HOW TO: Not Find Out the Gender of Your Baby

Congratulations you've decided to not find out the gender of your baby!

Now, I have two secrets for you:

A. It's going to be totally awesome. 
AND
B. People will hate you. Openly. 

That being said, I will now dispense of my TOP 10 LIST HOW TO NOT FIND OUT WHAT YOU'RE HAVING: 

1. Be prepared to get flack. (I make this #1 because I was wholly unprepared for it.) When I would tell people that we decided not to find out, it was as if any decision about my reproduction was up for discussion. I actually had a friend say it was "selfish" to not find out what we were having & I had a lot of "that's SO annoying". Also be prepared for a fair bit of defensiveness from people who did find out what they are having. Neither decision is right or wrong. It just is. But it's apparently a more passionate issue for people than I had thought.

2. Make the decision &stick to it. If you change your mind, that's totally awesome. Don't let people make you feel lame if you change your mind. But like I said, you will likely get some flack so decide & stick by it through the dissension that may come.

3. Remind the ultrasound tech that you don't want to know. This is obvious but also tell them to have you turn away when they gets close to the "baby bits" area. Scott spotted the gender on both babies the second our tech got even near. Most people have their one 20 week ultrasound & if that is you than you're probably fine. I had to have 2-3 ultrasounds a week for the last couple months of my pregnancy & every time I was TERRIFIED they'd look & then let it slip.

4. Be prepared to be unprepared. Let's be honest, there are some cute gender neutral clothes, but there aren't tons out there. So, get a couple get-through-the-first-couple-weeks clothes (white onesies, grey stripes, yellow booties, etc) & then go shopping when you're up for it. We also didn't prepare a nursery until after Linc was born (or you know, still haven't 7 months later!).

5.  Be ready for a boy or a girl. I didn't buy many clothes (I had some boy & some girl clothes left over from Syd & Rob) but to bring my baby home I had a cute all white sleepy and one blue hat & one pink hat so I'd be ready for either one. We also had a list with 2-3 boy & girl names. Cover all your bases for both genders.

6.  Get ready for the nay-sayers to come around. Once it was time for me to actually be in labor everyone was ecstatic, dying to find out what the baby was. The people who were "anti" came through excited in the end. Most people said the anticipation of finding out what it was was really fun for them too. Even the nurses where excited. One nurse was SO upset that she was off shift & I hadn't given birth yet so she wouldn't be there to find out what I was having.

7.  Actually finding out is unforgettable. It was intense & exciting, like every birth is, but having Scott grab & hold the baby to announce to the whole room that we had a boy was just so much anticipation, tinged with exhaustion, tied up with finally knowing. It was a veritable concoction of awesomeness that I'll never forget.

  
8. You might have a hard time wrapping your mind around your babies gender. I called Lincoln "BABY" &"IT" for months after giving birth. I was so used to not knowing what I was having it took a while to wrap my mind around the concept that he was a "he". When Scott announced it was a boy I kept saying, "A boy? A boy? A boy?" Like a crazy person. Because, frankly, I'd just given birth so I was a crazy person.

9. Lastly, have fun with it. Take a poll. Take bets. Have a gender neutral baby shower. Have your other kiddos, if you have any, draw pictures/guess about what the baby might be. Embrace it! Rock it!

10. If we have another one I'd do it 100% again.

AND GOOD LUCK!

Has anyone else not found out? 
Any advice for people thinking about it?
And if you're a nay-sayer it's cool, you can leave your opinion too.
Livie's not a hater either way.

Wardrobe De Lincoln

I got an email just the other day complimenting me on Linc's clothes & asking where I buy them (seriously, thank you so much, that made my day). It's just SO nice to hear it because I do really think about how I dress my kiddos in general but I am no fashionista.

I just wish I had an easy answer for my blog friend & for you guys. A lot of the brands that I would love for Linc to wear are just WAY TOO expensive (like here & here too) for clothes they'll grow out of in a few months.

So, I get thrifty & have a couple favorite places I get clothes too. Here are a couple rules I follow when dressing Linc:

1. Let them be comfy! I just believe in letting bambinos be comfy while they can- especially pants.

2. Simple onesies- I tend to not love most baby clothes with saying & cutesie animals on it. I gravitate to the simple plain shirts, patterns animals, & stripes.

