Woohoo! Time for our 2nd trimester swap!

[DreamsInDigital]

Okay, so those of us due at the end of the month are not yet in our 2nd trimesters, but those of us who are due the first week are hitting 12 weeks so it's time for the 2nd trimester swap!

Here's how it works:

Every posts an ISO (in search of) list. Everyone PM me your addresses and I'll match you with a swap partner. It's sort of like secret Santa; you'll send to one person and receive from another and you won't know who is sending to you until you get your package. Then you get to go shopping for your swap partner, mail your package out and then stalk the postal carrier until yours arrives!

Here's the specifics:

*You have a $25 spending limit, not including shipping. So nobody feels left out, let's make sure to keep it to that limit so we're all getting equal things.

*You are absolutely allowed to ask for anything you want. The more the better, so your swap partner has a wide variety of what they can get for you.

*Gift certificates are okay, cash is not.

*Gently used items are fine unless otherwise specified in the ISO lists.

The deadline for your ISO's is Sunday, July 29th. I will have matches and addresses PMed by Wednesday August 2nd, and your deadline for shipping is Saturday August 12th. Everyone please get delivery confirmation and PM the #s to me so we don't get any lost or unaccounted for packages. Also, please make sure the names and addresses are correct before mailing your package and include your MDC name somewhere in your package so your partner can thank you!
If anyone is having trouble participating because of money problems, please let me know!
Get those ISO lists ready, mamas and start posting!

[sehbub]

ISO: gender neutral (but adorable, hopefully) diaper covers! Muttaqins fitted diapers would be good too.

Basically, we're looking for help building out stash, and need anything other than prefolds.

I have close to 2 dozen prefolds which I have been using for DD, but the only covers I have are boring white. I would love some cute prints of some kind to clothe the new babe's adorable little tuckus!:lol

[Jude Rose]

Thanks, Lydia! I'll start brainstorming!

[DreamsInDigital]

:bump:

[lanielayne]

Okay gonna try to give some more ideas here.

size small cloth dipes gender neutral (my babes are usually close to 10 lb at birth so we will start big!)

wool covers would be awesome

gender neutral outifts or baby gowns (I love em!)

any Mommy or Baby lotions or bath products (organic or natural product would be great!)

postpartum cloth pads for mama would be cool

~Pretty easy to please here. Have fun with it! You can get me something you would like to receive yourself! We live in a very cold climate so warm things for baby will be appreciated too.

[DreamsInDigital]

Come on, mamas! We can't do a swap with 4 people!

[Jude Rose]

I was just having problems with my list, Lynda. :loveeyes:

O.k. Here we go.
I heard that zinc and shea butter are the bestiest remedy against stretch marks, so I have a Burt Bee's kit kit (http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=93896&catid=52033&trx=GFI-0-RVP-47220&trxp1=52033&trxp2=93896&trxp3=1&trxp4=1&btrx=BUY-GFI-0-RVP-47220) and just the lotion alone listed.
burt bee's shea belly lotion (http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod.asp?pid=93894&catid=47737)

Other ideas are PEggy O'Mara of Mothering Magazine's book "Natural Family Living Book" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0671027441/ref=cm_lm_fullview_prod_6/103-3556919-2795049?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

and of course, chocolate (brown). I am super sensitive against non-natural scented stuff, like candles, FYI.

I'm a glass jewelry artist, so whoever gets me, will get a pendant too! :wink :wave

O.k. Hope I did this right.

Jude

[mom2mimi]

I am definitely up for the swap, I just hope I can think of some things I want! Let's see....ISO any cloth! I have a small stash started from my last pg but I haven't been able to look at it yet.:( I was focusing on kissaluvs for newborn stage but I mostly like pocket dipes for as babe grows. I could use just about anything as long as it's gender neutral. (even though I swear this is a girl!) I would LOVE a wool cover, something homemade, although I know wool tends to get expensive. I don't mind gently used items at all! I would also love any type of all natural bathing products for baby or all natural pampering mama products. I love scented candles, my favorite type of scents are fresh citrusy ones, nothing flowery please! And I love to read so any kind of natural minded pregnancy books are always appreciated, or even back issues of mothering would be loved! I am too poor to subscribe so I only get to read at my daughters gymnastics class because her teacher subscribes (LOVE HER!) I hope this is enough info, I am so excited about this swap!

