Lovely Fluffy Mama

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33 Weeks: This week I am really starting to feel the pregnancy lol. Very breathless and I can feel babygirl getting bigger and more cramped. I am still walking with my mom in the mornings which helps tremendously! I can really feel a difference if we happen to skip a couple of days or so of walking!

Starting to get more anxious about the delivery. Not necessarily nervous, just getting more and more ready for it to happen haha.

Had a prenatal appointment this week. Although my glucose numbers looks ok, I am now taking Glyburide at night to help lower my fasting blood sugar.

I also found out that unless I have babygirl in the next 5 weeks, I will be induced at 39 weeks. Definitely not what I wanted to hear, but I have to trust that God is in control and knows my situation and my heart and I will accept whatever the outcome may happen to be.

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25 Weeks: More exercise for me! I've been walking with my mom in the mornings 3x/week and it really helps me feel great, plus I get to spend some quality time with my mom!
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26 Weeks: This week has been pretty uneventful. Took my glucose test, and I go back to the doctor in a couple of weeks. Still walking in the mornings with my mom :)

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27 Weeks: The weeks are just flying by! I can't believe it! It is almost the end of September already! I am pretty sure babygirl has moved her way back down again! Possibly even head down at this point. I feel a lot less pressure on my lungs and feeling that low pelvic pressure and pain once again. I gotta be honest, I would rather have the pelvic discomfort than to have the pressure on my lungs - I seriously couldn't breathe!

Getting a little nervous about the end of this pregnancy/birth - not necessarily the actual labor/delivery, but the madness that will be surrounding it. First of all, my due date is Christmas Eve, so that in itself is already a chaotic time of year to have a baby (although, definitely the BEST gift I could ever ask for!). All the hustle and bustle of the holidays is so much fun, but also a lot to take in, especially being so far along in my pregnancy as I will be. But this year, we will also have a lot of family here!! We already have lots of family that live in town (my parents, Ryan's parents and his brothers, my brother, my sister and her family). But this year, Ryan's grandfather from England is flying in. Also his aunt from England is making a "surprise" visit. His other aunt and uncle (and possibly cousin) from Texas are flying in. And so is his uncle from California. There are always other surprises and surprise visits involving family, so there is no telling how big and burly this season will be lol! But, as nervous as it makes me to have so many people around at such an emotionally draining and trying time, I feel SO BLESSED to have so many people that will be there that really care for me and love me and be excited with me. As a bonus, I will have plenty of help and babysitters available to let me recover! yay!

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Week 21: I am officially past the halfway mark in this pregnancy! Things are starting to set in a little now in my mind - this is really happening! Ahhh!!

I am somewhat the opposite of a pack rat. I hate clutter, so if something doesn't have a "home" or storage space or if we haven't used it lately or won't use it anytime soon, it gets thrown out or given away. That being said, of course we have NOTHING left of Riley's or Noah's from when they were babies. Well, I think we still have Noah's pack and play, but that's it. I'm not too worried about it - we have time to get things done and it will be fun starting over! And if it doesn't get done, oh well! Things always seems to fall into place when it needs to, I'm not going to stress over it :)

I have been able to feel babygirl moving around since about 17 weeks, but late last night as I was laying there, watching my belly, I realized she is big enough now for everyone else to see and feel the movements! What an amazing show to watch - it never gets old :)

I have been really mindful of what I have been eating lately. I feel like my stomach is an endless, insatiable, monstrosity of an abyss lately. So, basically, I could literally eat all day and never feel full. This is why I have to make a conscious decision with every single bite that I am eating as healthy and as nutrient dense as possible. I definitely want only the best for this little one, and I sure as heck don't want to have to lose 1,000 lbs after she is born :)

I had no idea you could make yogurt at home!! And then, to find out how easy it is??!! Amazing! It is quite time consuming, but most of that is letting the yogurt "incubate", which you can do overnight, and you can use your crock pot!!

