bare feet on the dashboard

Travel Guest Post: Adventure in the Holy Land with Nicole of Three 31

2013-05-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

While I'm enjoying a little maternity leave blog break, I've got a few awesome guest bloggers who'll be sharing their adventures with y'all. Today's travel guest post is brought to you by Nicole of Three 31. Enjoy!

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Hey BFOTD readers! My name is Nicole and I blog at Three 31 — connect with me on social media too! I am a sweet tea drinking, Jesus loving, country girl from Kentucky married to a Texan named Husband. (Well, that's not really his name but that's what I call him.) We live near Fort Worth on a small spread with a white horse named Blue. While I have never given birth to another human, I consider my eighth grade students (129 in all) to be my precious, annoying, and hormonal angel babies. When I'm not blogging or teaching language arts, I enjoy photography, cooking, target shooting, reading, mission and volunteer work, reality TV, and traveling. My most recent travel experience and passport stamp came from Israel where I toured the Holy Land.
If you have plans to visit the Holy Land, may I offer the following suggestions:

lose all expectations
become a dry sponge willing to soak up all the sights, sounds, and experiences
wear comfortable shoes + sunscreen
take your camera, extra batteries + memory cards too

In regards to expectations, it is important to remember that the Holy Land has endured battles, uproars, disagreements, wars, and power struggles for thousands of years. Modern ideals (i.e. religious law, gender roles, clothing, food, etc.) must respectfully take a backseat during your visit. I also suggest you dust off your history books and religious texts. According to tradition, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre (also called the Church of the Resurrection) sits atop Golgotha (Calvary). Visitors can kneel at an elaborate altar and touch the stone believed to have held Jesus' cross. There is also a large stone slab in the Rotunda where Jesus' body was prepared for burial, the Anointed Stone. Once the tour group left the airport in Tel Aviv, we went to the coastal city of Jaffa, the oldest port in the world. According to the Bible, Jonah set sail from Jaffa before encountering the whale (or was it a fish?), and it was in Jaffa where Peter raised Tabitha from the dead. Inside most temples, cathedrals, and churches were the most beautiful tile mosaics I have ever seen. Along the Via Dolorosa, I saw this incredible mosaic (about 8-feet tall and 20-feet-wide) of Jesus carrying his cross. Every tile had to have been cut and polished by hand, then very carefully arranged to create this beautiful image. I'm still in awe. The hill of Mount Zion, the highest point in Old Jerusalem, is dominated by the Church of the Dormition (left photo, below). According to Christian tradition, it is the place where the Virgin Mary died. Nearby is The Upper Room, where Jesus washed his disciples' feet and served The Last Supper before being crucified, and King David's Tomb. The Church of Saint Peter in Gallicantu (right photo, below) is a stone's throw from The Upper Room, located on the lower east side of Mount Zion. This Roman Catholic Church takes its name from Peter's triple rejection of Jesus. The church has been rebuilt several times, the latest construction in 1931, and further connects Peter with the golden rooster on the roof. Inside are multiple underground caves and crypts. Some believe Jesus was imprisoned here. On the north side of the church is an ancient staircase that leads to the Kidron Valley and many Christians believe Jesus followed this path down to the Garden of Gethsemane. There were so many wonderful, magical moments on this trip. I had a blast following the footsteps of Jesus and visiting places important to his ministry. However, walking along the stone streets of Old Jerusalem put so much into context. I don't know if it was the conglomeration of three major religions (Christianity, Judaism, and Islam) or the sense of old world charm in a bustling metropolis, but I loved every minute of it. Luckily, my tour group spent the last day of our pilgrimage in Jerusalem. We even shared Holy Communion in the Garden of the Empty Tomb. Even though the final day focused on the Via Dolorosa, I intentionally stayed at the back of the pack (like I normally do in large group settings) to capture lifestyle shots. Anybody can Google the places I've seen, but I wanted photos that captured the essence of the people who live and thrive inside the ancient city's walls. There were open-air markets and street vendors selling shawarma (meat prepared on a rotating spit), brightly colored scarves blowing in the breeze, a variety of candies and sweet treats displayed on tables, and more fresh produce than this country girl could ever imagine! It was truly a magical day, an unforgetable experience. More highlights of my Holy Land trip came from experiences with water. Where there is water, I usually find a way in ... literally! I
~~swam~~floated in the Dead Sea (which was so cool and made my skin feel AMAZING!) and another day I ate Saint Peter's fish (similar to tilapia) beside the Sea of Galilee (which is really a big lake and fresh water, not saltwater). After lunch, I snuck away from the group to dip my toes in the very chilly water. The large rocks provided perfect coverage for my secret mission. I was eventually discovered and joined the tour group on-board a cruising vessel. The skies were a perfect shade of blue, the water was calm, and the captain turned off the engines to play a soft melody of It Is Well With My Soul over the speakers. If you get the opportunity to sit atop a camel, just do it already! There were 54 adults standing and gawking, talking about how cool it would be to ride a camel, but nobody was willing to get on the furry animal until Yours Truly demonstrated it was perfectly safe. And no, Mister Camel did not spit or bite me.

I hope you enjoyed this post and maybe you learned a few things too. I'd love to visit Jerusalem and the Holy Land again sometime. Have you traveled to the Holy Land? The Middle East? What were your favorite spots? What other destinations are on your dream list? Someday, I want to travel to Africa and Asia.
Thanks so much for sharing your adventure with us, Nicole! I long to visit the Holy Land and see all the places I've read about since childhood.

Frugal Friday Guest Post: DIY Sugar Scrub

2013-05-17T20:50:00.000-05:00

For this week's Frugal Friday post, I'm excited to bring you a guest post from Michelle Pino of Skana Spa at Turning Stone Resort in upstate New York. Thanks so much for sharing your DIY sugar scrub recipe with us, Michelle! I think this scrub would make a perfect Mother's Day (or any day) gift. I personally love using sugar scrubs because they don't burn like a salt scrub, but still give killer exfoliation. Check out Michelle's recipe below.

Pampering yourself with a spa treatment is a luxurious experience any time of year. However, with the promise of summer temperatures just around the corner, spring is the perfect season to refresh the dull, dry skin that’s been hidden under winter outfits. While melting snow gives way to blooming landscapes, consider rejuvenating your skin with a DIY sugar scrub.

Sugar scrubs at our central New York spa offer a blend of natural ingredients that include organic herbs and essential oils designed to gently exfoliate dead skin cells and leave the body with soft, smooth skin. Now that it’s almost time to pack away those bulky sweaters and coats, you’ll want to anticipate looking fresh and sleek in shorts, sundresses and tank tops.

The good news is you don’t even have to leave your house to enjoy the revitalizing benefits of a sugar scrub and at the same time avoid costly spa treatments. A sugar scrub is simple to make and fun to personalize. Here’s a basic do it yourself scrub made with the following ingredients that are easily found in your pantry or the local health food store.

Ingredients:

1 cup white granulated sugar

½ cup sweet almond oil

4-6 drops of lemon essential oil

Preparation:

Blend the lemon essential oil with the almond oil. Slowly combine this with the sugar, adding more or less of the oil depending on the desired consistency. It’s best to avoid a scrub that is too “soupy”. This recipe can be modified to suit your mood and skin type by varying the ingredients you use.

You can experiment with brown sugar rather than the white for different exfoliating preferences. Sweet almond is an all purpose carrier oil that works for most skin types, but if your skin is mature or tends to be extra dry, you might replace it with more moisturizing oils such as avocado or sesame.

Lemon essential oil may be substituted with sweet orange, tangerine or grapefruit oil to add a cheerier note. Including lavender oil creates a more relaxing blend with a clean, floral scent, and using peppermint oil will provide a refreshing, energizing experience.

While showering and after cleansing, apply your scrub to the skin with gentle, circular motions followed by a thorough rinse. It’s best to avoid using this scrub on your face since it may be too abrasive for more sensitive, facial skin.

Thanks again to Michelle for sharing her spa wisdom with us! Do you ever DIY beauty products?

Totally Toddler Giveaway Hop ~ Enter to Win a $75 Credit to PatchPak!

2013-05-13T00:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Totally Toddler Giveaway Hop! This event is hosted by Mommy's Favorite Things and Mama's Baby Cupcakes.

This hop is focused on items you'd want/need for a child ages 1-6 yrs old. After visiting my giveaway, make sure you use the linky below to take a look at the other 25+ blogs and see what they have to offer for you and your little one! Each blog has a minimum prize package of $25 per winner.

Also be sure to check out the Grand Prize featured on Mommy's Favorite Things blog. This grand prize package is sponsored by Pediped with 3 pair of shoes in gender and size of choice, and 2 Red Hens for a snack bag set and a Toy Nanny for a total value of just over $200 in prizes.

One lucky Bare Feet on the Dashboard reader will win a $75 credit to PatchPak to choose a backpack, lunch bag, or binder for their child.

You can read my full review of the PatchPak here. We received a youth size backpack to review, and it was a big hit with the Bear.

PatchPak products are well made, easily personalized, and perfect for toddlers through school age kids.

PatchPak products come in red, pink, blue, and green.

Retail Prices:

Youth Backpack - $32.99

Large Backpack - $39.99

Lunch Bag - $19.99

Binder - $24.99

Patches - $2.99

Each PatchPak product can be personalized with velcro patches your child can easily remove and replace on their own. There are endless possibilities for personalizing.

Personalize your child's PatchPak here.

Become a PatchPak fan on Facebook.

Follow PatchPak on Pinterest.

Add PatchPak on Google+.

Like what you see? Enter to win a $75 credit to PatchPak using the Rafflecopter form on this post. You don't need a Facebook page or a blog to enter, just an email address. Complete the mandatory entry to enter, and then as many optional entries as you choose to increase your chances of winning.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Bare Feet on the Dashboard, Mama's Baby Cupcakes, Mommy's Favorite Things and the Totally Toddler participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.

