MrsDrPoe: Sign with Your Baby

For the next Reading Review, I present to you "Sign with Your Baby: How to Communicate with Infants Before They Can Speak" by Joseph Garcia:

This book is relatively short and easy to read.  The text portion of the book discusses the immediate and potential future benefits of teaching babies to sign, as well as providing helpful information on timing and techniques of instructing babies.  There's also a very large index of sign vocabulary.

I liked this book so much that I put it on our registry.  While Mr. Poe and I are trying not to get too worked up about the future development benefits of teaching our Poe-tte to sign (we really just want to try to help her communicate her needs/wants earlier), it was very interesting to see all the ways in which this technique has helped children.

Mr. Garcia is obviously very passionate about the subject and has written this book in such a way that seems like teaching babies to sign is very doable, even for people unfamiliar with the language.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in the subject, and I'll definitely be posting about our baby signing adventures during the next few years!  

MrsDrPoe: Our Anniversary Week

Hello all, and happy Foto Friday!  This week Mr. Poe and I celebrated our 4th wedding anniversary.  Since we were also at 26 weeks with our Poe-ette, I took a special baby bump picture:

yes...I can still fit in my wedding dress.  Yay for empire waists!  We also found a great deal on a small table to finish off our entryway decor:

I can't wait to see what the end of the week will bring!

MrsDrPoe: Noah's Ark

Since we painted virtually the entire house immediately after we bought it (and almost every room is a neutral color), we decided that we were tired of painting.  Our new girl would have a tan room with a Noah's Ark theme because that would be easy, fun, and based on the Bible.  To help decorate the walls, I asked my grandmother to paint some animals two-by-two for the room, and here's what she came up with:

camels, elephants, lions, zebras, giraffes, and doves (they're out of the picture).  How fun!  And they look so real!  The room is slowly coming together...yesterday I even put on the lovely Noah's Ark sheets that the Barclays gave us. 

MrsDrPoe: Hand-Me-Downs for My Baby Girl

This Foto Friday I'd like to share with you something very special to me.  As you may or may not know, I'm a rather sentimental person.  I love that our guests sleep in a bed that used to belong to Mr. Poe's grandmother and that our toddler(s) will sleep in a bed my granddad made for my dad that I slept in as a little girl.  And now that we know we're having a little girl, I'm especially excited to be giving her:

a Raggedy Ann doll given to me by a very dear aunt, a bear given to me when I was born, the jewelry box I used for twenty-ish years, and the tea set and rocking chair I had as a little girl.

I hope she gets as much enjoyment out of these things as I have; I just can't wait to share them with her!

MrsDrPoe: "If You're Worried and You Can't Sleep...

...just count your blessings instead of sheep, and you'll fall asleep counting your blessings." - Bing Crosby

Today's Foto Friday post is all about those blessings we've received recently.  As you probably know, Mr. Poe and I are having a baby.  Yesterday at 20 weeks, we found out we're having a little girl!  From the ultrasound, it seems that everything is going well and growing as it should (praise God!):

This week we also got our new fridge and dishwasher installed:

It'll be so nice to not have to wonder about the food we're eating anymore, and I know I'll be extra thankful for a working dishwasher when the baby comes!

These recent blessings have been so wonderful, and we are so thankful!!

MrsDrPoe: Baby Things

Good morning, and happy Foto Friday!  Today I'd like to share some of our new baby things that Mr. Poe and I are pretty excited about.

Mama and Papa Poe largely contributed to this lovely 4 in 1 crib and changing table set that we found on craigslist for a steal (barely used!):

And my sis-in-law, Mrs. Brodrecht, who's about 7 weeks ahead of us, told me about a great deal on baby slings here (enter the code CCMother and get a sling for the cost of shipping).  Mine arrived this week, so of course I tested it on Sascha:

She was not a fan, and 'said' as she often does, "It's tough to be small!"

MrsDrPoe: What to Eat When You're Expecting

I've been holding this review back for a little while until the big reveal that we're pregnant, but now that you know, I can share "What to Eat When You're Expecting" by Eisenberg, Murkoff, and Hathaway:

Although it's been recently replaced by "What to Expect: Eating Well When You're Expecting," I couldn't turn down purchasing it when it showed up at my local thrift store, and after reading it, I was glad to own a copy.