Ingredients:

Directions:

1. Pour 8 cups milk into crock pot. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours.
2. After 2 1/2 hours, turn crock pot off (unplug it too). Let sit, covered for another 2 1/2 to 3 hours.
3. Take out 1 to 2 cups of the milk and whisk with 1/2 cup plain yogurt. Make sure it is nice and smooth. *You can also whisk in the honey and vanilla at this point, if you wish to have sweetened yogurt*. Pour mixture back into crock pot and stir well with the rest of the milk.
4. Wrap entire covered crock pot with a thick towel to insulate. Let sit for 8 to 10 hours - I set mine in the oven with the light on over night, but you can probably just leave it on the counter top.
5. After 8 to 10 hours, unwrap and uncover the yogurt - if you don't like Greek yogurt, you can just pour this mixture into containers and refrigerate until ready to use. 

**To make it Greek style

• After, 8 to 10 hours of incubating, unwrap and uncover the yogurt. Pour yogurt into a cheesecloth-lined strainer/colander, sitting in a bowl (the bowl is to catch the liquid whey that will separate from the yogurt), and place in refrigerator for several hours to strain. I had to use about 4 layers of the cheesecloth.

• When yogurt has reached your desired thickness, removed yogurt from the cheesecloth, put into containers, and store in refrigerator until you are ready to enjoy! I was ready to enjoy right then!

• Keep the whey that collects in the bowl!! It is VERY good for you! Loaded with protein, vitamins, minerals, and enzymes!! You can freeze it into ice cubes and put into smoothies! You can also substitute it in its liquid state where a recipe calls for buttermilk (like pancakes yum!). Here is a good link for 18 Ways To Use Whey. You can always just Google it too! There are so many things you can use it for, so don't throw it away, even though it does has a striking resemblance to urine lol.

Don't forget to save at least 1/2 cup of your homemade yogurt to use as a starter for the next time!

After I enjoyed a few bites of this yummy deliciousness, I decided to add some granola - YUM!

Enjoy your homemade yogurt!

~ Jessica

With my first 2 pregnancies, I hardly took any pictures and I never wrote anything down about it. I did journal for a bit after both kids were born - milestones and such. But never anything while I was still pregnant. Now that I have a blog, I want to use it to keep track of this beautiful time in my life with my third (and possibly final) pregnancy. I really should have started taking pictures much earlier, but the earliest I have is from when I was 12 weeks, so I will start there with the photos :)

I really don't have anything to report as far as symptoms because I haven't really had any. No morning sickness (thank God). No food cravings yet. Maybe a few food aversions for a short amount of time (chicken was yucky to me for about a week), but now everything sounds pretty good lol. The only thing that stood out for me was between 4 - 7 weeks along, I was extremely dizzy and exhausted. Beyond exhausted. Headaches galore. Breathless. But that all subsided by around 8 weeks. Also around that time (somewhere around the 6 or 8 week mark) my clothes started to not fit anymore! Yikes!

Here we go!
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Find Weeks 17 - 20 here :)

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17 Weeks: HEARTBURN!!!! Yep. It's here with a vengeance! I had it terribly with my other pregnancies, and this time around doesn't seem to be any different, except that is has started earlier in the pregnancy than usual.

I FINALLY got to see my doctor for the first time! I LOVE her! I have had female OB/GYN's in the past and had terrible experiences with them, so I was a little hesitant at first when I realized this doctor is female. But she is awesome and I am so glad that I ended up at her office :) The appointment went great - heard the heartbeat a couple of different times during the visit which is always awesome! I have gained about 10 lbs so far this pregnancy, my pre-preg weight was 125lbs and I'm about 136lbs now :) I have an ultrasound scheduled for next week, so I am super excited about that! 

