Baby girl on the way: Care Package!

I have a dear friend who is bringing a beautiful baby girl into the world in a few months. Putting together a sweet little package for her was so happy! A few things are hand-me-downs (which she knew were coming), but lots of love was put into it.

From top left, spiraling in clockwise:

1. A few fun little maternity clothes.
2. Pride and Prejudice notecards
3. A sweet little notebook for whatever she may need.
4. A darling little outfit for her new baby girl
5. Cherubalm! This not only smells amazing (chrism-scented!), but works beautifully for diaper rashes and eczema.
6. A Little Unicorn swaddle. I love these for so many things, the obvious swaddling, a nursing cover (I don't otherwise use nursing covers, so I like having a lightweight blanket if my shirt is not as nursing friendly as I originally thought!)
7. The Breastfeeding Book. Some of you may recall that I pumped for the first year of my eldest's life. I am grateful I was able to do that for my preemie, but I hated it so much, so I was really, really hopeful that breastfeeding would work with my second babe. This book brought me so much peace! It is incredibly practical, with diagrams, explanations of most common issues, etc.
8. A super simple, soft pilot cap. I just love how sweet these look on little babes!
9. Babylegs. I like to keep a few of these around for baby gifts because they are so fun, and useful! I love them especially for the crawling stages (to protect those little knees) and potty training. They do make diaper changes super simple, as well!
10. A couple pairs of sweet shoes we had accumulated, but never gotten any use out of. I think one pair is pediped, but that's all I know on those.
11. "Count it All Joy" print. I love this so much, I'm ordering another for our gallery wall. My friend having the baby has always found so much joy in everything, it just called to me as being right for her.
12. A teddy... because every baby needs a cozy little teddy. I'm sure she will have plenty of sweet things to snuggle, but I felt like it completed the box.

Welcome to my week...

I reread the Hobbit for the first time since 4th grade... it went much faster this time.

Anni actually went in the potty four times... three of which she told me beforehand that she *needed* to go, and none preceded by an accident.  We may be taking a step forward in the potty training world!

I had to scrub the entire bathroom down with bleach yesterday.  A) I hate using bleach.  B) It was necessary.  C) You can throw your shoulder out plunging a toilet... just a forewarning.

I got sick with a nice, basic cold.  That basic cold made feel like death warmed over the first night, migraine included, but has actually been pretty mild otherwise, which is awesome because normally it takes me several weeks to get past a cold.

I'm putting together a couple "boxes of sunshine"; however, it seems all the people I'm putting them together for have necessary dietary restrictions (gf/low sugar etc)... so any thoughts on adorable (yellow & happy) things to include would be lovely, as most examples include a lot of candy.  

My sister will be having her little guy any day now!  I'm still amazed by the amount of things she gets done being 40+ weeks pregnant (there is no procrastination bone in her body... I think I got hers in addition to mine).  We were pregnant at the same time during my first pregnancy as well, so I always know I can start my countdown once her baby is born (her third baby and my first - Nugget- were supposed to be born 12 weeks apart and ended up being only six, but these two are supposed to be six weeks apart... so I'm hoping for at least a few more weeks and some time to soak in her sweet little boy's pictures before Lil' Bit makes her debut). 

We've started house hunting!  That's about it... as we have really *just* started, but we're hopeful and excited.

And, just a few of the things on my menu for the week (you can skip this, but I love when people post their menus... it gives me ideas to mull over for the next week): Meatless WW Lasagna & Bread (making an extra with meat to freeze!), Homemade Sloppy Joes (We leave out the brown sugar and replace half of the ketchup with bbq sauce...mmm...), Stew (the best for basic stew because it's so easy to customize and add extra veggies we like... and remove the mushrooms that we both really, really don't like), Cottage pie, Zuppa Toscana (I replace the cream with half and half sometimes... it's delicious both ways!), Chicken Pot-pie Soup (trying for the first time!), Brinner and some kind of chicken and rice casserole.  Yum.  I always love days when we get back from the store, because Anni and I sit down and eat fruit almost immediately (fruit goes fast in our house and seems to run out about a day or so before we can make it to the store again).

I had a newborn shoot pop up this week at the last minute, which meant randomly having a backdrop set up in our living room for a few hours.  Anni got to be my light tester, and while she mostly pulled the backdrop down and tried to lie face first on the ground (it is a pretty soft backdrop in her defense), we pulled off a couple of sweet photos in the space of five minutes. 

There you have it.  A pretty average week in our household.  My goal for today is to love my family and make their day special with a clean house and yummy dinner... barring that, I'll at least try to keep my pregnancy hormones reigned in and be a cheerful wife and mommy :). 

Pregnancy Care Package 101

When a dear, sweet friend let us in on the fact that she was 20 weeks along in her pregnancy, I knew I wanted to send her a box of random goodness.  By the way, you know who you are, and while I don't think you read this, I'm giving you fair warning that this could ruin your surprise if you haven't gotten the package yet!  I remember feeling very lonely and overwhelmed amidst the insanely excited emotions when I was pregnant, marked by the fact that I was utterly sick.  And while I know she hasn't been sick, I do know that no one can refuse a box of happiness.  After doing a few searches for pregnancy care packages, I got a mix of things, but nothing that really called to me or my budget.  So... here we have it!

