Do Your Homework

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

I had a plan when I was pregnant. That plan involved a lot of different things that didn't happen. For instance, I wanted to have an all natural water birth. Instead, I had an emergency C-section. I wanted to go home the same evening, instead, I stayed in the hospital recovering for 5 days. I wanted Caleb to wear a certain outfit home, but he could barely fit in the preemie clothes we had to get him.

I wasn't disappointed in any of the things that didn't go my way. It was just an early lesson that you have to roll with the punches. Of course, that doesn't mean compromising the things that are important to you.

One of the things that was really important to me was nursing Caleb. I wanted to nurse him exclusively for at least the first 8-10 months and then have him weened by 12 months. That didn't go as planned.

Caleb was a great nurser. I guess what I am saying is, it wasn't him, it was me. I ran out of milk by the time he was 6 months old. He started eating solid foods, and he was nursing less. My milk supply dwindled, no matter how hard I tried to keep it up. By the time he was 7 months old, he was drinking formula.

I didn't have any formula, because I hadn't been planning to use it. I didn't know what kind to get because I hadn't done any research. I just happened to have a sample pack of formula, and so that's what I went with.

I was surprised to find this savings calculator for a brand of formula called Parent's Choice. You enter in the brand you use and they compare it to their prices. At first it came up saying that I would save about $500.00 a month by switching to their brand. When I adjusted the price per ounce for costco pricing, it still said I would have a savings of over $300.00.

I think that you should check out this site and see if they can offer you a savings. Above all, I would encourage people to plan ahead to change your plans. Even if you are planning on breast feeding, research the different formulas that are out there, just in case. Also, have a back up plan for your back up plan. You never know if your baby is going to take to your first choice in formula. There was a certain type of Similac that made Caleb sick to his stomach, but another that he really liked.

Eating Crayons and Extra Helpings

Every time Caleb plays with crayons, he ends up eating one. He always regrets it; yet he always does it. I think it's because the vibrant colors remind him of candy. He knows it isn't going to taste good, but it seems like he can't help himself. There is no way for him to resist the temptation.

Today I tried to reason with him. If the crayons taste bad every time, why do you keep trying to eat them? Then I realized that I do the same thing, in a sense. A lot of times, I do things that I know I will regret later.

For example, my latest temptation and regret was a second plate of ham at Easter dinner. Gosh, it was so good, I just had to have more. I spent the rest of the night bloated and uncomfortable. What's worse - Being too full to function or having crayon wax stuck between your teeth?

Butt Paste

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. All opinions are 100% mine.

I knew even while I was pregnant that I would be a nervous mother. In the week I spent in the hospital after my C-section, I bombarded the nurses with questions. I asked them to show me how to bathe him, I had a lactation consultant show me how to feed him, I asked them to check his umbilical cord remnants every day. I even made them chance Caleb's diapers the entire day after he was snipped.

What kind of soap should I use? Is baby powder necessary? What do I use to wash his hair? Will he ever go to sleep? Where is the volume control? How can I tell if he has diaper rash, and what do I do if he gets it?

Everyone was so kind and answered all of my 1 million questions. I went with nearly all of their recommendations and made a few adjustments along the way. One product that was recommended to me by a nurse has been one that I consistently use. That product is Boudreaux’s Butt Paste. I remember her laughing about the funny name, and highly recommending it because she used it on her own son.

I had received several care packages while I was in the hospital and many of them were prepackaged with different diaper rash creams. When we got home, I had several different tubes of cream that came along with lots of samples, but there among the mix was a single, separate tube of Bodreaux's Butt Paste. Somewhere out there, as things were being tossed into the giant laundry hamper of gifts that was delivered to me, was another Mom who used Butt Paste and wanted to share it with me.

Here is why I now use Boudreaux's Butt Paste exclusively. First of all, it works. I've been stuck without it before, and it takes other products twice as long to clear up a diaper rash. Any amount of time that I can cut down on my baby's discomfort is a huge relief to both of us.

