by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

As most of you know by now, Rich and I have been extremely thrifty during this pregnancy, getting things at deeply discounted rates, as well as many for free. Yesterday, we visited two local ARC thrift stores and you will not believe how many good items we found for about twenty bucks total. The details of this amazing thrift store haul, along with their actual value are outlined below.

As you can see, our quick thrift store visits were quite productive. Most of these items were items we had planned on getting at some point, but figured we'd have to save first. We didn't go to the thrift store looking for them. We generally just go and see what we can find. Apparently, we're very good at finding exactly what we need without even trying. The Universe also seems to be looking out for our family a ton lately.

by Lyn Lomasi, Write W.A.V.E. Media Staff

I've always been a bargain hunter. But during this pregnancy with Nova Skye, I've become a master at getting baby items that are useful for FREE or very cheap. Here's a recent mini haul from our local Dollar Tree in Aurora, Colorado.

This is Dollar Tree, so obviously, since there are ten items pictured here, this trip was ten bucks plus tax.

Babies like to look at interesting things, especially colorful ones that move. The top two items pictured are solar powered figurines that have a moving character at the top. Obviously, a baby cannot play with these. Therefore, they should sit safely in a sunny spot (like a window sill) that your baby can see, but not reach.

Next up, you'll see two brand name (Sesame Street) baby books. They are the soft squishy plastic ones that babies love to squeeze and turn the pages on. This is an excellent find, as baby board books are usually around five bucks or more each.

Next to the books is a teether and rattle, again Sesame Street themed. Babies love to play with these and we needed a few more toys for Nova when we found this. Directly underneath, is a different teether and rattler that the baby can shake and chew on, also made by the Sesame Street brand.

The blue thingy in the middle is a knee pad for the parents, so that no one gets sore while bending over the tub to bathe the baby. With my weird leg issues, I really needed this and at only a dollar, how could I say no?

On the bottom left is a cold pack, which is very useful for those times when baby whacks herself with a toy or does something else baby-like, resulting in injury that just needs a quick cold compress. Hopefully, we won't need it, but parents can never over-prepare. This is not my first rodeo and I know the drill well.

The last item in the middle at the bottom is a square-shaped container. It's supposed to be for snacks. However, since newborns don't snack and we needed a good, sanitary binky container for the diaper bag, we thought this was a good fit.

By the way, in case you're wondering, anything the baby might play with, chew, eat out of, and so on was clearly marked as BPA-free, which is pretty awesome for a dollar store.

*What have you discovered at the Dollar Tree (or other dollar stores) lately? Please share below!

I posted this on Facebook earlier. But I decided this actually belongs here, since it's related to the baby and pregnancy. It also may help some people who are having rough pregnancies.

WARNING: Long rambly, personal post about pain, life, and people that may eventually contain something valuable lol

I'm extremely pained, worn out, and sick and honestly not sure how I'm going to make it another week feeling like this. People keep saying to rest for me and the baby, but I'm not sure that's the best thing for either of us. Being in bed makes the pain and morning sickness worse, no matter how many pillows or positions or suggestions I try.

Of course, too much movement does the same. I'm more inclined to believe that an equal balance of everything is better. But what do I know? I'm just listening to the doctor's advice because he's never failed me in the past with all the other kids of mine he's delivered. However, the internet has failed many. LOL

Can I just fast forward to delivery time? That's the part of the pain I actually want to feel. I'm not getting an epidural or other pain relief, by choice. Some pains in life are meant to be felt, so that we can grow stronger. Everything in life is not always rosy and there's nothing wrong with being truthful. In fact, its healthier than holding it inside.

So, if you're among the few who don't want to hear my "complaining", you probably need to do some serious reexamining of life. It's about going through things and coming out stronger for everyone, not just yourself. I share what I do on the off chance that someone else with similar experiences can relate and/or be helped and I'll never apologize for doing so.

Anyhow, labor and delivery pain results in a baby: the best result ever. I suppose in a way this pain does too. But it's getting more difficult to go through this every second that goes by. Just posting this has helped, if only for the reason that it might resonate with someone else who needs to see it.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm off to keep feeling painful contractions, like always. Perhaps eventually, they will result in a baby. LOL

*P.S. The good news is that if she isn't here yet 7 days from now, the doctor can safely induce.

by Richard Rowell and Lyn Lomasi

Coming to you live (not really) from McWilliams Park in Denver is an update about the status of Nova Skye. We're 38 weeks and 2 days, and she will definitely be here in a week. The only question now is when. See our video for more.

It is entirely possible to get baby items, kids clothes, and toys valued at $10, $20 or more at retail for only $1 a piece. How do you do it? Visit your local thrift stores on a regular basis!

My partner Lyn is a self-proclaimed #‎ThriftStoreAndBargainMaster‬. I’ve found this to be the case the entire time that I’ve known her. But today was perhaps the most incredible thrift store trip that we’ve ever had. We got 8 valuable items for $7 total. One was from the Sisters Thrift and Boutique in Colorado Springs on a random day-trip that we decided to take. The other 7 are from a local ARC Thrift Store in Aurora. ARC is a charity-based company located only in Colorado that is perhaps the most inexpensive, but quality, thrift store I’ve ever seen. No single items cost us more than $1 a piece, and three items came in a bag for $2. When you see the value of the items we bought at thrift stores, you will be amazed at what is possible.

