Early Testers Beware

It sounds so wonderful, right? Being able to take a pregnancy test before you even miss your period! What's the downside you may ask? Well, I will tell you. Almost every woman will experience an early miscarriage at some point in her life...the thing is most of the time it may happen before she misses her period! If you wait until you are a full two weeks "late", and then get a positive pregnancy test, you would be considered six weeks pregnant. Now imagine the excitement you feel seeing a positive pregnancy test--so much emotions, right?! Now imagine getting that positive test before you missed your period--even better, right? Because now you can start taking prenatal vitamins, etc thus giving the baby that much more of a healthy start. So now you know you are pregnant and the next three days pass, everything still good! Four more days past, and now you can say you are four days "late". Pretty exciting, huh? Now at this point you have known you were pregnant for one full week--a lot of ideas and feelings and just joy, right!? Then it happens...you get your "period"....only it's four days later than expected...and not to mention, you ALREADY KNEW it was late due to PREGNANCY. So rather than wondering where the heck your period was, and then getting it a few days late thereby going on with your life none the wiser or sadder for that matter....you are now crushed. Devastated. Confused. Hurt, to say the least. Now you can't say you were 'just late'...you 'miscarried'.

So you can see the downside to testing early. Even if you 'think' you are pregnant because you're "late", you would be spared that heartache of miscarriage because you didn't actually see that test turn positive and then have the flurry of emotions along with it. My best advice is to wait until you are two full weeks "late", thus bettering your chances of it being a viable pregnancy. Keep in mind you can miscarry at any time during the pregnancy technically speaking, but your odds of it go down the farther along you get. Waiting two weeks won't mean you are "all clear", but at least you are spared the heartache of those very common early miscarriages that most women don't even notice!

What about me personally? I've gone through it. It is awful. If I suspect I may be pregnant, I will of course continue taking my vitamins and staying healthy, but I will not so much as buy a home pregnancy test until I am a full four weeks "late". If I get a positive at that time I would be 8 weeks pregnant, and the doctor would be able to see on ultrasound and/or hear on the Doppler if the baby's heart is beating. To me that is the best sign of a viable pregnancy. However, having gone through this mess more than I care to think about, I have resolved that the next time I am in the position of thinking I may be pregnant, I absolutely will not take a home pregnancy test until I am 8 weeks "late". Why 8 weeks? Because at 8 weeks over due, you are 12 weeks pregnant, thus marking the end of the first trimester. I won't let my heart get broken again over a pregnancy! I just can't take it!

So, if you must, go ahead and test early, but: "Tester Beware"! I wish you all the best of luck if you are in this situation, and I feel for any of you who have lost as I have.

The Future

I have so much to do! I have new prints for the baby to toddler bibs coming, like orange flames, zebra print, and 'glam tattoo' (so adorable!). Once I get a good inventory of those set up, I will be adding a lot more things to my studio! The special needs/adult bibs will be next out! I am going to have a variety of fun prints for those, with everything from Elvis and OU to scrolls and animal prints! After those are made, my pocketed burp cloths will be the next group! Those will be about 7 inches wide and 18 inches long, with a 3 inch pocket on one side to catch the mess. I am still in the works about exactly how I want those to look, but I promise they will be adorable! I have recently decided to create newborn bibs, too! These will also be with snaps, and adjustable to two sizes! The reason that these are going to be a while in the making is that I don't have a newborn in the house anymore! ;) My brother-in-law and his wife are expecting in October, so I will have a model then! LOL And of course, I am still wanting to get some new photos up, but with three kids in the house and it being summer time, it's hard to get them to cooperate!

The future of Heart N Sew Designs looks great! By Thanksgiving, I will have at least 50 Baby-to-Toddler Bibs in stock, as well as at least 50 Adult Bibs, 50 Newborn Bibs, and 50 Burp Cloths! So as you can see, I am going to be busy busy busy!

Well, my boys are awake, so I'm off to do breakfast and some school work with them! Can't let their little brains take a vacation! :)

GRAND OPENING!

I ran out of time today to post my first set of bibs on ebay and etsy, as I got busy with the family and miscellaneous things! Tomorrow afternoon will be my official "Grand Opening"! I will have photos up on my photobucket site, and both my ebay and etsy stores up and running! As of right now I have 22 toddler bibs for my start up listings! I can't wait to see what happens! I'm on Twitter as well (HeartNSewDesign) so you can follow my posting there, too! I can't believe that after all the ideas, researching, planning, preparing (and not to mention, sewing!) that tomorrow is the big day! No turning back now! Everyone starts somewhere and I just can't wait to see where this takes me! I look forward to a huge response from the public!

I will post back when I am officially been "open for business"!

About Me...

My name is Nichole and I am a stay at home mother of three. My husband John and I have been married for over three years now. We have two sons, Dominic 7 years old, Drake 2.5 years old, and one daughter, Zoey 10 months old!

Although my business is just getting started, I have been sewing off and on for years. As for now, my focus is on toddler/baby bibs and special needs/adult bibs! They are all handmade by me, using my own pattern. They are made with cotton flannel backing, and two sets of snap closures for adjustable sizing! I accept custom order requests for patterns/prints, quantities and even special sizing needs! This site will be kept up to date with links to where my items are posted for sale! You can find them on etsy.com and ebay! Feel free to email me with any questions, concerns or requests!

heart_and_sew_designs@yahoo.com
heartnsewdesigns.etsy.com
Ebay Seller ID: heart_n_sew_designs

Fun fact: My business name, Heart N Sew Designs, is derived from my signature (the heart symbol signed at the end of my name). The symbol was designed by me in 1998, in remembrance of my grandfather, who told me: "Whatever you do, do it with your heart and soul." In 2006, I tattooed that symbol on the inside of my left leg along as part of an intricate tattoo design I had drawn on myself! When I got married, I made that part of my 'official/legal' signature!