Citrus Lane review - March 2014

Sorry for the back to back reviews but I got Olivia's Citrus Lane box today and I figured I might as well do it now while she's napping. Citrus Lane is like Bluum (see the last post), it's a monthly subscription box for babies/toddlers. So far Citrus Lane has been my favorite, I have loved every box (we got three so far). This box is for a 13 month old girl.

Everything that was in the box. (the stuffed chick was an add on)

Chronicle Books: You Are My Baby (Ocean) Book:
This is the cutest book I've ever seen. I love how it has a smaller separate (but still attached) book for the babies. This is so perfect for Olivia because it's not too long, she starts to gets antsy if I'm reading on one page for a long time and wants me to flip to the next page so she can see the pictures. It's also great because it's a board book, the pages are thick and sturdy, she will have a hard time destroying it. I can't wait to read this to her before bed tonight! Retails for: $8.99 (I found a lot of different prices for this book but I went with the one on their website).

Hape Eco Safari Peg Puzzle:
Last month I was complaining that Olivia only had one puzzle, now she has about eight. I saw some spoilers for other 13 month old boxes and they were getting push and pull toys so I thought we would get that but we got this puzzle. I really do like it though, it's cute. Olivia isn't too great at puzzles yet, she likes taking out the pieces but never puts them back on, we will have to work on that. Retails for: $6.99

Weleda Citrus Hydrating Body Lotion (6.8oz):
Ehhhh.. again, saw some spoilers and people were getting disinfecting wipes, was hoping for those. I don't mind getting this lotion but we have enough lotion now to last us for a year. This is a pretty big size too. Definitely would have gotten more use out of the wipes but this is fine, smells pretty good too. Retails for: $13.20

Me4Kidz Medibuddy:
I think these little first aid travel kits are adorable! We already have a first aid kit but I will keep this one in her diaper bag, perfect for travel. We got the penguin, I was hoping for the purple cat since she loves cats but this is pretty cute too. The penguin is just on the wrapper anyway, once it's open it will just be an orange case. It contains band aids, gauze, antiseptic wipes, antibiotic ointment, stickers & a few other things.  Retails for: $5.15

Plum Organics: Stage 2 World Baby Pouch:
Not thrilled to get a food pouch, I try to make sure whatever she eats is high calorie. When I buy food pouches or purees, I always pick the highest calorie flavor. I never get anything under 80cal and this one is only 50cal. Citrus Lane has no idea that we are trying to get Liv to gain weight so it's not their fault. Maybe I will give this to her after a meal as a snack, I refuse to waste food.  Retails for: $1.69

North American Bear Co. - Chick:
This is an add on, it wasn't part of the box. A feature that I really love is their "add to box" feature. Boxes always have free shipping and Citrus Lane sends coupons all the time. I got a $10 off coupon and when using "add to box" the shipping is free. So you can pick an extra item (or a few) for your box. I got this chick because I figured it would be perfect for her Easter basket. I ended up only paying $4.99 for it, I'm a sucker for a deal.  Retails for: $14.99

The total value of this box is about $36 (not including the add on chick). I got a six month subscription and with coupons, I paid about $15 per month. So it's definitely worth it to me. Olivia was napping when I got the box so I don't have any pictures of her playing with anything but once she wakes up, I will see how she likes it! If you're interested in getting a Citrus Lane subscription for your child, you can use the code SPRING20 for $20 off your first box or you can use my referral link for 50% off your first box Melissa's CL referral. It's a subscription so make sure you cancel after your receive your boxes or you will be charged again.

Bluum review - March 2014

In case you've never heard of Bluum, it's a monthly subscription box for babies/toddlers. You pay for a certain number of months and you get a box every month with 4-5 items geared towards your child's age and gender. The more months you sign up for, the cheaper it is. I found a great deal that was $40 for three months, so about $13 per box.

My daughter is 13 months old and I specified that she was a girl (you can also get a gender neutral box).

 Here is everything we got in the box. 

Baby Legs - Leg Warmers:

I think these are so cute! I've been wanting to buy them for Liv but didn't get around to it so I'm really excited we got these. I have to put them on her soon because it might start getting a little too warm (hopefully!) They are one size fits most but I don't think that will be an issue since she's so small. They definitely won't be too small and if they are too big, she will grow into them. Retails for: $12

Baby Basics: My First Words Book:
This is such a cute book! It has tons of pictures and at the end, it has all the colors and numbers. It says it's for 0+ months but that's fine cause she does really like it. I'm a little worried that she might destroy it though. We had another book with similar lightweight cardboard pages and she completely ripped it apart. This is her favorite item in the box. Retails for: $4.49

 

Begin Again Wooden Earthworm:
I think this is pretty cute, it's a little wooden worm toy. You can move it all around, it's held together by a rubber string (I think). It's for ages 12+ months. Retails for: $9.95

Deep Steep Hand Scrub (2oz):
Haven't tried this yet but from watching unboxing videos, everyone seems to love it so I will have to try it. Happy to get something in the box for me but still rather have everything in the box be just for her. Retails for: $5.89

Fresh Starts: Chilled Travel Bowl:
I think this is my favorite thing in the box. It's perfect for travel and it even has an ice pack to keep food chilled. Love it! Retails for: $8.99