(please excuse the tiny mess in the background haha :) )

Back in May, Desiree from Scarlet's Naturals sent me a generous, full sized Coconut Scented SunBlock to review, just in time for Mother's Day weekend! We ended up spending the day out on the boat and exploring some of the surrounding islands, and for some reason, the SunBlock just didn't seem right - the texture was off, the ingredients were separating, the scent seemed a little off, and it actually didn't work on me (although it worked fantastic on my husband and my kids!). It was odd because I have used some of her other products, such as the Hiney Honey Quick Stick Mini and the Scarlet's Suds laundry detergent, and I absolutely love them and have had no issues with those whatsoever! As it turns out, the SunBlock that was sent to me just happened to be part of a very small few that were a tad faulty. Desiree was so prompt with contacting me about it, and I have to say her customer service is outstanding!! She really cares about her customers and stands behind her products 100%. On top of being super friendly and apologetic, she sent me a completely new full sized bottle of SunBlock! How awesome is that?!

When I received the SunBlock, I have to admit I was a little hesitant to try it again, but I sure am glad that I did! I LOVE it!!!!! It is definitely one of my favorites to use now! I received the unscented this time, and it smells amazing!!! Almost like a light and fresh baby wash type of smell! It is so extremely easy to apply, and even though it ends up going on clear (which I love), it leaves absolutely NO greasy residue!

My kids love to be outside and in the water, so we basically have to use some form of sun protection every single day. To say we have tried a million types of sunscreens and sunblocks and UV resistant clothing would be an understatement!! Or at least it feels that way ;) Scarlet's SunBlock protected my kids for at least a couple of hours with just one application, even with them playing in the water the whole time! 

What I love about Scarlet's SunBlock:

I honestly can't think of any reason to not love Scarlet's SunBlock! You should definitely give it a try, especially if you are looking for an all-natural alternative for sun protection.

I am so impressed with Scarlet's SunBlock! I will be ordering more in the future for sure! You can purchase your own SunBlock right here! And what is even more awesome is that there is even an option to purchase a convenient, take-along  SunStick - perfect for quick application to the body and face!!! Love that idea! Scarlet's Naturals offers an amazing line of products! You will not be disappointed, no matter what you decide to purchase! Make sure to also go ahead and become a fan on Facebook too - be among the first to know about new products, promos, and giveaways!

A special THANK YOU to Desiree at Scarlet's Naturals for the opportunity to review (and re-review) such an awesome product :)

After you read my "A Confession, A Little Venting, and A Blessing in Disguise" post, the info from here on out will make more sense :) 

FYI: This post is a tad lengthy, but I need to explain some things first - by the time you are reading this post, I will be backtracking some, so try not to be confused ;)

A Little Background:

This is pregnancy #3 for me and my husband Ryan. We have two beautiful little ones - our little princess Riley is 3 and our handsome prince Noah is 2. We always knew we wanted to have at least one more baby, but didn't really know when. My first 2 pregnancies were a breeze. In fact, we got pregnant immediately (on our honeymoon) and weren't even trying! (Well, we weren't exactly doing our best to prevent it either, but you know what I mean hehe). Piece of cake pregnancy - no morning sickness, not a lot of weird cravings (except at the end I drank about a gallon of milk every day - seriously I had to have it!!), I didn't even show with that pregnancy until I was almost 6 months pregnant! I was induced at 37 weeks only because she was tiny and the doctor wanted to be sure she wasn't tiny because of lack of oxygen flow. Turns out she is just tiny, no health issues whatsoever. Labor was extremely short, about 4 hours total, from breaking my water to Riley screaming her little lungs out on my chest :) In fact, it was so short, by the time I asked for the epidural, it was too late! I was already 10cm dilated and she was ready to make her entrance!

