Its a Small World

The Natural Baby Company (people who make gro baby diapers) is giving away their new Tiny Bubbles Laundry Detergent. I haven't tried it yet since I'm haven't started using my cloth diapers but I'm looking forward to trying it out! You have becareful what detergent you use with cloth diapers--bleach, fabric softners, additives (smells and such) can't be used on cloth.
Want more info on this detergent....

http://www.thenaturalbabyco.com/tiny-bubbles-p-732.html

I will just bump up this thread with each new bump picture I take so you can see the progression.
Since you can't tell yet, I just thought I would let you know it will go from top to bottom (top oldest, bottom newest). Also I choose this angle because everyone wants to see what happens to my tattoo! HAHAHA


11.17.08 (the day we found out)12.15.08 (-2 lbs from starting wt)1.12.09 (-7lbs from starting wt)2.9.09 (-9lbs from starting wt) 3.9.09 (-4lbs from starting weight)4.6.09 (-1lb from starting weight)
5.4.09 (+3lbs from starting weight) 5.18.09 (+3lbs from starting weight)
5.25.09 (+4lbs from starting weight)
6.1.09
6.8.096.15.09 (+8lbs from starting weight)6.22.09 (+10 lbs from starting weight, oh and I'm not in maternity pants!)

6/29/09 (+8lbs from starting weight, back to the regular jeans)
7/6/09 (+10lbs from starting weight)7/13/09 (+12 lbs from starting weight)

Got the tub!!!! Its a Birth Pool in a box eco-regular. Now I just need to find a ducky! haha

Here they are....

Today I started my first purchases for new cloth diaper stuff!!!! Bring on the fluffy butt love :)
I was lucky enough to find an online store that had the BRAND NEW Thirsties Duo Wrap Cloth Diaper Covers in!!!!! So I ordered 4 of them in size 1. I got the Mango, Meadow, Orchid, and Ocean blue colors. I'm SO excited!!!!!
I ordered them from an online mom's group i'm in member who has her own online store--- My Diaper Piper
I will let you know what I think of their service later. They have free shipping on orders over $45 so that was a big perk, not as big as actually HAVING what I wanted though :D

Saw a local midwife today for an appointment.....we are still alive and kicking (heavy on the KICKING!). Everything checked out fine and not even a hint of an issue. So another nice and boring appointment.

So our "guess dates" ranges between 7/16 and 7/31.

Now gender help...
Chinese gender chart says: Boy.

"test": My answer=wives tale result and
Carrying: high = girl
Food cravings: sour mostly = boy* this one is iffy I have moments back and forth but not really strong cravings.
Heartbeat: 130's = boy
Husband's wt gain: gaining = girl
Face getting round: No = boy
R/L breast bigger: R = boy
Wedding ring on string: back and forth = boy
Acne: no = boy
Pick up a Key: big part = boy
Mom's intuition: not strong but favoring boy = boy
Morning Sickness: no = boy
Nails: growing faster/stronger = boy
Hair: thicker and shinny = boy

Total votes per wives tales:
Boy: 11*
Girl: 2

Average USA baby size chart for those who don't know:

34 weeks	17.72 inches	4.73 pounds	45 cm	2146 grams
35 weeks	18.19 inches	5.25 pounds	46.2 cm	2383 grams
36 weeks	18.66 inches	5.78 pounds	47.4 cm	2622 grams
37 weeks	19.13 inches	6.30 pounds	48.6 cm	2859 grams
38 weeks	19.61 inches	6.80 pounds	49.8 cm	3083 grams
39 weeks	19.96 inches	7.25 pounds	50.7 cm	3288 grams
40 weeks	20.16 inches	7.63 pounds	51.2 cm	3462 grams
41 weeks	20.35 inches	7.93 pounds	51.7 cm	3597 grams
42 weeks	20.28 inches	8.12 pounds	51.5 cm	3685 grams
43 weeks	20.20 inches	8.19 pounds	51.3 cm	3717 grams

Well lets see what you all got! Click HERE to guess Weight/Height/Gender/Birthday......you will be asked for name of the game on the top left under guest its----- SmallBug
I am so excited to see what you all put and who is closest! Please leave a comment below so I know you filled this out (or email me/facebook me/some how let me know you did it!) There will be a gift sent to the person who wins so I have to have some way to contact you to get address if I don't have it. (to win you HAVE to fill out all boxes--don't leave one blank!)

