3 Months

Oh, my little man, what an adventure you have been. You started officially sleeping "through the night" (til 7:30 or 8am!) a week and a half ago. We're starting to get the hang of settling your gas discomfort and as your digestive system flourishes you suffer less often. Your daddy and I both agree that sometimes, not very often but sometimes, we miss the life we had before you- of movies, bars with friends, and lavish nights out- while in the very same thought knowing with absolute conviction that we would never trade you to have that life back. You are so special, and this new life is scary and exciting and absolutely wonderful. We've both felt much pain (especially mommy with a broken tailbone!) and sleepless frustration and so so much love for you.

The best description I've heard is that you do not love your child more than everyone and everything else in your life- that existing love is still there just as strong, and even grows as their love expands to include your child- but to have a child is to love in a completely new and different way that you never knew was possible. My perfect little man, loving you is all my hopes and dreams and joys combined with all my fears and paranoia. It's a fierce protectiveness and awe in every little accomplishment you discover. It's not only knowing which cry is yours in a room of crying babies, but also hearing the language in the nuances of your different cries and knowing what each one means. It's appreciating those first little moments to shower or pee or put on clean clothes with you content in someone else's arms while at the same time desperately wanting to hold you with the free confidence that only your dad and I allow you, seeing others bond with you in your bottle feeding experience (mommy's milk though!) while fighting the urge to fix the way they hold your bottle.

You said "hi!" ~6weeks (mommy got it on video!) and say it often. You also say "yeah!". Mostly you are just mimicking mommy, smiling back and sticking out your tongue the way I stick out mine, but it's all adorable. In these 1st 3 months, you've grown so much, handled your first round of vaccines like a champ, met Santa (he gave you a toy fox), and so many things mommy is trying to keep track of in your baby book.

Bear with us, little one. We love you too much to screw it up too badly ;)

1 month

It's a month later, and new parenting has been relatively easy. Everything has been relatively easy for us (which in the world of irony is probably because we only ever wanted to do this once- i seem made for this, but have no intention of ever doing it again).

Healing: I had 3 minor tears during delivery- none of which were my perineum- classified as level 2 because they required stitches to make sure they heal correctly. My stitches haven't really bothered me this whole time. They itch a little from time to time. I put a mirror down there about a week after birth and honestly- it was nowhere near as disturbing as i thought. i put a mirror down there yesterday and it looks pretty much how it looked before i gave birth. I am 6 lbs heavier than my pre-pregnancy weight (and trust me, 2-4 of that is these snazzy new boobs baby gave me) However, I have to tell you, I fractured my tailbone giving birth. That's right, I had everything easy BUT I BROKE MY ASS! So, it's been 5 weeks and I am still in pain, my entire buttcrack is black and blue, and my tailbone shifts and pops when i sit wrong. I can walk and everything, sitting it just not very comfortable.

1 month-Baby's First Halloween. My rock hard abs have not returned, but for the most part, my body returned to what it was in the second trimester- before my belly popped.

Birth Weight: I really beat myself up about his weight loss in those first 3 days. It made me feel inadequate or like a bad mom- like i was failing. Sage nurses and bottlefeeds like a champ and i make plenty of milk. Turns out, studies are popping up everywhere showing that babies whose moms were given IV fluids (they gave me 3L, i assume because my water was broken when i arrived.) during labor basically get waterlogged and have bigger weight losses after birth, both because of the extra fluid during initial weight and because the fluid acts as a diuretic filling extra diapers those first few days. My hospital at no point pushed formula or suggested supplementation(but my hospital is anti-formula), but i want you to know- that first week is ok. Sage lost 12% of his body weight in those first 3 days (15oz- almost a whole pound!) and his bilirubin was a little high. I ate lactation cookies and drank milk tea, and just felt desperate. It turns out that a lot of iv fluid babies average a loss of 8%-10% rather than the 5%-7% they quote. By week 1, despite the books, i pumped and gave him bottles and i so do not regret that. He will nurse or bottlefeed, and it's exactly the same nutrition no matter how he gets it, but Daddy got to join in, grandparents and later close friends got to join in on that experience. AND mommy got to sleep. My husband and i already have different schedules because of his work hours, but i get to sleep from midnight-8am or 2am-10am and that is a glorious thing. Try not to take weight loss personally, and not to worry.

Gas: Our baby (lots of babies) has a lot of gas. We burp him, but gas is just a part of life. We do give him gas drops after every bottle feeding, and gripe water when he gets hiccups, but babies magic tea and happi tummi hot pack have been most helpful. Of course, babies just know that when their tummy hurts eating makes them feel better- which does not hold true for gas. Sometimes i let him nurse, but if he just ate i don't need to overfill his belly. We do pacifiers, and he finds it very comforting to snuggle a boob with anything in his mouth, he likes sucking on something and feeling warm skin- the pacifier creates that comfort zone without overfilling his tummy.

Baby Fashion

I've written on several occasions that i find baby fashion to be severely lacking in style, especially for boys. I am so not into cars/trucks, monsters, robots, or stripes. Mostly, i bought a lot of forest critter prints, but i had to really hunt for them so i decided to link them here for helpful reference. Mind you, most of the brands below are pricey (the average item is ~$25-$40), but truth be told the mainstream stores tend to be pricey too. If you can find a good sale, you're golden. You can also find these brands on amazon and ebay, and googling for a shop with a sale never hurts.

