Always happy!
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Our life in 2011- Day 26
Not really feeling the best today, I think we all have colds coming on. After bath time we took a nap!
Our life in 2011- Day 25
Not a good pic, but she looks so funny! She had my shirt on and decided to go play around.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Instinct Parenting
It all started early in the morning of September 4th 2009. I woke up after having a dream about my 17 year old sister getting pregnant and have twins. Wow, what a scary thought! She is too young for that. In the dream, I was holding both of these babies and wondered as I woke up abruptly at 5:20am if this was a sign. My husband Alex and I were trying to have a baby, and had been for roughly 6 months to no avail. When I woke up, I promptly lit a cigarette, smoked it, which turned out to be my last, and went to the bathroom to take a pregnancy test. Three minutes later, what a shock! It was POSITIVE!
As the weeks went by, we made it through the first trimester and what a relief, kind of. I was not convinced everything was going to be alright until I had this baby sitting in my arms. We did get a fetal heart monitor to listen to our baby's heartbeat. It was just one more way to give me peace of mind, which was definitely needed. Around my 18th week of pregnancy we got another ultrasound. This whole time I thought my baby would be a boy. WRONG! To my surprise, we were having a girl! What an exciting moment! I was not disappointed in the least, this meant I get to dress my baby in PINK!
While I was pregnant, I assumed my parenting style would be just as everyone else. We would breastfeed until I went back to work, and than on to formula for this little girl. Vaccines, well, what does it matter, they worked for me and I turned out fine. Co-sleeping? Are you nuts? There was no way in the world I would give up my bed. However, we did get a pack and play so she would be next to us. Cloth diapering? Ha! No way! Baby wearing? Well, that was a great idea in theory, but I have a lot of back problems so carrying around extra weight would probably hurt a lot. At 29 weeks, we elected to get a 3-D ultrasound which we brought my dad and mother in law to. Seeing this little girls beautiful face brought tears to my eyes. Again, the first time was seeing her heartbeat. Second was hearing it, and third was seeing just how beautiful she was and how real all of this was turning out to be!
Around the same time, we found out I had gestational diabetes, which was supposed to mean Kaylin Jayde (yes, we named her!) would be much larger. After pricking my finger four times everyday and listening to the advice of some lady, I had to eat a lot of bland foods to keep my blood sugar levels lower. Well, after a couple weeks of doing this and gaining 6 lbs, I decided to stop listening to these people. I know my body, it is mine, been living in it for YEARS! So, the next appointment I only gained 2 lbs so, HA, I was right! Now we had to go to each weeks appointment and do a non stress test to make sure everything was going alright. One doctor who I did not care for at all told me because Kaylin was sleeping and not moving around a ton, it meant something was wrong. At this point, I did not want the stress of some man who was rude to begin with giving me advice, even though he was the doctor. This was also the last appointment I had. My induction was scheduled for 3 days from that Friday. Yes, I said it, I was induced with my baby. Not one of the things I am proud of, but it happened.
The day had come, May 3rd, what an adventure it had been so far. We were going to see this beautiful little girl from the ultrasounds. The one who kicked me, and moved all over! I was so happy! For some who said, I cannot wait to meet her, they may remember how I would never say that. I was too scared to jinx something. So, around 8pm May 3rd, in went the Cervidil and here comes the contractions! After 12 hours of this stuff and all the contractions, I had hoped to at least be dilated, some! Nope, my cervix had just softened. After getting my shower, I was placed on Pitocin, and taken off it because I was contracting on my own and it was stressing Kaylin out. Around 3:30pm, May 4th, I felt this pin prick feeling in my belly. Than I felt a gush. Once I stood up, I knew what that meant, finally my water had broken! Good deal, or so I thought. Now, I was wondering, what is all this black stuff. Oh, its meconium, which means Kaylin had pooped due to the stress and now there was a bigger risk of something to happen. Again, I got scared. At 8pm we had the doctor come in and give me an epidural. The only reason I would ever get an epidural again with another pregnancy is because I hated being "checked", it was NOT fun. Around 1am, May 5th, I started having this desire to push. It was STRONG. I could feel my legs too which I thought was a little off. Epidural did not work too well. Guess we were going to do this the hard way! Within 20 minutes of pushing, she was here! My little baby girl was finally out! And seeing her, wow, you just cannot get anymore perfect than this!
Instantly, everything we had waited for changed. Here was this perfect little angel! We hated being in the hospital so we decided to take her home exactly 24 hours after she was born. Yes, that happened!
We did supplement formula for the first week until my milk came in, which I did not want to do, I was totally against the idea, but again, I was a new mom and I wanted to make sure she was getting enough. When my milk came in, we finally got a good latch and this began a wonderful adventure into breastfeeding.
