Pre prenatal care :)

My order of prenatals came in the mail today!  SO excited!  I took my first New Chapter Perfect Prenatal about an hour ago on an empty stomach.  So far I can report that I have no nauseousness and the pills were easy to swallow :)  Which is a major plus, because most pills are too big for me to swallow. 

 

They've arrived!  Is it weird how excited I am about prenatal vitamins?!

In addition to prenatals, I have also been using Burt's Bees Mamma Bee Belly Butter.  I am using that simply because I already have some faint stretch marks on my sides.  I figured if I start using belly butter now then it will get me in the practice, maybe fade my stretch marks I already have, and I will have smooth skin :)  I love the way this stuff smells and that it's 99% natural.  I love that Burt's Bees posts the percentage.  When I am actually pregnant I would like to using something that is 100% natural, if anyone knows of anything or has any suggestions, I would love to hear!

Been using this for about a months now, it sure does leave my skins smooth!

Lastly,  I have given up caffeine.  Ouch.  This has not been easy.  My first couple days off of caffeine I developed a nasty headache.  I think I may be in the clear now though, fingers crossed!  Also, in the last 6 months I have lost about 10 pounds.  Before I get pregnant, I would like to lose another 10.  Wish me luck!  I want to be the best, healthiest, most informed and ready mom I can be :) 

Baby schedule

Flowers from our wedding - doesn't really have anything to do with this post, but still pretty!

Tonight I sat down and re-evaluated my husband and I's debt.  It isn't small.  That's a hard pill to swallow.  I'm only 24 years old and already in the hole.  Thanks a lot college education!
The good news?  We have a plan!  Nick and I are going to take an aggressive re-payment approach.  If all goes as planned (and we are crossing our finger and praying it will) then we could have a baby by (drum roll please) 2015!  WOO hoo.  It sounds far away... yes.  But, I am choosing to look at the bright side.  Yes, I want a baby, and I mean REALLY want a baby, but at the same time, this is Nick and I's only time with just the two of us.  We need to really enjoy it.  We are young and we still have things that we want to do before we have a baby.  We could just go ahead and jump right in to having babies, but I think we would breath much easier knowing that we had a couple extra dollars at the end of the month, especially once we have a baby to think about!  Well, that's the plan.  I hope we follow it and can stick to it.  It would be so awesome if we could.

My niece Harlo and I on wedding day!  Being around this kid sure makes me want one of my own.

All that said, I am getting my IUD removed next week.  Risky decision?  Maybe.  So what.  I'm sick of this thing.  This way I can start charting my natural cycle without all those crazy hormones.  My cycle is so unpredictable with the IUD.  My IUD has served it's purpose well, and now it is time to say sayonara!  I'm sure I sound like a royal contradiction right now with wanting to wait to have babies, but also getting my birth control method removed ASAP.  Unfortunately I have had some not so great side effects with this darn IUD and will be looking to more natural forms of birth control, if anyone has suggestions, I would be love to hear them. 

Might as well enjoy my young and childless years while I can!  I only have a couple left!  - Rehearsal dinner photo

Prenatal Vitamins

I recently read that it is smart to start taking prenatal vitamins well before you plan on getting pregnant.  I started taking Nature Made prenatal vitamins a couple months ago because they were on sale at the grocery store.... bad choice.  Do not go for the cheapest prenatal you can find, and you should probably read your labels and do your research before you buy prenatals.  Looking back now, I can tell you, Nature Made prenatals are awful! If you want to experience what morning sickness feels like, without being pregnant, then I encourage you to try Nature Made Prenatal Vitamins.  I had terrible stomach aches and actually felt like I was going to throw up.  Most prenatals are meant to be taken with food.  I did not know this going into using these vitamins, however even after eating a small breakfast with them, the improvements was not much better.

Now, I'm not an expert.  But from what I have read, apparently most prenatals use folic acid, which is synthetic.  If you get a prenatal with "folate" in it though, it has not been altered and is in it's more natural state.  Folic acid is often what leads to that feeling of nauseousness.

So, what to do?  I just purchased New Chapter Perfect Prenatal, it is made with whole foods (rather than synthetic chemicals) and can be taken on an empty stomach!  If you go to their site, this product gets rave reviews!  Women love it.  The only down side is you have to take it 3 times a day.  So what!  I eat at least 3 times a day, so I will just keep my prenatals in my purse.  I will do a full review on them once I have been using them for a few weeks and let you know what I think!

Organic Baby Gear

Where's the organic stroller's and car seats?  I have been hunting online all night.  I have come to the conclusion that there is none... if you live in the U.S.  Anyone know something that I don't.?

 I did find this great website http://www.naturkind.at/content/cms,id,38,nodeid,37,_language,en,em_url,internal.html
but they don't ship to the U.S.!

Granted, I do not plan on getting preggers for a while, but I like to do my research well in advance. 

Suggestions anyone?

I'm a married woman!

August 25th, 2012

It's love

Getting the dress just right

Center pieces

The bridesmaids and I before the ceremony

The ceremony site

Dad walking me down the aisle

Signing the marriage certificate

Classic wedding picture

The reception site

My favorite girls

The End

Wedding Preview

A full post to come later, but for now, here's a little snippet of the big day!