Watch Me Grow Pregnancy & Baby Month Stickers Review

Throughout my pregnancy I took a few belly photos with pregnancy month stickers on my tummy. They were courtesy of Watch Me Grow Stickers, which primarily makes pregnancy and baby month stickers. Isn't this one cute?

I was given this set to review:

Smiles
*Large
*Creative designs and wide variety to choose from
*Inexpensive
*Good customer service

Frowns
*A couple of the images were fuzzy, but only in this set. The other designs have higher quality digital images.

I wish there were a way to save the stickers to reuse them with the next pregnancy/baby. Maybe use wax paper? Any ideas?

Check out Watch Me Grow Stickers for more cute sets! And you can use the code CLOSET for 20% off their new closet dividers!

Haloopa Joop Baby Booties Review

Sophie from Haloopa Joop in England generously sent me a cute pair of navy baby booties to review. She knit the booties from Shetland yarn and packaged them in a lovely gift box.

 

They looked so cute on baby Gabe!

Smiles
*Adorable, warm, and well made.
*Room for growth.
*Laces to keep the booties on Baby's feet.
*Baby liked them. And so did Daddy.
*Beautifully packaged.
*Great seller!

Frowns
*Hand wash only.

Here's a little about the seller, Sophie.

I live and work in Nottingham, UK. I work full-time and run Haloopa Joop in the evenings and weekends. Haloopa Joop is an opportunity to take my knitting obsession into another arena and keep up a happy process of sharing my skill and improving it by way of constant feedback and the creative process. Haloopa Joop is an online store selling hand-knit items and knitting patterns.  

Hand-knitting takes time, lots of time. The booties here took 9 hours to make. That means a lot of care and attention has gone into the making of them. There is also a lot of opportunity to adapt each individual item. That's something that is quite important to me as I'm 6'2" (well above average for a woman) and now I can make sweaters with nice long proportions ;) I think it's a better world if the customer isn't requested to fit into something that isn't ideal for them, and if the maker can keep a very close connection with the product and a focus on skill and design rather than profitability and mass production. 

Check out Haloopa Joop for more cute baby booties, knit items, and knitting patterns!

Meet Gabe the Babe

Gabe is such an adorable baby, I just can't get over it! He smiles and laughs a lot in his sleep, among other coos and noises he makes, and he sleeps a lot. Caden loves to hold him, until he starts to cry.

He loves being in our arms. I can't wait for him to fit in the Baby K'tan so I can hold him and get stuff done at the same time!

Just like Caden, Gabe loves sucking on our pinkies or his fingers, when he can find them. Speaking of which, his fingers and feet are very long. And look at all that dark, soft hair!

Sucking his thumb

Sucking on Caden's finger

He likes sleeping with his arms up all over the place; he doesn't like being swaddled. And, like Caden, he hates being dirty. That's good news for when we start infant potty training again!

 

He is so cuddly. I love how tiny and soft newborns are!

 

I think he has the same cheeks, chin, eyebrows, and mouth as Caden. Their eyes and noses are different. Caden's head was bigger; Gabe has more hair. Gabe looks more Native American and Asian than Caden. I don't see Justin or me really strongly, whereas Caden looks very much like Justin. Regardless, Gabe is absolutely beautiful! Who do you think he looks like?

Caden Is Three!

I feel like Caden has been 3 for a long time, but he didn't really turn 3 until Wednesday. Thanks to going to a birthday party and seeing them on Curious George, he knew it was a special day. He learned to answer the question, "How old are you?" with "I'm three!" and holding up 3 fingers. He watched How to Train Your Dragon 3 times that day. He couldn't wait until Daddy came home so he could open his presents. He got a Cars card and money from Great Grandma Kramer, wooden fruits and vegetables you can cut from Francine, a toy boat and submarine and a couple shirts from Grandma and Grandpa Nishimoto, and animal markers from us.

 
Next he went to a trampoline park with Justin.

