My pregnancy week 36

Wow!  Only a month left!  I am so excited!  

What's going on with baby?

Baby weighs around 6 pounds now and is about 20 inches tall (which happens to be how tall Maggie was at birth).  Baby's systems are just about ready for life on the outside.  

What's going on with me (and baby)?

 Well, we had our checkup today and are dilated to a 1.  We are 0% effaced right now.  Baby however, is at a -3, or was at our appointment. I think the baby is trying to trick the doctor though, because this baby is usually sitting very low, but for some reason scooted pretty far up for our appointment.   This little one is very busy!  I know I read that there is less kicking and stuff at this point, but I am not sure that I believe that.  This baby is very active.  

I get leg cramps, more like restless legs when I sit down at night.  So annoying, but what is more annoying, is the nonstop heartburn!  I hate taking medicine of any kind, so even taking tums seems like cheating on my body, but I may have to because around dinnertime, the heartburn starts and doesn't quit all night.  I am seriously congested, but that has been somewhat constant the entire pregnancy.  I get dizzy and lightheaded if I get up too quickly or bend down to pick up Maggie's toys.  

I have horrible pain / pressure in my pelvis.  Okay, not really horrible, but it's  to be expected during labor, not when I have had to deal with it for quite awhile already.  There are times I have to use my hands to cross or uncross my legs because I am so tender.  If I do too much, which really isn't much....sweeping for instance, I end up useless for quite awhile afterwards.  Sometimes when I walk it feels like my hip is popping out.  

Baby loves to move my belly button with his / her foot.  It rolls up and out, and is entirely awesome to watch and feel!  Maggie never did that sort of thing, so it's new to me.  I have an insanely disgusting amount of stretch marks around my belly button because baby sits all out front.  Maggie was much more spread around, but with this baby, you can't even tell I'm pregnant from the back.  I have to show you this picture, because this is how much baby pushes out on my belly off and on all the time.  

I also have trouble breathing sometimes...and that's when I am just sitting on the couch!  

I know it sounds like I am complaining, but I am not really.  I LOVE being pregnant.  This pregnancy has been entirely different than my first and much more uncomfortable. 

My doctor keeps commenting on how differently I carry this baby.  Everybody, and I mean everybody keeps commenting on how huge I am compared to my daughter.  The doctor and I agree, it's just because I am carrying so differently (at least I hope).  I don't really want to push out a 9 pounder!  

John was super nervous to go back to work because we are approaching baby time.   I won't lie, so am I.  He is 10 hours away working and not planning to be back until baby is born.  He will be getting switched out to North Dakota which will be much closer, but we don't know yet when that will be.  

Maggie is cuter everyday about the baby.  Tons of hugs and kisses and laughing when she sees my belly.  Not sure how baby feels though.  Lately it seems like Maggie has been using my stomach for a chair or a step stool.  It hurts so much when she presses on my belly when baby is pushed out like in the picture. 

So let's have some fun...anybody want to take a guess at the gender and date this baby will be born?  My daughter was 4 days overdue.  Our due date is June 25th.  My family is guessing the baby will be here on the 8th or 9th and I am guessing (or maybe hoping) Father's Day weekend. 

Leo Wall Stickers *Giveaway*

Leo Wall Stickers is an Italian company bringing you adorable wall decals for your children's rooms.  They offer 5 different categories of stickers.  Nature, Adventure, Fantasy, Cuddles and Fun, all with their own adorable stickers.  

They also offer two different kits you can purchase to decorate an entire room.  The Leo Kit and the Maxi Kit, both available in a variety of themes.     

Leo Wall Stickers is offering one lucky reader one of these Mini Kits to win and decorate your little one's room with.  

  

Spring

 

Bye bye

 Sea

Forest

 

Visit Leo Stickers to see their fabulous collection of stickers

Find Leo Wall Stickers on Facebook

And now for your chance to win one of the mini kits shown above

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Little Miss Maggie

I just have to share this picture.  Maggie use to wear bows all the time, but then they started making her hair stick up, so we quit.  I have tried barrettes but they slide right out.  This weekend, my niece got this flower clip for her birthday and my sister put it in Maggie's hair.  She is chasing the camera in this picture, and it just cracks me up so I had to share.  

Swim Diaper Giveaway from The Joyful Giraffe - 3 winners

Summer is almost here and what is a better way to celebrate then with a swim diaper giveaway from The Joyful Giraffe, hosted by Momma T and Baby E. Three (3) winners will have their choice of size and print from either a Gabby's swim diaper (pullup style) or Bummis Swimmi (with velcro). 

