Baby Products

After reading an article on the Top 25 Baby Gadgets, I got inspired to make a list of my own.  Some of my favorites are also on the Top 25 list.

Cloth Diaper
Flip Diapers - Not going to elaborate because I already wrote a dissertation on cloth diaps which you can read here.

Baby Monitor
AngelCare - Not going to get into a ton of details on this one either because I wrote a lot about it here.  Highlights: audio, video, and breathing monitor.

Bath tub
Fisher Price 4-in-1 - This tub really grows with your baby.  We used the sling when Sarah was tiny and couldn't support her head.  Then we removed the sling and added in the green seat to support her while sitting, and now she sits in it all on her own.  It also came with two little bath toys which is always nice.

Swaddle
Angel swaddle sacks - Sarah could bust out of receiving blankets and velcro swaddles, but this one zips as a sleep sack and has wings that fold over and velcro behind the baby.  No getting out!  It comes in lighter weight cotton and heavier fleece for the winter.  Lots of different sizes and cute prints.  They zip from the chin down so you can't pinch your baby's double chin.  When your baby is ready to transition away from a swaddle you can wrap the wings around her tummy so she can have out her arms.

Also love the Zipadee Zip. It's a good swaddle transition that Memaw told us about and gave us. Lots of cute prints and different fabric weights.

Car seat and stroller
Graco SnugRide Click Connect and Graco FastAction Fold Click Connect Jogger Stroller - When looking for our car seat and stroller we wanted something safe, economical, and easy to work with.  I love that the car seat snaps into the stroller without needing any additional parts to secure it.  I love that the stroller has three large, rubber tires and that the front tire can be fixed or rotating.  Even if you aren't a runner, you'll want a stroller that can take on hills, grass, and gravel with ease.

Baby Carrier
Becco Gemini - Honestly, I don't have anything to compare this one to.  I would just say do your research and find something affordable that also allows baby to remain in an ergonomical "frog" position, and then go from there.  This one allows us to wear Sarah on our chest facing in or facing out, on our back, or on our hip.

Unusual Toy
O-Ball - You'll get tons of rattles from people, but I really like that this one offers lots of holes for Sarah to grab on, and it's light weight and flexible so it doesn't hurt when she hits herself or me.

Activity mat
Skip Hop Activity Gym - Sarah adored the red fox!  This mat made floor time a lot more fun and offered Sarah a lot of things to hit and pull.  Any activity mat will do, but Sarah really did like this one.

Hand Sanitizer
Babyganics - You're going to be changing a ton of diapers!  You want a hand sanitzer pump on the changing table so you don't have to wash your hands at 3:00am.

Nasal Aspirator
NoseFrida - This really gets out Sarah's snot very well and is more sanitary than a traditional nose bulb.  Also, there's just something extremely satisfy about sucking out a ton of snot.  Yeah, we're weird.

Pacifier
Soothie - This is the only pacifier Sarah has ever liked.  You'll find one that your baby loves!  We were fortunate that it was the first one we tried.

Bottle
Dr. Brown's Natural Flow - Whether you're formula feeding or breastfeeding, you're going to need some bottles.  Again, we were fortunate that Sarah loved the first bottle we tried.  This one is good for preventing acid reflux and spit up.  Also, Babies R Us does a lot of seasonal specials where you can get a free bottle if you spend $15.  Worth it since the 8oz bottles are about $8.

Sound machine
Munchkin Nursery Projector and Sound System - Sarah sleeps like a champ, but we really like having the sound machine going to block out the noise we make when she's sleeping.  This sound machine offers three lullabies, three classical songs, ocean, heart beat, white noise, and rain.  It also has a projector with three different scenes if you ever want to use it.

