Win a free Bumgenious 3.0 Diaper!

Win a free Bumgenius 3.0 Diaper! This is a valuable All-In-One cloth diaper that you can use for yourself or give as a gift to someone expecting a baby! Go check out Hot Belly Mama's Blog for details on how to win this wonderful All In One Cloth Diaper. Hot Belly Mama will announce the winner on March 30th, after her 30th birthday!

Here is the direct link to her blog:

http://hotbellymama.blogspot.com/

Good luck!

Diapers & Diaper Bag!!!

I took advantage of our trip to Toronto yesterday and headed over to Diaper-eez. They had a special deal this month that if you spend "x" amount in diapers and/or covers you get their largest diaper pail, 2 diaper pail liners and 6 months worth of deo disks free! (that's all worth over $100!). Well, it wasn't hard to reach that magic number considering I need a whole new stash for this baby! I am really starting to feel like we're getting ready now :-)

I chose:

32 Motherease One Size Bamboo diapers
10 Motherease Bamboo Liners for the diapers
6 Motherease Air Flow covers.



About a month ago I went to Diaper-eez in search of the "Lexie Tote" diaper bag made by Fleurville. I saw one I fell in love with on their website but unfortunately they wouldn't ship to Canada. I had to find a local store that sold them in order to even have a chance at owning one. I pretty much accepted that since Diaper-eez is the only store close enough that has them I will likely end up with a bag that wasn't exactly my first choice but hopefully something I liked well enough. After looking around the store several times and finding a decent second choice, Ivan walks in and says "There's your bag up there isn't it?" Oh, I was SO excited!!! The EXACT one I wanted!!! The lady who rang up our order was so sweet, she gave us a free Ringley for the baby :-)

What's so special about this diaper bag? You can read all about it here.

Taking Care of Me...

I usually allow myself a week or so at the end of pregnancy to take a break from the world and any responsibilities that are outside of my immediate family. This time, I've decided to start a bit earlier. I feel like it's finally time that I start thinking about me and what's best for me at this moment in my life. How nice would it be to rest in the peace of not having anything tugging on me when I most want to relax and prepare. So here I am, approximately 2 months left, and I'm ready to take a step back and honor what I feel like I need. You see, it's my tendency to say yes to EVERYTHING and then silently deal with feeling totally wiped out and depleted. So call me selfish but I won't be doing that anymore.

To me, having a baby is not at all about seeing how much of my life remains the same. In other words, how quickly can I get the baby to work around my existing schedule. It's about embracing motherhood, and all that entails, yet again. Accepting that life is about change and transition and so the world can no longer expect the same things from me, because my life is not at all the same. Baby comes first. So if I'm not answering the phone, and you don't see me out and about, just know that a very special thing has occurred. Know that I am fully embracing these tender and fragile moments that pass all too quickly. Know that I am in no rush for life to "get back to normal". Know that I am in maternal bliss.

Now is the time to turn inward, to explore my heart and mind as the day approaches where a new beginning takes place and transition will occur. This is the time I have left to hug my baby on the inside :-) To savor every last moment we have alone together. This is my time to create the atmosphere I desire for my birth space. To sit in it daily and set my intentions for the birth and the babymoon that follows.

I'm not at all saying I'll be locked in my house until birth. Just that I want to do what feels right and good without feeling obligated or guilty. The only plans I intend to keep are my yoga classes. They have been beneficial in ways I cannot express and I never come away regretting my time there. In fact, it is by far the most loving and nurturing thing I have gifted myself with.

This life is so miraculous. Everyday moments can be so wonderful and meaningful. But in order to fully experience *life*, we must learn to live life in awareness. We must be present in every moment and live consciously, in love. We must break away from all that is superficial and shallow that begs to take over our very existence on a moment to moment basis. We must free ourselves from the pressure to meet the expectations the world has placed on us, or the need to please others. We must live from our heart. If we never learn to be truly loving toward ourselves, we will find it nearly impossible to truly love others. If I desire to love my children, my husband, this baby that sits in the root of my being, I must first understand what it means to love myself. Of course, I am speaking of something much deeper than a self preservation type of love.

Marshall Rosenberg says we must ask ourselves 2 simple questions...

What is alive in me?

What would make life more wonderful?

