It has been a REALLY long time since I did a giveaway, so let's see how this grabs ya!

I had the worst experience ever using the Babi HPTs and that is saying a TON coming form the girl who has never met a pee stick she didn't like.  Like a fellow TTCer pointed out, I should have known the tests sucked when they couldn't even spell baby right.  Usually even crappy pee sticks have redeeming qualities.  Not these. 

I spent the last 7 days or so testing out my trigger using these Babi pregnancy tests.  In my last post I showed you how for three days in a row the lines on the tests didn't change one bit.  My levels were obviously dropping but the lines told me a completely different story. 

Then finally the lines went away... well not really.  They were lighter, then not there, then suddenly there again.  It was just enough to give me false hope.  I switched to name brand tests and saw the line get lighter and lighter.  The Babi tests were giving me lines of varying shades pretty much ever time I tested.  Including this test from yesterday morning:

 Before I go on I want to let you know that the test pictured above had to be a fluke.  That was the darkest line I had and maybe even darker than my trigger pictures.  I just think that these tests blow chunks.  I am feeling pretty confident that I will be getting a visit from Ol' Aunt Flo at any moment.  No line to speak of on today's name brand test and feeling more PMS-y than baby on board-y. 





This pic makes the middle test look like it has the start of something.  Bottom has a maybe.This is when the package says to read the test.







This one makes the top one look like it might have a shadowy looking something too. 











Now the top two look negative but the bottom test has something that looks pink!











Or maybe not???











Then after an hour of sitting The bottom test has a visible line.  The middle has a shadow of something and the top we'll call negative. 



I totally recognize that most normal women would have thrown those tests away right at the 5 minute mark and be done with it.  I never claimed to be normal.  I also went to Amazon and read all of the negative reviews.  Apparently I am not alone in my thoughts that these tests stink!  Others who used these tests thought they were going to miscarry because the lines were always so light and never got any darker.  Others said that they got super light lines and had very obvious dark lines on First Response Tests.  The bottom line is that even if you are a pee stick addict, these need not be in your stash. 

So I bet you are wondering how on Earth this post could possibly be a giveaway post, right?  Since these tests are worthless to me, I thought we could make this into a game!!

I want you to tell me in a comment (Disqus comments please!) or in a blog post (post a link in the comments) what you would do with 30 of the world's worst pregnancy tests.   Whoever comes up with the most entertaining response/post will "win" the 30 Babi HPTs!   Be creative!  If I can't decide which idea makes me smile the biggest, I'll put it to a vote and let the readers decide! 

Deadline is November 20th!

Few things make me as happy as pregnancy tests! The runner up is ovulation tests! So when I was given the opportunity to review and wait for it... wait for it... giveaway ovulation and pregnancy tests, you would have thought that I had been looking at the winning lottery ticket! Sometimes, it is the little things! UsMoms has been more than wonderful when it comes to customer service. All of my emails have been responded to promptly, all of my questions answered, and all with sincerity. They really care about their customers and making sure they are happy! I was sent a variety of ovulation tests to use this cycle and share my experiences. Not that I am bashful about everyone knowing that I am a test-a-holic, but it was nice that my yellow envelope of tests showed up very discretely. Since I usually order my tests in large batches, it will be nice to know that the postman isn't going to think that there must be 12 women hiding in my basement all trying to get pregnant.

Since my ovulation is usually pretty predictable (CD 13 or 14) I had stopped charting. But, for the purposes of reviewing these tests I dusted off my thermometer and put it back in it's former home on my nightstand. I was sent several types of OPKs to experiment with including the test strip, the midstream, and the cassette variety. They were all easy to use with very detailed instructions and easy to determine results. My favorite was the test strips since I am one to pee in the cup to test anyway and it was just more my "style" if one can claim a pee stick style.
It was so easy to tell when it was positive! In fact, my chart corroborated this nice positive test with a temp rise the following morning! And just for fun, this is another brand (name brand) opk used in the same urine at the exact same time. The UsMoms ovulation test is so much easier to read!
After being most certain on my ovulation date, I buckled up for my two week wait. Well... not really. I have never been able to wait two weeks before I test. First of all, my luteal phase since having Joey has never been more than 12 days. Second, if I make it to 8 days past ovulation (DPO) before I pee in a cup, that is an accomplishment. Plus, UsMoms send me an "Earliest Pregnancy Test" that reads 10mlU/ml. I couldn't wait to give that a try! At 9 DPO (4-5 days before my expected period) I used the Earliest Pregnancy Test. While I certainly was hoping for an nice squinter or something, alas... 'twas not meant to be. Then I tried again on 10 dpo with an Early Pregnancy Test. Nope. Maybe something on 11 dpo? Sigh.

The good news is this. The pregnancy tests from UsMoms didn't make me go through the roller coaster of hope due to the "maybe there" mystery shadow lines that other "internet" test strips seem to do. It was negative. It stayed negative. Even after hours of sitting around it was still completely negative. This is a slide show of about 20 photos taken periodically starting with as soon as I took the test, a few waiting for it to dry, some at the time limit for reading the test, and then a couple way after the time limit and one from hours after the time limit. Notice that there is never a squinter, shadow line, or evaporation line. Even after hours of sitting on the counter! If you want to stop on a picture to examine it better you can hover over it and it will pause the show.

I am not joking when I say that these are my new favorite internet tests! It was so nice to have a clear answer. No guessing. No running to the store to buy an expensive test to verify that the test was in fact just playing games with my mind. I recommend these tests to anyone who is trying to conceive especially if you like to test early and often! They are inexpensive and reliable!