Scored on:

Wrong gender: Birth date: Weight: Length:	400 points 5 points / hour 5 points / ounce 10 points / inch

YES! If not someone needs to explain this....

Well I have been working on it and I THINK I'm done. It may change here and there but overall I think I got what I want on here.
So check it out.....
Little Bug Registry (Multiple pages)

So I found this cloth diaper---Gro Baby (http://www.thenaturalbabyco.com/grobaby%E2%84%A2-ic-11_16.html) while doing my registry for our up coming arrival. This is a one-size diaper--which I LOVE because it fits babies for so long. It actually grows with them! So you can just do up all the snaps and it fits your infant and as they get bigger you just undo some snaps. Easy peasy! This particular brand has an organic cotton inner part--which feels great. One thing that makes this diaper kind of exciting for me to try is that they inner part just snaps in and out (so no snappis) and as long as thats the only part getting dirty thats the only part I would change. With the inner part not being huge I'm thinking this would work better for out and about days since it would be less to carry around! Plus how cute are they! LOL
I'm going to put one on my registry and give it a try. :D Anyone tried one? I would love to hear what you thought.

I had a feeling that Troy would end up with Couvade Syndrome (sympathy pregnancy) but I can't believe how bad! He has been having stomach issues for months, issues sleeping for a few weeks now, his back has been hurting him to the point he saw a chiropractor for the first time, skin is breaking out, he has been crying at tv shows/movies, he has some mood swings and gets restless thinking about the future, and last night he was up THREE times to pee! He is doing about the same amount of weight gain as I have but since thats not much I can't say thats one of his symptoms. However since he is such a great sport we did a little comparason picture (this is his bump picture)------ and his normal picture next to it



Well today he was at a training meeting for work and one of the things they were talking about was the use of ear plugs. The teacher told a story of how his grandpa just got hearing aids and went to the lake and laid by a tree and noticed the chirping birds for the very first time. The teacher then said he would be wearing his ear plugs so that he could never miss a sound----*throws up a little in mouth from sap story*. Well most of the guys in the class kind of laughed at this (as I would have been).....Troy got all emotional and was like " I wanna hear the birds chirpping!".....yep thats my pregnant hubby!

.....Don't worry troy there is a cure all! Its just going to be about another 2 months! LOL

I guess I thought the guys who got this had wives who were misserable. But not us---I don't have hardly any pregnancy issues---HE has them all. Heres to hoping that works for labor also!

Today was a good day. First I started the day with my Chiropractor! GREAT way to start a day. And then at 4pm we got our anatomy scan ultrasound. Everything is good from what we could tell. The radiologist reads it and sends the info/report to my midwife so no news is good news. And no we didn't look for gender---so we have no idea if its a boy or a girl---but its a baby!

Had an appointment today with my midwife.....baby and me are both alive and kicking, and in little bug's case rolling and punching. :D

We are heading out for a babymoon in Honolulu Hawaii!!!!! We will be gone from tue 14th till Mon the 20th (we will be going to Des Plaines post babymoon). So you may be asking what is a babymoon. Well there are two types.
1. Like a honeymoon that alows you and your spouse to connect and have some quality time together a babymoon happens after baby is born. You all just Stay in or just are alone together for a few days to learn about each other and start off right.
2. Another type is a last hurrah before baby gets here (this one is obviously the current one we are going on). It allows couples to spend some quality/relaxing time together before the late nights and lack of sleep kick in.

Email I got....

