The Baby Cove

Maternity Scrubs

As a dental hygienist I wear scrubs to work everyday.  When I found out I was pregnant I thought I would easily be able to wear my same scrubs the whole nine months.  They have elastic backs and drawstring waists and seemed pretty forgiving....figured I'd have no problems.  Well boy was I wrong!!  In fact of all my clothes I've found my scrubs to be the LEAST forgiving, hitting me in all the wrong places and being all around uncomfortable.  I blame it on their oh so "fashionable" polyester blends.  At the suggestion of others I tried wearing them below the belly.  No go, my belly is too low and I felt like my booty was hanging out all day.  NOT a good look.  So then I tried regular scrubs in one size up.  Sure they gave me more room around the belly, but I also go more room everywhere else!  Baggy is not the look I was going for either.  After much persistence I finally broke down and bought a pair of maternity scrub pants.  It was like the heavens had opened they were so comfortable.  My favorite part is because they have a fold over panel, they will easily grow with you so no need to buy more later!  I'm currently sporting my new pants with solid colored maternity tees and a scrubs style jacket...perfect for my more casual work atmosphere.  For a more formal hospital setting they also carry tons of maternity tops in super cute tie back styles.  There's lots of colors and prints to choose from to fit all your fashion needs!  Have any other health care workers out there found some cute maternity options??  

 
Items in this set:

Grey's Anatomy maternity one-panel scrub pant at Scrubs and Beyond $28 scrubsandbeyond.com  

Landau Scrubs Empire-waist maternity scrub tops at Scrubs and Beyond $46 scrubsandbeyond.com

Grey's Anatomy maternity mock wrap top at Scrubs and Beyond $28 scrubsandbeyond.com

Barco Uniforms In Bloom maternity print scrub top- Scrubs and Beyond $31 scrubsandbeyond.com
Cherokee maternity mock-wrap scrub top at Scrubs and Beyond $20 scrubsandbeyond.com

Barco Mystic Ombre maternity print scrub top at Scrubs and Beyond $31 scrubsandbeyond.com
Cherokee maternity flare-leg scrub pants at Scrubs and Beyond $20 scrubsandbeyond.com
Cherokee Workwear women's cardigan scrub jacket at Scrubs and Beyond $18 scrubsandbeyond.com

Cherokee Rockers Mum ballet slip-on nursing shoes Scrubs and Beyond $9.99 scrubsandbeyond.com

Landau Scrubs Maternity medical scrub pants at Scrubs and Beyond $46 scrubsandbeyond.com

Hello from Momma Crab

Hi everyone, Momma Crab here!  I'm so excited to be the newest Baby Cove blogger!  My husband and I were married on New Year's Eve 2008, the perfect way to ring in the New Year!  We currently have two fur babies Kasey and Moose and are expecting our first real baby this August!!  We recently moved from Columbus, OH to Kansas City and just bought our first home together.  We can't wait to finally have plenty of room for our growing family. 

After blogging about the craziness of being a newlywed over at The Juice is Worth the Squeeze, I'm looking forward to switching gears and sharing all of our baby adventures with you!

 

Cord Blood banking

(I just posted this on my blog, but wanted to share it here as well so I can discuss with as many pregnant gals as possible.)

I'm sure most of you have seen the heart-wrenching commercials showing a precious young life being saved by the miracle of cord blood.  (I'm going to assume that you know what cord blood is for this post, and if you don't, encourage you to read this quick definition.)  Between those commercials and the few pamphlets I've received in the mail, this is what I believed cord blood banking to be: Simply put, I would pay a fee to have a company store the blood from my child's umbilical cord to be used in the event that child or a sibling develop a life threatening disease.  The cord blood could potentially cure the disease and my child.  Did you know that is partially, if not mostly, untrue?

Let me go back a step and first talk about the two different types of banking.  The first is public banking which is free, and is simply a donation you are making for someone in need to use in the future.  Private banking costs thousands of dollars and is stored for only your families use.  So just learning about CB, public banking sounds great but isn't what I'm wanting. I'm wanting the miracle blood that I can keep for my child if he needs it, which would be private banking.

I knew this was something we were very interested in, and finally took the time to dig a little deeper and learn more.  I could not believe when I found out that if I were to bank Brady's CB and at age 4 he develops leukemia, he would not be able to use his own CB  CB is not for the donator since the stem cells would genetically carry the same disease.  His potential siblings could possibly use it though - with only a 25% chance of a match, that is.  If something should happen to our baby that cord blood could assist with, the best option would be to go to a public bank where we would have a 75% chance of finding a match.  Much higher odds than with a sibling's CB.

