Forget babies, let's talk dogs.

Bored with all the baby talk? Me, too! So I wanted to share a little about how we take care of our FIRST baby. Our labrador retriever, Indy! His name is short for Indiana Jones, but he is nothing short of adventurous. Keeps us on our toes, makes us clean the house a little more, and loves to lick our faces & feet. We adore him.

I never really gave it much thought before we got a dog, but now I'm such a believer in giving our sweet little pup the best stuff out there. My husband and I are literally seeing first hand how our dog's diet is a positive influence on his health and appearance.

We try to eat healthy. We buy processed snacks and indulge in desserts now and then, but the majority of our diet is made up of whole foods and I make homemade meals almost every night. We buy organic when we can, avoid added sugars and preservatives and also supplement with vitamins. In my mind, human or animal, any member of our family is going to be treated the same.

We got Indy from a reputable breeder when he was 8 weeks old. From the time he was eating solids, she fed him (and his brothers and sisters) Purina Puppy Chow. While researching dog breeds, my Mom sent me a few articles about typical dog food (like Purina) and what goes into it. Ugh, let's just say it was pretty disturbing.

Here are the first 5 ingredients in Purina Puppy Chow: Whole grain corn, corn gluten meal, chicken by-product meal, whole grain wheat, animal fat.

It doesn't sound terrible, until you realize that animals are like people. What happens when you load them up with processed grains (especially corn) and animal byproducts? They gain weight. They are more likely to develop diseases. They are unhealthy. They have digestive problems. The only healthy things in entire ingredient list are dried carrots and dried peas and they are pretty far down, which means there isn't much in there. Ironic that Purina's motto is "Long Live Your Dog".

So, we decided we were going to switch Indy away from Purina and try one of the newer holistic dog foods on the market. There are more and more available now, which is exciting! I had heard about Blue Buffalo brand and we decided to give it a try. After slowly weaning Indy off of Purina and onto Blue Buffalo, we still weren't impressed. The ingredients were definitely better, but his stools were unpredictable (sometimes loose, sometimes he was constipated) and often times, he didn't even finish the portion we put in his bowl. I'm not saying this dog food is bad, it just didn't agree with Indy so we were ready to try something else.

Indy loved these treats during Puppy Kindergarten & when we were housebreaking him!

Around this time, my Mom went to a local street festival and happened upon a Natural Balance pet food stand, where they loaded her up with free samples. She dropped them off at our house and we decided to see if Indy liked it, because we certainly liked what we learned about the products. (We'd never heard of it before, but once we started Puppy Kindergarten, it turned out to be the brand that the trainer recommended, so we figured it was worth a try).

Could Indy have gone any more BONKERS over this dog food? He went insane and gobbled it up so fast. We ended up giving him the rest of the dog food samples for meals & treats until they ran out, and then continued feeding him Blue Buffalo because we still had a whole bag of it left. Guess what? Once he had a taste of Natural Balance, he wanted nothing more to do with his old food. He was so over Blue Buffalo and would barely touch it. The next bag of dog food we bought was Natural Balance and now we're customers for life.

Just for a comparison... here are the first ingredients in a bag of NB: Sweet Potatoes, Venison, Potato Protein, Pea Protein, Canola Oil, Potato Fiber, Flaxseed

They also carry wet canned food & yummy "food rolls" that are GREAT for treats!

Indy's coat is sooo shiny - he almost glistens in the sun and we constantly get compliments on it. His poops are always normal, which leads to happy anal glands (graphic, but it's a part of our lives) and his stomach is rarely upset. He is also one muscular dude! 7 months old and he looks like he hits the gym twice a day. Sorry ladies, he's neutered. Playful, full of energy, social with other dogs/people/children, protective of us when strangers come to the door... just an all around happy & healthy pup!

Natural Balance is more expensive because of the high quality ingredients (like venison, sweet potatoes, brown rice & real chicken). It's about $15-20 more per bag than other non-holistic brands. But, like I said at the beginning of this post, we knew when we adopted a puppy that we were going to treat him like a member of the family and to me, giving him the best dog food we can afford is one of the ways in which we accomplish that.

Look at that face!

Disclaimer: Neither of us have any affiliation with Natural Balance, except that we feed it to our dog!