*You'll probably notice that the vast majority of these brands are either organic or bamboo (sometimes both). While we do tend to buy organic in our house, that really isn't a criteria in our clothes. The bamboo is because i genuinely love the feel of it, the organic is because i found it an easier search engine filter that happened to bring up prints i liked.

Kickee Pants: bamboo baby clothes in adorable prints from critters to geometrics, and eye catching patterns, Formerly Kicky Pants. Bamboo rayon is super silky to the touch, which we love but one of my friend's hates, so maybe start out with one piece til you know how you feel about it. Some good deals on amazon.

This footie with hat in their "stone bunny" print was our coming home outfit

Kate Quinn Organics: Lots of great prints with animals, nature, and patterns. HELLO15 gets you 15% off, but they had an OCTOBERFLASH sale of 40% off when i discovered them. Some good deals on amazon too.

Winter Water Factory: American made organic cotton. SUPER cute prints, rather pricey.

Kyte Baby: More bamboo. There was less selection here, but i got some cute forest critters from them

Bestaroo: Bamboo- some excellent abstract patterns here.

Milkbarn Kids: Organic cotton muslin. Mostly little animals like foxes and hedgehogs. Formerly Zebi Baby

Nohi Kids: cute patterns. organic cotton

Aden & Anais: muslin. I actually love them for their swaddle blanket prints, but they also have a line of muslin baby clothes with simple patterns, mostly stars and hearts on white.

Hanna Anderson: organic cotton. More adult patterns with a kid twist.

Silkberry Baby: they have some animal and space prints i enjoy, but the colors are a little bright for my personal taste

Babysoy: I actually have purchased from the because i object to supporting the soy industry in any way (boo hiss Monsanto). Alphabet and nature patterns, again sometimes too colorful for my taste.

Burt's Bees: obviously they have a signature bee print (which i love) in addition to some simple but modern and fashionable clothes.

Koala Baby: This is the babies r us brand. They have the cutest little suits and grown up clothes for babies. Pricey for mainstream, but adorable

Janie & Jack: Their website never has much on it, but the stores carry adorable little adult clothes for infants.

Nature Baby: organic nature prints.

Rugged Butts: baby hipster clothes- like onesies with vests on them- boys only

Sweet Peanut: This brand is adorable, but i can only find it in stores like hipsterbaby and zulily

Mainstream: I found some great critter prints and adorable outerwear/sweaters at the mainstream places: Carters/OshKosh (mostly sleepers with critter prints and warm jumpsuits), Children's Place (some affordable onesies in unisex prints), OldNavy/BabyGap (sweaters and rompers) as well as some great sales, but i mostly had to physically visit the store to find things i liked.


Also of note: my favorite swaddle blankets were the ones i made myself. i bought 1 yard pieces of flannel from fabric.com and just sent them through my serger for the edges. I went for adult patterns in neutral colors, but they also have kid's patterns if you're looking for something less fashion and more fun. They're bigger than the average swaddle blanket, which made wrapping easy. They were also a decent weight and super soft for our little man. If you buy extra fabric, you could make matching burp cloths.

Some shops that carry these brands (and sometimes offer sales):

diapers.com
petalandpost.com
bestdressedtots.com
thelittleseedling.com
izzyandash.com

Diapers

I tried free samples of every natural diaper i could get my hands on (check out the freebies page), and I'll try to compare them here

What We Use

• Bambo: $.31- This is the most eco-conscious/environment friendly diaper and also the most high rated eco-diaper in terms of absorbency/comfort/performance. I used a discount code and purchased these by the case, and also received cases as gifts. These are pricey, but soft and absorbent, and work very well. The patterns are kinda bland, and I feel they run slightly large which is why we ended up using 7th generation for the Newborn size. Code bbc30 is a 30% discount.
• Parasol: $.33- These are very very soft. Even softer than bambo. The prints aren't as varied as honest co. but they're cute. They're not the top of the eco-friendly, but they are eco conscious. We switched to these at 10 months after using the trial because they are super soft, very absorbent, we like the interior best of all the diapers we've tried, and they're cute too. $20 off with Katiedid2016 or touchofgray
• Seventh Generation: $.22- i bought these on sale at Target. The newborn size has lots of elastic and a cutout for the umbilical cord. These come in brown and are actually less stiff than a lot of the natural brands we tried. As a more economical eco-friendly option, these rank highly with us. I also found these to be super absorbent- you can tell when they're wet. Of all the diapers we tried, i feel like these wicked moisture into them the best so our baby wasn't as wet/cranky when he peed. Of all the natural diapers, 7gen also has the most elastic for preventing leaks around legs holes.

Other Reviews
Honest reviews of the trial packs of diapers we tried. Most of the natural diapers worked well enough, but some had lousy textures and most of them were EXTRA pricey compared the choices we did make.