So why in the world would people spend the money for private banking when the chances that they will be able to use it at all is so slim?  Why not donate the blood for free and let your healthy CB save another life?  The first reason is if your family has a history of disease that could be treated with CB.  The second reason is in hopes that research will eventually lead us to more options and that the blood could have greater use for the child as an adult.

I was completely shocked that my whole concept of cord blood was wrong.  This is why, like everything else, its so important to read before making decisions and assumptions.  As pregnant women we especially get sucked into concepts that will make our baby safer, healthier, smarter.  Not to say that many of them don't, but we should all be making sure that the information being shoved in our face is the full picture, not just the part that makes us feel guilty.

So, have any of you donated or banked your child's cord blood?  Are you planning on doing either?

Babies are for the Birds!

Momma Fish recently blogged about her love of shopping for baby on Etsy, so we though it would be fun to introduce you to another Etsy seller and friend of The Baby Cove, Corrie Hill.

Corrie has an adorable Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/corriesullivan) where she features a bunch of  adorable hand-made baby items. But our favorites are the precious bird-themed dresses, mobiles, onesies, and hair clips!

Have a look at some...

Wouldn't the mobiles just be perfect in a tree-themed nursery?

And a special treat for you all, Corrie hosting a promotion for just for Baby Cove readers! She will give you  free shipping on any order that is placed. Just use the coupon code "babycove" on your Etsy order at http://www.etsy.com/shop/corriesullivan. Thanks Corrie!  

Want to contact Corrie? Vist www.creativecorrie.blogspot.com or www.corriehill.com.

*Note: The Baby Cove was not paid for this post or asked to do this advertisement.

Gift Ideas

I am always looking for unique gift ideas.  As a mom-to-be I have found that my taste in things has changed.  It seems as the years go by I am invited to more and more wedding and baby showers.  Some times it is nice to get the guest of honor a little something special other than the same old blender or pack of onesies off the wedding or baby registry. 

Since my baby shower is approaching in May, I have been looking for gift ideas for the hostesses.  I think I found the perfect gift!  The Vintage Pearl has a ton of great gift ideas.  I think these necklaces would make wonderful hostess gifts.

If your looking for a special gift for the mother-to-be these would make perfect gifts!

Get their new bundle of joy's name inscribed on the necklace with their birth stone.

 
This circle of love bracelet is so precious!

If you are in need of a unique gift idea head over to their site and check them out!

*Note: I was not paid or asked to do this advertisement.  I simply found a great site and wanted to share with you.   
  

The Chinese Gender Chart

I'm sure most of the pregnant ladies out there have spent plenty of time in their early weeks of pregnancy scouring the internet for tips and tricks to detect the sex of their baby.  You can even order a urine test called the Inteli-Gender to assist you.   Most of us are so anxious to find out if we should start purchasing items in pink or blue that 18-20 weeks is just way too long to wait.  

The one thing that my non-medically-trained brain believes in and trusted from the beginning is the Chinese Gender Chart.  If you haven't seen this, it is a basic chart that matches the mothers age to the month of conception and tells you what the sex is.  You can also use it to plan for your next pregnancy if you are hoping for a certain gender.  From the beginning after I read that it predicted boy I was certain that was what I was having.  After a few more weeks of completely over-thinking it I changed my mind to girl.  At 18 weeks though I found out that in my case, the chart worked.

Did any of you use the Chinese Gender Chart?  Was it correct or not?  Do you have other methods that you believe in that can predict a baby's gender?

 

Momma Pearl: Finding Out & Telling Everyone

Since I didn't join The Baby Cove until I was already in my second trimester I thought I would do some posts to share with you the beginning of our pregnancy.

We found out that we were expecting on Thanksgiving Eve. I was spending the day at home cleaning and getting ready to host dinner at our house the next day and I just had this odd, weird feeling, I can't seem to describe it, but I'm guessing many of you know exactly what I'm referring to. I checked the calendar and saw that my period was late. "Hmmmm" I thought. "Could I be..." so I ran upstairs to take a test thinking to myself "No way... I'm sure it's just late."

Next thing I knew, I was holding an EPT test in my hand that read very clearly "Pregnant"!

I was SO excited and wanted to yell it from the rooftops! The next 4 hours were so painful waiting for my hubby to get home. I couldn't call and tell him over the phone, that would just be wrong and of course, he ended up working late that day to finish up some things for the long weekend. I was literally standing on our front porch in the cold as he pulled up that night. I rushed him inside, made him sit down in a chair and brought him the "present". He looked at me with tears and his eyes and all he could say was "Really?" "Really?", at this point I was in tears and all I could do was shake my head yes.