As you can see, this is not a 6 week old baby. She was around 4 months in this picture. I decided since taking the best care of her that I possibly could was the most important thing for me, we were going to breastfeed at least until 6 months. Baby steps right? I did not want to make any unrealistic goals, so we are going by every 6 months. This decision was the easiest I could have ever made. It was natural and it was a beautiful bond I could share with my daughter and nobody else could take that feeling away.
Next decision I made regarding parenting is baby wearing. Remember how I said it would not be possible because of my back? Well, that went out the window. Yes, my back is bothered by it, but I do not care. No pain, no gain! If it makes her comfortable and gives her comfort, the pain is the least of my concern. Plus she loves being in her Moby!
The next decision, well, one of the first actually, was co-sleeping. I said no at first, and from the first week she was born, guess where she slept? You guessed it, right with us in our bed. Normally she will sleep in between us, or lay on me to fall asleep. This to me gives her a sense of security. Which if she feels secure, chances are she is going to be more independent later on in life. She already seems to be very independent as it is, so hopefully with the instinctive parenting steps we are taking, she will have a lot of confidence too!
Yes, she uses my comforter as well. No fancy blankets, we sleep side by side, she has our blanket around her, and everything has been working out thus far! We have had several people say things like, she should not be sleeping in your bed, she will fall off, some extreme statements were I am a bad mom. Well, as with everything, I took what I heard and let it go in one ear and out the other. I know what is best for Kaylin. Baby food out of a jar? Well, that was a thought to begin with too. I did not see what it would hurt. Rice cereal on a schedule too? No way, I was not about to listen when told to feed her solids at 4 months old. She simply was not ready. I did try, she did not like it so we did not continue feeding solids until 6 months. She got what she needed from me! Which made me happy. I still love the time I get with her where nobody can interfere. We make our own food, I do not see the point in feeding her something out of a jar because it has so many preservatives in it. At least the food we make has a shelf life that is not longer than I will be alive!
When she was 3 months old, I decided to stop spending money on diaper rash cream and just give in after talking to my friend Tanya about cloth diapers. Well, cloth diapers were not even a big deal. Why people make such a fuss about using them is beyond me! I love the three brands we have used. They are just as absorbent, we do not have to use diaper rash cream anymore, and they are much cheaper. At first, I knew I was not going to use diapers from Pampers with Dry Max, we had heard it gives babies chemical burns. After hearing this, I made the practical decision to find other means of diapers because at size 3 the Pampers sensitive come with Dry Max too. Do you see why this seems counter-productive? I sure do. Got comments on this decision too, most were, are you nuts? Well, no of course we aren't, we were just willing to try what most people said was not a good solution. Tell me I can't and I will show you I can.
To this point, everything we have done has been different than what we expected. Trust your instincts when you raise kids. It does not take a village, it takes a strong person to do the best for their kids. Nothing about my daughter is gross, nothing about parenting is hard (maybe if you have a lot of kids it would be!) nobody can make choices for your children except for you and your spouse. So, why not make the best of it? Expand your horizons, be different than the norm! Our future generations depend on the positive decisions we make. My daughter certainly changed my life and my views on parenting. One more thing I forgot to mention, the whole cry it out method, sucks. If my daughter cries, she needs me and I am there. I do not care who says she will start manipulating me, she will only be young once, and I do not have anything that is more important to do than to take care of my baby.
I would like to learn more about vaccines, some of them are not necessary from what I am hearing. This will be my challenge for Kaylin in the future and any other children we have. My baby is my everything and I want to protect her where I can!
For future pregnancies, I will also look into water birth as an alternative to typical hospital birth. Definitely will not be using an epidural again!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Our life in 2011- Day 15
We had blueberries again today, so instead of getting one of my Econobum covers stained, I put one of my shirts on Kaylin.
What a mess!
What a mess!
Our life in 2011- Day 14
I didn't take a picture today because conveniently both my phone and camera were dead when I went to take one. So, here is one from the day before.
First time with a sippy cup!
First time with a sippy cup!
Flip vs. Econobum vs. Gdiapers Diaper review
I have been meaning to get on here and do a review about the four different type of cloth diapers I have used up to this point in our cloth diapering adventures! I will be reviewing Flips, Econobums, Gdiapers, BumGenius 3.0.
