June 2012 Month in Review

Due to feeling crummy and a 10-day trip to the east coast, I only managed to publish a handful of posts this month, but in case you missed one, here's a quick summary.

This month, I shared the news that we are expecting a new cotton bottom in our household in January, and I started writing weekly (sort of) pregnancy updates: Week 9 Week 11

And then, since pregnancy has been at the front of my mind/life, I also shared a guide for newly pregnant mamas looking for some guidance. For women trying to avoid pregnancy, I posted some info on birth control options, which was actually educational even for me as I was researching.

I also shared photos from our precious family photo shoot.

Although the only craft post this month was my SIL's sweet handmade cards, do not think that I've been slacking off in the sewing room. Just 30 minutes ago, I packed up a HUGE sewing project to be sent to a friend in Texas. I started it in February but did like 70% of the work this month. I've also been busy putting the finishing touches on our family room, which I will be ready to share any day now. Don't you love a home renovation reveal post? Me too!! Get pumped. I am starting to feel like myself again and am revved up for an exciting and productive July! Have a great weekend, all!

Bugabug Week 11

Weeks pregnant: 11

Weight: 132lb (gain of +4)

Waist: 31" (gain of +3") when measured at night. There is hardly a bump in the morning, but by evening, my belly looks huge!

Baby size: lime (1.6", .25oz)

Physical stuff: The nausea peaked around 8-9 weeks and has been easing up since. It is still bad at night from about 6pm, but during the day I feel pretty good as long as I am eating enough, especially protein and carbs.

Emotional stuff: It has been fun to find out about other expectant moms. I recently found out about 5-6 other moms who are due within a month of me, so that is super fun.

Nursing/boobs: I've been trying to disassociate nursing and sleep for Penny, and we are making good progress. As I said in my last update, I will wait until August or September to wean her, but I am taking some steps now to make the transition easier. She nurses upon waking, before nap, and before bed. For the nap and bed nursings, I have been laying down with her in her room, nursing for 5-10 mins, and then laying with her while she settles herself and goes to sleep. For the last month or two, she typically spends somewhere between 5 and 30 minutes tossing and turning and moving around before she actually falls asleep. During this time, I just lay at the edge of her bed and pretty much ignore her. If I leave the room, she freaks out, but if I just lay there, she soothes herself to sleep. I've now started nursing her in another room before bed, and then going to her room with her and laying with her while she settles herself. This is working well for nighttime. I haven't tried anything different with naps yet because I think it is easier to make changes at night first. Naps are more precarious, and I'm afraid if I change too much with naps, she just won't nap, and I love that time to myself. Nipple soreness has definitely eased up, thank goodness!

Baby prep: Nothing.

Birth prep: Nothing really. My first birth center appointment is next week. I think I am leaning away from hiring a doula this time around. I loved my doula with Penny, but in a birth center, I feel like I might not need that extra advocate, but we'll see.

Gender stuff: Same as last time really, boy feelings mostly, but still picturing another girl at times. I don't know what that means.

Pregnancy 1 vs 2: I think I have gained slightly more weight at this point, but I started off about 5 pounds lower this time around. Either way, it's pretty miniscule of a difference.


Other: I am trying to decide whether to do a Belly Book again this time around. I made one for Penny, and it turned out so freakin' cute. It was fun to do, but super time consuming. Josh says not to do another one because it was a first baby thing, but I wonder if bugabug will feel left out, and I sort of want to commemorate and celebrate this pregnancy just as much. What do you guys think? Advice please!

Pregnant Mama's Guide

It's a good thing that pregnancy is 9 months long. With Penelope, I had such a journey from the time I found out I was pregnant until I delivered. There was so much for me to learn, and I'm so glad I took the time to learn it. Here's my little guide to newly pregnant mamas looking for direction.

