gift.

I’m thinking if they can capture the smell of David Beckham, that’s the only MAN candle we need! ^_^

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May 13th, 2013

What is in the products you use every day?

EWG1

When I became pregnant, I remember I started to become very aware of everything I put on and in my body. First you start with the foods that you are and aren’t supposed to eat. Then you realize that even things you put on your skin is absorbed and shared with your baby. For some reason though, companies haven’t really considered making daily skin care products to meet the needs of pregnant women. It was very difficult to find a moisturizer with sunscreen that didn’t have retinol or some other anti-aging agent.

Now I think about anything that goes on Pumpkin. I research the wash we use. The sunscreen we use. Everything gets fully researched (remember my post about dish washing soap?). I’m incredibly concerned about the things I put on her body because the years of exposure start now. That concern has extended from her to items I use on myself or that my husband uses.

I currently use EWG.org website to look up products. If they have the product in their database, you can read about the ingredients in the product and see it’s overall rating. This is a far from perfect database, but I feel like it’s the only site that is at least trying to get the truth out there. Also it does not have a large assortment of products. But it’s a start. I also enjoy Leah Segedie and her BookieBoo network, because she is a constant source of information on this topic. She’s also working on a video about products we put on babies, so look out for that too!

Besides looking up products online, I am starting to look into the use of essential oils. I’m not 100% convinced about the use of essential oils, but I have a kit and a book that details the oils and then things you may want to treat with what oil can treat it. Sort of like a natural remedies recipe book. I will probably be blogging about my journey trying out essential oils. Please let me know if you already use essential oils (I can also order you oils if you need it!).

This is all about awareness. I never thought of myself as overly green or hippie-esque, but I have to be honest and I am concerned. It seems like skin and food product companies have been allowed to run rampant with very little regulation or research. One has to wonder why the increase in so many diseases, allergies, and cancers. It must be linked to something. I have to be honest, I’m not 100% there yet. Sometimes I forget to look things up until after I purchase. I still get plastic bags at the store even though I have those other re-usable bags. I have work to do, but I’m trying. Mostly it’s because I want pumpkin to have the best life I can give her, but also because I want to be around and healthy for her.

I would love to hear your thoughts. Are you starting to look into your everyday products more? Are you using essential oils? Do you trust the companies making things for your skin?

CategoryGeek Wifey | Comment3 Comments »

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May 10th, 2013

Random Thought for the week

Hi! I can’t believe it’s Friday already! The weeks are going too fast! I want to pull the brakes and spend more time just cuddling pumpkin.

This week’s random thought is brought to you by the letter E for exhaustion…

I read an article this week that suggested determining what type of packer you will be before you purchase a diaper bag. I don’t know how you know this before you have a baby. My purses have always been on the smaller side. I can tell you that post-baby,I’m an over packer.

I have a youtube video I want to do on Diaper bags. Maybe at some point next week. I have three and I can’t stop myself from looking at more/wanting another brand. I don’t know what it is, but each bag seems to have it’s pros and cons and some brands are just magical and call your name (Petunia I’m looking at you…). I should be grateful that there are so many good looking choices. But of course good looks comes at a price.

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