CD2

AF came yesterday. Booooo!!!! :-( I really thought I felt different this time. Hopefully Sept will be our month. :) Again, I wont be temp-ing, but I will be using OPK's. 

In other news, I put my 2week notice in at my job! FINALLY! Don't get me wrong, there are so many things that I love about working there, but sometimes it just wears ya down. Luckily, Scott's work situation has improved greatly and we are on our way to our planned future! w00t!!

Bright Blessings and Baby Dust!!

N.

Crunchy Momma

 Here's to all the Crunchy Momma's out there...

 1. Cloth Diapers! While the photos here shows BumGenius, there are so many different kinds that your head could explode! Nothing screams natural crunchy momma than cloth diapers!! Here's the link to the ones shown.

2. Cloth Wipes! Again, the photo shows the BumGenius brand, and I will be making mine from flannel scraps, and the receiving blanket overload I'm sure I'll get. At first it didn't occur to me to do cloth wipes, but the more I thought about changing my child's diaper. I'd have to have a cloth diaper pail and a regular diaper pail for the wipes?! Wait...no way, it's way to easy to just have one and throw them in the wash with the rest of the diapers.

3. Reusable Cloth Nursing Pads. well...duh! why wouldn't I use these? Breast milk is water soluble so it's not like these little guys wouldn't get clean. The ones shown are some organic kind, but you can find them all over etsy and other sites from WAHMs. I will more than likely make my own. (sensing a trend here?)

4. Nursing Cover. Clearly I plan on breastfeeding, and while in public, I really don't want/need gawkers, so these little covers will definitely help. They have a wire in the upper hem that you can bend outward to see your beautiful baby. Here's the one shown.

5. Boppy or any other breastfeeding helper. I used to work in a daycare in the infant room. I know how hard it is to keep that sweet little baby up to give him/her their bottles. I always propped a pillow under my arm. I love this cover from Boppy.

6. Breast pump. Again with the breast feeding. I definitely want to go BPA free, and I've heard nothing but great things about Medela. This model seems pretty mid-range. It's a scary thing to spend so much money on something your not even sure you will be able to use. If that is your main concern, there are smaller hand pump models as well. It wouldn't be a bad idea to start off with a hand pump, and then move up to a larger model if needed.

7. Beaba Babycook or any type of food processor really. I will most definitely be making my child's baby food. There really is no reason not to. You will be aware of what is going in to your child as well as saving you TONS of money! The Beaba freezer containers are amazing! They have a soft silicone bottom so you can easily pop one out.

8. Think Baby BPA free dishes. These are amazing! Nuff said.

9. Ergo Carrier. This is the sport version. Out of all the carriers I've heard about, the Ergo is the most talked about, and the most raved about. This would be nice to be fitted for my husband, and I could have the wrap that I talk about in #10.

10. Baby K'tan. I really love the two shoulder sling wraps. This one can be worn so many ways, and can also be used for breastfeeding covertly in public. Sneaky sneaky!

Nursery Ideas

Here are some of my Nursery Ideas, Enjoy :) 

All these items came from www.buybuybaby.com

1. notNeutral Arbor Friends Lamp Base and Shade. I love owls! But I'm on the fence if I could plaster them all over my child's nursery yet. I would love little pops of them here and there. So, I love this line of bedding and decor. Not too much. I'm still unsure if I'm in love with the lamp, but it couldn't hurt to have the ideas out there. I love...Lamp.

2. Color Study owls Vinyl Wall Decal. This is super cute because it is sorta off the cuff. I would rather it be a canvas than a wall decal, but who knows, maybe I could paint one similar to match our colors. Owl Decal.

3. Nursery Smart Changer in Mocha. Instead of having the traditional changing table, I definitely want a low dresser (like this one, or even a bit larger). That way as the child grows, this can still be used for years to come. We are undecided as to Mocha or Cherry color, but either way, it will match the crib. Mocha Changing Table.

4. Orange Butterflies I Wall Art. My husband loves insects, and if he wasn't a farmer, he'd be an entomologist. I thought this would be a nod to that, and would go with the orange in the bedding. Butterfly Wall Art.