Flip Diaper System:
The Flip Diapers are made by bumGenius and are a one size diaper with a size range between 8 lbs up to 35 lbs. This cloth diaper comes with a snap cover and one can use disposable inserts, stay-dry inserts, and organic inserts. The covers for the Flip system are waterproof, and can be wiped out with a rag/wipe after each use and used again. With these, you do not have to stuff anything, just stick the insert in, fold the size down (there are three sizes on a single insert, small, medium, and large), and put the ends under the flaps! There are several colors available with the Flip System, these include the following:
Bubble
Noodle
Sweet
Blossom
Butternut
Grasshopper
Twilight
Ribbit
Zinnia
Moonbeam
My daughter in the Zinnia cover with Stay-dry insert.
The Stay-dry inserts are very absorbent and are great used on a longer drive or overnight. While I love the Flip system, and they are not by any means the most expensive cloth diaper, to have a good collection, you may spend around $150. If purchased in a trial pack, one would get two cloth covers and 6 Stay-dry inserts, depending on where the pack is purchased, you may have a different choice on colors. Each pack is $49.95 and there is also an organic pack that is $59.95. Some places also have the inserts listed for $4.95 per insert, this is where things get a bit more expensive. Organic inserts are $7.95 each, a pack of 18 disposable inserts are $4.95 and a case of 216 are $54.45. The disposable inserts are a more expensive option, but if you have to take your child to daycare, it may be a better option than using regular disposables! Individual covers can be purchased for $13.95 and one other option is $16.95 for one cover and one insert.
Econobum:
Econobum is another diaper we have tried in our cloth adventures. This diaper is the most cost effective diaper we have used so far. They are one size just as the Flip diapers are and can fit a baby from 8 lbs up to 35 lbs. There are a few differences between the Flip diapers and Econobum, while the Flip diapers have two snaps on top of each other to close the diaper, the Econobum has two that are side by side. These covers are waterproof and can be wiped out with a rag. Instead of having a single insert like the other diapers, this system has prefolds. Econobum are by far my favorite for absorbency and we have had less mess on the cover if my daughter has a bigger poo! The covers are rather plain, just white with colored linings. The colors used are similar to those of the Flip system. They are:
Flip Diaper System:
The Flip Diapers are made by bumGenius and are a one size diaper with a size range between 8 lbs up to 35 lbs. This cloth diaper comes with a snap cover and one can use disposable inserts, stay-dry inserts, and organic inserts. The covers for the Flip system are waterproof, and can be wiped out with a rag/wipe after each use and used again. With these, you do not have to stuff anything, just stick the insert in, fold the size down (there are three sizes on a single insert, small, medium, and large), and put the ends under the flaps! There are several colors available with the Flip System, these include the following:
Bubble
Noodle
Sweet
Blossom
Butternut
Grasshopper
Twilight
Ribbit
Zinnia
Moonbeam
My daughter in the Zinnia cover with Stay-dry insert.
The Stay-dry inserts are very absorbent and are great used on a longer drive or overnight. While I love the Flip system, and they are not by any means the most expensive cloth diaper, to have a good collection, you may spend around $150. If purchased in a trial pack, one would get two cloth covers and 6 Stay-dry inserts, depending on where the pack is purchased, you may have a different choice on colors. Each pack is $49.95 and there is also an organic pack that is $59.95. Some places also have the inserts listed for $4.95 per insert, this is where things get a bit more expensive. Organic inserts are $7.95 each, a pack of 18 disposable inserts are $4.95 and a case of 216 are $54.45. The disposable inserts are a more expensive option, but if you have to take your child to daycare, it may be a better option than using regular disposables! Individual covers can be purchased for $13.95 and one other option is $16.95 for one cover and one insert.
Econobum:
Econobum is another diaper we have tried in our cloth adventures. This diaper is the most cost effective diaper we have used so far. They are one size just as the Flip diapers are and can fit a baby from 8 lbs up to 35 lbs. There are a few differences between the Flip diapers and Econobum, while the Flip diapers have two snaps on top of each other to close the diaper, the Econobum has two that are side by side. These covers are waterproof and can be wiped out with a rag. Instead of having a single insert like the other diapers, this system has prefolds. Econobum are by far my favorite for absorbency and we have had less mess on the cover if my daughter has a bigger poo! The covers are rather plain, just white with colored linings. The colors used are similar to those of the Flip system. They are:
Ribbit
Zinnia
Moonbeam
White
My daughter in the Econobum with Moonbeam lining. No, she is not always asleep when I take pictures!
As you can see, these are a bit thicker due to the prefold insert. Personally I would take the thickness with the better absorbency any day! To get a good collection of Econobum diapers, you are looking at around $99.90 for 6 covers and 24 prefold (unbleached) inserts. One can also purchase a pack that is half the cost at $49.95 and comes with 3 covers and 24 prefold inserts. Another option is a trial pack which has one cover and 3 inserts for $11.95. Individual covers with one insert will cost $9.95.
