Baby Fever Week Top 3 Suggested Reads

There are so many pregnancy and childbirth books out there that it will make your head spin! I'm here to break it down for you. There were 3 books that I found completley essential to my newborn preparations, and one was immensely helpful after the fact. So here are my top 3 pregnancy book recs.

1. What to Expect When You're Expecting - I found this to be the most comprehensive pregnancy book out there. If I had a question about what was normal at each stage, or wanted to know what to expect at my next appointment, or felt the need to make something healthy to eat, this book had it. With everything from the description of aches and pains, to the symptoms of every dreaded pregnancy illness possible, this book had it all. Some of their suggestions are over the top, and I think 99% of the people who read it wouldn't follow, but all in all this was the most informational.

2. Birthing From Within - This was my MUST have book. I read it over and over while I was pregnant. I made reminder cards for DH from their suggestions. This book helps teach you how to prepare to be in labor. I wanted to try for an unmedicated birthing experience, and, even though I was given pitocin, I made it to 8cm without the use of pain meds. I fully attribute that to the techniques I learned in this book. And, just for reference, I was begging for the epidural at 2cm with my first! There are ways to practice the techniques, alternatives for each method... hands down my favorite childbirth book!

3. So That's What They're For - This was such a funny, down to earth, REAL book. It was like having a girlfriend walk you through the ins and outs, and ups and downs that are involved in breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is the way our babies were meant to be fed. It's why we have breasts! With my first, my milk dried up, almost overnight, at 6 months. I didn't have the knowledge to combat it, and so we just went straight in to formula. I was heartbroken, and knew that from the second I got pregnant with #2 that I would be preparing myself. This book gave me all of the how-to knowledge, as well as prepared me for every and any what-if I might face. My youngest and I breastfed for a year, until he self weaned. Total success!

I hope you buy these books, because they were invaluable to me. If you have any questions about them, just shoot me an email at info@grabbagreviews.com

*ENDED* Pregnancy Giveaway #1 - Passion Spice

Just because you get pregnant doesn't mean that your love life is over. I think alot of people are so worried that an expanding belly, a new life moving inside of you, and morning sickness are total mood killers. But, the honest truth is that for a lot of men, the opposite is true. They find their pregnant partner to be the most beautiful she's ever been, and couldn't be more attracted to her. I mean, come on. Who doesn't find canckles sexy? *snicker*

It's pretty obvious that most of the time the issue is us, ladies. It's hard to act sexy when you don't feel sexy. So, Passion Spice has produced a line of sensually inspired lingerie for mothers even in their most delicate of states.
Their collection of soft, silky, and lacy intimates will allow you to see your own beauty and sexiness.

The functionality of Passion Spice's maternity lingerie is one of the things I love the most about it! This Jola Baby Doll is satiny smooth and has ties that criss cross on the side. Now, not only is this fun for your guy, but it allows you to have a comfortable, flattering fit, no matter how little or lot you are pregnant! It also means that you get to use it for more than just 9 months. It comes in red and black and would be the perfect thing to pack for a "babymoon" (in case you don't know, a babymoon is the final trip you take, as a couple, before baby comes). Be sure to look at all of Passion Spice's maternity options!

My other favorite thing offered by Passion Spice is their nursing bra line. I am an advocate for breastfeeding, (a lactivist) and with my 2 boys combined, I have nursed for a year and a half, every day. Whew! It takes work, and sometimes it can make your breasts feel more like an office supply than part of your body. Thankfully the nursing bras here are both function and beautiful. I am in love with the openings for the Macy nursing bra! I had trouble finding nursing bras that supported me, were comfortable, and had nursing access that I felt good using, especially in public. I would never hesitate to use the Macy when NIP (nursing in public).

And now, lucky lucky you, you get the chance to win a gift certificate worth $25 to Passion Spice! Get anything you want, but I strongly recommend the Jola Baby Doll or Macy nursing bra. I love them both, and they'll be a part of my pregnancy/newborn journey next time!

How To Enter: Go to Passion Spice's website and tell me which item(s) you would choose. INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS.

Extra Entries:please leave in separate comments
- Get 2 extra entries for adding Grab Bag's Baby Fever button to your sidebar
-follow me
-add me on twitter and tweet this contest: (GrabBagReviews)
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Contest ends March 16th. Please leave your email address.

First Vlog? One Quick Rule Change Before We Begin.

Check out the video for the new change to Baby Fever Week! And, er, excuse the scary screen cap. I'm not ACTUALLY deformed.

Welcome to Baby Fever Week!

