Baby Bump: 25 Weeks !

I am officially 25 weeks today.

This is my first baby bump picture, it's also like 6am in this picture before going to work, so I am not too happy ahah.

Well... Happy Sunday!!

Think Pink Bowtique

Think Pink Bowtique

I am cursed and happy that I am having a girl. Cursed because the amount of money I am going to spend on clothes and decorations and all that will just be out of control. But happy because that is exactly what I wanted.

But I just came about this place Think Pink Bowtique...... and my initial reaction was OH MY GOD.

All i know is that my upcoming pay checks will be spent on hair bows for my daughter!

Here is their website http://www.thinkpinkbows.com/

It is a MUST.

Only $9.95 !!!! Buy it here.

ONLY $8.95 on sale!!! Buy it here

Leg Warmers only $3.95!!!!! Buy it here 


I am in love! I hope it makes your snowy day better :)

Pregnancy Problems: What does YOUR insurance company cover?

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Finally on a day off during the week, I got to call my insurance company and see what it is that they actually do cover for me when i give birth. I almost just assumed they would cover everything, but I got to thinking, what exactly DO they cover? Since I am new to this insurance and have never had a baby before, these were very important questions that I needed answered before the whole birthing process. 

Some questions that I asked (and I am no expert...I just didnt want to end up with a $10,000 bill after baby girl is born). 

My insurance is CIGNA, and these are the answers that I got. 

Do you cover the whole birthing process?

Yes -100% of it, except the $500 deductible I have to pay once I am admitted to the hospital.

How many days does it cover me being in the hospital?

48 hours from regular birthing process

96 hours from c-section

What happens if I have a two day labor experience prior the baby being born?

It is judged based on medical necessity, so it will most likely be included into the birthing/labor process of 100% paid for but it is on case to case basis.

What happens if the baby is born early and needs to be in an incubator? 

Also determined on a case to case basis. 

Do you pay for a breast pump and which one?

Yes - 100% but ONLY if you got through the company: carecentrix.com . So I called them and the process is: your doctor faxes them the prescrption for either an electric, manual, or hospital made pump and your demographic information and then the company will mail it to you. 

I hope that maybe this can help you in what you should consider asking your insurance company before the baby is born!

Pregnancy Problems: Hey Pregnant Lady, No Drinking for 9 Months!

Hey Pregnant Lady... No drinking for 9 MONTHS!

Not that I was really a huge drinker or anything but I enjoy beer a lot. I love all the fall flavors and I like to go out and have a beer, or social drinking style, etc. But now that all I can drink is red wine, it sucks.

And being 28, and none of my friends being pregnant or my husband not being pregnant (which is REALLY not fair!), it sucks to go out with everyone and be the non-drinker. I am always designated driver and even if I have a red wine, it sucks! I hate red wine!!! What an evil punishment.

I don't mind that much not being able to drink, but I do mind when my husband goes out and drinks and comes home wasted. I am not a fan. I honestly wouldn't be a fan pregnant or not. But I almost feel like its inconsiderate and like I am being left out.

I know I shouldn't take it that way as if being left out, but my crazy emotions which make me cry over stupid shit, take over and make me upset and take everything very personal.

I really am not sure how to make these emotions stop or how to feel like I am not being left out and I am sure I am being ridiculous most of the time, but it still just sucks and I am warning you fellow pregnant people, these things happen. I would honestly never feel left out or lonely in this situation, but now that I have super emo crazy things going on in my body, that changes the whole ball park, making me incredibly depressed.

Ugh!

They never mentioned things into details on how you will really feel when you hear about pregnancy!

If you have similar stories, please feel free to share!

Baby Bump Details: No Morning Sickness?!

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Don't hate me automatically for reading the title! I have had the crazy luck of having NO morning sickness at all. I don't know how or why or anything like that but not once did I ever experience it; yet.

I feel like by now it would have happened to me or I would have gotten it or should have, and I should be in the clear now at 5 months.

And honestly, up until I was JUST about 20 weeks, did my stomach really start to show. But then it came out of no where and just appeared. I am not one of those people that will be taking lots of pictures and counting the weeks. I am more about... see me before and then see me after and those 9 months no one knows what I look like.. we're all good!