I've been teaching now for about fifteen years. I have two kids myself, but the best birth story I know is the one I saw in my own second grade classroom a few years back.
When I was a kid, I loved show-and-tell. So I always have a few sessions with my students. It helps them get over shyness and usually, show-and-tell is pretty tame. Kids bring in pet turtles, model airplanes, pictures of fish they catch, stuff like that. And I never, ever place any boundaries or limitations on them. If they want to lug it in to school and talk about it, they're welcome.
Well, one day this little girl, Erica, a very bright, very outgoing kid, takes her turn and waddles up to the front of the class with a pillow stuffed under her sweater.
She holds up a snapshot of an infant. 'This is Luke, my baby brother, and I'm going to tell you about his birthday.'
'First, Mom and Dad made him as a symbol of their love, and then Dad put a seed in my Mom's stomach, and Luke grew in there. He ate for nine months through an umbrella cord.'
She's standing there with her hands on the pillow, and I'm trying not to laugh and wishing I had my camcorder with me. The kids are watching her in amazement.
'Then, about two Saturdays ago, my Mom starts saying and going, 'Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh!' Erica puts a hand behind her back and groans. 'She walked around the house for, like an hour, 'Oh, oh, oh!' (Now this kid is doing a hysterical duck walk and groaning.)
'My Dad called the middle wife. She delivers babies, but she doesn't have a sign on the car like the Domino's man. They got my Mom to lie down in bed like this.' (Then Erica lies down with her back against the wall.)
'And then, pop! My Mom had this bag of water she kept in there in case he got thirsty, and it just blew up and spilled all over the bed, like psshhheew!' (This kid has her legs spread with her little hands miming water flowing away. It was too much!)
'Then the middle wife starts saying 'push, push,' and 'breathe, breathe. They started counting, but never even got past ten. Then, all of a sudden, out comes my brother. He was covered in yucky stuff that they all said it was from Mom's play-center, (placenta) so there must be a lot of toys inside there. When he got out, the middle wife spanked him for crawling up in there.'
Then Erica stood up, took a big theatrical bow and returned to her seat. I'm sure I applauded the loudest.. Ever since then, wh en it's show-and-tell day, I bring my camcorder, just in case another 'Middle Wife' comes along

I was looking for a pediatrician online and doing my research. Well I found a group I really like. Anyway I found a page that has all the little bio's of the doctors and here is the conversations....

Me: Troy come over and check out these bios for some doctors I'm thinking of interviewing.
DH: Ok. *looks at some pictures and reads the bios*
Me: I like this one *points*, he just looks like that lovable grandpa that you would love to visit.
DH: He doesn't look like a grandfather he isn't that old, I bet he is about my parents age.
Me: *smiles funny at him* ummmm your parents will be grandparents in a few months.
DH: Oooooh yeah

HAHAHAHAHAHA I guess I just found that as funny. Also I realized I think I hit a interesting low in my cravings. I know many women send out their spouses for their cravings at all hours of the day and night. Well I emailed one of Troy's co-workers, a man I have NEVER once met, and told him to pick me up some Sour Patch Kids while still in the USA and then to pack them in his luggage and bring them to me in the Philippines!

I ordered a stranger to pack and bring my craving to the other side of the planet! I think thats some type of record! :)

Check it out!

I'm am a very strong supporter of letting kids play in the dirt/not using anti-bacterial soaps/playing on the ground and sticking (non choking size) things in their mouth. I ate mud pies and tons of dirt as a kid, and I now have the ability (minus one bad -old jelly fish experience in Thailand-which was just dumb and I knew it at the time) to eat foods and drink water from around the world with no issues. I have a stomach of iron! Troy---well that man has spends most of his life in the bathroom! HAHAHA Now he at least takes the probiotics (bacteria pills) I got him and notices a HUGE difference!

Here is a great article by the NY Times...
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27brod.html?em

Well something about having the opportunity for my dream birth got my butt in pregnancy motion. So I have been crazy busy trying to start and check off a to do list. Here is my list so far--please add things that you think I should do!