Frugal Friday Guest Post: Shopping at Farmers' Markets

2013-05-10T06:30:00.000-05:00

Today's Frugal Friday Guest Post is brought to you by Dede from Savings in Seconds. She is a busy mama loves to find ways to save time, money, and a bit of sanity. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Looking for a fun outing with the kids that won't break the bank? Need to stock up on some groceries? Head over to your local farmer's market and enjoy local, sustainable produce while giving your family a valuable lesson in budgeting. If you've never been to a farmer's market before, you are in for a real treat! If you're not a gardener, or if you haven't had the chance to get yours started yet, this is a great opportunity to get some fresh veggies at a rock-bottom price.

Find out where your farmer's market is located and write down the hours. We like to go on Saturday mornings because there are usually more vendors. Our local market is also open on Wednesdays. The traffic tends to be lower on those days, so it's a nice time to take a stroll around the area and really get to look at all the offerings. We like to go early in the morning, mostly because my kids wake up before sunrise. If you go later in the day, some vendors might be willing to part with their goods for less so they don't have to pack it all up. There are benefits to both scenarios....figure out what works best for your family.

Make sure you take cash to pay for your goods. I usually spend $10 per trip but I take extra in case I want to buy something unexpected. I also give each of my children $2 to spend. That is always enough for them to buy a drink and a snack at the market. If you don't want to spend that extra cash, be sure to pack a little snack bag for each child. Part of the reason that I want my kids to buy a snack while there is that they learn to prioritize their money. They enjoy walking around all of the tables, then making a decision about what to purchase. It's also a good opportunity for my kids to practice bargaining skills. Many a farmer is willing to take 25-cents less for a cucumber if asked politely.

Know what you want to buy in advance, and leave a little wiggle room for an impulse purchase. I typically need greens, tomatoes, and onions. Those are the veggies we'll use up in a day or two. We also like to buy meat from a certain vendor who always has fresh beef and sausage. The prices at the farmer's market are usually comparable to, if not lower than, the local grocery store. I also don't have to pay tax on my purchase, which is an extra savings. Fresh homemade breads and canned jams are also favorites. At the market where my sister-in-law lives, we always have to get a fresh fried doughnut dripping with homemade glaze. There's so much more than food at the market, though! Flowers, crafts, jewelry, and clothing are all available at our local market. It's fun to see what each table is selling. My kids love to see the unique creations at the tables, and I love that they are learning how talents can be productive.

Take a reusable tote with you. Most of the vendors will have plastic grocery bags, but why bother if you have a tote handy? It's also easier to take your haul into the house when it's all packed in one bag.

Be a regular. Find those vendors who have the best of what you want and visit them frequently. They'll treat you right! Going more often also allows you to purchase just what you'll use up so there's no waste. Visiting your local farmer's market is a terrific way to keep your dollars right in your hometown. You'll learn what varieties of foods grow best in your area, your children will have a chance to see "real farmers" and it's just FUN!

Thanks so much to Dede from Savings in Seconds for this Frugal Friday Guest Post. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

Do you shop at your local Farmers' Market?

PatchPak Personalized Backpack Review - Totally Toddler Sponsor Spotlight

2013-05-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to review and share a brand new product with y'all today, Patchpaks! PatchPaks are personalized backpacks, lunch bags, and binders with removable patches perfect for toddlers up through school age kids. Thanks so much to the folks at PatchPak for providing us with a youth size PatchPak backpack to review. Next week we will bring y'all a PatchPak giveaway where one lucky reader will win a $75 credit to PatchPak as part of the Totally Toddler Giveaway Hop.

As you can see, the Bear uses his youth size PatchPak to haul around his favorite stuffed animals. He can put it on and take it off all by himself, which he loves.

So, how do the patches work?

You and your child select as many patches as you want when you order your PatchPak. We also got the smiley face and American flag as free bonus patches.

The patches make it possible to personalize each pack as much as you want to with no sewing, gluing or pinning.

Each patch has a velcro backing that sticks to the PatchPak with one touch. Your child can rearrange their patches as they choose. The Bear has had a lot of fun removing and replacing his patches. The one negative about this option is that the patches can get removed and not replaced. I've found a few under our couch and scattered around. We are working on putting the patches back on after he takes them off.

The patches stay put really well unless they are intentionally pulled off. A major plus I can see is that the interchangeable patches would make it really easy to transition this bag to another child by just ordering new patches.

The youth size PatchPak comes with 2 large pockets, with tons of room for storage.

Would I recommend this product? I think the packs are well made, and I love the idea of personalizing each pack for each individual child. Bear loves the patches and has a blast with them. This is not the most frugal backpack choice on the market for sure, but if your child likes to express their individuality, this is a great avenue for that. I love supporting family run businesses, so that is a bonus. Bottom line, this is a great product if there is room in your budget for a nice backpack or lunch bag.

PatchPak products come in red, pink, blue, and green.

Retail Prices:

Youth Backpack - $32.99

Large Backpack - $39.99

Lunch Bag - $19.99

Binder - $24.99

Patches - $2.99

Like what you see?

Come back next week (May 13-29) and enter to win a $75 credit from PatchPak.

Personalize your child's PatchPak here.

Become a PatchPak fan on Facebook.

Follow PatchPak on Pinterest.

Add PatchPak on Google+.

Which patches would your child choose?

Trying for a VBAC Guest Post: Josiah's Birth Story

2013-05-08T14:33:00.000-05:00

While I'm on a little bloggy maternity leave, I'll be featuring a few guest bloggers. As part of my Trying for a VBAC series, some of my guest posters will be sharing their own birth stories with y'all. Today's guest blogger is Andrea. Thanks so much for sharing your beautiful birth story with us, Andrea!

Andrea has been married to Tim for almost nine years, and together they are homeschooling parents to Lydia (6), Benjamin (3) and newbie Josiah. They also remember their son Jonathan in their hearts. Andrea has been interested in all things related to pregnancy, birth and motherhood since high school, and sometimes calls her first child "well-researched."

Here is my birth story, about 99% complete. Most of this story is from what I directly remember, but there are parts that I was told about afterwards, from my midwife and doula and a friend that was there, filling in the blanks when I was too out of it to fully realize what was going on. I don’t yet have my midwife’s written notes, but it’ll be a little while before I get those, and she and I have talked about the birth, so I’ve included those bits in here and am going to call it good for now.

I also mention my Christian faith a few times, so if that will offend you, just be aware that it is there and an important part of my life.

And the final disclaimer, this is my narrative story and should in no way be taken as medical advice.

The birth story of my fourth child starts with the birth of my third. Jonathan, my third baby, was an emergency c-section at 25 weeks because of complete placental abruption (which followed my premature rupture of membranes at 23 weeks). He was with us for 27 days before we lost him due to complications from an infection.

Even if Jonathan had lived, Tim (hubby) and I would not have felt that our family was complete at only three children, but now I was a complicated case. I was sneaking up on “advanced maternal age,” I was a hopeful VBAC, I had a history of a preterm birth (even though my first two births were nearly textbook). Tim and I consulted with several people to see when we could try to get pregnant again and still have a reasonably good chance at a VBAC. The delivering OB and another one both said we could try in three months (putting 12 months between the surgery and the next birth). Other opinions wanted us to wait 6 or 9 months. We decided to start trying at 4 months, never dreaming that we would get pregnant on the first try.

I have to admit that I was more than a little nervous at first. I’d read birth stories and talked to people who had a short time span between their c-section and their VBAC. I’d also talked to people who had a full-term VBAC after having a premature c-section. But all my searching came up mostly empty when I tried to find people who had both of these factors in the same pregnancy. I didn’t know what would happen.

I saw an OB for my whole pregnancy, taking P17 shots this time, and I saw an OB all the way up until the week before I delivered. I also saw my midwife for prenatal visits that last month (but had kept in contact with her throughout the pregnancy as well), unsure until the very end whether I wanted to go to the hospital or try for another homebirth. (My second child was a homebirth, and my third child was supposed to be a homebirth as well before my water broke so early and I had to transfer out of my midwife’s care.)

I was officially due on 12/27, and in the couple of weeks leading up to that, I'd been having fairly decent Braxton Hicks off and on for several weeks, very similar to the way it happened with Benjamin (my second baby, 3 years old at the time of this birth). My due date came and went. I was a VBAC this time, so I didn’t want to be induced. I just had to wait it out. I had an appointment scheduled for 1/2 for a NST and ultrasound since I would be turning 41 weeks the next day. Then if I made it to 42 weeks, the OB was recommending induction at that time (which I was agreeable to, but still praying that I wouldn't make it nearly that far).

With both of my other full-term labors, I had light bleeding throughout the whole active labor, so I kept waiting for that to show up to indicate that I was finally in real labor, but it never did. I also was waiting for a loose stool, which could indicate my body cleaning itself out in preparation for labor, but that never happened either. (I did, however, have two separate solid BMs during labor, once it finally started.)

On 12/28 and 12/29, I was losing teeny tiny pieces of my mucous plug, but nothing to make me say, "This is it!" I just kept monitoring it throughout the weekend, and it would come and go as the days passed. I had an appointment with my midwife on 12/28 and my blood pressure had spiked a little bit, and she said that it might be an indicator of labor starting soon. She estimated his size to be at about eight and a half pounds. She also made the comment that she likes doing baby-size estimates on women with my body type because it’s easy for her to be fairly accurate. The afternoon of that appointment, I made some eggplant Parmesan using a recipe that is "famous" for putting women into labor within 48 hours. A friend of mine had made it with one of her babies and had gone into labor that same night. I made the recipe, but it was deliciously ineffective for that first night and the second night.

On 12/30, I woke up having lost a lot more of my plug the night before. I was having contractions that could still be called BH, but they were coming close enough together for me to think that they could easily turn into something more later. I texted our doula to see what time she was going to be in church, and to give her a heads up about the plug and that something might be happening later on. Tim and the kids and I went to church as well, and were there from about 9:00 to 11:30, where I continued having contractions.

