Homemade Tutu

You can either buy these at the store for around $30 or make it yourself for about an hour of time and around $4 (less if you have coupons or buy the tulle on sale).

I have made one that is just white and another with three colors; pink, white and brown. The pink is harder to see and I would suggest either doing two pieces at the same time or trying to find a darker pink so it shows up more.
The possibilities are endless for color combinations, size and fluffiness.

Here is all you need; Elastic, whichever size you want of which I used leftover I had from making me and my husband's pajama pants, and a package of 25 yds of 6" tulle that you can get at almost any craft/hobby store. Both pictured below.

It's easiest to cut all the strips first so that you can loop them onto the elastic all at once without having to stop to cut more strips.
The length of the strips depends on how long you want the tutu. Just measure how far you want it to go on your little one and then double it and cut. I used all of the 25 yards for the white tutu and about 35 yards for the multiple colored one. Just depends on how fluffy you want it and how long you cut the strips.

Measure the waist of your little one for the length you need the elastic and then either hand sew it or use a machine then put it on your leg to attach the tulle.

The video below shows how you loop a piece around the elastic.

Good luck and have fun making your own!

And here is the white one on my little Sweet Pea.

Choroid Plexus Cysts on the brain

We learned we were having a beautiful baby girl and that she had 3 cysts on her brain on the same day.
It was a moment of happiness and then a horrible feeling in the pit of your stomach.
Here is some info from a website we found http://www.i-am-pregnant.com/Birth/Birth-defects/Choroid-Plexus-Cysts-%28CPC%29
"Approximately 1-2% of all women that have an ultrasound between 16 and 24 weeks will be diagnosed with fetal choroid plexus cysts.
The choroid plexus is a tissue in the brain that produces cerebrospial fluid. During a second trimester ultrasound, doctors will often find a cyst(s) in the choroid plexus. Usually these cysts will go away by the 28th week of pregnancy and will not affect the baby.
A CPC tells doctors that there could be another chromosomal abnormality present. The presence of CPC's indicates an increased risk for trisomy 18 (Edward's Syndrome). Women that are diagnosed with this condition will be offered additional ultrasound examinations and an amniocentesis"

Our midwife told us that we shouldn't worry because everything else measured normally and there were no other signs of anything being wrong. We still wanted to be sure that everything was going to be fine and scheduled a second ultrasound 2 months later.
We did a lot of praying and reading online about this and we both felt that we didn't need to worry. Especially since there was nothing we could do even if anything was wrong.
The next ultrasound revealed that the cysts were gone. So we had nothing to worry about. I wanted to share this so that if you get the same news, you will know about it before hand.

The Birth, without an epidural and many other things

I just gave birth to a little girl. This was my second pregnancy, I placed a little girl with her adopted family five years ago, so I knew a little of what to expect. Well, for a delivery with an epidural. That is not what happened.

My labor was only 6 hours long. I arrived at the hospital a little after 8am and our daughter was born at 9:36am. The anesthesiologist was sent next door first since I was just dilated to a 5. When he finally arrived it was too late. I was dilated to a 9 and my body was telling me to start pushing.
And that is what I did. My body at this point took over and just started pushing. I didn't have any control over what my body did (including the screaming).
Thankfully I had read about what happens when you give birth naturally since sometimes there isn't time for an epidural or it fails when given. So I was a little prepared for it.
My little one gave me quite the scare when she was born. She was born in her water sac, no time to break it. She had already passed some meconium and they were afraid she may have swallowed some poo. Lastly, she had the cord around her neck and it was a little tight.
So, even though I had wanted them to wait to cut the cord until it had stopped pulsing since it is easier on the child, it was cut immediately, to my horror. Then, the midwife did not hand me my baby but gave her to a doctor. I was unaware of all the complications of her birth and just wanted to hold my baby.
Luckily, in spite of all this and an apgar score of a 1 at birth, she was just fine, with an apgar score of 8 only 5 minutes after birth.
They still took her for a few tests to make sure she was okay. The were worried about her since her weight was also low for a full-term baby, 2 days late to be exact. She was only 6lbs 15oz at birth but I wasn't too worried since she had been a lower weight the whole pregnancy.
Mom was fine too. My recovery was a lot faster and easier without the epidural, and luckily I didn't tear.
I don't recommend going natural, because I am not good at tolerating pain and enjoy the birth more with an epidural. But to each their own and I recommend preparing yourself with classes or a doula (birthing coach) to prepare for the birth.