[appleseed]

I'm in! :)
Good books about breastfeeding/mothering twins or breastfeeding in general
WAHM-made lotions, shea butter, etc... I LOVE food-y scents :)
NB PUL or wool diaper covers... gently used is great and even preferable!
Herbal teas for pregnancy
Postpartum mama pads
I am up for anything, really! I love surprises!

[heabrook]

This is exciting!

Okay, my very-detailed (lol, sorry, at least you won't be left wondering what not to get or what to get) ISO is:

Gender: Not known, it will be a surprise

Fiber preference in clothing/blankets/etc: 100% cotton only please, organic preferred but not necessary

Toy preference: Wooden, cloth --- no plastics please

Baby care product preference: Earth Mama Angel Baby, or California Baby

Other notes: No products with animal products please (no wool, bee products, etc). Also, only natural products that do not contain parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, etc.

Suggestions:

Earth Mama Angel Baby products (nipple butter, baby shampoo, diaper rash cream ,etc)

Cloth diapers (cotton) --- chinese prefolds with snappis or other fasteners, bumpkins all in one diapers, also if there are any cotton diapers that would be good to use that will not irritate the umbilical cord area.

Newborn cotton clothes, for winter/spring (baby will be born mid Feb and it is cold here) and summer/fall
(onesies, etc)

**For clothes, anything that would work for both boy and girl since gender isn’t known. Light colors preferred over dark. Also, it is cold here -- but nothing too heavy please.

Baby receiving blankets, towels, bath items

Pretty much anything with the restrictions noted above.. :)

**also, this is our first baby, so we would appreciate any products that would make cloth diaper use easier, etc!! For example, if you want to get some folding diapers but think that chinese prefolds don't work that well but know of others that do then go for it as long as they are cotton. Thanks!! :thumb

[PixelDust]

Fun! :)


Here's our list: (Gently used items are fine.)

1. Cloth diapers and/or covers. (We have nothing yet! :dizzy:)

2. Receiving blankets.

3. Gender-neutral clothes, sleepsack, swaddling blanket. (Illinois will be cold in February.)

4. Anything you think a first-time mama would need or enjoy. Surprise us!

[mooliette]

Mama or Baby care products, we prefer Weleda products

Newborn Hats, cotton or fleece. In February it's cold in Maine :)

Newborn sleepers - our baby will be a surprise, but we love purple lol

A Born at Home onesie would be cute too :)

Recieving Blankets, or nice blanket for babies first :)

Cloth baby wipes, cloth diaper covers.

Breastfeeding books for working mamas - homebirth books (Birthing from Within, the Homebirth Advantage, Gentle birth Choices)

[DreamsInDigital]

Okay, so far we have 8 participants, which is fabulous.
mom2mimi and polkadotjonas - don't forget to PM me with your shipping address so I can give your swap buddy some where to mail your package.

sehbub - you mentioned you wanted diaper covers for your prefolds but then you specified fuzzi bunz and muttaqins - both of which are not covers. Fuzzi Bunz ,you could stuff prefolds into but they're a pocket diaper. Muttaqins are either fitted diapers or AIOs. Are you asking for covers or pockets or fitteds? Just wanting to make sure everything is clear so when you get your package you're getting something you want!

[jilly]

I'm so in! I'm going to Vancouver for vacation, so i should actually be able to find some nice / cool baby and mama stuff for a change!

ISO:

Fun, natural baby toys, esp. small animals or people (ds left ours all over the country when we were on vacation last year)

cloth wipes

those plastic link things -- you know, the little rings or shapes that you use to hook toys to car seats, strollers, etc.

anything that would make a mama smile -- yummy soap, lotion, bubble bath, chocolate, spice mixes, etc.

cute receiving or little fleece blankets are also always welcome -- you really never can have enough!

[DreamsInDigital]

We have 9 participants right now, I have ISO lists and addresses from everyone so far.
sehbb, thanks for clarifying. I was so confused!
We have one mama from Canada. Is everyone okay with potentially being partnered with her, or does anyone have any concerns? Please let me know. We still have a week for more people coming in so I'm hoping we'll have at least a few more!

