Courtney Hoyt

I made a list that I’ve been emailing to my girlfriends about the things I loved during my pregnancy. It seems like it would be so much easier to write a blog post on my poor, neglected blog and then just send a link whenever someone else gets knocked up!

Most of these were recommended by a friend or something I came across during my hours and hours (and hours) of research. I love to research. The ONLY thing I didn’t research was the birth process itself – having seen a vaginal birth in action, I just didn’t feel the need to know too much. Good thing, too; I ended up having an emergency c-section!

Here’s my list:

Lucie’s List

Meg Collins, the woman behind the website Lucie’s List, seems like the kind of gal with whom I’d love to have a glass of wine or three. I initially found this one when my sister was pregnant and I was trying to figure out what the difference was between an infant car and a convertible car seat. Here are some of the things I love about this website:

– Simple, step-by-step guidance on what baby gear is out there, what to register for (and what to leave off the registry)

– Advice based on different lifestyles

– Updated pretty frequently

– Her weekly (or so) emails are a riot too, if you choose to sign up for them.

Expecting Better, by Emily Oster

The subtitle on this one is “Why the Conventional Pregnancy Wisdom is Wrong – and What You Really Need to Know”, and I read it before I ever got pregnant. I wondered why some pregnant women avoided ALL alcohol, sushi, caffeine, soft cheeses, deli meats, and basically anything remotely fun, while others had some of these things in moderation without qualm. Ms. Oster is an economist, not a doctor, but when she found herself pregnant, she decided to go directly to the medical studies to find out what the risks were for all these behaviors and choices. It is fascinating to see what pregnancy taboos carry very little risk, while other activities with a more substantial risk (like gardening) don’t seem to garner much attention at all.

Maternity Clothes

I found the best maternity clothes at Gap and Old Navy. By signing up for the email list, I only bought when they had 40% off or more. They had sales pretty much every other week, so it was never a long wait. I would order about 10 to 15 items (different styles, different sizes) and then just return what didn’t fit. I made sure to read the return policy for everything before every order, just to make sure I was allowed to return to the store!

AVOID Pea in the Pod and Motherhood Maternity. They were overpriced and the fabric was so gross and cheap. The black pants I got from Pea in the Pod (allegedly the ‘higher end’ line) began pilling after the very first use. By the time I’d had the baby, the fabric was basically all bumpy and pilled between my thighs. UGH.

I didn’t take advantage of it, but StitchFix now has maternity clothes! I wish they’d introduced it just a little bit earlier so I could have used it. This would be the perfect way to find some cute outfits for a baby shower, or even just something to spice up a boring maternity work wardrobe. The way it works is you fill out a pretty long questionnaire about your style, size, and preferred fit, and can even send a note to the stylist with any additional concerns. A stylist picks out 5 items that meet your needs and budget and ships them to you. If you hate everything, you can return it for free in the included return envelope, and you are only charged a $20 styling fee. If you like some of the items, you can return what you don’t like and you are only charged for what you keep (and the styling fee is credited back to you.) If you keep it all, you receive a 25% credit for the entire ‘fix’. As a fashion-inept, infrequent shopper, I loved StitchFix before pregnancy. It was even better for finding “pump-friendly” clothes for returning to work!

Baby Bargains, by Denise and Alan Fields

Despite the name and the flashy cover (“Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on baby furniture, gear, clothes, strollers, maternity wear, and much, much more!”) I loved this book for its comprehensive coverage of all the different baby brands and companies out there. Each chapter covered a different type of product for which you are shopping, e.g. furniture, mattresses, swing, etc. In each chapter, they listed the different manufacturers of the products, which companies owned which brands, and assigned letter grades based on product quality, customer service, value, where the product is made, and ‘eco-friendliness’. I referred to these letter grades again and again while trying to choose the best quality products for our baby. Despite the name, the highest rated products were not necessarily the cheapest; the authors have a philosophy that quality products that last are better than cheap ones that don’t.

However, one of the best things about this book is that the authors teach you how to look for good deals on your own. For example, many baby stores sell high end cribs for lots of money. The cribs are good quality and will last forever, however, many times the matching dresser or changing table is total crap. They give checklists on what to buy, advice about what gear is needed when, and basically it’s just a great book to read before you go out and buy anything for the baby. I bought it on iBooks so I could carry it around on my iPad for reference while we were registering.

Can we change people’s behavior by making the desired outcome more fun to reach?  This is such an amazing experiment!

1. What gift are you most proud of giving?

This one is hard to narrow down, because I LOVE LOVE LOVE giving gifts, and I try really hard to find the “perfect” gift.  However, the one that springs to mind is a Christmas stocking I made for my mom while I was in college.  Mom made all of our stockings.  They are beautiful, and I remember how hard she worked on them and how much time it took to make 4 of them (and then one for Chelsea, when she joined our family, of course!)  All that time, Mom used a plain red velvet stocking.  I surprised her Christmas morning by replacing her plain stocking with the new one I had made from a kit (the same company she had used for all of ours).  I sort of forgot to check what size the stocking was when I ordered the kit, and so now my mom’s stocking is about 3 times bigger than all of ours, haha.