1. Rainbow Light Prenatal Vitamins. I started out with an OB last time around, and at my first appointment, they gave me a bag of prenatal vitamin samples. I brought the whole bag to my naturopathic doctor to get advice on which ones were the best. Her answer: none of them. As she read the backs of each package, her reactions ranged from "oh, absolutely not" to "this one is terrible". Well, there might have been one that she said was only moderately horrible. Those vitamins were full of artificial colors, high fructose corn syrup, and any number of questionable ingredients. Also, some of them combined fish oil and prenatals, but none of it was refrigerated, which means it's probably rancid fish oil. Yuck. She recommended Rainbow Light, and I have since had another completely unrelated (but equally awesome) healthcare practitioner recommend the same brand. You can get them at Whole Foods, but they're less expensive online. Buy them in bulk if you can, as I've heard that it is a good idea to take a prenatal the whole time you're pregnant, breastfeeding, and really during your whole childbearing years. Also, vitamin D and fish oil have been recommended to me as important during pregnancy as well. Talk to your healthcare provider about the details and whether they are right for you too, but make sure you get reputable brands. Fish oil is supposed to help with baby's brain development and should always be refrigerated.
2. Childbirth education. This is so vitally and incredibly important. There is so much to learn about our bodies and the birth process, and so much to relearn about real birth, not media-hyped birth like you see in movies. In my opinion, you can skip the hospital class–I took one, and it was not only a waste of time and money, but I think they can actually be harmful. They make us more afraid of birth and less afraid of interventions, which I guess makes sense if the hospital wants to maximize its profits. I guess I can't speak for every hospital class–maybe there are some good ones out there, but I think you will get more bang for your buck and be more likely to get good information elsewhere. And if you're considering a hospital class because you want to tour the labor and delivery unit, I think most hospitals offer free tours periodically without having to take a class. My advice is to choose a class taught by a neutral third party–someone who has no vested interest in the hospital and someone who is teaching because he or she is passionate about the subject matter. We took Bradley, and I was mostly happy with it. I do think the program could use a facelift and a little more updated information, but it certainly is comprehensive and did the trick for me. It heavily focuses on the relationship between the birthing mom and her coach, and it prepares you to make informed decisions about your birth, whether that means a natural birth or a birth with interventions. It is also 12 weeks long, so plan ahead! I have heard great things about Brio Birth, which is relatively new childbirth education program and seems to combine some of the great things about other programs with very current information. There are also some hypnosis-based programs (hypnobirthing and hypnobabies) that have good reputations. I know several moms who used them with great success. Lamaze is another popular option, but I'm honestly not so sold on it, so I personally would recommend one of the others I mentioned. I am incredibly passionate about childbirth education, and one of my newer dreams is to become a childbirth educator myself at some point.
3. Read. If you're an avid reader, read lots of childbirth preparation books. If you don't like to read, at least read one book. And if you just read one, make it be The Thinking Woman's Guide to a Better Birth. Some of my other favorites are listed in my astore. There are also some great documentaries about birth, like The Business of Being Born and Pregnant in America. Both are streaming on Netflix.