[sarah_bella1050]

I know that I want to sign up, I just can't think of everything that I want. I know for sure that I want advocacy shirts or onsies. Especially a "Born at Home", a "cloth on my bum, mommy milk in my tum" and a "Jesus was breastfed". I also want some cute cloth wipes and some FMBG GN covers. I try to think up more tonight.

[DreamsInDigital]

Sarah, that's a great list already! Don't forget to send me your address!

Also, adensmommy, you PMd your address and your ISO list. Can you post your list on this thread so everyone else can see it? :lol

[MotherWren]

Is this something that we can all join as we reach the second trimester or will there be a "close" date of some kind?

[Adensmommy]

Anything that has to do with cd ing. I want to try it ,and I dont have anyone close who has done it and or has anything nice or unopinionated to say about it. Even patterns so I can make my own would rock.

[CourtCourt]

Oooh, I'd like to play this time. :)

ISO -

Size small FB's or SB's (the kind with the tag on the back), gently used is perfectly fine, and just stay away from the girly colors (we're convinced this is a boy, and even if it isn't, it's a lot easier to put a girl in blues than a boy in pinks!). We already have KL's 0's, but no covers as of yet, and would be open to anything (and again, gently used is fine.)

Cloth wipes

I'd really LOVE some baby t-shirts in 3-6 month and 6-9 month sizes. For whatever reason, I have had a hard time finding just t-shirts out here (as opposed to onesies) for my current child to wear around the house with a cloth diaper, and have STILL been looking for them for baby #2! Plain, tie-dyed, with writing on it, we don't care, we're easy to please!

Keep in mind that I live in Hawaii where it is HOT 364 days out of the year (and raining on day 365).

I'll be happy with anything though - what a great idea! :)

[DreamsInDigital]

Is this something that we can all join as we reach the second trimester or will there be a "close" date of some kind?

All of the details are in the first post, MotherWren. Tsk tsk... :lol
If you want to participate, post your list by the 29th, PM me your address and I'll be choosing partners and sending out info by the 2nd. The deadline for shipping is the 12th.
We have 12 mamas signed up so far.
I have ISOs and address from everyone, except sarah_bella1050 who has posted her list but I haven't gotten an address yet, so don't forget!

This is really exciting because there are a lot more people participating than I expected!

[MotherWren]

I see that now. Sorry the wording was a little confusing to me. I don't think I am going to participate. I am still very nervous that I won't carry to term.
Thanks anyway though.

[heabrook]

Oooh, I'd like to play this time. :)

ISO -

Size small FB's or SB's

What does FB or SB stand for? thanks.

[DreamsInDigital]

Fuzzi Bunz and Swaddlebees

[heabrook]

thanks!

bump since it is getting close to the end of the signup......

[DreamsInDigital]

Even if no one else signs up, we have an even dozen participants so it's going to be awesome. How cool!

[DreamsInDigital]

We're still at a dozen mamas. Deadline is tomorrow!

[anabellee]

count me in!

[anabellee]

ISO
new born size longies! ds was a summer babe and all his old longies will be way to big for this new babe:loveeyes:

[DreamsInDigital]

Great Anne! We're glad to have you aboard!

[simple life]

I know I'm cutting it close here.

Gently used items are fine :), also gender neutral is okay, but doesn't have to be, we plan on having lots of kids so if we don't have it this time I'm sure it'll happen down the road :).

1. diaper covers size small (or medium) I have a lot of prefolds, just need some covers :)

2. fitted cloth diapers small or medium. Think these would be easier for DH

3. and natural baby stuff, like lotion, diaper rash cream, also any natural stuff for mom :).

4. sleepers/sleep sacks, onesies, other basic baby clothing

5. cloth wipes/wash cloths and a recipe for making a wipes solution

6. anything that you think is useful for a first time mom. I know I'll miss something :)

Julie

[DreamsInDigital]

Yay Julie, thanks for joining us!

We have 14 mamas now!

