Stretch Marks, Jelly Belly, Muffin Top - Oh My!

Yes - those words now describe my lovely post-baby belly. Now, my belly pre-baby was no washboard. But boy-oh-boy, this post-baby belly is quite the situation. Surprisingly, I lost the 30 lbs of baby weight I gained pretty quickly - in about 2.5 weeks. I know, I am shocked too. But I am certainly not back to my pre-prego body. Can my jeans be pulled on? Yes. Can they button? Yes. Is it a pretty site? NO! Muffin top city. (For those of you who don't know what a "muffin top" is, it's the bulge of fat that busts over the top of too-tight jeans. Like the top of a muffin. Nice visualization, huh?) See, once Paige came out, that nice round belly dropped like a deflated balloon. I had no idea that was going to happen. I figured it would slowly go back as I lost the weight and my uterus shrunk. But no, ma'am. Over the past six weeks it has shrunk considerably - thank goodness - but not enough to fit into my normal clothes. I've been rocking the "sporty" look with sweatpants and hoodies - but this is getting old. I want to wear my jeans again!! So today I went to Target and bought a pair of tummy-flattening underwear. Think granny panties that extend to my rib cage. In a word, H-O-T! I'm going to try them out tomorrow and see if they help at all. I'll keep you posted. As for the stretch marks? Holy smokes. I don't think they are going anywhere soon. I guess I'll be rocking the one-piece bathing suit this summer!

You Won't Even Believe It

You really had to see it to believe it, but I will tell you all anyway because it is just too funny. Today I was changing Paige's diaper when the unthinkable happened... Just as I removed her diaper, she began to pee. Now, this is pretty typical. She likes to pull the okey-doke on me all the time. However, this pee didn't just dribble onto the changing table. This pee shot into the air like a fountain, shot OVER MY HEAD, and splattered onto the floor behind me. SERIOUSLY! Good thing I have reflexes like a cat, or I would have gotten shot in the eye. Doesn't this type of thing only happen with baby boys?! I was laughing so hard I had to sit down (not in the pee). And thank goodness I was downstairs changing her with the hardwood floors - because it was a TON of pee. I usually call Paige my little Peanut. Now I may be changing her name to Pee-nut : )

AMAZING: TinyPrints.com

I knew I wanted to order my birth announcements from TinyPrints.com before I was even prego : ) Their site is gorgeous, and their announcements are totally adorable. Little did I know that they are also the BEST people to work with!! I took pictures of Paige last week, uploaded the photo into the announcement and submitted my order. Once I submitted, I had a bad feeling that the photo may be kind of blurry - but at that point, I figured it was too late. Two days later I received a voicemail from TinyPrints - they were letting me know that the photo I submitted WAS blurry, and instead of just processing the order and taking my money, they were giving me the chance to resubmit another photo. SERIOUSLY!? I have never experienced that level of customer service. It was surreal. So I submitted another photo the next day - and again got a call that the photo was blurry. This time they even took the time to explain WHY they thought it was blurry and give me tips on taking the perfect photo. I took their advice (I needed to make sure the flash was on and not too much extra light) and got a few more great shots. However - I had a dilemma. See, Paige has come down with a case of baby acne - YIKES! And it's not just a pimple or two - it's serious acne. BOO! (Come to find out after a little research that it's from my raging post-prego hormones - sorry, Paige!). I submitted the pictures anyway, and asked if they had any suggestions on minimizing the acne. Just two hours later I received a proof - they retouched off the acne!!! They also felt the picture would look best in sepia tone, so they did that too. The announcement is ADORABLE! I'm so happy with the results - and the amazing, caring customer service I received from TinyPrints - that I am a customer for life. Thanks TinyPrints.com!!!! You are my baby announcement heroes : )