Unusual clothing
Wrap around shirts - I remembered seeing these at a friend's baby shower, and knew I wanted some for Sarah, too.  When you have a newborn you want to protect the umbilical cord and also allow it to get some air.  These shirts are perfect for that!  I don't know about you, but when Sarah was first born she felt fragile even though she was a big baby.  I felt very uncomfortable manhandling her and putting onesies over her head.  This shirts allow you to avoid that and go on and off very easily.

Least Favorite Products
We've loved or at least liked most of the things Sarah has had, but we've had two things that she absolutely hated.  The first was the Mamaroo.  I was so disappointed because it's supposed to be awesome, and you're baby is supposed to love it.  I had used coupons and gift cards to get it for about $15, and was pumped to use it, but every time Sarah would go in it she would cry and would never sleep.  Now, I know babies who loved it, so here's what I would say regarding baby items, especially high dollar items.  Keep the tags, box, and receipts.  We were able to return the rocker for a full refund because we'd kept everything.

The one other things Sarah hated was the Tommee Tippee bottle.  Before Sarah was born I had planned to breastfeed, so I hadn't gotten a ton of bottles.  I'd gotten one Dr. Brown's and one Tommee Tippee.  We tried the Dr. Brown's first and she loved it, but one day I couldn't find it so I went with the TT.  She HATED it!  She just wouldn't even use it.  Since then I've talked to another mom whose daughter hated it.  The nipple was super flimsy and folded in on itself.  My advice here would be to buy one bottle of a couple of different types, and then wait to see which one your baby likes before buying a million of them.

Sensory Activities for Infant

Everybody knows someone with sensory issues.  I know for me personally, as a little girl I just couldn't stand the sound and feel of a big gust of wind.  I would cover my ears and shiver in terror.  I've grown out of that, but as an adult I get pretty anxious in incredibly loud situations.  I'm no occupational therapist, but I do believe that exposing Sarah to activities that engage all of her senses is very important.  You know I'm also all about free and cheap activities, so I bring you sensory activities on the cheap to engage sight, sound, touch, smell, and taste.

• Hairbrush - Sarah obviously doesn't have much hair, and it definitely never gets tangled, but she still likes the feel of her soft hairbrush or comb brushing through her hair.  She also likes it if I take the comb or hairbrush and stroke her skin with it.  The brush may or may not be one of her favorite toys as well.

• Gum brush - When your baby gets teeth you need to start caring for them.  Thinking about using a toothbrush and toothpaste with Sarah right now is laughable, but she LOVES the little finger brush on her gums and teeth.  It tickles and massages them
• Bath - Baths aren't just for getting clean.  It really engages all the senses - splashing, temperatures of warm or cold water, textured wash cloth, smelling soap, tasting water, chewing on toys, hearing herself hit the water.  
• Splashing in sink - Similar to a bath but a little less work
• Crinkle paper bag - I don't know about your baby, but Sarah loves anything that crinkles - bags, crinkle books, plastic 
• Look at shadows or look in the mirror - Your baby might not know what or who she's looking at, but it's still very entertaining
• Watch fireplace - Sarah is mesmerized by our fireplace. 
• Sound machine - We use the ocean sound for sleep, but ours also three lullabies and three classic songs that it plays.  I'm also a big supported of turning on Spotify and pumping up the jams.  Bonus points for dancing with your baby!  
• Scratch at different textures - Carpet, your couch, satin pillowcase, a scarf, scratchy sweater, fluffy blanket, canvas tote back
• Naked play with pad underneath - Babies spend nearly all of their waking (and sleeping) hours all covered up in clothes and huge diapers.  Let your baby enjoy some naked time and feel things with her whole body.  Put a waterproof pad underneath to prevent messes.  My mom and Aunt Pam made us some reusable ones that are awesome to wash and keep, but we've also used some disposable ones.  They're like medical pads that are absorbent and can be thrown away after one use.

