PinkBlush Maternity Giveaway

PinkBlush Maternity $100 Gift Card Giveaway

PinkBlush makes adorable maternity clothes.  I have a PinkBlush dress that I wore when I was pregnant with Eleanor.  It was comfortable and I wore it to my shower, my class reunion and even a wedding and got compliments on it.  With baby number 2 on the way, and in a different season I may need some new clothes for special occasions.

 PinkBlush is a family run business whose goal is to provide women with stylish yet comfortable and affordable clothing options for both pregnancy and beyond. They offer free shipping for orders over $50 for customers in the U.S. and free exchanges so you're happy with what you're buying.

 Marissa from Mommy Knows What's Best is expecting Baby #4, and she was given the opportunity to review some trendy maternity clothes from PinkBlush Maternity. Read her review and see the clothes she chose here. PinkBlush has decided to giveaway a $100 gift card to one of you!

About the Giveaway

Begins: August 28th 1:00 am Ends: September 12th 11:59 pm Who Can Enter: US, 18+ Don’t forget! Come back each day to complete the daily entries! 

To enter this giveaway, complete the form below. Good Luck! Disclaimer: Giveaway begins 8/28/15 and ends 9/12/15. Urban Times in Michigan is not responsible for prize fulfillment. One entrant/email per household. One winner will be chosen randomly.

Void where prohibited. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram are in no way affiliated with this giveaway. If you have any questions, please email Marissa at MommyKnowsWhatsBest (at) gmail.com.

Entry-Form

Round 2: 17 Weeks

How far along:  17 weeks

Baby Size: A large order of fries.  Guess what I need now?  

Also a hockey puck (but we don't play hockey so that's not relevent to us)


Weight:  Up between 5 1/2 and 6 lbs

Symptoms:   No energy at all, pressure in my lower stomach

Maternity Clothes:  Some tops, a mix of bottoms

Sleep:  Usually between 3 and 4 hours a night

Cravings/Food Aversions:  I had a yogurt his morning and felt really icky afterwards so that's a no now.

Belly Button: In

Rings on or off:  On

Gender:  23 more weeks.  I'm excited about being team green, but I would totally have a gender reveal party if we were finding out.

Name:  Yes to boy, most likely yes to a girl name.  I like the girl name, but as I've mentioned the meaning is less than desirable so I have hangups there. 

Movement: Sometimes I think I'm feeling the baby move and sometimes I have no idea if that's what it is.   I'm just going to be a nervous person until it's clearly movements. 

Stretch Marks:  Still lots from Eleanor

Best moment:  My friends from my birth month group with Eleanor were sharing birth stories the other day as a flashback kind of thing.  I got all nostalgic and excited about this next one. 

Looking forward to:  Feeling real movements

Nervous about:  Eleanor is a really good kid.  She's very easy going and can entertain herself and is so good.  I'm nervous about a high needs kid the second time around. 

What I miss:  The stress.  I'm a really anxious pregnant person. 

Labor signs: No

Appointments:  September 10 for a prenatal appointment and September 11th for our anatomy scan.

Misc.  I had my second blood draw on Friday for my sequential screening.  The mfm called Monday and asked what my weight was at the blood draw.  I wasn't sure but I had weighed myself that day (Monday) so I gave them that weight.  Ten minutes later I get a call back asking if I was sure that was the right weight because it was similar to the other blood draws.  She didn't say that I hadn't gained enough but I kind of got that vibe.  I'm actually up more this time around than I was with Eleanor so I thought it was odd. 

17 weeks with Eleanor

Round 2: 16 weeks

How far along:  16 weeks!

Baby Size: A can of soda - Dr pepper please! Or an avocado.

Weight:  I'm up between 5 and 6 lbs.

Symptoms:   Gas and the pains that come with it, still nausea at random times.  My restless legs have been a little less obnoxious this week also. 

Maternity Clothes: Shorts, and some tops

Sleep:  It's gotten better at night.  Naps are basically not even worth it because they don't help me at all.  Still not enough though. 

Cravings/Food Aversions:  No strong cravings yet.

Belly Button:  In

Rings on or off:  Although I don't often wear them, I still can. 

Gender:  Lately I've been leaning more towards boy.

Name:  Boy name yes, girl name maybe

Movement: I kind of wish I wouldn't have felt those movements last week because I've felt nothing this week and of course my mind goes to those bad places.  

Stretch Marks: So many thanks to Eleanor

Best moment:  Not baby related, but my friend was in town over the weekend for the first time in 6 months.  So nice seeing her

Looking forward to:  Seeing the baby again next month.

Nervous about: I get irrationally worried with all the twinges and cramps.  

What I miss:  Totally random, but when Eleanor would be whiny I would just pop her on my back in the carrier and It's been uncomfortable lately and she's been having clingy moments and wanting to be held.


Labor signs:  Nope

Appointments:  September 10th for a prenatal appt, and September 11th for the anatomy scan/

Misc. I had a sip of Rob's beer over the weekend.  It was that root beer beer that everyone raves about and is hard to find.  His mom had given him a bottle.  I just had a small sip and it was really good (and I don't like beer) and then he told me to have another so I did.  I probably had the equivalent of 1/2 oz but I still felt like I was being naughty.  It's also the only alcohol I've had since I found out I was pregnant at 3 1/2 weeks.

