tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31563861028170106242024-03-13T06:30:20.851-07:00On Being a Mom:My PerspectiveKari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-35629388753653453122013-01-30T13:32:00.001-08:002013-01-30T13:32:56.841-08:00Breastfeeding Still and TMIDesi-boo is now over 16 months old and we are still breastfeeding. He nurses several times during the day still and during the night we are still co-sleeping and nursing. I will put him to bed in his crib (sometimes asleep and sometimes awake still) and then around 3 or 4 he normally wakes up crying and I bring him into my bed nurse him back to sleep and then he stays in my bed til he wakes up, normally around 10 or 11. (Just depending on when he goes to bed, he typically sleeps 12 hours a night) For awhile he was sleeping through the night from bedtime til about 8 or 9, then he started getting in 4 teeth. At the same time. Two of those have finally popped through, but there are still two of them lingering just below the surface. I'm hoping that he will start sleeping all night again after they pop through. My pediatrician told me that I can give him medicine every night to help with the pain of teething, but I don't feel comfortable drugging up my baby every single night just to stop him from waking up in the middle of the night.<br />
For me, one of the best things about breastfeeding has been no periods. I know for a lot of people this isn't always the case, some people get them back about 6 weeks postpartum, but for me it has been 16 glorious months,16 months + the 9 months of pregnancy. My last period started December 25th, 2011. Well, last one until yesterday. :( It has been nice having over 2 years with no period, I have been much happier, I am nicer, and well, it is just great not have to do deal with those things. I think it's pretty good timing though. One of our new friends recently asked me if we are some of those weird people that breastfeed until their kid is 2 or 3. Not quite, but almost. I have to have Desi weaned by the end of April and I have mixed feelings about it. I think he will do okay, I decided a couple of days ago to start the process so I was giving him sippy cups of milk whenever I could and did he pretty good as long as it was chocolate milk or strawberry milk. I decided he did pretty well, but I'm not quite ready yet, so I will keep breastfeeding for now as long as he wants and am not going to push the sippy cup. But we have to him weaned by the end of April, so regardless it will happen by then, just not yet. It's so Steve and I can go on a trip we have been wanting to go on since before we were married, and were supposed to go on a couple of weeks after we married. We have now been married for 6 years, so this has been a long time coming. And there is no way I am going to pump during it. We are going to be gone for 17 days and I can't pump enough before we go to feed Desi for that long, and I also don't want to pump while we are on vacation snorkeling in the Mediterranean, going to the Italian Opera, seeing the oldest freestanding ruins on earth, staying in little bed and breakfasts in the countryside, and going to lots of cool churches. Just not my idea of a fun vacation listening to the sound of the pump and saying sorry honey, can't go yet, gotta pump. Oh and we are just going to have one backpack each, where would that thing fit!?<br />
I am so excited to go Malta, not as excited about weaning, and not as excited about periods again, but kind of am, because I am ovulating again and can get pregnant again, and I am just about ready for another baby!Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-16947854404946858342012-05-23T18:50:00.000-07:002012-05-23T18:51:41.084-07:00Simonisms<div>
So a few of my friends have posted blogs lately about funny things that their kids say. I decided before I saw the latest one that I need to update this blog and decided that I want to put up some of the funny things Simon says. (I wrote this post a long time ago and neve published. It's been quite a while so these are not recent ones, but still worth remembering) There are tons. It seems like at least 10 times a day I am looking at Steve and asking where Simon gets these things from. He is crazy. </div>
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"Now where'd that go?" (He typically squints his eyes and looks around when he says this one)</div>
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"Now leave! me! alone!" (Each word with a pause between it)</div>
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Anytime he wants something he demands it, and we've been working really hard on asking nicely (which he used to be really good at). So he'll say something like "Get me more milk," and I will tell him that isn't asking nicely and you need to ask momma nicely if you want something, and he will shout at me as loud as he can and move his face forward using his whole body to get the word out and say "PLEASE!!" I don't think that is nice either so I take the cup from him and hold it and after a few minutes he will come back to me and calmly say, "Momma can I have more milk please?" and then I will get it for him. </div>
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Or with the pleases, he will say something like "I want Dora." And I will say how do you ask nicely, and he will say "please" and I will say, "please what?" and he says "Please to you!"</div>
