Lucas - 29 Weeks

Well, I am in my 29th week of pregnancy. I had my monthly check-up on Friday morning to see how Lucas is developing and to do the Glucose test for Gestational Diabetes. Luckily, no Gestational Diabetes (not that I thought I had it anyway).

When I was pregnant with my daughter, Mikayla, I remember doing this same test. I had to drink this bottle of syrup. It was really thick, sugary, and nasty. It was supposed to taste like Coca-Cola. You are supposed to drink it in 5 minutes or less and then an hour later, they test your blood sugar. I failed. Needless to say, I was not happy b/c that meant I'd have to do the 3 hour blood sugar test. Why are these tests so difficult to get through? Because you can't eat past 10PM the night before and you can only have water. Being pregnant, you get hungry a little more often, but anyone who has to go a long time w/o eating, is going to eventually get hungry! Then you chug this nasty, sugary drink on an empty stomach. So, the one hour test is bad enough... you don't want to do the 3 hour test. I passed the 3 hour test and it ended on a positive note, thankfully.

Because the test was so bad and awful when I did it with my daughter, I was not looking forward to this appointment. However, the glucose drink was actually REALLY GOOD. The Germans know how to do it right! LOL It tasted like watered down cranberry juice. I chugged it in like 30 seconds and breezed through the test. LOL

While I was waiting to get my blood drawn for the glucose test, I was doing the fetal heart monitor. For those that don't know, they put this band around your bell and put little monitors on it to hear the heartbeat and make sure it's good, steady, and normal. It's probably one of the easier tests b/c you just lay there and listen to your baby's heartbeat (which sounds like galloping horses). Due to the massive sugar rush from the glucose drink, Lucas was kicking like crazy and flipping all over the place. It was so much fun. I love seeing/feeling him kick and move!

Next, it was time for my 3D ultrasound to see the little man. I was really excited b/c Lucas was so active. I knew we'd get a great video and picture of him.

WRONG!

AS SOON AS I laid down on the exam table, he went to sleep. SERIOUSLY, LUCAS? LOL

Not only did he go to sleep (so he wasn't moving in the video), but he had his FOOT in front of his face. HIS FOOT! He just shoved it up there against his mouth. So, the doctor was shaking him like crazy, trying to get him to move. SUCCESS! He moved his foot away from his face and...

hand goes up immediately to the same spot. I think someone is being rather difficult. Sooooo, we got a video, but it's not a great video and he has his face covered most of the time. LOL This happens during a good portion of our ultrasounds.

Anyway, so we finished the 3D portion of the ultrasound and the doc switched to regular ultrasound to measure him. He was measuring around 30 to 31 weeks on most things, but we didn't think much of it since he has measured right on track for some stuff, and a week or so above on others, since we were in the early stages of pregnancy. Then the doctor tells us around 29 weeks, he should be around 2 to 2 3/4 pounds. He's 4 pounds!!! So, my little monkey is a bit of a chunker. On average, babies don't hit 4 pounds until closer to the 33rd to 34th weeks. I'm only 29 weeks!!! Let's hope I don't have a 10 to 11 lb. baby b/c none of his newborn diapers or clothes will fit. Considering that's about the only sizes we have right now, I would like for him to be smaller. Don't get me wrong, I want a HEALTHY baby and obviously will take what I get. But it would be a LITTLE bit easier if he was between 6 and 9 lbs. LOL Remember people, I'm going at this ALL NATURAL, no meds. Cut Mama some slack!!! HAHA

Cloth Diaper Obsession

When my daughter was a baby, I used disposable diapers. I didn't think anything of it b/c that's what everyone I knew used. The problem with the disposables, was the cost. I hated how much money we spent per month on diapers. So, what did we do? We bought cheaper diapers. The problem with some of the cheaper diapers was that they didn't hold up as well, they leaked, etc.

Now that I'm FINALLY pregnant with my 2nd child, a boy, Lucas, I realized how much baby stuff we were going to need to buy. Since we haven't had a baby in almost 8 years and this one is a different gender, we literally were starting over. So, we needed EVERYTHING. That was a bit scary to think about!

One thing that I didn't have to think twice about was diapers. This time around, I decided we were going to cloth diaper. It saves you thousands (literally) of dollars a year, they are so freakin' cute now, and waaaaaay easier (in case you are thinking of the diapers of 1950).

