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Fast, Easy DIY New Baby Halloween Costume Ideas- For When You Run Out Of Time

With Halloween coming up, trick or treat and parties are starting to show up on schedules.Trunk or treats are an up and coming popular idea that is also starting to happen in a lot of communities. With costume parties, trick or treat and other Halloween festivities come costumes. With new baby, you need something simple and easy to use- diapers don’t stop getting filled up just because baby’s in costume. There are some costumes that are so popular, they border on stereotypical and outdated. How many farm animals, domestic animals, pumpkins and similar costumes do we see every Trick or Treat? What are some good ideas when you’re trying to be original?

  1. Prisoner– with their date of birth listed as “break out” date. It’s an adorable costume and even though it’s not fully original (you can’t get full originality), it’s not overdone.animal-1296176_1280.png
  2. Bat– Bats are iconic symbols of Halloween, but you do not see very many babies dressed up. You see a lot of pumpkins and black cats, so why not bring out the bats? They are cute, fuzzy and not nearly as evil as they seem.
    This image of a bat shows what type of pattern you would need to cut- just use black felt and cut the wings, attach them to the back of a black shirt and pair with black pants and a black headband for the ears mythology-1099255_1280
  3. Gods/goddesses– witches are common sights during the Halloween season but why stop at the worshipers when you can dress baby up as the gods or goddesses the witch worships? Gods do not need to be limited to the ones in movies, look up some of the nocturnal gods and goddesses and you’ll find tons of inspiration.
    These images of goddesses show how simple making the long, flowy dress would be- baby will be confined more than likely so she shouldn’t hve to worry about tripping over the skirt. You can find instructions for no-sew goddess gown/robe as well- use a cord as a belt but make sure it can’t come too tight around baby’s waist or stomach. Make sure the material is long, loose and flowy. wizard-36676_1280.png
  4. Old man- especially if your baby is young and still has the wrinkled look- the bald head can work with the costume. The image listed above- old wizard. Glue a glass ball to the top of a stick for the wand. Get a brown jacket and put yellow trim (or use any color combination), a white wig and fake white beard- they should still have wigs available in a lot of stores. mr-potato-353270_640
  5. Mr/Mrs Potato head– I’ll be honest, my toddler is watching Toy Story right now, but that would be another good costume for a bald head. Put some fake glasses and a headband with fake ears and if baby keeps them on… Cover them in a brown outfit, brown hat (or a crocheted hat with a brown bottom and black top to look like the hat)

Those are just a few little last minute costumes most of us could easily DIY. Since Halloween is now literally around the corner, if you have an idea that fell Pinterest is filled with easy and quick DIY baby costumes.

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Things I Wish I Knew When I Was Pregnant

I have had a total of three pregnancies- my first ended at 28 weeks with a partial abruption and severe pre-eclampisa. She was only 1lb 11.5ozs and 13 inches long and spent a total of 8 1/2 months in NICU. She’s now a small but healthy 7 year old. My second was relatively uncomplicated but we lost her. She was born at 36 weeks due to me going into a painless labor and I wasn’t allowed by the doctors to go into labor. She died of a condition called Anencephaly (absence of the skull) and lived for 3 hours after birth.

My third was totally complication free and she was born at 37 weeks (once again, due to the complications of my oldest) and was 7lbs11ozs and 21 inches long- they told us she would have been a 9-10lb baby if she was born term.

I had each baby at 23, 25 and 27 years, I’m 30 now so I have spent almost my full adult life being called “mommy.”

I read all the books, blogs and joined all the support forums I could find. What to Expect was my bible through my first pregnancy and through her early years but nothing could prepare me for the almost 9 months of hell I was in for after having my baby.

When I was 22 and newly married, I found out I was pregnant. I was young, naive and even though I knew it was a huge sacrifice, I had a glorified image of pregnancy and motherhood. I knew it wouldn’t be a walk in the park and that I wouldn’t have near the freedom I had before but I still imagined taking the baby to baby and me classes, taking her out in cute little outfits with friends (since most of mine, at that time were also pregnant or new mommies) and late night cuddles. I thought of play dates and hanging out with friends would simply end up taking place at kid friendly places instead of bars. I had no idea what the dark side of pregnancy involved. I had heard of conditions like Pre-Eclampsia but the thought never crossed my mind that it could happen to me.

