What it is:
* A tote that actually keeps stuff cold or cools things inside of it.

Features:
* Two cool compartments. One compartment that is cold on both the front and back. One compartment that is only cold on the back.
* A side with a “window” that allows you to slip in a piece of paper with pertinent information like name.
* A side with a velcro-able pouch.
* Entire tote can be placed into the freezer.
* Keeps items cool for ~12 hours (per manufacturer).
* Removable strap.

What I like:
* Since we’d go out so often, it was important for us to be able to carry Zoe’s breastmilk bottles with us everywhere. I could easily fit 2 5oz medela bottles and 2 nipples with covers for the bottles.
* Zoe was also teething so we would put her pacifier in the front pocket. A cool pacifier I’m sure felt nice on her gums.
* Entire tote could be thrown into the freezer. I’m lazy. I don’t want to zip out any freezer packs and have to zip them back in.
* Easily fit into our large Backpack Diaper Bag with plenty of room to spare.

What I don’t like:
* Not really sure what you could use the velcroable pouch for since I never found anything that actually fit in it.
* The manufacturer says 12 hours?! are you nuts, it’s probably more like 8. But thankfully breast milk lasts for 4 hours after being out of the fridge.

Overall: I was really pleased with this bag. It made going out a lot easier. We still use the freezer bag to hold milk cartons, fresh fruit, cheese and other snacks. Add this to your registry if you’d like to making going out with your child a bit less stressful.

Playtex Fridge-To-Go Bottle Holder – Double on Amazon

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A similar scenario happened to me recently at the doctors office. But instead of using a changing pad, I just used the patient bed that was covered in the paper that the doctor rips off and pulls new before the patient sits on it. It reminded me of why I use hospital chux instead of those changing pads.

If my daughter pees or poops on the chux, I just chuck (har har) the thing into the trash. And since I have the awesome-est diaper bag I always have a spare or two.

What it is:
* Like a mini mattress pad, that’s disposable. They’re commonly used in hospitals for random things like setting out tools, or putting under patients to catch blood or urine.

Features:
*  Absorbent
*  Waterproof

What I like:
*  Very portable.
*  Thin. So thin that carrying around 3 is still smaller/thinner than most changing pads.
*  Disposable. I know, not great for the environment, but they’re also..
*  Durable. I can easily use a single chux for at least a month before wondering if I should toss it for sanitary reasons.

What I don’t like:
* Nothing.

Overall: I add a handful of these in the gift I give for baby showers.

Champion Blue Disposable Underpads (Chux), Large Size 23 x 36, Pk/25 on Amazon.

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This diaper bag looks like an OK backpack. It’s definitely not a COOL backpack but design wise it’s very practical (it’s designed by dad’s what do you think you’d get?). I don’t think a dad or anyone else will feel ashamed or embarrassed to sling this on their back. Most people won’t even know what this bag really is.

What it is:
* A no-nonsense diaper bag  that’s a backpack instead of a messenger bag, oversized purse, etc.

Features:
*  Two compartments on the sides for water bottles, sippy cups, etc (one on each side)
*  Wipes compartment easily accessible without having to open the bag
*  Top compartment that fits about 8-12 diapers. Zoe’s in a size 4, and it easily fits 8
*  Large main compartment. Holds a change of clothes, blanket, and almost anything else we feel like throwing in there
*  Two “smaller” pockets that will hold misc items like diaper cream, hand sanitizer, changing pad, etc
*  Comes with a changing pad (I tossed this. We use hospital chux instead)
*  Built in stroller straps (’nuff said)

What I like:
*  Convenience of the wipes and diaper. This is the essential part of any diaper bag. You don’t have to dig for anything.
*  How much stuff it holds. It doesn’t fit as much as my old North Face, but pretty darn close.
*  Not girlie. I’m a “tomboy”. Girlie things and I just don’t get along. The messenger diaper bag we had was nice and not girlie, but the strap across my chest which was unfortunately placed, just made me feel uncomfortable.
*  Travels really well. If you knew us, you’d know we travel quite a bit. Our daughter’s passport already has been stamped twice (would’ve been 3 if we got the Canada stamp) before she was even 1.5 years old.

What I don’t like:
*  The wipes box that is built into the diaper bag can be tricky to close. It’s not hard to close it, but you need to fidget a little with it. If you’re not willing to fidget, it’s fine. There are straps that you velcro over the box to ensure that it stays shut. GENIUS!
*  Sometimes you have to dig around in the large compartment to find what you need, but that might be because I’m not organizing my bag well enough.

Overall: I really think this is THE diaper bag. I’ll probably even use it after Zoe is potty trained.

DadGear Backpack Diaper Bag on Amazon

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• Sample of easy ups
• Coupons
• Stickers and Coloring pages
• Potty Training Tips
• Progress Chart
• Dora/Diego Training Trophy

Half of this will probably go into the recycling. Get your kits while they last!

