Maternity Portraits: Creepy or Classy?
Obviously I’m a fan of capturing all of life’s sweet moments, but the more I think about pregnancy photos, the more I’m just not convinced yet that it’s something I need or even want professional pictures of. There are a lot of beautiful things about pregnancy, but…. there are also a lot of jigglely and not-so-pretty things about it too. So as I do for just about everything, I started researching pregnancy photos and found a lot of beautiful ones but I also found a few below on Awkward Family Photos that are just out of this world crazy. I mean there are some I don’t even understand, so I just had to share and caption a few…
So why in the world would anyone 1.stand in a swamp 2.keep your socks on in a swamp and 3. wear a freakin trash bag as a bikini in your maternity portrait? What about this says “yay… we’re excited to have a baby”? Riddle me that swamp thing…
Finally…. we now know what Snooki’s parents look like! Makes total sense now, right? Honestly though, is there ever a reason to dress like a stripper and have your baby daddy dress like a complete duchebag, besides every Halloween and on 16 and Pregnant? Apparently so…
I’m honestly amazed at how many guns I found in pregnancy portraits. What about pregnancy makes you want to hold a gun (or a watermelon?) while looking like a total creep…? Well, I’m not in my third trimester yet, but a few friends have told me the answer to this question is “everything!”
Please please please tell me this is just some creepy dude from the automotive department at Sears that just jumped into the photo on his lunch break and not this chick’s baby daddy. That’s the only way this can make sense to me…
Both of these are just a big NOOOO. If the picture looks more like the cover of some seriously seriously weird porn or like ummm… cheetahs, then that’s probably your sign it’s not appropriate for your pregnancy announcement or even your wall. Just saying…
Ok guys, see why I’m nervous about getting professional pictures of this? A lot could just go way wrong… 
Best Christmas Present… Ever!
Throughout my 26 years I’ve definitely had some greeeat Christmas presents… I mean Santa has really hooked me up through the years. So to say that this year, I received my most favorite Christmas present of all time is definitely a big claim… but it’s so true. For a week before Christmas there was a Barbie doll shaped box beautifully wrapped under the tree. I shook it, weighed it and sniffed it, but besides realizing that it wasn’t a Barbie, I had absolutely no idea what it was. As you can tell from my previous posts about the gender prediction tests, I’m not a patient person… at all. I thought about ripping the paper a little to take a peek, but didn’t want to disappoint Jer on Christmas morning. I LOVE giving gifts and so does he, so for him to miss a genuine surprise face, is just not fair. So I waited and waited…
Although it did cross my mind a few times, I thought these were too expensive so imagine my surprise when I unwrapped this gift to find a Fetal Doppler that allows me to listen to our baby’s heartbeat anytime I want to! Something about that little “swoosh, swoosh, swoosh” just puts all my fears at ease and is so peaceful.
So of course as soon as I unwrapped it I had a ton of questions for Jer:
- Where did you get it? Jer got the Sonoline B Handheld Pocket Fetal Doppler from Clinicalguard.com
- How much did it cost? $52.95
- Did it have a good reviews? Yes! So clearly Jer rocks, but he’s now seriously competing for daddy-to-be of the year. He reads pregnancy blogs and forums, like reddit.com/babybumps and found some great reviews for this Doppler.
- What if we can’t hear it? Not hearing the heartbeat has to be every couple’s fear… but it’s important to remember the home models are not the same as your Doctors. Also, this specific Doppler says that you need to be at least 12 weeks to hear the heartbeat. Since we heard our baby’s heartbeat the second our Dr. used his device, Jer felt confident we would hear it with this device – and boy did we hear it. As soon as we lubed it up and put it on my (don’t worry folks – we’re not going there) belly, we heard that beautiful “swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.”
So since Christmas, we’ve listened to Baby D’s heartbeat every day! Here’s Baby D and the Doppler in action. You’ll notice the heartbeat number is all over the place because I was moving the device around.
xoxo,
Jamie
Best of 2011
So I’ve officially been blogging for 7 months, yay! What started as a place to house pictures of my craft projects has really turned into a blog about so many things – pregnancy, recipes, trips, family and of course all of my DIY projects. So as 2011 winds down, I wanted to capture some of my favorite projects this year, as well as link up to Rhoda’s Top Projects of 2011 Party.
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This bench is still one of my favorite projects on my blog. We call it the “traveling bench”, because I honestly move it every couple months. It’s been a footboard bench, window seat, and is now a laundry room storage bench. It may be getting some nursery love soon…
TV Stand Turned Bench
Found this antique Henredon coffee table at an estate auction for $10 buckaroos.
Painted Henredon Coffee Table
Rescued these beauties on their way to the dump…
Refurbished Adirondack Chairs
Found this lamp in Delaware with a “Free to a Good Home” sign.
Refurbished Lamp
It’s amazing what half a can of Benjamin Moore’s Stonington Grey can do!
I <3 BM’s Stonington Grey
Spruced up our living room with a $25 frame gallery set from Target.
Frame Gallery
Added some swagger to the breakfast nook. See the traveling bench in action!
Swag Valance
Not exactly a Before & After, but I just loved how easy it was to turn a simple piece of plywood into a fabulous tufted headboard.
Tufted Headboard
xoxo,
Jamie
Week 13: It’s a…?
So I’ll admit it…I’m officially the least patient person in the entire world. A few weeks ago my OB told me that I’d have to wait until 20 weeks to find out the sex of the baby. My response? “Umm…. sorry doc that’s just not gonna cut it.” So instead of relying purely on wives tales like peeing in baking soda and dangling a needle over my palm (both of which I did, of course!), I wanted to get a little more scientific with my research… thus why I decided to try both the IntelliGender and Gendermaker tests. Jer suggested I call Miss Cleo up instead but I couldn’t seem to find her number…? I know, I know… I sound like a total spaz but I really just did these for fun. I’m not painting a room or getting my hopes up about a boy or a girl because honestly, I have zero preference on the gender. I hope God blesses us with both a boy and a girl eventually, so whichever He decides to give us first, works perfectly for us!
The Tests…
So I followed the IntelliGender test to a T, using my first morning urine and filling/mixing the test cup perfectly. This test, although a little more expensive, just felt more legit. It came with clear instructions and nice instruments for testing. With the Gendermaker test, I followed the instructions almost perfectly. It says to use your first morning urine, but being prego it’s hard to hold it in when you gotta go at 1 AM. So I used my second one when I woke up.
IntelliGender from CVS Gendermaker from Amazon.com
VS 
The Results…
With the IntelliGender test, if your urine mixes with the hormones in the test and turns a greyish green it means Boy. If it turns a goldish red, it means Girl. So as you can see below, my test result indicated Boy.
With the Gendermaker test, Blue-Grey = Boy while Pink-Purple = Girl. As you can see my test result was a deep greyish purple which I think means Girl.
So all in all these were a blast to take, but I’m just as clueless as I was when I started this experiment. I have a good feeling about the success rates of our next text… a 4D ultrasound in January! 
*1/25 Update: It’s a boy!!! IntelliGender was right. Also, after I got the first purple result from GenderMaker, I emailed the company and they sent me another test for free. The result? Girl again. So two Gendermaker tests were wrong. I would trust IntelliGener ladies – but just make sure you follow the instructions to a T.