4. It's never too late to consider changing care providers or birth setting. I switched to a midwife at 32 weeks in my first pregnancy, and I'm really glad I didn't talk myself into staying with the OB out of concern that it was too late to switch. The more you learn, the more questions you will have for your provider. Trust your gut, read between the lines of his/her answers, and do your research. Statistics on episiotomies and c-sections for care providers are available online. It may take some digging, but this is another area where your childbirth preparation teacher will be a valuable resource. In my opinion, if you have a normal and healthy pregnancy and you want a natural birth, you will be better served by a midwife. Of course there are some terrible midwives out there and some fantastic OBs, but for the most part, a midwife is a better bet for a normal, natural birth. OBs are surgeons and experts in female reproductive pathology. Assisting in normal births is an under-utilization of their skills, and many of them have never even seen a peaceful, natural birth. But the bottom line is that no matter which care provider you choose, it is never too late to reevaluate your choice and reconsider your options. Your birth means so much more to you than to your care provider. You will remember it forever as one of the most important days of your life, and to your care provider, yours is likely just one in a string of many births, so choose wisely and don't be afraid to stand up for yourself.
5. Consider used baby items. If you go into any baby thrift store, you will see rows and rows of baby gear items: bouncy seats, bumbo chairs, swings, etc. etc. Most people put lots of items like this on their baby registries and get them new, but you can get some really great deals on gently used items. Save your baby registry for things that you can't find used or really want to be brand new. So many baby items are just used briefly and then discarded–the cost and the environmental impact is huge. Also, many toys and baby items are made in countries where child labor laws are nonexistent or not enforced. I hate the thought of children in other countries working to make stuff for my kid. By buying used, I am not supporting those companies and decreasing the demand for new items. Now I pretty much only buy used clothing and toys for Penelope. Check to see if there are any baby thrift or consignment stores in your area. Some of them have maternity sections too, and maternity clothes are another great thing to find used! I really wish I would have had access to more used baby stores during my pregnancy–this is definitely a "I wish I knew them what I know now" moment!
6. I have talked about EWG's skin deep cosmetics database before, but it is worth mentioning again. What a fantastic resource! It has over 74,000 cosmetic items listed with ingredients and ranked by hazard level. It can definitely be overwhelming to start looking up your beauty products, but pregnant women are more susceptible to chemical toxicity, as that itty bitty fetus can only handle so much. It's definitely worth looking through. If you get overwhelmed, figure out which types of products you absolutely positively cannot live without and then consider replacing just your vital products with low-hazard choices. Or make your own. Pinterest and google are great resources for these things. Every little bit helps.
7. On a similar vein, beware of off-gassing. New furniture, cleaning products, new plastic items, vinyl, craft items/supplies, new mattresses/pillows (especially the foam or memory foam ones), candles, air fresheners, paint, and home improvement supplies are all common offenders. If it's a man-made product and has an odor, chances are it's not good to breathe it in. We just don't know how much the fetus can handle, so staying away from these things is a reasonable thing to do. Use it as an excuse to spend a couple days at the spa while hubbie renovates the nursery! ;) And if you're stuck somewhere with potentially hazardous items (like a candle or air freshener at a friend's house), just blame your nausea or sensitive sense of smell. "Do you mind if we blow that candle out? I am just so sensitive to smells during this pregnancy!" Heh heh.