Weaning Eleanor at 22 Months

I dreaded the day we would nurse last.   Like really dreaded it.  I wasn't being forced to wean her at all.   I knew when I got pregnant that I would try to wean her by the end of the summer.  I wanted to have a slight break and knew that it was imperative in order to successfully nurse baby 2.  I didn't want to get burned out on nursing if that makes sense and I knew I didn't want to tandem nurse (totally amazing if you do it;though).  Had I not gotten pregnant I probably would have gone until Eleanor turned 2. 

So with that being said, I decided that when she hit 22 months we would wean.   I felt like she would be okay, by that point we were down to bedtime only, one breast only instead of both, and more often than not she wasn't nursing to sleep and her nursing sessions were shorter.  I knew that we might have some hard times, but she would be okay.  She wasn't nursing multiple times a day and going cold turkey.  I had slowly been cutting back.

I'll miss the moments she would fall asleep on me nursing  

An older picture; she was ten months here

Still, I dreaded it a lot.  I know that for her it was more a comfort thing, but there were still lots of benefits for her health, and mine.

And for me it was a chance to settle down and sit after busy days with her and share a few sweet moments.  There were silly ones as well where she would shove her feet in my mouth and giggle.

Toddler nursing....

That last week I really focused on the nursing.  As much as I love those sweet and silly moments, the truth is that nursing can be boring, and I played on my phone often.   That last week I didn't do that.  I just took in the moment.  I tried to memorize it all.  I failed just so you know.  I wanted to remember the way that sweet little hand would rest on me or occasionally mold into mine.   The way I would brush the hair out of her eyes and she'd smile at me.  

(And with that I'm pausing for a moment as I am trying not to cry)

By the end there was pain when she latched (and this is a pregnancy thing I think), but it would usually dissipate quickly.

I know breastfeeding isn't something every woman is interested in, and that's okay, but I knew it was something I wanted to do.  The benefits are astounding, for both baby and mom.  I set a goal of a year, but as that got closer I decided to keep going until 2.

Most people were supportive; a few asked when I was going to be done, and made comments like 'your not going to nurse much longer are you?"  I don't care or wasn't bothered because what I do with my body is my business.   Full term nursing may not be the norm here (in the USA), and I'm not trying to force what I think on anyone, but as I said, still it's nobody's concern but mine.  

This post isn't intended to be a post about why you should do things my way, it's more about my feelings. And I feel sad.  I feel like I want to nurse her again and have that bond again.

It's been nearly a week since we nursed last and while she has asked a few times she's usually able to be redirected easily.  I feel uncomfortable and full but it's not horrible pain so I'm pushing through.

But I do look forward to nursing another sweet baby through toddlerhood:)

Round 2: 15 weeks

How far along:   15 weeks

Baby Size:  A travel size deodorant, 

Weight:  Anywhere between 4-5 pounds gained.

Symptoms:  Cramping/stretching, random bouts of exhaustion, and the wild dreams

Maternity Clothes: Some shirts

Sleep:  It's gotten a little better.  Instead of waking up every hour, it's every one and a half to two hours.

Cravings/Food Aversions:  No cravings, lots of things don't sound good.

Belly Button: In

Rings on or off:  On

Gender: 25 more weeks until we find out!

Name:  Nothing if this is a girl; we have our boy name from Eleanor

Movement:  I had a few moments that were like, was that a baby, or just my belly settling.  lol.  Pretty sure it was just my belly.  It's to early right?

Stretch Marks:  Still what I have from Eleanor, but I feel like they are getting darker already

Best moment:  Hearing the heartbeat last week. 

Looking forward to:  The anatomy scan in a month, feeling real movement from the baby.

Nervous about:  Work and how that's going to be.  I am taking 4 months off (one before the baby and 3 after) but Eleanor will be just 2 1/2, the little girl I watch 1 1/2 and then a 3 month old.  I watch the little girl close to 45 hours a week (over 4 days).  

What I miss:  Sleep


Labor signs:  Nope

Appointments:  Prental on September 10 and Anatomy Scan on September 11

Misc.   My appointment went fine last week. It is always a relief to hear that heartbeat. 

22 Month Eleanor Update + A Ridiculous Amount of Pictures

She's getting close to 22 months so it's time for another update.

This girl is hilarious!  Like she does silly things all on her own and cracks herself up.

She's very vocal.  I know as her mom I think that she is so smart, but I've had other moms tell me that she speaks really well (as in clearly and with a big vocabulary).  I know it sounds like a brag, but it's not.  There are other areas that she needs improvement on and every child is different.

In the last few weeks she's starting to sing songs.  Sometimes with music and sometimes on her own.  It's super cute, but when she's supposed to be sleeping and I hear her singing the abc's I want to go "aaah stop"

She is still nursing one time a day, but I'm hoping to get rid of that soon-like this week.  I don't think she's getting much milk; it's more of a comfort and routine thing for her. I'm sad about it, but I do want a break before baby 2 arrives. 

She still loves to eat pretty much everything.  I'm happy to have such a good eater.  I have noticed she's not a fan of blueberry yogurt and only likes blueberries that are frozen but that's about it.   

She loves her dolls (her favorite!), books, and taking walks in the wagon

Size 4 disposable diapers,  18-24 month/2t bottoms, 18 month -  2t/24 month tops

She's finally getting back to sleeping through the night or most of the night in her crib.  When she would wake up I'd get her and put her in the pack n play in my room because I was to exhausted to deal.  She would always quiet down and go back to sleep easily in there.   We still have the occasional off night but it's better overall.   She normal sleeps until about 7:30am and falls asleep between 8:30/9 pm (on her own!)

I'm always amazed at her comprehension and memory.  She remembers things that happened one time
days ago.