This Just In; Gender Reveal Take 2!

So I snuck away this morning for a super top secret 3D gender reveal Ultrasound... and what sweet sounds did I hear, but, "Congrats...

So there you have it... In just a few short months we will be welcoming a sweet little boy into our family!! I am so excited to share our news! On a side note, this child already never fails to surprise me, since I was sincerely expecting a girl!

Aren't my photos from Olive Juice Photography fantastic?

Much Love from an excited mom-of-a-son {wow thats so weird to say ;)}

Lesleigh

Baby News



Early Tuesday morning I was scheduled for our much anticipated Gender determination Ultrasound, and late Tuesday morning I had a Gender Reveal Photo session booked with my good friend Lindsay Jeans of Olive Juice Photography. After a sleepless Monday cleaning and prepping my house as a photo studio, crafting props for the shoot, and the anxiety of what was to come, we settled into bed (late) and set our alarms for the next mornings activities.

Turns out what I thought was an 8:30 appt. was actually an 8am appt, so already our day started out late, I waited in the waiting room for hours thinking "Uh oh they are going to send me home and reschedule", but luckily enough they fit me in a little before ten. I laid on the stretcher while the very professional tech completed all her measurements and thought to myself; "What am I expecting?", "What do I want it to be?". All this time I had been preparing myself for a Girl, for no particular reason other then that it was my 'gut feeling' and although I also want a boy I was afraid that hearing "Congrats! Its a Boy" would set me into a whirl wind of emotions, simply because I was so certain it was a girl, that I genuinely couldnt wrap my head around the idea of a boy. But in those moments as I lay there waiting for this exciting news, I realized... No matter what sweet words come out of the techs mouth, boy or girl, I will be happy... nothing changes, this is still my baby made equally from the DNA of both hubby and myself, and there is no sweeter gift then that! Sure I want a girl so I can buy frilly dresses and FINALLY get away with painting a room in my house pink, but a boy would also bring so much Joy into my life too. I firmly believe that there would be nothing better to witness then the bond between my husband and his Son, or alternatively that of him and a daughter. No matter what the result could have been, I know without a shadow of a doubt that I am about to be a mom... the one thing I have sought my whole life to accomplish.

The tech took us through babes anatomy; 'Head and shoulder knees and toes' (sorry I couldn't resist). Then... she said it... "I hope you dont want to know the gender because I can't see a thing", annnnnnnnnnd my heart stopped, just for a moment, and I took a breath like I had just had the wind knocked out of me. My reaction was to shake what little baby belly I have and cry out "Can't we wake it up? lets get it moving, maybe give me some pop!". As it turns out, this truly is my husbands child because it didnt budge (though the heartbeat was clearly visible) and it remained curled with its knees to its chest, and its tiny feet hiding the only area I really needed to see. Now, not only do I have to look forward to a lifetime of rebellious actions from my husband but clearly this little critter is going to follow in his footsteps.

I regret not being able to reveal to you top secret information from within my womb... but I would still love to share with you a few photos from my not so gender revealing Photoshoot yesterday, Courtesy of Olive Juice Photography

I hope you enjoy, even if it's not quite what you were waiting to hear!

Much Love,

Lesleigh

Bragging Rights! Sharing my savings!

As some of you may already know I pride myself on being frugal and sensible. With that said I can hardly breathe when I walk into stores like Babies-R-Us and see the mark-ups on the baby items they sell. These items are only used for such a short period of time, and in my opinion, they should be priced accordingly. Instead, companies like to take advantage of this overzealous, excited, gift-giving market and charge an arm and a leg for their products, just because they know we will fall for it. Well I for one will not stand for it!!! And I ask that those of you thinking about gifting items our way also consider what is reasonable, and honestly... I would prefer you purchase a nice used item, then to over spend for my sake.

I have, indeed, registered at Babies-R-Us, only for the sake of creating an easy-to-access list for everyone so they know what we still need; otherwise, I am not expecting anyone to break the bank over me. I have carefully researched items based on their function/durability/price because if I didn’t I would likely pick all the expensive items thinking that that equals quality... which I have found it most certainly doesn't. I have also networked with moms to find out what items are most useful, and selected the items I felt had duel purposes, rather than two buy to separate items. I am also aware that many items won't even get used since "baby" will have its own preferences (swing vs. vibration).