• Tummy time looking out a window - It's fun to make ordinary things like tummy time more interesting.  Your baby will enjoy watching people and dogs walk by on the sidewalk, watching trees and sticks blow in the wind, seeing and listening to birds, and hearing and seeing cars go by.  And who couldn't use some sunshine streaming into your house?
• A wide variety of foods - I read once that babies need about 20 experiences with a food to really determine whether or not that like or dislike a food.  Sure, Sarah devoured butternut squash immediately and literally gagged and threw up on green beans the first time, but 5 tries later and she eats all of her green beans.  Don't give up after one or two tries.  Of course your baby will have a personal preference just like you do, but give her a chance to figure it out!

Cloth Diapering

When we found out I was pregnant, I knew right away that I wanted to use cloth diapers, but Robert took a bit of convincing.  The idea of dealing with poop and pee grossed him out - spraying off the poop, washing them, reusing them.  But then I reminded him that whether you use cloth or disposable diapers you'll be dealing with poop or pee so we might as well save some money in the process.  I know that cloth isn't for everyone.  Maybe you both have full-time jobs outside of the home and thinking about having to do any more laundry than you have to do just isn't tolerable.  Maybe you don't even own a washing machine and you couldn't dream of sitting at the laundromat for three hours while the diaps (diapers) spin away.  Maybe you're just uninterested in cloth and feel like using sposies (disposables) will fit into your budget with ease.  All of those reasons are a-okay, but if you're even the slightest bit interested in using cloth I'm here to say that you can absolutely do it and live to tell about it!

I would imagine that most people's reason for wanting to use cloth is either to save money, take care of the environment better, or to take care of your baby's health in a natural way.  I'd say our top reason was to save money, and the other two reasons are added benefits.  The current stat is that a lifetime of diapers (birth to potty training) costs an average of $2,160, and our cloth diapers cost $300 for Sarah's lifetime and will be free for future children.  Now, I realize that this stat is slightly skewed.  The $300 doesn't account for water, electricity, and detergent used to care for the diapers, but that's really hard to figure out.  I'd say that using disposable diapers also accrues the expenses of diaper genies, genie refills bags, and disposable wipes, so let's just say it evens out, okay?  I'm not going to try to convince you to use cloth diapers.  There are enough people sharing their opinions on it.  I'll let you read this article if you want, though.

Many moons ago, cloth diapers were majorly inconvenient, and that's exactly why disposable diapers were invented, but you don't have to deal with diaper services, safety pins, and leaky diapers nowadays.  When I was pregnant I did lots of research on cloth diapers.  Actually, Robert is the master researcher of the household.  He can become somewhat obsessive until he learns everything there is to know about a topic.  At times it can be a tad annoying, but when I need to become an expert on something I can definitely count on Robert to help me consume the information.  He found this awesome website called BabyGearLab.  It was our go-to for finding the best baby carrier, stroller, car seat, and diapers.  It does a good job of helping you get the best bang for you buck depending on your budget.  From Robert's research, we settled on Flip diapers.  Flip received BabyGearLab's best rating for best value, and it was just one point shy (88 out of 100 vs. 89 out of 100) of winning the editor's pick, so it was second place overall but also less than half the lifetime price at $300 vs. $720.  

You can learn everything you ever wanted to know about Flip diapers here, but I'll just give you the highlights.  You can pick different types of inserts.  We went with the organic cotton inserts.  You have to fold them to make them fit.  I have no idea what all the official terms are.  Honestly, I think that's part of what overwhelms people and turns them off from cloth diaps - all in one, all in two, one size fits all, snaps vs. hook and loop, inserts, pre-folds, liners, covers, hybrids, pockets, stripping, stash, wet bags.  The only words I use are cloth diapers, wet bag, inserts, and shells.  You don't need to know the official terms!  You just need to know what you actually do to take care of your baby's diaper needs.  With the Flip diapers I like that you can re-use the shell and just put in new inserts when they get wet.  You only need to get a new shell if it gets super wet or gets poop on it, so you don't need nearly as many shells as you have inserts which saves quite a bit of money.  We have 8 shells and 21 inserts. 