[sarah_bella1050]

Oh yah, and I like candles that smell like food :wink

[DreamsInDigital]

I'm picking swap buddies right now. Check your PM boxes soon, you'll have your picks by tonight.
I'm so excited. :banana

[DreamsInDigital]

Ookayyy. I just gave myself a monstrous headache trying to keep track of everything, but I somehow managed to get everyone's PMs sent.

If anyone needs anything, don't hesitate to PM me.

[heabrook]

Thanks so much DreamsInDigital for putting this together, I know we all appreciate it!! :bow

[mooliette]

Lydia, you are incredibly appreciated!!

[DreamsInDigital]

Aw shucks! Thanks!

[DreamsInDigital]

Okay, mamas. I know the shipping deadline isn't until the 12th but I'm just bumping this thread up to serve as a reminder. Only one mama has PMd me shipping confirmation. Are we all major procrastinators here? :lol I know I am!

[mom2mimi]

I finished my shopping this weekend and will be shipping hopefully tomorrow, I had so much fun doing this and can't wait for my partner to get her gift!

[PixelDust]

We did the shopping part of our swap over the weekend, and now Julieanne is finishing up the rest of the items!

Thanks again for organizing this!

[Jude Rose]

I recieved my giftie and it's so nice and totally something I would never buy for myself. It's a wonderful giftbag of assorted Burt's Bees and one of the items is supposed to be amazing against stretchmarks..

BUT my partner didn't tell who sh is for me to properly THANK her!!!!!!!!

Thank you! Come on out, wherever you are....:p

[heabrook]

I'm shipping mine tomorrow. I feel bad for waiting practically until the end of the shipping deadline but dh works throughout the week (except on Fri) and he is my transportation! :lol I could not finalize it last weekend so I am going to get it together tomorrow and send it.

[DreamsInDigital]

Jude, like I said via PM, your swap mama was lanielayne.
Yay! I'm so glad you like your gift!

Heabrook, no worries! I have a few mamas who have PMd me to let me know they are shipping as late as Monday. I have kids and issues too, so don't worry about it, just send it whenever you can!

Yay, I love swapping!

[lanielayne]

LOL! Sorry Jude Rose! I put my username in the billing area as well as my real one but I had no clue whether you would get that or not! I am glad you like everything! You picked a great site with great prices!

[Jude Rose]

Hee-hee, Lanielayne-

Smoochies sending your way. I've already opened every bottle to play. Thanks again. :wave

[anabellee]

i have mine all together....but i forgot to mail it before i went to kansas on thursday so now it must wait til monday. i send out my apologies to my buddy. i would do it tomorrow but we have to meet with a potential day care provider in the morning. if we get in before the p.o. closes i will get it out.
...and speaking of mailing things, i forgot to mail my dad's b-day card too. i definitely have pregnancy brain this time around.:dizzy:

[mooliette]

I'm one of those procrastinators you mentioned before, tomorrow is the 12th and my package will go out tomorrow ;)

[DreamsInDigital]

Fantastic! Thanks for keeping me updated mamas!

[heabrook]

Ok, I didn't get the package out today like I thought. But it WILL be mailed tomorrow. I'll PM the conf# tomorrow night.

[lanielayne]

I wanted to thank the person that was my swap partner but yet again, just like with the one I sent, the company left off the purchaser's name! I received 2 lovely AIO cloth diapers I can't wait to use! Thank you swap partner!:wave

[heabrook]

To PixelDust ---

just received the package today! Everything is great! Thank you very much :)

[anabellee]

heabrook-thank you so much! i am an ebay addict so this is perfect:thumb

i will be sending my package out tomorrow. we had people come to see our house today so i spent all day cleaning in hopes of convincing someone to buy it. then we had to go to the mw's which is an hour away. my day pretty much disapeared. geez i am such a procrastinator. :innocent

[DreamsInDigital]

I wanted to thank the person that was my swap partner but yet again, just like with the one I sent, the company left off the purchaser's name! I received 2 lovely AIO cloth diapers I can't wait to use! Thank you swap partner!:wave

That would be Simple Life!

[DreamsInDigital]

Mooliette -
I received my package from you today. :happyt:
Thank you so much. The Burt's Bees baby stuff smells sooo yummy and the hooded towels are perfect! You are wonderful! Thank you SO much again!