I know you want to curse me out and I totally understand that! I really hope my good luck now won't change into bad luck around the time of the delivery and cause me to have the worst experience ever.

I haven't had any weird food cravings really, but I do eat a lot of pickles and jolly ranchers for whatever reason. A lot of salty foods are pretty much what I crave, but I will eat mostly anything.

I have not taken to eating like shit and only eating donuts and such. I eat a lot of fruit, chicken, salad, and vegetables. I find myself craving salads and chicken more then like McDonald's but there are times when I JUST WANT A WENDY'S CHEESEBURGER. (I have never liked them before... why I like them now randomly who knows!)

So, that's my bit of information that I will share with you today on my pregnancy. I feel extremely lucky, and can't believe it.

If you have any experiences for a first time mommy you would like to share, I would be so happy to post your experience under baby bump details!!! Please leave me a comment with your email or email at the mail me button to the right!

Happy Monday.......!

Calling All Pregnant First Time Mommies!

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I honestly know so many people that are pregnant right now, especially on their second babies. Unfortunately they are mostly just people I have known that are still my friends on facebook that I haven't seen in a bazillion years.

My point being:

I am 28 going on 29 and none of my friends are pregnant.

So my choices of people to talk to about being pregnant are...... oh slim to NONE.

None of my friends care that I am pregnant. They aren't at that point in their lives; and it is what it is, I can't expect anyone to care or want to know how I am or how the baby is or buy me baby clothes because they are excited; point blank: I am pregnant and I need to find some people to talk to about it who are going through the same thing.

So I am reaching out to bloggers. If you are pregnant or just had a baby, please contact me! Leave me a comment with your blog and email address.

I want to start a weekly Pregnant Mommy post but I need your help! I haven't had too many crazy pregnant things happen to me yet so I am not so good on the morning sickness advice or not sleeping advice.

There aren't too many groups for mommy to be's; its more about the groups of the after the babies are born groups. I just am not ready to join that group yet.

Please reach out to me if you would like to join. I would be happy to share anything that you want to write or any stories that you have experienced so far being pregnant.

Even if you check out The Bump's best mom blogs, they don't have a mommy to be blog. Or even first time mommy blogs. Anything that I could read to relate to it. A lot of the blogs are single moms, pregnant and single, or people who have kids already, etc.etc. I am talking about FIRST baby and haven't had it yet stories! This is a scary time!

Contact me if interested:
Leave a comment below with your email address and blog page!

Baby Registry Galore

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Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

I was with my mother in Buy Buy Baby for 3 HOURS! 

Holy crap.

We have over 140 things on the registry.

Who would of thought that having a baby entitled SO many things?!

And these things aren't cheap either..... Crib, stroller, car seat, bassinet, play pen, highchair, bedding, bottles, bottle warmers, clothes, blankets, bath stuff, baby food, baby food makers, breast pads, diapers, wash clothes, hair brushes, ahhh..... and thats just like 10 things!

You should see the list of stuff they suggest that you get too... and honestly, you need every single thing on that list. 

It's crazy and out of control. The amount of different choices there are for each and every thing and which brands you should get and which are better to prevent colic... like, first time mother here, how the hell do I know which brand is better?!

Good thing they have people to help you, but also good thing my best friend had two kids and I saw which brands I should use.

Some important things:

Avent:

I am choosing Avent bottles. I heard they were the best for preventing colic and controlling the air intake fo kids when they are drinking bottles. 

Graco:

I liked the Graco stroller/car seat combo the best because it was easy to install, easy to fold and easy to put together. I don't need anything complicated when having a baby I need to deal with. I most likely will not be jogging so I don't need a specific jogging stroller. This is the specific link to the stroller/carseat combo. 

Boppy:

You need this! It is helpful for the baby to learn how to sit up.

Humidifier that plays nature sounds:

This is amazing. It controls the noise regulation with nature sounds and it is a humidifier. 

Kiinde Bottle Warmer:

I definitely found this to be helpful because it warms bottles within about 2 minutes. And timing is everything when needing a bottle warmed.

Diaper Genie:

Need it.