 My second pregnancy happened when Riley was about 6 months old, and I misplaced my birth control pills while the interior of our house was being painted and we moved out for about 3 days during that time. Again, we weren't really taking the appropriate measures to prevent the pregnancy, but it happened after only missing about 2 days of the pill - doesn't take much! But again, no morning sickness, I showed a little earlier that time around, no weird cravings (except for Nathan's corn dogs and cheese fries, and anything spicy - so nothing weird, just completely unhealthy lol), he was an average sized baby, but I ended up being induced again, only because he went past his due date and I couldn't handle it anymore! Short labor, even shorter than my first one - less than 3 hours total. Severe back labor, but again, I waited too long to ask for the epidural (you'd think I would have learned to ask for it immediately upon arrival after having gone through the last labor and deliver without one), so Noah was also born without any pain meds - WOW! That's all I can say - it is a pain like no other! lol

So because it has been so easy for us to get pregnant, we really wanted to wait and actually plan for #3. And so we did. We waited for about 2 years to try again. Except this time it wasn't so easy. Thankfully, it only took 3 - 4 months after really trying (I know that's nothing, but for us it seemed like forever, so I really feel for those that have had to wait much much longer and are possibly in the process of still trying and waiting - i.e. my mom and dad tried for 8 years to get pregnant with me!!!). At the time we started trying again, Ryan had a new job and the future was looking great! We were talking about moving beachside (my dream!), and spending Christmas in a new home! It was all just so exciting! 

Then, one day, Ryan came home from work earlier than I was expecting. I was actually expecting him home a little early, because we planned on going to a basketball game that evening and he needed to leave a little early so we wouldn't be late. But he came home a few hours earlier than I was even expecting him. He got layed off. Talk about emotional rollercoaster. We went from talking about moving to a beach house, planning our Christmas in a new home, to being jobless and falling behind on our bills, and then finding out about our pregnancy all within a matter of weeks. 

The Explanation (for not telling anyone sooner):

Meanwhile, I have been trying to keep this pregnancy on the down low, but it has not been easy!! Not telling anyone wasn't the hard part. The fear of judgment from everyone has made it quite easy for me to keep it a secret. Thankfully, I have had no morning sickness or any food aversions or cravings, so it hasn't been too hard to keep it under wraps in that sense. Physically hiding it has been the hard part. I have been showing since I was somewhere between 8 - 10 weeks! Here's my belly at 12 weeks:

A Confession: 
Recently friends and such have been asking me when we are going to have more kids. And I have been answering them with something like," Hopefully sooner than later". Or "We would love to have more kids, we just don't know exactly when yet".  The truth is, I have known that I was pregnant since I was about 4 or 5 (at most) weeks along, which makes me almost 4 months pregnant as I am writing this. The day my period was due in April (possibly the day before), I took 3 home pregnancy strip tests - the kind that you dip into the urine sample. I thought they were all negative, until I looked closer. There was a very very very faint line on all 3 tests. Evaporation lines. Or so I thought that was what had happened. The lines seriously were so faint that I thought maybe I was imagining it. But I still had that feeling. So a couple of days went by and I bought another test - the kind that reads either "pregnant" or "not pregnant". I wanted the results to be more clear than the lines - and sure enough "PREGNANT". I took the second one the next day just to be sure - "PREGNANT". 

I'm due December 24, 2012 :)

A Little Venting:

My husband has been self-employed up until recently (now he works for a company instead of for himself). And while we were self-employed, we have had no health insurance for the last 5 years. It is WAY too expensive to purchase privately, and since we didn't work for a company that provided benefits, we have always been able to get coverage through our state (enough coverage for pregnancies and the kids' pediatric services and that's all). BUT, this time around was different. Long story short, it has taken 2 1/2 months to get my insurance coverage straightened out (and another 2 weeks to see a doctor after that), and I have waited this whole time to be able to make a doctor's appointment for prenatal care! Let me tell you, it has driven me CRAZY!!!! All I have wanted to do is to hear the heartbeat, make sure the baby is ok, get my lab work done and out of the way, tell people the exciting news!!! I must have called the doctor's office a billion times trying to make an appointment, and every time I called, I ended up disappointed, because I couldn't get in, because my insurance coverage wasn't "correct". 