 5. Mulitposition Reclining Sleigh Glider and Ottoman. While I'm definitely not tied to one glider over another, I definitely think comfort is key. I would also love for it to be neutral in color so we can always move it to another room in the house. Glider.

6. notNeutral Arbor Friends Storage Bins. If we go with the changing table pictured, I'd love to have two of these and one brown canvas bin to go in the upper slots. Super fun, and a great way to incorporate color and theme without going over the top.Arbor Friends Storage Bins.

7. JJ Cole Striped Storage Box in Brown. I love canvas bins and like I said in #6, This would go great to compliment the Arbor Friends Storage Bins. Brown Storage Box.

8. Tree of Life Wall Art. I love how similar this is to the bedding! More than likely I would end up making something like this. Super cute! Tree of Life Wall Art.

9. notNeutral Arbor Friends 4-Piece Crib Bedding Set.One of the few bedding sets without a bumper! I love how simple this is, good contrast of colors, and definitely up my alley. Bedding Set.

10. Ethan 2-in-1 Convertible Crib in Mocha. While I'm not super concerned about it being a convertible crib, it is a nice feature to have. I love dark wood, so we would go with either this color or the Cherry. Crib.

Well, there you have it! My first go at one of these fun picture boards. I hope I did alright. It really helps to see it all put together. I think I might make some more for the other areas. (ie. travel systems, toys, feeding, etc). How fun! :) 

N.

my cycles are confusing

As of today, I am DPO 7 and CD 23. I ovulated a little later than normal and I am also aware that my projected AF date is on CD32, I've never gotten AF on CD32. CD31 has been the longest cycle I've had since March at least. And my cycles vary from 27-31 days. So it's kinda difficult to be appropriately excited/nervous/shitting myself scared/wanting to POAS, but is it too early?... I really have no idea when to expect AF this month. I know I ovulated a little later, but does that necessarily mean AF will be later too?

I really am keeping myself busy so I dont read into symptoms and just to help to not think about it all day long...see my last post if you want proof...haha. But really...I am pretty go with the flow this 2WW and hopefully it stays that way!


I will keep you all updated on my cycle, and hopefully I will be able to report a BFP!

Nikky

You are now entering the 2ww...

Oh joy! the two week wait!
Now that our home is sick-free, we were ready to jump back on that pogo stick (so to speak of course). I actually ovulated late this month. I haven't been temp-ing, but i have been using OPKs. I started testing at CD9, then CD11, and then everyday after that. Unfortunately, I didn't get a positive read until CD16! So who flippin knows what will happen with AF this month (if anything--fingers crossed). While I'm not trying to over analyze this time around, I will keep a written journal so I can go back and see what my early pregnancy symptoms might have been. :) Also, we have been really busy with the house, and harvesting our veggies from the garden. Our county fair is going on this weekend so it will definitely keep us busy as well. Hopefully time will go by fast and I will soon know!

Today is CD 18, possible 2 DPO. Many baby blessing to you all!
Nikky

TTC update

Here's my quick update on our ttc journey.

Cycle day 11. Cycles trying: 3

I can't wait to see what happens this month! We have so many things going on in our lives that being pregnant would only add more happiness and joy to our lives!

Ive gotten to work in the infant room a few time in the last few weeks. We have some very tiny little ones in there, and it makes my heart melt! I cant wait to hold my own child and rock him/her to sleep :)

My friend is on her way over to give me a massage. She does in-home massages and is AMAZING!

I have some crazy work news, but that will have to wait until my next post. Lots of changes at work as well.

I hope you all are doing well and I send you buckets of baby dust!!

Nikky

Back from the depths of sickness...

Ok, so it could have been much much worse. But, I was sick from tuesday night through sunday. I'm talking really sick. I wont get into the details, but it was rough. So luckily I'm back to solid foods, real tasty food! Anyways, right before I was sick, I started taking my OPKs, and I never really got a definite temp spike since I had a fever for 3 days. So I'm guessing I ovulated around CD16 or 17. And I was in no shape to do much of anything but sit on the couch and the toilet. :( So this month is a dud, but I am just glad I'm feeling better now. Today is CD20.