That is all my tired brain can come up with right now. I will do a second edition if I think of more. Or if you have questions or other advice to add, please leave a comment. Happy pregnancy to any pregnant mamas out there!

Choosing Birth Control

I was recently helping a friend navigate birth control options, and I realized this would make a great blog post. How do any of us choose which birth control options are the best? I know I never had any great guidance in this area as a young adult. In fact, any advice I ever got about sex and birth control was pretty terrible advice, looking back. And even my doctors never really gave me much information. They were all happy to write prescriptions for me, but never once did a doctor actually talk to me about options and their effectiveness. Perhaps midwifery care is different–I have not needed birth control since being in the care of midwives, so I have no personal experience in that respect. This post presents my opinions and research on birth control. It is not meant as a substitute for medical advice. Rather, I hope it may incite you to do more research of your own, take an active role in your health, and engage your health professionals in conversation about your options.

When looking for information on birth control options, there are two important things to keep in mind:

1. The first is whether the method protects against STDs and pregnancy or just pregnancy. Most methods just protect against pregnancy, not STDs, and some STDs are fatal. I am not going to get into STD-prevention too much except to say that unprotected sex with someone also means having unprotected sex with everyone they have ever had unprotected sex with. 
2. The second is the failure rate of the method. You will usually see two failure rates: typical use failure rate and perfect use failure rate. The typical use failure rate represents the percentage of people using this method who will get pregnant in a year with typical use. In other words, your average person using this method with human error involved. The perfect use failure rate represents the percentage of people using this method who will get pregnant in a year if the method is used absolutely 100% perfectly, i.e. in an ideal, perfect world. I think it is better to consider the typical use failure rate, as none of us is perfect, and it isn't realistic to expect that we will never, ever make a mistake. Also, the typical use failure rates come from actual people using these methods in practice, while the perfect use rates come from laboratory statistics. Sometimes you'll see the failure rate, and sometimes you'll see the effectiveness rate. For example, you may see that something is 98% effective, or you may see that it has a failure rate of 2%. They both mean the same thing–just different ways of looking at it. For consistency's sake, I will use failure rates in this post, but you can convert from effectiveness rate to failure rate by subtracting from 100 (i.e. 100 - 98 = 2).

I really love this chart from Wikipedia for comparing birth control methods. I know Wikipedia isn't always the best source of information, but in this case, I think it's pretty fantastic. It has every method I can think of (and some I had never heard of–cycle beads?), and it gives both types of failure rates, type of BC (i.e. behavioral vs. hormonal, vs. barrier), how it's implemented, and how often it requires action. It gives references for every failure rate mentioned. I also really appreciate that it distinguishes between sympto-thermal and rhythm methods, as many charts of this nature combine the two, and you can see that their failure rates are hugely discrepant (1.8% vs 25%!).

OK, using that chart, let's look at a few of the popular choices. The pill is far and away the most popular method of birth control in the US, especially amongst the under 30 crowd. Let's take a look at the pill. Typical use failure rate is 8%. What exactly does that mean? That one out of twelve and a half people using this method in typical use will get pregnant in a calendar year (even though the pill is purported to be 99.7% effective in a perfect world, which would mean 1 out of 333 would get pregnant in a year). To me, that is not good enough. Of course, I had lots of other problems with the pill, so it wasn't a healthy/safe method for me, but besides that, it doesn't meet my criteria for effectiveness. Let's look at a few more:

The pill: 8% failure rate, 1 out of 12.5 will get pregnant in a year (same for the patch, the ring, and the minipill)
Condoms: 15% failure rate, 1 out of 6 will get pregnant in a year
Mirena IUD: .2% failure rate, 1 out of 500 will get pregnant in a year
Pulling out: 27% failure rate, 1 out of 3 will get pregnant in a year
Sympto-thermal: 1.8% failure rate, 1 out of 55 will get pregnant in a year*
Tubes tied: .5% failure rate, 1 out of 200 will get pregnant in a year
Vasectomy: .15% failure rate, 1 out of 667 will get pregnant in a year
The implant: .05% failure rate, 1 out of 2000 will get pregnant in a year
The shot: 3% failure rate, 1 out of 33 will get pregnant in a year
Lactational Amenorrhea/Ecological breastfeeding (6 months postpartum only): 2% failure rate, 1 out of 50 will get pregnant in a year

*a note on the sympto thermal method: I am pretty sure this stat is with abstinence during your fertile window, as using a backup method during your fertile window would reduce the effectiveness to whatever the effectiveness of your backup method is. For example, if you use condoms during your fertile window, then your failure rate would be 15%.

There are more methods in the chart, but I just chose a handful that I think are most common. I think it is interesting that the Mirena is more effective than getting your tubes tied. I never would have guessed that. Looking at these rates, it doesn't seem to leave a lot of good options for young people. It is my understanding that IUDs are typically only recommended for women who have had a child already. Some of the other highly effective options are permanent, which obviously wouldn't be good for someone who might want to have children in the future. The implant and the shot would require procedures at the doctor's office, which may be fine for some. In terms of the choices that the patient can manage herself, the most effective is sympto-thermal, followed distantly by the pill, condoms, and pulling out.