• Andy Pandy: $.39 These are honestly almost identical to Bambo with the addition of a super convenient color change stripe on the front. Rather thick and absorbent- they may pull moisture away from the skin well and are soft. We like them as much as Bambo but they cost even more like 8-10 cents/diaper more to add a color change line. 
• Everyday Happy: $.40 These have cute little leaves on them, but are quite stiff so getting them on had a bit of a learning curve for us, but all diapers do in the beginning ;). I had 2 packs of these(10-12 diapers) and we did use all of them. There are samples still on our shelf of other brands, so that does give these honorable mention.
• Honest: $.55 These ran much smaller than expected and it was a challenge putting the newborn size on our 7lb baby. They're very very stiff, though they get easier in bigger sizes. The patterns are super cute, but more varied for girls than for boys, and they're biodegradable. Update: i had bought 2 packs of these (in addition to the trial), 1 little size 1 larger size. When we used the second pack, our baby got a lot of chafing and some open sores on his butt, which cleared right up with ointment, but didn't seem like a coincidence given the use of a different diaper for a week. I have friends that swear by these, but we probably wouldn't buy these again.
• Naty: $.48 These have a tiny heart print on them. Super stiff/thick, but very absorbent and fairly soft.
• Beaming Baby: Forest prints that look similar to pampers. A little stiff. Nothing terribly notable about them. I would not order them from UK.
• Pampers: These weren't eco, but we got samples so might as well review. These are soft and have a color change line and cord cutout. kids prints (pooh bear, sesame street). These seemed small. I liked that they offered samples in pretty much every registry giftbag.
• Huggies: similar to pampers but stiffer. If we were using mainstream diapers, we would go for pampers before huggies. I only got this sample in one bag (Sam's Club)

Our Breastfeeding Experience

I've said several times on this blog that I've never really considered formula an option, so breastfeeding successfully was super important to me. That first latch was awkward and it took us several days to get the hang of it, and even when we were doing well, he just wanted to sleep A LOT. When we left the hospital he was down by almost a pound (7.7%) from his birthweight. A day later he was down by 12% and I was feeling like a crummy mommy for letting him sleep and a crummy mommy for waking him up. He was peeing and pooping just fine, but his bilirubin was climbing and they were talking about jaundice treatment.
I busted out the breastpumps even though they say not to give your baby a bottle for the first 2 weeks. The look of contentment on his face after that first bottle of breastmilk left me with no regrets. And again when I got to watch my husband give him a bottle. And again when I got to sleep through night while DH pulled the night shift. And again when he was still happy to breastfeed. At our 1 week appointment yesterday, he still wasn't quite back up to birthweight, but his average weight gain per day was 3 times the average.

Well, we are at 8 days old and here is what i have learned:

• It gets less awkward. You will figure out how to hold your baby comfortably while they nurse and they will learn to "take a bite out of a boob sandwich" for a proper latch. Google some other holds and positions. It helps.
• Gravity is awesome. Our first *great* feed, i basically planked overtop of him with my boob going straight down. Those gleeful swallows were music to my ears.
• Breastmilk is the only nipple ointment you need. Coat your nipples with it and let them air dry. They will still be sensitive, they're being sucked on repeatedly everyday- but no cracking, bleeding, or blisters here.
• Heat does help. Drink a cup of tea to warm your boobies! Our try nursing fresh out of a shower! It helps your milk flow. A good boob massage helps too! Any of the fenugreek teas will help with your supply.
• Those lactation cookies are pretty awesome. The pre-packaged milkmakers taste kind of gross (i got a sample in my bumpbox), but there are mixes you can buy, and recipes for making your own. Check out these recipes: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip and Nuts & Berries . 
• I pump for when I want him to eat, so I can let him sleep. I usually leave a freshly pumped bottle at room temperature for him, and keep the others for night feeds and outings.

At 1 week, I'm pumping 3-4oz at each sitting (roughly every 3 hours). Sometimes he wants a boob for comfort, and sometimes it's easier to just breastfeed, but the bottles have saved us and i feel no guilt about my fat happy baby (or getting to sleep through the night or getting to share the experience). He's still getting the exact same nutrition from the exact same breastmilk. 

Some guidelines about bottles:

• General food guidelines (because i work in a restaurant. lol) are that perishable items can sit at room temp. for 4 hours, though a lot of sites say it's fine to leave a bottle at room temp for up to 6 hours.
• Refrigerated milk is good for ~1week
• You can keep milk frozen for 6-12 months, but once it's thawed it has about 1-2 days in the fridge.

Some of our choices:

• I wrote about the Ameda Purely Yours pump that i chose. I sometimes feel that it's a little slow, but i will say that the milk absolutely does not back up into the tubing and having washed and air dried a plethora of pump parts at this point, i can't even imagine trying to get tubing clean and dry. I am so glad i picked a pump without this problem. It runs for ~2-3 days on just batteries, but i did eventually plug it into the wall.
• I also bought a manual pump- an evenflo which was the first pump i ventured to use and i bring it to bed with me so i can pump when i wake up. Manual pumps require handwork and some people may not like them, but i find it to be faster
• We chose avent bottles for several reasons. 1 was that i got a lot of free ones, and the fact that they give you bottles to try makes me like them. Another reason was that i wanted glass bottles without a lot of parts. I am happy with the choice for an entirely different reason- his mouth looks the same on this bottle nipple as it does on my nipple and i believe that probably contributes to the ease we are having in switching between the two. In fact, avent bottles are on this list of bottles that mimic the breast and is one of the most affordable options on there!

He's Here! Our Birth Story

Our baby arrived at 5:51am on Tuesday, September 29th. He didn't quite make it to October ;) 7lbs 13oz, 20 1/4", a full head of hair, and just perfect as can be. His APGAR scores were 8 (1 min) & 9(5 min).

And that picture right there is really all you need to know- it was worth it, we did it, and my beautiful little boy is here.