It also works better at preventing diaper rash. If you put it on before a rash starts, you can stop it before your little one has any discomfort at all. It seals out the wetness, and keeps their little bums dry. I use it when Caleb is not feeling well and he might sleep through a dirty diaper, or if he has had a lot of acidic juice to drink.

Third, it doesn't stink like a medicine cabinet. I hate that chemical smell that some products have. I don't feel comfortable smearing stinky junk all over my kid's most sensitive areas.

Fourth, it is creamy and soothing. I can tell that it makes Caleb feel better because it helps him sleep when an uncomfortable diaper rash would have normally kept him up.

If you try Boudreaux's Butt Paste, I know you will love it. You can visit this website, http://www.blairex.com/BLButtPaste.php and request a free sample. I encourage you to do it, and see for yourself.

How to Import iPhone Contacts into Gmail

My blog is not usually a very technical one, but I searched for over an hour to the answer to this. I never found it! I had to figure it out for myself and so I would like to share it for anyone else who is looking to do this.

Why I Wanted to Back up my Contacts on Gmail
I recently synced my iPhone to a trial subscription of MobileMe. MobileMe is a great Apple product that allows you to wirelessly sync your contacts, calendars, photos and more to your computer and an Apple server wirelessly and instantly. Since my phone is technically a work phone, and the service with the trial MobileMe account is only good for a year; I needed to have my contacts backed up elsewhere for when the trial account ended.

Why Gmail?
I have lost two computers in a very short amount of time at the hands of my 2 year old, and/or viruses. Because of that, I didn't want to rely only on my hard drive to store my contacts. When you sync your iPhone with iTunes (on a PC), your contacts are saved on your PC's hard drive. If you store them on outlook and your computer dies, say bye bye. I had decided since I didn't trust my computer to stay alive or accessible, I wanted to back up all of my contacts on a trusted server. I use gmail, and thought it would be nice to have all of my contacts there. A nice combination of safekeeping and convenience.

How to Import Your Windows Contacts into Gmail
Please note that I was using Windows 7 starter at the time I did this

If you're using a PC like I am, then you might find it difficult to find where your contacts are going when you sync your iPhone. They are hidden in an elusive place called "Windows Contacts". This is the default setting if you're using your iTunes on a PC.

I couldn't find any site that would tell me where my windows contacts were, but here is where I found them. C:/users/crystal[your user name would go here, of course]/contacts

You can find them by going to your start menu > computer > C: > Users > [your user name] > Contacts

Single click on your very first contact and then scroll all the way to the bottom of the list. Hold down your shift key and at the same time click on your very last contact. This selects all of your contacts. There is a bar at the top of the screen that lists action options. It will say: Organize, Open, Share with, E-Mail... and so on. Find the option that says "Export" and click on that. A new window will pop up. Choose CSV by double clicking on it. A new window pops up that says "save exported file as:"

Now you will need to choose a place to save your CSV file. Click on the browse button. I chose to save my CSV file in C:/Users/Crystal [your user name]. I saved the file with the name ContactsCSV so that I would be able to tell it apart from my other contact file. You can save your file any place that is easy for you to find. When you find a place to save your file, and you have given it a name, click "save".

Now you need to sign into your gmail account. On the left hand side of the screen there will be a list of action options, find the option called "contacts" and click on it. On the right side of the screen there is a section that says : import export print. Choose Import and click on browse. Find your CSV file that you created earlier and click open. Then, click on import and TA DA!

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Excited for Easter!

I'm so excited for Easter weekend this year. On Saturday, we are grilling burgers at my mom's for lunch. That is the day that we are doing our Easter egg hunting and Caleb and his cousin, Victoria, are getting their Easter baskets from my parents. I think that we are going to have a lot of fun with everyone.

The next day we are going to church with Shawn's side of the family. He hasn't been able to to confirm if we are doing an Easter dinner with them, but I would assume so. Last year, we went to his sister's house after church to hang out and eat dinner. I hope that we do it again this year; it was so fun the last time.

I'm excited because this year Caleb will be so involved. Last year he would only pick up the eggs that we pointed out. This year he will be able to search for the eggs and collect them himself. We are using plastic camoflague colored eggs filled with candy. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds his first egg, and then again when he finds the candy inside!