I Won!

I'm on Whattoexpect.com which is a community for pregnant women to get together and talk. They do contests every few weeks and give away anything from gift certificates to strollers. With the new What to Expect When Your'e Expecting movie coming out next year they are doing monthly contests for different prizes. I won the October prize for the best storyline, it's a free years supply of Dove hair products! They did a little feature on the site and I just recieve my huge box of products! So exciting. Here is the feature: http://www.whattoexpect.com/BLOGS/what-to-expect-movie-news/meet-the-next-what-to-expect-star-of-the-month

Meet the Next What to Expect Star of the Month!

It's time to congratulate another Star of the Month, who holds the title for October. Heather Anderson won the Best Storyline Giveaway (and a year's supply of Dove Nourishing Oil Care Hair System products) with the following post about her real-life pregnancy story:

"So I'm drying off after a shower and look at my belly in the mirror and get all warm and fuzzy about the life that I am growing inside me. Then I take a peek at the back: 'What is that on my caboose? Please tell me that someone drew a little squiggly line on my hiney with a purple pen in the middle of the night.'

Nope, it's definitely my first stretch mark. After mountains of Palmer's along with other elasticity-promising lotions, it finally happened. The sad part is that it is most likely only the beginning. I knew it would happen but hoped it wouldn't creep up on me until the last few weeks of pregnancy, like some of the other women I have spoken to. But with an extra 17 pounds on my relatively small frame, my skin just couldn't accommodate. I still have 14 weeks to go until my due date. That's a lot of time to gain more weight and accumulate more of these purple lines on my tush. I just hope they stay on my tush. Stay away from the belly you pesky bikini-haters! My new resolution is not to look at my rear in the mirror anymore. In her book, Belly Laughs, Jenny McCarthy warns about this. But I didn't heed her advice. No pregnant lady should ever look at her rear end in a full-length mirror. Unless you are a supermodel, of course. Those pregnant supermodels should be force-fed doughnuts every day."

Who's the funny lady behind the post? Get to know Heather here:
Which cast member are you most looking forward to seeing in the What to Expect movie?
I’m really excited to see all the ladies in the film work together. As a fan of My Sister’s Keeper, Vanilla Sky, andThe Sweetest Thing, I’m especially excited to see Cameron Diaz in her role. I know she will play the mom part with humor.
Which storyline can you relate to the most?
I feel like I can relate to both J.Lo’s and Elizabeth Banks’s characters. I had a hard time conceiving after experiencing a miscarriage with my first pregnancy. We were contemplating adoption and talking about fertility treatments when we surprisingly conceived our son. After I got pregnant I had it all planned out. No pacifiers, no bottles, a natural birth, etc. Well that all went out the window when delivery day arrived! I was induced and two hours in I begged for the epidural.
Will you plan a special night out to see the movie in May?
I plan to have a girls’ night out! I’m pregnant now and the baby is due in March, so May will be the perfect time to get my girlfriends together for dinner and a movie!
What about your romance with your partner is made for the movies?
My husband and I are high-school sweethearts. We were 14 and 15 when we started dating in a very small town. I followed him to college and we got married after graduating. We basically grew up together.
What are your favorite romantic comedy flicks?
Romantic comedies are great. You have to have humor in a relationship or it just doesn’t work. One of my favorite romantic comedies is How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. I also love The Sweetest Thing, which stars What to Expect’s own Cameron Diaz.
What about your pregnancy has been film-worthy?
Well, we are finding out today whether we are having a boy or a girl in a very special way. This morning I had the ultrasound tech seal the gender in an envelope. I’m taking it to a party store to have them open the envelope after I leave and put either blue or pink helium balloons in a sealed box. Then we are going to a field with a photographer and opening the box. I think that’s pretty film-worthy.
Which celebrity mom do you hope you’re most like once you’re a parent?
Jennifer Lopez seems to be doing it right. I rarely see her kids in the news, and when I do it’s quite apparent that she’s protective of them.
When did you know you were ready to become a mom?
When did I not know is the real question! I’ve always wanted to be a mom; it’s what I’m meant for. By the time I was nineteen I had a timeline all planned out. It showed when I was going to get married, graduate from college, buy a house, and have kids. Each milestone had a cute icon with the date I planned it to happen.
If you could ask any of the WTE movie cast members one question, what would you want to know?
I want to ask Joe Manganiello if he would be so kind as to send an autographed photo to my sister. She’s sort of in love with him.
Which cast member do you think you could be mommy friends with?
I think I could be good friends with Anna Kendrick. We are the same age, we both like theater, and she seems very down to earth. I mean the fact that I love Twilight has nothing to do with it.Stay tuned for the next giveaway and a chance to become November's Star of the Month!

Filed Under: what to expect, what to expect when you're expecting, what to expect movie, WTE, wte movie, wte moms, giveaways, beauty products
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It's a Girl!

Here's the story! On wednesday I went to the doctor and ended up having an ultrasound. I'm only fifteen weeks but the tech said she could most likely tell the gender of the baby. I knew I wanted to do the balloon reveal so I told her if she could be certain I wanted her to seal up the answer in an envelope so I couldn't see it. She took a look and I covered my eyes and she said she was 99% sure. So I went with it! After the visit I took the envelope to Party City and asked them to open it after I left and put either blue or pink balloons in a box and seal it up. This morning we had Brittany Toomey, photographer and friend, meet us at World's Fair Park. She took photos as we opened the box and found out we are going to be blessed with a daughter. It was so special and I will never forget it.