After church was done, I got Tim's attention and told him that he needed to get the kids in the car (i.e. don’t dawdle and visit with people) and that today was probably going to be the day. He grinned at me. :D One of our friends who was going to come to the birth to help with chores or whatever else we needed came up to me before I could get outside and asked if I was in labor, and said that when she saw me when we first got there that morning, that it looked like I was. I told her that I don't know but that she should come over after lunch. On the way home, I called our doula and our photographer and midwife and made plans to have them all come over at their various times that they could make it (from being out of town or whatever).

My midwife got to the house first and we talked about what was possibly going on, and I went ahead and had her check me, and I was at a 3, 50% effaced, and very squishy. My bag of waters was intact but she could feel the baby's head through it. He was floating, though. Since I was still in very early labor, my midwife stepped out to grab lunch with her hubby and then run another errand.

Throughout the afternoon, the rest of my "birth team" arrived, and we were lighthearted and chatty since my labor was also lighthearted. :P The birth supplies were assembled, but I couldn’t find the little hats that I had crocheted, so I spent a little time in early labor making one more hat, just to be sure we’d have one. I also had some music on with a portable stereo, and Benjamin was laying down on the floor, directly facing the speakers, singing the familiar church songs on the CDs that I had picked out. It was so heartwarming to watch him do that. Lydia (my first baby, 6 years old at the time of this birth) played games on various electronic devices (like our photographer's iPad and my Kindle). We eventually let Benjamin take a long nap, but Lydia stayed up the whole day and all the way through to the birth. At some point, we blew up the birth pool (but didn't put any water in it yet) and the kids were enthralled with their new "toy" and kept playing over the edges of it. At one point, they managed to flip the pool on top of themselves, creating an air-filled cage. :D

I got checked early in the afternoon when my midwife first got there, and I was at a 3, 50%, and very squishy. Since labor was still so light, she went to eat lunch with her hubby and run another errand. I gradually dilated to a 5, and at that check, my midwife was able to stretch me to a 6, but then I never dilated past that because my bag of waters was keeping the baby's head from putting direct pressure onto my cervix. (My midwives called it "bag of water dystocia.") I did a round of nipple stimulation, which helped the contractions get stronger and closer together, but it still wasn't enough to move the baby onto my cervix and finish dilating. She suggested maybe breaking my water in an hour or so if there's been no progress (and if baby was not posterior).

I wanted to go ahead and fill up the pool first, though, so we started to do that. When Tim and I had made preparations for this birth, we got a hose and some fittings to fit it onto the shower head, because our washing machine spout wasn’t easily accessible. We hadn’t run any water through the hose, though, and instead had just seen if it would screw onto the shower head prior to birth day. Once it came time to actually fill the tub, Tim had a little trouble getting the fittings tightened properly, and it kept leaking, so we had a lot of stop-and-starts when trying to fill the pool. He finally got the fittings finished and then turned on the water. About a minute later, he called down the hallway, “Here comes some water!” to make sure that someone was holding the hose at the other end. It was a humorously delayed warning, but someone had been holding the hose anyway, so everything was good.

I was in the pool for an hour or so, but the contractions slowed down, so I continued the nipple stimulation. They picked up, but again, not enough to do what they needed to do, so I got out and agreed to have my water broken. It felt like a gallon came out of me (but was really only about two cups), and it kept coming out in several spurts as I continued laying there, but as soon as she broke it, I was at an 8.5. She said that since I was so soft, it would probably be only an hour or so after she breaks my water and then the baby would be born. My amniotic fluid was meconium-stained, so it was yet another thing to keep an eye on during this birth. My doula had had a “streak” going where all of her clients had started labor with their water breaking, so I was glad to break her streak and have my water intact for so long. It took her some effort to break my water since my sac was so strong this time, which was such a change from my third pregnancy.

My contractions picked up in intensity, but not frequency, after my water was broken. I was back in the pool but couldn't get comfortable. I started vocalizing and screaming through the contractions, and at one point, they suggested that I go to the bathroom to get my full bladder out of the way (everyone had been giving me sips of Recharge and water throughout the day). I did that, and had a few contractions on the toilet and felt pushy. I wanted to get to the bed so they could check me, but I had to time it just right because the contractions were finally coming pretty close together.

I felt the contractions so low that it felt like they were running down the side of my thighs as well. It was quite the odd sensation. While still in the water, I started needing some counter pressure applied to my low back/hip area, which Tim did for me. He was amazing through my whole labor, just doing what I said I needed instead of what he thought I needed. :p Overall, I’m glad that I gave water a try, but I don’t know if I’ll do it again. It didn’t really feel like it was the “magical pain relief” that people have made it out to be.

I got to the bed and was checked, and I just had a lip that moved back and forth as the baby tried to find his way down. I was complete, but my cervix kept slightly shrinking back with the contractions. My midwife checked the position of his head, and he was asynclitic (with sort of a front "corner" of his head trying to come out first instead of the back of his head). She spent a few contractions trying to push the lip over his head and at the same time get him to rotate. Even with no water, there was room for him to do all that. Both of those techniques were incredibly painful. Throughout my contractions and especially during the pushing phase, my midwife never stopped praying for us, out loud. I greatly appreciated this as it helped keep ME focused on who was in control of the situation as well. Since I was GBS positive this time, they also gave me a chlorhexidine rinse every so often, which was cold! Brrr!

During an incredibly painful contraction, I asked if I could push, and they told me I could. Because of his presentation, I never did get the uncontrollable, “my body’s going to push whether I want it to or not” urge like I’d had with my other vaginal births. My midwife was inside me trying to show me where to push (but I had thought she was holding my lip out of the way), which was also pretty painful. She also was still trying to turn his head in between contractions to a better presentation, but then before the next contraction hit, he would turn right back. I couldn’t feel it, but Tim kept seeing the baby flip back over as he watched my belly. She told one of my friends later that I had a pelvis that could birth a 10-pound baby and that the baby just had too much room in there since he kept flipping back.

I was getting tired and weak by this point and kept saying and thinking, "I can't do it, I can't do it," over and over. But I was also aware enough to realize that his heart rate had gone down into the 90s and stayed there, so they were getting nervous about a possible cord problem. I gave it my all. They didn’t know what was causing the drop in heart rate, but my midwife knew from my previous birth records that I could push a baby out fast, so she wasn’t as worried as she might have been if I were a first-time mom or having my first vaginal birth. We didn’t have the luxury of taking an hour or more to push with that declining heart rate. Tim was trying to help me push better/faster/harder by yelling, “PUSH!” several times at me, with increasing volume, but that wasn’t helping and before it started to bother me too much, the midwives told him to stop.

At some point, I was on my hands and knees trying to get the baby to a better position, but that wasn’t working, so I ended up on my back. I have NEVER had a pushing phase hurt like this one did. I had various people giving counter pressure on all four limbs to give me traction. I wanted to scream from the pain, but I knew if I did, it would make my pushing less effective, so I tried to be quiet and just let all the energy go into my push. From Tim's point of view, there was one point where a big portion of the head was visible, but then when I stopped pushing, it slipped back. At one point, they invited me to feel his head, and based on the pain I’d been feeling, I thought I was going to feel a huge portion of it, but it ended up feeling only like a half-dollar-sized amount of head. The video is a little blurry because of the low lighting, but it ended up actually being a significant portion of head that I was feeling and not just a tiny little bit.

When the head finally came out all the way, he was looking down towards my left leg. Before the shoulders came out, he rotated clockwise, looking directly at my left leg, then up to the ceiling, then finally straight over at my right leg, and THEN the shoulders came out.

He was neither breathing nor trying to (but did still have a pulse, which my midwife monitored with her fingers on his chest while they worked on him to get him breathing). They kept him right at my feet where he had come out while they worked on him, leaving the cord intact. They suctioned him (getting a lot of watery blood out when they did this) and gave him oxygen. His one-minute APGAR score was only a 6 (but his five-minute one was 9). My friend told me that my midwife was crying at one point. After quite a bit of suctioning and some oxygen, he got a tiny spot of pink on his head which nearly immediately spread to his whole body, replacing the purple that he had been upon first arriving. He started crying and they put him on my chest. His cord (which was two feet long) ended up being wrapped around one of his feet, but that was the only place it was wrapped. And remember that 8.5-pound estimate from a couple days prior? The first thing I noticed when they laid him on me was how dense and heavy he felt. This baby was not an 8.5-pound baby. When we finally got around to weighing him, he was 9 pounds and 6 ounces, my heaviest baby so far.

Another thing I noticed about him was that he had absolutely NO vernix on him, not even in his little neck folds or anything. He was a very well-cooked baby. :D I cut the cord this time, and was surprised that I had the strength to do that since I didn’t even have the strength left to fully lift my head to see where to cut, and had to rely on others to move my hand into the proper position. And 36 or so hours after the birth, I had a sudden realization, “Oh, yeah, I cut the cord this time,” like I’d forgotten that I did it. The assistant midwife and my friend were looking at the placenta later, and that midwife pointed out the few calcification spots in there and said that it wasn’t a “bad” placenta, but it was definitely done and time for the baby to have been born.

One more thing I noticed was a “scratch” on his abdomen that looked like there had been a cat inside me with him that gave him a good clawing. It ended up being just a weird arrangement of dried blood, though, and came off in the bath, revealing smooth and unblemished baby skin.

Sometime earlier while I was still in the birth pool, I was nauseous, and threw up all the fluids I'd taken in in the previous hour or so. They wanted me to keep taking more fluids, so I kept trying, but the nausea never went away, and I also threw up all those additional fluids along with the few bites of eggs that I'd tried to eat as my first postpartum meal. This loss of fluids combined with the loss of blood made me incredibly weak and lightheaded, and I came very close to passing out many times, and actually did pass out once, later, after my herbal bath. Baby was born at about 2:24 a.m. and it wasn't until noon that I finally felt able to walk a few steps by myself and got my appetite back. I didn't even try to carry the baby before then, either, because I felt that bad, and instead just kept him near me in the bed and had Tim change all the diapers. And even after feeling better, I still had another few sporadic incidents of lightheadedness where I had to stop and bend over, and these incidents reminded me even apart from bleeding intensity that I needed to get back into bed or into a semi-reclining position.