Make sure to check out The Joyful Giraffe shop review on Momma T and Baby E and visit The Joyful Giraffe shop which features new and gently used cloth diapers, cloth diaper accessories and more! 

Enter to win one of the swim diapers using the Rafflecopter below. This giveaway open to US and Canadian Residents 18 and older, ends June 11th at 12am, EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Little Love Buns Detergent and Wipe Bits Giveaway

If you haven't heard of this fantastic company yet, you are missing out!  Great products at great prices.  What more can a mama ask for?  You can read my reviews for the detergent and wipe bits and find out more about the wonderful woman behind these products. 

And now for the wonderful giveaway from Little Love Buns

Little Love Buns website

Facebook

Twitter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

5 Long Weeks

I bet you think I am talking about my pregnancy...I am not.  The 5 weeks I have left don't seem so long.  

 

John will be home in a few hours.  Maggie and I will be so happy to see him!  He has been gone for almost 5 weeks working.  I am used to 2-3 week stretches.  That's normal for us, but anything longer seems like forever.  Maggie has missed him so much!  As soon as she gets up in the morning, she grabs my phone and asks for daddy.  She talks about him a lot, but usually will just grab my phone and keep saying my daddy until we call him.  And anytime the phone rings, she comes up running yelling, "It's my daddy!"  She tends to get pretty upset if it isn't her daddy on the phone.  

He is worried she won't be excited to see him when he walks in the door.   I KNOW she will be excited!  Everytime a truck or motorcycle goes by somewhere she yells my daddy at it.  I love the look on her face when she sees him pull in the driveway!  Probably the only thing she gets more excited about than our dogs.  

And of course, his trip home is being delayed or he would be here already.  Because of the insane amounts of rain yesterday and today, the road he is on right now is down to one lane because there was a mudslide on the road and there's so much water on the road.  Not to mention the accidents out there because people can't just slow down a little bit.  Oh well, he will be here soon enough.  Then we will hang out for a few hours and then pack up and head for the cabin for the weekend.  Unfortunately, it's supposed to rain every day except for tomorrow while he is home.  I had hoped he would be able to spend time every day fishing.  He definitely deserves a break.  

He is only staying gone this long to make / save up some extra money so he can be home longer when the baby is born.  He goes back to work on Tuesday and won't come back until the baby is here.  No vacation pay really stinks!  

 

Parenting Patch Fall Fluff Giveaway Hop Signups

The Parenting Patch is excited to announce that sign ups are now open for The Parenting Patch Fall Fluff Giveaway Hop. James and Heather, a husband and wife team, launched The Parenting Patch: Where Parents Grow on September 15, 2011. In honor of the first anniversary of their blog and website, The Parenting Patch is hosting a cloth diaper giveaway hop that will start on September 1, 2012 and end on September 15, 2012.
Sign ups for The Parenting Patch Fall Fluff Giveaway Hop are free.
The minimum value of each prize package is $15. Bloggers can divide into as many prize packages as liked as long as the minimum value remains $15. Giveaways can be sponsored or self-sponsored as long as the prize is valued at $15 or more. Each giveaway prize must be related to cloth diapers. Ideas for giveaways include, but are not limited to, cloth diapers, wet bags, cloth wipes, cloth diaper laundry detergent, and cloth diaper ointment.
Additionally, The Parenting Patch will be hosting a grand prize giveaway. To have your Facebook page URL included on the Rafflecopter form for the grand prize, the fee is $2.50 via PayPal. Participation in the grand prize giveaway is optional. The exact contents of the grand prize will be announced when sign up closes and Heather knows how many blogs are participating in the grand prize giveaway. The grand prize will be a huge cloth diaper prize pack!
Sign Up
To sign up to participate in The Parenting Patch Fall Fluff Giveaway Hop:
(1) First add The Parenting Patch Fall Fluff Giveaway Hop to the sidebar of your blog. Please have the button link to this blog post. You may resize the button as necessary to fit your blog design.

(2) If you wish to participate in the grand prize giveaway, send $2.50 to Heather at hmkosur85 at gmail dot com (where an @ replaces the at and a . replaces the dot) via PayPal as a purchase of service. Please include your name and your blog name in the notes section. Note: You must be signed up for the giveaway hop to be a part of the grand prize, and participation in the grand prize does not take the place of hosting your own giveaway for the event on your blog.