So, today (July 2nd), I am now 15 weeks pregnant (I know I am back tracking a bit by the time you are reading this), still haven't seen a doctor - I have had a really smooth pregnancy so far, so thankfully I haven't had any emergencies or else I would have gone straight to the ER or Health Department. Trust me, I would have rather gone to the ER for anything than the dreaded Health Department - I have never had a good experience there, so I will not go there if I can go somewhere else. Anyway, I called AGAIN today to make an appointment, because I was assured that my insurance coverage was in place and ready to go. DENIED an appointment AGAIN!!!! INSANE I tell ya! 

A Blessing in Disguise:

I was totally heartbroken and disappointed, because I was so excited to finally be seeing a doctor! However, I truly believe in blessings in disguise. God knows what He is doing, especially when it doesn't seem to make any sense to us :) So, I started thinking, "Maybe I am just not meant to go to this specific doctor. Maybe I should look into other doctors in the area". And I did just that. And I found a wonderful office that I had never heard of before, affiliated with the hospital where I would like to deliver (and have delivered my other 2 children). Called them and got the appointment right away! My insurance went through and we are all set for July 17th. Yes, I'll be about 17 weeks pregnant by then, but I am SO EXCITED to check out this office and meet the doctor and get things rolling finally! UPDATE: I finally went to my 1st doctor's visit and I am SO BLESSED to have found this office! I love it!

P.S. You all won't be reading this until AFTER this appointment, since we are not telling anyone the news until I have had my first appointment or after the gender reveal ultrasound - see the following post :) 

In the meantime, I'll be updating the blog with pictures and such and when the time comes, I will post everything for all to see!!

Thank you all for reading and keeping up with me! I hope you will continue to follow me and my pregnancy!

~ Jessica

Hi all!!! As of late, I have been getting so distracted with making diapers, selling diapers, doing giveaways, sponsoring giveaways, keeping up with all of the Facebook "groups" and such, that I have completely gotten away from using this blog for it's original purpose. I started this blog as a way for me to share my feelings, connect with other parents, and be a positive and uplifting source for those who choose to read. I apologize for getting away from all of that. And to be completely transparent with all of you, I have also gotten away from the joys and responsibilities of being a stay at home mom because I have been so focused on all of these other things.

I am truly blessed and grateful that I have been given the option to stay at home with my beautiful and precious children. My husband Ryan is amazing and does everything he possibly can to provide a comfortable lifestyle for us. For a long time, I felt so guilty because I was not providing financially for the family. I have made a lot of changes in order to cut back on expenses, such as switching to cloth diapers, using cloth in the kitchen, using the clothes line more often to dry clothes instead of the dryer, cancelling cable tv, switching to a lower speed internet, making homemade meals and snacks, etc. But I never felt like it was enough. Not because Ryan made me feel that way, but because I made myself feel that way. 

Ryan has always found a way to make money. I have never had to worry about that. We have owned businesses, sold businesses, he has had "regular" 9-5 type of jobs, sales jobs, traveling jobs, and he has freelanced as a subcontractor taking side jobs as they came up. He works incredibly hard so that our kids can stay home with me and grow up comfortably in their own environment. If he wanted me to work, he would ask me to find a job. He has never pressured me into making money, and I appreciate that so much. The added pressure on me has been put there solely by me. The whole reason he does what he does, is because he truly wants me to stay home and raise our kids! And you know what? I want that too!

Sometimes people question my decision to stay home: "You have a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree. Why aren't you using it?" Why on earth would I want to spend 12+hours/day with people who don't care about me, working my butt off doing something that I don't even really like doing? Especially when I don't have to?? It's not that I have anything against nurses or any part the medical field. I wouldn't have gone through college to get a degree in the health/medical field if there wasn't something appealing about it to me. But just because I have the background doesn't mean that my life has to be centered around it. Was college a waste then? No way! College was great! Life experiences, friendships, awesome education, independence - it was well worth it! But, now that I have a family, my focus is on giving my all to them and not giving my all elsewhere. 