Grab Bag Reviews Baby Fever Week has finally arrived! This week is going to be full, every day, of fantastic giveaways and reviews. We'll have at least 2 giveaways every day, and possibly more! I'll be telling you about all of the best pregnancy, childbirth, and newborn items that I've found. These are all handpicked, by me, and they are either items that I have used or will be using the next time I have a baby. To ease MY baby fever, I am am giving you all the chance to win these fabulous prizes. Keep your eyes peeled because we'll be having lots of surprised! ENJOY!

Our Fridge Broke

Friday was a whirlwind of a day, for sure. To start things off, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Just really in a foul mood. It's pretty rare that I'm like this, so it just felt like it was going to be a bad day from the get go. Then, as The Hubby is leaving for work, an officer writes us a ticket for being parked facing the wrong direction on the street. Um. I'm from Alabama. We don't park on the street. I had NO IDEA your car had to be facing a certain direction. He could have given us a warning, but no, it was a ticket. It's only $15, but still. I can't help but wonder why he gave us a ticket, but not the 5 or 6 cars parked on the totally WRONG side of the street. Not to mention there are signs posted every 10 feet saying in red letters NO PARKING ON THIS SIDE OF THE STREET AT ANY TIME. Them? They get by free. Me? Parking facing the wrong direction, on the right side of the street. I get a ticket. Whatever.

So the day continues, and it was around 1pm. My landlord had called about 2 weeks ago saying he would be in town sometime around this time, so I was calling just to check in and see what his plans were. He says, "Well, this is funny. I'm on my way to your house right now! I'll be there in about 10 seconds. That's funny, huh?" Yea. Effing hilarious. My house was in no shape for company, let alone a landlord, so I politely tell him that tomorrow would be much better. He says no biggie, but he's still going to get into the garage and get some of his stuff out. No problem. He stays on the phone with me (did I mention he drags out phone conversation?) and sort of gets on my case about a window screen being out, and the garbage cans not being put back in the garage. The garbage just ran the day before! Anyhow, fine whatever. The whole time he was there I was jumpy, worried he would come and demand to come into my messy house against my wishes. He didn't, thank goodness!

And then it was dinner time. I go to get some chicken out of the freezer to make Chicken Tikka Masala and notice the chicken is soft... not at all frozen. Oh no. I check the fridge, and it's warm too. Craaaap. Now, I am in the position where I need someone to come look at it, but, as noted before, my house is a mess. So I clean for about 45 minutes, the house looks good, I call the landlord. No answer. Go figure. I started calling some repair places and they all either only service commercial fridges or it's too late. CRAAAAP! Meanwhile, my $300 worth of groceries are rotting away. I threw some of the more important items in the empty recycling bin and put them out on the porch in the cold.

The landlord finally called me back during the boys bath time, and gave me the number of the place he bought the fridge from, and the number to his friend the repairman. I called and left a message at the first one, and then called his friend. He scheduled to come out at 9 on Saturday.
He came and spent about 20 minutes looking at the fridge. It's kaput. The compressor was shot and our landlord decided to get a new one, rather than sink $600 into an 8 year old fridge. So, we were supposed to have a new fridge by last night!

I forgot to ask the landlord what time the delivery was scheduled for, so, I call the appliance place and ask. They say our fridge isn't on the truck, and it won't be delivered until Monday. NOT acceptable. I tell them on our receipt and delivery notice it has today as the delivery date. They told me the salesman would call me back, so I waited an hour and after no call back I put in another call, this time to customer service to try to reach him directly. He's at lunch. How convenient. I had to leave, so The Hubby manned the phone and when I came back home he said they called and would be delivering around 5pm. Perfect.

Five rolls around, and the delivery men show up. They have to take the doors off of the new fridge to get it in, and the old fridge to get it out, put the doors back on the new fridge, switch out the water line from the old one to the new one b/c the one on the new fridge is broken. Then they tell me the new fridge is 2 inches too wide to fit in the space in our kitchen. Peeerfect. Oh, and he told me he needed his money and he needed to leave. Thanks for the help, there, buddy! So, I start dismantling our cabinets, literally taking them off of the wall, out of the floor. I got everything taken apart, moved them over 2 inches, and completely reinstalled them. I ROCK! Just call me superwoman. I called our landlord to tell him the good news and he says, "You get two thumbs up!" Ummm, ok. LOL Thanks, I guess.

So, to make a long story short, it was an INSANE weekend! Totally hectic, crazy, stressful, eventful... L-O-N-G. I'm so glad the weekend is almost over!