Least Productive Weekend Ever (For Me)

My lengthy to-do list got very little crossed off of it this weekend. What happened to my nesting momentum? I feel like all I did this weekend was clean up dog hair and do laundry. However, in trying to stay positive, here is what I DID accomplish...

- Finished writing out all of my thank you notes for baby showers.
- Made a delicious new meatloaf recipe & made an extra loaf to freeze for after the baby arrives (Mozzarella Stuffed Italian Meatloaf... amazing).
- Survived the wacky October snowstorm. (4-5 inches and we haven't had snow before Halloween since the 1950's!)

In the beginning...

After an hour or so...

My mums were very confused.

Getting 2 all-wheel drive vehicles was an excellent choice.

It's official. Indy loves snow!



- 3 loads of laundry.

- Vacuumed, swiffered, dusted & cleaned the bathroom.

- Took Indy to the groomers for the first time where they made him look & smell pretty (he even got a cute little Halloween bow... awwh). I'm not sure who the groomers spoiled more... me or the dog. He'll definitely be going back next month!

Daddy is not pleased with our manly dog wearing a ghost bow.

Indy got an excellent "Pawgress" Report from Pet Smart.

- Did not go into labor during the snow storm (Tim was very appreciative of this).

- Bought a new pair of wedges that actually fit. Your feet really DO get bigger from pregnancy. I went from a 7.5 to an 8 and my current pairs of flats are sooo tight.
- Attempted to make a fabric flower and it was disastrous. I don't even want to show you. It looks terrible.

Annnd there you have it. Seems like I did a good amount, but most of these things weren't on my actual to-do list. I'm simply reiterating them to make myself feel better. And I kind of do! Mission accomplished. Hopefully I have another baby-free weekend in my future to git 'er done.

Still Cookin'

Just to answer your questions up front: Yes, I'm still pregnant. True, I could "go" any day now. No, I'm still not ready.

What does "ready" even mean?  Ready to stop wearing maternity pants that give me a permanant wedgie? Yes. Ready to stop waking up at 3am with burning acid reflux? You bet. Ready to not cry inside everytime I weigh myself? Naturally.

But am I really ready for the mental and physical anguish of childbirth and raising a child for 18+ years? Absolutely not! No one's ever ready for that... no matter how much they convince themselves they are. But guess what, we women realize that it's a necessary evil if we want the human race to live on. So we make sacrafices.

Here are some 38 week preggo tidbits for you. Consider this your verbal dose of birth control for the day.

Your weight gain will horrify you. I don't care what the breakdown is for how much the extra blood and placenta weighs. IT SUCKS. I'll tell you how much I gained. 38 pounds. I've heard, "Oh, that's nothing, my sister's friend gained 60!" It doesn't matter how much you gain. Going from your normal starting weight to anything above that feels terrible and unnatural.

Your pregnancy will annoy people. A lot of people will act like a-holes towards you for a number of reasons. I've concluded that all of these reasons point back to jealousy. They wish they could get pregnant and can't/they wish they'd had kids and are now too old. They think you're getting special treatment. They think you're going to quit your job and never come back (and secretly want to do the same). They are generally miserable about life and hate when others are happy, but only because they long to be happy and can't. They visualize you giving birth and it grosses them out (but secretly want to know what it's like).

The little kicks that you first thought were "special" will eventually bruise your ribs and make any position you try to sit/lay in unbearable. You will curse your unborn child. You will wish you never got pregnant in the first place. You'll hear a news story about some woman leaving her child on a doorstep with a note pinned to his onesie and for a split second... have a hard time condemning her.

A lot of medical advice you receive is based on NOTHING. You'll hear a lot of the following gibberish: "Well, we don't know if it's bad or not, so just don't do it." Mmm k, doc. Whatever you say. One turkey hoagie, please...

You will lie to your doctor/midwife. It's uncontrollable. You'll lie about your diet. You'll lie about drinking alcohol. You'll lie about your weight. There will just come a time when you don't feel like hearing shit, and you'll lie. Blame it on the hormones and move on.

Wedding day v. A few weeks ago (who looks happier?)

I've also come to the conclusion that just because other people's kids make me cringe, that it doesn't mean I will be a horrible mother. Tim and I were watching the new show on Animal Planet called "Puppies v. Babies". What happens is they show you a clip of a baby doing something cute and then a video of a puppy or kitten doing something cute, and then you have to decide which is cuter.