(3) To help spread the word about The Parenting Patch Fall Fluff Giveaway Hop, I would love and appreciate if you would write a post about the hop on your blog. However, writing about the hop is optional and in no way required to participate.


(4) Fill out this form and add your link to the linky at the bottom of this post.
Sign ups for The Parenting Patch Fall Fluff Giveaway Hop close on August 15, 2012.
Before the hop starts on September 1, 2012, I will email you with the HTML for the hop details for your blog post and for the linky as well as with any additional information. (If you want to grab the linky now, go to InLinkz and grab the code.) I will also email you the details of the grand prize once I determine how many other blogs are participating. Your giveaway post must go live on September 1, 2012 at 12:00 midnight CST. If you have not posted your giveaway by noon on September 1, 2012, your URL will be removed from the linky.


Happy hopping! Thank you for joining us in celebrating the one year anniversary of The Parenting Patch: Where Parents Grow!

Little Love Buns Detergent *Review*

Another great product review from one of my fabulous sponsors

First off, the owner of Little Love Buns, Dallas, is wonderful to work with! She is a proud wife and a mother of 3.  She began her cloth diapering journey after the birth of her twins.  After battling stains, smells, build up and irritation, she decided to create a detergent that would fix these issues.  After months of research and trial and error, she came up with her perfect detergent.  One of her children had very sensitive skin and eczema so she came up with detergent, wipe solution and soap that would help her babys skin and not make it worse.  Dallas prides herself on making almost every product she sells.  Throughout my blogging days, Dallas is definitely one of the nicest people I have met.  She is wonderful at keeping in touch and making sure that her products are working well for me. 

About the detergent

I received the Strawberry Watermelon Detergent.  Just the sound of it makes me think of yummy summertime things!  The detergent smells so good.  The detergent can be purchased in a 6 pack sampler, a small bag of detergent or a large bag of detergent.  Her prices are so affordable!  $11.00 for a large 85/170 load bag of detergent.  You definitely get more bang for your buck with this detergent.  The detergent comes in 7 different scents with many more scents available with a custom order.  

I received from Little Love Buns this detergent, 3 scents of wipe bits and a super soft wipe to test out.  The detergent worked great for us.  We did a soak in the detergent before we started using it.  After that, we used 2-3 scoops of detergent per load of laundry.  

The detergent got our diapers very clean and we had no problems with leaks.  There was a period of a few days where the diapers were super stinky when Maggie would go pee in them and we had a few leaks.  I mentioned this to Dallas, and she was very quick to respond.  We talked back and forth trying to figure out the problem.  After talking with her, I decided to give it a few more days.  Maggie was sick and I wasn't sure if that had something to do with it.  Once she was better, the problems went away, so whatever was going on with her was the reason for the stinkies and the leaking.  It had nothing to do with the detergent and once she was better, it was back to working great.  I love this detergent.  I love the sweet summery scent of it.

Dallas and Little Love Buns has fantastic customer service.  I have no doubt that if the problem I was having was from the detergent that she would have worked with me until we got the problem resolved.  I hope you choose to hop on over to her store and try out some of her fantastic products.  I have no doubt you will fall in love with the affordable prices and the great products.

Are you ready to purchase your own Little Love Buns products?

Visit Little Love Buns Website 

Show Little Love Buns some Facebook Love 

Want a chance to win a bag of this detergent?  The giveaway will be up soon.  In the meantime, visit Little Love Buns website and leave a comment here with your favorite detergent scent for 2 extra entries into the giveaway.  

Read my Little Love Buns Wipe Bits Review Here

  

Little Love Buns Wipe Bits *Review*

I am really excited to introduce you to one of my fabulous sponsors 

First off, the owner of Little Love Buns, Dallas, is wonderful to work with! She is a proud wife and a mother of 3.  She began her cloth diapering journey after the birth of her twins.  After battling stains, smells, build up and irritation, she decided to create a detergent that would fix these issues.  After months of research and trial and error, she came up with her perfect detergent.  One of her children had very sensitive skin and eczema so she came up with detergent, wipe solution and soap that would help her babys skin and not make it worse.  Dallas prides herself on making almost every product she sells.  Throughout my blogging days, Dallas is definitely one of the nicest people I have met.  She is wonderful at keeping in touch and making sure that her products are working well for me.  

About the Wipe Bits

I was sent 3 different scents of wipe bits to test out and received 3 of each scent.  They smell so wonderful!  I was so excited because I have yet to use any wipe bits that I like at all!  The wipe bits come in cute little flower shapes and pretty colors.  The scents I received were Cucumber Melon, Sweet Pea, and Peach Mango.  I could not wait to try these out!  