On to next month. :)

We inherited a 10 month old kitty last week monday. His name is Vlad. He's cute, but I'm not much for the hair. He's been naughty the last day or so, which is to be expected since he's still a kitten, but its annoying. lol Ive been a pet owner all my life, but Scott doesn't think animals belong in the house. So it's a bit hard for him to adjust.

Anyways, in other news, the fitness has definitely been put on hold since my illness, as well as the menu planning. Also, we have been hitting the house hard as of late, so it takes up much of my "fitness" time as well. But, I've been balancing on ladders, and painting my little heart out! lol.

Speaking of the house, I'm thinking/hoping it will be done in Aug. I don't see why it wont be. We are about half done with texturing, and then priming and painting is pretty easy. Then we have to do the flooring, and get the cabinets/countertops/appliances and trim all installed. Not to mention the lighting. So we are definitely close! I cant wait! I can almost taste it...wait, that's drywall dust...yep, I can definitely taste it. :)

Hope you all are doing well! Sticky Baby Dust!!

Nikky

CD5

Cycle 2 of TTC. 
Cycle Day 5 
I remembered to temp this morning! Hurray! 

No news on the TTC front as of right now. I did, however, have this really weird moment today at work. It was a pretty stressful day to start off with. One person called in sick, another was going to be late, two extra children showed up that weren't on the schedule so I had to magically pull an extra teacher out of my butt (not a pretty thought, thank you very much) to cover the class with the extra children. So, on top of all that, I couldn't start making breakfast for the kids. My boss came in and was busy with her emails and I couldn't update her on all of this. For some reason, this made me break down and cry. How silly! So of course in the back of my mind, I'm thinking well...your period was a day shorter than usual... NO no no! I refuse to think that I am pregnant. Yes, it could happen. BUT...chances are slim. My period usually is like this 
Day1 spot
Day 2-4 medium to light
Day 5 spot

this time it was 
Day1 spot
Day 2 medium
Day 3 light
Day 4 spot
So not much of a difference. But any TTC-ers know that we definitely make mountains out of molehills. 
So that's all I have for now...I hope this post finds you all very well!
Baby Dust!
Nikky

Booo!

Severe cramps today. Started spotting late last night, possible light flow. So all this with my bfn early this week; I'm assuming its a definite BFN. :( boooo!
Onto next cycle! Billie and I are planning a sushi and shopping trip next week Thursday. I'm so excited! I love me some sushi! We are also going to stop at babies R us. Hurray for preconceptions buys! I'll be sure to post pictures. :)
Baby dust to you all!
Nikky

Sweet Potato Fries, ebay, and symptoms ohmy!

Mmm....sweet potato fries...

Thanks to Lala! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txOY8nvJHzw&feature=plcp

I will hopefully add some pictures later :)

Work today went a lot better. Still on shaky grounds emotionally, but I'm definitely doing better. :) 

In other news, I held off testing this morning. Mostly because I was running late. But I am proud of myself for waiting. I dont need to test every day. Especially since I'm not late yet  (not officially until Saturday)

I am currently CD28 / DPO 14. 

Symptoms: creamy CM, backache/back cramps, thirsty, frequent urination, nausea, skin break outs, sinus cold/cough, and of course, exhausted.

Ooo, I have some fun news! I won my first two ebay auctions! I bought two lots of 5 (10 total) medium perfect fit fuzzibuns for $30 each! They are used, and the elastic needs to be replaced, but I can handle that for $6 per diaper! They are blues, greens, orange, red, yellow! Fun and bright! Hooray! Should be here soon! We obviously wont need mediums for awhile yet, but at least I'm building my stash! w00t! 

Also, in ebay news, I ordered 20 more OPKs and 5 pregnancy test strips, along with Pre-seed. I figured we'd try it. (it also came with 2 free pregnancy tests! sweeeet!)

Anyways, I haven't mentioned much about our garden. We have a huge raised bed, I'm talking 3 feet tall, and 4'x8'. We have carrots, sweet peas, beans, pickle cucumbers, and slicer cucumbers, bell peppers, and cherry tomatoes growing, Everything is doing fabulous!!! Then in a much lower bed, we have sweet corn, butternut squash, pumpkins (for pies), and sweet potatoes. They are all doing extremely well also! Then by the side of the garage, we have (very sad) sunflowers, and gigantic pumpkins! :) up in front I have my herbal bed with lavender, rosemary, thyme, oregano, basil, mint, and lemon basil. I love cutting fresh herbs for my breads and sauces! YUM! I'll have to post some photos of my gardens soon as well!

