Registry rant-I Survived

Being a first time mom I was excited to fill out my registry. However, once I went to Babies “R” Us to get started I was completely overwhelmed by all the baby products and brands to select from. From breast pumps to baby toys, the selection is out of control! Does a baby really need to have 5-6 different bottle styles? What about selecting from several styles of bottle brush cleaners? Where does it end?

Babies “R” Us does try to make it easier for you by offering a quick start registry. This allows you to go through and see the most popular registry items and provides different categories to select from. It does slightly minimize the stresses of selecting between multiple products because you can simply select the most popular brand. But then I thought, “Who says the most popular or highest rated products are the best?” Are you a bad mom for selecting the product that only has a one star rating and not a four star?  My mind was twirling with all the different options I could select from. Thankfully, I have been very involved in the lives of my niece and nephew so I was able to select products I know they were most comfortable in.

In my opinion babies need very little to survive: food, clothing, diapers, naps, love, etc. All the other products are simply “extras” that really aren’t necessary. I feel bad for any first time mommies who don’t have an older sister with children to model their registry after. I can mentally picture their homes being filled mile high with multiple strollers and vibrating products that just take up space but don’t really have a function.

My advice would be to ask other moms you know what their top five most used baby items are, just the essentials. You may be surprised at what their answers are but at least you’ll receive practical answers from someone you trust. Good luck with your registry. I can finally say I survived the experience.

Don’t Mess with this Mommy today

I feel like I have been taken over by a monster. My fuse is shorter than short today and I seem to be on the verge of exploding on the next person that brings up something I don’t want to hear. It’s interesting the little things that can really make your crazy side come out.

The latest thing to set me off today was one of my girlfriends text me and asked me to coffee. I haven’t seen her in an extremely long time so I was thrilled to see her. After texting back and forth she later revealed that I wasn’t just meeting her for coffee but she had a new business (Arbon) she wanted to talk to me about. Seriously? I haven’t seen her for about four months and the first time she invites me to something it’s to attend a sales pitch? When I saw that text my face went hot. Maybe it was the hormones, maybe I was just generally annoyed with her but it got me fuming.

I realize that there is a stereotype that pregnant women are over emotional but overall I have been pretty consistent with my moods. However, on days like today it’s hard to tame the beast that’s inside me so I don’t lash out when situations such as the one I mentioned above come along. I had to take a few minutes to calm myself and try to move on. I’m hoping that my mood will get better as the day progresses but it’s funny how the demon inside you can pop it’s ugly head out of nowhere.

New Mommy Blog on the Block

I was one of those ladies that was determined to never start a mom blog. Mainly because I encounter several mom bloggers in my line of work and most charge for posting about your product, which leads me to believe their reviews aren’t honest. Companies don’t want to pay mom bloggers to write a negative post about their product so the blogger’s review is most likely biased and untrue. I never want to become like “those” mom bloggers but I do see a benefit in sharing my experiences with others. However, the community of moms on the web is so strong it’s hard not to want to be a part of it.

This is my second pregnancy. Tragically, my first pregnancy in January 2011 ended in a miscarriage at 7 weeks. It took almost an entire year for us to get pregnant again and just as my Dr. was just about to prescribe fertility testing, I got a positive. I couldn’t have been more shocked. I had more symptoms the weeks I wasn’t pregnant than I did the month I was. Needless to say, worry set in immediately. Since I had lost a child before I was mentally preparing myself that it could likely happen again. It took me several months, successful ultra sounds and doctor’s visits before I started believing that we were actually going to have a baby. I am almost 17 weeks along now and starting to feel more excited every day. I am not saying I don’t worry any longer but I at least am trying to enjoy the here and now.

On Friday we will find out the sex of the baby. We opted to get an outside ultra sound because my shower is on May 5th and we wanted to know before then. Plus my husband is too excited to wait for the 20 week ultra sound. We are really excited to see our baby on the screen. I must say that every time I go to an ultra sound I have extreme worry that there will be no heartbeat or the baby stopped growing. However, I am trying to stay positive. I believe I started to feel a few light kicks this week too so that brings me some comfort.I’m trying to take it one day at a time.

A little about me: I live in the Phoenix area with my husband. Right now my two dogs are my babies. My hobbies are writing, hiking, volunteering and trying my best to be artistic. Anything else you want to know just ask.