It was a little while before I delivered the placenta. They kept checking to see if it was ready to come out or where it was. I had lost a lot of blood beforehand and they were wanting to make sure I didn’t have a bunch behind the placenta as well. When it was finally ready to come out, I didn’t want to push it out since the baby had been such an effort. But everyone reminded me that the placenta had no bones, lol, and I pushed it out and that was that.

He nursed very well, once we finally got around to it. It ended up being about an hour and a half after the birth before we were able to successfully latch. From the loss of blood and fluid, I was too weak to do it lying down (though I did try with what little strength I had) and too weak to sit up without help. I was also too out of it mentally to ask for help sitting up and to realize how much time was actually passing.

When we finally did sit up, my midwife asked us if we were going to circumcise him, and we said no. She said “Yay,” but I didn’t quite understand what she said, and she had a weird look on her face and said it in a weird tone of voice. I thought that she was upset at our decision until I asked her to repeat herself. Tim and I had had that discussion while pregnant with Benjamin and had left him intact as well.

I did not tear at all, but I had some bruising. It felt like I had been trying to climb out of an above-ground pool but that I was repeatedly dropped on the edge of the pool, with one leg in and one leg out. In addition, I was swollen so much that I couldn’t pee within the time that my midwives wanted me to (even with the assistance of some peppermint oil), so they did end up cath-ing me. After that, the assistant went home but my primary stayed and dozed on the couch and wanted me to try to pee again after an hour and a half or so. I was keeping fluids down again by then so I thought I might be able to go when it was time, and I did, and didn’t have any further issues in that regard.

They offered an herbal bath for me and the baby afterwards (and they also thought I might try to pee in the bath as well, but that didn’t work either), which I took, but I got increasingly lightheaded during that, and hindsight said that they probably should have skipped it. I had to have a ton of assistance walking just to the door of the bathroom, then they had me sit in our wheeled office chair to wheel me to the bed, and I think I might have passed out for half a second. I remember sitting down in the chair, then the next thing I know, they were calling my name and I realized I was leaning on the door jamb with my eyes closed. I woke up from whatever state I was in, and then they wheeled me across the hallway and to the side of the bed.

Baby is a champion nurser. He latches beautifully and just knows exactly what to do, as if he's been waiting his whole life for it. :) He had a bit of a "click" that first day or so, and after some investigating, I found out that he was turning in his bottom lip instead of turning it out, so I’m working to help him develop a better habit there. Other than that, he is a great nurser, easily handling my gigantic letdown. At three days postpartum, he was two ounces under his birth weight, but at five days old, he was two ounces over his birth weight.

Tim changed all the diapers that first day, including the first meconium diaper, which had a HUGE pile in it for him. Tim made the comment of "nothing wrong with that system," lol.

He smiled in his sleep within the first few hours, and then on Tuesday (I’m still wondering what happened to most of the rest of Monday), I saw him smile while he was awake and in a quiet alert phase. :)

One odd thing I noticed early postpartum with myself is that my uterus seemed almost cylindrical when it was freshly empty, instead of shrinking in a rounder fashion. My midwife mentioned this to me at my postpartum visit and said that she and the assistant midwife had noticed the odd shape even from when they broke my water. I don’t remember the shape of my postpartum uterus with my pre-c-section births being anything remarkable like that.

The kids just love him to bits. Benjamin was sleeping when Josiah was born, and when he woke up this morning, I was in the bed and I asked him where my baby is. He indicated my now-shrunken tummy and said, "In your tummy." I told him that he came out, and Tim helped him climb onto the bed so he could see the baby. Benjamin promptly squished him in a hug and said that "he's sleeping" and gently touched his tiny hands. :) Lydia was still awake for the birth, and when he came out, she said that he was "so cute." :D A good friend of ours took our kids for the first 36-ish hours after birth, so that was nice, since one of the things that first made me consider a hospital birth this time was the postpartum stay without having my big kids around. :)

We sort of have a “theme” going on with our names and our kids’ names – three-syllable names from the Bible. (My name is Andrea, which is the feminine form of Andrew, so I’m counting my name as a Bible name as well.) Then Tim is legally Timothy, and there’s Lydia, Benjamin and Jonathan. What WERE we going to name this baby, to keep with our theme? We chose the name Josiah Nathan, which means, “God has healed, God has given.” We couldn’t think of a more appropriate name and are just so happy that he is finally here.

What an incredibly beautiful birth story God wrote for Andrea and her family. Thanks so much for sharing Josiah's story with us, Andrea. You can find more from my Trying for a VBAC series here.

Welcome to the World, Eleanor Pearl!

2013-05-06T07:00:00.000-05:00

Our family is delighted to announce the arrival of our beautiful daughter, Eleanor Pearl Eby.

Our sweet baby girl arrived on Monday, April 22nd at 3:56 pm.

She weighed 7 lbs 14 oz at birth and was 20 inches long.

She is amazing and perfect and we are so in love.

These past two weeks have been filled with lots of snuggling,

mama milk, family, and learning to be a family of four.

My parents came to stay with us the first week, and we would

have been lost without them. The Bear asks for Dede and Poppy

every day at least twice a day.

We had a successful all natural VBAC birth, and Ellie Pearl and I are both healthy and happy. If you are a c-section mama considering VBAC, it is totally worth it in my opinion. You can read our Trying for a VBAC blog series here, and I'll post more of our birth story soon.

Ellie and I are getting into the groove of nursing, but she had a severe tongue tie that made it difficult at first. We've had to have it clipped twice, because the first time didn't go far enough. Hopefully this will enable us to have a long and healthy breastfeeding relationship and will prevent any speech difficulties as she gets older.

Her tiny hand in mine melts my heart like nothing else.

My youngest brother, Matt, drove 6 hours each way to come and meet his niece. The Bear asks for him daily as well since he went back home.

She loves skin to skin snuggles with Daddy.

Here we are ready to go home from the hospital.

We are so thankful to the Lord for the safe arrival of our sweet baby girl, Ellie Pearl.

Frugal Friday Guest Post: Homemade Fruit Roll Ups

2013-05-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today's Frugal Friday Guest Post is brought to you by Talya from Grace Grits and Gardening. She's teaching us how to make Homemade Fruit Roll Ups. Take it away, Talya.

Fruit Roll-ups were a staple snack in our house when the kids were young. Fun for them and quick for me! Plus, I admit it, I liked to eat them too.

I recently tried my hand at making homemade fruit roll-ups. They were extremely easy, healthy and tasty.

Ingredients

3 cups strawberries (or whatever is on sale)

1 tablespoon honey (if your strawberries are sweet enough, no honey needed)

Method

Puree strawberries and honey in blender or food processor.

Cover cookie sheet with plastic wrap. Pour the fruit puree over the plastic, leaving space around the edges.

Bake at 170 degrees for 6-8 hours (depending on your oven). It takes a long time for the fruit to dry out, but don't worry, the oven is not hot enough to melt the plastic wrap.

When dried and cooled (much like leather), peel the fruit away from the plastic and place it over a sheet of parchment paper.

Cut the fruit and paper into strips and roll them up.

Store in a plastic bag. They will not last long...

Thanks so much to Talya for sharing her fruit roll up wisdom with us. Talya lives in East Dallas and blogs about gardening, cooking, farming and life in general at her blog Grace Grits and Gardening. She also blogs for the Lakewood-East Dallas Advocate and provides a monthly guest blog post at Inspiration Café.

Follow her on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/TateFarmGirl/

and on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GraceGrits.

What's your favorite homemade snack?

Baby Bloom Blog Event: Graco FastAction Fold Jogger Click Connect Review

2013-05-01T07:00:00.000-05:00

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Graco. All opinions are my own and as always I only write about products I would personally recommend to a friend. Thanks so much to Graco for the opportunity to review this jogging stroller and car seat.

Graco's latest development in jogging strollers is the super easy to use FastAction Fold Jogger Click Connect. The name is more complicated than operating this stroller, I promise. True to its name, the jogger folds and unfolds in one step in one second. Amazing. If you've tried to manhandle your share of bulky strollers, you know this is a big deal.

The jogger is compatible with all Graco Click Connect car seats for those new babies who aren't ready to use the 5 or 3 point harness in the seat. Once kiddos are bigger, the seat has multiple reclining positions to make sure your wee one is always comfortable. The Bear tried it out on a jog with Daddy, and the ride is super smooth.

The snack tray removes completely so you can clean it well. Y'all know those things get NASTY fast and are so hard to clean when you can't remove them.

When you fold the jogger (in one step, in one second) it automatically locks and stands and stores upright. As you can see it is much less bulky than some competitors and is a great option for families with small cargo spaces or storage issues.

Favorite Features: the double cupholders, smart phone cradle, and reflectors for night time and early morning safety. What can I say, I'm a details kind of girl. Our previous jogging stroller did not have any of these features, and the cupholder and phone thing was an issue for me. If there is an emergency, I don't want to have to dig through the basket under the stroller to find my phone.
Least Favorite Feature: the air filled tires. They provide a smoother ride than hard tires, but can also go flat requiring more maintenance.

This jogger is a winner for me because of the cost vs. value. The jogger retails for $179, and the complete travel system retails for $299. A quality jogging stroller for less than $200 is a frugal deal in my book. Competitive brands retail for at least double that.

This post is part of my Baby Bloom Blog Event series. Check out the other Baby Bloom posts here.

Graco’s NEW jogger is the ultimate crossover stroller, combining all the comfort and convenience features of a traditional stroller (FastAction Fold and Click Connect Technology) with performance and maneuverability of an all-terrain jogger.

As an added bonus, Graco’s innovative one-second, one-hand FastAction™ fold automatically locks & is self-standing.

