31 weeks, 4 days

So much has been going on.  We went to Fayetteville for our 4D ultrasound on the 13th.  Unfortunately, our little guy was frank breech. (Bottom down, feet and arms in face).  THANKFULLY, we were invited back for a free re scan. This facility was beyond amazing.  We returned 5 days later on the 18th and got a sneak peak of our little chubby baby.  I am so in love.  He's been measuring large since about 22 weeks.  I have another growth scan with the MFM on Wednesday, and they'll give me a weight estimate then.

My blood pressure has come down some on it's own, so that makes me beyond thrilled. I'm swelling a lot these days, but that's expected when you're bordering on pre eclampsia.

I'm hoping i can keep it at bay.  On Friday, I have my regular OB appointment with one of the resident doctor's, and they will reschedule my repeat c section.  It should be between 38-39 weeks.  I guess that all depends on my blood pressure and how much protein I start to spill over the course of my next few visits.  WISH ME LUCK!

MiMi & Ethan are so excited! - They also have birthday's coming up (11 & 7..YIKES).. so I went ahead and broke out my studio equipment and got their birthday photos done up.

 I did Ethan's now, because likely the baby will come on or before his birthday.  As of now, he isn't jealous about the possibility of sharing his birthday.  I also intend to do the kid's birthday party together this year for the same reason.  I'm hoping to do it at a bounce house venue.

Thankfully, my tax refund covered a majority of the baby items we still needed. Both of our sister's gifted us wonderful things as well.  Then of course, there's my amazon diaper stash - I took most of them out of the boxes, but no biggie.

         This was one of my favorite things I had when Ethan was a newborn, 

so I had to buy it again.  I suggest getting it at 

Wal Mart - it's about $20 cheaper there:

Baby clothing, towels, swaddlers, blankets etc:

Baby Bath, Storage Bin with all his blankets, tons of diapers and a play yard box:

Bought this bouncer on amazon:

Even more diapers, and wipes, the basket has bottles and other random things for breast feedings, etc.

I hope everyone has been well! I am going to try and do a little bathroom DIY before baby comes and I'll post before and afters then.

Pregnancy Updates

I haven't blogged much. What else is new? haha.  To be honest it was getting way too uncomfortable sitting at the trusty old desktop. My dad went out and got himself a new lap top, and gifted me his old one. SO MUCH BETTER!

So, I guess I should pick up somewhere where I left off in my pregnancy woes.  But first, PICTURES:
                                                                    30 weeks along:

Where my blood pressure has been hanging out these days, and why I'm concerned they won't medicate:

                                           
                                                           28 week admission with IVs

                                                      At 26 weeks baby likes to ball up

                                      My beautiful friend, Raven gifted me this diaper bag! I LOVE IT!

                                                      A blanket I crotcheted in FL Gators colors

                                                           I think I was 27 weeks here:

I believe the last time I blogged I was getting a fetal echocardiogram.  Thankfully everything checked out well.  Around 22 weeks my blood pressure started raising. 144/90's.  Since I've had pre eclampsia with my previous two pregnancies, and I wasn't spilling protein, they decided it's just hypertension.

Fast forward to 28 weeks. I go in for one of my high risk ultrasounds with my MFM and my blood pressure stays at 159/96 for three separate readings. YIKES!  So following that ultrasound, she sends me to labor and delivery.  My blood pressure stayed high and unbeknownst to me, I was having contractions. I thought they were braxton hicks, I'm thinking there's no way these are real contractions when the ones I had with MiMi prior to having her c section were so bad I couldn't handle it at all.

BUT, then I remembered being induced probably made those ones a million times worse.

So long story short, I was given IV's to bring my blood pressure down and another to stop the contractions.  I was told my protein wasn't high enough to diagnose as pre eclampsia, but that it is heading that way.  I was diagnosed with gestational thrombocytopenia months earlier for my below normal platlet counts. JOY.

Only, someone who has has pre eclampsia twice, I know darn well give it a couple weeks it will be full blow pre eclampsia...

Once my blood pressure came down, the doctor I saw said he did not want to prescribe a blood pressure medication because he feared it would bring my numbers too low.

SURE?! Hanging in the 160's /almost 100s is healthy though??

I don't have a degree in medicine so I'll go with it - for now.

