Categories
Everything Else Pregnancy

Changing Diapers {a review & giveaway}

Saturday night, I dreamed I was at a cloth diaper conference & was super overwhelmed. The colors, brands, AIO, one-size, prefolds, covers! Ah! I woke up relieved though, since, thanks to cloth diapering momma friends & Changing Diapers: A Hip Moms Guide to Cloth Diapering by Kelly Wels, I *think* I understand the basics of cloth diapering. Enough that I’m beyond excited about cloth diapering our babies.

Yes, you read that right. No disposables {or very few} in our house. Cloth Diapers. But not your grandma’s cloth diapers. Modern cloth diapers are cute & fun & create the most precious fluffy baby butts!

I made my cloth diaper decision over a year ago entering & winning a few cloth diapers on blog giveaways, but Jason wasn’t really on board. Then I went to San Diego, met a lot more cloth diapering ladies & came home with a bunch more cloth diapers {thanks to the Haute Green party}. It was also at the Haute Green party that I met Kelly Wels & heard more about her website & her new book. Her marketing team sent me a copy of Changing Diapers shortly after I found out I was pregnant, but it’s taken me a little while {hello triplets!} to post.Changing Diapers breaks down the cloth diaper basics for those totally new to CDing but still has enough great information for those already using cloth. It even has a cloth diapering multiples section which helped {along with the $$$ factor} win Jason over into using cloth for our babes. I love the break down in the middle over every kind of cloth diaper & the most popular brands. Kelly includes beautiful photos & while she discusses brands & quotes real-life cloth diaper users, she doesn’t push one brand over another. Changing Diapers even has a blank chart in the back so you can keep track of the types, brands, sizes of cloth diapers you own.

A few of my favorite pages: the multiples chapter, diaper covers, prefolds & snappis.

In case you’re wondering, our plan is to use cloth from the beginning {well as soon as they’re home from the hospital}. My triplet momma guru Jenny has graciously handed me down their newborn & size one prefolds. I’m working my way to building up my stash of diaper covers & snappis. Since prefolds appear a little more tricky, I’m excited to have ten or so AIOs {all in ones} & pocket diapers that are more grandparent-friendly as they look very similar to disposables {I’ve overheard my mom & aunt telling family how cute those are!}.

Kelly is happy to share her love of cloth diapers to everyone in Changing Diapers. You can learn more about Kelly & cloth diapering on her website as well as pick up a copy of Changing Diapers for yourself or one of your pregnant friends.

And since we’re in the mood for giving, start your own cloth diaper stash {or feed your cloth diaper addiction!} by entering below to win a Fuzzibunz one size diaper.

Leave a comment tell me your first thought when you hear “cloth diaper”.

For a second entry, follow Kelly & I on twitter & tweet “Enter to win a Fuzzibunz #clothdiaper #giveaway from @KellyWels & @suzstreats at http://suzstreats.com/changing-diapers”. {edited to add: ok to tweet once a day. Please make an additional comment linking to your tweet.}

Good luck! I will close the giveaway & draw a winner using random.org next Tuesday February 7th at 11a EST. Can’t wait to hear what are your impressions of cloth diapers!

I was provided a copy of Changing Diapers free of charge for my honest opinion. I am an affiliate of Changing Diapers, but I was not compensated in any other way.

Categories
Pregnancy

Eighteen Weeks

I don’t love these photos, but they’re the best of the ones I snapped before heading to my friend Laura’s Scentsy party. I think the belly has filled out more on the sides ~ enough that it’s starting to fill out maternity tops like this Loft one as well as making me glad to have full paneled maternity pants like my new Target dark jeans.

How far along? 18w1d

Maternity clothes? Absolutely. This week I’ve been venturing into almost all maternity tops too although I did wear a super long regular top with a normal cardigan {unbuttoned} one day this week.

Weight Gain? not sure but I’ll probably find out at the next appointment.

Stretch Marks? none yet.

Sleep? Getting more used to sleeping on my side surrounded by pillows.

Movement? I *think* I felt tiny punches from two different babies in one day while sitting at my desk at work. Haven’t really felt that much in the last few days.