There is also the option to combine methods. I'm going to explain how to calculate the failure rates when you're dealing with two methods, but if the math makes your head spin, just skip ahead to the examples. First, convert from a percentage to a decimal by moving the decimal two places to the left. So 2% becomes .02, .5% becomes .005, .15% becomes .0015, 15% becomes .15, and so on. Once you have the decimal values for both methods, multiply them together. I will just choose a few combinations as some examples:
The pill (8%, or .08) + condoms (15%, or .15): .08 x .15 = .012, or 1.2% failure rate, 1 out of 83 will get pregnant in a year
Sympto thermal (1.8%) + condoms (15%): .018 x .15 = .0027 = .27%, 1 in 370 will get pregnant in a year*
The pill (8%) + pulling out (27%): .08 x .27 = .0216 = 2.16%, 1 in 46 will get pregnant in a year
Mirena (0.2%) + condoms (15%): .002 x .15 = .0003 = .03%, 1 in 3,333 will get pregnant in a year

*Just to clarify what this means: in this case, you'd be using condoms always and using abstinence during your fertile window

Keep in mind that some methods are incompatible. For example, you can't combine two hormonal methods (like the pill and the patch), and you can't combine anything hormonal with sympto-thermal, as the hormones will interfere with your fertility signs. Condoms can pretty much be combined with anything, and they also protect against STDs, so they are often a good choice as your second method, but I think it is still important to calculate your total failure rate. Sometimes combining two methods still isn't as effective as just one method, depending on what you choose. For example, either sympto-thermal or lactational amenorrhea is more effective alone than the pill plus pulling out. And mirena is more effective itself than sympto-thermal plus condoms.

One more note on math, if you're trying to convert from a failure rate percentage to 1 out of xx odds, you would take 1 divided by the rate (converted from percent to decimal), so for something with .2% chance (i.e. Mirena), you would take 1/.002 = 500, which means 1 out of 500 people would get pregnant in a year. 

Of course there are other things to think about, like cost, side effects/longterm effects, safety, how much control you have with each method, and how often you need to manage the method. I hope this provides some helpful information or something to think about. And I encourage you to share this information with others, especially young women. We need to have these conversations, even though they are sometimes tough.

Which methods have you tried? How did you decide what was best for you?

Bugabug: 9 weeks

So, yes, in case you didn't catch the hint at the end of my last post, I am in fact pregnant. Due mid-January, just after Penelope turns two. I won't say this is a total surprise because we were very much open to another baby and hoping to have them be between two and three years apart. But it was a huge surprise that it happened so quickly for us this time. We are incredibly grateful and excited, and we have affectionately nicknamed the baby "bugabug", which is one of Penny's favorite words these days. She says it to mean ladybug (and any number of insects really), but we think it's cute all on its own.

I have heard that for extended breastfeeding moms, the average period return is 14 months postpartum, and mine was just about 12 months. I think if I had weaned Penny at a year, as is common in this culture, I probably would have sworn that that was why my period returned then, but not so. I have also read that it is common for the first couple of cycles postpartum to be sort of "practice" cycles where the body isn't really ready for pregnancy yet, but is trying to get back to normal. In these cases, the luteal phase may be super short, or the cycles may be anovulatory. In my case, my first postpartum cycle had a very short luteal phase, and my second was anovulatory with a short luteal phase. My third cycle was when I conceived.

Here are a few pregnancy stats:

Weeks pregnant: 9

Weight gain: +2  My pre-pregnancy weight (127lb) was the lowest I ever remember weighing, and probably the lowest I have ever weighed as an adult. This was due to breastfeeding, as I ate like a fiend and was only moderately active. My BMI was 18.8 (I am 5'9"), and I don't think it would be good for me to weigh any less than that.

Waist gain: I haven't measured lately, but I'm guessing none.

