My Favorite Money Saving Sites...

I only have 3 more days of bedrest, and I'm getting a little bored. I have been thinking of this post for quite awhile...and what do you know...I finally have sometime to go through and write it out.

Since early this year I have become a HUGE coupon shopper. In fact, it pains me to buy anything without a coupon. My favorite is going to Target coming home with a huge bag of items that I paid pennies on the dollar for. If I watch the sales right and match them with my coupons, I get most things free or for under $1.

One of my favorite couponing websites is Hip2Save...Collin does an amazing job of highlighting amazing deals from all over the web. She also takes the time to go through the sale ads on Sunday and helping you match coupons with sales...saving you tons! I check the website at least twice a day!

I am also a huge fan of flash sale sites. I have three I visit regularly. I was able to get great deals on Christmas and birthday items through these sites this year. If you aren't familiar with flash sale sites here's the run down. Flash sale sites hold sales daily, most last for 2 to 3 days. The key is to get in early because these sales can save you up to 75% off.
Here are my favorite:
Zulily - This website specializes in sales for Moms, Babies, and Kids. Right now they have Kelty products for 40% off. This site run anywhere between 5-10 news sales everyday!

Totsy - I love this site! Zulily is good, but I think Totsy is better! That may be because they tend to have more toys and baby items. Right now they have plush toys for as little as $1.60! Or this adorable dog (which comes with an online code for playing games on a special interactive website) for $2.30...seriously...

Gilt  - I have already mentioned this site before, but it's worth mentioning again. This site has sales for Men, Women, Children, and the Home. It's marketed as more of a high-end sale site. Last week they had designer jeans (I'm talking ones the retail for around $200, for $79!) But I love their children section. Right now they have JJCole up to 50% off. They have great stuff! Once you sign up with this site, send an e-mai invitation to 10 of your friends and they'll give you free shipping (regardless if they sign up or not!).

For all of you online shoppers out there, did you know you could be getting money back on every purchase you make (on top of coupons and other savings)? Through the website Hip2Save I found out about Ebates. I wish I would have know about this sooner! I'm have already saved an extra $30 just by going through this website to make my purchases. Here's how it works. Log into Ebates, before doing your online shopping. Search for the store of your choice and go through the link they provide. Here's the best part, they also have coupons that you can use too, so it's like one stop shopping. It's that simple, if you go through their link and make a purchase you will get credit in your account after your purchase is confirmed.

Here's a short list of how much extra you can save just by going through Ebates:

Target- 3% (this is on top of coupons, and the 5% you can save if you have a Target Card)

Barnes and Noble- 8%

Groupon- 3% (makes for some pretty awesome deals)

Zulily- 3.5%

Ebay- 3-7%

Wal-Mart- 2%

Kohls- 4% (matches up with some awesome deals Kohls is having right now and is on top of your Kohls card savings too!)

Go through the link above and get $5 just for signing up!

I think that's all for now, but when Baby P arrives I'll be cutting back even more and looking for savings where I can, I'll keep passing along my money saving tips as I find them!

Happy Savings!!

Weekly Check-up Update!

Today was my 2nd weekly check-up since being put on bedrest. I had even better news this week than I did last week!

My cervix has lengthened! I am now about 3cm compared to my 2cm I was last week! Still shorter than "normal" but I am thrilled to know bedrest is actually working!
I'm measuring a week small, but Baby P's heartbeat is great.

I also found out that Baby P's head is really low. My doctor said it's at a 2. She said last week I was at 1, so Baby P's head seems to be gettig lower and lower. She never said negative 1 or 2, so I'm assuming we passed that point and went straight to the positive side. That really kinda freaks me out...crowning is +5. I'm not exactly sure what that means at this stage, but seems pretty crazy to me!

The best news of all is that I'm off bedrest as of Friday! I turn 34 weeks on Saturday, but my doctor gave me the ok to go out for New Years Eve as long as I don't "jump" around. I'm not sure if we'll really do anything, but it's nice to have the option. I am already planning the rest of my weekend (it will be filled with everything Baby P, the nursery will get finished, shopping will get done, and I might even try to venture out to the Broncos game (although that might be pushing it!))

So, it's all systems go after Friday. I still hope I can keep LO baking for at least 2 or 3 more weeks, but they'll let me go anytime after Friday! Crazy!!

33 Weeks!

I've made it through one whole week of bedrest and to the 33 week mark! That topped with being able to leave the house for Christmas makes for a great week!

Ryan and I were very lucky and thankful that my mom decided to fly out last Sunday to help out around the house. It was so great to have her here. She worked her butt off! She did lots of shopping (including Christmas shopping w/Ryan), lots of baking, lots of cleaning, and she put the drawer pulls on Baby P's dressers! She also kept me company last week while Ryan was at work. I now feel as prepared as I can for Baby P's arrival if he/she decides to come before 34 weeks.