Okay, now for random thoughts and what's worked for us personally:

• Hands down biggest tip - Don't even try to mess with cloth until you feel ready for it.  For us, it was when Sarah was two months old.  When she was a week old and her daily diaper changes were in the double digits, I couldn't dream of ever cooking dinner again, I couldn't even go to the bathroom by myself, and Sarah needed to be fed every 2.5 hours I seriously thought I was insane for ever thinking I could do cloth diapers, but by the time Sarah was two months old I was cooking again, she had about 8 diaper changes a day, and she could go 3 hours before needing to be fed.  I started to think I could handle cloth.  So go with disposables until you feel ready for it.  We buy disposable diapers from diapers.com and have had great luck getting huge discounts and free shipping on diapers and other baby items.

First time sporting a cloth diaper

• Don't be ashamed to use disposables when you think it's the right thing to do.  We use disposables at night.  I just don't like the idea of her legs being spread apart that far all night.  Nighttime diapers practically make her do the splits (slight exaggeration).  We send disposables with her when she goes to the church nursery.  We used disposables for two weeks when we moved and didn't have our washing machine set up yet.  No shame in that game!
• Don't use ordinary diaper rash cream with cloth diapers.  You'll have to do some research to find one that's safe.  I just know you shouldn't use regular creams like Desitin with cloth due to it effecting the absorbency.  However, I can say that Sarah's only ever had diaper rash once in her life.  It was before we even started cloth, and it went away in less than a week.  That's one of the perks of cloth - less rashes!

Caring for the diapers

Here's our routine:

• Change Sarah's diaper.  If it's just wet we only replace the insert.  Wet and dirty diapers both go in the wet bag.  You can get official cloth diaper pails, but we just use a kitchen size trash can with the wet bag in it.  It's important that you not use a lid so air can circulate.  This prevents mold and mildew.
• I wash the diapers every three days.  Our process for washing:
• First time through - Quick wash, warm/cold water, half the amount of detergent that you'd usually use for that size of load.  For us, it's a medium load and halfway up to the first line of the detergent.  Powder detergent is KEY.  Don't use liquid!  It's up to you whether you want to use natural detergent (good for the environment and baby, not as good at getting out stink and stains) or heavy duty, traditional detergent like Gain (unnatural but gets out the ammonia, etc.).  We use Gain original powder.  Top loading washing machines are your friend, and the center agitator works hard for you!
• Second time - Heavy duty/longest wash, hot/cold water, full amount of detergent (all the way to the first line for us)
• Third time - Rinse and spin, cold/cold water, no detergent
• Line dry inserts and shells - With some you can dry them in the dryer.  You aren't supposed to for our shells, and for us I just like the fact that it saves us even more money not using the dryer.  I've been hanging them inside on a drying rack while it's been cold, but in the summer I'll hang them outside, and the sun works as a natural bleach and disinfectant.  
• If you want to get overwhelmed, just go to this website to read everything on washing cloth diapers. ;)
• We use the bumGenius Diaper Sprayer and it is the BEST!!!  I've heard that if you breastfeed you don't have to spray off the poop and you can just put it directly into the washing machine.  We use formula so that isn't an option for us, but I'm also not sure that I'd enjoy having poop sitting in my house for three days anyway.  This sprayer attached easily to our toilet without using any tools to assemble and attach it.  It sprays off the poop incredibly easily and gets the job done very well.
• We also got the Spray Pal, and I would not recommend it.  It was cumbersome and difficult to use and really unnecessary because we never get sprayed by the diaper spray anyway...except for that one time Robert sprayed himself in the eye and it ricocheted onto the ceiling.  
• You do NOT need to strip your diapers.  As long as you care for them appropriately they will not lose absorbency or have a horrific odor.  That's all I'm going to say on that topic.