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Simon watches a lot of Dora and Diego, they are his favorite shows and he is always running around pretending from the show, "Look a volcano!" "Stop the Bobos, freeze Bobo's." Really anything that comes from those shows. He likes to pretend he is Boots, I am Dora, Steve is Diego, and whenever anyone else is around like Renee, she is normally a tree. Lol, plenty of other characters in the show, but he makes her a tree.</div>Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-67056238195284347442012-05-22T19:48:00.000-07:002012-05-23T18:54:12.322-07:00Things I wish someone had told me about having a second babyIf I could give warning to someone who is having a second baby it would be this: it is so much harder than having your first baby. <br />
I had a very hard time adjusting to having Desmond, like took me 6 months to finally get the hang of things and get into a good groove.<br />
Physically, it was so easy. I had a VBAC with Desi and I can not even tell you how much easier the recovery is from a vaginal delivery, it's seriously not even fair! I went for a couple mile hike less than a week after I had Desmond. With Simon- my first and a c-section- I couldn't even stand up straight to walk for several weeks! What was hard was all the demands on me. Trying to take care of all of my baby's needs while still taking care of my 3 year-olds emotional needs. I had no clue having another baby would be tough. I thought to myself that it would be easy, I had done it before, I knew what breastfeeding was like, I knew what changing diapers was like, I thought since I had done it before I could do it again no problem. Boy was I wrong. I honestly feel like it took me a good 6 months to get the hang of things and finally get myself (and my two kiddos) into a good routine. Before I list my tips, let me say this. This is what works for us and for our family (or what I wish I had done instead), I made lots of "mistakes" and paid for them. We have a very different schedule than most people because of my husbands work schedule, my older child sleeps in and so do I. I am not trying to tell anyone that my way is better than their way and they should do what I said just because it worked for me. This is what works for us, what other people told me and I wish I had listened, or what I wish I had done instead, and might be things for others to try out or to ignore and say, "Whatev' girl, you are crazy!"<br />
1. <strong>Listen to your mom (and everyone</strong> <strong>else) when they tell you not to hold your baby <u>all</u> the time</strong>. I was lucky and had my parents and husband around for the first week or two after I had my second baby, which meant my older child was being occupied by everyone else and I got lots of cuddling time with the baby, but when they left and hubby went back to work, I realized that holding my baby nonstop was a luxury I couldn't afford if I wanted my Simon-son to feel special and important too. (Please note that I didn't listen to my mom. I continued to hold Desi even though situations didn't allow it. We often ate dinner an hour or two later than we should have, ate tv dinners which can be easily prepared while holding a baby, Simon watched lots more tv than I would have liked, and Desi currently takes naps in my arms, which he is doing as I type. This is a case where you should learn from my example by not doing the same thing I did.) With your first, holding them non-stop is great, and I love the cuddles, but when you have an older child to take care of too, it just isn't possible to hold the baby constantly. When baby falls asleep put him in the bassinet, and let him get used to it, it's okay, he will still be loved and know that you love him even if you don't hold him 24/7. If you feel bad/guilty/just don't want to put your baby down, invest in a nice baby carrier whether you prefer a front carrier, wrap, sling, whatever, you will need your hands. Imagine that you are sitting on the sofa all cozy with your sleeping baby cuddling, then your 3 year old needs to go to the bathroom, and I mean NOW! That baby is gonna need to be content laying on the ground or in a bassinet or safely tucked into a carrier. I can tell you from experience it is not fun squatting in front of your toddler with a nursing baby balanced on your knees while you try help the toddler on and off the toilet and wipe his butt. Not only is it difficult to do, I imagine it isn't too sanitary.<br />
2. I just said this but... <strong>Get a nice baby carrier</strong> if that is your thing. It's my kind of thing, but I always forget how great it is to use around the house. Use it around the house! Also, it's great for running into the grocery store especially if you have two kids. Desi is a heavy boy, and carrying him around in his baby carrier carseat is not doable, that thing is so freaking heavy! Pop him in the carrier and he's not screaming the whole time you are in the store, you can use both of your hands instead of trying to hold baby in one hand, while trying to steer the shopping cart with the other hand, and don't forget about your other kid, how are you gonna help him out when he gets hurt while in the store or throws a tantrum because he can't get whatever random thing he wants. Even if you are going in to grab one thing use the carrier. Desi out-grew his front carrier and it is a pain to wear him in, so I finally ordered a new carrier that can go on front or back, I ordered a Boba 3G, I will review it after I use it some. I am finally (after 8 months) to the point where I am so sick of holding him all the time! He is heavy! (20lbs) and it is nice outside, and I want to play outside with Simon without holding Desi, and we don't have a yard, we have concrete, so I can't just let Desi play outside with us. He gets put inside with the baby gate in the front door so I can see him and then he cries because I am outside, not holding him, and he is stuck in baby prison. Did I mention Desi has to be held ALL THE TIME! Baby carrier for this kind of baby=lifesaver!<br />
