Goo Goo Gram?

By Mommy2Bee Crissy,

Mommy2Bee

I’m 36 weeks now and on maternity leave…life is good!

First off, I can’t believe how quickly Christmas always seems to come and go.  Weren’t we just putting up decorations, singing “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas” and shopping til we drop?  I still anticipate it like a child, and so when it has come and gone, I feel somewhat sad that all that built up has vanished, like the smell of pine on a freshly cut tree.

Christmas Eve was my last day of work.  I’ve been off for two days now and while it’s weird not being at work, I’m loving every minute of it. For one, there’s a lot to be done still in preparation for baby:  finishing the room, packing a bag, cleaning the apartment, paying bills and so on and so forth.  I have managed to get some work done in his room though.  Some of the clothes have been washed, along with sheets and receiving blankets.  It was Christmas Eve day as a matter of fact, and I woke up with an energy surge as if it were the second trimester again.  I did dishes, sat in baby’s room organizing and doing said laundry, along with mommy and daddy’s laundry too.  However by mid day I needed to rest.  All I can say moms is that while those energy surges need to be taken advantage of, don’t overdo it (hmmm I recollect saying this in an earlier blog.)  My back and hips were killing me by bedtime and had to soak in a bath (with no time to clean the tub!) which didn’t ease the pain too much.  Oh yes, I did mention stretching more in that same blog to help prevent these sort of things, but one knows how much easier it is to tell others the right things to do than do them yourself.

The day after Christmas the “to do” list swirled around in my brain, while my body said “no way jose!”   Energy and body capability must be in alignment to get things done; let’s just say mine hasn’t been since being on maternity leave.  I managed to get up and do some dishes my first day off, but other than that I sat and watched movies and just relaxed.  I was exhausted, both mentally and physically.  I even took a nap in the afternoon and went to bed by 11pm!   I did however wake up at three am and wasn’t able to go back to sleep.  There was a bit of a nesting surge, though not as significant as on Christmas Eve.  I did some dishes and was about to start taking down Christmas decorations when the desire to head back to slumber hit me.  I managed to have energy the first half of the day to get my non-stress test done at the hospital.  I had ambition to finish putting away those decorations, but my back and uterus had other ideas.  The rest of the evening was spent trying to find a comfortable position for those backaches and experiencing what I believe were Braxton Hicks contractions.  I have read about these contractions, but am still not sure if what I’m feeling is baby moving around or said contractions.  Anyone else feel confused about them?

Although I was ineffective in accomplishing chores around the house, I managed to be somewhat productive once I found a comfy position (the couch we have sinks like the Titanic and the only spot I can sit on it comfortably is the middle piece, with a pillow behind my back of course.)  I decided to look into birth announcements.  Good lord those things are expensive!  There were some really great sites that had these adorable creations of pictures with cute borders and intricate designs, but the less you bought the more they cost (prices ranging from .78- $2 each- yes, each!)  As I’ve mentioned, I’m a frugal gal and have become even more so now that the money won’t be coming in like before.  So just do announcements without a picture you say?  To me sending an announcement without a picture is like reading a book on Kindle. It’s just not the same!

So if the ones I want are too expensive, what’s a girl to do?  That’s where GooGooGram came into play.  Not only do you get to set up an online announcement WITH A PICTURE, but a cute little design as well.  But the best part is that when the time comes to let all your relatives and family know the details of your little one, you don’t even have to make the call yourself! Honestly I’m going to want my hubs around, not calling everyone to let them know (we have many friends and family to get in touch with.)  Yes a mass text could happen, but that can be really impersonal.  So with GooGooGram you put all your phone numbers/emails in ahead of time on the site and once the baby is born you call them with the details of your new bundle of joy and they send that message to everyone for you. Um genius and a time saver!  Your friends and relatives can leave you a voice message or a comment on the announcement you made online.  They had me at hello! (Jerry McGuire, an oldie but a goodie)

The lovely people at www.GooGooGram.com hooked me up!  I didn’t have to pay the $25 fee, which makes frugal me oh so happy.  Now I’m all set to send out the announcement online and by voicemail. Easy peasy!  It’s pretty darn simple to do, you simply fill in some information about yourself then it’s off to setting up your phone number and email list.  This is the time consuming part so I suggest if you’re feeling tired, like I was, take a break and come back later to do the rest of the names.  The site saves them.  Don’t make the mistake I did; I started to input all the names, numbers and emails first and then tried to save them, which didn’t work.  If you save after each person you input info for, then you’re golden.  Some of my emails had to be put in a couple times, because they came up as invalid the first time, but other than that it was a breeze.  Then you can set up your online announcement and just add in the details (baby’s weight, etc) once they arrive and you’re good to go.  For $25 that’s the best deal I found out there. All that’s left to do is put in a picture and the details and the rest is done for us.  So now instead of trying to find announcements once baby is here, I can focus on baby and maybe a nap too. Of course, I’ll let you know how it all turns out!