Unfortunately, Flip diapers aren't sold in stores, so we had to buy ours on Amazon and Cotton Babies.  We got our inserts from Amazon as well as one super cute Einstein shell.  We got the rest of our shells from Cotton Babies on an awesome sale.  Every so often Cotton Babies has "Seconds" which are drastically reduced priced diapers that are slightly imperfect for reasons such as mis-printed fabric, less than perfect stitching, etc.  A friend told me about this the very day I was about to order diapers, and it seriously slashed our cost for shells in half.  I also bought one three-pack of light blue diapers which saved us money buying in bulk.

Okay, I fully realize that this post was probably super unappealing to those of you who are usually into this blog for the cute Sarah updates, but I just felt like if I could have gone onto one post and seen everything I needed to know about cloth diapers it would have been very helpful to me, so here's hoping that this post makes at least one person feel confident in cloth diapering.  Let me know if you have any questions!

Weeks 36-39

36 Weeks (Sunday, July 5)

Size of baby: A honeydew melon, 17.2-18.7 inches, 4.2-5.8 pounds

37 Weeks (Sunday, July 12)

Size of baby: A winter melon, 18.9-20.9 inches, 6.2-9.2 pounds

38 Weeks (Sunday, July 19)

Size of baby: A pumpkin, 18.9-20.9 inches, 6.2-9.2 pounds

39 Weeks (Sunday, July 26)

Size of baby: A watermelon, 18.9-20.9 inches, 6.2-9.2 pounds

Milestones: Her skin is getting smooth and soft, her gums are rigid, circulation and immune systems are good to go, she can flex her muscles, her hair and fingernails are growing.

I've started dreaming about things that I've missed while being pregnant.  It's been surprising how many things I took for granted before I was pregnant.  I miss being able to lay on my stomach.  I've never been a stomach sleeper, but it's still nice to just be able to be on my stomach for a minute when I want.  I miss eating sandwiches with lunch meat.  Thankfully, I love PBJ sandwiches, but I'll be sure to eat a turkey or ham sandwich shortly after baby is born.  I've missed having normal temperature regulation.  I'm pretty hot-natured, so I'm used to being warm but combine being hot-natured, having hormonal hot flashes, and being 9 months pregnant in July, and it feels like I may never be cool again.  I've also missed being able to wear all of my shoes.  I went to put on my black dress shoes the other day, and it just wasn't happening.  I've been sticking to flip flops and tennis shoes.  I've missed Sonic Happy Hour Dr. Peppers.  I'm over cherry limeades.  I've missed having my normal level of energy.  The other night I slept for 9 hours, woke up for 2 hours, and then took a 2 hour nap.  I know, I know...I'll miss that "luxury" once baby arrives, but since when was 11 hours not enough to survive the day?  I miss being able to go for a walk and not walking at a snail's pace.  I still walk every day, but it's slow and steady that's for sure.  I miss non-swollen feet and ankles.  I miss being able to wear all of my clothes.  It'll be like having a whole new wardrobe when I can wear my normal clothes again!

Hey, here's one thing I don't miss - cleaning out the litter box!

Baby Classes

Robert and I took three classes through Cox Health in preparation for baby: Baby Sense, Breastfeeding Basics, and Prepared Childbirth.  Baby Sense was first.  Cox describes this class as:

Take this class during the last two months of your pregnancy. Valuable information on basic baby care and safety, including bathing, diapering, baby proofing your home, car seat safety and more.

I would say this class was about as basic as it gets.  Robert said it best - basically, this class if appropriate for someone who has never seen a baby before.  The best part was car seat safety, and we scheduled an appointment with their experts afterward and they helped us install a car seat in each of our cars.  It was nice to confirm that they are installed correctly and safely.  Otherwise, the class was pretty boring, and we actually left about an hour early because the last hour was discussing how to find a safe childcare provider.  We don't anticipate leaving our daughter with strangers as I'll be staying at home full time, we have family nearby, and we have plenty of people we know and trust who could watch her a couple of hours as needed.