Medela Breast Pump:

If your insurance doesn't cover it, get this brand. They are the best, and it is the lightest product.

Dreft:

Laundry detergent for baby clothes ONLY.  

Those are only suggestions, but from being there for so many hours, I felt like I can help in suggestions on what to get. This will probably change once the baby comes but for now, I would stick with these definite essentials. 

Pregnant = Crazy Emotions

Pregnancy has caused me to have some crazy emotions. Sometimes I get really sad and depressed for really stupid reasons or I get super angry for also stupid reasons. 

It is usually more extreme then normal and I feel bad for those who have to be around to handle it. Usually I take my anger out on my kids at school because they are the ones that cause it ! But when I get sad and depressed I just cry about everything. 

And I am not a crier. I usually can keep my emotions to myself but the pregnancy  emotions are making me all up and down and not sure how to feel. It's always extreme. 

My poor husband. 

Today was definitely one of those low days. 

Post Winter Break Teacher Blues

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It's definitely been one of those crazy weeks where you come back from winter break of being off for two weeks and need to get readjusted to real life again.

I have been in definite need of this Friday alllllllll week long! Although now being pregnant Friday's have a different meaning for me. It's not going out and getting smashed or seeing my friends. Now its about going out to dinner and seeing a movie or making dinner and watching tv with the husband. Such a crazy difference. To more correctly state my life prior to marriage, I would usually be bartending tonight and making good money but this would be my 6am wake up and 5am go to sleep night where I am working almost 20 hours in a day.  I do not wish to go back to that life!

Happy Friday..... Counting down the long hours!!!!

Ps... my belly has gotten much bigger this week, actually really it seems to have grown humongous over night. Is this what happens at 5 months? Your stomach grows over night?!

It's a GIRL!!!!

Due June 1, 2014!!!!

I just love this picture for so many reasons.  Especially the arrow between the legs! Ha ha 

We found out right before Christmas. What an awesome surprise. 

Names we are liking .....

Daniela Josephine

Hailey Josephine

Gabriela Josephine 

Any suggestions? We are on the perfect name look out! 

Operation New Friends

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Isn't it nice to always believe that your friends will always be there for you no matter what?

Wouldn't it be the perfect world if no one ever moved away and you all lived in the same neighborhood?

Or wouldn't it be great if people never got jealous?

All of these things are just wishes that you think of when you're in middle school or high school or you just met new friends in college. I have never had luck with friends, especially those who were girls, until I went to college.

I wasn't one to have lots of close friends, but many acquaintances. But when I did find those girls who I actually liked, I wanted to keep them around for good. 

It's understandable but also unfortunate how you for so many years can be so close to people but once you get some miles inbetween you, its like cell phones, facebook, email, letters, etc. don't exist anymore. We are literally not in the age anymore where you just cannot contact someone; even if they move to another country. It is quite literally as simple as downloading a free chat app on your iphone. 

Twitter, gchat, gmail, skype, whatsapp, tellatalk, google talk, text messages, emails, facebook, facebook chat.  I mean, I could really keep going for hours with the amount of free shit that is out there for social media in order to be in contact with people.

The real point is: can you take the 2 seconds out of your life to ask a friend, someone who was your best friend, that you used to talk to everyday, how they are? And I am not even talking about a phone call here, because quite honestly, who really makes phone calls these days anymore? I have tried to think of one of my girl friends that I could actually call on the phone and they would answer the first time I called.... and I come up with zero. How sad. 

The meaning behind my post here is that when life changes, so does your friendship. When things don't go exaclty how everyone would like and not everyone is happy, it can really changes things in friendships. For example, money can make and break friendships. Especially when living with people and money is involved. You would think that it really wouldn't matter because hey, she is your best friend or they are your friends, but in actuality, it is not quite that easy.

There are so many factors in life that will bring friendships to a lower level. I have noticed that with my friends that have kids and move away, they tend to get very selfish. The world really does only revolve around them, their family and their kids. And maybe when I have my daughter I will start to see where they are coming from, but in the mean time? I really don't understand. 