I have a TON of friends that cloth diaper their babies and have been keeping myself well informed. Anyway, I'm not writing this to push cloth diapering on anyone (although I HIGHLY recommend it). I'm just stating what we plan to do with our baby.

The ONLY issue I've had while buying all the stuff I need to cloth diaper Lucas, is that they are SO DARN CUTE!!! It's terrible. I've become OBSESSED. I am constantly looking on all the diaper sites I can all the time. I'm always looking for cute, unique, and fun patterns. I'm buying different styles and types to try out and it's honestly hard to stop! LOL With so many cute options and styles, how can I resist??

I mean... LOOK AT THIS CUTENESS!!!!




These are Blueberry Coveralls, Snaps and require a prefold or fitted diaper underneath. This is just a diaper cover. You can check out more information on the Blueberry brand (by Swaddlebee's), by going HERE.

Bibs and Burp Cloths... oh my!

Near the beginning of my pregnancy, my friend, Kelli, got me this ADORABLE bib and burp cloth set as my first baby gift. It is super soft and had a fun "Hawaiian" theme to it. I love it so much and decided I wanted some more homemade bibs and burp cloths. I love homemade gifts and small businesses that still appreciate their customers and add those little details that bigger companies forget about!

So, I found out who made them and immediately found the woman on Facebook. Her company is called Polka Dots & Pearls. She makes way more than just bibs and burp cloths! She makes jewelry, reusable lunch pails, pencil/crayon cases/holders, retro & whimsical party supplies, hair things, and soooo much more. She always has funky and fun fabrics. I could spend a fortune buying all her goodies! But I had to control myself. So, I picked 5 bib/burp rag sets, and some pee-pee teepees (if you don't know what these are, you probably don't have a baby boy at home LOL).

I got a comment from her on FB that my bibs and burp cloths were done. And I just have to say... I'M IN LOVE. OMG they are SOOOOO adorable! Check it out:

They turned out FABULOUS and I can't wait to put them on my little man. Check out Polka Dots & Pearls Facebook page today. She has VERY reasonable prices for the amount of work she puts into her stuff and she takes PayPal, so it doesn't matter where you live :)

Go HERE to see all her fabulous products and place a custom order TODAY!!!

Mochimochi Land Jumbo Gnome Giveaway!

As soon as I saw this giveaway, I entered b/c this Gnome is SOOOO freakin' cute! Even if I don't win the giveaway, I'm buying the pattern.



As some of you know, I am 28 weeks pregnant with a boy, Lucas. I'm doing his nursery in an owl/mushroom/birdie retro sorta theme (is that REALLY a theme?). How perfect would this guy be for it?

Anyway, back to the giveaway for all you knitters out there :)

The creator of Mochimochi Land is giving away the pattern to make this guy and all the colors you need to it, using Biggo yarn from Knit Picks (my fave site to buy yarn).



You have to hurry though, b/c the giveaway ends on Sunday, April 22nd at midnight!!!

Go HERE to enter the giveaway!!!

New Blog, New Start

I've decided to create a new blog... obviously. My Knitting & Karaoke blog just wasn't keeping me interested and, as much as I love knitting and karaoke, I had so much more to discuss than that! I want to be able to talk about all the things I love, including my family, cloth diapers, my friends, shopping, crafts, and so much more. So, this is my new blog and I'm sticking to it :)

For those who are just tuning in, my name is Michelle Carter. I have an amazing husband, David, who works for the Air Force (we are civilian, not military). We have a beautiful daughter, Mikayla, age 7, and a baby on the way (June/July 2012), named Lucas.

My husband and I were both born and raised in Indiana, where our families still reside. In December 2003, my husband graduated college from Purdue University and we moved to GORGEOUS Colorado Springs, CO, where our daughter was born and we were married. We lived there, made some amazing friends, and LOVED it. However, my husband's job with the Air Force, moved us to Schertz, Texas (a suburb of San Antonio) in 2009. We lived there until May 2011, when my husband's job moved us yet again. This time... to Germany. We are currently living in Otterberg, Germany and, as I said before, are expecting our 2nd child, Lucas.

I am a stay-at-home Mom. I love crafting, movies, tv shows, knitting, singing, and spending time with my family.

So, now that you have a bit of a background on who I am... let's start the show!