I decided to sit down and ask myself what 30 year old me wished 23, 25 and even 27 year old me knew. I was able to come up with a quick list of six major things I wish people had told me

  1. Take folic acid- lots of it. I didn’t realize how important it really was. I did make sure my pre-natals had it, but that was it. After dealing with Pre-E and losing another baby to Anencephaly, I joined a support group for people who lost babies to the disorder and that was when I read about folic acid and how vital it is to healthy pregnancies. I also learned about the MTHFR and after asking for a simple blood test, I found out I had a more severe form of the lesser mutation- which means my body only processes about 7% of the folic acid I eat.
  2. Swelling all over to the point where you do not look human IS NOT NORMAL. Don’t call Labor and delivery, go in to the ER to get checked- especially if swelling in the hands and face comes with headache and lightheaded or any other sign of high blood pressure. Pre-Eclampsia is serious, but can be managed if it’s caught early on.
  3. Lay off the baby books- especially if you have a preemie- seriously, cut it out. If your baby doesn’t develop by the books (either advanced or behind) they will stress you out more than help- it’s nice to know what “normal” development is, but if you start playing comparisons, it will make you lose your mind.
  4. Go ahead and complain about the morning sickness, crampy feelings, bloated feeling, headaches, mood swings, exhaustion and everything else- being pregnant sucks and it’s ok to not enjoy the symptoms- it’s the end result we all want.
  5. Do not freak out after being given the epidural. It doesn’t make all feeling go away- just the pain. With my first c section, they had to put me under as soon as she was out. I thought it was about to wear off in the middle of the c section. I always assumed that I would be totally numb and that I wouldn’t even feel the surgeon pull the baby out. My second two c sections went smoother because I knew what to expect.
  6. Enjoy the last little bit of freedom- the sleepless nights do not last long (be a few months, they WILL sleep through the night) but that small window of time in between feels like an eternity- and there will be times you will wake up freaked out in the middle of the night because your baby sighed and you thought they were choking- that is normal.

I wish I could go back in time, knowing what I know now, and possibly fix some of the things I feel I did wrong. Since I can’t change the past, I do try to share these tips when the topics come up. I’ll push the subject of folic acid or full body swelling when I’m talking to a friend who’s newly pregnant or trying to conceive. I have many other lessons I have learned in my 7 years of being mommy, but these stick out the most as the pieces of advice I wish I had listened to most.

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US Birthrate and Fertility Rates Dropping, Many Possible Reasons

I have been reading about the US’s declining birthrate along with the older generation reaching retirement age. The people they quoted acted worried about a smaller working population vs larger retired, disabled and sick/aging population. They named everything from women now choosing to put off having kids leading to a decline in fertility rates to Planned Parenthood and similar resources that help women plan out and prevent pregnancies. Paul Ryan even went as far as saying he did his part and had three kids.

What are the main reasons that keep coming up in discussions where choosing to either put off or avoid having kids is the subject?

The top reasons seem to be lack of good, affordable healthcare- even a lot of people working full time with degrees seem to have trouble affording the costs of paying insurance, deductibles and copays. Even if you’re lucky enough to have a decent insurance, the US has a higher mortality rate for both pregnant women and babies than a lot of other developed countries.

The costs associated with having kids also plays a huge role- it costs over 200k to raise a child and most of the time daycare for one child alone will cost over 20k a year. I know we were looking into daycares locally (low cost of living area) and decided not to because it would literally eat my whole paycheck. Daycares are also getting to be less trustable. They offer assistance, but also now allow random women to put in to run day cares out of their homes.  It’s frequently on the news about daycare providers harming kids, having drug paraphernalia and dangerous items (knives etc) out in easy reach and occasionally, they have gone as far as having children die in their care. This happens at the shady lower cost as well as higher, upper scale daycares so can you really trust daycares?

Maternity pay/leave is another higher up on the chart- most places do not pay adequately nor do they seem to give long enough leave to make it worth using. If you get pregnant while working in a lot of different places, if you already have temporary disability insurance, and have been working for over a year you can get paid 6 week leave. If you work less than a year and are not paying into it prior to getting pregnant, you’re out of luck unless the store also has maternity leave benefits mapped out and you’re eligible.

