My sweets.

Baby Losavio: 36 Weeks

The baby is about 18.5 inches long and more than 6 pounds, and gaining about an ounce a day.  The baby will be considered full-term in just one more week.  Since she is fully developed, all that she needs to do for the next few weeks is gain weight.  She should be head-down at this point, but we'll find out for sure at our ultrasound next week.  

Paul has decided to take this entire week off of work.  Part of the week we'll spend visiting with family, but we're using the other part of the week for baby prep.  We will be putting together the bassinet, laundering the baby's clothing with Dreft (which I had actually planned to do several weeks ago), and making room in the drawers and closets for the baby's things.  Since all of the clothing will be clean, I'm also planning to pack my hospital bag.

Ah, the hospital bag.  Here's what's going in mine:

Toiletries and makeup.  A girl's always got to look her best, right?  But since I don't want for my everyday makeup to be packed for (possibly) a month, I'm packing makeup samples and things that I rarely use.

Nightgown/pajamas/robe/socks.

Baby Outfits.  The cute stuff.  Because a baby is like a real live doll.

Undergarments.  The cute stuff, of course.

Baby Mittens.  Because babies like to mutilate their faces.  I might even pack fingernail clippers because I don't think that the nurses will trim the baby's fingernails.  But if God forbid we cut her while we trim her nails, at least we're at the hospital.

Gift for Joey.  She's getting a new baby doll and baby sling.  Joey will also be bringing a gift for the baby.  Maybe the Cloud b Sleep Sheep or Sophie the Giraffe.  I am obsessed. 

Boppy. 

Going home clothes.  "They" say that you can expect to look six months pregnant after delivery, but that doesn't necessarily mean that my six-month-pregnant-pants are going to fit after delivery.  It's hard to designate an outfit that won't be worn for several weeks, but whatever.

Some things just can't be packed away in the hospital bag for several weeks, but while we're at the hospital we will definitely need our camera, computer, and chargers.  I'm sure that the computer will provide hours of entertainment and distraction during labor, and will be great for communication after the baby arrives.  Although we can watch videos, email, Facebook, etc., using our phones, the laptop is absolutely essential.

Entertainment for Joey.  I'm not sure how much time she'll be spending at the hospital with us, but we cannot be chasing her down the hallways.  I'll pack some coloring books, crayons, and some books.  Her favorite TV show is also available to watch instantly on Netflix, and she likes to play games on our phones.

I think I'm done with the baby name hints.  If you haven't already guessed you'll find out when the baby is born!

Merry Christmas!

Joey's Letter to Santa

30 Days of Crumpet

Our Elf on the Shelf, Crumpet, arrived at our house the night before Thanksgiving.  He monitored Joey's behavior and reported back to Santa at the North Pole every night.  Each morning we found him in a different spot.  When Santa delivers toys to our house on Christmas Eve, Crumpet will hitch a ride home with him.  We won't see him again until next year.

He liked the living room in particular, seeing as that's where we spend the most time, but sometimes he could be found in the dining room, kitchen, Joey's room, or the office/guest room.  He especially loved the Christmas tree and fresh greenery on the mantle, but he was happy in any spot away from sticky little hands.  Here are all of the places where he's been.

Merry Christmas from Joey

After filming, Joey did indeed make Paul and me pose for pictures in front of the Christmas tree:

Photo credit:  Josephine Losavio

Photo credit:  Josephine Losavio

What's Jagermeister?

"Um, well, you know how in a fairy tale there's always a potion that makes a princess fall asleep?  And then the guys start kissing her?  This is like that, except you don't wake up in a castle, you wake up in a frat house with a bad reputation."

--Phil Dunphy, Modern Family

Dizzy Joe-llespie

I totally pirated this from Paul's tumblr:


Dizzy Joe-llespie from Paul Losavio on Vimeo.
In this go round, Joey gives her dancing skills a whirl. I took this on my phone so I apologize for the graininess and slight skips, but I promise you will be rewarded by the surprising twist at 2:44.

Baby Losavio: 35 Weeks

Baby Losavio is about 18 inches long and 5.25 pounds.  Most of the baby's physical development is complete, so for the next few weeks the baby will be packing on the ounces.  At 35 weeks we only have about a month to go.