Physical stuff: I've been battling nausea pretty hardcore since week 5. It's always worst at night, starting around 5 or 6 pm, but it's been pretty sucky all day. I will say that in the last few days, it seems to be starting to ease up during the day, but the evenings are still brutal. No vomiting, thankfully. And fatigue isn't really an issue. Penny has been sleeping amazingly lately (really hoping this doesn't jinx her!), so I am getting plenty of rest and feel pretty good on that front.

Emotional stuff: Nothing really. I do have some anxiety over becoming mom of two, but it seems so far away at this point. I am optimistic that Penny will love having a baby around. She loves playing with her babydolls, and she loves the babies at playgroup, but I do think it will be hard for her to share attention. In that way, I think it will be good to have two close together so that she won't really ever remember being an only child.

Food: Eating seems to help with nausea, but nothing really sounds appealing. Foods that seem tolerable one day sound totally unappetizing the next. I have basically thrown most of my dietary principles out the window and am just in survival mode right now. I am trying to listen to my body and give it what it wants. Ironically enough, meat is one of the things that makes me feel the best lately, so I have been eating way more meat than I would like. However, I am still strictly avoiding feed lot meat and only eating grass-fed, humanely and sustainably-raised meat. Sometimes peppermint helps. Sometimes lemon water helps. Ginger does NOT help. In fact, I think I've tried ginger for nausea so many times that I now associate ginger with nausea, and I think it makes it worse. But mostly, I think nothing really helps. Just time.

Nursing/boobs: I am still nursing Penny, and I have had very sore nipples since being pregnant. They are starting to feel better, but it made nursing brutal for a little while there. I was trying to wean, but I decided to lay off of the weaning attempts for now. I don't think I have it in me to tandem nurse (both due to supply issues and just personal limits/exhaustion), so I would like to wean before bugabug comes, but I don't think it needs to happen right now. I spoke with a lactation consultant, and she recommended waiting until at least the second trimester in order to have a better chance of a full supply with #2. She said the shorter the gap between nursing babies, the more milk you'll have. She also said that many toddlers self-wean as mom gets to be about 6-7 months pregnant, as the milk changes taste and reduces in quantity. I sort of doubt that will happen in this case, but we will see. I think I might have to go cold turkey with Penny anyway, so it can wait a few months. We also have an international trip coming up in August, and I would feel better if she's still nursing then just so that I know she's getting the good nutrition from it. I have gotten her down to 3 nursings/day and am pretty strict about it: wake up, before nap, & before bed. If she asks during another time, I tell her that she has to wait until the next appointed time (i.e. "It's not time now. You can have mommy milk at naptime."). She usually accepts this answer and will settle for a snack or a distraction. If she is absolutely beside herself and needs to nurse to calm down (rare, but it does happen), I have found that it is a much better experience for both of us if I tell her she can nurse but she has to ask nicely. Then she stops crying and says "please, mommy", and then I will nurse. Otherwise, if I just nurse while she's screaming, I have found that she won't really calm down. Even if I nurse for quite awhile, when she de-latches, she goes right back to screaming.

Baby prep: We've been discussing names, but nothing really other than that. Nothing is set on the name front, but we have some favorites. I might share. We'll see.

Birth prep: I had an appointment last week with the hospital midwives closest to us, but I am planning to switch to a birth center for my next appointment. The hospital midwives seem great, but I really wanted a birth center birth with Penny, and Nebraska just opened its first birth center about 15 minutes from our house, so I want to take advantage. It is gorgeous and new, and the midwife who delivers there has a fantastic reputation. I also love the idea of being home just a few hours after giving birth so that our whole family can be together. If we were in the hospital, I would probably be with bugabug for a night or two while Penny was home with Josh, and I don't think I would want to be without them for so long.

Gender stuff: I'm having boy feelings, but when I picture our family in the future, I often see two girls, so I'm not too sure what that means. With Penny, I had a very strong girl feeling right from the getgo. I am feeling boy this time, but I'm not quite as sure. Although, honestly, I think it is a total win-win. If we have a girl, Penny will have a sister close in age, which will be fun for them, but if we get a boy, then we have one of each, so it is a total blessing either way. I don't yet know whether we will find out the gender at our 20-week ultrasound. We didn't with Penny, but we haven't decided yet for this baby.