Dallas even checked with me to see if the wipe bits melted at all during the delivery because they were packaged differently than they are for customers.  They did a small bit, but they still worked terrific for us.  I LOVED the fact that these wipe bits melted so quickly in warm water and dissolved completely.  This was the problem I had faced with some other wipe bits that I used.   

The wipe bits I received and the wipe I received with it. 

 

I only used one wipe bit at a time and that seemed to work really well for me.  They dissolved quickly so I didn't have to wait a day for the solution to dissolve.  The other thing I loved about these wipe bits was the smell.  Every time I opened my wipe container, I got a gentle whiff of this great solution.  It was like a little smile every time I needed to get a wipe.  The solution was gentle enough that I was able to use it to wash Maggie's hands and face as well.  

Little Love Buns wipe bits can also be used as hand soap on the go, in the bath, or as a foot soak.  The Little Love Buns wipe bits come in 7 different scents but can also be ordered in many other scents by special request.  I definitely recommend these wipe bits to anybody looking to try a new solution and fall in love with it!  

Are you ready to try these fantastic wipe bits?

Visit Little Love Buns website 

Show some love on Facebook

Do you want a chance to win?  Be sure you are receiving updates from Mommy of One and Counting.  The giveaway for a chance to win these wipe bits and some fabulous detergent will be posted soon!  Do you want 2 extra entries?  Visit Little Love Buns now and comment here with your favorite scent! 

Read my review on Little Love Buns Detergent Here

Costume Discounters *Review*

Costume Discounters offered me a costume to review.  I really wanted to get a costume for myself, but since I'm quite pregnant it would be tough to review one right now, so I opted for a toddler costume for my daughter.  Deciding which one of their great costumes took me forever!  I finally decided to review the Pink Elephant costume in a size Medium (12-18 months).  

The first thing I will say is that they ship very quickly!  We had the costume within a few days.  The next thing I noticed was how adorable it was!  I wasn't entirely sure how Maggie would do with the trunk or the big ears, but she thought it was pretty funny.  The pink elephant costume comes in two pieces; a body suit and the hood with the trunk and ears attached.  The costume is 100 % polyester and easy to clean.  Wash in cold water and hang dry.  

The hood piece is very easy to put on her.  Just put it over her head and velcro beneath her chin.  The body suit part of the costume is easy as well, just slip over the head and snap closed.  This is a great toddler costume, especially for where we live.  We live in Minnesota, and finding a cute, warm costume can be tricky.  The way this costume is designed, we can put a hat under the hood part of the costume and dress her in extra layers underneath her costume.  

I was a bit worried because the costume had feet in it and I wasn't sure if that would interfere with Maggie's ability to walk in the costume, but that hasn't been an issue at all.  The feet part fits like pajamas so she is able to move around easily while wearing the costume.  

Another fantastic feature of this costume is that it snaps down between the legs.  A definite must in a toddler costume for easy diaper changes.  The costume snaps down all the way so even though she is potty training, it's easy to get off of her so she can use the potty.  Just unsnap and take her feet out of the costume.  

Laughing at herself in the mirror.

You can see there is plenty of room for a hat underneath the hood part to keep her little head warm.  The ears stay back and don't get in the way of her being able to see.

Maggie discovered the trunk hanging there.

From the back.   You can see there is plenty of room for her to grow in this costume.

 My overall opinion....

I love the costume!  It's easy to care for and fits very well.  

Costume Discounters has a huge selection of costumes for babies, toddlers, kids, teens and adults.  They also have costumes for all of the holidays!  

Visit Costume Discounters and check out their selection of costumes and pick out this years Halloween costume for a toddler (or anybody else)!  

A big Thank you to Costume Discounters for the opportunity to review this adorable costume on my daughter. 

Sherpa Thirsty Insert *Review*

I received the Sherpa Thirsty Insert to review from Rearz.ca.  

Rearz is a Canadian company that began in 2005. They are committed to inventing and bringing innovative, affordable, sustainably manufactured cloth diapers and accessories to the market.  The manufacturers are required to offer oeko-tex, organic certified or independently lab tested materials.  Any dyes used are low impact, non resource draining, eco-reactive dyes.  They offer products for social change.  Their cloth diaper line has a full range of sizes including adult diapers. 

