In case you haven’t heard, we’re expanding our community and we’re SO excited.  Sadly, a friend and long time patient is moving up north.  While in Texas, she’s established an incredible business and network of moms through Stroller Strides.  After literally years of wanting to get involved with this group, I was finally able to start up classes a few weeks ago.  Up until that point, midwifery school (you know all those births at odd hours and no sleep!), morning all day sickness, recovery from car accident, and travel had kept me from my goal of trying out Stroller Strides in my area.  There’s 2 classes literally less than a 5 minute drive from my house.  And, the fact that I’ve watched a lot of moms literally have their lives changed through these classes definitely fueled my desire to go try them out.  Plus, I’ve paid an unused gym membership for months because I can’t find time to pump enough milk to leave my baby, and my toddler isn’t fond of the nursery (not to mention- who wants to give up the little family time we all have together to go work out?!).  I’ve been looking for a solution, and I knew Stroller Strides would be a great option, and I’m so glad I was finally able to make a class!  Maggie announcing she was moving, and my friends and I absolutely loving our first class had me sold…  I wanted this added to my community!  Words cannot express how excited I am about this new venture and how grateful I am that Maggie is entrusting her years of hard work, friendships, community, network and business to us- she’s leaving me her ‘baby’.  I pray we make her proud because what she has done with Stroller Strides amazes me.

Now to the fun part of this post…  We’re throwing a BIG week-long party as we transition ownership of Stroller Strides of Hurst/Arlington/Mansfield.  Being new to Stroller Strides, you probably have the same questions I did…  Will my child sit still in a stroller through a whole workout class?  Am I going to be embarrassed doing these exercises as I try not to pee on myself in front of other people?  Will my stroller be ok to work out with?  Is this really worth paying the same cost as a gym membership?  Those are just of the few that popped in my head before I went; and, I could go through all the class details for you, but the best answer is just to come try the classes out for yourself.  Of course try them out for your kids too!  The best time to do so?  During our party week of course!  Not only will we have free classes, that Maggie and I will both be at, but we’ll have TONS of great giveaways too.  And, you’ll be able to see firsthand what the classes are like.  This is also a great time, should you choose to, to join because we’ll have a special enrollment price of $25 (instead of the usual $79)!

What are we giving away for free (besides the class you are taking)?  Some great prizes!

*1 Free Enrollment with 1 Month of Stroller Strides Classes (in Hurst/Arlington/Mansfield)- $125 value!

*1/2 Hour Massage from Lifetime Family Wellness Center- $40 value!

*Boba Baby Carrier- $100 value!

*Chae Organics Baby Lotion and Baby Soap n Suds- $18 value

*Baby Buttons Design Gift Certificate- $15 value

*Amber Teething Necklace- $25 value

*Roots Coffee House Gift Certificate- $10 value

*Whole Foods Gift Certificate- $30 value

*Amazon Gift Certificate- $30 value

*Chipotle Gift Card- $15 value

*T-Shirts, water bottles and more!

How do you win?  We’re having a drawing, and winners will be randomly selected.  You’re entered several ways:

~Show up for class during our Party Week, and your name is entered once for each class you attend: 5/3 Northeast Mall at 9am, 5/4 Chisolm Park at 9:30a, 5/5 Katherine Rose Park at 9:30a, and 5/6 Veterans Park at 9a.

~You join Stroller Strides the first week in May- Party Week, and you get 5 extra entries in the drawing!

~Bring a friend with you to class during Party Week, and both of you get 2 extra entries in the drawing.  Your friend joins Stroller Strides during the first week of May, you both get 5 extra entries in the drawing!

~Share this blog link on your Facebook, you get an entry in the drawing. Make sure you tell me you did so in the “Comments” section of this blog.

~Tweet about our Party Week and fun giveaways for an entry in the drawing. Make sure you tell me you did so in the “Comments” section of this blog.