[simple life]

I wanted to thank the person that was my swap partner but yet again, just like with the one I sent, the company left off the purchaser's name! I received 2 lovely AIO cloth diapers I can't wait to use! Thank you swap partner!:wave

It was me, there is also another package coming your way. I can't believe you got them already! Wow, that was fast! I hope it was okay to come here an say I was you swap partner. :) You are very welcome. :)

Julie

[DreamsInDigital]

Of course it was okay Julie. It was only supposed to be a surprise until we received our packages.
And it's nice for everyone to get a personal thank you from the mama they sent a gift to.

[PixelDust]

To PixelDust ---

just received the package today! Everything is great! Thank you very much :)


We hope you like everything! We left the tags attached in case you needed to return anything. Julieanne made the little hat, though, so you're stuck with it! :)

[Adensmommy]

I pm juderose already to thank her, but I am so happy about my gift I have to share. I got a fuzzibunz pocket/cover and a bummis wisper wrap. I love them they are the start of my collection and have given me some Idea of what direction I want to take on cd ing in the begining.


Thanks again jude.

[mooliette]

Dreams, thanks so much, I'm just so happy you put this swap together. I had fun with it, although my original online orders weren't going to arrive to me by the 12th, and I never thought to have the orders send directly to my partner. Next time I will :lol

Woo hoo!! Yay 2nd trimester :)

Mooliette -
I received my package from you today. :happyt:
Thank you so much. The Burt's Bees baby stuff smells sooo yummy and the hooded towels are perfect! You are wonderful! Thank you SO much again!

[PixelDust]

Mooliette, thank you so much! We absolutely adore the blanket, and those socks are the cutest. The baby cream smells so good; I just hope there's some left by the time our babe arrives... :)

[mooliette]

Mooliette, thank you so much! We absolutely adore the blanket, and those socks are the cutest. The baby cream smells so good; I just hope there's some left by the time our babe arrives... :)

Your so very welcome, all 3 of you :) Wedela is my friend, they make the most amazing massage oils and arnica creams too :thumb :thumb

[mom2mimi]

I got my gift today from Anabellee! Thank you soooo much! I have really been wanting to try wool, and there are two gorgeous soakers one of which she knitted herself! (you'll have to explain to me how to wash and lanolize, though, I'm a newbie!) And some cute prefolds and coupons for Whole Foods market. I'm going to take a picture of the soakers later so I can show off your work! Thanks again!

[DreamsInDigital]

Ooh I'm dying to see pictures! Everyone post pictures!

[anabellee]

i actually knitted both of them. as for washing and lanolizing, go to www.hugadubdub.com. they have awesome wool care products. i use the bar soap and spray lanolizer. they also sell nice bath products for mom's and babes. i'm absolutely in love with their new bath salts. it's a really great WAHM site:thumb

[simple life]

I received my gift today from pokadotjonas. It is great! It was two tie dyed baby tshirts, a diaper, which also looks tie dyed, a wool cover, and the lanolin for water proofing. It is great. I love the colors too. It has inspired me to try and crochet some diaper covers. We'll see how that goes.

Thank you again for such a great gift. I'd like to know if you made the diaper and cover too. :)

Julie

[DreamsInDigital]

Yay polkadotjonas, that sounds like an awesome gift! What a thoughtful mama you are!

[appleseed]

I received my gift today from pokadotjonas. It is great! It was two tie dyed baby tshirts, a diaper, which also looks tie dyed, a wool cover, and the lanolin for water proofing. It is great. I love the colors too. It has inspired me to try and crochet some diaper covers. We'll see how that goes.

Thank you again for such a great gift. I'd like to know if you made the diaper and cover too. :)

Julie

I'm glad you got it, and I can't believe priority took THAT LONG! Oh well!

I didn't make either the diaper or the soaker! :) I can't remember who made the soaker and the diaper was from MommyMade on Hyenacart. Yay, I'm glad you like it! :)

[mamaglee]

I wish I would have been part of this swap! Is there going to be a trimester 2.5 swap :) ??

[DreamsInDigital]

There is going to be a 3rd trimester swap, a birth bead swap, and after we have all given birth there will be a 4th trimester swap.