Gdiapers:
Gdiapers were our second brand of cloth diapers we have used. These diapers come in 4 different sizes littleG's, small, medium, and large and have velcro tabs that fasten in the back rather than the front. These diapers are not even close to being the cheapest cloth diaper. For the longest time, I loved these diapers and was not really willing to try anything else. These are the thinnest diapers I have come across, but with thinness comes leaks and lots of them! Poopy diapers are pretty much the end of the cover until it is washed again. These diapers come with snap in liners (just a plastic liner that acts as a barrier to the cover) which can be wiped out, but does not seem to be that waterproof as the diapers will start to feel damp after 2 hours or so, if you have not sprung a leak by than. Do not get me wrong, these diapers are super cute and very thin, but rather expensive for a good collection and the velcro pieces have a habit of coming off so they need to be sewn back on or replaced if you are not cool enough to know how to sew! Gdiapers come in many colors, there are boy and girl specific colors as well as neutral. These are (some colors have been discontinued):
Galactic Blue
Gooseberry Purple
Goddess Pink
Guppy Green
Greatful Red
Grubby Knees Gray
Golly Molly Pink
Vanilla
White
Again, a lot of the colors have been discontinued, but are replaced with different colors. There used to be a black cover that I would have loved to find but it sold out right before we started cloth diapering. Each individual Gpant is $17.99 this comes with a cover and one snap in liner. There is a two pack of Gpants for $26.99 which comes with three snap in liners. Inserts and liners come in two sizes, small, and medium/large. Snap in liner packs of 6 are $20.00. The newborn pack is $149.99 and includes 12 tiny gPants with cute 'g' word design, 6 little gPants, 80 100% biodegradable gRefills. gCloth inserts sold separately. The disposable option is flushable but is much more expensive than disposable diapers, but can be composted. There are a few other options, like the 6 pack of covers for $79.99.
And the Winner is:
1. Econobum for cost efficiency and absorbency.
2. Flip for the colors and one size covers.
3. Gdiapers for the thinness and different color selection.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Our life in 2011- Day 12
Kaylin was playing with some blocks and had something on her head. She didn't try taking it off..
Monday, January 10, 2011
Our life in 2011- Day 10
Well today I have decided android phones are the way for me. All the free apps are fantastic!
Our life in 2011- Day 9
Day late and a dollar short! I am slipping with this, but taking pics everyday!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Our life in 2011- Day 7
Nothing too exciting happened today. Just played with some toys. We got a tiny bit of snow, but nothing too major. Sure made the roads a little slippery though.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Our life in 2011- Day 6
I am already missing days, but we still manage to take a pic everyday! Yesterday was sort of a bittersweet day. Everything was great except some conflict between myself and my cousin. I feel he is not understanding what he is going to do with our family as far as putting my grandparents in a nursing home. Of course this seems to be very secretive and only one of the three kids my grandparents have seem to have a say in the matter which it should be a decision for their kids not one that needs to be made by their grand kid. This is going to have serious ramifications. Hopefully everything works out in a positive way for everyone involved, God willing, the grandparents will be in a better place where they are not watching kids, cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and making my ungrateful cousins bed.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Our life in 2011- Day 5
Today marks Kaylin's 8 month birthday! What a blessing she has and will always be! Not really too much exciting happening today, just lounging around for a while watching tv with Kaylin, than cleaning in a little bit.
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Our life in 2011- Day 4
I can say I have had better days. However, we will not get into that right now. One of my favorite facebook pages was taken down, and readded, and taken down again. Seems as if someone needs to get their act together. Oh well, I guess it is what it is. Hope the site gets put back up. Here's the daily dose of Cute from my little Kay!
That toy must have been comfortable!
That toy must have been comfortable!
Monday, January 3, 2011
Our life in 2011- Day 3
So it was a long night trying to get Kaylin to finally go to sleep. Around 1am this morning, this is what I saw.
I kid you not, 5 minutes later (after I moved her closer) I looked over again, and this is what I saw..
Ah, sweet success! Now its time for work. I left Kaylin this morning after getting her ready for the day and she was crying. I would pick her up, she would be perfectly fine, but as soon as I left her sight she started again. The days like this really make it hard to want to go to work. Only a few more days of Kaylin going to her grandmas in the morning. Alex is still in training for his data position. Here's to the start of a new week!
I kid you not, 5 minutes later (after I moved her closer) I looked over again, and this is what I saw..
Ah, sweet success! Now its time for work. I left Kaylin this morning after getting her ready for the day and she was crying. I would pick her up, she would be perfectly fine, but as soon as I left her sight she started again. The days like this really make it hard to want to go to work. Only a few more days of Kaylin going to her grandmas in the morning. Alex is still in training for his data position. Here's to the start of a new week!
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