About a month later we went to Breastfeeding Basics.  Cox describes this class as:

Take this class during the last two months of your pregnancy. Learn nutritional and emotional advantages of breastfeeding and "how to" breastfeed

I had already read The Breastfeeding Book by Martha and William Sears and The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding by La Leche League, so this class repeated quite a bit of what I had read, but if I hadn't read either of the books then this class would have been very informative.  It was a good two hour intro for Robert which was nice.

Our final class happened in two parts and lasted a total of seven hours.  Prepared Childbirth is described as

Prepared childbirth education in two consecutive weekly sessions. Learn about labor, delivery, breathing and relaxation techniques as well as pain medications and what to expect postpartum (after delivery)

We covered things like natural pain relief, epidurals, intervention, and postpartum.  The class also included a tour of the hospital.  Cox South opened up a new women and children's wing on Tuesday, and we got a tour of it on Thursday.  Labor and Delivery will still happen in the old wing, but two hours after delivering, the three of us will move over to the new wing.  All of the rooms are private and pretty big.  Of course, they're super clean and up to date.  Just hoping the strong smells of glue, paint, and plastic die down a bit before I'm there.  It kind of took my breath away!

Weeks 32-35

32 Weeks (Sunday, June 7)

Size of baby: A squash, 15.2-16.7 inches, 2.5-3.8 pounds

33 Weeks (Sunday, June 14)

Size of baby: A durian, 17.2-18.7 inches, 4.2-5.8 pounds

34 Weeks (Sunday, June 21)

Size of baby: A butternut squash, 17.2-18.7 inches, 4.2-5.8 pounds

35 Weeks (Sunday, June 28)

Size of baby: A coconut, 17.2-18.7 inches, 4.2-5.8 pounds

Milestones: She's in the head-down position, keeps her eyes open when she's awake, bones are becoming harder, hearing is fully developed and can respond to high-pitches noises, her immune system is continuing to develop, and her fingernails have reached the tips of her fingers.

My feet have started to feel swollen.  I can tell that after I've been standing quite a bit that they feel very full and tender.  I'm still rocking the graduated compression hose at home and while wearing long pants, and I've started trying to elevate my legs throughout the day.  When baby girl first started kicking months ago she would only do it while I was horizontal, but she kicks whenever she wants to now.  I love daydreaming about what her voice will sound like, her soft skin, what color of hair she'll have, and what her personality will be like.

Baby Showers Continued

South Gate threw us a baby shower on Sunday, June 7, and we really appreciate everyone's kindness and generosity.  The food was delicious, the decorations were beautiful, and the presents were so thoughtful.  Taylor had been unable to attend my Bolivar shower since she and Jim were in Ireland celebrating their first wedding anniversary (Jealous!), so we were so happy that they could both come to this shower.  My parents, Robert, and Pepaw also came, and it was decided that this was the first shower of any kind - wedding or baby - that Pepaw, Dad, or Jim had attended.  I guess times have changed!  We loved all the purple themed things to go along with Baby V's nursery!

I was so happy that my family could meet many of the church members.

Robert and I went to Kansas City yesterday to have a family party for Baby V and enjoyed getting to see his grandparents, aunt, and cousins.  Serina and Bethany did a great job hosting!  I think after this trip and summer camp this week we'll officially be finished traveling before baby arrives.  I like the sound of that!

Punch, cupcakes, cookies, cream cheese roll ups, fruit, and M&M's

Robert's favorite present

I had my ninth prenatal appointment and things are still going well.  Normal blood pressure, fetal heart rate of 150 bpm, and no complaints other than always feeling hot.  I'm excited to go to summer camp, but I also know I'll need to recognize my limits and decide when it's time to get some rest or some AC.  The weather forecast looks like it'll be 90 and sunny with a heat index of 100 the whole week that we're in Arkansas.  Eek!