This post is sponsored by the Graco.

**Thanks to Julie Harding Photography for the use of photos from the Dallas Graco Party.

Travel Guest Post: 13 Travel Tips for Touring Washington, D.C.

2013-04-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

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Hey BFOTD readers! My name is Nicole and I blog at Three 31 — connect with me on social media too! I am a sweet tea drinking, Jesus loving, country girl from Kentucky married to a Texan named Husband. (Well, that's not really his name but that's what I call him.) We live near Fort Worth on a small spread with a white horse named Blue. While I have never given birth to another human, I consider my eighth grade students (130 in all) to be my precious, annoying, and hormonal angel babies. When I'm not blogging or teaching language arts, I enjoy photography, cooking, target shooting, reading, mission and volunteer work, reality TV, and traveling. Last summer, Husband had to go to Washington D.C. for work purposes, but I made sure there was a way for me to go for fun purposes! This was my first time in the nation's capital and I absolutely LOVED it. For security purposes, I cannot disclose information about our accommodations but that's okay because my part of the trip was all about visiting national monuments and museums and eating really great food!

MOUNT VERNON home of George + Martha Washington on the Potomac River

ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier Changing of The Guard

NATIONAL MALL Washington Monument | Lincoln Memorial | National Archives | White House | U.S. Capitol and crab cakes at The Old Ebbitt Grill

SMITHSONIAN NATIONAL MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY and dim sum (steamed dumplings) at Ping Pong near DuPont Circle

If the pictures don't do the trick, perhaps these travel tips will convince you to start planning your trip and pack your bags.
1. Check (and double-check) that you've got a memory card in your camera. If I had checked my camera, you'd see pictures of perfectly steamed shrimp seasoned with Old Bay and lemon zest, fried cod, crispy potato wedges, cole slaw, and corn-on-the-cob. Husband said this particular meal was "really tasty." He never, ever compliments food. Ever.
2. Spend at least a half-day at Mount Vernon in Alexandria, Virginia. I arrived before the estate opened, but I entertained myself by taking pictures with my camera's self-timer. It was ridiculous and silly. But a lot of fun. I also recommend a ride on the Spirit of Mount Vernon and cruise along the Potomac River. The view of George Washington's mansion from the water is incredible.
3. Remember the fallen at Arlington National Cemetery and observe the daily ritual of The Changing of The Guard. This is a must-see. I have goosebumps remembering this experience. You can't NOT go to Arlington and visit The Tomb of The Unknown Soldier.
4. Wear sunglasses, sunscreen + comfy shoes. But not new shoes. I purchased a pair of athletic/walking shoes the day before we left and had blisters on my feet within the first hour of walking around the National Mall. Fortunately, I had a pair of really comfortable sandals.
5. Use public transportation + ride the METRO trains. I cannot promote METRO transit system enough. For a mere $9, I had an unlimited daily pass and I zippy-do-daa'd all over the D.C. area. Transitioning from one train to another is super easy and really quick. Honest-to-goodness, I never waited more than 5 minutes to board. An added bonus: the "facility" where Husband and I stayed provided a personal driver who drove me to the train station every morning and picked me up later in the afternoon.
6. Don't be afraid to ask for help! Being in a metro area during the week has its advantages. People who live and work in the area are out-and-about and, usually, eager to help. I can't tell you the number of people I approached to ask, "Can you point me in the direction of ___?" and they answered my question with a smile on their face. I paid attention to those around me, looking for people carrying a to-go lunch. Those were the folks on their lunch break; they know the area!
7. Eat at local specialty restaurants. No offense to restaurant chains, but I avoid them when I'm in a new place. In fact, I spent several hours researching local eateries found only in the D.C. area. Taking into consideration my food allergy, every meal was incredible. Husband and I ate at Steamer's and Woodmont Grill (Bethesda, Maryland) and Copper Canyon (Gaithersburg, Maryland). During the day, while I was by myself. I ate at Mount Vernon Inn (Alexandria, Virginia), Old Ebbitt Grill and Ping Pong (Washington, D.C.). If you love crab cakes, you must try this recipe for Old Ebbitt Grill Crab Cakes.
8. Keep a street map in your tote bag. I'll be honest, the navigation signs on roadways in the D.C. area are somewhat confusing. I got turned around and made several U-turns, but I always found my destination. However, the day I wanted to visit the National Geographic Museum, I turned right when I should have gone left. After a delicious lunch at Ping Pong, I headed towards the museum but found myself in the middle of Embassy Row. I waved to people walking by with their dog or watering the flowers in the yard ... hey, I'm a nice tourist! I turned my misfortune into a learning experience and passed more than 100 properties belonging to dignitaries and secretaries of foreign countries along Massachusetts Avenue. I saw the sculpture of Mahatma Ghandi in front of India's embassy and took a deep, cleansing breath ( Namaste, y'all). A few hours later, plus a refreshment from Smoothie King, I boarded the METRO train en route to Bethesda. The afternoon was not wasted, but I sure wish I had found the NatGeo Museum!
9. Visit the National Archives ... but arrive extra early. If you're in Washington, D.C., you have to see the documents that created this country. The original Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, and Bill of Rights are on display inside the dimly lit rotunda of the National Archives. I got goosebumps seeing John Hancock's signature! Let this be fair warning, however, access to the gallery is limited. I arrived 30 minutes before the building opened and the line was clear around the block. Luckily, I was included in the first group of people (approximately 40) into the sacred space. An hour later, when I left the building, the line stretched three city blocks!
10. Watch an IMAX movie at the Smithsonian Museum. Sure, I can watch IMAX films at my local movie theater, but watching an IMAX inside the Smithsonian Museum is much more exciting! I saw a film on coral reefs in the South Pacific and told Husband we really need to go on a vacation that includes a tropical destination!
11. Try a new cuisine. I know I've mentioned food a gazillion times already, but I tried dim sum (steamed parcels of deliciousness) for the first time and fell in love.
12. Make friends. The facility where Husband and I stayed had incredible staff. Miss V was like a grandmother and Mister S was my personal driver to the METRO train station each morning and afternoon. Mister S told me about growing up in Nepal and traveling the world before becoming a security consultant for the United States. I could have talked to him for hours. At restaurants, I made some type of connection with the staff. They were extremely attentive with my food allergy and I met the executive chef and manager before every meal. The waiter at Ping Pong is originally from Fort Worth and he attends George Washington University studying international commerce. I also met a family at Mount Vernon from Louisville, Kentucky. It's a small world, you never know who you're going to meet next!
13. Because 13 is a lucky number, remember these tips:

The unlimited METRO pass is valid after 9:30am.
Keep a water bottle in your purse. And refill often.
If bathroom facilities are available, use them!
Avoid large and bulky souvenirs.
Keep a small amount of cash in your wallet for a taxi.
Allow extra time between destinations ... especially tourist attractions, museums, rental car return, and going through airport security.

Have you been to Washington D.C.? What was your favorite attraction? Leave a comment!

Thanks so much for sharing your adventures with us, Nicole. I've been to D.C. several times, but there is so much to do and see there I can't wait to go again. Jed has never been and he is as much a history nerd as I am, so I know we will make it back soon.

Our Wedding: Five Years Ago Today

2013-04-26T06:46:00.000-05:00

Five years ago today I married the love of my life in a field in Weaverville, North Carolina.

He is everything I hoped for and everything the Lord knew I needed.

We were surrounded by family and friends.

The whole day was beautiful and perfect in our eyes.

I can't believe it has been five years since we said, "I do." We had no idea what the Lord had planned for us, and we have been blown away by His love and provision. I pray for at least a good 50 or 60 more years with my love and for our family to glorify Jesus is all that we do. I am so thankful the Lord brought us together and gave us a life following after Him.

Happy anniversary Jed!

**Photos by Kristi Hedberg

Trying for a VBAC: Choosing Your Hospital or Birth Center

2013-04-23T11:41:00.000-05:00

Because we are trying for a VBAC and lots of people have lots of questions about what that entails, we'll be live tweeting as much as we can during the birth. You can follow along on Twitter or on the Bare Feet on the Dashboard Facebook page for those updates when labor begins. You can read my other pregnancy 2.0 updates here, and read all my pregnancy posts here.

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One thing I have learned on this journey is that all hospitals are not created equal. Did you know you can find the c-section and VBAC rates for most hospitals online? It's true. I so wish that I had known before what I know now. I would have chosen a different hospital and OB for my first birth for sure. I really like my first OB as a person, but do not like that she did #3,4,7, and 8 of the "Top Ten Signs Your Doctor Is Planning to Perform an Unnecessary C-Section On You." The hospital where I gave birth to the Bear also has one of the higher c-section rates in our area at 44.8%. That means I only had about a 55% chance of normal birth at that hospital! Scary. Whether you are a 1st time mama or a mama considering a VBAC, please take the time to look into your hospital's c-section rate. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends no more than a 15% c-section rate for hospitals, meaning that c-sections are used only in cases where they are truly needed and interventions that can lead to c-sections are eliminated. Unfortunately in most of the Southern U.S. (Texas included), NO hospitals have c-section rates in the healthy zone.

When we first decided to try for a VBAC, I looked into hospitals and birth centers in our area. Jed was pretty nervous about the idea of a home birth, so we decided not to go that route. I called several birth centers in our area, but the one I really wanted doesn't do 1st time VBACs. If we get our VBAC this time around, I could birth there next time. They did recommend the OB I chose because she is a big supporter of natural birth and VBAC. She also practices at a hospital with one of the better VBAC rates in our area. This is HUGE. In the whole DFW area there are only 4 OBs who are known to be pro-VBAC - Dr. Lawson (my doc), Dr. Cummings (Denton), Dr. Downey (Richardson), and Dr. Weinstein (Frisco). The hospitals where each of them practice have significantly higher VBAC rates than all the others.