Free Potty Training Kit from Pampers

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Compared to the other trimesters, third was fairly uneventful. The most noticeable difference was my size.  i did grow a decent sized belly, but not enormous. but with the growth also came … stretch marks! >_< very unappealing in my opinion. but again, not horribly bad compared to what i’ve seen online. Yup and that lovely line right down the middle of the belly. Not too pretty either. here’s mine:

Stretch Marks

Growth of a belly also meant fun times trying to get out of bed in the morning.  if you want to know what i mean, strap a 20-40lbs backpack to your midsection lie down in bed and then try to get up. now do that every morning for about 3 months. yeah. now you get it. joseph was always very accommodating, sometimes helping to push me out of bed when i needed the extra nudge.

Walking around and going up and down stairs is not fun, but with the extra weight up front, it’s even more not fun. same test with the back pack. thankfully my feet didn’t swell, but i did start to feel pain in my hips and legs.  i definitely got sleepy around the 3pm mark. the only thing keeping me up at work was the constant talking around me from my coworkers. what i really wanted to do was curl up on the sofa behind me.

one thing i definitely liked during the last trimester, was all the people who let me have a seat on the subway. i did notice a bit of a trend. the people who gave up their seats were other women (usually older white ladies), and short latino men. but me, being the weirdo that I am, would always try to get the lame kids, who’s legs were sprawled apart into at least 2 seats, to move instead.

if you really must know more detail about being pregnant, just carry the backpack in your midsection all the time for 3 months.  soon you’ll be aching all over, and getting tired faster too

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Post tags: 9 months, backpack, coworkers, daughter zoe, hips, midsection, sofa, stretch marks, subway, swell, third trimester, trimesters

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second trimester was better than the first. for sure. only one incident of diarrhea and vomiting. and my appetite slowly came back. at the last doctors appointment of the trimester I had finally gained back 2.5lbs of the 10lbs i had lost.

that was really the most scary thing for me. everything i read and from other people’s experiences they had all GAINED weight during their pregnancy, nearly from the beginning. meanwhile i gained nothing, only lost. it scared me. i was definitely trying to eat more and more frequently. third trimester has been better. more on that in a later post.

i started to feel the baby move around. the fluttering feels a lot like GAS. but as the baby got bigger we could start to feel her kick. i found it sort of amusing and cute most of the time. joseph thinks it’s a little creepy, because it’s like a little alien in my belly.

the most amazing part of the second trimester is the sonogram. lying on the table and watching the screen. it was fun to see the face and body. and finding out that it was a girl!

i’m a little afraid to have a girl. i guess my “preference” was a boy. but only because i’m not sure if i know how to raise a girl. friends will have to put my daughter’s hair up for her. cos i have no clue, other than the basic pony tail. and what to do if she wants to wear a dress? how about make-up?!

thank goodness for god parents. we’ve selected and asked 4. two men and two women. their responsibilities are:

1. to love our child
2. to pray for her
3. perhaps protect her
4. to care for her
5. (optional) braid her hair

here’s some gifts from some of the god parents. how fitting =P:

image removed

headphones for the concerts baby tsang will go to in the future. she’s already been to at least 2: snow patrol and the killers.

image removed

these are really fun cds. the U2 one we got long before i got pregnant but i’m still applying it since it’s from one of the god parents.

no… the god parents are NOT required to begin buying things for our child. that is not one of the responsibilities as mentioned above.

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Post tags: appetite, baby move, clue, diarrhea and vomiting, face and body, first trimester, girl friends, god parents, goodness, headphones, killers, little alien, pony tail, second trimester, snow patrol, sonogram, third trimester, time joseph, two men, two women

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Joseph and I figured out around the annual Vision retreat that I might be pregnant. I’m fairly regular, but my period hadn’t come when it was supposed to. So once we got back home, we went to the pharmacy and got some tests. joseph shared about the experience here via some pictures. let me just tell you, trying to read and understand those lines was confusing!

Once I was sure, I started doing the research on hospitals and doctors. In NY, it’s a bit mind boggling. You’re basically choosing between the best Children’s hospital, best NICU, best pregnancy/birthing hospital, best high risk doctors, etc. It turned out, whatever hospital I chose would be either the best or at least ranked top 10 in the country in something or another.

Next was down-selecting the doctor. My criteria was:

1. Recommended by a friend or more
2. Takes my insurance
3. Delivers at one of the better hospitals, per my previous paragraph

I made appointments with about 4 doctors after getting a list of about 20+ doctors from various friends and doctors. Only a few actually fit my 3 criteria. But then I canceled the rest of my appointments after having seen the first doctor. She was great. Joseph and I didn’t feel the need to see a bunch of other doctors after her.

Beyond the research and administrative stuff, my body was freaking out on me. Lack of appetite basically caused me to lose about 10lbs. Weird. Most people gain weight, instead I lose weight. I didn’t want to eat anything really. Meat was a definite turn off and actually still is, but I forced myself to eat it for protiens sake. However, almost anything spicy would be eaten no problem, just not a whole lot of it.

Morning sickness was more like ALL-DAY sickness. At one point I had both diarrehea and vomit coming from my body at the same time! (sat on the toilet with a trashcan in front of me)

The good is that I’m definitely eating better. I eat far more vegetables and my want for korean food is stronger than ever (perhaps to joseph’s chagrin =P)

And the GREAT is how loving and supportive joseph has been through all the ugliness, grossness, and pickiness.

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