He had his favorite foods for dinner, chicken and rice, and afterward we sang to him and ate ice cream, his favorite dessert. He also got to try Martinelli's, his first carbonated drink. He didn't like it!

In October when everyone comes for Gabe's baby blessing, my sister-in-law is going to throw Caden a real birthday party. Until then, some more cute photos of my growing-up-too-fast, silly, little boy. (I really wish we had better lighting in our home!) I can't believe how verbal he is, too! And bossy (I wonder where he gets that from? jk).

A grape in each cheek!

FREE Nursing Pillow & Review

In the past I've done two reviews and giveaways for Udder Covers nursing covers and sets. They have a new sister company making nursing pillows. I asked if I could review one and they readily agreed. I was very excited! I told them to surprise me with the style, and they generously gave me a minky nursing pillow in spring green, along with Milk Bands and cloth nursing pads. It was a very nice surprise indeed! I couldn't wait to use the pillow. Once I did, I fell in love!

Smiles
*Cute styles.
*Super soft, comfortable, stable, and supportive. I was afraid the minky one would be too warm for AZ, but I actually like it so Baby never gets a cold awakening.
*Great for multiple nursing positions, including pumping and nursing at the same time!
*Perfect size (see photo below for nursing pillow comparisons)

Frowns
*None so far!

With Caden, I had won a Balboa Baby nursing pillow, the top-rated pillow by lactation experts according to one magazine. But I hated it! This nursing pillow is so much better. You can get your own FOR FREE by using the coupon code BABYGA. You just need to pay shipping, which is under $13, a great deal considering how pricey nursing pillows are!

Gabe's Birth Story: Part 3

Warning: Semi-graphic photos.

After Luana checked me, she said, "You don't want numbers, right?"

"Right. I don't care about numbers. All I care about is whether or not I've made progress."

"Well," she replied, "you've passed all numbers and the baby's head is all the way down. Do you think you're ready to push?"

I could not believe my ears! My body had been working the whole time I was sleeping, with an epidural and only 1 unit of Pitocin. I don't even know when I hit transition.

Soon I was ready to push. Even with the epidural I could feel the urge to bear down; it felt like I needed to go to the bathroom. I exhaled through each push. The first half was easy and went by quickly. I even got to feel the baby's head. I felt so empowered! Then things got harder, and the last 20 minutes were most intense (I pushed for a total of 1 hour and 5 minutes). By harder I mean I ran out of breath! It wasn't painful, just took a lot of stamina. I had to hold my breath for half the push and then breathe out the rest.

Justin getting ready to catch the baby.

The last push was the longest, and out came Baby straight into Daddy's hands at 3:35 p.m! Justin helped during the entire pushing phase too.

Proudest catch of his football career!

Justin transferred him to my chest right away for skin-to-skin contact. He was beautiful! I was so overwhelmed and couldn't stop crying. Once we saw the baby, we knew his name: Gabriel Michael.

The cord pulsed out and then Justin cut it. Birthing the placenta, only moments later, felt like my water breaking again.

I did tear a little and had to get stitched up. Ouch! By this time the epidural was wearing off, so I felt the needle.

Nursing again--the thing I looked forward to most.

Adam and Kirsten brought Caden, wearing his "Big Brother" t-shirt, around 6 p.m. He wanted to hold the baby right away and didn't want anyone else to have a turn. He wouldn't stop kissing Gabe either.

My neighbor came to visit me too. Once everyone left, it was unending interruptions from doctors, nurses, and other hospital staff. You'd think you'd get rest at a hospital! Anyway, hours later Gabe was measured. He weighed 7 lbs. 5 oz and was 19.5 inches long. Poor thing was tortured twice during blood tests because he wouldn't bleed (just like his mama!). We went home the next day around 6:30 p.m.

