Ergobaby Fakes

Since we are quickly coming up to June, I decided last week that it was finally time to get serious about buying things for my baby.  I had done plenty of research and put together a registry but hadn't really made any final decisions on serious items like car seats.  To be quite frank, there are too many choices, too much information, and too many long lists telling me what my baby supposedly will need.  I struggle between feeling like he needs everything and the minimalist approach I would rather take with my kids.  Anyways, the other night I thought about going ahead and buying an Ergo baby carrier.  I already knew it was the baby carrier I wanted to buy (seems great for the hubby, older kids, and outdoors) so it was an easy task to accomplish.  All I had to do was research which type and color.  That, in and of itself, ended up taking up a couple hours of my evening but I eventually made the decision, and it was a much easier one than the much dreaded car seat decision.

I was also trying to decide that night which vendor I wanted to purchase the carrier from.  I had Target, Amazon, and Ergobaby all open to see who had the best prices.  I decided against Amazon, despite the fact that their prices weren't bad, because I had heard of counterfeit Ergos being sold on Amazon and elsewhere and figured if I was going to spend the money, I might as well spend a few extra dollars and safely avoid the counterfeits.  It was down to Target vs Ergobaby.  When I finally decided the exact one I wanted (organic in navy), it happened to be cheaper on Ergobaby because they were having a "sale" so I nixed Target.  I didn't feel completely comfortable with the purchase but thought that I was being rather silly and didn't want to miss the "sale", so I went ahead with the checkout process, creating the dreaded account, putting in the shipping address, etc.  I then stopped for a second to see if by some awesome but unexpected chance I could find a coupon code to make it even cheaper.  And thank goodness I did that!

The website I had originally pulled up was www.ergobabycarriersusa.com.  It wasn't the greatest looking website but I didn't give it much thought (and really, why would I if I thought I pulled up a legitimate site?) and was just happy they were running sales that day.  Well, when I pulled up Ergobaby on Retailmenot.com they directed me to a much nicer looking website at store.ergobaby.com selling the carriers at the typical retail price.  I was very confused (and to make it even more confusing, the retailer also just recently got a new website) so I googled www.ergobabycarrierusa.com and quickly pulled up confirmation that the website is indeed a BIG FAT SCAM.  After all my efforts to avoid buying a fake, I still almost bought a fake (or worse).  Buyers beware!

To be honest, I am not sure how I pulled up a website that wasn't legitimate.  That has never happened to me before with a major brand.  But because it did happen, it has made me even more aware of the prevalence of online scams and I thought I should share the experience to make you more aware as well.

I ended up putting off the purchase of the carrier.  By the end of the night I knew exactly which one I wanted and that I could buy it from Ergobaby or Target, but either way I wasn't missing a good sale if I didn't buy it right away.  And seeing that I probably wont actually need it until August or September, I decided I don't really need to purchase it right away after all,  just so long as I know what I want when the time comes.  After all, I would rather spend my time with my newborn (or sleeping) than spend my hours researching what the next best thing for him would be.

Gestational Diabetes Test

I was so relieved when I found out I didn't have to fast for the glucose test.  Even more relieved when the drink only tasted like over sugared orange soda.  Not so relieved when I failed it and had to take the extended glucose test.  The one where you have to fast for 8+ hours and get your blood drawn 4 times over the span of 3 hours (during which you just chill at the doctors office).  Even less relieved when I started drinking the drink and it wasn't over sugared orange soda.  It was just a cup with a sickening amount of orange colored sugar in it.  But I am once again relieved because I passed my test which means (hopefully it's right) no gestational diabetes for me.

Things I learned:

• Even when you think your going to die, you won't.  Dying during that test is much harder than it seems. 
• Don't try and do anything productive while taking the test.  All the reading I planned to do went out the door.  A magazine was about as much as I could handle for those three hours. 
• You will abhor the idea of sugar for about a day, at most a day and a half.  Too bad.  After the dreaded drink, I couldn't even imagine ever wanting sugar again.  Then Easter came. 
• A vegi based snack after was a very good idea.  VERY GOOD IDEA!!
• Don't plan a large shopping trip after.  All you will want is a nap.  A very long nap. 
• I never liked the idea of being stuck with needles.  But the idea of being stuck with a needle in my hand is apparently a bit (or a lot) more panic inducing.  Just another thing I will have to get over one day.
• The baby will move and move and move during this test.  Usually mornings are pretty calm.  (And the whole time I just sat there wondering if anybody else could see my belly moving.  As if anybody else cares!)
• Walking around is a good idea.  Even if there is only so much room for you to do so.  

Things I am proud of:

• I took 5 needles in the arms without much thought, just eyes closed (my left arm wasn't very giving with the blood, hence the 5 pokes, not 4). 
• I didn't go lay on the cold bathroom floor despite how much I wanted to.  The term "public" kept me sensible about the whole thing. 
• I made it through a magazine.  I did at least one semi productive thing during those three hours. 
• I drank the drink without too much mental complaining.  I used to be very particular with liquids.  Not so much anymore thank goodness or I don't know how I would have made it through that drink. 
• I took the "army grade" medical tape off by myself.  It was much less painful when the nurses did it though.  (I won't deny I was tempted to leave it on until my next apt. so they would take it off for me.  It was strong stuff.  I am used to bandages that fall off within mins.)

Misc. thoughts:

• They should really provide a bed for anybody going through that test.  
• No matter what, don't give up.  The very idea that I would have to restart the test if I complained about how I felt, kept me going.  Cling to the fact that the crappy feeling won't last too long.  The tiredness, maybe. 
• You might look like a pregnant druggy after the test so maybe skip the short sleeves that day. 
• Sitting around for the one hours test was almost harder then sitting around for the 3 hours test though that makes no sense. 

And now pictures, just because:

All bandaged! 



Post bandages.  Those red marks were there for a long while.  My skin did not appreciate that tape. Oh and apparently I might bruise easily but that's nothing new.  Just makes getting multiple shots a lot harder.  I think the nurse could tell the idea of getting my hand poked with the needle scared the crap out of me so she very kindly did her best to find a spot on the arm that wasn't already bruised that would  be generous with the blood.  I almost want to write her a thank you card. 



A self portrait post test, prenap.  

Easter

I shouldn't even be dedicating a post to Easter because we didn't do very much.  Besides church, the only thing that we did to celebrate was eat these:

They come highly recommended by us (and the friends that introduced us to them).  Super addicting.  

As I have referenced to before, our kitchen in our rental is not well suited for elaborate meals like baking a ham.  So I nixed the idea of a legitimate to me Easter dinner.  Then I had to use the beef in the fridge up so we ended up just eating hamburgers.  In fact, our meal tonight was ten times better than our Easter dinner.  Hopefully next year we can make up for it and actually have a real celebration. 

This is a bit late but I would like to state that I know our Savior lives and loves us very much.  One of my favorite hymns is a perfect reminder of what Easter is all about:

Relationship Related - Opposites Do Attract

 The hubby's portion of asparagus.  2 more than he would have liked. 

My portion of asparagus.  Less than I would have liked.