So the total value of the box came out to just a little over $40. I looked up each item online and went with the lowest price, so that is just an estimate but since I only paid $13, I think that's a great deal! These aren't things I would necessarily buy but that's the whole point, I like the surprise and I like to try new things. Overall I am very happy with this box. Last month I was pretty disappointed but they definitely sent a great box this time. Not sure if it was because I complained or not but now I'm confused, I don't know if I still want to cancel or keep it a little longer. I signed up for three months so next month will be the deciding factor. If you are interested in signing up your child to receive a Bluum box, you can use my referral, it will get you 50% off your subscription. You just have to go to bluum.com/omg and enter my email as the coupon code: Stensland.melissa@yahoo.com :) Not sure if that is only for a one time use or if it can be used multiple times but if you do subscribe please let me know how you like it! Also, keep in mind that after your subscription is up, you have to cancel or you will be charged for another few months. Make sure you read everything before you purchase anything.

 

 Olivia enjoying her new book. 

Pregnancy & delivery woes

Quick history on my pregnancy:
It took over a year for me to get pregnant so when I finally did, I was ecstatic! I didn't actually believe I was pregnant so I ran to the store and got 3 more tests (it was kind of like the scene from Knocked Up). The pregnancy was actually going well but it ended up being a really bad scary pregnancy. I wasn't throwing up or having back pain so all that was great. I started having issues around 12 weeks when I saw (cover your eyes for TMI) blood. I quickly called the doctor in a panic and his response was to come in the next day (it was the middle of the night) and if I lost the baby there was nothing he could do about it (his exact words by the way) cue the tears. The next day I went in with the mindset that I was no longer pregnant, well I was. I was so happy and I thought that was the end of my little health scare. (lol yeahhhh, little did I know this incident was just the tip of the iceberg) The time came to find out the sex of the baby, I was so so excited for this visit.. they told us it was a... GIRL! I got to smile for about 3.2 seconds and then they told me that she had two soft markers for down syndrome or cystic fibrosis. My heart sank. Please don't misunderstand this.. I would love her no matter what the circumstance. However, I would of course want my child to be healthy if given the option. Her soft markers were echogenic bowel and crooked pinkies, which I have as well ..they are just slighty curved so they said it was probably a family trait. Keep in mind that they never said ONE word about anything being wrong with her heart. Did I say quick history in the title? Thought it would be. I opted for blood work instead of the amnio test for fear of having a miscarriage. Fast forward to two weeks later (by the way, longest two weeks of my life; at this point) I got the call that the blood work was normal. Woohoo! That's the end of my pregnancy scare!! JK! They wanted to have a follow up ultrasound and at that one they told me she had a "duplex collecting system" of her kidney. This turned out to be nothing thankfully but at the time it was just another problem to add to my list and I was pretty much a wreck at that point. Hormones + bad news over & over again = disaster. I also ended up getting a sinus infection right at the end of my pregnancy, that was a splendid time of fun.

 

Little miss trouble maker.

Delivery and NICU:
Me & the hubby decided to go to the movies, it was a Saturday night and we were going to pack our hospital bags the next day (I was due in ten days) so we could be prepared. Olivia said "Nah, I think it will be more fun this way" I started having contractions as soon as the movie ended, I wondered if it was just a stomach ache from all the food I ate that day so I went home and took a shower. (weirdo I know, who does that?!) As I was drying my hair the pain was getting worse and worse. I finally called the doctor and he wasn't sure if it was a stomach ache either until I had a contraction on the phone. He said to meet him a the hospital right away, (during this phone call my husband is running around throwing things into a bag for us) we were not prepared. So on the way to the hospital I was on the phone with my mom (nobody truly thought I was going into labor at this point because we all thought the baby would be late) and all of a sudden a gush. "Okay I know for a FACT that I did NOT just pee everywhere" my husband was so grossed out! ha ha so yeah my water broke and I had no idea that after it breaks.. it keeps on coming out. I mean every few seconds another gush, I could not believe the amount of fluid coming out.. it was like a gallon! That's what it seemed like at least. The first thing I said was "give me the epidural!" after that I was pretty much okay. By the time we got to the hospital I was already 7cm dilated. Another scary thing and probably TMI, the "water" coming out of me was brown. I KNEW it was supposed to be clear from all those Baby Story episodes I watched! That freaked me out but they assured me it was going to be fine. Uhm hello?! My baby is swimming in her own poop, DISGUSTING, get her out!!! (what I was saying in my head) After a few hours of pushing she was here! Another fun quote from the doctor while I was pushing "oh that was a lousy push" gee thanks. So from start to finish my labor lasted 6 hours. Pretty good I think! Then I heard some keywords .."floppy" "lack of oxygen" and I freaked "is she okay?! IS SHE OKAY?!" ugh she had to go to the NICU (I wanted her to sleep in our room so bad but she couldn't) A new all time scariest moment (at that point) After a few hours she was doing much better and her tone started looking normal. She only needed oxygen for one day and after three days of being in the NICU they told us we could go home. Although she wasn't eating much (only about 1oz every three hours) they said it was okay and that her stomach was very small, I thought it was strange but shrugged it off. When they told us she was okay to go home, I must have made a funny face because the doctor asked me what was wrong. I told him I was worried and he suggested having a nurse come to the house in a few days to check on her, I agreed.

 

Olivia Paige - 7lbs, 2oz - 19inches long & a very loud screamer!