 (But since i blogged pretty much the whole pregnancy, the dirty details of delivery are below)

• I lost my mucus plug on Saturday morning ~1am. People say how disturbing this is. Honestly, mine was just a blob of mucus. It wasn't bloody, yeah it's slime, but you've seen mucus before. My personal experience was that this really was NOT disturbing at all.
• On Saturday night, i worked a very busy shift and felt a gush that was enough to soak the crotch of my black pants at 11pm. No one noticed but me, this was not a movie scene. I called the nurse hotline in the morning and they said that unless i was continuing to gush or in pain, it wasn't really my water breaking and i could wait til real labor began- i didn't need to be checked out. DH and i did have playtime on Monday morning, because we were both in the mood and why not. On Monday afternoon I needed to change my underwear a lot, and by evening the slime had a pink tinge. 
• At 11:30pm I became aware of contractions (which were not bad) and got in the shower with music. The low-level pain was increasing quickly and i realized the "waves" were roughly a song apart (less than 5 minutes) so i called DH at midnight and told him to come home from work. 
• We arrived at the hospital at 1am and contractions were just painful enough to need to stop while walking. They became quite painful very quickly and i begged to just be allowed in a shower while they did all my preliminary paperwork and tested my fluids to make sure my water had actually broken in the delivery room. I had arrived 4.9cm dilated with a clearly broken water. They kept talking to me and asking me questions and i just couldn't stand it. I was so irritated and DH knew it. Eventually they did ask for our birth plan and at least then they stopped trying to chitchat, they turned off the light that was in my face, they left us with a nurse until delivery was imminent.
•  ~2am they let me in the shower where i sat on the floor with the hot water pouring on my back- the pain of the contractions was more bearable here. I had an iv pumping fluids into my arm and the alarm on that went off a lot- they showed DH how to reset it each time. When I decided I was done showering (30-60minutes later- when i felt the water had lost its efficacy in pain management and the alarm on the iv was irritating me) I got out and climbed into the labor bed with a towel and covered myself with the sheets. I was 9cm dilated. 
• It took ~1 hour to get that last inch of dilation. During that hour, i vomited my breakfast all over the side of the bed and had to get all my bedding changed while in pain. 
• By the end of the hour, I was saying- "I want to push! I need to push" and the doctor asked if i wanted him to try to clear the final quarter inch and i said yes, please! I began pushing at 3:47am.
• I was in a lot pain and had a lot of trouble figuring out what position to push from. To me, labor felt like i needed to take a very large very painful bowel movement. My lower back hurt and ultimately, i did bruise my tailbone. I started out on my back and bent. You're supposed to curl your whole body up when you push and i couldn't, so then we tried sideways with a nurse holding my foot- i pushed that way for ~1 hour. Full disclosure, i pushed from my butt and i did poop on the bed- a lot. (And just like they say, the nurse was unphased. They keep pads under your bum and they just wipe it away) Then i switched to tucking my feet up on either side and using the bed's handrails to pull myself up while pushing for ~30minutes. They were worried i would tire easily and i DID whimper a lot. I tried the bars- i couldn't use them . I suggested that i thought maybe i could do all fours or squatting, but when i put the bed down flat, suddenly my body knew how to labor correctly and i was finally able to grab my thighs and curl up for the counts. That last half hour was all the progress! 
• When i started really getting the head moving, the doctor came in and used mineral oil to manually stretch out my cervix (to minimize tearing and make room for baby's head) while i was pushing, for which i am very grateful. While his head was stuck in the "wiggle room" room area of forward and back, i was in so much pain. i wasn't in tears, but i labored with my eyes closed and whimpered the whole time. When his head was almost out, the "baby team" was in the room. I whimpered "i just want to be done" and someone said "you ARE almost done, just a couple more good pushes and you'll be done" and it wasn't a lie. I'm so glad it wasn't a lie. So i mustered the strength for some very big pushes. I felt each minor tear, but this was the end and i just couldn't bring myself to care. After the head, pushing his body out just felt like pure sweet relief. 
• They wiped him off like i asked so he wasn't totally gross when they plopped him on my belly, but what they say is true- you don't even notice the rest after you have your baby in your arms. Just like i didn't care that i was naked during labor(i gave birth with a towel and two sheets covering my boobs and belly.) I didn't care that I pooped on the table because pushing and coping with the pain were enough to worry about. I delivered my placenta roughly 7 minutes after my baby- it was uncomfortable but slid right out. i had 3 minor tears that needed stitched. They numbed me with lidocaine and i was uncomfortable, but it wasn't the pain of labor. And that is the other thing I have to tell you- labor was the hardest thing i've ever done, but it wasn't the worst pain imaginable. Labor is waves of intense pain, and you feel like you can handle them, but it goes on for hours and the pain level keeps changing- it's an emotional battle as much as a physical one and i totally understand why many women ask for pain management after many hours. I was officially in labor at the hospital for 5 hours (6 1/2 total labor hours if you count when i felt labor begin). I pushed for 2 hours. I just can't imagine those who do it for so much longer. 
• Recovery wise i feel like I got too much exercise and all the muscles in my neck and arms are sore/achy. My vagina was super swollen, but overall the only pain keeping me in bed (and in a close relationship with ibuprofen) is that i bruised my tailbone. I'd be pretty content with my pain levels overall if not for the tailbone. Hoping for a speedy recovery there. The shower is still my friend.

Planned & Easy

*If you are someone who did NOT have an easy pregnancy/conception experience, i encourage you NOT to read this. It isn't here to irritate you, but I feel this story doesn't get told. Women love to commiserate, but it's not all awful all the time, and that should be shared to

With 2 weeks left to go, I feel like summarizing this whole experience. Yes, pretty much every part of pregnancy has come easy to me...which is probably one of those ironic twists of fate in that i only want one child even though my body seems so suited to the task. It also probably means my child will a little hellion, but if he's anything like his daddy we already knew that...

