No Nonsense Baby Registry From A Third Time Mommy

Oh how different it is to be pregnant with baby number three!

My first pregnancy started with me scouring the internet for hours everyday, putting a registry together before I knew anything about babies, I consistantly "ate for two" and eventually bought everything myself before the baby shower. After the baby came I pumped too early, woke her up to feed every 4 hours and had accumulated way more baby junk than we ever could have needed. Yikes! Granted I was young and overly excited. The unfortunate thing is that I believed I needed to buy everything I saw on Pinterest to keep my baby safe, healthy, occupied and loved all day.

The second time around I was a little more knowledgable. We used a lot of hand-me-downs! Although we still held onto more than necessary, at least I got to reuse some of the things we had spent so much money on and hardly any time using the first time. We lived with my husband's family and while we appreciated all the extra help they gave us, I was so stressed and couldn't help but feel inadequate because of our situation. I suffered from ppd during my baby's first couple months. 

This time around the feelings are so completely different. 

I wouldn't say I've matured necessarily, but I've definitely learned from my experiences. My perspective has done a 180. Our focus is on the baby this time. My beautiful little miracle! Our gift from God! When my first two were born, we were so surrounded by things that we thought we 'needed' that I hardly got to hold my baby. It wasn't that I couldn't, it was that we had a bassinet, crib, pack n play, boppy, bumbo, vibrating seat, swing, car seat, jumper, and probably more that I can't remember that I thought we had to use.

I missed making memories with my babies at those precious ages

because there was so much stuff 

that we knew they'd quickly grow out of, 

and I felt we needed to use them before it was too late. 

I was totally brainwashed and believed we needed at least 2 of every baby product on the market. It's kind of sad actually..

Don't get my wrong, I have so many beautiful memories of spending time with my sweet babies during their first few months! And I'm so thankful that we had the ability to take care of our growing family. We were never without necessities!

But I also have a lot of memories of the stress that comes with the clutter of unnecessary things. 

Our babies were moving through stages so quickly during the first year, some things got used maybe once or twice (especially the clothes!). Looking back, I realize now that the money we spent on all of those "necessities" would have been better used to stock up diapers & wipes.

I'm not sharing this with you to whine about my regrets or convince you that you shouldn't buy the things you've had your eye on for your baby's nursery. I'm telling you this so that hopefully you can avoid some of the craziness that comes with owning all the stuff they say you "need" during your first or second pregnancy. Preparing for a baby is such an emotional experience! Use this time to seek the Lord and learn all you can about parenting instead of stocking up on things that will hold your baby for you. 

Even though this is my third time, I made a brand new list (I'm a list person) of what we need to get before our baby comes. My list is extremely minimal compared to what you'll typically find online but it's just right for our family. Yours may be longer and that's okay!

We'll buy:

-diapers, wipes, booty cream, baby lotion & shampoo (starting now)

-1 baby carrier (I loved my Organic Ergo.. I'll probably get another!)

-2 natural pacifiers (probably a natursutten)

-1 Moses basket (we live in a very small home so this will help me be transfer the baby through our narrow hall and onto limited floor space)

-car seat (we loved our key fit 30, hoping to get another or whatever the latest model is)

-5 onesies, 5 pants, 5 socks, 2 warm sweaters (Major major downsize going on here.)

-1 baby tub

-4 sets of cloth nursing pads

-1 nursing bra

-1 breast pump

Still have from the last baby & will be reusing:

-stroller (baby jogger city select. Just needs to be washed)

-Baltic amber necklace

-2 muslin swaddle blankets

-1 sound machine (amazing little device especially if there are other kids in the home)

I'll be making:

-1 pacifier clip (life saver!) 

-a few beanies ;)

-1 or 2 sets of mittens. 

And that's it. As the baby gets older we'll have to get a crib again & other things, but as far as I can remember, this is all we need for our first few months. I'm so, so excited to experience pregnancy and motherhood in this new way. If you found this helpful, please introduce yourself in the comments! I'd love to meet you. <3

Erin

36 weeks today!!

Here are some recent pictures from the last week or so.. :)

 We love matching!

Nicole came over & took some maternity pictures one night :)

 

 This was just a few days ago.. She's growing!

:)

Well our lives haven't been too exciting lately.. 

I have been getting a little more work that usual, which is really nice! My mom is able to watch Betsey as she is still searching for a new job, so I'm taking advantage of her spare time and scheduling as much as possible.

Betsey is growing and growing and growing! She's repeating new words, finding new favorite toys (right now she loves books and carrying her purse on her arm <3) and I think it's now official that she will never crawl again..

I think the only real excitement right now is my extra short countdown until I get my $$.. 13 more days! I have a rather large list that I've been working on of things I need and things I don't. I'll explain more at the bottom!

Babies!

Badass.

 

SMACK!

iPhone's take pretty awesome pictures.