To Do:
1. Find a Pediatrician.
2. Find a doula.
3. Find a Chiropractor for me and baby and troy if I can get him to finally see one! LOL
4. Book classes for a weekend childbirth prep, breastfeeding, infant CPR refresher and if time-babywearing/cloth diapers classes.
5. Find a eco-friendly online site to register at (the come up with a need list---remember my goal is as much hand-me-downs and second hand I can get) and find a book store to register at.
6. Find/order my placenta capsule kit (I will blog on this later).
7. Figure out how to get Birth Certificate/Social Security card for baby and then get passport.
8. Call insurance company and see if they will cover a home birth, doula, classes, breastpump, etc. (I'm sure they will because we have amazing insurance!) If not nothing changes. Also figure out what we need to do to add the baby to the plan and get it a card.
9. Update my will, get Troy a will. After talking to the two couples we will put on the will for in case we both die with minor children.
10. Troy needs to find a church and become a member so we can figure out the Lutheran baptism stuff, and also figure out the Bahai dedication stuff....figure out when we should do them. It might be alot to squeeze in before we leave so it may have to be when they are a couple months old after our first assignment.
11. Baby shower?!?! No idea how that's going to work....I have an idea of what I want. Did you throw your own or did someone else---if someone else-who and did they offer or did you ask them to? Did you have yours before or after baby?
12. Pick out a new piece of luggage for baby--I love luggage shopping! LOL
13. Get family members to take a infant CPR class (going to need it if you want to babysit! :D And just because you ARE a nurse doesn't count--we want a refresh at least!)
14. Get all birthing supplies ordered

I know I'm forgetting things....help me out ladies/guys does this sound good, what am I missing? I need the list to make sure it gets checked off because once I leave the country post baby it will be so much harder for me to do stuff.

When we decided to start trying to get pregnant- I immediately started looking for a midwife to do a home birth. Well IL state laws only allows Certified Nurse Midwives (CNM) and Doctors to do a home birth. There are a few types of midwives in case you were wondering--all trained. Anyway I did some extensive searching and found out there were three CNM in Chicago that did home births. I contacted them and found out TWO of the three were moving. UGH! And of course the one left was already booked. So that left me with no choice but to give up on the home birth, well actually we considered other states but we agreed we really want Troy not to have to work post baby for a week or two and that was only possible in IL. So I got into looking more into Alternative Birthing Centers (ABC). These can be on hospital grounds or separate--most are just like a hotel room--they have a big tub, queen bed and kitchenette in one large room. Well the stupid state of IL says ABC that are separate are illegal. (I HATE how women don't have the right to choose their birth locations/providers in some states--its ridiculous...but that is a completely different blog! LOL )
And I found ONE that was on hospital grounds and just happen to be not to far from us. So next I figured out the midwife group that was connected to them and I did get in with them!!! The group has three midwives. I really liked them. However----two days ago I find out through my online home birth/midwife/doula group in IL that one of my midwives was leaving the practice to start up her own and do home births! I was beyond excited! So I emailed her to see if I could transfer care with her. I sat up all night (till 4am) hitting refresh on my email account hoping she would email back right away. Well see didn't and I knew I wasn't going to sleep the next night if I didn't find out. So the next day I called at 10om (9am there) to talk to her. She remembered me and our story (it is unique and I'm the only one who had ever called the office asking about jelly fish stings while pregnant! LOL). Well she would Love to have us! I was tearing up when she said that....it was like a dream come true. Oh and the name of her new office----Gentle Birth Care....anyone remember why that may be so cool to me? The name of my Doula company was Gentle Birth Doulas......it was a sign! LOL Oh and I ended up not sleeping last night either--I was WAY to excited!!!!!!