So, why is it such a big deal to find a VBAC friendly hospital? I want a hospital where the nursing staff is familiar with VBAC, and knows that it is safe and what protocols apply. A staff that is not familiar with VBAC can sabotage your birth without meaning to, because they don't know how a VBAC works. I've read so many stories through the International Cesarean Awareness Network about women who have had no choice but to show up at the hospital as late in labor as possible so they won't be forced into a repeat c-section. I did not want to end up in that situation. At Medical City (my former hospital), only 15-16 VBACs are performed every YEAR. That means about 1 VBAC happens every month, sometimes 2 per month. With those numbers, it is highly likely that some nursing staff have never seen a successful VBAC. At Baylor (my new hospital) over 60 successful VBACs happen every year, which means they are seeing 1 per week, sometimes more. That greatly increases the chances that the nursing staff will be familiar and comfortable with the VBAC process.

Here are the stats for my former hospital and my new hospital:
Former Hospital:
Medical City's Cesarean Rate: 44.8%
Medical City's VBAC Rate: 2.82% They do about 15-16 VBACs per YEAR at Medical City. That's about 1 per month, 2 a few months.
New Hospital:
Baylor Medical Center's Cesarean Rate: 38.6% Sadly, this is one of the lower rates in our area that is covered by our insurance.
Baylor Medical Center's VBAC Rate: 10.74% They do 60+ VBAC births every year, averaging out to one per week, with 2 a few weeks.

VBAC Rates for Texas Hospitals
Cesarean Rates for Texas Hospitals

VBAC Rates by State - Find your hospital.
Cesarean Rates by State - Find your hospital.

How does your hospital rank with c-sections and VBACs?

You can read all of my posts about Trying for a VBAC here.

Happy Birthday to the Love of My Life!

2013-04-22T06:54:00.000-05:00

I am so thankful for my husband today and every day.

He loves me so well.

He shows me the love of Jesus.

He takes care of our family.

He is the hardest working man I know.

His blue eyes make me melt.

He is an incredible daddy.

I'm so thankful that my sweet Jed was born 32 years ago today.

Guest Post: Struggling with Infertility and National Infertility Awareness Week

2013-04-21T07:00:00.000-05:00

Hi there, have we met before? If not let me introduce myself:

I am a country-living, ice tea drinking, good book reading, farming, ranching, Jesus-loving, curly-headed wife of a seminary professor. He's a teacher, I'm a writer. He's a thinker, I'm a creative. Together we make our home on a small farm in Texas.

I'm so thankful that Becca is allowing me to take over her blog today. Becca and I are both Texas gals (howdy, y'all!) and we're both driven towards natural, healthy living. But our lives are quite different too. While she's about to welcome her second baby, I'm battling infertility.

And that's why I'm here today. April 21-27 is National Infertility Awareness Week, and as a woman who is currently battling infertility, I am passionate about spreading awareness about infertility.

A few facts about infertility:

Approximately 1 in 6 couples in the United States have been diagnosed with some level of infertility.
"Infertility" is defined as the inability to conceive a child after one year of unprotected, well-timed intercourse for women under the age of 35. Women 35 and older may be diagnosed after 6 months of unprotected, well-timed intercourse without conception. (The inability to sustain a pregnancy beyond 20 weeks is also classified as "infertility.")
30% of infertility is the result of an ovulatatory dysfunction (i.e. there is a problem with the woman's ovulation cycle).
30% of infertility is the result of a problem with the man (i.e. sperm structure or production).
Women who face infertility often describe their situation as "lonely," "isolating," and "painful."
There is a large spectrum of treatments for infertility, with varying degrees of invasiveness and cost.

My story:

My husband and I have been trying to conceive (often abbreviated TTC) for almost 4 years.
We were officially diagnosed with "unexplained infertility" in February 2012 (the same month our foster boys were removed from our home).
We have tried various therapies and treatments, from "alternative" therapies to traditional western medical treatments, including Intrauterine Insemination (IUI).
We've experienced the pain and frustration of two failed IUIs.
Until last November my husband and I kept our struggle to ourselves. We were completely unwilling to share our story, and to some extent we were unwilling to accept our diagnosis.

National Infertility Awareness Week:

This week on my blog, A Royal Daughter, I will be dedicating the entire week to spreading awareness about infertility, offering encouragement for those battling the pain of barrenness and providing resources for friends and family of those facing infertility. Topics will include:

Ideas for stepping up out of the pit of infertility and converting negative emotions and energies into productive, worthwhile activities.
Collaborative efforts from women currently battling infertility, and how they overcame common lies women believe about being barren.
Online and print resources for those battling infertility as well as those who want to come alongside and encourage and support their infertile friends and family members.
How to encourage and support your infertile friends.
Owning your infertility + embracing the waiting period.
Collaborative efforts from women who have made it through to the other side of infertility straight to the hearts of those currently navigating the muddy waters of barrenness.
Infertility from the husband's perspective.

There will also be a giveaway during the week with items I've hand-picked to offer hope and encouragement to those battling infertility. My goal is to offer encouragement and inspiration not only to those currently facing the isolation and frustration of infertility, but for those who wonder how they can minister to their friends who are facing infertility.

I hope you'll join us, and help spread awareness about infertility.

You can connect with me at my website, on twitter, facebook, and instagram. I'm also on pinterest and google. However you decide to connect with me, please take time to introduce yourself!

Amanda, thank you so much for sharing your struggle with us. I believe that shining God's light on our struggle helps to drive out the darkness, and this is a battle fought by so many in the darkness all alone. You are so brave and courageous, and I can't wait to see what God is going to do through your blog ministry.

Coming Soon: Totally Toddler Giveaway Hop

2013-04-20T14:12:00.000-05:00

Hosted By: Mommy's Favorite Things and Mama's Baby Cupcakes "Totally Toddler" This Blog Hop giveaway is going to be items that are meant for toddlers. Anything from 1-about 6. There are lots of options for finding a prize for this wonderful event. Your only mission is to find the perfect prize pack for your blog! Because this is a blog hop, each blog will be responsible for securing their own prize on their own blog. Each prize must be a Minimum of $25. The Prize can be sponsored OR you can self sponsor. Each blog can have more than 1 winner, but each winner must win at least $25 in prizes. Joining this Blog Hop is FREE with Announcement. When: 5/13-5/27 Who: Anybody with a blog can sign up for this one! Sign ups close 5/6 Click HERE to find the HTML for the announcement post and Don't forget to add yourself to the Linky Below! You MUST post an announcement post in order to enter this hop! You can also join the Facebook Group for our events here

Packing the Hospital Bag(s) for Birth

2013-04-17T07:00:00.000-05:00

Packing the hospital bag for baby's birth can be a stressful undertaking, so I thought I'd share our checklist with y'all. This is our second go round, and we learned a few things last time. You can read some of my other pregnancy posts here. We are also at a different hospital this time so what they provide will be a bit different. The first thing any mama should do is get the list from your birthing center or hospital so you know what they will give you. Be forewarned though that nothing is free at the hospital and you will be billed for pretty much everything. My hospital does provide each mama with a birth ball for labor, which is handy since they are super awkward to tote around. I've found that the trickiest part of packing the hospital bag is that my wardrobe is pretty limited at this point, so there are things I can't pack til the last minute. Our solution is to have a copy of our checklist on top of the suitcase so we can add those last minute items on our way out the door. I'm a chronic overpacker so I have to try hard to keep it under control for this situation.

For Mama:
Comfy Clothes - lounge pants, nursing tanks, soft cardigans
Nursing Bras
Giant Cotton Undies (in case they don't have the giant stretchy ones)
Hair Dryer (didn't use it last time, but I'm an eternal optimist)
Bathrobe (institutional towels - enough said)
Warm Fuzzy Socks (hospitals are cold)
Loose Fitting Shoes (last time my right foot looked like the Elephant Man)
Clothes to Wear Home (don't overthink it - all eyes are on the baby)
Phone + Charger
iPad + Charger
Camera + Charger + Lenses
Makeup (see the hair dryer explanation)
Ponytail Holders
Headbands
Snacks (vending machines are expensive)
Boppy Nursing Pillow
Favorite Pillow (I'm a pillow snob.)
Cloth Nursing Pads (for chafing, not leaking)
Lanolin (see above)
Rice Socks (tube sock full of rice for heat/cold pack during labor & postpartum)
Tennis Ball Socks (tube sock with 2-3 tennis balls inside for massage during labor)

For Baby:
Going Home Outfit
Car Seat (installing it beforehand saves headaches)
Socks (are on our hospital's check list)
Woombie Swaddler + Summer Infant SwaddlePod (so much easier than a hospital blanket)
Aden + Anais Muslin Swaddle Blanket (mostly for the drive home)
Headbands (purely for the cute factor)
Hats (again, hospitals are cold)

For Daddy:
Hooded Sweatshirt or Comfy Jacket (he froze last time)
Warm Socks (see above)
3 Changes of Comfy Clothes
Snacks (he gets hangry if not fed often, a combination of hungry/angry at the world)
Drinks (to avoid vending machines)

What was/is your must have item for the hospital bag? How far in advance did you pack?

Shopping for your hospital bag? Check out the prices on some of our favorite items on Amazon:

Gearing Up for Baby Giveaway Hop ~ Enter to Win a $35 Etsy Credit from The Pink Frog Boutique

2013-04-15T00:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Gearing Up for Baby Giveaway Hop! This event is hosted by Mommy's Favorite Things and Mama's Baby Cupcakes.

This hop is focused on items you'd want/need for a child ages 0-12 months. After visiting my giveaway, make sure you use the linky below to take a look at the other 30+ blogs and see what they have to offer for you and your little one! Each blog has a minimum prize package of $25 per winner.

Also be sure to check out the Grand Prize featured on Mama's Baby Cupcakes blog. The grand prize is sponsored by Halo, Tiny Love, and The Pecking Order for a total value of just over $200 in prizes.

Now for the giveaway...