2. What’s the best gift you ever received?

Okay, so I read some of the other answers.  Everybody said something sweet, like love and salvation, etc, etc.  However, I’m clearly not sweet.  The best gift I ever got was this computer I’m using right now.  My parents got it for me, and it has saved my sanity.  Second place?  It goes to the dollhouse my dad made me when I was little.  It was huge, intricate, full of beautiful furniture, and I loved it.

3. In honor of my husband: What’s the worst injury you’ve ever had?

I’ve never broken a bone (knock on wood), but one time I fell through an attic trapdoor headfirst and scraped my back all along the stairs.  I wasn’t terribly injured, but it was scary!

4. They say everyone gets 15 minutes of fame. Who’s 15 minutes has gone on far too long? (The Gosselins are not acceptable answers, be more creative.)

New York, that chick whose real name is Tiffany from reality television.  Ugh.

5. You have 20 minutes and $1000. What do you buy?

An art deco style vanity with a big mirror.  Or a shopping spree at Target – it would probably only take about 10 minutes.

6. Tell me three blogs that I need to read.

Hmm, I read a lot of political blogs, so I don’t usually recommend them to people unless I know they would appreciate them!  Here are some of the others I like:

a. Brooke Schwab’s Photography blog My friend from high school/pledge sister who also happens to be one of the most in-demand wedding and event photographers in Houston (and elsewhere!)  She shares some of the “stories” of the couples she works with, as well as the best photographs from their sessions.  I hope if I ever get married I can afford to hire her!

b. A Texas Girl’s Adventures in Canada A Houston girl moves to Canada, adventures ensue!   A blogfriend with many of the same interests, and a fun writer.

c. Instapundit Fine, I couldn’t help myself – a mostly political blog.  Glenn Reynolds is a law professor at the University of Tennessee (the other UT) who writes about libertarianism, politics, media, technology, and other interesting stuff.

7. Would you rather go without pizza or ice cream for the rest of your life?

Ice cream, hands down.  I pretty much already live without it.

8. Would you rather go to a beach or a snowy mountain?

Beach.  Snow is a good background through the window when you’re cozy next to the fire.

9. Are you a night owl or a morning person?

Total night owl.  I’m writing this at 11:21pm.  My brain doesn’t start to function until about 10am, after a Diet Coke.

10. What word do you always misspell?

I get “e” and “i” mixed up when I’m typing fast, but spell check usually corrects that before I even notice.  I’m a pretty decent speller.  I won the fourth grade spelling bee, even.  I got third place the year before by misspelling “fittness”.  [Yikes – don’t kill me!  The word “whose” is misspelled in Question 4.  :)]

Yay, I’m so glad I finally got to participate!  To read everyone else’s answers, including the originals at Chelsea’s blog, click the pic:

or someone might have gotten raped.  And they all might have been killed.

College Student Shoots, Kills Home Invader

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjx5_-SPhk0&feature=player_embedded

From Deceiver:

Juan Alberto Ovalle, hereby known as “that idiot,” faces two felony charges of attempted sexual assault on a child and Internet luring. When he’s not using graphic language to seduce a child, he narrates “a popular audio version of the Bible in Spanish” and produces a radio program for Focus on the Family.

He got caught trying to have sex with someone who he thought was a 15 year old girl in a child predator sting.

Ed Morrissey’s been talking about “the bow” all week.

Personally, I wouldn’t have immediately have thought anything of Obama’s bow to King Abdullah.  After hearing that it was going against over 200 years of American diplomatic tradition for the President to bow to royalty, I thought maybe a bigger deal, but easily forgotten.  But the combined effort of Obama’s supporters, the media, and his Administration to deal with this is like watching the Keystone Cops.

1. First, it was said he dropped something or was picking something up off the floor.  This was allegedly why the media didn’t mention the gaffe in the first place.

2. Second, primarily from Obama supporters, the defense is:  “This is so stupid. A mistake or whatever.  Who cares?”  Unfortunately, after 8 years of lectures on how the world hates us because Bush is so imbecilic, I’m no longer persuaded by such an argument.  Particularly from the loudmouth hypocrites making it.

3. Finally, it’s the White House’s outright denial:

“It wasn’t a bow. He grasped his hand with two hands, and he’s taller than King Abdullah,” said an Obama aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Please. Don’t insult our intelligence.

Remember, Obama’s following Bush here.  People harped on his international gaffes all over the place, but you never saw this kind of orchestrated response to defend him.  Honestly, if people weren’t so eager to crown Obama as a blameless miracle man, a lot more of this stuff would just roll right off.

UPDATE:  Clearly, I missed some of the explanations.  From Sisyphus:  Top 11 Possible Explanations for Why The President of the United States Appeared to Bow Down Before the King of Saudi Arabia.

My favorite:

11. Staff placed the teleprompter too low

Go read the rest.

Vanity Fair drops its annual “green” issue after only three years:

“With so much else going on relating to the global financial crisis, we have been focusing on that of late”. Environmentalists are concerned that the decision may have an unwelcome effect on the perception of green issues. “It is vital that green living is not treated as a trend that comes and goes, but that it becomes part of the way we live,” says Colin Butfield, head of campaigns at WWF.

It’s the price you pay when you rely on Hollywood and the fashion world to carry your message.  They’ve proven to be fair weather friends for nearly every special interest issue.  Remember when everyone wore red ribbons to the Academy Awards?  Or Farm Aid? Even Africa eventually faded out.

Via Tim Blair.