I have been lucky enough to be going through this pregnancy at a time where internet socializing is extreme, meaning I have been able to network with a large group of moms all due in June, and have several mom-to-mom buy and swap sites at my fingertips, and the well-known kijiji. It has only been Seven years since my nephew came around, and my sister didn’t have nearly the resources that I do. Even when it comes to gaining knowledge around pregnancy it seems like I have so much more awareness then my sisters did, simply because of internet social connections. 

Anyway... my point is... I just wanted to show off some of my great finds (and savings) because I really think it’s worth bragging about!
 

Scored this used Bumbo Chair with the tray for $30 {retail value approx. $90, savings = $60}, also we got the seal of approval from our Chihuahua



Bought this travelling stroller for $41 at the Zellers clearout sale {retail value $69.99, total savings =  $28.99}

 

This Arms Reach Co-sleeper Bassinet can no longer be purchased in or shipped to Canada, I managed to find it barely used for $80 {Retail Value $300 = Total Savings $220}

Got This Gem on kijiji from a  sweet family, they also threw in an expensive Organic Mattress that was hardly used and both in immaculate condition $100 {Retail Value Crib $600, Mattress $400, Total Savings = $900}

I have also been blessed with a few hand me downs from friends and scored a number of other items from buy-and-sell sites saving to the tune of nearly $2500 so far. If your reading this and considering buying your baby items the same way, here are some rules of thumb to follow;

1. Refuse to pay more then half the original cost of any used item! {Some people will attempt to sell for more then that and I don't think it is right, because often times stores have sales and sell these items for close to 50% off brand new}

2. Make hygiene your priority {There are many warnings about buying and selling used breast pumps due to the degree of difficulty to maintain a clean system, as a rule of thumb I will only buy new bottles, and cloth diapers and other various items for the same reason}

3. Maintain your childs safety {I will not buy a used car seat because I want to ensure it has not been in an accident or expired, as well as ensuring all items have properly functioning harness systems, and being aware of the dangers/ recalls of some items}

4. Use your judgement {I scrutinize the photo of the item so I don't waste my time driving to pick up an item that isn't as advertised. In the background I can usually see if the home is well-kept, and the quality of the photo tells me whether they have possession of quality items, and take good care of them. If the photo is taken from the web, I request an actual photo of the item. Also because I know I have a lot of items I am looking for I often ask if they have other baby items they are selling that might be worth me picking up when I get there}

5. Make Exceptions if it is warrented {I was dead set on purchasing a new mattress for Hygiene/comfort reasons, however, after touring the couples home, and seeing first hand the quality and condition of the item, not to mention the fact that it was better then anything I would have purchased new, I decided to keep it}

6. Network using facebook {In my area there are four groups that I have joined that are specific to buying-and-selling childrens items. If you search "Buy and Sell" and the name of your town you should be able to connect with them. Kijiji tends to be my last resort, because I end up having to drive a farther distance for those items}

7. Research the Product {When I see something I like, I check it out online to see the original price, so I know if I am getting a deal or not. The beauty of these sites is that if I find something of a better value I can still purchase it and resell the more expensive version and get my money back}

8. Document your savings {If your like me you will want to write down the cost of the item and the amount you would have paid new, then you can look back and know what you were able to budget, and it just feels good!}

Lastly, Have fun!! It's easy to purchase items like this and not end up with the buyers remorse you feel when you know you overspent. Even though I had a lot of items to buy all at once, I know the savings far exceeds the value of it all, and in the end my child with have its needs met and my wallet will still be full.

This Glass is Officially Half Full

I am officially 20 weeks and the suspense of finding out Baby Ps Gender is killing me! I am not going to tell you the date I find out, because I don’t need everyone I know calling me that whole day, but I will tell you I will reveal to you within 72 hours of our ultrasound. I will also say that it is still a long enough wait that I am sleepless with anticipation. 