In my mind, the puppy or kitten always won.

Precious Weekends

Tim and I treasure our weekends, especially these last few, precious, child-free weekends. I mean, Baby A is always along for the ride in my stomach, but this is the most laid back and maintenance free that he'll ever be.

Don't get us wrong, we can't wait to meet the little guy and dote on him 24/7, but we're slowly realizing that being able to say "Hey, let's go out to dinner" is a luxury.

On Friday night, we enjoyed a yummy slow cooker meal of beef & vegetable soup (recipe coming this week). I have a feeling that crock pot is going to be reaaaaal tired after this winter.

I woke up Saturday morning with a hankering for apple cider donuts. They are a local favorite that always symbolize the transition into fall and make the end of summer a tad more bearable. We brought Indy along for the ride and he enjoyed hanging his head out the window the whole way. The colder the better as far as he's concerned.

Then I got serenaded by this fine gentleman, to whom I happen to be married to.

After cleaning the bejesus out of our house while Tim took the pup on a long walk, we ran errands which included a stop at my favorite store - Christmas Tree Shops. Tim always says the same thing when we're in there. "There is so much random crap here." Yep, and that's why I love it! You go in there needing nothing and walk out with a huge bag of stuff that you only paid $15 for. What's not to love? I actually DID need a few things and this is one of them.

You see a placemat. I see a clutch purse. More on that later.

Just call me the Queen of Suspense.

We went out to possibly THE BEST Indian restaurant on Saturday night. Star of India, West Chester, Pennsylvania, Planet Earth... look it up. Anyways, we've been into Indian food for about the last year or so and I keep saying I'm going to learn how to cook it, but so far we've only made some chicken marinated in Indian spices on the grill. In time...

I never thought I was a spicy food kinda gal, but that's because I was associating anything spicy with how hot wings set my mouth on fire, and Indian spices are so not evil like that. They are spicy in an "ooh, that's got a kick to it!" way.

Their garlic naan was fresh baked and amazing. We're taking our friends Rachael & Dave there next weekend as well, because they've been wanting to try Indian food and we need another night out before baby!

37 weeks

This is the current state of my stomach. It really accents my double chin nicely, don't you think? Haha. I really shouldn't complain. I've had an easy breezy pregnancy and this isn't even a maternity dress! Forever 21, I think. And my favorite boots are back in action. I'm gonna wear the crap out of them again this winter, especially since I'll be living in tights & leggings.

Tim snapped this as we were headed out to the baby shower his Mom threw for me on Sunday. It was lovely to catch up with his aunts & cousins - including one that is also expecting! Needless to say, Baby Annan is totally set on adorable clothes, books, stuffed animals & cozy blankets. He'll definitely be dressed better than me for the first 6 months of his lucky little life!

Weekend Wrap-up

Taking the day off on Friday was heavenly. Indy was scheduled to be neutered, so I dropped him off at our vet's office around 9am (I was a little emotional leaving my baby there... is that weird?) I got home & the house was completely silent... ahhh... peace. Did I take this opportunity to relax? Of course not. Like any pregnant, nesting woman I cleaned the crap out of that house! The crevice tool on my vacuum cleaner got an extensive work out. I even vacuumed the couch cushions & throw pillows and did a couple loads of laundry.

Around noon, I realized I hadn't eaten anything yet. Must have been running on pure cleaning adrenaline. So I made myself a grilled cheese sandwich with some carrots & hummus and sat down at the kitchen table to do some vaccine reading. We had just met with a pediatrician (and loved him) a few days earlier, so I wanted to thoroughly research the 3 immunizations he strongly recommends. I won't go too far into that because it's a very touchy subject. But I will say this... we're not following the CDC's guidlines. 'Cause we're rebels like that.

I called the vet after lunch and was surprised to hear that Indy was already out of surgery, awake and had been out on a walk & fed. So much for getting anything else done... but I kinda missed my pupsters and was excited to pick him up.

This was Indy for a few minutes on the ride home. And then he was up & sticking his head out the window for the rest of the drive like nothing even happened. Seriously, dogs (especially puppies) are resilient. Stitches on my privates? What stitches?