*Disclaimer* I was sent the tests at no cost. I am not being compensated for this post. All of my opinions are 100% my own. I really like these tests!


If you would like to buy some tests, visit UsMoms and start shopping now!

If you would like to win a gift package of 25 ovulation test strips, 10 pregnancy test strips, and 2 FSH tests compliments of UsMoms, enter below!!!

I very rarely post a facebook status. I tend to think that what I am thinking and feeling really isn't all that important in the grand scheme of things. But one day a couple of months back I posted a status. It read, "Teething Sucks." Eloquent. I know. But it really did pretty much sum up how my days had been going.

Gavin's teeth came in easy and early. He may have needed Tylenol a total of 4 times in his whole teething career. He would just be fussier than usual at bedtime and after a dose of Tylenol, he would be all set for the night. Just like everything else, Joey was showing us what a typical babies does.

It would start at any given time and he would scream. Not the irritated because I want more attention scream or the I have a load in my pants kind of scream. It would be a scream that would convey very clearly that he was in pain. This scream would continue despite efforts with teething rings (cold, chilled, slightly chilled...) gum massages, vigorously employed distraction techniques, and even Tylenol would only seem to work for a short time. So, up it went on Facebook. Teething Sucks.

One of the redeeming qualities of facebook is that people that you would otherwise never have any link to are now in your back pocket, available to offer advice. Sometimes the advice is helpful sometimes it causes you to click the little "x" and delete them forever from your list of friends. But in this case, I was so glad to have a dear friend from high school on my friends list.

She suggested an Amber Teething Necklace. I had no idea what this even was and assumed it was something like a teething ring of sorts that babies could teethe on. She corrected me and told me, "The oils from his skin work with the Baltic amber and it releases into his skin-blood system and helps reduce pain and discomfort. Also good with negative energy, etc-calming. I love it!" With a review like that, who could resist, right? Plus, especially after my experience with the Welcome Womb, I am becoming a firm believer in homeopathic and natural solutions. I asked on a few message board about others' experiences with the necklaces and got very mixed reviews. I decided that even if it didn't really work then at least I had tried. I bought the Baltic Amber Teething Necklace and put it on Joey the moment it arrived in the mail.

There is no way to prove if the necklace really worked or if Joey's teething pain wasn't as intense as it had been but since putting the necklace on him. But, with that said, I have only needed to use Tylenol once. Even on that one occasion, he didn't seem as thoroughly overcome with pain like before. He just seemed like he was hurting and Tylenol would help. It was more like how Gavin would act when he was teething. For the record, while he was wearing the necklace he cut one top front tooth and the other is not far behind it. Again, I know that it could have been a total fluke but I do know that I will buy another one if I ever have another baby who has a tough time with teething. Plus, they are super cute! Even on my burly boy!

Shortly after finding out that I was pregnant with Joey I realized that if there were going to be any major changes going on in Gavin's life it was time to get them underway long before the baby came. First we started with the "big boy bed". He hadn't ever tried to get out of his crib but since we were planning on using it for Joey, it was time for bigger and better things for Gavin. That was a remarkably easy transition for all of us. Thank goodness!!! One major change down. One to go. It was time to go potty.

A number of moms on various on-line locations had made reference to the 3 Day Potty Training Method. From reading comments I had a vague understanding of the premise of this method and thought, "Why not? It can't be that hard if everyone is doing it." So, after checking out the site, I ordered the E-Book. A few weeks later, after Gavin turned 2 I decided it was time to read the book and bite the bullet. That Sunday night I read the E-book, which is a really easy read, with every intention of starting the next morning. I really should have read the book a few times in the days leading up to our start date but, I had already made up my mind that Monday was "the" day. No more diapers for us.

On Monday morning I followed the books directions to a T. Perhaps I should say to a "P"ee because I think Gavin must have peed 30 times and not one time did a single drop touch a potty. I knew that it was to be expected since I hadn't really even attempted to get him on a potty in the past but, sheesh. This was not going well. On Tuesday, I had a new lease on the potty training situation and was feeling confident that it could only get better. By Tuesday night it had gotten better but only slightly. Very slightly. It had become a battle of wills. I knew this was in direct violation of the book's directions but I just knew that he had to go potty but he didn't want anything to do with sitting on it until the dribble would start. Then the dribble would be promptly followed by a scream and before I could say, "OK", he would be standing in a puddle screaming and crying. I, wanting to avoid this situation, would try to make him sit on the potty which only led to more screaming and crying. After Gavin had gone to bed, I turned to Doug and just started crying. Not just a tear or two, but full fledged sobbing, complete with a snotty nose. I explained that I just didn't think I could do it anymore. I couldn't put Gavin through it. I couldn't put myself through it. It just was too early for Gavin to be potty trained. Doug, in his always rational and soothing manner, reminded me that the book is called the 3 day method. If it was supposed to work in 2 days they would have called it that. He also reminded me that the book says that some kids get it on day three and some it may take a few extra days to get it completely. I agreed to give it the third day before throwing in the towel.

On Wednesday it was like I had a new kid. I am not exaggerating. It was like I put him to bed as a frustrated, confused, diaper wanting toddler and when he woke up a light bulb had switched on. The day wasn't without a few accidents but he was totally understanding what we were doing. I suddenly felt less like I was doing something to him and more like I was helping him with something.

I can honestly say that since Day 4 to the present I can probably count the number of accidents he has had on one hand. And now, just shy of his 3rd birthday, he is nearly independent in the bathroom. He does still need help with wiping and if his pants have a snap but all in all, he was potty trained in 3 days! Next to natural child birth, this may have been one of the toughest things I have ever done but it was so worth it in the end!!!

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