Like I said, a whole bunch of randomness.  I combined my research with some discussion with my sister (who, having had three littles, is pretty qualified on such things) as well as a couple of fun things I had tucked away to give away at just the right time.

The contents include:

Kleenex: I always had the sniffles when I was pregnant, and even without that, I cried all.  the.  time.  Hello, trailer for Blind Side, you can make me sob uncontrollably for 20 minutes. 

Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix: I could have made cookies and included them, but I figured this was a great way to satisfy the munchies when the time actually came.  What can beat fresh chocolate chip cookies right out of the oven?  I can tell you, cookies never made me throw up :). 

Peppermint Tea: Loved this for nausea, but also just for something hot and soothing to drink when the heart burn got bad near the end.  Things on the ginger and lemony side of things also help if you have a friend struggling with the nausea (I would just smell our bottle of lemon juice on bad days... weird, yes?  Worth it for a few seconds of relief?  Yes.)  That being said, if you have a friend who is really, really, sick, tell them to go talk to their doctor for some medicine to help.  I really wish I had!


Burt's Bees Chapstick: This is kind of self explanatory, but I especially recommend it for labor.  When I went into labor early I had absolutely nothing with me but my camera and the clothes I was wearing, and the thing I wanted first was chapstick! 

Notebooks: Yes, I just noticed the clearance sticker!  I promise I took that off before I sent it, but the notebooks were just so cute, I don't think she'll mind that they were on sale :).  There were a set of three in here, and I figured there are so many good uses: one for journaling, one for the "baby's born call list" and other necessary lists and the other, well, I'm sure she'll figure it out :).

Hop on Pop: I had to throw in a few little things for her sweet girl!  This has been Anni's favorite book since she was very, very little, so I decided to include that as well.  Any fun book will do, of course, but I love Dr. Seuss board books, because they are super sturdy, fun at any age and a little shorter for shorter attention spans :).

Frame: I included a little frame for her sonogram.  If I had been thinking, I would have printed the one she sent us all to put in it, but I wasn't thinking as I packed up (and my printer is now gone), so maybe next time!

See that adorable little onesie?  I love it!  I had been keeping an eye out for something that wasn't crazy pink and found this on zulily and loved this for her!  It's definitely a red color, which is one of this lovely mama's favorites.  (PS If you join zulily via the link above, I get a credit when you make your first purchase... so this isn't me begging, but if you haven't joined, I'd love it if you'd join through my link!)  I bought it in the largest it came (3-6 mo), because she will most likely have plenty of clothes in the newborn size!

Headband: I threw in a fun little headband from bloomz on etsy that I thought would appeal to the mama's sense of style.  I think anything fun and handmade is a great addition... I mean, it's one-of-a-kind! 

Last but not least, babylegs!  We've gotten a lot of use out of these for Nugget, and I bought a big pack of them when they had a deal a few months ago just to keep on hand for baby gifts.  I tried to go for fun and funky again, but this mama definitely has a really fun sense of style and I figured she would want the same for her sweet baby.

Now, that is all taped up and sent away, but there are a few other great ideas depending on your friend's situation and your budget. 

A maternity belly band: there are lots of different brands and types when it comes to these, but in the end they are all a stretchy band to help non-maternity clothes hold out just a little longer.  I never used them because I jumped into maternity clothes early on (pregnancy made me so very bloated!), but I've heard amazing things about them from other mamas.  Target had them for 16.99 today, and I think you can find them in nearly any department store or online.

If the mama you are treating has had a serious craving, get that for her!  Now, if you live far away, this may be in the form of a gift card or a call to a nearby friend to pick it up, but I have a feeling she'll appreciate it either way.  On the flipside, if she has a lot of aversions (this was me!), offer to make a dinner or buy whatever she *can* get down.  Nutrition can be hard to come by when you just feel like death all the time, so being pampered is definitely a treat.  Speaking of being pampered, pedicures before or after baby are a plus (I had one a few weeks after Anni finally got out of the hospital, and it made me feel feminine again... it was my first ever pedicure!)

A pregnancy body pillow: most pregnant women I know have to use 4 or 5 pillows by the end and had I known this beautiful thing existed when I was pregnant, I would have definitely considered buying it!

Tums: ah... I went through these like crazy!  Throw some in so she'll have them on handy when she runs out!

And, there's one more company I wish I could buy absolutely everything from Earth Mama, Angel Baby.  Their products are completely safe, natural and delectable.  The great thing is they have things for pregnancy, postpartum and babies... love it!   

I think that's all I've got for now, but there are so many ways to love and encourage mama's who are pregnant or who have just given birth (that would be a whole other package!).  You know your friend better than I do, so tailor the box to their needs and style.  I can promise you, 100%, that they will get some warm fuzzies when they get it in the mail. 

If you are looking for some great ways to love on new mommies (or not so new mommies ;-)), I would suggest this lovely list from the gypsy mama.  I found it through pinterest and have been loving it for the past few days. 

Love you all, hug your sweeties tight tonight!

PS I know I mentioned a lot of companies and linked to a lot of things, but those were all for your benefit, none of those companies, except maybe Zana's Ninis (she is my sister, you know) and maybe bloomz if she follows my blog, know I exist or that I'm giving them free advertising :).  I mean, if they want to send me something fun to give to you, I wouldn't hate it, but this is just me trying to help you :).