Uhhhhhhh

Wook at my teef  :)

Biiiiiiig Smile!

Growing up too fast!

Rolie Polie Olie

Ahhhhhh it's going to be nice to finally see some real money in my account! Hopefully it lasts this time. This is my last check, so I'll have to make it last!
Bills & car stuff definitely will come first even though they're not first on the list. I just haven't been updating them like I have with the 'general' part of the list.. haha can you tell I am a list person?

So I am having a slight battle with myself right now about the ipad 2.. At first I was super excited about it! I was way excited about all the apps for the babies and I to both use, watching movies and of course the portability! But I have been realizing over the last week that my macbook is starting to have the same airport issues it lad before again..... AND it gets pretty hot on the bottom when I use it. I don't remember it always being this way. I think it's time to replace it. I have had it a good 3 years, not that long for a computer, but with all the upgrades in macs I think it'll be nice to get a new computer finally! I thought about getting another laptop, but I have decided it's time for a desktop. The refurbished 21.5 in imac's go for $1076 on apple.com! Not too bad for a mac! :) BUT, my heart it still set on having an ipad!! :( I thought a little about just getting an ipad, but this isn't possible. It might work if ipad's had been made with a usb drive by now, but they haven't...... ugh.
So here I am...  stuck in a war  of apple products. I will have the money for both, but I know it would be smarter to save it.. We'll see. If I can find an amazing deal, I might just have to get both! :)
Also I forgot to mention I'd obviously be selling my macbook, so there's $300-$400 I can take from the price of one of these! Hmmm...

Grace Smart Seat- gonna be the new seat!

Oh Matt Bomer, why must you love men?

Teething baby girl..

My poor baby girl is working so hard right now to get some top teeth! She will be one in four days and still only has her two bottom teeth, so these are right on schedule. They're definitely not coming in as easily as her bottom ones did though. With those, she just woke up at night crying a little and it was in the next morning.. This time, she's had a fever pretty much nonstop for 3 days. :( I've been treating it with Tylenol and Hylands's teething tablets, but the fever doesn't typically go right away, and of course it always comes creeping back. :/
I was trying to wait it out, let her teeth come in and fever go away on it's own, but this morning she had diarrhea also. So of course being the worried mom that I am, I called the pediatrician (bad move) just to get some advice and they wanted me to bring her in, ugh. We went to our appt at three, saw the doctor, got some interesting advice- juice probably caused the diarrhea and I should give her pedialyte. Hmmm, we'll see. For now I'll just keep her on the same routine we've been doing I think. She didn't have diarrhea after that one time this morning, but if it happens again I guess we'll give it a try.

Taking a cool bath as soon as soon as she woke up, after having a fever all night & a few hours before we went to bed. I didn't take her temp but I'm sure it was around 102-103! She was sooo hot.

Night time, we were worn out. We didn't even go anywhere ha, just tired from taking care of this teething baby!

The next day, breakfast- leftovers mixed with egg and veggies :) Dad's a good cook. She still had a fever but was getting used to it I think.

Putting her down for a nap before her dr's appt. :)

Oh hey, I'm 18 weeks pregnant!

update on us :)

I've been writing a lot lately on what I've been reading and learning about & forgetting to update on my family! So here are some recent pictures of me & my babies. :)

1- I just realized I never put an announcement up when we found out it was a girl!! :O I'm already 17 weeks along, & we found out way early, at 13 weeks at my high risk OB. They were awesome, she was very positive about it being a girl. I was so excited! Jorge was upset for a few hours ha.. but oh well! We needed a girl, we can't afford to buy all new boy stuff right now. This was definitely a blessing :)

2- She made this absolutely HILARIOUS face a ton of times when her dad would feed her! I think it was because he was making a choo choo noise when he would put the spoon to her mouth then laugh everytime, so she would laugh.. I don't know, but it was soooo damn funny!!

3- Betsey's [adorable] evil face... she was ever so slowly inching her hand toward her bow to pull it out while watching me fake cry and smiling the whole time.... brat. Haha.

4- Finally sleeping at my friend's baby shower! She was sooo exhausted afte watching everyone and everything for the first couple hours but refused to miss a second. Finally I got her to sleep and thought I would get a break, but once I laid her down in her car seat I felt so empty without a baby in my arms, I had to go steal someone else's baby! It's so funny how much I've changed in the last few years..

1-Yvonne and Jorge on her 19th birthday. :) Yvonne is Jorge's only sister; Betsey's only aunt on that side of the family! They have a tradition of grabbing a ridiculous amount of cake as soon as they blow out the candles and smearing it all over the face of the birthday person! I think it's crazy, but they have fun! This time Jorge did it to Yvonne and she wasn't having it, she did it right back haha..
2- Jorge being silly! :)
3- This is pretty much our daily routine now when I try to put Betsey down for a nap if she's not already exhausted.... FUN. Mommy-jungle-gym.
4- God she's beautiful. <3 & those are still the only teeth she has ha.. She'll be one in exactly two weeks, but I'm not complaining. Not only do I love seeing her cute gummy smile, but I don't really want her biting my nipples!