Ryan is working through Wednesday this week so I just have to get through 3 days of being alone and then he can keep me company until I'm hopefully allowed to get up and join the real world again.

I have an appointment tomorrow, so I'm hoping for some good news. I'm slightly worried since I really pushed the rules of my bedrest on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, but I'm hoping that my cervix has at least stayed where it was last week. I'll update tomorrow when I get home.

Here's my 33 week picture taken on Christmas Day...our last one without LO!

How far along? 33 weeks

Food cravings: Pigs in a blanket (I'm sending Ryan to the store so he can make them!)
Biggest Moment? Leaving the house for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day
Movement? Tons! I'm feeling lots of hiccups and I get to feel LO's butt trying to escape on a regular basis...
What I'm looking forward to: Hopefully good news at my appointment tomorrow and the possibility of this being my last week of bedrest...
Baby's Milestones: Baby P is now about 17.5 inches long and weighing around 4-4.5 pounds!

Update...

I had my first follow up appointment this morning. Things are going well. Thankfully I have no change in my cervix since Friday. At this point no change is a good thing. As long as it's not getting shorter I'll be able to stay home.

I will continue to go in for weekly appointments and checks until I'm 34 weeks. After that I should be allowed off bedrest and will be allowed to go into labor whenever it happens. I am still hoping to make it until at least 36 weeks, but since Baby P has gotten the steriod shots it's lung should be well developed. Even at this point my doctor said they wouldn't try to hard to stop labor.

So I've got about 12 more days of bedrest and after that it's game on. Here's to hoping LO and I make it through the full moon tonight and through the middle of January.

32 Weeks and Bed Rest.....

This wasn't quite the update I was hoping to make this week. I was hoping to start of by saying I've got 8 more weeks left (hopefully more like 5). It's funny how things change.


Yesterday was my 32 week appointment. I had a million questions for my doctor about delivery and the last of my appointments. I mentioned to my doctor that I was having some mild cramping, but enough to wake and keep me up for about an hour and a half the other night. I didn't think much about it because my stomach wasn't contracting and I had called a few days prior and the nurses told me to take it easy and drink lots of water (they thought I was just over doing it, since I didn't have any other symptoms). I was expecting the same answer from my doctor. She did say she could do an internal if I wanted (which I choose to do, since I figured it couldn't hurt anything). Things quickly changed at that point. She told me I had a shortened cervix and quickly started rushing around grabbing tests, and an unltrasound machine to get an accurate length. While doing all of this she was talking about sending me straight to the hospital and was mentioning a high risk doctor.


My head was spinning, I was there by myself since it was supposed to a routine appointment. I had to keep it together for an hour and a half while we were trying to figure out what was going on. They ran bloodwork ( which came back normal, no signs of infection) she did my Group B strep test and ran a few other test which I will have the results for on Monday.


So here's the run down...I have a shortened cervix, the shortest they want to see at this point is around 3.75cm and mine is about 2cm. A shortened cervix is usually caused by an infection (which I don't have), so I plan on asking many more questions about this on Monday. Having a shortened cervix puts me at a high risk for preterm labor. I received a steriod shot yesterday and will get another one today to help baby's lungs develop.


My new goal is 34 weeks. I am very much hoping to keep LO cooking for many more weeks, but 34 is the goal at the moment. That's two weeks away! Talk about a complete change in thinking. I am now on modified bedrest (bed, couch, food, very short shower) I will most likely stay on modified bedrest until Baby P's arrival. I will have weekly cervix checks at my doctor and if it gets an shorter before 34 weeks, I will most likely be sent straight to the hospital for strict bedrest with constant monitoring.


So now I'm trying to figure out how I am going to get everything ready for Baby P's arrival without being about to leave the couch. I already had a list before this happened, but now it's growing and being seperated into stores, so Ryan can doing the shopping for me. Luckily we have had our showers and we have all the big stuff we need for Baby P. It's mostly the things for me that we are lacking. That and Christmas shopping, that was on the agenda for tomorrow.
We need to have our bags packed this weekend since I could be sent to the hospital as early as Monday, so that's become a list too!


Although this isn't a happy upbeat post like the rest, I sitll have a lot to be thankful for. Baby P's heartbeat was nice and strong. He/She is in the head down position and shows no other signs of stress. I have an amazing husband who is willing to do anything to help and I have family and friends who have already offered support and prayers during this scary time.


There's no guarantee that bed rest will prevent my preterm labor, but it's the best option for Baby P and I at the moment. I have also heard many success stories of bed rest and I sure hope Baby P and I are one of them!