Our Baby Was Planned

Yes, our baby was planned, right down to his birth month. I had always wanted an October baby- it's my favorite time of year, it allows me to work during tourist season (and let's be honest, people tip the pregnant waitress more), my maternity leave is through major holidays i don't normally get to have off, summer clothing is easier to adapt to a pregnant body without maternity wear and i never get hot though i do get clothestrophobia (i get anxiety if i feel restricted by layers of clothing-usually in winter), and our baby will spend his most inactive months of floppy head and restricted vision bundled up indoors when there isn't much outside to see anyway. 

Knowing I wanted a fall/October baby, I knew we would have to get pregnant in late january/early february. I went off my birth control pill (generic desogen) Halloween 2014 and we used other contraception (condoms) through Xmas. Then, I busted out the lingerie collection and we started the new year with a daily game of let's make a baby. Even then, there's only so much planning you can do. I can pinpoint conception almost to the day (January 8th-10th) and our test was positive by the 18th. Biologically, this means our kid was always going to be due either at the very beginning of October or the very end of October, I wasn't ovulating for an ideally mid-October baby, but fall is close enough :) Our official due date is October 1st, we have 2 weeks to go, and i'm still hoping he comes late ;)

It Doesn't Suck For Everybody

I'm not going to tell you that pregnancy is all a sunshine and rainbows cakewalk. There are days where everything smells terrible and you feel like you might vomit at any moment, weeks where all you want to do is sleep. There are aches and pains that have nothing to do with physical exertion, but overall these things are small and become part of your new normal. Pregnancy is 40 weeks long, and little things aren't such a big deal. You adapt, you move on, you keep going. 

I will acknowledge that physical activity DOES seem kind to the expectant mother. I'm not talking hardcore cardio here. I work in hospitality- I'm a waitress. I work with other cooks and waitresses who have worked through pregnancy like me. We're on our feet, standing and walking 8-15 hours a day, regularly lifting trays and boxes that weigh 25-50lbs, using our core muscles all the way through. I had a soft 6-pack when i got pregnant, and honestly, most servers have great abs. That strong core does us proud. Of 8 pregnancies in just the restaurant i work in over 5 years, almost ALL of us have had pretty easy pregnancies. (only 1 had a few issues, and mainly, she was placenta previa with her first, which just comes with a whole different normal of its own). We DO hard labor for a living, and our bodies are now built for it. We adapt, we recognize our limits, but we already KNOW what it feels like to push our bodies, and KNOW what we are capable of. Being physically fit makes your life that much easier.

Best Laid Plans...
At the end of the day, I planned a lot, and most of our pregnancy went according to planned, BUT you can only plan so far. I didn't get a girl, he didn't quite make it to October (September 29th- 2 days shy!), and he doesn't have red hair. He is still perfect. I made it through a natural childbirth according to plans but it wasn't easy and involved much whimpering and "i just can't"s. Officially, i was in active labor (water broken, contractions less than 5 minutes apart) for a total of 6 1/2 hours (5 of them in a hospital), and for the first 3-4 of those i managed my pain very well going from 4.9cm to 9cm in 2 hours. I pushed for 2 hours. I couldn't get comfortable, I couldn't push as well as I wanted. It wasn't as easy as I planned. But we made it, drug free, and he's perfect. Breastfeeding is going great, my supply is awesome, he latches well, but little man sleeps like a champ and lost 12% of his body weight in those first days and was borderline jaundiced. It wasn't what i planned, but i started pumping and giving him bottles of breast milk in the first week instead of waiting 2 weeks like i planned. It works for us and i have no regrets. Your best laid plans still might veer off-track, but it still turns out just perfect in the end.

Baby Box

For more than 75 years, expectant Finnish mothers have been given a box by the state that serves as a new baby starter kit. The box is filled with clothes, blankets, and newborn necessities and the box itself is lined with a mattress, serving as the infant's first crib and leading to one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the world.

An actual Finnish Baby Box

Ever since I first heard of the Finnish Baby Box tradition, I've wanted one. While Finnish mothers receive this box for free and it is STUFFED with everything you could possibly need (51 items) and tailored seasonally, ordering one into the states costs upwards of $450.

My Nature Box from The Baby Box Company
Contains: 1 X traditional Finnish-inspired Baby Box (length 70 cm, width 43 cm and height 27 cm) and lid designed with The Baby Box Company's current collection pattern, 1 X fitted baby mattress w/ 1 X waterproof cover and 1 X 100% cotton sheet, 1 X lovey, 2 X onesies, 3 X swaddle blankets, 1 X healthcare kit, 2 X pair of socks, 2 X terry cloth bib, 2 X organic washcloths, 2 X organic burp cloths, 1 X pair of mittens, 1 X newborn cap, 1 X organic shampoo & body wash, 1 X baby wipes, +Bonus Samples and Coupons from Sponsors!

Luckily, The Baby Box Co. offers a US version, which- while not quite as stuffed as the "real deal"- runs at much more reasonable price point(i used a promotion for $25 off during their new pattern release and paid $125 for the Nature version-which is the middle pricepoint. Boxes range from $69 for just the lined box to $225 for the Every Mother Counts box) and allows you the experience. As our child outgrows this, I will fill the box with my favorite baby pieces to hopefully pass on to his own child decades later.