~Blog about Stroller Strides and you get 5 entries in the drawing- I’d especially love to hear about your personal experience with the class. Again, make sure you leave a comment telling me you blogged.

I look forward to working out with many of you and your babies in the weeks to come!

What all, besides Harper, has been keeping us busy around here in prep to become a family of 4?  Well, it’s a good thing I have a precious husband, who even though I know he thinks it, has not yet openly accused me of loosing my mind…  That is unless you count this blog post…  Ha!  In my defense, let me say, his account is very one sided…  But, getting into my version and story will have to be saved for yet a whole other post of its own.  And, he managed to get back on my good list by postingthis tear-jerker.  With all I feel like I manage to cram into the days and nights, besides chasing a toddler and finishing up housing a new life, I am amazed there is anything left on the “to do list”, but there always is.  We remodeled the bathroom, rearranged our room to accommodate the birth pool, organized the garage (my husband and mother-in-law are wizards), organized Harper’s room, I cleaned and re-organized the whole kitchen- which included alphabetizing spices (I’m not loosing my mind), worked on handling my grandparents’ estate, pulled out all the newborn stuff (memory lane), took maternity/toddler pics w/ the incredible Marquette, tried to wrap up Christmas shopping, and the list goes on and on…

Anyhow, onto the true reason for this post: I am really curious as to who you think Baby Haggerton will be!  The surprise of not knowing who Harper would be was so much fun, but this time around, I feel like the surprise element is so much more fun.  We are planning on using the same girl name we had picked out when pregnant with Harper, but the boy name choices have been a lot harder. 

Tell me your guess, and if you are the closest to the facts, you’ll win a yet to be determined prize .  Comment on this post 1)What day you think this baby will actually arrive, 2) Is this a girl or boy (give us your name suggestions, just because I’m curious as to what you like), and 3) How much this baby weighs.  Just to help you out a little, I had two guess dates w/ Harper of the 16th and the 26th.  He came on the 20th of October.  Pretty much everyone but my mom guessed he’d be a boy.  He weighed 7lbs. 5oz., and I gained 20lbs during the pregnancy.  My guess date now is December the 19th, a lot more people think this baby is a girl than those who guess it’ll be another boy, I’ve gained 17lbs so far, and Jim Bob’s birthday is Christmas day and he’d love to share it with this baby. 

Which will it be?  Will this baby wear Harper’s receiving outfit or get placed in this precious, pink, new one?! 

I can’t wait to read your comments, and stay tuned here as we will post all the details soon as they become available.

Birth Center News:

As you know, pregnancy and birth are major passions of mine.  And, they definitely keep me busy!  Well, in the midst of growing our family with baby #2 on the way, we’ve also been very occupied helping open a birth center.  All About Babies Birth Center is in the north of the metroplex, in Argyle.  Please become a fan on Facebook.  There, we will post updates on the latest events- Movie Nights, Sip’n'Sees and MaterniTEAs- and classes- Out of Hospital Birth Orientation, Organic Cooking Classes, Birth Classes, Cloth Diapering/Babywearing- (including our Open House!).  We are also in the midst of updating our website, and will post that as soon as it is available.

Win Your Own Blog:

My friend and patient, Heather aka “The Mommypotamus“, has the coolest contest going on on her blog right now…  And, you should definitely go check it out!  Do you love my blog?  I’m not talking just content here, I’m talking the layout and look?  Well, you could have a blog of your own, for FREE!  Heather’s husband, Daniel, is the talent behind my blog.  He designed the whole thing for me, tutored me on how to use it, and still deals w/ my nagging questions.  And, I love, love, love my blog…  Even when I am too busy puking to give it the attention it needs .  I just think it’s so cool that Heather is offering you the chance to win yours!  Go check it out, here.