Last week was my 34 week checkup.  All measurements are fine and everything is looking good.  Due to the holidays, my next appointment will be at 37 weeks rather than 36, and that will be the start of weekly appointments.  At the next appointment we'll have an ultrasound to check the baby's position and to estimate the baby's size.  The baby should be head-down at this point and should be staying that way.  It will be nice to get one last glimpse of the baby before giving birth.  At my last ultrasound (24 weeks) the tech switched the ultrasound to 4D for just a bit, which was really cool to see.  I hope that she does it again!

Last week I decided that I should start cleaning some of Joey's old baby things, like her car seat.  I probably should have cleaned these things before I packed them away for two years.  Take my word for it:  there was some grossness.  And I probably would have saved myself some frustration had I taken better note of how the car seat was configured before taking it apart.  No worries -- I'm confident that everything is how it should be! 

I haven't been blogging so much lately because between Joey and Baby Losavio, I am worn out.  Growing a baby is exhausting! 

How many blankets does one baby need?

Baby Name Hints

Here are all of the baby name hints that I have already posted.  See if you can figure it out!

Baby Losavio's name:
has a "boy" nickname.
has nine letters.
was not in the top ten for 2009.
means "little woman."  However, she is not "Meg," "Beth," or "Amy," and we already have a "Jo."
is of French origin.
is the feminine diminutive of one of the names of one of her grandfathers.
is also the name of a 19th century queen.
is also the name of a U.S. city.
is also the name of a 19th century English novelist, poet, and governess.


It's not:
Stephanie
Jacqueline
Dominique
Alexandria

Baby Losavio: 34 Weeks

Baby Losavio has likely turned head-down by now.  She is probably about 4.75 pounds and almost 18 inches long.  In just three more weeks, the baby will be considered "full-term." 

We started to get ready for the baby's arrival over the past week.  I've been stocking some of the essentials for the first few weeks, such as baby wash, binkies, Boudreaux's, etc.

I also ordered a co-sleeper bassinet, which, luckily, is our only major purchase.  We didn't use a bassinet for Joey and I really wish we had.  I don't know if we thought it was unnecessary or if we just didn't think of it at all.  Take it from a mom who learned her lesson:  get a bassinet, whether you borrow or buy or use a cardboard box*.  When we were expecting Joey, we naively thought that we would be able to just put her in her crib and she would fall asleep.  Um, not so much.  She didn't fall asleep when we put her in her crib.  It might have helped if we had used a white-noise machine or something of the like, but again, we didn't think about it.  So Joey ended up in bed with us.  It was not ideal, but if she hadn't been in the room with us I would have never slept.  With a bassinet, Baby Losavio will be at arm's reach but NOT in the bed with us.  The co-sleeper that we ordered is also portable:  unlike a pack-and-play, it can be wheeled throughout the house and is small enough to fit through doorways. 

Last week I was supposed to start laundering all of Baby Losavio's clothes, blankets, and such with Dreft.  If you're not familiar with Dreft, all you need to know is that it's formulated for baby's sensitive skin and it smells amazing.  Amazing.  If it wasn't so expensive I would use it to wash all of our clothes.  Well anyway, once all of Baby Losavio's clothes are clean, they will need to be put away, and that is a task that I just didn't have the energy for last week!

And now for a baby name hint:  Baby Losavio shares her name with a 19th century English novelist who was also a poet and governess.

*I do not actually advocate using a cardboard box as a baby bed.

The Cookie Monster

Ornament Envy

We decorated our Christmas tree over the weekend.  It's very toddler-friendly.  With a curious two-almost-three-year-old and a new baby on the way, it will be a while before we can have a Christmas tree filled with fragile ornaments.  I don't care so much about having a "department store tree;" I'd rather have a tree full of ornaments with meaning.  So I got a little upset when I realized that we don't have ornaments to commemorate our important milestones.  Okay, a lot upset.  I blame the pregnancy hormones.

I love beautiful Christmas ornaments, but there is a soft spot in my heart for Lenox.  I love to give ornaments as gifts, and I'd love to get a new ornament every year (hint, hint, Paul).   But we just haven't bought ornaments for ourselves over the years.  We don't have an ornament to commemorate the year that we bought our home (2007), or Joey's first Christmas (2008).  We don't have an ornament for the first year Paul and I were together (2004) or the year we got engaged (2005).  We don't have an ornament for 2009, which must have been pretty uneventful because I can't recall anything big happening.  The only annual ornament that we do have is for 2006, the year Paul and I got married.  And actually, we received that one as a gift.

