Cloth Diapers

About 3 weeks ago we made the switch to cloth diapers.  I decided that I was not willing to pay $39 per case of diapers for 2 kiddos.  Also, Braden was getting diaper rash more frequently, and cloth diapers are supposed to be better for that.

I went back and forth on which brand of cloth diapers to use - there are a lot!  I finally settled on bumGenius.  They have a few different types of diapers, but we chose (or I chose) the bumGenius 4.0 one size cloth diaper.  I liked that they fit kids from 7 to 35 pounds, so you don't have to keep buying new sizes as they grow.  Also, you stuff the absorbent cloth liners into the diaper cover, so they work like a disposable diaper which makes it easy for daycare.

So far, I love them!  Braden doesn't seem to notice a difference.  The diapers come with an adjustable size liner as well as a smaller newborn sized insert.  That's good, because Braden is a 'heavy wetter' and we use both of the liners in the diapers.  I bought enough to have 12 per child.  Right now, I wash them every other day and it works out great.  When #2 arrives, we will have to wash them everyday, but it will just be a part of our nightly routine.  Wash them and throw them in the dryer when we head to bed.  Easy enough.  The only con that I have is that because they are a one size diaper, they are a bit bulky in the smaller sizes.  So, some of Braden's shorts no longer fit him when he's wearing the cloth diaper.  But that's the only con so far, so I think we will survive :)

50 Random Thoughts

Several of the blogs that I read regularly have done this recently, and I loved the idea.  So, in no particular order....

1. Being a mom is by far the best thing ever.
2. And the hardest thing I have ever done.
3. Seriously.  I have no idea how single parents do this alone everyday.  I have a HUGE amount of respect for them.
4. I am so grateful that we were able to move this year.  I love our new house.  I doubt I'll ever go back to a 2 story home again.
5. Having a babysitter that you trust and that your child loves should never be taken for granted.  It makes it much easier to go to work.
6. I feel blessed that I'm able to be home with Braden (and soon to be baby #2) almost all day.
7. I think it's great that Kevin gets "Daddy time" in the evenings while I'm working.
8. I love my job.  Most days :)
9. The 10 minutes of stillness that Mickey Mouse Clubhouse can offer is priceless.
10. I love using cloth diapers.  
11. I'm annoyed we didn't switch to them earlier.
12. I miss wine.
13. I'm ready to not be pregnant for awhile.
14. I loved not having a bad winter.
15. But if not having a winter means having a horrible summer with multiple 100+ degree days, I'll take the snow.
16. I pray that God would give us some rain.  We really need it.
17. I love that Braden loves books.  
18. But now I can't stop buying him books.  Seriously, it might be a problem.
19. At least I'm not constantly buying him toys.
20. I need a vacation with my boys.  A beach would be nice.  I guess we will hold off on that until baby #2 is here, and a bit older so that it actually feels like a vacation.
21. Braden is handing me his shoes right now.  He doesn't really like to wear them, but thinks they make great toys.
22. My dog is super smart and annoyingly stubborn.
23. We watch the Coldplay Austin City Limits about 4 times a week.  No joke.  Braden loves to dance to the music.
24. I wish that people would learn that just because it's a prescription drug doesn't mean that it's safe.
25. We deal with an insane amount of prescription addition problems in the hospital though it's not widely known that it's such a huge problem.
26. vvfvbh tf  kmm jhj 67 89 90my jg - Braden wanted to help!
27. We got rid of so much stuff when we moved.  It felt great to donate it and feels great to have less clutter.  Makes you realize that you really don't need so much stuff.
28. I love the Olympics.  So excited they are starting this week.
29. I need to run some errands, but it's really hot.
30. I wonder if baby #2 is going to look like Braden and that when they are a bit older people will think they are twins.
31. Hopefully #2 inherits more of Kevin's personality than mine.
32. I wish that I had more time to read.  I haven't read a book since shortly after Braden was born.
33. I really only have one "outside of the home" job now.  I've always had two jobs, so it's a bit strange, but a welcome change.
34. I don't understand why people think it's necessary to put their music on full volume while pumping gas.  It's annoying.
35. Maybe that means I'm getting old.
36. Almost daily I find an outlet that doesn't have a safety cover in it.  I have no idea how that happens.  Our house is not that big.
37. I love food and dessert.  I think that maybe one day - way down the road - I would like to go to some type of culinary school because I'm a decent cook, but nothing spectacular comes out of this kitchen :)  And I really enjoy cooking.
38. I have this new obsession with food trucks.  I'm now on a mission to have food from the Scratch Street Food truck- their menu looks amazing.
39. I am amazed at how much Braden learns every single day.  He is so smart.  We better pay attention to that because now he is starting to try to repeat us and do everything we do.  We don't need him learning our bad habits!
40. My most hated chore is cleaning the high chair.  It really grosses me out.
41. I think that animal hair multiplies once it hits the floor.  I run a broom/mop thing along the floor once a day, and 5 minutes later the hair has reappeared.  
42. I have a cold.  If it doesn't go away by Monday, I'm going to be really irritated that I'm having a baby while dealing with a cold.  
43. The person that was responsible for coordinating the construction projects around the city right now must not drive. Ever.  Otherwise, they would have been coordinated differently.
44. Next year, I will make it to the Indy 500.  I've missed the last 2.  
45. We have a Chipmunk outside that drives our cats insane.  
46. I love having a vegetable garden.  There is nothing better than picking your own tomatoes for your salad.
47. Braden is his own worst enemy.  He thinks he is indestructible.  The child has no fear.
48. If there is one thing I've learned about having a baby, it's that it doesn't matter how long they have been asleep for - they will wake up the second you sit down to eat something.  Every single time.
49. And they will only have blowouts at the most inconvenient time.  Like while driving back from the Outer Banks.  Or while shopping in Costco.  
50. I think that Costco and Sams Club got together and decided to deliberately carry different  items so that you have to carry both memberships.  Something I am totally willing to do :)