1- Betsey being naughty. She likes to shovel all her food onto her lap now........ I go "noooooo" and she starts shaking her head and smiling really big like this. :/ Also, she hates peas. I tried to give them another try that night and she practically started gagging! So dramatic for a 11 month old.

2- The view from my mom's kitchen window of her new apartment......... & YES, that's the back of my car. Parked in MY spot. Of MY apartment. That I've lived in for like SIX months. UGH.

3- Finally started reading George Orwell's 1984. I've had it for a few years, I think I picked it up before I got on a plane but didn't end up reading it. Then I heard them talking about it on Natural News Radio the other day & I was like hey! I have that book! So while I was at work the other day I started reading it. Very interesting so far.....

4- Betsey being such a good big sister & looking through the baby name book. I think she wanted to help me pick out her little sister's name. ;)

1- This was taken a few days ago, but today I'm 17 weeks and 1 day pregnant!! It's going by soooo fast. I feel a little bad that I'm not paying so much attention to this pregnancy than I was when I was pregnant with Betsey, but I think I have an excuse-- I didn't have an almost one year old keeping me so busy back then! I am eating healthy and doing the best I can. :)
2- Betsey being a big freakin kid and standing all by herself!! She is starting to walk already too, but I haven't gotten any decent pictures of her taking steps.. It's hard with my phone because she's so damn fast haha.
3- She gets so comfy back there. :) I can't wear her on the front anymore because my belly's getting too big.. I just realized I'll probably never wear her on the front again! :''''( But at least she's good back there, she falls asleep when we take nice long walks. I looove babywearing. <3
4- My strawberries! I suck big time at gardening so these are a big accomplishment! Now if only I hadn't taken the big one off too early. :/ It was still sour and I had to throw it away. It sure was pretty though!!

I'm.....

Look at that adorable face! :) She's growing up too dang fast

Okay... Some big freaking news is about to come out. I was thinking about waiting to spread the joy but I'm pretty positive no one really reads this thing anyway ha, i mean it gets a few views here and there but I don't pay attention to where they're coming from since I don't get comments or followers or anything. Soooo... since I can't handle keeping this to myself anymore, I'M PREGNANT! Yep, #2 is 5 weeks along and very much a part of the family! & No, Betsey's little brother or sister was NOT planned at all! This is a major surprise. So much of a surprise in fact, that I've spent the majority of the day at Social Services getting financial help since I'm already broke from having one kid, & I know I need to get on it if I am going to be able to start getting ready for another.

YIKES. 

I am happy though. I really am! Whenever I thought about Betsey having a sibling, I knew I wanted them to be close in age so that they would get along. Plus, they'll keep each other busy playing for hours on end when they get older. :) Also, Jorge and I don't always get along that well & I wasn't sure if we would always be together, but I always wanted my kids to have the same dad. So that makes me happy!
We had a rough night last night (Jorge and I), taking in the news.. It had us all stressed and fighting. Then of course my mom, who always wants what's best for me and Betsey, just wants me to stop giving him chances to prove himself. I would really like to come together as a family and raise these two kids together, but we have already seen how bad a team we weer with Betsey this last 9 months, and I don't know if it will work out. We fought about it last night, but when I saw him today he asked me if I'd like to move in with him and get married! That's how he is, he changes in the blink of an eye. I'm not sure putting myself and our kids in that environment is a good idea, but being a family is what I've always wanted for us. So I'm just so confused.

 

I'm pretty much going to LIVE in skirts and dresses this summer! It's like 105 out here, & I'll be pregnant in the worst of it. NO FUN.

CLICK THAT PICTURE & READ THEIR STORY! They make me want to have a home birth. But considering this is going to be another high risk pregnancy, probably going to be in a hospital to be safe.

 

 

WOW. what a gorgeous belly!

Wow. I LOVED being pregnant. I really did, I am really going to enjoy this! I just wish i wasn't in this financial rut. :( 

times are freakin TOUGH. But I'm going to be getting all the government help I can, plus Jorge's parents are going to be paying him more so he can help us. THANK GOD. :) 

IF ANYONE READS THIS THAT DOES KNOW ME, PLEASE DON'T POST ANYTHING ON FACEBOOK. (MY FAMILY DOESN'T KNOW YET.) I know I'm terrible for not telling my family first.. My mom knows but I haven't had time to get to my sisters and my dad is going to really push me to give it up for adoption and they are just so negative and stressful. Every time I get off the phone with one of them I am freaked out about money or something else, and this is a good time for me to stay as calm as possible. 

Jorge's family is good about being calm all the time, I think I'll have to start hanging out with them a little bit more. Must be a Mexican thing ;)

 <3