High costs of rent and cost of living in general– Couple that with the next on the list, stagnant and low incomes and you have large numbers of people who can barely pay back their astronomical loans while paying all other bills and you have the recipe for holding off on having kids. The costs of living continue to climb while wages are staying the same overall.

Women now have the option to have kids or not– this is a huge factor I’m sure. Women now have the options of birth control, they can go to college and focus on their career instead of getting married and staying home and not every women who grows up is forced by society to have kids (or be outcast).

But with the positive, negative can come in as well- women have choices now and there have been studies linking later maternal age can lead to infertility and other complications.

There have also been suggestions that fertility rates are dropping some maybe due to environment and others may be due to the later start dates for starting families and having kids but there have been studies that as a whole, rates are dropping.

There are many different opinions, ideas and reasons that people are holding off on having kids and that may not be a bad thing. Our population right now is aging, but after that generation leaves, won’t it start to even out again? Gen X started having less kids than the boomers did and now we’re down to a birthrate of 1.8 as of 2016. It is no longer needed to have a lot of kids to ensure the survival of your family’s genetics and it’s no longer that cheap to raise kids.

What reasons do you think I have missed?

 

 

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Winter Tips for Skin

The cold weather of winter hits your skin in multiple ways. The cold weather can wreck havic and dry your skin out. The dry air from running the heater sucks the moisture out as well. When you get sick, constantly blowing your nose chaps lips and dries out the skin under your nose above your lip. Winter is painful for skin but it doesn’t have to be. Here are a few tips to keep your skin smooth, moist and pain free during the dry winter months.

1. Wear sunscreen- just because it’s cold, doesn’t mean the sun isn’t a threat. It can be more of a threat due to reflecting off the snow (water). It can cause sunburn and sunburn is one of the leading causes of Melanoma (the most deadly form of skin cancer).

2. Use a moisturizer-with the chilled wind and dry air, a good hydrating moisturizer will be a must. Make sure to choose a hydrating formula because all this stuff dehydrates your skin and you need to replenish.

3. Drink lots of water- like I said in 2, dry air dehydrates your skin so drinking lots of water can help counteract the loss of moisture.

4. Use a cool mist humidifier or vaporizer. Using either of those at night while running the heat keeps the dry air from drying your throat or skin and I found it had me feeling better after one use. They both put moisture in the air so when you’re breathing in the heat, it puts the moisture back into your skin or throat.

5. If your lip or under your nose gets chapped, use vaseline or Aquafor- both help protect against further damage and both help heal chapped and painful skin. Usually 2-3 nights *along with using a vaporizer* is all it takes.

If anyone has anything to add to my list, let me know in the comments.

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Stop Blaming Millennials for your Failure to Evolve

Are millennials really to blame for so many failing businesses or industries? It seems every month there are new articles and lists about all the “beloved” industries that are failing and the millennial generation is to blame. Are we to blame, or are these industries and businesses just failing to keep up with changing times?

Retail, for one, is changing rapidly. The rise of Amazon from a book selling site to the powerhouse it is now is proof. Online retail is picking up popularity so stores like Walmart and Kroger are pushing to get in on it. Same with convenience, more people are now wanting to get their grocery shopping done faster so online site to store pickups are being developed. Walmart offers purchase online, a group of shoppers pick everything up and they deliver it to your car when you check in at an onsite kiosk. Kroger is offering similar and so are other retailers. Amazon has been testing out cashier less stores in some states.

Stores like KMart are failing and closing down all around. Toys R Us closed. Walmart and Target are both still standing firm. Walmart is constantly changing. They now have (too many) apps to work around various offers. They offer ship to store for free- you can order anything they sell online and have it shipped in less than a week to a store close to you for free. They also let you do your grocery shopping online and pick it up at the store.

Some stores are testing delivery to peoples’ homes.

Outside of Retail, taxi cab services are taking a hit thanks to giants like Uber and other driver services. Ubers tend to pick up faster. I know personally, I waited 4 hours for a cab once and gave up. They are failing to stack up to the standards of the customers, so now other services are starting to beat them.