Then there are the distances between people that causes friendships to decrease. Or the lack of contact. The facts: It is not hard to send a text message to your friend and ask how life is. It takes MAYBE 1 second to put in their name and type "hey how are you" and then it's on them to respond. Maybe even showing that you care about someone to see if they are alive if you haven't heard from them in awhile. And then maybe I see things completely different from some people who I thought were my friends.

In the end, having all these friends, sharing all these memories and experiences before you are married and entering into your own family and focusing on that, those friends who can't deal with being apart of that life, will disappear. 

I have been searching my whole entire life for a friend that would be my older sister, my best friend, like in all the girly movies on TV. And the ones I found have come and gone and then the ones who I thought I could depend on, have changed when I recently got married and now having a baby. I guess maybe I expect too much out of people, but if my "best friend" was pregnant and you are such a wonderful friend, wouldn't you maybe offer to help them move? Or offer to hang out? Or text and say how are you feeling? 

Like I said, I guess i expect too much.

I am lucky to have married someone who shares these mutual feelings with me and he is my best friend. Of course it is not the same thing as having a girl I can go shopping with or share stories about my husband when I am mad at him with, but I definitely got lucky on that end.

Now as I am 5 months pregnant and beginning to plan my wedding... this is when it really shows WHO are your REAL friends and actually want apart of this new exciting life you are creating for yourself, and then who are the people who just want to be there for the free cake and free alcohol. 

In the end, the most important part of life, is your family. Now that I have made my own little family, my relentless efforts that I took to make sure my friends knew I cared about them and how much I would do for them, is changing, while I am trying to do what's best for me.

What's best for me, and what's in the best interest of my friends who are not starting a family, are totally different things. While I can respect that, it is seemingly difficult for people who used to be my drinking buddies. Totally understandable, but it's time to find people who have the same values in life as my husband and I.

That being said.... how do people in their late 20's find new friends!?

Rough.

2013: The Year of Transformation

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It has been quite awhile since I have sat near a computer and actually wrote anything meaningful besides writing lesson plans for work. I have definitely neglected a talent and hobby of mine that I was incredibly in love with over the past four years. But life got in the way and caused me to have to find different ways to make money, which was bartending while trying to finish my master's as fast as possible. So, if you have ever bartended before, you can imagine the hours that I was working in order to make the most amount of money as possible.
And I honestly wouldn't change it for the world. It was an amazing experience and I met and worked with so many people and learned a lot of management skills and forced myself to multi-task going to school to finish my master's, working at many different schools being a substitute, and bartending as many nights of the week as possible to pay my rent, and inevitably trying to have a social life! So, my hobby of writing, really got pushed to the very very end of my list of important things in my life.

As I enter 2014, my life is 100% different from how I started off 2013. If I were to have told myself in 2013 that in 2014 my life would be like this, I would have laughed in my face! But it has been the worst, best, hardest, most incredible experience ever in my life and I would literally change nothing or want it to be any different.

I can never just change one thing about my life. It usually has to be like if I change one, then everything else needs to change as well. Every year I think has been the hardest year of my life and I have accomplished one great thing and so forth, but 2013, this year has been the BIG year for me.

2013:
Graduated, received my master's and got 3 New York State Teaching Certificates
Went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Met the love of my life
Rented a shore house
Went on vacation to Europe: Austria, Germany, Italy
Got engaged
Found out I was having a baby girl
Got Married
Moved into a house with my husband
Got my first 5th grade teacher job in the Bronx

See what I mean, I don't do anything just half assed. I make sure its all the way!
My life has went from being the single girl who lived with her friends and was just making it by from bartending and working at shitty preschool or substitute jobs to being a grown up.

My life that lays ahead of me is so exciting, I wish this baby would get here now. Collecting girls clothes and getting ready for June 2014 is like the countdown of a lifetime.

I also never thought I would find the man I would love, marry, and have a child with, ever in my life. I literally couldn't have ever been so lucky. I actually still can't believe I got so lucky. After all of these years of having such shit luck, it finally changed.

And here's to the transformation that is about to happen in life.

And as for transformation, I will be focusing on my new life: Army Wife, Teacher, Mom to Be, House maker, life.   Ahhhhhhhh who would have ever thought!!!!!!

Stay tuned.