The whole experience wasn't exactly how I planned it: I wanted to do it naturally, was expecting it to be a lot faster (I was in labor for about 36 hours, counting from Sunday morning not Saturday night, with 17 spent in the hospital), and definitely didn't want to tear. But I am very happy that I had a successful VBAC and that the interventions I received helped me get there instead of making things worse. I also stood up for myself this time, like telling a nurse I wasn't ready to get monitored again yet and not allowing a male tech nurse to be present. I most definitely am preferring this recovery over that of a C-section too. Most important, I am so in love with my baby!

Read Part 1
Read Part 2

Gabe's Birth Story: Part 2

When we got to the hospital, Justin wheeled me in because I didn't think I could walk. The delivery floor was dark and quiet, a stark contrast to my first time there. We were the only patients this time (last time I was stuck in a triage room for 8 hours because all the labor rooms were full). The nurse put me in a triage room and hooked me up to the monitor. She was very respectful and sweet, unlike the staff from my previous experience, but she did have to poke me a million times because my blood wouldn't come out, a common problem this pregnancy, unfortunately for me.

The midwife attending me was Jane Wilson, whom I had only met once but liked. She examined me; I asked her not to tell me any numbers. Crys told me that I had passed what I had ever been with Caden (4 cm). That was great news! I was also 100 percent effaced, just like last time. Apparently my cervix has no trouble softening, just opening up.

After the exam, I felt a very weird sensation behind my upper pubic area, as if a giant bubble were making it move around. It was the bag of waters being pressed down on by Baby's head. Then suddenly, splash! It exploded. Poor Justin got squirt. It gushed two more times like a geyser, and leaked many more times throughout the labor. So much fun dealing with all sorts of bodily fluids during pregnancy and delivery!

Finally I was moved to the "presidential suite," a room that used to be divided into four sections for recovering moms but was now one large labor room with an extra bed for Dad. I had to be hooked up to an IV for antibiotics since I tested positive for Group B strep. More poking--yay. The rest of the time I spent listening to more Hypnobabies and trying to rest while being monitored. I stayed in the tub for a while, but it didn't help like last time. I was still throwing up, so I only drank water and juice. The nurses limited monitor usage as I wished, and Jane left us alone most of the time. I appreciated it after feeling bossed around and put on a timetable with Caden. However, later I wished she had intervened so that things could have moved faster.

Morning came and so did a new midwife, Luana Rodriguez, a native New Yorker like my parents. The new nurse I recognized as having taken care of me after Caden was born. By this time, my perseverance was waning. I didn't want to continue. The pain was too much. I was writhing every time a contraction peaked. I wanted to give up, and I let Crys know. I was making progress dilation wise, but my contractions were getting further apart instead of closer. Crys said Luana was really gung-ho about me having a VBAC and discussed with her my options: 1) continue as I was, 2) get narcotic pain medications, or 3) get an epidural. Also, I would need an intrauterine monitor for more accurate data, a catheter, and a saline rinse since my water broke. I was scared of all these interventions, but Crys assured me they were safe, helpful, and necessary. I trusted her judgment so I consented. I also decided to go with the epidural. I knew I couldn't go on naturally, I didn't want Baby to get narcotics, and another C-section wasn't an option though very tempting. The clincher was not wanting to recover from surgery again.

I was worried that with the epidural would come Pitocin--the devil. It would be needed to get my contractions going again, but they said it would be extremely gradual. At that point I just wanted the pain meds so I said yes. It took forever for the anesthesiologist to come, explain the procedure and risks, and finally give me the epidural. The effects were different than the anesthesia I had for my C-section, which made me completely numb and motionless. The epidural made me feel like my legs were asleep and very heavy, but I could still move them.

They started me on 1 unit of Pitocin. I couldn't even tell. I was finally able to relax and get much needed sleep. I felt so much better when I woke up. Justin and I discussed names since we still hadn't decided on one. The only negative was that I couldn't eat or drink, even water, anymore.

Luana came in to check me again and gave me great news.

Read Part 1
Read Part 3