I suppose I should get dinner going. 

BBQ Cheeseburgers, Sweet Potato Fries, & Root Beer!! YUM!

Sticky Baby Dust!

Nikky

mama mia...here we go again...

what a crappy day! I got to work in a decent mood. Opened my locker and there was a passive aggressive note inside. Problem is, I cant even recall what I've done to deserve this! It would be different if I did something wrong, and i knew it. I really honestly truely cant think of anything! What drama! My workplace is getting terrible. Everyone talking about everyone else, back-stabbing....blah blah blah! Ive got better things to worry about! Sometimes though, I can be sensitive, and it really got to me today. But as I write this, I feel like I am brushing it off. It feels good to stand back and scoff. How silly these things! I have a grand adventure to look forward to ahead of me. Hopefully sooner rather than later!

CD27 / DPO 37  AF due between today and Friday (thanks to wonky cycles). --Hopefully not at all! My symptoms seemed to have lessened, other than moodiness. My breasts are a little tender, not as bad as they have been though. I do have some extra CM right now, I'm not sure what that means...and i get bouts of nausea here and there. plus tired of course! Time will tell i suppose! More later...

Nikky

I should know in the next few days...

CD26 DPO12

Still a BFN, :( I am a bit discouraged, but honestly, I'm suprise by how positive I'm staying. Knowing only 65% of women get a bfp before cd12.

While in the shower this morning, I noticed tons of little baby veins and they were bright red. I have never noticed them before. I asked Scott about them, since he keeps pretty close tabs on the girls (lol). He said he's never noticed them either, and he thought my nipples were darker. Idk, I keep going back and forth...this is my first 2ww, and it feels like 2 months have gone by!

I have been watching some more YouTube mommies, I love seeing nursery tours and baby shower hauls :)
Nikky

Fireworks!

Scott and I are off to see our towns fireworks. :)
CD26, DPO12 symptoms are the same as yesterday. Tender breasts, dizzy, exhausted, still cough/sick, slight nausea. New today is loss of appetite. I'm hungry, but once I start eating I get totally turned off to food.
Sleepy sleepy sleepy....
Nikky

I couldn't believe I caught one of the heart ones!

It was a nice show. Not too hot or buggy. We had a nice seat in the back of this giant hill at our town park.

Part of the grand finale.

Honest Moments...

Ok, so this might be a little deep (and slightly embarrassing)...

I can count my friends on one hand. I really don't enjoying going out to meet new people and trying to put on a fake front to make people like me. I am extremely content with my best friend, my husband, and the few other close friends I have. At work I cant really make close friends since I technically am their superior. So its a pretty rough patch when i need someone to talk to...anyways...enough of my self pity, here's the reason i had to let you in on my embarrassing life... :)

While growing up, I always thought "wow, i cant wait to be 16, then ill be free to drive around and ill be happy." then when i was 16, it was "wow, i cant wait to be 18, then ill be an adult and people will treat me like one" at 18 "i cant wait to be 21 so i can really be taking seriously" at 21 "damn i this sucks! i want to settle down and start a family"  now at 26, married, (and having very few friends), and ttc-ing,  i have realized why i have always been in such a hurry to "grow-up". i was waiting to be a mom. (insert awwww) i know i know, kinda lame. But it is truly how i feel. hopefully I'll be right this time. here's my realization...

When I have my little baby and my loving husband, my life will start.

All my life i have been waiting for it to start...urging it to move faster to get to the good parts, hoping the next big thing will be it. Well, now i dont have a doubt in my mind that this is it. We are on the brink of a major life change and i couldnt be happier! I feel like once i have my little one in my arms, i will want and need to visit with other mommies and go out and do things, playdates, library visits, etc. i cant wait! Its finally here, and now im just praying for my BFP! (dont get me wrong, i know im extremely blessed to have the things that i do. i have very grateful! but i am always looking forward to the future)


Baby Dust & Many Blessings!
Nikky

Home sick...