Birth Plan

I guess I should start thinking about how I want to have this baby. With J, I thought I had it all figured out. But when it came down to d-day everything went opposite. I had wanted a natural birth for Jareth, no epidural and absolutely no induction. So much for that. When I went to my last appt I was so ready for my baby to be here and I was so miserably pregnant that all my planning went out the window at the mention of the word "induce." And after my pitocin was started and my water was broken and I was very quickly at 6cm I decided I'd much rather do this without all the pain. I lasted a whole 2 1/2 hrs without an epi. Jareth was here about 3 hrs later. And all I felt was the pure joy and excitement of bringing my son into this world.
I think this time around I would like to hold off on the induction. I would like to feel what it's like to go into labor naturally. But I will most likely get the epidural. I don't want it immediately because once you get it there is no getting up and doing things like going to the bathroom on your own, but eventually I do plan to get it. It was wonderful to munch on ice chips while watching the monitor and saying "oh, I'm having another contraction!" instead of "oh my god, oh my god, I'm never doing this again!!!" And it was wonderful not to feel that episiotomy. I also think Jon was relieved when I got the epidural too. I was a little bit of a mess.
Last time Jon, my mom, and my aunt were all in the room when the baby was born. I don't really have a preference on who is there and who isn't. I know it would be nice to just share the birth with my husband but my family was super supportive. Plus, I had people there to take photos and share the excitement with. It was a really good experience.
Other things. I'm definitely breast feeding again and I want to hold the baby as soon as she/he is born assuming there are no complications. I want to spend time with just the baby, Jon, and Jareth as soon as they say it's okay to let him come in to visit. I want to see the placenta this time. And again, no pacifiers or bottles! The baby needs to get used to me before anything else. I will change one thing, the amount of people I let visit at one time. I got a little overwhelmed at being stared out for the hours leading up to and after having the baby last time. Everyone wanted to be in the room and I thought I wanted them to be in there too but it was a little bit too much at one time. I think 3 visitors at the most is good.
I'm only 15 weeks along and don't even know if we are having a boy or girl this time around so my feelings may change in the next 25 weeks. But, I'm glad I'm already thinking about this stuff. And I'm glad I don't have a big list of do's and don'ts this time around. Well.....at least not yet : )

We want you to vote!

Will Jareth get a baby brother or sister this spring? We hope to find out soon so tell us what you think!
Choose your answer to the right ------------->

"Every Pregnancy is Different"

I've heard it since I got pregnant with Jareth. Most women will tell you that each of their pregnancies have differed in one way or another and it's completely normal. Well this momma's second pregnancy is nothing like the first. With Jareth I had nausea for about a week I think. My skin was beautiful, my hair was thick and gorgeous, and I was pretty much all belly. I didn't gain weight until my second trimester. This time its just the opposite. I've already gained 6 lbs and I just look fat. I started wearing maternity jeans two weeks ago! Also, I'm breaking out like a 14 yr old and my hair is super dry. Oh, and I've been sooo nauseas! It's been awful. Let's just say I'm not exactly "glowing" this time around.
Part of me is hoping that these differences mean a girl is on the way. I've heard before that "boys give beauty and girl's take it away." I've had several dreams that we are having a girl and the baby's heartrate is much faster than Jareth's was which they say also means girl. But recently I had a dream that we were having a boy. Either way it will be great but I admit I would like one of each. Plus the chinese gender predictor says I should be having a girl. Hopefully we will find out next wednesday if they decide to do an ultrasound.
Although the symptoms are different this time around the feelings are the same. We are so happy to be blessed with another baby. We can't wait to find out if we are gaining another son or a daughter. Then the name game begins! By the way we are taking suggestions!

Here we go again!

That's right! Jareth is going to have a bouncing baby sister or brother this spring! We are 12 weeks and 2 days pregnant. My due date is March 19th. We are so excited! Our families and several friends know but we aren't planning to tell every one else until the second trimester which starts Sunday. I'm busting at the seams to tell the world; I've known since we were just 4 weeks along. I figure going ahead and posting it on here is pretty safe. I rarely write here anymore so I'm sure no one will be reading this before Sunday. Here's to another happy and healthy pregnancy!

I think it's time!

Jareth is now 20 months old and growing fast. I find myself missing his infancy and thinking about how far apart our kids would be if we got pregnant. Okay, I will be honest, it's more obsessing than "thinking." I have a chart....yes, you heard me right. One column has the month we would concieve followed by the month the baby would be due and finally how old Jareth will be when the baby is born. Yep, I'm officially ready. Jon, on the other hand, is a little hesitant. There is a lot up in the air right now. The house is for sale and we have no idea what we are going to do if or when it does sell. And there may be some movement with Enterprise over the next year. But, I say we just go for it! Wouldn't it be awesome if we didn't have to plan as much as we did with Jareth. I would love a suprise pregnancy. I'm still tired from trying for him!! So, I'm off birth control but we aren't making a big deal out of it. Hardly anyone reads this blog anymore so I feel pretty safe talking about our decision here. Only a few family members and friends know we want to try. I just don't want it to get to the point where I'm stressing about ovulation and taking a pregnancy test every single month. I enjoyed my pregnancy with Jareth, but I do want this one to be easier. Here's hoping!!!!


And yes, I would like a little girl although I'm not too picky. : )