Then we can ask that of others as well...

What is alive in others?

What would make life more wonderful for others?

This is what I believe LOVE asks. When was the last time you asked yourself, "What would make life more wonderful for me?" This is exactly what I've asked myself, and I feel very blessed to have begun living out the answers.

My Beads Have Arrived!

At the beginning of this pregnancy I joined an online community of other crunchy moms who were due around the same time I am. We decided that it would be neat if we all bought beads and sent them to a designated leader who would then make up batches for each woman containing one bead from each of us to make up a birthing necklace.

My beads came in the mail today! I was so excited to open them. Each bead is so unique and carried with it a poem, quote or good wishes for the birth.

I've ordered a custom pendant to be the center of my birthing necklace and I can't wait until it arrives so I can put all these beads together and wear them, YAY! I'll post a couple of pictures of individual beads below.

This one came in a red felt bag with a cord attached to represent the placenta :-)

This one is a shell that was picked up on the woman's vacation to Kauai!

This one reads "This heart represents a healthy, vibrant and robust placenta"

And this one says "The flower in full bloom represents an open cervix, ready to release your baby into the world"

I love feeling connected to other pregnant women, we are all on our own little journey's but yet we walk together in so many ways.

My Personality Type

You Are An INFJ

The Protector You live your life with integrity, originality, vision, and creativity. Independent and stubborn, you rarely stray from your vision - no matter what it is. You are an excellent listener with almost infinite patience. You have complex feelings, and you take great care to express them. In love, you see relationships as an opportunity to connect and grow. You enjoy relationships when they are improving and changing. You can't stand stagnation. At work, you stay motivated and happy... as long as you are working toward a dream you support. You would make a great photographer, alternative medicine guru, or teacher. How you see yourself: Hardworking, ethical, and helpful When other people don't get you, they see you as: Manipulative, weak, and unstable

What's Your Personality Type?

Birth Supply List

A couple of my friends have asked what's on my birth supply list so I figured I'd just post it here.



One thing I have realized over the years is that my birth supply list has remained pretty simple and always more luxury based than a list of medical supplies, this is why I don't bother with homebirth kits that are already made. I don't need sterile gloves, gauze pads, cord clamps, or any of that kind of stuff. I'm more concerned with creating the right mood based on what I know I want and practical supplies to keep clean up to a minimum.



So, I'm making up 2 Rubbermaid type bins, one for supplies and one for mommy and baby items. On the lids I have taped a card which lists the contents of the bin so it will be easy should Ivan need to retrieve something for me. The items that haven't been crossed out are still needing to be purchased (this week, YAY!)

Birth Supply List

Birth:

*** Birth Pool ***

1. Shower curtain liner x5 – Drop Cloths X2 (protect floor/pool area)

2. Old towel0

3. Sheet x3 (place over plastic on floor)

4. Washcloth x4

5. Trash bag x4

6. Olive Oil

7. Placenta Bowl

8. Lavender (placenta)

9. Sea Salt (placenta)

10. Fish Scale/Ring Sling

Me:

1. Red Raspberry Leaf Tea

2. Postpartum Cloth Pads

3. Peri bottle

4. Mesh panties

5. Clothes (for after)

6. Lip Balm

7. Heating Pad

8. Snacks

9. Water Bottle

10. Motherwart / Emergen-C / Contract Ease / Rescue Remedy

11. Laundry detergent (for my pads)

12. Peroxide x3 (pads)

13. Witch Hazel (wipe solution)

Baby:

1. Hat

2. shirt

3. Cloth Diapers - Potty - Bowl

4. Baby blanket

5. Thermometer

6. Nail clippers

Miscellaneous:

1. Camera (charged & ready)

2. Emergency Childbirth Book (printed & in birth binder)

3. Music

4. Mirror

5. Beeswax tea light candles x8

6. Beeswax candles large x2

7. Essential Oil diffusers x2

8. Placenta Prints (Christine)

Baby Hat

I was learning how to crochet a baby beanie hat thanks to YouTube tutorial video's. I thought it would be cute to make one that matches the blanket I made for the baby earlier in the pregnancy. Well, Justus assumed I was making it for him (of course!) and so I made a few adjustments in the size and length and now it's his :-) He looks cute, doesn't he?!