The box comes with a discount code for $25 off the purchase of a babybox. Obviously, I already have a baby box (which i used a $25 promo code on myself), and am not planning on gifting to anyone anytime soon, so to pay it forward:

MY code is BABY2514 for $25 off

I don't know if the code is single use or multiple use, so whoever gets it first gets it first.

FB15 gets you 15% off instead

We did choose Bambo as our diaper choice, and the sample in this box comes with a coupon code for 30% off on their website, which we will definitely be using. (i bought 4 cases of diapers with the 25% coupon Bambo gave me months ago, but i'm sure we'll need lots more)

Baby Henna

I've had henna before, but pregnancy henna was always an experience i kind of wanted to have. We don't live in an area where henna services are widely available, but we do have a festival (with a henna booth) every memorial day and labor day weekend, so at 36.5 weeks, DH and i went to the Kipona festival where there was no line and I said "I was hoping to henna my big pregnant belly!" and a very nice Indian artist did just that.

It was relaxing, it wasn't too hot or humid and -although i drew a crowd of about a dozen people- my seat faced the river and I got to just chill. All I asked for was something traditional and floral-ish about 5" round.

They seal it with sugar lemon solution at the festival, but since i had to work, i also added a layer of school glue and saran wrap to protect the paste and my clothes. I left the henna on for ~10hours.

Our Alice in Wonderland Baby Shower

My mom and sister threw us a beautiful theme shower and everything was spectacular.

I (of course) was Alice for the day. My hair was fabulously curly, but the humidity got to me about halfway through. I still had a fabulously curly ponytail ;)

Follow the signs!

We're going to Wonderland!

Down the rabbit hole (on an adventure into parenthood!)

It's a teaparty!!!

Flowers with faces as the center pieces. See the queen of hearts tarts?
You could take your cup of tea in the assortment of mismatched and unique vintage teacups or drink "Lemonade that makes you smaller" or "Lemonade that makes you taller"

Lots of yummy desserts, almost all homemade by my sister but complemented by boxed goodies too (my mom found the cutest chocolate mushrooms!)
In addition to the array of teacakes and desserts, there was a buffet line of finger sandwiches, crudite, curried carrot soup, and mini quiche

Party favors! I had a beautiful keepsake teacup (the peacock!), a there were blue sixlets with "Take Me" messages and keys.
Activities included making mad hatter hats, "white rabbit" boo boo bunnies, and flamingo croquet!

Invitations said "It's a boy! And we're entirely bonkers about him! (All the best people are) Join Samantha & Robert on their first trip down the rabbit hole-into parenthood!" and thank you cards were gifted along with the list keeping track of gifts :)

Games were played- baby shopping list, how big is belly (39"), etc. These cute pocket watch necklace with rabbit and drink me charms were a prize, but as Alice, i got one to keep either way :)

Pink vs Blue

So the media is all in a tizzy because this week, Target stores stopped label toys and bedding as "boys" or "girls" (the clothes are still gender sorted, the rest of the store is gender sorted), because some boys like my little pony and some girls like transformers, and why should the store tell them that's not okay?

A lot of consumers are upset by this politically correct and considerate move, citing their traditions and getting all worked up. I went to fashion school, I studied both the history of fashion and art history, so I just feel the need to enlighten you:

Pink and blue sprang onto the baby scene as gender neutral trends in the late 1800s/early 1900s.

Pink has only been a "girl" color and blue a "boy" color since ~the 1950s. 

For 40-50 years before that, it was the opposite- blue was delicate and dainty and pink was strong and decisive, but mostly they were just trendy gender-neutral baby colors.

For CENTURIES before that, pink and blue weren't even baby colors. Everyone dressed their children (of either gender) in little white DRESSES until age 6 or 7.

Women's liberation movements changed the "gendered" color from blue to pink by trying to appear more masculine (incidentally it's also how women stole the high-heeled shoe from men- women wanted to look more masculine, and men didn't like the trend when women started wearing it. That's right, high heels were for men and we inflicted them upon ourselves)

I've linked an article below, but i learned this in fashion history 11 years ago.
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-did-girls-start-wearing-pink-1370097/?page=2

I don't really enjoy the color pink. I think it washes most people out and i don't own much of it for myself and prefer that my red-headed husband not wear it either- because it's generally unflattering to our pale skintones.

I don't care what toys your kid plays with, but if you don't want your son to have a Barbie or your daughter to like legos then don't buy them barbies and legos. Do you know why the labeling is about the kids and not about the adults? Because you already know if you don't want your kid playing with barbies or legos, and you know if the reason is because they're "gendered" toys. Your kid? your kid has no idea that toys are gender specific until someone labels them as such.

>Mind BLOWN<

Our Little Explorer Nursery

I've never really been traditional, and definitely not into everything pastel and plastic and baby. Yes, our kid will get older and he will choose things i won't love, but when it comes to that first year where he gives zero cares, i get to pick SO

may i present our:

Explorer-Themed Nursery

*I've hyperlinked any purchasable items, mostly from Amazon

My mom tells me every time she sees it that I'm mean and that babies need more color in their lives and basically that she hates it. I love it, but I wish people wouldn't say they hate it. 