Here on Bare Feet on the Dashboard I am giving away a $35 credit to The Pink Frog Boutique, a lovely Etsy Shop. You can find the shop on Facebook and on Etsy. Mitzi, the artisan behind The Pink Frog Boutique, creates handmade baby gear that she sells online and in her shop in Mississippi. She makes everything from complete bedding sets to burp clothes, as well as some non baby items like personalized signs and bath wraps.

A Pink Frog Boutique Crib Bedding Set

Chevron Monogrammed Blanket

Gorgeous Gender Neutral Bedding with Chevron, Ikat, & Minky Fabrics

Personalized Wooden Sign

Fun and Festive Boy Crib Bedding

You can choose premade items from The Pink Frog Boutique, or work with Mitzi to come up with your own one of a kind design for your nursery. Enter to win a $35 shop credit using the Rafflecopter form below, then head to all the other great blogs in this giveaway hop and enter to win so much more fun baby stuff.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

**Bare Feet on the Dashboard, Mommy's Favorite Things, Mama's Baby Cupcakes, and all Gearing Up for Baby participants are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations. All entries will be checked.

Pregnancy 2.0 Update: 38 Weeks

2013-04-10T11:38:00.001-05:00

This is what happens when I forget to ask Jed to take a picture.

I can't believe we are really almost there. From here on out I'll do weekly updates until our sweet girl arrives. Because we are trying for a VBAC and lots of people have lots of questions about what that entails, we'll be live tweeting as much as we can during the birth. You can follow along on Twitter or on the Bare Feet on the Dashboard Facebook page for those updates when labor begins. You can read my other pregnancy 2.0 updates here, and read all my pregnancy posts here. This sweet baby could come any day now, and we are so ready to meet her.

38 Weeks Update

Feeling: like a manatee - wishing I could float all day

Wearing: Muumuus, basically. And sandals. There is a reason that ladies used to go into "confinement" those last weeks of pregnancy. It ain't pretty.

Weight Gain: not telling, but significantly less than last time

Pregnancy Side Effects: waking up 18 times each night to pee, lots of Braxton Hicks contractions

Progression: My cervix is 3 cm dilated and 70% effaced and in the mid position.

Craving: nothing really

Baby: Weighs about 7 pounds and is fattening up for birth. She has moved down into a -3 station.

Gender: Girl! (We sure hope that ultrasound was right or we'll have a lot of pink stuff going to waste.)

Name: We still haven't decided and are open to suggestions.

Nursery: I have a sweet little set up for her in our room with our bassinet, cloth diapers, clothes, and hair accessories, decorated with a banner made by a friend.

Preparations: The bag is packed. Our on call people for Bear are ready. I want to freeze a few more meals this week. I'm heading to the chiropractor for an adjustment to help baby girl get into a good position. We are trying for a VBAC.

To-Do List: freeze more meals, bounce on the birth ball, make more headbands and bows, practice relaxation techniques for labor

What's on your to-do list?

Trying for a VBAC: Our Birth Plan

2013-04-08T06:30:00.000-05:00

Our second baby is due at the end of April, and we are hoping and trying for a VBAC (vaginal birth after cesarean section). This is one of a series of posts about Trying for a VBAC. There are many reasons why we are heading this direction and I hope to share them with y'all over the next few months. You can read the Bear's full birth story here to see what our first child's birth entailed. If you read that story you will get a little glimpse into why we are now on this journey to VBAC and a normal birth. This process has been all consuming for me and this blog is my space to express the way I feel about the whole situation. Many folks have strong opinions about VBAC vs. repeat cesarean, and I hope that whatever your opinion might be you will respect mine. VBAC is not the right decision for every c-mama, and it doesn't always work out no matter how you prepare. Our hope and prayer is that we can have the best birth possible for our little girl.

Because we are trying for a VBAC and lots of people have lots of questions about what that entails, we'll be live tweeting as much as we can during the birth. You can follow along on Twitter or on the Bare Feet on the Dashboard Facebook page for those updates when labor begins. You can read my other pregnancy 2.0 updates here, and read all my pregnancy posts here.

This week I'm sharing our birth plan with you. We worked out the details with the help of our doula, Erica Sosa. She has attended many VBACs and has worked with our OB on a number of occasions. We know that every birth is different and things rarely go according to plan. We still think it is best to have a plan and to share that plan with our birth team so that everyone is on the same page.

Birth Preferences for our VBAC Birth

Becca and Jed Eby

Due Date: 4/24/13

Before Labor Begins

- As long as my baby and I are healthy, I want to reach as close to 42 weeks as possible.

- If some induction method is needed, I prefer to try these first: natural induction methods

- If my water breaks before I go into labor, I want to wait as long as possible before coming in to allow labor to start on it's own.

- I would like to labor at home as long as possible.

- I wish to have spontaneous rupture of membranes.

Upon Arrival / Admittance

- If I am less than four centimeters dilated, I would like the option of going home to continue laboring there.

- Upon arrival at the hospital, I prefer to have my husband Jed Eby and my doula, Erica Sosa with me at all times.

- As long as my baby and I are fine, I want my movement during my delivery and stay to be completely unrestricted.

- I want to remain IV free unless it becomes medically necessary to start one and am fine with a saline heplock.

- I prefer to limit vaginal exams unless I request one.

- I am aware that pain meds are available and will ask if I feel the need. PLEASE do NOT mention or ask otherwise.

- If a situation arises and we need to make a medical decision, please allow my husband and I time alone to discuss it.

- I may be wearing my own clothing to labor and birth in.

- I understand that upon arrival I need to be monitored, I ask that I be able to do this in the position that I am most comfortable in as I am wanting this birth to be unmedicated. Thank you.

- I would like as much intermittent monitoring as possible.

Delivery

- Please do not allow any other visitors into my room without my consent.

- I want to have my door closed, lights dimmed and I prefer for people entering the room to speak softly. I appreciate your cooperation in helping make this the birth experience we want.

- I want the freedom to use different positions and equipment during my labor such as: birthing ball, squat bar, shower etc.

- IF I request pain relief, I would appreciate some private time to think about which pain management technique or medication I would like to use.

- I would like to use a mirror when I am pushing and may touch my baby's head when crowning.

- I would like to be in the position for delivery that is most comfortable to me at the time. I.E. Squatting or on my side

- I would like my Dr. to guide my breathing and pushing for slower crowning.

- I would like olive oil/coconut oil that I will provide, used and gentle perineal massage at crowning.

- Please allow the umbilical cord to pulsate 1.5 to 2 minutes before it is clamped.

- We will be taking our placenta with us.

- As long as my baby and I are healthy, I want to maintain skin-to-skin contact until after my baby has successfully breastfed on both breasts. (at least 2 hours and all routine procedures done ON me)

- If a tear occurs and repair is needed, please use local anesthetic for repair.

Postpartum

- As long as my baby and I are healthy, I want to maintain skin-to-skin contact and do not wish to have baby removed from me unless medically necessary.

- AFTER 2 hours has passed I DO consent to all routine newborn procedures such as weighing etc. I wish to waive the Hepatitis B vaccine.

- I would like a pulse ox screening after for our baby girl when she is 24 hours old to rule out congenital heart defects.

- If my baby's health is in jeopardy, I want to be present with our baby at all times, breastfeed or express my milk for my baby and have as much bodily contact with my baby as soon as possible.

- My baby is to be exclusively breastfed; please do not offer my baby any formula, pacifiers etc without my consent.

- I am aware that there is guidance available for nursing and would like to consult with a lactation consultant to ensure there are no breastfeeding issues.

- I prefer that my baby's first bath be done at my bedside and I may want to help with her bath.

- I want the shortest hospital stay possible.

What was/will be most important to you during the birthing process? How did you communicate your desires to your birth team?

Frugal Friday: Our Top 3 Cheap Babysitting Solutions

2013-04-05T06:30:00.000-05:00

As parents on a tight budget, we are always looking for a cheap babysitting solutions so we can have date nights, go to social events, and spend time with friends. We don't have any family near us, so that's not an option. In Dallas the going rate for babysitting one child is around $10-15 per hour. PER HOUR, people. That means if we want to go out to dinner and a movie we are shelling out an additional $40 to the babysitter, minimum. There is no room in our budget for that kind of expense, unfortunately. Our whole dining out and entertainment budget for an entire month is $95. Yep, that's it. We are on one income and prioritize saving for retirement and other things above dining out and entertainment. So, we've had to get creative when it comes to babysitting solutions. We've found a few things that work well, and one we really want to try.

Cheap Babysitting Solutions:
1) Parents' Night Out - Several churches and local kid businesses (YMCA, etc) host Parents' Night Out evenings a few times a year. We sign up for every one we come across. In our area these are typically a 4-5 hour window where you drop your child off and pay a fee to help the church youth group raise money. Most churches are well equipped to care for children because they do it on a regular basis, and we feel good about helping out a local church. Usually you don't have to be a member, and most in our area charge $10 for the first child for the whole time slot, and $5 for each additional child. This is a steal! To find a Parents' Night Out in your area, just do a google search or call local churches or kid friendly organizations.

2) The Swap - Trade babysitting nights with another family. We've done this a few times and hope to schedule more in the future. Most kids Bear's age go to bed around 7 pm like he does, so we put him to bed and then have 1 parent from another family come over and watch tv, read in peace, etc on our couch while we go out for a few hours. Then one of us goes over to that family's house on another night to relax and watch the baby monitor while they go out. Everybody wins. This doesn't work as well for single parents unless you can take your child to the other house and put them to bed there, then transport them home when the parents return.

3) The Co-op - My parents were part of a babysitting co-op in our neighborhood growing up, and my mom has encouraged me to start one here with our friends. A babysitting co-op is a group of families who organize themselves to trade off babysitting using a point or voucher system. You earn points by babysitting for others, and then cash them in when you need a sitter. I haven't gotten around to starting or joining one, but hope to soon.
Here are a few links to help start a babysitting co-op:
From Frugal Mama
From Mile High Mamas

What's your best cheap babysitting solution?