Pregnancy 1 vs 2: So far, this pregnancy is pretty much exactly like the first one. Sometimes I think the nausea is worse this time, but my honest opinion is that I probably just repressed how bad it was last time. I tend to think that whatever duress I'm under at any given moment is the most severe experience ever, and then I sort of downplay it when it's over, so I'm pretty sure the nausea is the same. One difference is the nipple soreness–I didn't have that last time, but I wasn't nursing then, so I attribute it to that.

Anything I'm leaving out? Anything you are dying to know?

Family Photo Shoot

I thought it was about time to hire a photographer for a family photo shoot. I hope to do this every year or two to have current photos of our family. I think it is totally worth the splurge for a professional photographer to do a shoot once every couple of years. I know you can get more affordable pictures in a portrait studio, but for me, I would rather save up and have less frequent photos that are super stunning. If the portrait studio is your thing, that is cool too. After all, this is America, land of choices. And actually, we decided this would be our Valentine's Day gift to each other (but we waited until spring to get the greenery). Of course in my Type A sort of way, I made a huge spreadsheet with many photographers, their rates, what's included, my impressions, etc and finally decided on Moseley Photography. Let me be clear: I have no affiliation with them whatsoever. I did my research, decided on them, and paid the full fee. I am just a satisfied customer. My criteria:

• The pictures needed to look better than ones I could take. I know this should be a no-brainer, but some people are sort of in training or amateurs doing this for really really low rates. That wasn't what I wanted.
• I wanted the high resolution images to be included in the cost. Some photographers will give you a certain number of prints with your package, but I wanted to get my own prints and have access to the images forever. Penny's high school graduation slide show? Oh, just wait.
• Willing to go on location.
• Best price after these other things considered.

 We had our shoot a few weeks ago in a local park, and I am so thrilled with the photos. I think what we chose to wear was perfect–nice solid colors but not too matchy-matchy. We ended up with over 70 edited shots, but here are a few favorites.

We had three of them blown up to 20" x 30" canvas prints (thanks, Living Social deal!) to hang in our newly-finished family room. I will be sharing pictures of that space once the pictures and curtains are hung. We chose the first two images and the third to last (the one of Penny standing), but I will probably order smaller prints of a few more for our living room photo wall. I hope to do our next family photos in fall 2013. I think it will be nice to get fall colors next time. And by then, we will have another little munchkin crawling around...

May 2012 Month in Review

I don't know how these months keep slipping by me. Honestly, I shouldn't be surprised at this point because it seems like time always flies by. I've got to get used to it at some point! Well, here's what I was up to in May in case you missed anything.

On the creativity front, I made some sweet new baby gifts and some super cool cloth-diaper friendly leggings for Miss Penelope. I also shared my MIL's crafty kiddo towels and my easy peasy granola recipe.

I stood on my soapbox to talk about plastic (and all of the ways I've tried to limit it in my life) and greenwashing. I also gave a little advice to those who may be planning for kids "some day" and might be thinking about how to make good choices now that will facilitate that process once the time comes.

I gave a Penny update, shared our garden, and finished the month off with a quick trip to Missouri.

I hope you all had a safe and happy May. I expect things to be somewhat quiet around the blog this June, as we have a busy month ahead (lots of traveling, husband traveling, limited internet connectivity), but I will write when I can and be back with a bang in July.

Crafty Family: Handmade cards

Today I'm sharing another craft family member. My sister-in-law makes these adorable handmade cards for all kinds of occasions. She makes party invitations, thank you cards, birthday cards, and all kinds of holiday cards.

They have a scrapbook feel with a variety of textures and layers. She said she uses materials from Stampin' Up. They are super cute, don't you think?!