I fell in love with him a million times over at that moment.

Once we realized that we wanted to wait a while to tell people it was like torture. We tried to get Thanksgiving over with as soon as possible, hoping that no one would notice our "glow". (We have seriously turned into the mushiest couple since we found out!) I literally avoided friends and family both for weeks because I was scared that I would slip and say something or that they would just "know".

We decided that since we would be closing in on the end of our first trimester shortly after the holidays that as long as everything went "ok" at our first OB appointment we would share the good news on Christmas day. We haven't had a baby on either side of the family in over 10 years and it would be the first Grand-baby for each side as well.

We spent hours and hours trying to figure out the perfect way to tell our family. We decided to get both Mom's "Grandma" beads for their Chamilia/Pandora bracelets (one of my most favorite go-to gifts ever). I also made ornaments for both Moms and the hubby's grandma that said "Grandma to be" and "Great Grandma to be" and wrote the due date on the back.

 

The ornaments I made for our Mom's & Grandma

While the gifts were great, we felt that we needed to tell the whole family at the same time so that everyone knew all at once. We decided that hubby would say the dinner blessing and I'm sure whatever he said was wonderful but I cannot remember a word he said - except for BABY! My heart was racing, I was feeling shaky, I couldn't focus. I was just SO EXCITED!! After about a month of keeping this secret I was ready to burst! 

Everyone started screaming and crying, it couldn't have been a more perfect moment.

From Left: My Mom, Aunt, Cousin, Me, Mom-in-law, Gma-in-law & below - Sis-in-law

That evening we had lots of our friends over for a little after Christmas "cocktail hour" where I made toast but concluded it with "but I can't drink this champagne because.... we're pregnant"! And it was excitement and tears all over again. I feel so unbelievably blessed to have so many people in our life that are just over-the-moon excited about our precious little bundle of joy!!

Some of my oldest and best girlfriends

It couldn't have been a better Christmas and has been a whirlwind of baby excitement and preparation ever since!

Maternity Swimwear

Bathing suit season have you and your baby belly headed for the hills? The thought of putting on a two piece scarier than normal? Do you shutter when you hear the words summer, hot, or pool? Fear NOT! Here are some fun and fashionable options for your growing tummy this summer season. From the modest one piece to the belly baring bikini, there’s something for every bump this season {with a matching cover-up}

Items in this set:
Cutwork Lace Coverup, $255
Belabumbum - Maternity Tropicana Bandeau Dress (Tropicana) - Apparel, $93
Belabumbum - Maternity Ring Halter Bikini (Green/White) - Apparel, $79
Belabumbum - Maternity Ring Halter Bikini (Leopard) - Apparel, $79
Tommy Bahama - Tulle Layered Skirt (Black) - Apparel, $54

Featured Photographer: Pinkle Toes Photography

We recently discovered Michele Anderson of Pinkle Toes Photography in Austin, Texas. As soon as we browsed her beautiful blog, we just knew that we had to share some of her swoon-worthy maternity and newborn pictures with the readers of The Baby Cove.

Maternity

Don't you just love these images? The color and texture. The gorgeous, glowing moms-to-be? Such a beautiful way to capture a special time of life.

Newborns

I bet you can't look at these images without at least thinking, "awww". Try it. You can't! These photos are so sweet and touching, yet have so much interest and intrigue in them. 

But this one has to be our favorite...

Oh that soft, content little face!

Thanks Micheel for sharing your beautiful images with us! To see more amazing pictures, including maternity, newborn, and birth sessions visit the the Pinkle Toes Photography Blog!

Registering for Baby Shell

At some point every new mom-to-be has to register.  Registering for your precious bundle of joy can be quite over whelming, especially when you are first timer like me.  There are so many products and choices that it is hard to know where to start.  Most websites share their top registry items which can be very helpful, but I have found they tend to feature their more expensive items.  Are these items really the best?

One of the top items I see is the Graco Quattro Tour System Stroller.

 
It runs about $250 at Babies R Us.  I have seen other Graco travel systems for about $100 less that are very similar.  Is the more expensive one really worth the money?  I understand we all want the safest products for our babies.  Has anyone bought the Quattro Tour System or the cheaper models and what is your opinion?

Another top registry item is video monitors.  Which ones are good?  Reading the reviews aren't always helpful. 

This Summer Infant Video Monitoring System runs about $300 at Babies R Us.  Is it worth the money?  What video monitor have you registered for or used that you think is worth the money?

I would love to hear any tips or advice on registering or products that you think are worth the money.