Changing Table

I knew that we didn’t have an ideal spot or enough space really for a changing table.  I also knew I didn’t want to just get a towel or blanket and get down on the floor to change a diaper 10 times a day right after giving birth.  We were working on rearranging the nursery and discussing how to fit in a changing station, and Robert came up with the idea of having it on top of the vanity in the nursery.  It would be a table that would stay there from day to day but could be moved when needed.  It would be tall enough to still give us access to the sink and faucet.  We had planned to get it done in June, but Ray came to town the weekend before Memorial Day, and decided he was up for helping Robert work on it.

The three of us went to Home Depot to purchase the supplies.  I was in charge of picking out the paint while the guys got everything else.  They went with ¾” plywood in pine, and had the worker cut it to the necessary dimensions (52” x 20”).  They also purchased 2 pine 1”x6”x 6’ boards and 1 pin 1”x2” with one beveled edge.  Other supplies included wood glue, 1 ¾” screws, a paintbrush, and a quart of paint. I chose Glidden Duo (Paint + Primer) in Orchid Oasis.

Went with the top color

Before the changing station

The base of the table sits on the small backsplash of the vanity.  The base has three sides put together with wood glue and screws.  Wood glue went on the top edge of the base, and then they put down the sheet of wood and screwed it down.  The measured out 8” from the sides and 10” from ends to select their spot for handles for easy removal.  They drilled out circles with a bore and cut out the remainder with the jigsaw.  Then they added the 1”x2” to add a lip to keep it more secure.  The foam changing pad will fit perfectly inside the handles.

Then they sanded, and sanded, and sanded.  Thank goodness for the electric sander!

After my nap, it was time for me to go to work painting it with Robert.  We did two coats.  The color reminds me a lot of my bedroom in high school.  Robert says we’re getting in some early SBU brainwashing for Baby V .  4^th generation Bearcat?  Works for me!

Robert says this project was not difficult and says the project took about six hours from start to finish and cost about $80, less than what one could easily spend on a regular changing table.  Obviously, this is a pretty specialized item, but hopefully we’ll be able to repurpose it in the future.

Life Lately - The start of summer

We've started the summer off with a bang!  May ended with a youth pool party, graduation parties, and more church league softball games for Robert.  My work assignment has basically finished, so I've been finding new ways to fill my time.  One thing that is a daily must is an afternoon nap!  I spent one morning filling out some pages from this adorable baby book from Bethany and Jason.

I've been enjoying teaching the middle school girls' Sunday School class since our second week at South Gate.  Aren't they great artists?

Robert randomly found this old SG jersey when he moved into his office.  This was the last week it fit me...

 We went to Oklahoma in mid-May for Robert's former roommate and dear friend Josh's wedding.  On this trip we learned that the Oklahoma Department of Transportation will indeed accept checks when you don't have enough cash to pay for the toll.

It was such a treat to go to Bolivar for the day and see Michael!  We calculated that we'd only seen him twice since our wedding, and one time was for just a couple of minutes, so it was great to spend several hours catching up on life, going to the park, and playing Frisbee golf.

Robert and I decided that it was totally acceptable for us to celebrate Mother's Day and Father's Day this year even though Baby V is still on the inside.  Robert treated me to some delicious cheesecake, a nice note, and these pretty flowers.

Robert had the opportunity to preach at South Gate for the second time, and it's so cool to see God give Robert the words to say to speak to His people.

We celebrated our third wedding anniversary on May 20, and Robert took a day off from work so we could spend the whole day together.

Three years!

Mom came for a day trip to spend the morning with me, and it was so great!  We ran lots of errands together, made a Starbucks and Panera trip, and officially talked each other's ears off.

The car seat and stroller are ready for Baby V!