And with my dream comes a happier layout of my blog---I hope it makes you smile :)

I don't think people's blog readers pick up when I update the bump progression thread so I just will add a post telling you to check it out!
So go check it out! :D

Many people have been asking us what the sex is...we are not finding out. So it will be announced when we know at birth.
Also people keep asking about what names we have. To be honest we really have no clue yet! HAHAHA Our plan is to have a couple girls names and a couple boys names picked out and see what fits the baby when its here. We are avoiding all family names and naming baby after someone, so if you were hoping for that, sorry to disappoint. We are going to try to come up with an very individual/independent name for our little bug. But we can tell you its not going to stay Little Bug Small! :D
And nope we will not be sharing our names that we are thinking of even....its a surprise also that will be announced at birth!

Well the little bug apparently is just like its parents---it loves McDonalds. Bug was just having a good old party after dinner tonight. So with all that action Troy finally got to feel some kicks (or odd dance moves hahaha). 

Well the first thing I have learned about overseas pregnancy healthcare is that the term midwife is VERY different. HAHAHA Here a midwife is just anyone who takes care of pregnant women, meaning more though in the sense of a friend helping out, they don't actually do medical care. Once I figured that out I found the local Woman's Hospital. I would show you a link but its a VERY small place. We walked by it and didn't even notice it was a hospital, it looks more like a small store. So I had previously made an appointment with a local OB GYN (the pronounce it O. B. GUY-KNEE here). 

Walked into the hospital and there was a small desk with a nurse, a closet sized billings department, a closet size lab, and a closet size pharmacy desk. I go to the nurse and thats where I do my check in (BP was 100/70!), they asked me some basic history (all of this while sitting in an area we would consider a waiting room. (so good thing I'm not shy about talking!). Once I am done with her she writes "UA" (for urine analysis) on a piece of paper and sends me to lab. I get my urine cup which is the size of the small paper cups at McDonalds for your Ketchup! And head to the bathroom--which of course has the Asian style toilets (ones with no seats that your hover over, oh and no TP) So I get my sample for them (of course peeing on hand in the process! hahaha) and take it back to the lab. You have to pay before they run the test...no problem since its $1.25 for the test. Then I waited 5 min to get the results (I need to drink more--big shock huh!?!). Next off to the doctor's office. The office is JUST big enough to have a exam table and a small desk for the doctor. We go over the usually stuff nothing to exciting. Then I get my cervix checked (nice and closed!) and get to hear the heartbeat (130's bpm). Just a routine check up (cost me $7). They did offer an ultrasound if I wanted one (it costs $4), but I declined since there is no medical reason for one, I didn't see the point of getting it. I will be getting a full anatomy scan when I get back to the states to check for abnormalities and things like that. And Yes I'm still on Team Green! (not finding out the sex) I am actually kind of surprised I don't want to know yet, I figured I would cave once we got to this point in my pregnancy. 

Sour patch kids----I want them NOW and I can't find them. AGGGGHHHHHH. We are hopefully going to Manila this weekend and I will look for them there....wish me luck!

OH! I did find a birth/gym ball though! It was in this random shop on the street that sold guitars, frames, fake eye lashes, etc. I'm just glad I found it!!!

So far Little Bug's passport includes:

1. Thailand (made in Thailand :P )
2. Cambodia
3. Singapore
4. Japan*
5. USA
6. Hong Kong*
7. Philippines


Not bad for just a few months!
*airport layovers

Well after waiting a few months just to make sure everything looks like it was going to stick around we are finally out to our families! Due in July with our first little one.
So far being tired and a little indigestion is really been the only thing going on with me...feeling pretty good. We have heard little bug's heartbeat twice now. Once at an early ultrasound I got after having some sharp pains (I have a cyst on my ovary), and the second time at my midwives appointment with a doppler. Once I actually start getting any indication of a bump I will start posting pictures. As of now I have lost 8lbs, my jeans are so big I have to wear a belt and my belt has moved inward one hole, its the best I have looked in years. Who would have known pregnancy would be the thing that would get me there, to bad it will be short lived.