Burt's Bees for Sensitive Skin

I am a member of BzzAgent which is a viral marketing company that partners with brands to host campaigns to promote their product. I am a "Bzzagent" which means I get to be invited to campaigns that are matched up with my profile. Usually, they send me a "Bzzkit" filled with products to try, samples to give away, and information to share about the campaign's brand or product.

This past month I was able to participate in a campaign for Burt's Bees new line of face products for sensitive skin. I got a full size cleanser and moisturizer to try out! So far I really like the products. They both have cotton extract in them, which is supposed to be gentle on your skin. The smell of the moisturizer is nice, and it is very lightweight feeling, which is important to me. I also like the cleanser because it feels really gentle on my skin and not harsh like some cleansing products. Burt's Bees uses lots of natural ingredients in their products, which is a huge plus too. Overall, I would definitely recommend this product if you have sensitive skin and are looking for a new cleanser or moisturizer. They also have an eye cream and a night cream, but I haven't tried those.

Answers to Prayers

Thank you everyone for all your prayer for my health and recovery of my leg. I'm very happy to say that as of this past weekend I am over 70% strength in my right quad, which means I can walk without a brace and hold Jonah. Also, it means I can safely drive! I will continue to go to physical therapy for two more weeks to gain more strength. At this point, I will mostly be trying to regain endurance of the muscle.

I really do appreciate all of you who have been praying for our family during this time. God has been so faithful to us to provide help from our families (especially Dan's mom Dotty this past week and a half!), and lots of help from our friends locally as well. It's not always the case that God answers our prayers the way we hope, but in this case we are so thankful to watch how he has answered our petitions and the prayers of others on our behalf. My physical therapist says that the rate at which I am healing is very good and almost as good as we could hope for.

Jonah is doing well. He regained his birth weight and is sleeping well (for a newborn) at night. We are still trying to work on breastfeeding, some days are better and other days I am on the verge of going to formula. We are still trying to make it to 6 weeks for now.

Lucy, our pug, is going to stay with my parents in Texas until Christmas to help us have one less thing to deal with for now. We will miss her, but she will hopefully get more attention and exertion staying with my parents for now.

If you somehow missed what is going on with my leg: During Jonah's birth, either because of the positioning during pushing or maybe pressure from Jonah as he came out, my right femoral nerve was compressed, stretched, or somehow shut down. I didn't feel anything at the time (it may have been masked by my epidural) but once my epidural wore off and I should have been able to walk, I would still buckle and fall. The shut down of the nerve completely shut down my right quadricep muscle and muscles atrophy very fast when they are not doing anything. The nerve should heal 100% on its own ("a matter of weeks" says the neurologist). I am going to physical therapy to build back up my atrophied muscle. The situation is actually really similar to rehab you have to go to when you have ACL surgery because they have to cut through your quad for that.

Physical Therapy Update

Today I had my first session of physical therapy for my quad muscle. According to the physical therapist, I'm making really good progress. She estimates I'm already back to 40-50% and that I could possibly be back to 100% in 3-4 weeks of PT. When I hit 60-65% I should hopefully be strong enough to walk on my own, without a brace or a walker, and carry Jonah because I will be able to catch myself without falling if my knee buckles. Yay! Praise the Lord for the healing I already have and a good prognosis for the future! Thank you all for your prayers- please continue to pray for us that I would heal quickly.

We have also been having a very difficult time with breastfeeding. I have been having severe pain while breastfeeding, despite the fact that Jonah has a very strong latch and no trouble with interest. We saw a lactation consultant who thought Jonah had a posterior tongue-tie that was affecting his ability to suck correctly and explained the pain. She referred us to a doctor who we did end up seeing this week. She performed a procedure to clip his tongue tie. Dan and I are feeling ambivalent about the decision to get the procedure and we can't really tell yet if it worked or not. By the end of the visit, we did not feel like we trusted the doctor, and we won't go back to her again. Now we are trying to make a decision about sticking it out with breastfeeding (which is still incredibly painful most of the time) or switch to formula feeding. Meanwhile I am spending all day either sleeping, eating, attached to a breast pump, attached to a breastfeeding baby, or doing my PT exercises. Please pray that god would give us wisdom about making feeding choices for Jonah, and that we would trust Him to provide and not live in guilt whatever we do.

We are calling Jonah our little eaglet because many of his cries sound like baby eagle screeches :)

Jonah & Brittany Update-Day 6

Just a quick update. Jonah is doing great- though I think his days and nights are opposite from ours.

Brittany is doing a little better. She saw the physical therapist Friday and has 1 month of 2x/week appointments. She can kick her right leg just a little bit, but in no way can put any weigth on it. The PT gave her some exercises to do every day and she's using a prescribed walker. Her biggest frustration, though, is that she can't pick up Jonah and carry him around.

Thank the Lord for these superstars- Patty and Cary Tanamachi and Kim Vander Velde!

-Dan for the Smiths

Plum District: $60 voucher to EcoMom for $21 = 5 packages of diapers for $4.20 each shipped

Plum District- a deal of the day site offering both national and local deals- is giving 30% off the purchase of all deals when the promo code plumlove is used at checkout through Friday. Some people are also reporting that if you are a first-time sign-up, they are getting a $10 credit to their account!

Plum District also has a deal on a voucher to EcoMom.com this week, a site offering all-natural and organic products for babies, kids, and parents. For $30, you can snag a $60 voucher. But then use the plumlove code at checkout to bump the price down to just $21! Shipping is included.



Visit Plum District under their “everywhere” deals, to find the EcoMom sale.

If you’re in the market for diapers, here’s a great way to get a nice deal on some chlorine-free, eco-friendly ones using this Plum deal.

1. Buy the EcoMom voucher for $21, after using the promo code at checkout.

2. Once your voucher is ready to use, visit EcoMom and go to the diapers. (My voucher was ready immediately.)

3. Add 5 packs of Nature BabyCare diapers to your shopping cart.

4. Go to checkout and enter your PlumDistrict voucher code.

5. Your total should be $0 with free shipping. Proceed through checkout.

That comes out to paying just $4.20 a pack for eco-friendly diapers, or (13.5 cents each for size 3).

Ecomom also has some Melissa & Doug products on sale. I see baby bjorn stuff and cloth diapers too!

$49 - Monarch: 'Transcendent' Dinner for 2 w/Wine, Reg. $127

We love Monarch! Dan and I ate here when our friend Garrett was working in the kitchen, learning to be a chef. This place is really good and this looks like a pretty good deal. I'm considering telling Dan to buy it for my birthday.

$49 - Monarch: 'Transcendent' Dinner for 2 w/Wine, Reg. $127

Land's End Convertible Diaper Bag for $12 shipped

Convertible Backpack Diaper Bag $11.25 at lands end

Source: landsend.com via Brittany on Pinterest

Lands end has this Diaper bag for $15,

use code DISCOVER and pin 6956 for additional 25% off and free shipping.

for me it was $11.85 after tax.

There are many colors available.

There are mixed reviews, but Land's End makes pretty good bags so I am risking it :)