Top 7 Baby Costs

I just read an article at babycenter.com about the top 7 costs of having a baby. We have already come up with a plan for each!

1-Formula- We plan to breastfeed for a while, which is better for the baby and mom and free!
2- Diapers- We are going to invest in cloth diapers which will eventually save a lot of money. There are also benefits such as they are way better for the environment, healthier materials, and very cute! Just a little more work with laundry- but isn't there going to be a lot more laundry anyway..?
3- Childcare- Joel is going to work more part-time- evenings and weekends, and stay home during the day when I have to go back to work. In the summers, I will be able to stay home for about 2 months.
4- Gear- We are grateful for anything we get from relatives and baby showers. The rest we would like to look for in thrift shops as long as they are in good condition. We already have a changing table, and a carseat/stroller and crib/bed promised to us!
5- Clothes- If I have a girl, Joel's sister has a lot of cute girl clothes she's saving for us. If it's a boy, his brother has some boy clothes for us! We will probably get some at our baby shower, some hand me downs, and I already bought a few items on sale in neutral colors. We can always use them again if we have another baby even of the opposite gender. Since babies grow so fast, we'd like to stock up on cheaper basics, like plain onsies. They only need to wear the cutesy outfits when we are in public.
6- Food- I already invested in the Baby Fresh So Easy baby food making kit. It looks so easy and fun! Also, healthier for the baby and much cheaper than buying baby food. And I got it for only $21.99 at Wegman's, where online it's around $38 everywhere I look for the kit. I can also purchase extra trays online if I need to.
7- Toys, Books, and DVDs- Well, babies aren't supposed to watch TV until age 2, so we'll be ok for a little while. And I already have The Very Hungry Caterpillar and Other Stories on DVD. I have already purchased several board books and kids' books from school. I always check the book orders and buy cute books on sale. Some paperbacks I can get for only $1. I love books and have a bunch of board books I bought a few years ago too. As for toys, I don't want to have tooooo many... and we have friends with children who have offered some toys. Also, baby's birthday, Christmas, etc. will probably bring in enough toys to last until the next event. I will also buy a few things here and there, mostly if it's educational, on sale, or super cute. Oh- and I have some cds already. I have the Wee Sing collection and some preschool ones from when I student taught in preschool.

These top 7 baby costs aren't enough to scare us! We already have our plan ready!

Ultrasound Pictures

We got our 20 week ultrasound this Wednesday! We wanted to keep it a surprise so we still don't know if we are having a boy or a girl... A lot of people are saying we are going to have a boy. Just the other day a few people said they think it's going to be a girl. I like hearing opinions from both sides to bring it back to where we started- it could be either!


In the top one, the baby is sleeping how Joel sleeps- with his arms up. In the bottom one the chin and mouth look like Joel's side of the family and our niece Miley (Joel's sister's baby):

I can't figure out the mouth in this one. I think it might be the cord going across.


We even saw the baby swallow! The ultrasound lady replayed it and we could see something go down the esophagus and then disappear. Weird!

We are already halfway through. It's going so fast!


At school today we took our last big state test. It was a long test! So now the end of the year is pretty much here. It was almost 90 degrees today and will be hot next week too. Summer's almost here! Time for me to try on all the summer maternity clothes I borrowed.

Broccoli Soup

I made broccoli cheese soup tonight. I had a bag of fresh broccoli that I needed to do something with. I looked at allrecipes.com for some ideas and based on those I made up this recipe (which was pretty good!):

Put fresh cut broccoli into a pot with some water and a can of swanson broth (enough to cover the broccoli). Boil until soft. Add a can of cream of celery soup and 3/4 can of milk. Stir. Add velveeta cheese until it tastes good.

And that's it!

Healthy baby eating

Healthy Eating Habits: The 10 times rule

The American Academy of Pediatrics conducted a study of toddler age children that concluded the average toddler may need to see a new food on their plate at least 10 times before they will eat it! Here are some tips for introducing new foods: 1. Always let her know what she is eating. At the beginning of each meal, point at each item on her plate and tell her what it is. The more she hears about it, the more familiar it becomes. 2. Offer new foods first and at times when she is most hungry. When children are hungry or first sit down to a meal, they will often eat without thinking about what they are eating. 3. Don't give up. Try very small portions of new foods, so you can throw them out without feeling guilty about wasting food and be patient, 10 times can seem like a long time. 4. Encourage your child to "try it". Do not force her to eat, but ask her several times during a meal to "try" the new food. Show her how you "try it" too - make it look like fun to try new foods! Taken from freshbaby.com archives. I got the So Easy baby food making kit and it looks great! It'll be almost a year before I start, but I am excited already!

This Week

It has been an interesting week. Last week, while we were in PA, Joel and I both felt the baby move! This morning when I felt it moving again, and I think I felt its head poke up. It's weird but neat!

Earlier this week we found out that a family friend committed suicide... This was really sad to hear. I never would have guessed it would be him a few years ago. He was always a nice guy. My brother was trying to help him and get him to talk to people. I thought there was hope for him. But now it's over. It's so weird.. I've been thinking about this all week.

Fun news- I ordered again from Ichiban Kan. I love that website. I also found a new website- shopkawaii.com that has TONS of cute Japanese products, but they are a lot more expensive. They have a store in Pennsylvania! But in Pittsburgh, hours from where I grew up. They have the cutest paper. I might buy a little and decoupage furniture in the nursery...

There is even a tofu character! Cute!

These cats dress up as all sorts of things- they are really cute!


While sitting here at my computer, I've seen a lot of wildlife out the window. I saw plenty of squirrels, and also a bright red cardinal, a bright blue blue jay, and red-headed woodpecker! I don't know if I ever saw one so close! It landed on a log and started pecking away. I thought about getting my camera, and when I finally decided to get up, it was gone when I came back.

Our peas in our garden are growing well! The lettuce is also growing. We started the broccoli inside and then planted it outside. I think it's doing ok.. We are still waiting for the carrots, potatoes, and spinach to show up. But it froze again last week.. and snowed! We still have a lot of seeds to plant soon.

Spring Break

For my spring break, we drove to Pennsylvania to see my new niece Tamsin! She is so cute and it was great to see my family again, even for only a few days.
We first stopped in VA for a traditional visit to Haggard Appleseed (Johnny Appleseed Restaurant, exit 264 in New Market, VA). I am showing off my pregnant belly of 17 1/2 weeks.

Here are some pictures of Tamsin at 2 months, and some things I crocheted for her.
Here's my husband Joel holding her.

Here's a bear I made for her.


Booties that I crocheted. I love her pants!


In a super cute bib.


A blanket I had been working on for a while- I finished it right before we left.

I have all my projects posted on Ravelry! Now I am going to work on some things for our baby.