Walls

I knew i wanted brown whether it was a boy or girl and the nursery got painted early. Then the decals- it would have been cherry blossoms for a girl, but i went with jungle vines for our little man. (here's a similar one i also like)

We replaced the light fixture with something that's way cooler, but was also smaller than the old light fixture, which meant there was a ring on the ceiling with the inner paint as white and the outer paint as off white. Rather than paint the whole ceiling, i opted for a compass rose decal that disguises the rings, matches real-world cardinal directions, and just looks very cool. 

When we emptied the room, we had taken out a roman-looking shield i had randomly bought during a halloween sale a year ago and never found a home for. When the room was painted, I stared at one wall and said "something goes here". My husband immediately returned the shield to the space and it was perfect.

There is an extra door in this room that leads to our kitchen, and that door has a window. Rather than replace the door (which is also stained to match the woodwork), i added a stained glass film reminiscent of a castle or ship in a fishscale pattern. At this point, i was definitely leaning a bit pirate, and you'll see lots of nautical inspiration. The framed seahorse print and glass fishing orbs really add something

You'll remember that i cast our gender reveal/baby announcement into a resin paperweight. I later decided to frame and hang it. This frame wasn't quite a perfect fit for a 3" paperweight, so i used a dremel to widen the opening and some clear glue to keep the paperweight mounted. The back still opens to reveal our "It's a Boy! Coming October 1st, 2015..." message. The birds were extra perfect with the egg/nest

One of the first wall decorations was this Skyrim (videogame) map. Again, this was something that was laying around the guest room because i liked it and never found a home for it that was converted as perfect. I ironed it flat, burned the edges and glued it to a safety glass frame for a floaty effect.

Little Touches
These aren't necessarily "wall" decorations, but they're decorative touches

This armillary was a great mantle piece, the tiny telescope was a gift from Grandma and pappy, and the pelican was a gift for the mobile that just didn't quite go

I decided i wanted a cool pirate ship for the mantle and found this one affordable. The bamboo had been living elsewhere in the house and looks great here. The shark (which i LOVE) was a gift for the mobile that ran just a tad too large. It looks great terrorizing the ship here on the mantle

I got this octopus print for myself a very long time ago, i just love how gleefully happy he is to find a sunken ship and it's just the right amount of adorable for a baby room. Those socks were snuck into my purse by mother in law about 4-5 years ago on vacation.

Furniture

There had already been a guest bed (my bed from my medieval theme room in high school actually) and we decided to leave it. We did add a crib, and though it converts, we'll probably upgrade him to the real bed, rather than super convert the crib. I had chosen the blue and gold brocades for the guest bed in years prior, and had the red brocade baby bedding picked out for YEARS

I chose this bedding years ago, with every intention of it being for a little girl (in her brown and red room with cherry blossoms). I was so in love with it, and so upset that it might be "too girly" for a boys room. That is when my husband said "who says? who says it's girly?" and I kept the bedding i loved. The curtain matches.

My dad built me this desk/wall unit in middle school and my sister and i originally used it as a dresser. I padded the desk as a changing table, with diapers and swaddling blankets on the shelves above.  Bottles supplies are currently left and right. From there down, there are baskets on every shelf for clothes and two large baskets below the changing table full of books. An owl piggy bank i love has a home here as well and the mantle is perfect for decorations.

I really wanted a place for toys, especially since they'll undoubtedly clash with the decor. An "authentic" looking treasure chest was the perfect solution. This reinforced chest is designed to hold over 100lbs on top (and i have stood on it) and we're adding some bumpers to keep the lids from pinching tiny fingers

The Mobile

I love how this is coming along. It currently has 6 glass sea creatures dangling from a ships wheel anchored to the ceiling with a brass hook in front of the window (where light can make it sparkle). I have 6 more animals coming and would not be surprised to receive others. It has a whale from "Aunt" Wendy, a hermit crab from Aunt Lori, a pufferfish from Sandy, a seahorse from Pappy, an Octopus from me, and a dolphin from our babymoon (it was a gift in our room). It also has an angelfish for good measure. I will be adding: a jellyfish, sanddollar, starfish, seashell, sea turtle, and snail, as well as seaglass from Grandma Corder and some doubloons too. 

I've never personally had the patience for yarn craft, but luckily i have friends who do! The blankets were made with love by friends, and that octopus has the cutest curly tentacles! The sea turtle i commissioned  from an old friend as a gift from us to the little guy. We also received a bunch of hand knit hats that are stinkin' cute!

Bump Box

This isn't a freebie, it's a subscription box of samples. They have lots of different versions, some more tailored to your pregnancy than others or with specific trends in mind. I chose the cheapest box which is $30 for 3 months($10/box). The boxes come packaged very prettily, but my overall review is that they aren't worth it. You get so many free or nearly free samples while pregnant, and for $10/box most of these don't meet the value. There was 1 box that seemed maybe worth the $10 and it still wasn't awesome. Furthermore, while the packaging is adorable, you'll see in the photos below that in every single box, i easily fit the ENTIRE contents into the included pillowbox with 1 bigger item per box. The quality of these boxes does not convince me to give the more expensive versions a try.

Box #1

Bottom Left: How it arrives at your door
Bottom Right: Prettily packaged
Top Left: Removing index cards and large packaging, I fit this entire Bump Box into the pillow box that had 2 samples
Top Right: Box included samples of belly oil, belly butter, moisturizer, lubricant :eyebrow wiggle:, 5 days of pre-natal vitamins, a preggie pop, heartburn tea, morning sickness tea, and a silicone bump box logo sticker pocket for your phone to hold credit cards- which is not something that i can use on my phone even if i didn't mind the logo. It also comes with a 20% off for purchasing full sizes of any of the sample you like.