Last night was brutal. I had a terrible time going to sleep. Scott was so sweet, he gave me a nice long back rub to help me relax. Finally about 9:45 or so I fell asleep. 10:15 I woke myself up coughing, couldn't breath. Took my inhaler. It seemed to help deepen my breathing. Still coughing, but better. Finally fell back asleep. 11:15 wake up coughing again. No reprieve this time. I couldn't stand it, it was making my stomach upset too. I finally took a half dose of cough suppressant and finally passed out in bed. 

Getting up was ok, considering. Took a shower got ready for work, still coughing and exhausted, but that usually goes away once I get going. No such luck. I couldn't make it through my shift at work. Too darn tired, and losing my voice on top of it. 

So here I am, home sick, humidifier going, mucinex d in my system (pharmacist said it was ok for the possibly pregnant ladies) laying in bed, waiting for domino to deliver my gluten free pizza so I can eat and pass back out! Ugh! 

Symptom wise, dizzy, tender breasts, mood swings, exhausted, nausea.
DPO10
More later
Nikky

Sometimes I wish...

Sometimes I wish I wasn't temp-ing. Then I wouldn't get disappointed if my temp went down. It wasn't over the crosshair, but still down. I know this isn't a definite bfn, but its definitely discouraging. 3 more days til Sunday test day! I'm really going to try to make it to dpo12 without testing. More later...have a great day yall!
Nikky

Gettin a funny feeling...

Wow, ok...I really am trying to not read into this and get my hopes up. But...I had some really weird and painful surges in my boobs earlier, felt like it came from the inner core and surged out to my nipples. Like I said, weird. That's never ever happened to me before. Then a few hours later, I got this wave of nausea. I really thought I was going to be sick. Thank goodness for papaya (sp?) tablets.  So being the freak that I am, I took the bump.com's early signs of pregnancy quiz. So yeah, here I am, inspecting the darkness of my nipples...LOL so anyways, they predict that I am pregnant! After I told Scott what the quiz said, he kissed my tummy and started talking and joking with the "embryo" . Lol too cute! So now, I'm all excited and can't flipping sleep. I need to be up in 6 hours!
Baby dust!
Nikky

America's Bday

Happy 4th of July!

I am currently CD22 / DPO8. I am so antsy!! I cant wait to start testing! But of course I am afraid of being disappointed with a BFN! Booo. So here i wait....

Now, in past cycles (before i was tracking my temps) my cycles varied in length. I had never noticed this before I started tracking my cycles. March was 29 days, April 27, and May 31! WTF?! So its a little difficult to think, "Oh I can start testing 5 days before i should get AF"...when the heck would that be exactly?! And even if I wait awhile, and say I'll test if AF is late...well at CD27, Im going to start stressing out, "Am I late? Should I take a test? Is that a cramp? Is it starting? I need to take a test. No I should wait." Ahhh!!! So you see the pickle I'm in. Plus, Fertility Friend has tagged CD14 as my O-day, but I got my O-cramps on CD15, so Im not sure if i should wait an extra day or not. wow...I really need to calm down about this! 

Ok, here's my plan...

I will wait to test until sunday morning. Which will be CD26 / DPO12. I would normally get AF between CD27-31. So I obviously have some extra waiting and praying in there, but at least I have a plan. 

On to fun news, I have off of work today! Wahooo! We really have no plans, other than pick up a few groceries. (green apples & peanut butter for me, and ice cream for Scott) What exciting lives we live... perhaps more later.

Baby Dust!
Nikky

Plans for the future...

Good Afternoon! 

I just figured I would write up my tentative plan for my pregnancy/delivery/postpartum.

Pregnancy: I want to see a OB/G, as well as a midwife. Obviously be as healthy as possible. Maybe use the Brewer Pregnancy Diet http://drbrewerpregnancydiet.com/ Exercise, and work as up to a month before my due date.

Labor: I want to have my husband, doula Rachel, my midwife, and my best friend Billie there to help me. I want to be able to walk around and move my hips to help baby get into position.