3. <strong>Get out of the house</strong>. When Simon was a baby I worked full-time, so I got out of the house a lot. When Desi was born I was lucky enough to be a mostly stay-at-home mom. I was working two days a week and I could bring Desi with me if needed. When you are a SAHM (at least for me) it is so important to get out of the house. You will probably psych yourself out like I did and say it is too hard to go out with two kids, it's such a pain to get both of them in and out of the car and car seats, and packing bags, insert complaint of your choice... Yes it is a pain, but it is worth it. I had some little bouts of depression because I wasn't getting out of the house enough, plus it was wintertime, and I didn't like taking my babe out in the cold cold winter weather. But I can also say when I take the effort to get out of the house I feel so much better. I have more energy because I am getting up and moving around, I have to shower at a reasonable time during the day, I actually get dressed, all things that make me feel better.<br />
4. <strong>If people</strong> <strong>offer to help, take them up on it.</strong> If they ask what they can do, put them to work! Have them babysit so you can go out on a date, have them sit at the house and hold the baby so you can take a shower, let them vacuum the floor for you or watch kids so you can do it, or take your older kid out so he can feel special.<strong> If</strong> <strong>people ask if they can bring you meals, say yes!</strong> And then don't have them brought consecutive days, if you can space them out every other day (a lot of times they bring enough to eat for two or three days). If your spouse is off work for a week have the meals start up after he goes back to work or maybe just one or two while he was around so he doesn't feel like your slave. :) If you have the freezer space, get together with a friend before you have the baby and <a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_1250629164"><strong>make freezer</strong> </a><strong><a href="http://sixsistersstuff.com/" target="_blank">meals</a> and fill up your freezer</strong>. Also if you have the space, and people want to do a shower of sorts for you, have everyone bring meals for you as shower gifts, or ask them to bring them after you have the baby. <strong>Make your crockpot your best friend</strong>. Prepare ingredients when you have a few spare minutes during the day, toss them in, and put on Hi or Low depending on how long it was before you were able to start it up. Also some of those freezer meals can be ready to dump into the freezer. Pinterest has been a great resource for me on finding good recipes. (link above is to SixSistersStuff click on recipe index and scroll down to the section of freezer recipes then look at their entire website, it's awesome)<br />
5. <strong>Take it easy on yourself.</strong> You might have been Superwoman before, but you just had a baby, and completely changed the dynamics of your family, it's gonna take some getting used to, and you are all going to have to change a little bit to adjust.<br />
6. <strong>Exercise</strong><br />
7. <strong>Take time for yourself</strong>- even if it is just showering and exercising everyday.<br />
8. <strong>Don't forget about your spouse.</strong> With the demands of baby and older kid <strike>you</strike> I often don't leave time for me and especially not always for him. He is important, and if he feels important and is happy, and not stressed, and his needs are being met, he is going to be more able to help you out. Tell him he is amazing, tell him thank you.<br />
9.<strong> Don't forget about your older child.</strong> One thing I have been trying that I think maybe my mom or sister suggested is whenever I am sitting on the sofa feeding Desi or holding him while he sleeps I let Simon know beforehand that I am about to be unavailable. I ask him if he needs anything before I start feeding the baby, make sure his needs are being met, and then while I am feeding Desi offer to Simon to read him books. As long as he keeps bringing me books I keep reading to him. Also, another sad confession, in my tiredness I have napped on the sofa while nursing Desi, and just keep pushing play on the Netflix for Simon. Remember, I said don't be too hard on yourself. Yeah lots of tv isn't ideal, but is a nice life-saver when you need it. Your child won't be developmentally destroyed and you will probably be a lot happier and patient if you get a nap. <br />