Overall, it's a cute box for while your pregnant, but barely worth $10. I'm glad I didn't choose one of the more expensive boxes as an indulgence. Most of the samples in this box, I've already gotten to try for free without a $10 box, as the top left photo of the entire contents of the box inside a pillow box does add perspective. Walmart's box had more samples in bigger sizes for the $5 shipping charge. 

Would I recommend Bump Box? No. The "cooler" boxes from them range $39.99-$48.99, and even with full size products in them don't look worth the price. 

Update August 23rd
Box #2

I mentioned above that this is a subscription box of 3 boxes @ $10 each. This is the 2nd box i received:

On the right is what it looks like when you open it. On the left is without out the paper junk. This box had a lactation cookie (which i don't need yet), washable bamboo nursing pads (shaped like hearts), and samples of: earth mama milk tea, bamboobies nipple cream, babyganics laundry detergent, and belly cream. All of the samples (4) fit inside the pillow box. This is probably the best value box I received out of all 3 since bamboobies are $15 for a 2 pack or $25 for a 3pack (~$8/pair). You do eek out your monies worth on this one. Again, there's a total of 6 items in this box for $10 and personally, I don't recommend it. still say your money is better spent on a cool onesie or pack of bottles. I have one more of these to go yet, and will post its contents when it arrives

Update September 25th
Box #3

This is probably the lousiest of the 3 boxes I received. It has 6 foil pouch samples and a 2 day prenatal vitamin sample.  It came in the same pretty pink packaging as the others, but i didn't photograph it the day it came- i just put all the samples in the pillow box and set them aside to photograph later.

Hospital "Go-Bag"

I read a lot of articles on things women wished they had brought to the hospital and what many consider the 'must-haves', and then I started building my go-bag. I didn't really have a set of luggage i wanted to cart to a hospital or anything, so i splurged and bought a duffle ($23) and a new toiletry bag ($11) and mostly new everything to put inside of it, BUT you can totally pull from what you already have.

I've hyperlinked all of my amazon purchases, and marked prices.

What's in my bag?

Left pocket: Baby essentials (1 swaddle, 2 outfits, and a wristlet with some diapers/wipes)
Right Pocket: Snacks, Charger, Papers (our birth plan), I also tossed a massage tool ($16) in here, and will be adding a coloring book and puzzles book
The Main Pocket: 2 soft V-neck dresses (for nursing- $11 each), 1 comfy dress (for labor), a robe and slippers ($18)
Not Pictured: I also fit my toiletry bag and a towel and washcloth.

*Every compartment is half full or less, and there's a pocket on the front i haven't used at all.

Paper:
You'll want 2-3 sets of your papers for doctors, nurses, and dear husband

• The Birth Plan
• Any redeemable certificates from enfamil and gerber
• Any signs like "No bottles" "Uncircumcised", etc. 

Toiletries:
*I ordered all my favorite travel-sized things at Drugstore.com

• Hairbrush & Hairties
• Toothpaste/Toothbrush
• Deodorant
• Lip Balm
• Nail Clippers
• Shampoo/Conditioner
• Body wash or soap
• Lotion
• Makeup

Comfort:

The biggest regrets women seemed to have was that the hospital is cold and uncomfortable and products available are meant to be cost effective.

• A Robe
• Slippers and/or warm socks
• Your Own Towel (The hospital one will be thin)
• Labor Gown? If you'd like to wear your own clothes, might as well make them easy to find
• Back Massager- This is going to be last minute for me because i use it almost everyday

Little Things:

All the electronics I might want are built into my phone, but i did put a wall charger in my go-bag.

• Camera 
• Music
• Entertainment- like a book of mind puzzles, adult coloring book, or novel
• Snacks- for you and for hubby! *Packing them in a gallon zip bag also gives you a place to put anything gross- like a soiled onesie!

Going Home:

• 2 Baby Outfits (in case one has an...unfortunate accident)
• Hat
• Receiving Blanket
• Clothes for yourself
• A going home outfit
• A maternity or sports bra
• Underwear- i bought myself a 5-pack of my favorite panties (most comfortable) in black, but know that those first days are essentially a mess, so I packed some depends silhouette samples in my go-bag

"Hard Knock Life" Pregnancy Edition

It’s a hard knock life for ribs, It’s a hard knock life for hips

Instead of organ space, we get crimped!

Instead of deep breaths, we get kicked!

It's a hard-knock life!

Half a pound a week, he grows
It's the hard-knock row we hoe

Cotton panties

Instead of lace

Round belly
Up in our space
It's a hard-knock life!

Don't it feel like your bladder’s always howlin?
Don't you wanna just turn out the light?
Once a day, don't you wanna lay in?
Sleep the day away into the night.

No one's there when your dreams at night are creepy!
No one cares if you grow or if you shrink!
No one dries when your eyes get wet and weepy
From the crying you would think this place would sink!

Ohhhh!!!!!!!
Round belly life!
Cramped and hungry life!
Full of baby life!
Dreams of tomorrow life!

Little hands we can’t wait to see,
Little hands? What about eyes? And feet?

All anyone cares about is the smidge
But there’s no room between my ribs!
It's the hard knock life!

It's the hard-knock life for hips
It's the hard-knock life for ribs
All they care about is the smidge
While he’s widening out my hips
It's The Hard Knock Life!
It's the Hard Knock Life!
IT'S THE HARD KNOCK LIFE!!!