3. Make your own- Iron-ons, embroidery, paint, dye, fabric markers- all great ways to make your own cute shirts.

4. Thrift stores & sales- I know thrifting is not for everyone but the cutest clothes I've bought (especially stripe-y pants are from thrift stores) & I always keep my eye out for sales.

But as for stores, a couple of my favorite places to get clothes for Linc are at H&M, one of my favorite "expensive" brands, Zutano, now has a collection at Target & I've actually been impressed with BuyBuyBaby. I can also usually find a couple things at the classics Gap (though, again, pricey for baby clothes when not on sale) & Old Navy.

So, thank you for your nice comments on this kiddos clothes, but really, I think it's just because the kid in them is so darn cute- he really makes the clothes!

Gender Neutral Baby gifts

I was just talking to Es about gender neutral baby goodness & then a few days later I got an email from a blog reader asking what she should get a friend who doesn't know what she's having.

And since I've done some research about this, without further ado gender neutral gift ideas:

1.. Genderless gifts like a baby gym or baby bouncer.

2. Some pretty genderless toys- here, here, & here
3. It's not easy but there are some cute gender neutral clothes out there: here, here, & here.
4. Swaddlers: here & here.
5. Baby carriers like these.
6. Etsy is filled with screen printed onesies that are adorable for boys or girls: here, here, & this blog post.
7. Necessary baby items: diapers, nursing pads, baby wipes, & diaper cream.
8. Gift cards or waiting until the baby is born- boring I know, but ultimately helpful for some "gender" clothes later.

ANY OTHER IDEAS from my brilliant friends?

Baby Quilts

I am not a quilter but I want to be. I never really learned & have no idea where to start but I'm thinking of starting on something on the smaller side. So, I've been looking at baby quilts. Aren't they just lovely:

1. Love the vintage-ish fabric choice, the color combo, & the red herringbone stitching
2. This quilt is bold & bright & probably one of my favorites
3. I love seesucker fabric & this looks like a relatively easy one to make
4. I've got a thing for color gradation rainbows like this- so pretty
5. Linen is the perfect backdrop for these bright red, pink, and oranges
6. My lovely writer friend Rachel made this adorable bunting quilt

Back to School GOODIES!

1. Love the idea of giving a back-to-school gift to your kiddos & love this wrapping
2. Cute clips
3. Love this backpack (I almost got it for Syd but she needs a bag that can hold a piece of paper & these backpacks are unfortunately too small)
4. Love these print out signs (with the date on it too)
5. My lovely friend, Rachel, has been doing adorable bento box lunches for her kids- when it's time for Syd & Rob to have lunches I'm SO doing this!
6. My cousin Katie does fun back to school family nights/dinners with her boys. Love it!
7. Tote bags for little ones
8. An ADORABLE pattern to make your own toddler backpack
9. Groovy shirts for your back-to-school kids

Simple "Mama May I" rainbow toys

I am in love with these simple, colorful, wooden matching toys for babies & toddlers from the etsy shop "Mama May I".

1) Little people & pot matching game

2) Family-in-bag matching game

3) Lady bug number/counting game

4) Scoop, colored cup & ball game

5) Birds & egg matching game

So sweet, huh?

"Someday..." Prints

These are just gorgeous, fun, & with such a great message for kiddos & adults alike- YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU PUT YOUR MIND TO.

I can't even pick a favorite. I'll just have to take them all!

The Illustrious Onesie

Oh, the illustrious onesie, how I love thee...

But, seriously, who wouldn't after looking at these adorable & quirky ones:

And don't even get me started on these butcher shop & obscure veggies onesies:

And I'm sorry but this David Bowie one is my fav (plus all the some of my heroes too):

Blinkenstaffs Independent Toy Emporium

My friend Krysynt turned me onto Blinkenstaffs toy store. So, one afternoon, while we were watching Robby, I thought I'd stop by & let the kids check it out.

Let me just say it's like a magical world in there.

It's super kid friendly with carts for the kids to push around & toys out for them to play with.

There was everything you can imagine: candy, vintage toys, art supplies, M&D wooden food, art supplies, dress-ups. And my favorite, tons & tons of board games!

Has anyone else been there? What did you guys think? If not you should go now & check it out!