So far so good on the baby baking home front. Little Bean has been hyperactive as expected, based on his/her paternal genes. With each appointment. and ultrasound baby P has been flipping and dancing about and the heart-rate is loud and rapidly steady. My gut instinct tells me he is a she, but Hubby is expecting (as all dads do) his little boy. Either way we are happy to know it’s a healthy pregnancy and however this story ends we will be far more “complete” at the end of it.

I have had the pleasure of bidding farewell to the nasty morning sickness that plagued me (as long as I maintain a steady intake of diclectin that is) and food appeals to me once again, though I haven’t had any “Cravings” to claim, because now I am just rehabilitating my steady eating pattern. I have however, been introduced to a whole new pregnancy symptom, Anxiety! I should mention that in my state of dismal illness and the accelerated scent of smell I took a fit regarding our stained, worn-out, stinky carpet so we tore up nearly 800sq/ft of it in our house, which means… now at 5 months pregnant our bedrooms, hallways, and main staircase are down to the subfloor and we have a baby on the way. So…. A whole new freak-out has been upon me; how will we afford this? Where will we find the time to get it done? What kind of flooring do we want now? And poor hubby is left thinking “Why did I listen to this irrational pregnant women in the first place, the carpet was perfectly fine!”  Regardless, this is where we are at, and I am ready to nest… but I have no nursery to nest in, AND it’s another two week wait for the hardwood that we ordered for the floors. I have maintained a steady stream of purging, getting rid of hard cornered coffee tables, and pretty home accents that in the hands of a child morph into dangerous weapons, this is sensible right? I know my husband thinks I have gone sort of crazy, except for the fact that I have sold most of my purged goods to fund some of the baby expenses. (Bonus!)

My plans were to keep this blog updated so I could adequately document the stages of this pregnancy, however, with all this stress (and working 12hr shifts) there has been so much else to think about. Besides all that, up until now I have felt sort of silly connecting with this pregnancy.  What I mean is that I love the idea of talking to and caressing my belly, but for the first four months I just felt like a chubster talking to my rolls (If you have been pregnant before I am sure you know what I mean).  I could have acquired the pregnant waddle in the first stages too (God knows my back pain warranted it) but then I would have left people wondering what I had stuck up my a**, it just isn’t the same without the belly! I have driven by the empty “women with child” parking spot many times, but felt too silly and capable to use it, and I still lift and pull and strain because I don’t want anyone thinking I’m a wuss. It’s only been this month that I have begun to feel ‘connected’ afterall my belly has extended past my breasts, and the faint marks of distress on my skin make it hard to ignore. Hubby has also taken an interest in reading childrens books to my bump, and baby responds with forceful pokes from within my belly.  Oh… and how can I forget the sleepless nights, I was thrilled to begin a month of night shifts in the new year, only to find I can’t sleep during the day either! Not to complain, but this growing sac of fluid in my belly feels like a second bladder and all I want to do is pee, even when my actual bladder is empty. When I lay down on my stomach (as I am used to sleeping) it feels like there is a lump between my hips, and when I side sleep (as recommended) my belly tilts toward the bed and strains my ligaments in an uncomfortable manner. The worst of it all is the restless leg syndrome that I seem to have acquired so even when I am comfortable my leg can’t stop dancing across the bottom of the bed. My overly cuddly dogs have even noticed, as they now avoid my side of the bed altogether.

On the bright side (and with pregnancy its always brighter), I have been scouring buy, sell, and swap sites and have scored the majority of my baby goods for less than $1500, which has so far translated to a savings of over $2500. Gathering everything from vintage/antique pieces to modern day new and unused items, but of course it’s difficult to fully appreciate when they are piled upon each other in our storage room anxiously awaiting the hardwood floors in the nursery. 

So this is where I am at; living in a construction zone, getting bigger by the day, and emotionally unstable (did I mention that part?), but I am wearing a smile, because this little “Bean” is a blessing in the truest form, and we are building a solid foundation in which to raise it… regardless of which gender is revealed on Jan….

Haha, and you thought I was going to tell you!!!!

Much love,

Lesleigh