Here’s our amazing haul!

VTech Care N Learn Teddy
Value: $34.99
Our price: $1

It was obvious that this was an expensive toy. Unfortunately, you can’t listen to his heart without a special stethoscope that came with the Teddy. It’s the price you pay when you get items at thrift; you often simply can’t find the accessories. But there’s obviously plenty of value here, just as a teddy alone. And most of him works just fine.

Lamaze Freddie Firefly - Baby Developmental Toy
Value: $17.99 (Amazon)
Our price: ~$1

Here’s another example of how expensive baby toys are at retail. We paid less than $1 for it. Apparently, the price is sustained by being a baby developmental toy. It was actually developed in part by child development experts from Yale University. The link clip makes it easy to attach to strollers, car seats, and high chairs, which helps keep it from being lost. This particular one is quite rare now. Newer developmental toys from Lamaze range from $10-20, so this was yet another steal.

Baby Einstein Musical Panda
Value: $19.99 (Amazon)
Our Price: $1

The Baby Einstein stuff is usually pretty expensive. This is one of the less expensive ones. Finding it for $1 is absurd. These Pandas in particular are pretty rare nowadays, too. He plays sounds from a bunch of different instruments. Very cool. They’re probably worth the $20 or so they retail for, but keep in mind that these end up at thrift stores.

Bun Bun Pip Pig
Value: $15.99 (Amazon)
Our Price: ~$1

I have no idea why this little pig has been listed as high as $20, but whatever. We paid less than $1 for it. What makes it so valuable? Apparently, Pip Pig is a collectible. According to Amazon, Pip Pig is available in 4 different sizes, and there are other characters to collect. This appears to be the 4-inch size, which oddly is less price-wise than the 11 inch version on Amazon. It’s cute, but I’d never pay that much for it. Well worth the $0.67 or so we paid for him, though.

Gymboree Booties
Value: ~$10
Our Price: $1

This is the one item we acquired from Sisters. Nova still needed some booties. The general retail price for these sorts of booties are about $10, according to the Gymboree website. They don’t make these particular ones anymore. Still, $1 is a steal, even at a thrift store.

Carter's Sleeper
Value: ~$10
Our Price: $1

This sleeper would have ordinarily sold for $2 at ARC, but because it had no price attached to it, we got it for $1. Carter’s sleepers are very popular, and we actually have some already for Nova. When it comes to sleepers, it’s easy to find them for $1-2. That’s a good thing because you can get 5-10 for the price of one from a big box store. Babies outgrow them fast, too, so it’s easy enough to re-donate them and pay it forward.

Discovery Toys Clown
Value: Unknown
Our Price: ~$1

We couldn’t track down a value for the clown toy. But since it was in the bag of 3 toys for $2, it hardly matters. I did find an EBay listing for about $15, but it didn’t sell at that price. Being a retired toy from 2000, it definitely has some collectible value. We paid about $0.67 for it, so it’s worth a lot more to us.

Corolle 17-inch Mon Classique - Lila Cherie Interactive Baby Doll
Value: $99.99 (Brand New from Toys R Us), ~$86 (Amazon)

While she was missing the clothes, she did come with her original binky and her interactivity works. The sleeping noise sounds like a baby Darth Vader and some of the other sounds are a bit odd, but she’s cute.

This is the second interactive doll we’ve found at the same ARC for the same price. The other was a Zapf Creations Interactive doll worth around $80 or so. That one even had the outfit which came clean in the washer, but was missing the binky. You simply can’t leave these behind with a $0.99 price tag.

So, we spent a grand total of $7, and acquired about $200 worth of items at retail - not even including the retired clown toy! After acquiring a great many of Nova’s items from Listia and other thrift stores, mostly several different ARC locations and Safari Thrift here in Aurora, it’s become quite proven to me that you should almost never buy anything at retail. Granted, sometimes you can’t help but buy something new if you can’t find it at thrift stores. But the things you will find if you keep checking your local thrift stores are pretty incredible. They usually are still perfectly good items, even if they are missing accessories. Many just need batteries.

When you’re done with them, you paid so little for them that it feels good to simply pass them onto a friend or family member, or another thrift store. So when you’re out shopping for your child, especially when it comes to toys or clothing, keep your eyes peeled. You never know what a single US Dollar will buy at a thrift store. It could save you hundreds.

by Richard Rowell, Vlogger

I've been doing daily vlogs over on my blog, The Ultimate Random. But today's vlog is about Lyn and I's OB/GYN appointment today, so I'm posting it on the Nova Skye Story instead.

Long story short, we're aiming for our daughter Nova to come very soon. But if she doesn't come by May 31st, then it will be okay to make her come at that point.

If you have any questions, concerns, or other topics you'd like Lyn and I to cover, just leave a comment.