Fortunately, all of these annual ornaments can be found on eBay, new or used, for every important milestone.  I bought our ornament for 2007, and I'm the high bidder on one for 2008.  I do wonder, will buying these ornaments so many years later give them less meaning?  Will it matter that I purchased these potential family heirlooms from eBay?  I hope that in 20 years I won't even remember.

Baby Losavio: 33 Weeks

At 33 weeks, Baby Losavio weighs more than 4 pounds and is more than 17 inches long.  This is what she looks like now:

It's getting really hard to be comfortable.  If I'm sitting, I become short of breath due to my uterus constricting my diaphragm.  When I stand, the baby puts pressure on my bladder.  I've also discovered the joys of acid reflux.

This week BabyCenter suggests laundering the baby's clothes, bedding, blankets, and such.  I suppose that I should also find a place to put those things...

And now for a baby name hint:  Baby Losavio shares her name with a U.S. city.

It's That Time of Year.

We got our Christmas tree today.  Fortunately we do not have the storage space to store an artificial tree.  Sure, artificial trees are convenient and economical, but they don't appeal to me.  We get a live tree each year and our house smells wonderful.

As we prepared to decorate, I baked chocolate chip cookies, made hot chocolate on the stove, and put "A Christmas Story" on the TV, you know, to get into the Christmas spirit.

Chocolate chip cookies in progress

Naked Christmas tree

Our little helper

Joey was an excellent helper.  She got ornaments out of our storage boxes and gave them to Paul to hang.  With the exception of two ornaments which are out of her reach, our tree is very Joey-friendly this year.

Our mantel decorated with clippings from our tree

Finding a place for all the ornaments

I think that Crumpet is going to enjoy finding all the new places to sit.

Junior Technophile

I bought myself a "fancy phone" for Christmas.

My old cell phone broke right before Thanksgiving, but as luck would have it, I was due for an upgrade and many retailers were offering smart phones for ridiculously low prices on Black Friday.

Joey is quite adept at using my new gadget.  It's amazing how quickly she catches onto things like this.

By the way, Joey did dress herself:  pajama top, leggings, wellies, and, of course, a tutu.

It didn't seem excessive at the time...

For years, I have bought Christmas wrapping paper at the end-of-season sales.  Over time I have bought so much wrapping paper that it's quite possible that I will not need to buy Christmas paper for many years.  Some paper I bought because I liked it.  Some paper I bought because it was cheap.  And now I'm paying the consequences.  I have a lot of paper to use and I have promised myself that I will not buy any more Christmas wrapping paper until I need it.  I am tempted to wrap every gift in a very large box just to use this paper faster, but I will not buy any more Christmas wrapping paper until I need it.  You hear that, Internet?  I WILL NOT BUY ANY MORE CHRISTMAS WRAPPING PAPER UNTIL I NEED IT!

This year I decided to go with a color scheme, in order to have a little continuity under the tree and also to finish off rolls faster.  Since I had so much of it, I decided on red, green, and blue.  Then I realized that I had so much red, green, and red/green plaid that I should save the blue for another year.  Then I decided that I should probably choose one red, one green, and the two plaids because the rolls were already partially used.  And then after wrapping several gifts, I realized that I had so much red and red/green plaid that I didn't even need to use the green paper, which was still wrapped in plastic.  So red and red/green plaid it is. 

The assortment of papers that I originally planned to use.

The papers that I actually used.

Now, the wrapping paper that Santa uses is different.  Santa's paper is multi-colored and fun, but not cheesy or childish.  Santa's paper is also top-secret.  When I was a kid, Santa used our paper to wrap gifts, which means that he must have spent a lot of time at our house.  He also put my mom and dad to work writing gift tags.  I told Santa that while I'm happy to bake cookies for him, he should probably ask our elf Crumpet to write the gift tags.

What's Going On

Pregnancy is wearing me out.  I realize that I haven't been blogging much lately, so here's what's been going on with the Losavios.

Our Elf on the Shelf arrived last Wednesday.  "Crumpet" has been moving all over the house, but hasn't caused any mischief yet.  I certainly wouldn't mind if he wanted to tidy up the house or bake cookies.  If you're wondering how we came up with the name "Crumpet," read or listen to The SantaLand Diaries by David Sedaris. 

We celebrated Thanksgiving at our home last week.  My dad and brother drove up from Daphne, Alabama, and Jim's mom Emma was with us from Michigan. 

