She's here

Baby girl is here!!!!!

We are so in love with this little bundle of amazing cuteness. Birth story to come soon!

Amy

Why we picked the name we did....

So I have been asked a bunch of times why we picked the name Reegan for the baby. So, I thought I would explain.

Here we go:

At first I didn't even remember (is that really sad, or what!!??), but then my sweet hubs reminded me.... He has liked the name Reegan for a long time.  I think we have known what name we were going to use for a girl for so long that I just forgot why we liked it.

Eric comes from Tampico IL, which is the birth place of Ronald Reagan. Yep, the 40th president of the United States. However, I did not want to name the baby "ray-gen" So, I decided to change the spelling so that it would be easier to see that her name was "rEE-gan." Thus, the name Reegan came about.

But, then, the problem of a middle name came about. We couldn't think of anything that we really loved the sound of, that went with the name Reegan. We toyed with names like Charlotte, Noel, and a few other names, all of which seemed to go well, but we were not convinced that they were right. Charlotte seemed to long, Noel is Eric's cousins middle name and the others we thought about just didn't fit together well. Then, one day, Eric and I were taking a walk, and I thought out loud, "I really like the name Grace, what do you think?"  Eric thought for a second and said "I like that name." And there we had it!! We had picked a middle name!! Woohoo and a name was born... Reegan Grace Zigler.

We are so excited that Reegan is almost here... Only 3 more weeks until my due date... Let's hope she makes her entrance into the world sooner rather than later, that is what I am hoping for, atleast!

Until I can put up cute baby pictures... let me leave you with a few pictures of our very adorable puppy dog, Cooper!...

Cooper snuggling up on my pillow!

playing dead!

Sleepy coops!

New winter sweater!

Cooper wanted to go to bed so he snuggled into the clothes that were waiting to be folded on the bed!

Sick and pregnant...

For the past 7 (going on 8) days, I have been sick. It all started last saturday with a sore throat, and as the week went on, thinks just kept getting worse. by Wednesday I had little to no voice, stuffed up sinuses (and I am pretty sure a little bit of a sinus infection) along with the beginning of a cough. Yesterday I woke up with the most horrible tooth pain on the left side of my face. It was so bad that I had to have Eric get me some Tylenol from to store.

Now, when I tell you that I had to have Eric get me Tylenol, let me tell you, that is really bad. I have done so well with the every day pregnancy aches and pains that I can count on one hand the number of times I have taken any meds to relieve the pain. But yesterday was horrid. I could barely get up to take the dog for a walk, let alone sit up and do anything. I literally laid on the couch all day, save the few times I took the dog out. Cooper is a pretty good dog, but when he wants to go outside, he is relentless, so, I couldn't just lay around all day and not take him out. He's too cute for that!

I have come to the conclusion that woman who get sick while they are pregnant are super stars for having to deal with the pain and discomfort without taking any meds.  Now, don't get me wrong, I am not realyl a medicine taker even when I am not pregnant, but let me tell you, having the ability to go to the doctor to get a prescription if I want to is wonderful. Just knowing that I could get meds to help take the edge off a cold or sinus infection is a luxury that I will not be taking for granted.

30 days!

30 DAYS!!!!! 

That is how many i have until my due date! We are excited, nervous, anxious and pretty much every other emotion under the sun! We can't wait for this baby girl to enter our world. 

We have almost everything we need save a few odds and ends for me and a few for baby! It is exciting to finally feel like we are prepared for this little tiny person coming into our home! 

As far as I am concerned, baby Reegan can make her world debut any time she wants. I have about every pregnancy symptom you could imagine. My feet and hands are swollen, making it hard to walk, I am often up in the middle of the night for an hour or two because I am uncomfortable, hot, have to pee or my hip is hurting from being in one position for too long. I get winded after only a few minutes of walking, going up the stairs, or well, pretty much anything I do physically these days, lol.

I will be honest and say that I am NOT one of those women who LOVE being pregnant and would do it a hundred times. This experience has definitely been humbling, and life changing, but I am definitely ready to be able to do all the things I can't do now because of the bowling ball that is attached to my stomach.  I am most looking forward to bending over without having to brace myself so I don't fall over, picking things up off the floor with ease again, and being able to get up off the floor without the assistance of another person. and these are just a few of the things I am looking forward too at this point.

But right now, I just have to remember 30 days (give or take a few), and she wil be here! 

YIPPEE!!

Packing stinks... when you are pregnant!!

I am heading to IL to hang out with my momma and Bella for a few weeks. In the midst of packing I decided that packing sucks when you are pregnant. For one thing, nothing looks especially fantastic on me, since I have gained weight ( and a belly), plus, I really don't have a lot of clothes that are nice and fitting for the cooler Chicago weather.

Not to mention that I have to bring so many silly things, like my body pillow and regular pillows.

This is really turning into a nightmare. I wish that anything looked cute on me since I have 2 baby showers while I am in IL and I want to look nice for pictures and for seeing people I haven't seem in quite a long time.