BALL!!!!

Now that Braden has developed a vocabulary, he now thinks it's super fun to yell the words.  So far, he only yells 'ball' and 'dog'.  So funny - the 'dog' comes out with a Southern twang... it's more like daaaaawg!

I managed to get a few videos of him yelling 'ball'.  But of course, he was going crazy yelling it right before I started taking the video - then he wasn't so into it!

Nursery is Done... Almost :)

We have the nursery for baby #2 just about ready to go!  Nothing like waiting until the very last minute!  We decided not to purchase a bedding set since we eventually want the boys to share a room.  So, when that happens down the road, we will get them bedding sets that go together.

Looking into the room from the doorway

I want to find some small square pictures to hand on this wall, but haven't found any that I like yet...

His name will go on this wall, we just have to decide on one first :)

The wall decal that is above his crib

The very basic sheets that we went with - but they had blue and brown, so they matched!

37.5 Weeks

I know I have not done a good job about taking photos of myself this time around, so I figured I had better get one done before he actually arrives!

37.5 weeks down, and only 10 days to go.  The benefits of having a scheduled c-section is that they do it at 39 weeks, so you don't go all the way to your due date.  Fine by me!

We had a growth ultrasound done yesterday to see how he is progressing.  I had this done at a different office location than I normally go to, and I do NOT like the ultrasound tech this new location.  I much prefer the lady at the Carmel location even though she was wrong about Braden's gender.  

Anyhow, baby looks great!  He is measuring roughly 6 pounds currently.  These ultrasounds aren't terribly accurate though, so we will see how much he weighs when he is born.  (Our growth ultrasound with Braden said he was 8 pounds... he was born at 6 pounds 12 ounces).  Anyway, size doesn't really matter too much anyhow, everything else looks great.  We saw a tiny bit of his face, but he had a hand and part of the cord in front of his face.  I am pretty sure this baby will require a paci immediately and will want it for a long time.  He was sucking the ENTIRE time :)

Braden's New Room, New Moves, and Other Updates

Braden's New Room

Finally, Braden has his new room!  We moved him into it last weekend, but finally finished it up today.  So far, he seems to enjoy it!  