Mittens turned three on June 1.  It can't be scientifically proven that this is indeed her day of birth, but it's the first time we ever saw her and she was a tiny kitten so I think that's official enough.  She celebrated with some of her favorite things: her toys, lots of brushing, and her dry food - sister just won't eat fancy wet food.  Robert made her some climbing blocks for her present.  These will allow her to survey her kingdom from above.

June has gotten off to an incredibly busy start.  Our youth participated in Serve Springfield which is a local mission trip in which several area churches join forces.  Our youth had a service project each morning: working in a neighborhood garden, painting at Victory Mission, and performing random acts of kindness.  In the afternoon they would go door to door in neighborhoods near South Gate to ask for food and clothing donations and to ask if we could pray for them.  Each evening ended with dinner and worship at a local church.  It was a great experience and a cool way to show love to our community.  The very next night we took the youth to 417 Youth Night at the Springfield Cardinals.  We had front row seats on the third base line, and it was a lot of fun!

I had my eighth prenatal appointment on Friday, June 5.  It was kind of frustrating because I had to wait for about 45 minutes and then spent about 10 minutes actually being seen.  Everything is progressing well - healthy blood pressure for mom and healthy heart rate (150 bpm) for baby.

We had a bonfire for the youth on Saturday night, and we enjoy s'mores and lawn games.

And then on Sunday we had the joy of waking up to a broken refrigerator.  When I opened it up the inside was already room temperature, so we're thinking it had been out pretty much all night.  The maintenance worker was on vacation this week and really doesn't work on the weekend anyway, so it's been 60 hours and counting without a refrigerator.

Baby Showers and a Road Trip

Out first baby shower was in Alabama on Thursday, May 28 and was hosted by Robert's dad and his wife.  We made the 12 hour drive to Alabama on Monday and came back to Missouri Friday evening.  It had been about a year and a half since we had last gone to Alabama.  This trip included swimming at cousin Marla's pool, a trip to the beach and estuarium at Dauphin Island, Bellingrath Gardens & Home, and catching up with lots of family.

The shower was super fun, and I'd say we had about 25 people there.  We enjoyed a dinner of chicken salad, fruit, veggies, chips, and cake.  It was a fun party, and lots of Robert's aunts and uncles, cousins, and grandparents were there.

The Bobby Varner clan

The day after we got back from Alabama we had a shower in Bolivar (May 30).  This one was hosted by a couple of my dear friends and sweet moms of friends.  The shower was at the CMH community rooms where we had our wedding reception which was fun.  We had cupcakes and fruit, and played a couple of fun games.  Leigha had a board of about a dozen pictures of Robert and a dozen pictures of me, and the guests had to match our ages to the pictures.  We also played a game where Leigha and Tarah would name a TV show and we had to list the names of the children on the show.  I was on the winning team. :)  It was fun to share this time with such great friends, my mom, and Robert's mom and sister.  Robert didn't come to this shower, but afterward we went to lunch with Mom, Serina, and Bethany so Robert wasn't completely left out.  Haha!

The lovely hostesses

Class of '08 - Friends for 20+ years

Weeks 27-31

27 Weeks (Sunday, May 3)

Size of baby: A rutabaga, 13.6-14.8 inches, 1.5-2.5 pounds

28 Weeks (Sunday, May 10)

Size of baby: An eggplant, 13.6-14.8 inches, 1.5-2.5 pounds

29 Weeks (Sunday, May 17)

Size of baby: An acorn squash, 15.2-16.7 inches, 2.5-3.8 pounds

30 Weeks (Sunday, May 24)

Size of baby: A cucumber, 15.2-16.7 inches, 2.5-3.8 pounds

31 Weeks (Sunday, May 31)

Size of baby: A pineapple, 15.2-16.7 inches, 2.5-3.8 pounds

Milestones: She's showing brain activity.  She's getting fatter and less wrinkly.  She's strong enough to grasp a finger.  Her irises can react to light, she can blink, and all five senses work now.  Her sleep now includes the REM phase which means she can dream.  She can now regulate her own body temperature.