We went to our favorite breakfast place on Saturday morning, Penn's Table, and got a table outside since we brought Indy (they love pets). It was 65 degrees, sunny and the briskness felt fab. It's sweater weather!

On Saturday afternoon, Tim got to work assembling strollers and installing car seat bases. Indy helped.

Sunday marked Indy's 6 month old birthday. We are at times completely aggravated by this dog, but just love him to pieces.

This week, I'm entering week 35 of pregnancy.

Maternity leggings are officially my favorite pants to wear.

On Sunday, we watched the Eagles lose at my brother's house (but got to see 4 of our adorable nieces, so that's an automatic win!) Back at home, we flipped on the Phillies and I'm the only one who could stay awake. But I'm glad I did because I got to see this. Adorable.

3 months later...

Oh yeah, I have a blog... totally forgot about that! Just kidding. I didn't forget. Blogger's format got all screwy and I couldn't figure out how to do anything and I've been super duper busy. It's still weird, and I don't even know how this post is going to look, but I just wanted to let you know I'm baaaaack. Let's see. Still married. Still pregnant. Still have a dog (who is HUGE, btw). Due in less than 2 months. INSANITY!

I'm so excited to blog about being a mamacita and all the parenting decisions we're making (at least the semi-non-personal ones). We're working on the baby's room, taking childbirth classes and I've even started packing my bags for when we head off to the birth center! Well, hopefully to the birth center, if Baby Annan cooperates. I can't wait to spill the beans on his name as well! So many fun things lie ahead. But first, I need to grab a snack because it's 11am and that's the official universal pregnant-lady snack time.

My grapes & pretzels await!

At a wedding in September with my cutie pie husband

On the beach in August @ 28 weeks



Indy, 5 months old

Everyone loves a puppy

And when I say everyone, I mean ev-er-y-on-e.

We look Indy to the farmer's market on Saturday and he was literally SWARMED with people. Some of them were respectful and just asked how old he was, what his name was, if they could pet him, etc. Then, one lady picked him up without asking and jokingly (I think) told us she was going to steal him. Another idiot let her dog jump on top of him. Thanks, lady. Maybe keep one hand on your leash in crowded, public areas.

[our baby]

It was kind of funny to hear random people say "oh looooook" and "awwwwwh" as we walked down the street. I won't lie... it made me feel pretty proud to have such a cute little pup at my side. Good experience for Indy, too, since you're supposed to expose them to public places with other adults, dogs & kids as soon as possible to build up their confidence. But note to self, if you're ever in a rush, don't bring a puppy with you! It took us twice as long to do a simple errand because of our new family member, and he was so pooped afterwards that Tim ended up carrying him back to the car.

[pooped!]

Indy's slowly getting a hang of the peeing outside thing. He actually goes to the back door now and waits for us to hook him up to his leash to take him out. Before he would pee on the way to the door, or right at it - very frustrating. But, for 9 weeks old, I'd say he's doing pretty well! He hasn't destroyed anything (except maybe our sleep habits) and even did great at the vet. Gained a whopping 5 lbs in one week! I have a feeling we're going to have a huge dog before we know it. Gotta keep taking pictures & videos while he's still got that little puppy potbelly and soft fur.

[sitting still... a rarity!]

New likes: going on walks, watching bunny rabbits, playing tug-of-war with a towel, getting treats for going potty outside, watching cars go by in the front yard (on his leash), classical music

New dislikes: the evil vacuum cleaner, baby gates, not being able to jump on the couch (it's still too high), waiting to be fed, when we ignore him (which rarely happens!)

[my boys!]

Puppy dog eyes

How could I ever get mad at this face?

I was never a dog person. I only had cats growing up.

But this little guy has won over my heart and can do no wrong.

He poops on the floor and I blame myself for not letting him out soon enough.

He tries to tear down curtains and I worry more about his little baby teeth than my curtains.

I feel so guilty putting him in his crate before I leave for work and have to run out of the house so I don't have to hear him whine.

I even asked my boss if I could leave work an hour early because I'm afraid he'll be lonely his first week home alone.

If I'm a total pushover for this puppy, what's going to happen with the baby?!

Introducing... INDY!

Hi, I'm Indy, Meg and Tim's new puppy!