How far along? 32 weeks
Food cravings: Nothing this week...
Biggest Change? Being put on bedrest
Movement? Thankfully I still have lots of movement, Ryan even got to feel hiccups last night!
What I'm looking forward to: Hopefully being able to leave the house for Christmas
Baby's Milestones: Baby P is now about 17 inches long and weighing around 3.5- 4 pounds!

Keepsake for Baby P...

While I was home for my shower in November, I found and brought with me a teddy bear I have had since I was a little girl. In fact I got the bear on my 1st birthday. This wasn't any regular bear, it was bear that sat on a shelf for the last 25 years (if you forget the few times we took it off the shelf to play with it, even though we weren't supposed too). I have always known this bear was special and unique, but until I did a little research this week I had no idea how special.

I own a Steiff Bear. The Steiff company created the teddy bear in 1902. Since then their trademark "button in ear" bears have won over the hearts of many. They now have a wide variety of bears from collection only pieces to child friendly pieces. After some research on my bear, I found out that it's worth around $150. Not too shabby for an adorable bear!

Now, to the keepsake for Baby P part....
One of my new favorite sites is Gilt.com ( <--- Click here to join (it's an invite only site)). It's a flash sale site with high end merchandise (and great deals on toys and clothes for kids). While browsing the other day I saw they were selling Steiff Bears! I was so excited! I love having something to pass down to LO and I thought it would be fun to get LO his/her very own Steiff Bear. That way my bear has company while sitting on a shelf for the next 25 years :) Most of the Steiff Bears are pretty expensive infact they have somethings that sell for almost $1000! But through this sale I was able to get one 50% off.
So introduce to you Baby P's first keepsake...

Here's mine...patiently awaiting the arrival of it's new friend....

Baby P's bear should be here next week...I can't wait!

31 Weeks!

9 weeks left! I'm very excited about this single digit milestone, mostly because I hope LO will be here before I hit my next single digit milestone. Although, I'm sure it's purely positive thinking, I keep thinking if I tell LO that I'm ready at 37weeks2days he/she may listen to me :)

I spent last weekend working in the nursery and it's still not finished...in fact it still looks like a bomb exploded in it. I'm convinced as soon as we get the spare bed out of there everything will fall into place within an afternoon. I finally found my bookcase, which should help get things out of the way. I can't wait to go through all the books I got for my shower and the ones I have been collecting for the last 5 years and put them on a shelf where they belong.

Baby P and I are moving right along, we are feeling great! LO is very active all the time and last week I even felt hiccups for the first time! It was so fun, until LO got them at 3am and woke me up :)

We have our 32 week appointment on Friday. I'm looking forward to talking to my doctor about a birthing plan and scheduling our positioning ultrasound. Right now I'm fairly sure LO is breech, I'm hoping that changes in the next few weeks. I have been doing some research on having a version done if LO is breech and it sounds horrible, so I hope LO flips soon!

How far along? 31 weeks

Food cravings: Nothing this week...
Biggest Change/Moment? Getting down to single digits week wise...9 to go!
Movement? I felt hiccups for the first time last week!
What I'm looking forward to: Seeing Nikki graduate from CSU this weekend!
Baby's Milestones: Baby P is now about 16 inches long and weighing around 3.5 pounds!

30 Weeks!

30 down, 10 to go (or 7 if baby is listening (I'm getting a little anxious))

We had a super busy week but it was busy in a good way. Last Wednesday (which also happened to be my birthday) Lindsay and Erin came into town to visit. They spent Thursday exploring Denver and we went shopping for my diaper bag on Friday.
On Friday my Mom, Alli, and Gracie came into town. Saturday was my baby shower. Lisa, Lindsay and Nikki did a great job. It was so good to see everyone and I loved having some friends and family from home there too!
I don't have any pictures from the shower yet, but I'll try to get them up next week.
It was an amazing weekend, topped off by spending Sunday sorting through baby items and getting our dressers in. They look amazing! Chimmy and Ryan did an amazing job. Now I just need some more time to organize everything and we will be ready for LO.

I'm still feeling great! Just some minor aches and pains, but I feel very lucky to be feeling this great at 30 weeks!

I feel like I'm carrying so low, I'm slightly afraid to think about what will happen when LO drops!


How far along? 30 weeks

Food cravings: Breakfast foods (bagels and cereal)
Biggest Change/Moment? Completing our childbirth class we are now "prepared" :)
Movement? Sometimes I wonder what LO is doing in there!
What I'm looking forward to: Working in the nursery this weekend
Baby's Milestones: Baby P is now about 15.5 inches long and weighing around 3 pounds!