[DreamsInDigital]

Okay so just going by this thread, the mamas who *have* received their gifts are:
pixeldust
mom2mimi
simplelife
juderose
lanielayne
heabrook
anabellee
adensmommy
dreamsindigital

and the mamas who have *not* received their gifts are:
sarah_bella1050
courtcourt
polkadotjonas
sehbub
jilly
mooliette

Please PM me if you have received your gift and have not posted in this thread.
Mamas who were sending to these 6, if you have not PMd a confirmation # please do so. Your swap partners are getting anxious!

[appleseed]

Just confirming that I haven't recieved mine. I hope it comes soon, I know the mails have been sloooow (took a WEEK for my priority package to get to Julie/simple life!)

[simple life]

There is going to be a 3rd trimester swap, a birth bead swap, and after we have all given birth there will be a 4th trimester swap.

That sounds great! I can't wait :). I do have to ask what a birth bead swap is though :).

Julie

[simple life]

I'm glad you got it, and I can't believe priority took THAT LONG! Oh well!

I didn't make either the diaper or the soaker! :) I can't remember who made the soaker and the diaper was from MommyMade on Hyenacart. Yay, I'm glad you like it! :)

wow a week! That's crazy! I didn't even think to look at the date, I just saw that it was priorty. I am just going to have to learn to tye die myself so I can make neat looking things in bright colors. I LOVED the colors too by the way :). Thanks again.

Julie

[DreamsInDigital]

That sounds great! I can't wait :). I do have to ask what a birth bead swap is though :).

Julie

I've actually got another mama lined up to take care of this swap because she's a self-proclaimed bead-a-holic. Here's how it works. For the sake of simplicity, let's say we have 10 people total. Everyone buys 10 beads and keeps one. Everyone sends the bead coordinator 9 beads. The bead lady takes one of each bead, packages them and sends them to the mamas. We will all have 10 different beads, including the one we bought, to string together to make a necklace or bracelet. And we can use it as a focal point during labor or just something lovely to look at and hold and think of our due date club and how much love and support we all offer one another during our pregnancy and birth.

For the 2nd trimester swap we had 14 mamas so I'm sure we'll have more than 10 beads, this was just an example.

[sehbub]

Brandi, thank you so much for the Bummis wraps!! They're both so adorable! I wish DD could still fit in to newborn sizes...I wanted to put the frog cover on her right away! :lol

[DreamsInDigital]

Okay so just going by this thread, the mamas who *have* received their gifts are:
pixeldust
mom2mimi
simplelife
juderose
lanielayne
heabrook
anabellee
adensmommy
dreamsindigital
sehbub

and the mamas who have *not* received their gifts are:
sarah_bella1050
courtcourt
polkadotjonas
jilly
mooliette

Please PM me if you have received your gift and have not posted in this thread.
Mamas who were sending to these 5, if you have not PMd a confirmation # please do so. Your swap partners are getting anxious!

[appleseed]

wow a week! That's crazy! I didn't even think to look at the date, I just saw that it was priorty. I am just going to have to learn to tye die myself so I can make neat looking things in bright colors. I LOVED the colors too by the way :). Thanks again.

Julie

I'm so glad you liked it. I love bright colors myself and I just hoped you had the same taste when I threw the package together! :lol

[appleseed]

I've actually got another mama lined up to take care of this swap because she's a self-proclaimed bead-a-holic. Here's how it works. For the sake of simplicity, let's say we have 10 people total. Everyone buys 10 beads and keeps one. Everyone sends the bead coordinator 9 beads. The bead lady takes one of each bead, packages them and sends them to the mamas. We will all have 10 different beads, including the one we bought, to string together to make a necklace or bracelet. And we can use it as a focal point during labor or just something lovely to look at and hold and think of our due date club and how much love and support we all offer one another during our pregnancy and birth.

For the 2nd trimester swap we had 14 mamas so I'm sure we'll have more than 10 beads, this was just an example.

That is SO cool! I have been a member in other due date clubs on other sites but NONE have them have been this awesome. I love it here :hug

[Adensmommy]

Sarah I am so stoked you got the bummi wraps I love the froggy print too, and the funny thing is juderose sent me the same bummi wrap :lol and I wanted to put a baby in them right away sigh....... I guess we will have to wait a few months.