Baby Bloom: Four Fun Baby Freebies for You

2013-04-03T07:00:00.000-05:00

I found a few great baby freebies on the web I'm sharing with you today as part of my Baby Bloom Blog Event. With each of these offers, click the box to go to the site and pick out your freebie. You will have to pay shipping on each item, but the shipping cost is far less than you would pay for the product or anything similar. Each of these items make phenomenal baby shower gifts for all the mamas-to-be in your life. These are affiliate links, so any freebies you grab will help support our family and this website. Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to check out my other Baby Bloom Blog Event posts and read all about my pregnancy and our goal of a VBAC.

Use the promo code ENBABY to get a free baby sling valued at $40. We love babywearing and wore our first child (The Bear) in a sling, as well as in our Moby Wrap and Ergobaby carrier. This company features lots of cute patterns and easy to use sling carriers. I prefer slings for quick trips to the grocery store, running errands, and any situation where you need to be able to get your little one situated quickly and easily. Structured carriers and wrap carriers are more comfortable for longer outings, but take much more set up. I plan to keep a sling carrier in the car at all times once Mini Bear arrives.

I breastfed Bear until he was a little over a year old, and plan to nurse at least that long with Mini Bear. I used a nursing cover all the time, especially the first 8 months. After that Bear wasn't into being covered up while eating, but I still used it as much as possible so I wasn't flashing the world every time he nursed. Udder Covers has a great selection of covers, and you just pay shipping when you use the code ENBABY.
We used a nursing pillow the entire year that I nursed Bear. That thing was a lifesaver for me. You can get a free one when you use the code ENBABY, or upgrade to a super soft minky pillow for $5.

When Bear was teeny, we used a carseat canopy every time we took him out and wanted him to sleep in his carseat. In the Texas heat and summer sun, we found our canopy invaluable. Get a free cover using the code ENBABY, and just pay shipping.

What baby product did you use the most during the first 6 months? What product did you fall in love with?

Showered with Love ~ A Baby Shower Giveaway Hop ~ Win Handmade Baby Gear from Etsy ($43 Value)

2013-03-31T23:00:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Showered With Love Event hosted by the Blogging Mamas Network! We all know that April showers bring May flowers, but did you know that over 50 bloggers have come together throw a huge shower of our own - a virtual Baby Shower. The Showered with Love Event will run from April 1-15, giving you plenty of chances and time to enter all of the great giveaways.

Be sure to hop around to each blogger in the linky under my giveaway, as well as check out the fabulous Baby Shower Grand Prize, including a Boba Wrap, Red Charlotte Doll Carrier, a $50 GC to Walls Need Love, AND 6 pocket cloth diapers from Little Monsters - worth over $300

One lucky Bare Feet on the Dashboard reader will win
not one, not two, but three awesome prizes.
I've put together a big Etsy prize package for y'all with
the help of three awesome Etsy shops.
Scroll down to read all about them.

PRIZE #1

The first prize is a white graphic onesie of your choice (short sleeved or long) from Feather 4 Arrow ($15-18 value). I've included a few of my favorite Feather 4 Arrow designs, but you can head over to the shop to check them out for yourself.

Read my full review of Feather 4 Arrow 's products here.

PRIZE #2

The second prize is a $15 shop credit to The Sugar Buttons Shop. Debbie makes all kinds of super cute baby gear and her stuff is well made and affordable.

These are a few of my favorite Sugar Buttons designs.

You can read my full review of The Sugar Buttons Shop bibs and car seat strap covers here.

Prize #3

The third prize is a $10 credit to Jenn Creations Etsy Shop. Jennifer makes awesome custom contoured changing pad covers in several different fabrics. Her work is high quality and affordable priced. Head over to her shop to check everything out.

You can read my full review of Jenn Creations' custom changing pad covers here.

Ready to win? Enter using the Rafflecopter widget below.

You don't have to be a blogger or have

Facebook to enter, just an email address. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Check out the rest of my Baby Bloom Blog Event giveaways and posts by clicking the event button below.

Now head over to these other great blogs and enter to win their Showered with Love Baby Shower giveaways.

**According to Jenny, So Easy Being Green, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Showered with Love participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.

Pregnancy 2.0 Update: 36 Weeks

2013-03-30T07:30:00.000-05:00

Woohoo, three pregnancy updates in a row! We are on a roll, people. You can read my other pregnancy 2.0 updates here, and read all my pregnancy posts here. We are now entering the home stretch, and are sooo ready to meet our daughter. Because we are trying for a VBAC and lots of people have lots of questions about what that entails, we'll be live tweeting as much as we can during the birth. You can follow along on Twitter or on the Bare Feet on the Dashboard Facebook page for those updates when labor begins.

36 Weeks Update

Feeling: Great! I have lots of energy so far this week, which is a big change.

Wearing: Muumuus, basically. And sandals. There is a reason that ladies used to go into "confinement" those last weeks of pregnancy. It ain't pretty.

Weight Gain: not telling, but significantly less than last time

Pregnancy Side Effects: waking up 18 times each night to pee, lots of Braxton Hicks contractions, hip pain, swollen feet and cankles

Belly Button: Still in. It never popped with Bear so I'm assuming that it won't this time either.

Craving: raw carrots and Cadbury Eggs

Baby: She has officially moved down and is engaged in my pelvis. Her head is putting pressure on my cervix, so it is 1 cm dilated, 50% effaced, and at the mid position. She weighs about 6 pounds and is fattening up for birth, and is about the size of a bowling ball.

Gender: Girl! (We sure hope that ultrasound was right or we'll have a lot of pink stuff to sell on Craigslist.)

Name: We still haven't decided and are open to suggestions.

Nursery: We have the paint, but haven't painted. Bear will continue to live in there until he is ready to move to a big boy room this summer. Mini Bear will room with us for the first few months for convenient night time breastfeeding and mommy's paranoia.

Preparations: This week we are packing the bag and preparing the house for her arrival. Next week I plan to freeze some meals. Some friends are throwing me a little sprinkle this week, too. So fun. We are trying for a VBAC.

To-Do List: pack hospital bag, prep a changing station for our bedroom, work on decorations for the nursery, make headbands and bows, practice relaxation techniques for labor

What is one thing you wished you had packed/plan to pack in your hospital bag?

Baby Bloom: The Sugar Buttons Shop Review

2013-03-29T07:00:00.000-05:00

Today's Baby Bloom Blog Event post is a review of another awesome Etsy shop, The Sugar Buttons Shop. Debbie, the artist behind The Sugar Buttons Shop, was kind enough to send me a super cute bib and car seat strap covers to review for y'all. She will also be giving away a shop credit to one of y'all as part of a big Baby Shower giveaway starting April 1st. Thanks Debbie!

If you know me you know I love color, the more bright and fun, the better.

This bib totally fits that bill.

I love that it isn't the usual baby pastel, and that it will go with pretty much any outfit I put on my daughter when she gets to that super drool stage. I also am a big fan of snap closure bibs, because Bear figured out how to rip off velcro at a surprisingly young age. He has yet to conquer the snaps.

Here you can see the workmanship in closer detail. Sugar Buttons products are really well made with attention to every detail.

Here's the back of the bib, soft and absorbent.

These reversible strap covers are so stinkin' cute. Both sides are super soft, though the minky is of course the softest. They will be comfy for our little girl to nap and drool on in the car seat.

Here you can see that the velcro runs almost the length of the covers, which will help it stay in place. We use Bear's strap covers nonstop, and I know it will be the same with these.

Overall I found no negatives to the Sugar Buttons products I reviewed. They are high quality, made to last, affordable, and super cute. Debbie offers a wide range of custom products in her shop so you can find exactly what you want.

Check out a few more of my favorite Sugar Buttons designs.

I'm in love with these gender neutral chevron bibs.

I think the Bear NEEDS this fishy bib. He still uses bibs at every meal and I don't see that stopping any time soon.

Dogs wearing rain boots = Super Cute

Like what you see?

Head on over to The Sugar Buttons Shop and pick out a few for your wee one or that upcoming baby shower. You can also follow The Sugar Buttons Shop on Facebook.

One of my favorite things about shopping on Etsy is every purchase supports an artist. Here's a little more about Debbie, the artist behind The Sugar Buttons Shop.

From her shop bio:

A little about me...

♥ I have a wonderful husband.
♥ I am a Stay at Home Mom to 2 beauiful girls
♥ I love my family, friends, animals, spending time outside, the beach, reading, hot baths, going to the movies, CRAFTING and lots more.
My girls (especially the baby) inspired me to create The Sugar Buttons Shop. I got such great personalized and non-personalized baby gifts after she was born and thought how fun it would be to create my own. A few months ago, I got my shot. My WONDERFUL Mother gave me her sewing/embroidery machine and ever since then I've been spending countless hours sewing away. And here I am, on Etsy! ♥

Thanks so much to Debbie and The Sugar Buttons Shop for sponsoring this review. Be on the look out for a giveaway from The Sugar Buttons Shop starting April 1st.

Coming Soon ~ Gearing Up for Baby Giveaway Hop

2013-03-28T13:46:00.000-05:00

Hosted By: Mommy's Favorite Things and Mama's Baby Cupcakes "Gearing Up For Baby" This Blog Hop giveaway is going to be items that are meant for 0-12 month olds. It's a baby hop! There are lots of options for finding a prize for this wonderful event. Your only mission is to find the perfect prize pack for your blog! Because this is a blog hop, each blog will be responsible for securing their own prize on their own blog. Each prize must be a Minimum of $25. The Prize can be sponsored OR you can self sponsor. Each blog can have more than 1 winner, but each winner must win at least $25 in prizes. Joining this Blog Hop is FREE with Announcement. When: 4/15-4/29 Who: Anybody with a blog can sign up for this one! Sign ups close 4/8 Click here to find the HTML for the announcement post and Don't forget to add yourself to the Linky Below! You MUST post an announcement post in order to enter this hop! You can also join the Facebook Group for our events here