WOW!!!! Thank you EVERYONE for your advice! Holy smokes, I am SO set!!! I feel kind of like I just had a girly sleepover where ladies tell all their secrets and dish the latest scopp about...baby stuff :) THANKS!

A few more questions today...

Nursing bras....what's the best?

Also, I LOVE wearing dresses, especially now that I'm huge, and they are so comfortable...how do you nurse when you're wearing a dress, like a long dress...or do you?

I'm swollen, I put my feet up every day at lunch in the teachers lounge, they hurt so bad when the school day is over...I know avoid salty foods, any other tricks?

And, to leave you with a laugh...kids are so funny:

Maggie: (looking at me with her head cocked to one side, contemplative... standing in the lunch line staring at me) "mrs. Lance, your baby gives you a lot of baby fat huh?"

Me: (looking down at my big belly) "Yes Maggie, he does..."

Maggie: "Yeah...like a lot of baby fat huh?

Me: "um, yeah :)"

Then in Reading class, we are de-coding words...

"okay we just decoded the word enormous, how many syllables does enormous have, lets clap it out together, okay e (clap) nor (clap) mous (clap) three, that's right it had three syllables, who can use the word enormous in a sentence?

Jenny: (ALWAYS uses the requested words in a sentence that is a question because one time I praised her for using a question...) "Are you enormous?"

Me: (looking down at my belly) "Yes. I am."

Today in the morning, kids are filing into the classroom, taking attendance, beginning their seat work, and Diane says "Wow Mrs. lance, you just keep on getting bigger and bigger...........like every day, just bigger and bigger! :)"

This weekend, with my niece Kaci:

Me: "Kaci, lets put these chips away, you're going to eat the entire bag honey! :)"

Kaci: "Good idea, let's put them away, if I keep eating them I'll be big and fat like you!"

Me: "KACI! I did NOT get fat like this from eating too many potato chips!!! I have a BABY inside me (thankyouverymuch!)"

Kids are so...honest :)

Don't worry though, for every kid that tells me I'm huge in a sweet and innocent way, there are like two dozen people who tell me that I look cute, so don't pity me, I just wanted to share my humorous life :) I don't have a fat complex or anything :)

Have a great week!

I'm off to do more homework (my Oral Defense for my Masters is Friday at 1, I could use your prayers!) and right after that, I am leaving for 11 days to the WARMTH of California!!! YEAH!

Advice

So...I've been trying to do some homework about some baby stuff, but when it comes down to it, all the research and reviews are full of it, how do I know who I can trust??? SO, I'm asking you... those of you with a wealth of knowledge, please tell me...

What diapers do you prefer? I hear Pampers swaddlers are good for newborns, but not good for older, I hear huggies are good, I hear lots of things, but do you get what you pay for? Are huggies the ultimate poop soaking dry bum keepers, or does it matter? What about Costco's Kirkland brand? And what about store brands like Target and Walmart? Any bad experiences? Exceptionally good ones??? I'm super thrifty as you know, and I don't want to spend money on something I don't need, but I also don't want to waste money buying junk that I get frustrated with...so tell me, what are your preferred diaper brands?

Same for Wipes...one's to stay away from? Are they all created equal???

What about bottles and nipples? My SIL loves and swears by hers- the kind you insert the plastic baggie thing into because you don't have to clean out the bottle-just the nipple, you can squeeze out the air bubbles, and the baby doesn't have to tip the thing totally upside down to get milk. (BTW, I am going to Nurse, but you know later on when bottles are needed or if I need to pump etc...) BUT my other SIL swears by hers that are "Advent" I think... What do YOU swear by?

Next: swaddlers and burpies...how many should you have? I mean how many burp cloths do you go through, how often do you do laundry? What about bibs?

Do your babies wear socks?

Shoes?

Do you have an awesome monitor? Is the expensive one worth it?

Same with the car seat, do you prefer one kind of handle to another?

Do you do the sling, the baby Bjorn, the mobi wrap or what???

What kind of diaper bag do you use? Is it a "diaper bag" or a snazzy bag you keep diapers in? How big is it?

What do you keep in your diaper bag, I mean beside the obvious, what might I forget to put in that I would be real glad I had???

What did you think you NEEDED before your baby came, but turns out you didn't?

What do you wish you had from day one, but didn't?

What ELSE??? I am counting on you, let me glean your very best advice on these things! I know I'll have more questions, but this is all I can think of right now...DON't LET ME DOWN!!! :)

Thanks guys!