We served:
Turkey
Rice Dressing (part of Paul's family's tradition)
Holiday Sweet Potatoes
Stuffing (my secret recipe)
Triple Corn Casserole
20 pounds of Mashed Potatoes
Bacon-wrapped Green Beans

We still have some leftovers if you're hungry. 

Last Friday was the Iron Bowl, the annual match-up between Alabama and Auburn.  It was the last regular season game and also the last home game of the year.  Unfortunately, Alabama lost to Auburn by just one point.  It was a disappointing end to the season, but perhaps next year will be better.

Paul's band, Chinese Dentist, played a gig on Friday night.  The band has been together for a looong time, but rarely practices or plays a gig these days.  Only three of the five members still live in town.  They are able to get together about twice a year to play at a local bar, usually The Booth, Egan's, or Little Willie's.  Since the bar would be smoky, and I didn't want to catch any flack for being pregnant in a bar, I opted to stay home.  Check out some of the photos taken by a local photographer.

The demolition of the old Tuscaloosa County High School, which is practically in our backyard, is nearly complete.  I blogged about the demolition here and here before I got bored with it.  I'll post some pictures of the aftermath within the next few days.

I had my 32-week prenatal check-up this week.  Baby Losavio's heart rate is good, my weight gain is "perfect," my belly is measuring normal, and my blood pressure is good.  Everything is looking great.

So there is our week in review.  I hope that you have been having a good week.

Baby Losavio: 32 Weeks

Wow, 32 weeks.  This week Baby Losavio weighs about 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long.  Since last week, that's a gain of almost half of a pound and more than six inches!  More than six inches in a week!  I think that's incredible.  The baby will gain a third to half of her birth weight over the next seven weeks.  My belly is about to get a lot bigger!

And now for the baby name hint of the week:  Baby Losavio shares her name with a 19th century queen.

November 27, 2008

This is Joey two years ago today.

It was her first Thanksgiving.

She was nine months old.

Look at those teeth!

I ate WAY too much today.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Lauren's Pregnancy and Baby Picks: Where to Find a Deal

After 1 3/4 pregnancies, I somehow became the resident expert on pregnancy among my friends.  Not really, but my newly pregnant friends have lots of questions about maternity clothing, pregnancy, essential baby items, etc.  So I figured I would share my knowledge in a blog post.  Five, actually.

This is post five of five.

Where to Find a Deal: 
I do not like to pay full retail.  I don't negotiate for a better price in Target, for instance, but it's important to me to comparison shop and to use coupons when available.  I (heart) Amazon, and often find that I can get great deals there, but K-mart surprisingly has lower prices for many toys.  And the sale/clearance prices at babyGap are almost always lower in store than online, so support your local Gap.  My point is, be an educated consumer.

These daily deal sites offer one baby or maternity product each day until it sells out:
Baby Half Off
Baby Steals

These flash sale sites have limited time boutiques:
Gilt Groupe.  Gilt has children's clothing, toys, and books for limited-time sales at up to 70% off retail.  Keep your eyes open for free shipping promotions, such as for inviting 10 friends to join.  When a friend that you refer makes their first purchase, you get a $25 credit.
Zulily.  This flash sale site is geared exclusively toward moms and kids.  Find clothing, shoes, toys, etc. for a fraction of retail value.  Refer your friends and get a $10 credit when they make their first purchase.

Coupons:
Ebates.  Sign up for Ebates.  Before you visit a website to shop or make a purchase, access the site via Ebates.  You will earn back a percentage of your purchase.  Ebates is also a reliable source for online coupons.
RetailMeNot  Before you make a purchase online, check RetailMeNot for coupon codes.  I also check this site whenever I order pizza.  Because I do order pizza online.  The Domino's Pizza Tracker makes me happy.

I like to enter giveaways.  I've even won a few things.  Here are my favorite bloggers who like to give things away on a regular basis:
Feisty Frugal and Fabulous
Freebies for Mom
Melissa & Doug
Mompetition

These bloggers find deals and share them:
Baby Cheapskate keeps track of hot deals for baby necessities, toys, etc. 
Birmingham Bargain Mom
The Budget Mommy
Hip2Save

What are your secrets for scoring great deals?

Also see:
Maternity Clothing
Stuff for Mom
Stuff for Baby
What to Bring to the Hospital

Sticker Face