We are also blamed for run of the mill, nothing special restaurants (Applebees being a prime example). I personally don’t know many people who are huge Applebee’s fans. Last time I went was using a gift card and the food is basically generic- there is nothing memorable about going (although I did have good service with my food limitations and didn’t get sick). Other restaurants similar are also feeling hits- The bar and grill is my personal favorite type of restaurant, but it seems to be failing just as much. People in my age range are wanting faster service- but healthier services and how the business owners give back is just as important.

Not all businesses are able to keep up with the changing times, but quit blaming a whole generation for not being interested.

Napkins are a waste of money when paper towels are more absorbent, golf is boring, country clubs are boring to those of us not interested in drinking and restaurants like Applebees don’t stand out.

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New Fall Pillowcase

This 100% cotton pillow case will be available tomorrow on Etsy for 10 and free shipping.

It’s perfect for fall.

Fits any of my regular medium sized decorative pillows and is also available as a set of 2 for 18.

Https://www.etsy.com/shop/bethcessoriesdesign

 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/634924216/fall-leaves-cotton-pillowcase

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About 1P36 Deletion- Why Do I Even Have To Know?

              Why Do I Even Know What 1P36 Deletion Syndrome Is?

              I never thought we would be traveling down this path. I had severe Pre-Eclampsia at 28 weeks and had my baby weighing only 1lb 11.5ozs and 13 inches long. She was on a feeding tube, oxygen and heart monitor. She stayed in the NICU almost 9 months. She had Retinopathy of Prematurity (where her retinas were detaching from her eyeball) and required laser eye surgery. She also had five holes in her heart- PDA, ASD and three muscular VSDs. We had to have two of the holes (PDA and ASD) closed, luckily they were able to close them through a catherization instead of open heart. She also had feeding troubles after being on oxygen for so long, so the last of her surgeries was getting a g-tube placed in her stomach.

              She came home at eight and a half months old still on a nasal cannula and heart monitor that beeped every time she kicked her feet. She also still had the development of a newborn since she had been lying in a crib most of her life. For the first few months of having her home, we had a home nurse come to the house daily to help us out. I was testing the day time nurses to see if I could seek employment again whhile they took care of her during the day. The first outing we had as a family resulted in her getting a cold. A simple cold shouldn’t be that bad, right? It wasn’t RSV or anything more than a simple cold- and it landed her back in the PICU and on life support so I knew we couldn’t place her in day care, the nursing fell through and I had to cancel it so I decided to stay home with her instead.

              We were nervous for the first few months of taking her out of her crib too long, so we would keep her in the crib except during play time and feedings, baths and spending some time with her. I regret that to this day, but if her cannula came out of her nose for any length of time, she’d start turning blue. We finally figured out how to place her main oxygen tank so it could stretch all through the house and we were able to take her downstairs to be with us during the day, luckily that didn’t last long and around 15 months, she finally had strong enough lungs to get rid of the tube. By that time, she was finally starting to be able to lift her head and crawl during belly time. By three, she started walking without assistance but by that time, we had a misdiagnosis of Cerebral Palsy and she had started Pre-K. She had finished early intervention (birth to three in this state) and she loved Pre-School. Her first year, she didn’t talk and had to be carried. By the end of the year, she was walking holding the teacher’s hand and starting to say words. By four, she was walking on her own, by five she was walking and doing more talking. She started Kindergarten and entered a special class with an IEP. She had a tablet device to help her communicate. Now at seven, they’re putting her in second grade. She’s able to jump about an inch off the ground, walk up and down stairs, run slowly and speak in sentences (short sentences), her hole have fully closed up and she has a normal heart now. She still can’t write but she can read and is starting to be able to do basic math, she understands more than she’s able to communicate back to us.

So, what is 1P36 Deletion Syndrome?