So, the drama of a pregnant lady continues. What to bring, what stays home, and what will be most comfortable are all working on my nerves right now.

Maybe tomorrow will bring some enlightenment. Let's hope so!

Big week for baby things!!

So this week has been a big week for baby things! On Friday we received the pack 'n' play, and today the crib and dresser arrived as well as the carseat.

We are feeling incredibly blessed and are so thankful to all of our friends and family for already loving our baby so much!

I was also blessed by one of the regulars at the restaurant I work for when he gave me money and told me to go buy something nice for the baby. I was so shocked but so thankful for the kindness of an almost complete stranger.

Eric is setting up the crib and dresser as I type this, and I am excited to see everything come together for baby Reegan's room!

5am is too early to be awake!

I'm awake, bright eyed and bushy tailed, at 5am. I have been waking up more and more in the middle of the night, and early morning these days, so I figured I would write a little bit about something that has been on my mind a lot these past few weeks.

Why is it that people automatically assume that because they have/had a difficult baby, that everyone else will too. I have had so many people tell me things like, "just wait until she cries all the time", or "just wait until she won't sleep"... just wait this, just wait that. Why is it that "veteran" parents can't be encouraging to new parents, and support them in the new journey? Instead, new parents are being scared to death because someone else had a colicky baby, or a non-sleeper.

I don't believe for a second that being a parent will be easy, don't get me wrong, but where is the encouragement? Everyone seems to think that warning us about their doom and gloom is so helpful, but to me it's just another way of bringing us down, and scaring us into doubting our abilities in caring for our girl.

I am sorry if you had a difficult infant, but does that mean you have to doom us to the same fate?

Why not say something positive about your child, so that when we hit a rough patch with ours, we can remember that it isn't all doom and gloom to have a baby, but rather a beautiful, wonderful miracle, even if it is difficult at times!!

23 weeks (a little late, as usual)

Here is a picture of me while out with Eric and his family this past week. I was 23 weeks on Wednesday August 8th.

And just because he is cute, a picture of Cooper while he was trying to give me kisses this morning!

Cloth Diaper Purchase, Consignment Sale Shopping, and Family visit...

Yesterday, I made our first BIG cloth diaper purchase. I ordered a total of 11 diapers including 2 newborn All In One (AIO) diapers, and 9 one size pocket diapers. I ordered them off of gogonatural.com and with a 15% of coupon code, I spent $214 total. I got free shipping for spending over $75.

I ordered (one of each) colors Amethyst, Bermuda Blue, Crimson, Powder Blue, Lazy Lime, Platinum, Spring Green, Tulip and White in the one size pocket diapers, and a Sunshine Yellow and a Platinum in the newborn AIO diapers. Each diaper comes with a Microfiber 6r soaker set. They are all snap diapers.

Here is a photo of the colors for the diapers...

A few weeks ago, I purchased a Lux diaper to show Eric before I made my big purchase, so I have a total of 12 diapers right now. I am looking to get about 24/25 diapers total, just to make life easier, and so that i don't have to do Laundry every single day.

In other news, Eric's mom and dad, aunt and uncle were here this week to visit. We did lots of fun things, but the most exciting might be that Eric's parents ordered Reegan's crib for us. We decided on the white Delta Bentley 4-in-1 crib. You can find it here at Target.com. We love this crib because it goes from a crib to a toddler bed to a full size headboard. During our adventures, Brenda ended up buying Reegan some pretty adorable little outfits from both target and Gymboree. Reegan is going to be one stylish little princess if her grandma's keep buying her such pretty things.

Last but not least, I went to my first consignment sale out here the other day. I found a bunch of clothing items that I purchased, a playmat specifically geared towards tummy time play for $8, a pink Bumbo seat with tray for $15, and a BabyBjorn carrier for Eric to use for $20. I spent $100 dollars total and I am sure that I am forgetting to list something that I/we got. all in all it was a great week with family, and for baby purchases. 

Question ~ What were/are some items that you refused to pay full price for when shopping for your baby? I would love to know!

Baby Buys!

I have been so excited to start purchasing some fun things for baby girl. I have been searching Etsy for the perfect little things for Reegan and I recently purchased a few items that I am so excited to use.

 First off is a super soft blanket made from minky (the gray "bumpy" fleece) fabric and flannel. 

 Next is a nursing shawl, which will be nice when I don't wear nursing clothes (which are crazy expensive, by the way!)

 Next is a set of three burp clothes made from fabric and a cloth diaper. they are really soft and durable and they are big enough that I won't have to use a ton of different clothes. I am planning on purchasing a few more sets of these, they are really goo quality.

This last one is hard to explain. You attach the button to the carseat handle with the shorter piece of elastic (at the top of picture). When baby is not in the seat, you secure the strap to the car seat handle with the long strap with the ribbon. this way, you can set baby in the car seat without having to fumble with the straps. I am excited to try this out and so a review on it after baby is born!

Here are links to all the different etsy sites that I got my items from...

Blanket... 

Nursing Shawl...