Can I lick your face? No? Okay... maybe later.

Here is some info about me.

Name: Indy (short for Indiana Jones)

Breed: Labrador Retriever, black, male

Born on: April 2, 2011

Adopted on: May 28, 2011

Hometown: Newmanstown, PA with the Eberly Family

Parents: Sir Nittany (chocolate lab) & Lady Alexia (black lab)

Favorite Toy: Squeaky limp raccoon

I love to: chew on anything, play with Daddy, tackle small children, nap on tile floors, eat grass, wrestle with my stuffed duck, be around people 24/7, lick ice cubes, get belly rubs

I hate: my crate, being told "No", being home alone, hot weather (I am wearing a black fur coat all the time, after all), my collar & leash

Now can I lick your face?

<3 Indy

P.S. I have my own theme song. Top that!

Why getting a puppy while pregnant is not as crazy as you think

I've noticed a phenomenon. Or maybe it's just another annoyance of being pregnant. Yes, I have a lot of them already, and they mainly deal with the opinions of other people. As soon as you get pregnant, people act like anything "else" you want to do should wait. Because you know, pregnant women are incapable of doing anything other than sitting around and knitting baby booties. Sarcasm...

[Knitting... and knitting... and knitting... and knitting... Pee Wee's Big Adventure? Anyone?]

When Tim and I got engaged, we agreed that as soon as we were able (location-wise, money-wise) that we would get a dog. In February, simultaneously, we found out we were having a baby and we were offered a great house to rent that allowed pets. Finally!

Well, as soon as we mentioned this aloud, the debbie downers chimed in. Your getting a dog AND having a baby AND you just moved? You're crazy! No real explanation for this was given. Just that we were crazy. Interesting.

(For her peace of mind, I'm not talking about my Mom who brought up the valid point of expensive vet visits. That's actually a legitimate reason to not get a pet and she has experienced this with multiple cats. Between gear, food and shots, they are very pricey and we factored this into our decision and our budget.)

It's my natural instinct to prove naysayers wrong, so I decided to brainstorm a little listeroo of why getting a puppy while pregnant is not crazy at all. Why, actually... it's awesome!

[Our puppy on the way!]

1. It is a great distraction from pregnancy. Honestly, it's not mentally sound to get too wrapped up in something for too long. I got sick of reading baby books within the first month. Being focused solely on what's happening in my b0dy for 9 months would be maddening. Now I am reading about puppies, what kind of food is best for what breed, how to crate train, etc. It's fun and it takes my mind off of all the things that could go wrong during child birth.

2. We want a pet that is comfortable around children, and we want children who are comfortable around animals... and learn how to care for and respect them. If we get a puppy now, we get both of these things. Our dog and baby will grow up together, and we think that's just adorable. We also think it's important that our kids understand death. I know this sounds morbid, but it's a good lesson in the value of life. Dogs don't live forever, and explaining it will be heartwrenching, but it's something that kids are frankly better off not be shielded from. They need to know that it's a part of life and it's something you will get through eventually. I knew allllll about kitty heaven when I was little and it did not scar me for life.

3. We want to post hilarious youtube videos of our baby and our puppy interacting. America's Funniest Home Videos... here we come!

4. Playing with and walking a dog is great exercise for pregnant women. At 8 months pregnant, I probably won't want to move my big butt off the couch. But if there's a cute little puppy whining to go for a walk... I'll have to get up & get moving! You can't say no to that face.

5. Caring for a puppy is the perfect practice for my husband to care for an infant. I'm not demaning him, he's just never had a pet before. Obviously, he can't stick food in a bowl for an infant and let it poop outside, but just the responsiveness and selflessness that owning a pet teaches will be extremely helpful. I'm sure we'll be playing quite a few rounds of "rock-paper-scissors" for who gets to change a diaper vs. who gets to take the dog out.

6. Labrador retrievers (which is the breed we're getting) are great "alert" dogs. Not great guard dogs because of their friendly nature towards strangers, but they will alert you if they hear a sound, which is very reassuring.

People who've been in our situation (baby + puppy) have told us it's not hard... and actually a lot of fun. Life is too short to not do the things you want to do! We can't put all of our plans on hold just because we're having a baby.

So we're just going for it!