Bright Starts 14 Days of Laughter Review & Giveaway

We are super excited to be one of the 14 blogs chosen to do Bright Starts 14 Days of Laughter Campaign! As part of it we were given our choice of product to review from the new Ingenuity line! Be sure to check out Baby Momma Blog
she posted her review of the Ingenuity Play yard yesterday!


I decided to pick the InGenuity™ Portable Swing to review since we have a full sized swing at home & we spend a lot of time at my Moms house I knew that it would be a perfect fit for us.

As we all know Dot is my FIFTH baby so I have used just about every baby product there is. I have found there to be a huge problem with portable swings, they do not recline enough for a newborn! As we know newborns do not have very good control of their heads, so with the other portable swings I have used there was no way a new baby could be in it without sliding to the side or having their little head flop to either side. Dot is only 3 days old in the pictures were sharing. I am so happy with the InGenuity™ Portable Swing as you can see we do NOT have a problem with her poor head flopping to either side.

I also love that the buckles are covered! I always try to be careful to not pinch my babies but I'm ashamed to admit that I have a couple times got them caught in the buckles.

The InGenuity™ Portable Swing features the innovative TrueSpeed™ Technology, which provides sustained swinging speeds even as baby grows and gets heavier. The swing automatically recognizes baby’s weight and adjusts the swing speed to maintain a consistent swinging motion. With innovative solutions like TrueSpeed™ and on-trend fashion combined with the quick fold-and-go mechanism, this portable swing is the ideal travel companion.

Features and Benefits:
TrueSpeed™ Technology that maintains 6 swing speeds even as baby grows
Whisper Quiet™ operation for peaceful swinging
Comfort Recline™ seat with 2 positions to suit baby’s needs
Swing Timer has 3 settings: 15, 30, and 45 minutes
Removable head rest
Cushioned foot pad and side supports for ultimate comfort
Removable Toy Bar – pivots back for easy access to baby
6 Melodies to soothe baby with volume control and auto shut-off
Machine Washable seat pad and head rest
5 point Harness keeps baby secure

Room for improvement? The only thing that I could see that would be better is if it folded up a bit smaller. The picture makes it look a bit smaller than what it really is & if it had an easy to carry handle that would be awesome since we take it to my moms & back home with us. Other than that I can't find anything else I would improve on so I totally recommend the InGenuity™ Portable Swing to anyone with a baby.


As part of the 14 Days of Laughter Campain Bright Starts is also giving 1 of you your choice of one of the New Ingenuity Line Products!

To Enter to WIN you must either comment with a link to a favorite Spring Time Photo of you & your baby/kids, I will totally accept pregnant pictures as well (you can upload the picture to a free photo hosting site like photobucket) or just comment with a funny Spring Time story of you & your kids. I do however prefer pictures.
(this is mandatory, no other entries will count if you do not do this first. Please be fair & respectful of the sponsor & other people entering as well)


For extra entries you can do any or all of the following: (leave separate comments for each if you want them to count)

- Fan Bright Starts on Facebook

-Submit your stories to Make Mom Laugh


-Add my Regular button to your blog or website! (must link back here or it will not count)


-Follow or subscribe via a reader to my blog!

-Subscribe via e-mail! You must activate your subscription or it wont count!

-Blog about this giveaway! Make sure you link back to this post & include your picture in your post! Must be a new blog post written by you!(leave me the link or it will not count)

-Follow me (@5kids4now) on Twitter AND Tweet:

Win a Bright Starts Ingenuity Product of your choice during @5kids4now SpringBabies event! http://short.to/1jwzt

(leave me the permalink of your tweet, you can get this by clicking on the time of your tweet) tweets must be at least 4 hours apart!


-Unlimited Entries for commenting on ANY NON-GIVEAWAY post. Comments must be made during the duration of this giveaway! Come back here & tell me where you commented!


This giveaway will close on March 21st, 2010

Make sure you leave me an email addy so I can get hold of you if you win, Or if it's on your blog that's fine too!

Good Luck!

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Announcing the Spring Babies Event!

Tomorrow is the start of my Spring Babies Event! This event will not be as huge as the Mom & Baby event but I do have some fun stuff lined up!

I will be kicking off with the Bright Starts Ingenuity 14 Days of Laughter Review & Giveaway! 14 blogs were selected to be part of this campaign & we were one of them! Today Baby Momma Blog posted her review of the Ingenuity Playyard


I will announce the other sponsors of the event soon but for now feel free to grab the new event button & get it posted then comment here that it is up with the link & you will earn yourself an extra entry into the giveaways. Make sure it links back here as well.


I wanted to get this up before now but with the whole c-section & now trying to take care of Dot, the boys, & myself this was the soonest I could get it up. I hope you all enjoy this new little event!

<a href="http://www.mysillymonkeys.com/" target="_blank”"><img src="http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y139/missjess2004/cid_346E624ABAF64C7A8405C143D498EEF.png" /></a>

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Introducing...

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Dot is HERE!!!!

Ok so she was born about 27 hours ago but she is here safe & sound!

I will be posting an announcement as soon as it's done that has all the details on it & if I feel up to it later her birth story. But I wanted to let you all know we are doing well!

I have been trying to upload pictures but of course blogger wants to be a pain & not upload at the moment! I will find some way to upload the announcement when it's finished!
(yes sis if you are reading this that means you will be posting for me LOL)

I hope everyone is doing well & I can't wait to share all of the goodies with you!

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I apologize & winners!

I want to apologize to everyone for being away I really thought I could be super woman & get everything done before Dots arrival!

