Count them... one, two, THREE car seats now in my car. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be a Mother of three small children. But, the time for Baby #3's arrival is fast approaching, and we all know that a baby can't come home from the Hospital without a car seat.

In a nesting haze on Saturday morning, I spent over three hours washing my car. Sure, it sounds crazy... but boy (or shall I say, girl) does cleaning making a pregnant woman feel great. Once I was done, sure I was tired. But it was all worth it. The car is nice and clean, and the baby has her car seat installed. Poor Hayden has been banished to the third row. Totally had to talk up the seat, letting him know that only "Big Boys" get their own Cup Holder. Luckily he took the bait!

Now if we could just get to D-Day...

All Moms have a Pack 'N Play with small children. In fact, I know many families that have more than one of these handy items to put in various places around their house when their babies are small for impromptu naps or a safe place to put the little one down.

The only real downside to owning a Pack 'N Play is that they aren't washable, which is such a bummer! You can wipe it down, spot clean it, change the sheet for the mattress... but that's about it. Then there is the factor (at least for me) where the Pack 'N Play screams "a baby lives here" due to the animal print or whatever appears on the fabric from the manufacturer (which I really can't stand when it comes to baby stuff!).

The handy folks over at CoverPlay came up with a novel concept- a removable and washable slipcover for the tried and true Pack 'N Play, which to me is just ingenious! Has your baby decided to spit up all over your entire house, including your Pack 'N Play? No problem, just take the cover off and pop it in the washer! Do you desire a slipcover to match the decor of your house a bit more so your Pack 'N Play doesn't stick out like a sore thumb due to the red and yellow circus print? CoverPlay's got your covered, because there are many different colors and styles to choose from.

The other real HANDY use for the CoverPlay is during travel. I do not travel much with my family, but when we do need to stay in a Hotel with the kiddos we never bring our own Pack 'N Play (heck, who wants to bring one more thing if they don't have to?). Marriott's family of Hotels (which includes SpringHill Suites, Fairfield Inn & Suites, Courtyard, Residence Inn, and Renaissance Hotels) offers a clean CoverPlay Slipcover to Hotel guests requesting a Pack 'N Play during their stay. How awesome is that? That there greatly reduces the "ick" factor when using a Hotel Pack 'N Play, and it's looks cute, too!

I'm very lucky in the way that I received this CoverPlay Slipcover. I happened to enter a Giveaway over at the lovely Savvy Sassy Mom's website, and low and behold... I won something! When I received the CoverPlay at my doorstep this evening, I opened the box to find a CoverPlay in the most perfect color scheme possible for the decor in my home. Best of all, I love how it transformed my animal-printed Pack 'N Play to something that looks great in our living space. My Giveaway also came with two Knit Jersey Coordinating Pack 'N Play Mattress Sheets, all courtesy of Marriott Hotels.

Since Baby S could arrive any time in the next four weeks, I decided to keep the Pack 'N Play up and ready to go. Hopefully she won't spit up all over it the first day she is home, but if she does at least I can wash it all and start all over again!

A special Thank You for the Giveaway Win go out to Andrea at Savvy Sassy Moms, Coverplay, and Marriott Hotels!

If there are any other Darwin Award Winners out there that are about to have another baby and did the ridiculous thing of getting rid of baby stuff right before finding out number three was well on their way, then the OC Kids Consignment Summer Sale is for you!

Thousands of gently used Baby and Kid's items will be on sale at GREAT bargain prices for this weekend only. We're talking clothing, shoes, strollers, high chairs, baby carriers, toys, and much more.

If you are like me and STILL need to purchase some major high-prices items, this sale is for you!

I think that every new mother's fear is that when she has her baby, she won't be given the opportunity to bond right after birth. That the baby will be wisked away for testing, bathing, first shots, and given a bottle of formula all in a matter of moments.

When I had my first child, I felt that the Nurses didn't allow me to bond with my new baby as soon as possible. They took him away for what seemed like an eternity, while they did all of their exams and evaluations and I remember thinking, "Can't this wait?" It really affected me over the next few weeks, as it seemed harder to form a bond with my newborn after the initial minutes of his life than it would have been had we been given the opportunity to do so immediately.

The birth of my second child was much different, and I think that it took my by surprise! And it looks like my surprise was for good reason. The Hospital that I deliver at had adopted a Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, which I can tell you made ALL of the difference in my experience second time around. Although I had my second child in 2008, and these practices were not officially Surveyed for this facility until 2009, I can tell you that these items were already put in to motion at that time. Their Baby Friendly Hospital Initiatives include the following:

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all healthcare staff.
2. Train all healthcare staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.
3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within one hour of birth.
5. Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation, even if they are separated from their infants.
6. Give infants no food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.
7. Practice “rooming in”-- allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day.
8. Encourage unrestricted breastfeeding.
9. Give no pacifiers or artificial nipples to breastfeeding infants.
10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.

In their initiatives, they do not list their policy on Skin-to-Skin Contact immediately after Birth. In the information page for Labor & Delivery Policies and Procedures, this little tidbit is tucked away: "We practice skin to skin contact and an enhanced bonding experience for the parents and newborn right after birth. Due to this we ask all visitors to wait outside of the LDR for the first hour to 1 ½ hours after birth so the newborn can get to know his or her parents."

This all seems very commonsensical. Really, it does. But in reality, most Hospitals do NOT practice these initiatives. For me, these initiatives were the difference between bonding immediately with my child, or struggling for days after those first minutes of life had passed by to gain what I had lost.

Sure, when my friends hear that I drive to see my Obstetrician 21 miles away and deliver at the Hospital next to his office they think I am completely looney for doing so- especially when I live 5 minutes away from a sister-facility with a level III NICU just like the Hospital I deliver at. But I can honestly tell you the the distance is worth it.

Now, if we could just hurry up and get to my delivery date...