Burp clothes...

Car seat strap thing...

I am also realyl excited because I bought a My Brest Friend nursing pillow at Once Upon a Child (a kids clothes and items resale shop) for $8.50. Those babies retail for $45 in store. I registered for a new cover for it because the cover on it now is pretty dingy, but otherwise it is in really good shape.

My next purchase is going to be my first set of cloth diapers. I am going to purchase 5 or 6 depending on what kind of coupon I can find. I cannot wait, I am really excited about all the fun things that are beginning to fill our house!

~Amy

the beginning of a very big purchase...

So, I just made the first of my biggest purchase for baby Reegan...

I have decided that I want to use cloth diapers.... It took me a long time to convince Eric, but I think that the thing that clinched it was the fact that to purchase 24 cloth diapers (which includes the diaper, a newborn soaker and a full size soaker) is around $525 dollars, where as, to diaper a baby for 3 years using disposable diapers can cost up to $3,500 dollars.  That is EXPENSIVE!!

But, some other benefits are that cotton ventilates and will help the ammonia that starts to form after a baby pees to evaporate, thus causing less diaper rash. The cotton is also so much softer than the paper used in disposable diapers. 

I love the Rumparooz diapers, as well as the Little Joey by Rumparooz (newborn diapers). The Rumparooz are a pocket diaper and the Little Joey is an all in one, meaning that there is no insert, it's all in one ;-). The Rumparooz are a multi size diaper, which means that you can change the buttons on the diaper to fit your baby, where as the Little Joey Diapers are mainly to me used for newborns, I believe from 7 up to 12 pounds. Also, the Little Joey's have a button in the middle that will prevent the top of the diaper form rubbing against the umbilical cord stump. 

Here area few pictures of my first adorable little diaper. 

This little cutie is snapped to the smallest size. 

This picture shows what comes with 1 Rumparooz Diaper. The diaper, newborn soaker and the medium/large soaker. when your baby gets bigger, the newborn soaker snaps into the med/Large soaker to make a doubler, which is great for bigger kids who need a little more absorbency. 

I am sure that some people will read this and say "EWW, GROSS," but that doesn't really bother me because i'm the one cleaning up the poop either way. :-).

So, now the buying begins. I can't wait to start my little Cloth Diaper stash.

If you want more information you can go to a few different websites. You can go to Kanga Care or gogonatural.com. Both have the Rumparooz diapers that I love, as well as other brands. What I like about Kanga Care is that they have a baby registry so you can register for diapers.

I am waiting for Eric to give me the okay to make my first larger purchase, and I can't wait for the okay. (hurry up honey, I want to buy baby things :-)

Here's to cute baby things!!

~Amy

It's a......

......Girl.....

We are  so excited to be having a baby girl. Reegan Grace Zigler is due on December 5th. We are hoping she doesn't try to make an appearance too close to Christmas, but we will be excited just to have her here finally.

Now the time has come to begin thinking about things like bedding, clothes, cloth diapers (yes, I said cloth diapers... more on that in another post.)

We got our first baby gift a few weeks ago from some very good friends and their 5 girls. We were given the Simplisse Breast Pump and Simplisse Gia Pillow from our friends Sam and Mandy and the girls. We are so thankful that they wanted to get this gift for us, because this was the breast pump that I have been searching and searching for for a very long time.

I just started my baby registries at BuyBuyBaby and Target online the other day. It is so fun to look at all the cute little baby things and chose what I think will be best for our little sweetie. I am thinking a pink and gray and green for here room. I found an awesome wall decal on Etsy.com that I think we are going to use as the main decoration for Reegan's room, you can find it here. I cannot wait until we actually start filling up her room with little girl things.

I have a trip planned to go to a store called Once Upon a Child, which is a thrift store full of baby/kid stuff. It will be an adventure seeing what they have there that I can pick up, and hopefully start checking some things off my list.

Time to stop daydreaming about baby things and get ready for work :-D

~Amy~

20 Weeks... a little late....

Well, here I am, at 20 weeks. the picture isn't fantastic, but I didn't feel like putting makeup on that morning.  I am definitely getting a belly though. FINALLY!

Baby Z

This has been a long time coming but since we find out Baby Z's gender on Thursday, I figured it's probably time to start this blog so that our friends and family can see pictures and what is going on throughout my pregnancy and beyond...

So, for gender predictions, Eric thinks that Baby Z is a girl, where as, I think that Baby Z is a boy. We will be excited for either one, but we'd love to have a girl. What do you think? Pretty much everyone I have talked to has said that the baby is a boy, so I will be interested to see who is right.

We cannot wait to go to the store after our appointment and buy our first few gender appropriate baby things.

According to the tech that did the most recent ultrasound, Baby Z was dancing on my bladder, which is probably why I have to go to the bathroom all the time. 

Here are a few pictures from the latest ultrasound.

 You can see Baby Z's heart in this picture

 Profile

 Profile

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Full length profile...

So, there you have it..... We will know the gender on Thursday, get excited. We certainly are!