This is his new bedding from Pottery Barn Kids

The view of his room from the doorway

I guess this picture is a bit crooked...  I was really excited about the rocking chair.  We needed a chair for his room and I was searching high and low for a plain white rocking chair.  Evidently, they are super hard to find.  So, on a whim I ran to Once Upon A Child and they had a rocking chair in the perfect shade of blue for $30!

I got the letters from Michaels and painted them in a blue and a green that match the bedding

The dresser is from Kevin's parents - they bought it for Kevin a long time ago but he never needed it.  Luckily they kept it!  Kevin painted it white and the knobs blue to match the room.  The changing table will be moving to the nursery eventually, but for now it's still in B's room... not matching the decor whatsoever.

I am so excited about this!  I saw the idea on Pinterest and HAD to do it!  The bookshelves are actually $4 spice racks from Ikea.  Thankfully my parents went to the Ikea in Phoenix and shipped them to me since the closest Ikea to me is in Cincinnati.  I painted them blue and green to match.  Braden does not try to climb them as long as there are books in them! 

I found a lady on Etsy that makes prints to match the bedding set from Pottery Barn!  I got a set of three 8x10 prints for like $20!  I painted some frames that I had blue and green.

Braden Updates

Braden is 12.5 months old now and is just so funny!  He is so much fun to watch because he is learning so much everyday.  He is SO smart!  Of course, I'm probably a bit biased on that... He understands so much of what you say to him and you can tell that he gets frustrated that he can't fully communicate back yet.  You can tell him to go find a specific toy or book and he will find it and bring it to you.  He loves to read books.  He will get a book, bring it to us, and then climb in our lap so we can read it to him.  He is all about dancing too...  Here is a video of his new moves - he just loves the lid to the plastic bin.  He drags it around the house and then does this on it:

He is definitely developing likes and dislikes and makes his dislikes very well known... or just when he doesn't want to do something, or eat what we've given him.  He has started throwing some tantrums... today, we had to put him in his crib so we could hang the letters on the walls.  He did NOT want to be in his crib at all and screamed for a good 10 minutes even though we were standing right there.  We just try to ignore it and not give him any attention when he does that, but man, he can be loud!

It seems like the milk issue has resolved itself.  We give him all types of milk products now.  He loves cheese and yogurt, but won't touch cottage cheese (can't say I blame him there...).  However, he refuses to drink whole milk.  I've tried everything - mixing it in his formula, warming it up, etc.  He wants nothing to do with it.  He seems to like almond milk though, so that's what we are working with.  It's pretty tasty and actually has more calcium than cow's milk.  We are still mixing in some formula for the time being, just to get him used to it, but hopefully we can get rid of the formula soon.  Then it will be on to getting him off the bottle.  That is a battle I am not looking forward to... he will drink water out of a sippy cup with no problem.  He chugs the water!  However, the minute you give him a sippy cup with formula/milk, he throws a fit, so really, I'm looking forward to that...

He has discovered straws, but can't quite figure out how to drink from them yet.  He thinks it's so interesting when I drink from a straw, and he wants to try, but he usually ends up gagging himself or blowing into it instead :)

Baby #2 Updates

Still no name!  Jackson was on our A-list, but my brother and sister-in-law are having a boy in November and are naming him Jackson!  That's just means that our baby was not meant to be a Jackson :) 

He is making me very uncomfortable these days.  He is head down.  I never experienced that with Braden and I'm not enjoying it!  His head is pressing on my sciatic nerve and my pelvic nerve, so it literally hurts to walk.  It sometimes feel like my legs are going to give out on me - my doctor tells me that it's normal and there's not much I can do about it.  Oh well, only 23 days left.  I'm sure I'll survive.  Other than that, I'm feeling good.  36 weeks pregnant and I've gained ~20 pounds.  That's about where I was with Braden at this point too.  After this week, I'm giving up caffiene and dairy for awhile.  Since Braden had so many issues with dairy, I want to start out with no dairy in my system so that hopefully nursing will work out this time.  We will see how that goes!