I have a couple reviews I have slacked on so if your a company waiting on that I'm so sorry but it won't be done for a week or so.

I do need to announce the winner of the Curious George Prize Pack! It goes to #34 which is ShopAnnies! Congrats! I emailed you & you have 48 hours to respond or I will draw a new winner!

Dot will be here tomorrow! I will announce her arrival asap & get pictures up as well!

Thank you to everyone that has emaile with well wishes & prayers, I am SOOO nervous! They mean the world to me!

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500 Followers Giveaway!

Ok so I always planned to do a giveaway once I reached 500 followers but with the Mom & Baby Event that came much faster than I had anticipated!

I really appreciate all of my readers! I love that I can share our life with all of you & have learned things from a lot of you! When we reach 750 followers I will do another giveaway, not sure what for though!

I have now had some time away from all the reviews & giveaways & am now ready to do this!

I have sat & thought about what I could do for you, I don't sew or do anything crafty so that was out! I am pretty bad at getting to the post office so that was out as well so I have decided that one of you will WIN a $15 e-gift card to Target! (if you do win & would rather have a e-gift card to someplace else then we can work that out) I know it's not much but with a new baby on the way it's all I can do.

In order to enter to WIN the $15 e-gift card to Target you must be a public follower of this blog! Just leave a comment saying you are a follower!

For extra entries you can do any or all of the following: (leave separate comments for each if you want them to count)

-Add my Regular button to your blog or website! (must link back here or it will not count)

-Subscribe via a reader to my blog! (you will be asked for a screenshot if you say you are a subscriber)

-Subscribe via e-mail! You must activate your subscription or it wont count!

-Blog about this giveaway! Make sure you link back to this post! Must be a new blog post written by you! (leave me the link or it will not count)

-Follow me (@5kids4now) on Twitter AND Tweet:

Win a $15 GC from @5kids4now! http://tinyurl.com/y8at6gn

(leave me the permalink of your tweet, you can get this by clicking on the time of your tweet) tweets must be at least 4 hours apart!


-Unlimited Entries for commenting on ANY NON-GIVEAWAY post. Comments must be made during the duration of this giveaway! Come back here & tell me where you commented!


This giveaway will close on March 16th, 2010 (could possibly be later depending on my c-section recovery)

Make sure you leave me an email addy so I can get hold of you if you win, Or if it's on your blog that's fine too!

Good Luck!

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39 Weeks Pregnant!

Further along than my last 3 pregnancies! T made it to 40 weeks exactly, born right on his due date, but the rest of the boys were born before now so I am obviously pretty anxious (ok & a lil mad, sad, frustrated, etc) to get her out of me! L & I have been enjoying all her little movements, this morning was really strange he had his arm resting on my belly & it was like you could feel her heartbeat through my belly...it really wasn't kicking & not the hiccups either, it was much faster consistent beating. I dont know if you can feel their heartbeat through the belly but it totally felt that way to me & him!

Today was my OB appt & I was ready for my fight! I had my blood pressure all freaked out & started contracting with umm blood tinged mucus coming out! All the stress wasn't worth it since were not doing the amnio yet still doing the c-section on Tuesday. WOOHOO I have a definate date to no longer be preggo! I know some of you thought I would be doing a VBAC but honestly I am not too comfortable doing it, I have never had a vaginal birth before so that is one thing against me & then my scar has been stinging a bit with all these contractions so that also ups my risk...it's all too risky for me & I would rather have a live healthy baby (& myself) than get my desire to have a vaginal birth. I still would like to go into labor on my own just to prove that he is still not in control & he said there was a chance that may happen....ya right lol

From BabyCenter:
How your baby's growing:
Your baby's waiting to greet the world! He continues to build a layer of fat to help control his body temperature after birth, but it's likely he already measures about 20 inches and weighs a bit over 7 pounds, a mini watermelon. (Boys tend to be slightly heavier than girls.) The outer layers of his skin are sloughing off as new skin forms underneath.

How your life's changing:
At each of your now-weekly visits, your caregiver will do an abdominal exam to check your baby's growth and position. She might also do an internal exam to see whether your cervix has started ripening: softening, effacing (thinning out), and dilating (opening). But even armed with this information, there's still no way for your caregiver to predict exactly when your baby is coming. If you go past your due date, your caregiver will schedule you for fetal testing (usually a sonogram) after 40 weeks to ensure that it's safe to continue the pregnancy. If you don't go into labor on your own, most practitioners will induce labor when you're between one and two weeks overdue — or sooner if there's an indication that the risk of waiting is greater than the risks of delivering your baby without further delay.

While you're waiting, it's important to continue to pay attention to your baby's movements and let your caregiver know right away if they seem to decrease. Your baby should remain active right up to delivery, and a noticeable slowdown in activity could be a sign of a problem. Also call if you think your water may have broken. Membranes rupture before the beginning of labor in about 8 percent of term pregnancies. Sometimes there's a big gush of fluid, but sometimes there's only a small gush or a slow leak. (Don't try to make the diagnosis yourself. Call even if you only suspect you have a leak.) If you rupture your membranes and don't start contractions on your own, you'll be induced.

LOL I love the look on my face but sheesh I'm HUGE!

Yesterday at the NST she said oh look she is head down just still high so my little girl must still have plenty of room to move around in there even though it feels like she couldn't get any bigger!

On another note I will soon be announcing my new event! I have some great sponsors lined up & can't wait to share them with you!

& on yet antoher note....
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY DEAR SWEET SISTER!!!!
The big 31!
How does it feel to be soooooo old?

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