This book includes information on what you should eat, what you shouldn't eat, as well as what eating/not eating these certain things will do for the health of your baby.  There's even a section included for suggested diet and caloric variations while nursing AND 100 recipes that help you put the book's teachings into practice.

You may be asking, do I follow the best odds diet proposed in the book to the T...and I would have to answer no.  But I do feel a lot more comfortable about making my food choices, knowing more about amounts of nutrients I should be eating, portion sizes, and such.

The only thing I really didn't like about the book was the introduction of the first chapter, which basically discounts any input God has on what issues a baby may or may not be born with, instead suggesting that eating well will guarantee you a healthy baby.  Ironically, however, even the name of the diet ("Best odds") suggests that even the authors believe that statistically, even if you do everything right, you can't totally control the health of your baby.

All things considered, I would recommend this book to any woman expecting.

MrsDrPoe: Our Mother's Day Surprise

It's another Foto Friday on the blog!  As you know, Sunday is Mother's day, but since we're having the youth forum this weekend, we had to go visit our parents last weekend to give them our Mother's day surprise...

That's right!  Mr. Poe and I are pregnant!  Yesterday was 14 weeks.  Here's the Poe-let at 8 weeks:

We were so happy to be able to tell most of our immediate family in person, and everyone is just as excited as we are!  We even got our first presents...a baby food maker and money toward a crib...

We are so tremendously blessed, and so extremely thankful!

MrsDrPoe: What to Expect the First Year

For the latest Reading Review, I present the follow-up book to "What to Expect When You're Expecting," "What to Expect the First Year" by Heidi Murkoff, Arlene Eisenberg, and Sandee Hathaway, B.S.N.*

This book is a fairly easy read, and I have thoroughly enjoyed it.  There is a multitude of information between the covers; I'll definitely be purchasing a reference copy of my own**.  The work is broken down into months, with each containing what your baby may be able to do, what things you may be having questions about, and things to expect from well-checkups.  Illustrated guides to holding, bathing, breastfeeding, and other activities are included, as well as growth and immunization charts, first recipes, common childhood infections, tips for helping older children and pets get used to the new addition, and a review of items to buy for baby.

I really don't have any negative comments about this book; although, as Ms. Murkoff herself cautions, nothing in her book should trump what your doctor tells you.

*Mr. Poe and I are not pregnant, but we would like to have children one day, so I'm reading about it now before it's upon me and I have no time to read. 

**I recently found a copy of "What to Expect When You're Expecting" at a thrift store for $1.50.  Be sure to check out used books before paying full price at a bookstore or even the reduced price on Amazon.

MrsDrPoe: What To Expect When You're Expecting

For today's Reading Review, I present to you "What To Expect When You're Expecting" by Heidi Murkoff and Sharon Mazel*:

This book was an easy read with lots of information mixed with humor and encouragement.  Since I've never been pregnant, I don't know about all the questions or symptoms a pregnant woman would have, but this work seemed to cover the gamut.  The main section of the book was broken up into 9 month-by-month chapters that detailed what the baby was growing or practicing each week in the month, symptoms you may be having, and what you may be concerned about (food, physical activity, pains, intimacy, etc).  It also covered pre-pregnancy topics, post-pregnancy topics, and information on miscarriages and stillbirths.

The only pseudo-negative thing about this book is that it truly was written for every woman; while even those with STDs, drug problems, who would consider abortion, etc. need information about pregnancy I didn't particularly enjoy reading those sections of the book.  Having said that, I would definitely recommend this book to any woman who is pregnant or desiring to become pregnant, and I plan to purchase my own copy when we (Lord willing!) are blessed with news of the first non-furry-Poe-baby.  I also look forward to reading the other books in the "What to Expect" series!

*Mr. Poe and I are not pregnant, but we would like to have children one day, so I'm reading about it now before it's upon me and I have no time to read.

MrsDrPoe: Knitting Baby Gifts

Happy Foto Friday! The first item I'd like to share with you all is a project I've been working on for a friend of mine...a baby hat:


And booties:


You can get the pattern here, but you'll have to create a (free) account first. Happy knitting!