Cooking Demo & Free Meal-Mommypotamus LIVE:

Many of you already follow the Mommypotamus on her blog and Facebook page.  But, have you met her in person?!  Well, now is your chance, and there may not be more for a while…  Mommypotamus has agreed to kick off our organic cooking classes before she has Babypotamus (very soon).  She’ll do a cooking demo, serve a light meal and talk about “Nourishing Meals for the Busy Mom”.  You will NOT want to miss this!  It will be in Argyle, THIS Thursday the 30th at 6:30PM.  Check out Mommypotamus’ post for more info.

Birth on Labor Day:

The Tarrant County Birth Network is a fabulous organization!  If you are a mom, plan on becoming a mom, or are in any field that deals with pregnancy and birth, you should DEFINITELY support this amazing group…  Join the TCBN!  The memberships start as low as $25 per year, and include a ton of great perks!  On September 25th, they are hosting a wonderful event, BOLD.  BOLD stands for “Birth on Labor Day”.  It is a play about several women’s different birth stories.  There will also be a free birth and parenting fair, in conjunction with the play, on that day.  Lifetime Family Wellness Center and All About Babies will both have booths at the fair, and we’d love it if you would stop by and say hi.  We have tickets for the event on sale at all office locations (Hurst and Argyle).  Please, contact me at drshaggerton@gmail.com for more details. 

Well, you aren’t going to get much research or recipes these days.  But, I did want to mention a really cool giveaway that my friend, The Mommypotamus, is doing.  Go check it out, and browse her blog while you are there.  I can’t say enough about how incredible she is.  And, I am so grateful that someone can provide some research and recipes for a few more weeks, while I work hard at growing this new lil’ one

Carmen Trease, congratulations, you may contact me to collect your WF giftcard!  I am so excited that my first giveaway went so great…  40 entries, not too shabby for the first freebie .  And, glad I had something to cheer up my day because I had to cancel and reschedule my son’s 1st birthday party today due to fever and throwing up .  It was a sad day in our house!!  Stay tuned, I will have lots more fun giveaways in the near future.  Hope everyone is looking forward to a great week.

Also, I will post home remedies that we used for cold/flu/congestion this season.  I will also share what we used to help naturally boost Harper’s immunity and bring down his fever.

Part of what I love about the blogging world- and admit it, you love it too- are the giveaways and freebies…  And, I know I promised giveaways on my blog.  Don’t worry, I will not disappoint.  I intended to do this sooner, but of course, life got in the way.  So speaking of cleanse, and lifestyle, and celebration, and my friends…  Who doesn’t love Whole Foods Market?!  And, who doesn’t love free stuff and giveaways?!  Whole Foods is a big reason we survived our cleanse so easily, and a big part of what makes this lifestyle easy.  I love Whole Foods, and I am so grateful to have one nearby!  I will not complain about their prices, I see the value in paying good money for good food…  In the words of Jordan Rubin, “You can pay the farmer now, or you can pay the doctor later!”

But, I would like to offer to help out with your Whole Foods bill…  How does a $30 gift card to Whole Foods sound?  Yep, that’s what’s up for grabs, my friends.  How do you win?  The winner will be randomly picked in a few days.  To be entered in the contest, leave a comment on this post.  Want a second entry?  Link me to your Facebook page, and comment telling me you’ve done so.  Want a third entry?  Link my blog on your blog, and comment telling me you’ve done so.  And, for a fourth entry, if you have done the cleanse, write up a testimonial on your blog or Facebook about your experience- I can’t wait to read them (don’t forget to share a recipe or website)!  Winner will be announced at the end of the week, so start commenting and linking!  Also, if you will create an account for free here, your pic will show up when commenting, which is much more enjoyable for me and other readers.

Curious how I ended up after the cleanse?  Well, I lost 11 pounds in 3 weeks, my sugar cravings are gone and I am sleeping a lot deeper.  But, one of our favorite things about this program is that we are cooking at home consistently and enjoying at least 1 (usually 2) meals at home around the table as a family.  I hope you’ll get to experience the wonderful results of making healthier choices, Happy Cleansing!