Genders? Still thinking boys/girls mixture but we’ll see for sure Tuesday.

What I Miss? The ease of just grabbing an outfit from a full closet. My choices are more limited but I know I still have enough to get me through. I did break down & buy 2 more full panel pants {they’re way more comfy for the triplet belly than the low panel ones} & a new top last Sunday at Target. All three were on sale at least 50% off though & I had gift cards.

Food cravings? Still the usual~ pizza, pasta, ice cream. I mentioned my daily food favorites Friday.

Food aversion? Y’all! I ate Moe’s Monday night! My first Mexican{ish} food in months. The Joey Jr was amazing. I haven’t jumped into any more Mexican adventures but very pleased that maybe my Mexican food aversion is over?!

Labor signs? No, thankfully.

Belly button in or out? Still an innie.

What I’m Looking Forward to? Our BIG ultrasound appointment in just two days! Can’t wait to see the trips again in high resolution & find out boys/girls. I’m also looking forward to celebrating the babies in the next couple of weeks with family & friends at showers.

Weekly Wisdom? Don’t leave your only pair of maternity pjs in your bed under the covers. Your sleepy kitty might somehow bury under the comforter, cuddle in between your pillows & decide to have a snack {a silver dollar sized hole in the side of your pants}. Thank goodness for Old Navy coupons, sales, & cash back.

Milestones? Eighteen weeks means I’m more than halfway done with my pregnancy. That’s kinda bittersweet because I really love being pregnant. I also know that while it’s been pretty smooth sailing so far, things will be getting bigger, crazier, scarier from here.

The trips have grown into the size of bell peppers for week 18 ~ 5.5 in long & 7oz. The baby center app says the baby{s} are moving & I’ll be really feeling them more soon. It also says blood vessels are visible through their thin skin & the ears have moved to the final position.

Categories
Everything Else

Marie’s Sprinkle

I alluded to my friend Marie’s second baby shower last Sunday in my 17 week post. I have been meaning to talk about it all week. I just have to share photos of the fabulous decorations Laura & Ashley did! Marie is having a surprise baby, so the hostesses decorated in green, silver & white.

Perfect Sprinkle Decorations

I ended up being the lucky winner of the guess ‘how many jelly beans in the bottle’ game after I super over-guessed & they let me vote again~ exactly 217 jellys! Those Gigis cupcakes were amazing as was the delicious food Laura & Ashley made! Thankfully Laura pinned the punch & buffalo chicken recipes~ I can’t wait to try those on my own.

Suz {at 17 weeks} & Marie {at 33.5 weeks}

So happy for my friend Marie ~ can’t wait to find out if baby J 2.0 a boy or girl in just a few weeks!

Categories
Food Pregnancy

Eating for Triplets

I’m guessing y’all might be wondering what it’s like to be eating for four. I want to remember it myself, so I thought I’d share a quick post.

I eat every two hours or very close to that. If I don’t, I know it & if you’re around me you’d know it too~ I’m hungry, cranky, & whiny. I’m actually better at keeping up with eating during the week. I pack a huge lunch bag full of food & supplement that with my work’s cafeteria. Over the weekends my schedule varies more & I get busy or am sleeping so I don’t eat & drink as regularly. I’m trying to get better at that, but for this post, I’ll focus more on weekday food. Remember my MFM wants me to eat about 3000 calories & I try to drink close to 100 oz of liquid {tons of water all day long}.

I’ve always done cereal for breakfast & continue to do so {around 8a on weekdays}. I switch between Honey Nut Cheerios & Frosted Flakes with Special K with red berries thrown in occasionally. My MFM suggested I switch from skim to whole milk for added calories & fat. I haven’t been able to make the jump to whole, but we do use 2% now.

For probably close to six or more weeks straight, I walked downstairs to the cafeteria & got two scrambled eggs with cheese & a plain bagel for second breakfast around 10:15a. NYE weekend though, I made scrambled eggs at home & they grossed me out so much that I haven’t eaten them since. Recently, I’ve been eating fruit &/or yogurt as a mid-morning snack. I’ve switched to Greek yogurt for the added protein. I’ve found I like Trader Joe’s drinkable pomegranate ones, Trader Joe’s mango Greek yogurt, & YoCrunch just came out with Greek yogurt that’s pretty awesome too.