Delivery: I want to birth at home in a birthing pool. Candles and music, lights low. I'm thinking about using hypnobirthing. I definitely feel labor and birth is rite of passage from maiden to mother. I'm thinking about mother directed pushing. No episiotomy. No cord cutting until it has stopped pulsating.

Postpartum: Cloth diapering of course! Breastfeeding! Baby Wearing! Co-sleeping! (I'm on the fence about vaccines currently-more research on my part must be done) Stay at Home Mom! Meal Planning! Make my own Baby Food! the list goes on and on :)

So that's my plan as of right now. I'm so very excited to get this underway!! The 2WW is already killing me! 

Welcome and Introductions

Hello there!
My name is Nikky Fischer, I am 26 years old and I currently work as a lead preschool teacher and assistant director of my daycare. My husband Scott is 25, and we have been married for 9 months. He owns his own farm, and is renovating our house into a two family. I am writing this blog as a way to document our journey in trying to conceive (TTC). I also would love to find a ttc community to help pass the time in the two week wait (2WW).
A little bit about myself:
I am 5'4", 240lbs. (definitely heavier than i would want to be ideally, but i love myself!) 
I love to garden, and conserve as much as possible. I am very crafty and create many things. I love love love to cook! I love the challenge of mixing flavors and textures. This challenge became even more difficult when i started eating gluten free 1.5 years ago. (more on that later) I enjoy walking, love hiking and swimming! But most of all enjoy spending time with my amazing husband! (Insert Awwww....) 

This is TTC cycle 1. 

I am currently DPO 4, on CD 18. here is my chart on fertility friend http://www.fertilityfriend.com/home/3d5e31 

I am exhausted today. I went to bed early enough.(Not my normal time, but still before 11) so i know i shouldn't be tired from lack of sleep. i even slept in later, and took a quick snooze around noon today. i just cant shake it. I don't know if its allergies, or b/c i mowed my brother's lawn yesterday and my body is sore. I just don't know. i guess time will tell, but of course i am over analyzing everything! 

Ive been following a few YT mommies and their ttc, pregnancy, mommy vlogs. I will add their pages below so you can find them as well.

Here is my journey thus far: 

A few months ago, I began getting baby fever. My husband and I have been married for 9 months as of tomorrow. :) I began searching for midwives/doulas/birth centers/etc so i could be more informed when the time came. I came across a doula in my area named rachel. we corresponded through emails and she recommended a doctor that supports natural childbirth, a few midwives,  and a few other resources. One of those resources was the documentary "The Business of Being Born" and I youtubed it to see if i could find any clips. Well low and behold, I came across the full documentary! I watched it twice in the same day! And 3 more times since then. Well thanks to the magic of YT, it suggested other videos that were similar, and i began watching other homebirth videos. Including Lucy and Joel Eades of xxxjoelpolexxx. And my obsession began. From their videos, i found other YT mommies and all of their stories. i fell in love with home birth. I knew for a long time that i wanted to cloth diaper my children and following these lovely ladies and only cemented my decision. I have always wanted to breastfeed, and baby wear so i felt so much at home with their stories. Now, if only i had a decent working camera to make some TTC videos!

Anyways, so far, I have made a few purchases and also sewn a few things as well. Our local JoAnn's was having a huge moving sale so i found some PUL and other materials for great deals. I made my first cloth pocket diaper! It turned out cute! Also, i made a taggy soft block, and a cute little owl toy. I also made some inserts out of old towels. I bought a 3 pack of white Carter's onesies and 2 fancy pants one size pocket diapers. http://fancypantsdiapers.com/

Some of my Favorite YouTube Mommies:

plus1please  

http://www.youtube.com/user/plus1please

NaturallyThriftyMom

http://www.youtube.com/user/NaturallyThriftyMom

CandidMommy 

http://www.youtube.com/user/CandidMommy

MamaNaturalBlog 

http://www.youtube.com/user/MamaNaturalBlog

xxxjoelpolexxx

http://www.youtube.com/user/xxxjoelpolexxx

I will keep this updated as I wait wait wait....I will post websites, fun ideas, baby buys, and all things natural! W00T! 

Baby dust to you all!

Nikky