Today I had my 30 week check up.  Nothing spectacular, but I was elated that instead of gaining the massive 4 pounds every two weeks, I only gained 5 ounces this go round. YAY!  My obgyn office also gifted me a $20 gas card since the resident I saw was running an hour behind while I waited in the exam room. - SO SWEET! - I never complained, I've had MUCH longer waits in my old obgyn office.  But still, what a kind and considerate gesture, and they made this pregnant ladies day!

My blood pressure was decent today 134/90 but my urine showed protein and ketones. Still not high enough to say "you've got that dreaded Pre E again, ma'am".  Like I said, give it another two weeks or so..I know my body, I know how this game works with Pre E. I hate it.

Tomorrow I am traveling to Fayetteville, to have a 4D ultrasound done for Valentines Day.

They have come a long way since MiMi & Ethan.

I'm so EXCITED!! I even called to confirm that the weather wasn't going to get in the way and we were still on for it! I can't wait to see what our little guy looks like.

I'm not having a baby shower, because I've never had one before.  I do need to get a registry up so I can remind myself of what is left to purchase. Until next time....

How to score cheap diapers

As of today I am a very hefty 30 weeks pregnant.  Being this is my third child, I am all to familiar with the expenses involved in raising a new baby. I'm also aware that for the first few months, my children had very sensitive bottoms and I stuck to pampers swaddlers until they outgrew that stage.

After that? It was all about the generic brands.

While browsing the baby isle at local stores, I was shocked to see how much diaper prices have climbed in the last several years since Ethan was a baby.  I have to remind myself nearly 7 years ago was a little long ago. (haha).  But still, The HUGE ECONOMY boxes of pampers for $46 is just SO expensive.

That's when I decided I'd go stalk some places online and see what I could come up with. The $1-$3 off coupons are SUPER, but they aren't that much savings for my frugal budget.

AND THEN I FOUND IT! I was stalking one of my favoite online retailers - Amazon when I was looking at their economy size 1 swaddlers.  This package contains 216 diapers and had a list price similar to wal marts. I scrolled down to where I saw, "New and Used from (price here)" and decided to click on it since lower prices were showing.

That's when I discovered a tab that read: "Open Box" and the price was under $21!! What?!

NO WAY?!  What is this open box deal?  Doing some research I found out that open box deals are sold directly through Amazon Warehouse. They are boxes that come damaged, or returned from a previous purchase.  They are discounted only because of that reason.  At first I kind of debated if I should buy them.  I was worried about contamination, or if the sealed diapers had been damanged.

For the price, however, I was willing to take a gamble. NOTE: Anytime you order more than $35 through select amazon merchandise you get free shipping (which is an added bonus because shipping those heavy suckers isn't cheap).

I ordered 6 boxes under the open box diaper deal from Amazon Warehouse.  So far two of my boxes have arrived.

The verdict?  The boxes had a few scratches, One was a return item, but upon opening the boxes, the diapers were still in their plastic sleeves (COMPLETELY SEALED) and even had the original pampers rewards codes attached.

I AM ECSTATIC!!

I spent $146.24 on 6 Economy boxes of varying sized pampers and when I price matched to Wal Mart, my total would have been $255.95 for the same exact boxes!

I SAVED $109.74!!

I don't think my poor fella has ever seen anyone so excited over diapers.

Below is what I purchased vs. the Wal Mart prices:

AMAZON                           VS                     WAL MART

* Pampers Economy Cruisers
   size 3 (174 count)    $27.31                        $45.97                TOTAL SAVED: $18.66

* Pampers Swaddlers Size 1
   economy (216 count)  $20.87                    $45.12                 TOTAL SAVED: $24.23

* Pampers Swaddlers Size 3
   (162 count)              $27.03                        $45.98                 TOTAL SAVED: $18.95

* Pampers Swaddlers Newborn
   Sensitive (80 count)  $16.98                      $24.94                 TOTAL SAVED: $7.66

* Pampers Baby Dry Size 2
   (222 count)          $26.67                            $46.97                 TOTAL SAVED: $20.30

* Pampers Baby Dry Size 2
   (222 count)         $27.36                             $46.97                 TOTAL SAVED: $19.61
                                                           
                                                           
                                                             Amazon Open Box Deal:

                                           

Wal Mart Price:

To score similar deals you have to search the type of diaper you want.  When you find it, scroll down to New and Used offers.

Click on "Open Box" and IF there is a deal available it will be listed under "Amazon Warehouse" with a MUCH cheaper price than it typically retails for.

I was skeptical, but after receiving my first two boxes, I am sold on this way for the rest of my diaper buying days.