Lunch {1230p} varies a little more than breakfasts. If we have leftovers from dinner the night before, I’ll sometimes bring them. I eat a lot of peanut butter sandwiches ~ either PB&J or PB&B {banana}. We usually have Target goldfish, pretzel crisps, &/or pita chips at home & those are easy for lunch/snacks too. Hummus works with those if we’ve got it. I usually also get a dark greens salad topped with a ton of veggies & fatty delicious Parmesan peppercorn dressing from the salad bar at work. If I didn’t eat my yogurt for second breakfast, I’ll eat it for lunch dessert. Oh & I’m sometimes wild & crazy & have sweet tea/sprite/diet coke to drink instead of water at lunch.

Second lunch aka afternoon snack is around 245p. I’ll have a cheese stick & leftover chips/crackers. Or an apple & peanut butter. Occasionally almonds & I always have dried mangoes on hand. Ok & maybe there’s a little donut slipped in! I tend to snack for the last couple of hours at work.

I usually nap &/or chill on the couch as soon as I get home from work & then am hungry for dinner 6ish. After the food planning all day long, I’m pretty over the idea of cooking/meal planning at night. Luckily, back in November my mom & aunt came over & stocked my freezer with mini-casseroles. We just finished the last of those. My sweet friend Kelly {hi!} brought over a few more casseroles a couple of weeks ago that work great for nights when I’m tired. We also tend to have frozen pasta bags & frozen pizza that can be made quickly. Jason’s been a bigger help than pre-pregnancy with cooking. I’ll eat chicken but don’t like to mess with it, so he’ll man the oven & can make a mean Kraft mac’n’cheese. We try to do some veggies with dinner also but veggies are one food group I know I’m not making Dr Luke’s goal in. If I want an after-dinner dessert, I’ve been recently grabbing a YoCrunch pie parfait {I love the triple berry pie flavor best}.

A couple hours later, depending on when I go to bed, I’ll either have a snack {maybe dinner leftovers} or jump to my pre-bed ice cream. I read early on in this pregnancy that eating dairy before bed will stay with you longer & let you not wake up hungry. This is so true for me! I occasionally have cereal but typically have strawberry or Oreo ice cream. Top them off with water, prenatal vitamin & iron supplement & I’m off to sleep!

While YoCrunch has provided me in the past with coupons & recently sent me samples of their Greek yogurt & brand new pie parfaits, I was buying & enjoying them before & the opinions written above are all my own.

Categories
Family/Travel

Quick Family Weekend

Over the weekend before last, I traveled with my aunt down to Charlotte. My Papa was throwing a party for friends who’ve been big supports to him while he & Ma were sick then her passing away. He’s had an awesome full recovery from his illnesses & was feeling ready to celebrate.

My immediate family, along with my aunts & my cousin Preston & his wife Krissie, came down to all be there too. Krissie’s also pregnant, so it was great to be able to compare pregnancies & catch up with them. They just found out they’re having a girl & we’re all really excited! Krissie was about 20 weeks & I was 16 weeks with the trips. We meant to take a good belly photo that night at the party but sadly forgot. Here’s the best one of us from that afternoon. Can y’all believe my Papa is going to be a great-grandfather to four babies by June!?

Papa's Party Saturday

I left my DSLR at home & we also forgot to get a big family photo. But I did remember to take a few photos of the party & decorations. The event was held at his retirement community clubhouse {they have the best food!}, & my mom & aunts did the flower decorations.

The next morning before most of us headed back {Preston & Krissie left early early Sunday}, we went to church together then stuffed ourselves at the clubhouse brunch. I grubbed on an omelet, grits, Belgium waffles, fruit & banana pudding before the babies told me I was more than out of room.

We grabbed the rest of the baby things we’d left at Papa’s after Christmas, made a quick trip to Jenny’s to pick up another swing {remember I said they’re already spoiled!}, & headed back to Raleigh. Our house is really starting to look like triplet central thanks to Jenny & her triplet hand-me-downs! Yay!