              The first chromosome is the largest chromosome. It may be the most important to development. It is separated into two parts (1P and 1Q) 1P is the shorter arm and 1Q is the longer arm. The whole chromosome contains about 249 million DNA base pairs. 1P36 Deletion syndrome is when a part of DNA is deleted from the 1P arm at the 36 base. My daughter’s particular is 1P36.12-1P36.22. Different areas cause different symptoms but the syndrome has some common symptoms-

1. Low muscle tone (hypotonia)

2. Seizures

3. Growth and feeding issues

4. Developmental delays

5. Birth defects like cleft lip, pallet, heart defects or brain defects

6. Cardiomyopathy (enlarged heart)

7. Hearing loss

8. Vision problems

9. Thyroid problems (mainly hypo but this condition seems to put them at higher risk)

10. Behavior problems (self harm, throwing objects, hitting, melt downs, screaming etc)

              Those are the more common problems. There are some that are more rare- early puberty, undecended testes in boys at birth, scoliosis, neuroblastoma (extremely rare)

              Some of the other random common yet uncommon symptoms include shaking while excited and biting on their hands. My daughter has chew marks all over her hands, we try giving her chewies to use instead but she still has litte blisters. I thought it was anxiety for a long time, but learned it’s a symptom of the 1P36 Deletion Syndrome.

How common is 1P36 Deletion Syndrome and how does it happen?

It’s rare, but one of the more common genetic disorders. It affects 1 in 5-10,000. It’s not completely known how many since there are a lot of kids who go undiagnosed.

It can be passed down but it’s more common to be a random occurrence with no family history.

When it is genetic, the parents usually have what is called a balanced translocation. A balanced translocation is when part of the gene didn’t attach in the proper location and connected to a different gene. Since the gene is there, the carrier shows no symptoms and doesn’t have the syndrome- but they have a 50% chance of any offspring inheriting the deletion.

What’s the prognosis?

              Most children with 1P live into adulthood and with symptoms controlled, can live average lifespans. Some of the complications can take their lives early, but the prognosis isn’t bad. Our geneticist told us our daughter has a 50/50 chance of needing a care taker or living a normal life. There isn’t enough known yet as to the full severity.

              Our case isn’t as extreme as some of the cases I have run across in the forums and support groups I have joined, but it’s not the least extreme. She speaks in basic sentences and her speech seems to improve as her (normal developing) two year old sister’s does. She is fully potty trained, including at night but she has trouble tolerating loud noises and while her gross motor skills are improving, her fine motor still need to catch up. We lucked out and the majority of her problems seem to be physical,(not mental) she developed no brain bleeds or defects and doesn’t have seizures. She did have the heart defects, but they were easily fixable and she speaks more than a few words now. No two cases of any disorder will be the same. There are online support websites available, a yearly conference that is held in late July or early August. The conference for 2018 is from July 26-28 in Houston, Texas.

              The major website is http://www.1p36dsa.org. They have resources, information about the disorder, information for families a store and opportunities to get involved in spreading awareness or just making donations. They are a nonprofit dedicated to education and awareness.

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Last Night I Also Decided to Start a Blog Specifically About Dreams and Divination/Astrology/Numerology

dreamsanddivinations.wordpress.com

I also remembered an old Wix site I started years ago but kind of stopped and it didn’t get nearly the views I get on here, so I deleted it and am moving all the dream blogs to this page. I’ll be doing daily divinations, stuff about dreams and all that.

 

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I started a page to specifically share recipes and kid craft ideas.

Since I have so many DIY ideas, crafts and converted recipes I decided to create a smaller site and Twitter account to share those on. I’m no longer posting recipes and such here and I’ll be doing updates towards Nano and during November on that blog.

It’s https://diymommy171078038.wordpress.com

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Only the end of September and I’m starting to plan for November 1st

This is my 6th year doing Nano and I’m planning on it being my second win. My first was my first year.

My first year was a breeze, my oldest was 1 1/2, I stayed at home and had nothing else taking time. Now I have 2 kids, a job, freelance work and an Etsy. I’ve been working on schedule issues to work on everything (mainly at night after the kids are in bed and I’m home from work) and I can easily take a notebook to work and work on that during my hour long lunch break.

I already know I’m working on parts 2-4 (or higher) of a short story series I started back in 2014 (accidentally- the story ended at 11 pages and I decided to make it into a total of 7 worlds in the fantasy series.)

Book 1 is fully finished, I’m just working on editing it. Next month I’ll be going through and finalizing what worlds he will be entering and mapping things out.

I’m also planning several different Christmas decoration designs for my Etsy and I’m in the full swing of the Halloween season.