About the Insert
 The Sherpa Insert is sold in a 2 pack.  They are the ultimate in softness and absorbency, and I mean ultimate!  I love the feel of this insert.  It is very soft and stretchy.  The Sherpa can also hold up to 2 cups of fluid.  The Sherpa can be folded in half or in thirds to use as an insert, soaker or booster.  It can also be used with a fastener just like a prefold.  The Sherpa measure 12" x 14" and fits 8-25 pounds when used with a fastener.  The insert is made of 2 thick layers of fabric. 

Because the Sherpa is so thickly woven, they take a lot of prep before they reach their full absorbency.   The website says 7-8 washes, but I washed it even more before we used it.  You can also prewash in hot water with vinegar or boil for 12 minutes with a drop of dish soap. 
 

 My Experience with the Sherpa Insert

I went with the 7-8 washes to prep the insert.  I was quite impressed with the softness and stretchiness of this insert.  We started out using it in a cover just folded in thirds.  This was how we used it the most.  I was happy with the fact that this did absorb a ton of fluid and didn't become super stinky.  We also started using it as an insert inside our Rumparooz diapers at night.  Folded in thirds, this insert is still trim enough to stuff into a pocket diaper without any trouble.  

 

I did attempt to use the insert with a Snappi fastener.  It wasn't working for us because I couldn't get the Snappi to grab onto the fabric.  The Sherpa Insert was definitely big enough to fit around my 19 month old daughter and would easily be fastened; just not by me...I am not good with the Snappi!  I have never used the Boingo, but Rearz sells the Boingo, so I'm wondering if that fastener would work better on this fabric.  The Sherpa stretches enough that getting a great fit this way would be easy to do.  

I definitely prefer this insert over our other prefolds.  The fabric is much softer and stretchier, and also holds a lot more fluid than a regular prefold will.  I will be getting some more of these inserts in the future. 

Want to get your own?

Visit Rearz.ca

Visit Rearz on Facebook

 

 

Smartipants *Review*

A HUGE Thank you to one of our fantastic sponsors

 I have been given the chance to be one of the bloggers for Smartipants and I am so glad!  It gave me the opportunity to try out their diapers right away.  I will be honest with you, with all of their great color choices, I had a tough time making a decision!  

I decided to go with a more neutral color since we don't know the gender of this baby and our daughter will very soon be out of diapers, so I chose Aqua Breeze.  Best color ever!!!!   

About Smartipants

Smartipants was the brainchild of Jessica, a mommy to four little lovebugs.  Jessica invented the first ever one size pocket diaper called Wonderoos.  She has since left Wonderoos and joined the Smartipants team.  The mission of the Smartipants team is to provide smart parents with smart solutions.  The Smartipants team now has 7 years of experience making diapers and continues to changing the world one smart parent at a time.  All of their products are MADE IN THE USA.  

About the diaper

The Smartipants One Size Diaper features

- Leak Guard Technology

-Patented Smart Sleeve

-Soft Waterproof Outer Fabric

-Gentle Stretch Elastic

-Adjustable Snaps

-Ultra Premium Protection 

The diaper comes with the diaper itself and one insert.  With the patented sleeve design, the insert comes right out in the wash, no need to unstuff the sleeve first.  

My Experience

I fell in love with this diaper as soon as I opened the package.  The color is gorgeous!  I also loved only the one layer of snaps.  We seem to still get a great fit every time and daddy loves diapers like this.  This is definitely one of the diapers daddy grabs when he changes her.  I have recently fallen in love with sleeve style diapers.  I only have a few of them but I love them!  The insert is pretty easy to stuff into the sleeve of the diaper.  

 

There are only two rise snap settings on the diaper, which makes me wonder if it will really fit from 7-35 pounds.  We are still using the smallest setting on the diaper with Maggie (she is just about 21 pounds and a fairly skinny build).  I love that the sleeve part of the diaper actually stays pretty dry which makes this a great diaper for Maggie to wear at night or when we will be in the car for awhile.  

This became one of my favorite diapers the very first time I put it on her, and I love it more every time!  We get such a nice, snug, trim fit with this diaper.  The outer fabric is lightweight and soft.  I would definitely recommend this diaper to everybody! 

What I would change

I wouldn't mind if the sleeve opening in the front had a little more elastic stretch to it, but it's plenty big and easy to stuff.   

Want to own your own Smartipants diapers?

Visit Smartipants and buy your favorite products! 

Like Smartipants on Facebook 

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Want a chance to win one of these fantastic diapers?  Enter here