I understand that not everyone has the opportunity to stay home with their kids. I get it. Everyone has to do what they have to do to provide the best for themselves and for their families. And you better believe that if Ryan ever asks me to return to work, I would and should do it. In fact, after our 1st child was born, Ryan did ask me to return to work when our daughter was about 6 months old. And I did. And it worked out fine. And I was able to return home later that year and haven't been back to work in almost 3 years now. What I am getting at is that I have realized that I am what is best for my family, and I should be taking full advantage of the opportunity that God has given me through my husband, and stop feeling guilty about not providing financially because I am providing a life for my kids that no one else could provide for them. 

My babes are 2 yrs and 3 yrs old. They will not be little and young and innocent forever. I want to spend as much time with them as I possibly can. Connecting with them, providing for them, teaching them, having fun with them, supporting them, being there for them. And with all of that being said, I am getting back to where I started with this blog. I will still do reviews, giveaways, sponsor events, make and sell diapers, etc. But all of those things will always come second to my family and what matters most to me and my husband. This blog is getting back to sharing playtime activities, yummy recipes, positive thoughts, family values, "green" tips and ideas, and simply sharing the fun and humor in life!

A big thank you to all who take the time to read my thoughts - I appreciate you! Now, let's all have some fun and get back to where we started with this whole thing!

~ Jessica

As I was browsing through some of the WAHM Facebook groups I belong to, I came across a wonderful woman named Desiree from Scarlet's Naturals (on Facebook you will see it as Scarlet's Hiney Honey), looking for a few testers for one of her natural baby skin care products. I volunteered to be a tester, as well as offered to write a review in exchange for the product. I love to review products, so when she asked if I would also review her natural sunblock (review still to come), of course I said yes! 

(And, since I'm a sucker for anything coconut scented/flavored, I went ahead and purchased her Scarlet's Suds laundry detergent because I saw on her website that I could get it in coconut scent :))

Before even receiving any products, I could tell that I was going to like the Scarlet's Naturals product line. My kids have always had very sensitive skin, my son especially. Our decision to cloth diaper Noah was partly because of his skin sensitivities. So when I saw that Scarlet's Naturals products are specifically made for babies and kids with sensitive skin, I wanted to know more. I found out that each product recipe uses ingredients found locally to them, including honey and beeswax that is from their own backyard! Love it!

The tester was for the Hiney Honey Cream in the form of a convenient stick (as of now, this product is available in a nice 4oz tin only, but will very soon also be available in stick form, although I am uncertain at the moment what size stick will be offered for purchase).

The original 4 oz tin


The tester stick (chapstick size)


The Hiney Honey Cream is a wonderful product that can be used for many purposes, such as (but certainly not limited to):

• diaper rash
• dry skin
• eczema
• irritated skin
• redness on skin     

Mother's Day is almost here and we are celebrating with our love for cloth diapers!

I am so super excited to be hosting a giveaway as part of this event! I have some really awesome sponsors that have offered some of their amazing products for this event, including Greenie Beanie Bottoms, Lovely Fluff, Mandi's Menagerie, Hipster Fluff, Kitty's Top2Bottom Diapers n' More, Nature's Keyes, and Scarlet's Naturals. These companies have been such a pleasure to work with. I will be giving away an awesome Cloth Diaper Package from these sponsors, valued at nearly $150! The package will include these products:

• 2 Tiny Tush Elite One-Size Pocket Diapers (winner will choose colors) from Greenie Beanie Bottoms - valued at $29.95! ($14.95 each) 

• 1 First and Last (F&L) One Size Bamboo Fleece Diaper from Mandi's Menagerie (winner will choose boy/girl or gender neutral snap & thread color) - valued at $17!

• 1 custom fitted or AI2 diaper (winner's choice) from Hipster Fluff - valued between $22-$25!