10. This one is going to be a contradiction, so just <strong>have a sleep situation that works for your family</strong>. I love co-sleeping. I also wish Desi was in his own bed. Do what's best for your family. Co-sleeping works for us because my husband doesn't sleep at the same time as me, I have a king-size bed to share with my baby, and I enjoy it. We also live in a tiny little two-bedroom apartment. Ideally, I would have Desi sleeping or napping in his own bedroom in his own bed. However, he shares a bed with me, and my husband sleeps in that bed during the day. We have a crib, in our room, the room my husband sleeps in during the day. So what we do isn't exactly what I wish I was doing, but it would make things a lot easier if Desi was napping in his own bed and naptime could be spent keeping up with housework and playing with Simon. I have my ideal, just our current location sandwiched in an apartment between two neighbors doesn't really leave me feeling comfortable working on sleep training and letting Desi cry, I worry about my neighbors will think of me when they hear Desi crying, silly? yes, but true.<br />
11. Stay up an extra 15 minutes and <strong>clean up before you go to bed</strong>. I recently started doing this and those few minutes at night makes a huge difference. When I come down in the morning and everything downstairs is clean it is so nice. It makes the day start a little better and I don't feel as overwhelmed as I did when I would wake up in the morning to a messy house. It is worth the 15 minutes of Desi crying while I quickly clean up the house.<br />
I am sure there are more things I wish I had known or done when I had my second baby, but this is good for now. What are some things you wish you had known or done differently, or things you did that you feel you wouldn't have survived without?Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-5401402787245980322012-02-16T21:15:00.000-08:002012-02-16T22:05:04.209-08:00Patience... or lack of.While I was wasting time on Pinterest, I mean looking for inspiration and recipes and ideas for things I will never do, earlier today I happened upon <a href="http://www.parents.com/toddlers-preschoolers/discipline/tips/ways-to-stop-yelling/?page=1">this article from parents.com</a>. It was really what I needed to read and hear. It's called 10 Ways to Stop Yelling. I have really been losing my cool with Simon very easily lately and I don't really know why. I can't figure out what my deal is and why I am getting so impatient with him, and is very upsetting for me because myself and how I am acting and it is not good, I feel like I have been losing control and don't know why or how to get back to being my normal self instead of this "grouchy mom" I have become. I suspect it might be a tiny bit depression, part cabin fever/SAD/not-going-outside-enough-and-getting sunlight, part exhausted from a retarded sleep schedule (why have I been staying up past two every night!), part tired from having a baby who demands being held and nursing tons this week (see post below). I think mostly just tired, you can blame it on whatever you want.<br /><br />I think another part of my deal is that I have unrealistic expectations of my three year-old's behavior. And on top of everything else about a week and a half ago he regressed with the potty training and I have been handling it very poorly. Today was a good day, but man, I lose my cool so quickly when he has an accident, but everything I read says it is perfectly normal, and the more upset I get about it when he has an accident the worse it will be.<br /><br />Right now I am really trying to get a handle on things and be better. I am always trying to be a better parent and wife, but right now it has become more important for me to be better. I know there is something wrong, and I'm trying desperately to fix it, I am just kinda having a hard time right now, and I don't get to see Steve a whole ton, which is hard too. This week my main focus has been on getting Simon to bed at a reasonable time and watching less tv. I introduced Simon to Lego video games, and boy was that a mistake. We only have demos for a few different games, but that boy is an addict! So this week I combined the potty training regression with the too much tv. If he has an accident, he doesn't get to watch anymore tv until he can show me that he can go pee on the potty. And then it's just one or two episodes. We watch way too much tv in this house. Way too much. It's hard though because I spend so much time sitting on the couch feeding Desi it is just easier to turn on the tv so Simon can sit by me and watch tv together, but earlier in the week I decided to sit on the floor and feed Desi and play toys with Simon, or at least just keep him company and it has been working. Tv watching has definitely decreased this week and decent bed times have also been happening! Correlation or causation? Tv: brain over-stimulation: staying up late? Perhaps... Tonight Simon crashed on the couch and was was out before 8:30. My goal has been to have him in bed with lights out by 9:30, and we have done it on average this week. We have had some nights earlier and some later, but it has averaged out to that and it is so exciting for me! (And I know what you are thinking, you have been telling me for 3 years that Simon shouldn't stay up so late) Simon has been staying up way way too lately because by the end of day I am exhausted and getting Simon in to bed always seems to clash with Desi needing to be fed and I postpone it, let him watch "one more 'movie'" and before we know it is late late late! But it has been working out this week, and I am going to stick to it, I need to stick to it, and then I get a few hours of quiet every night to myself which is very nice, very nice indeed.<br /><br />Anyways, I am just going on and on and I should probably stop. There is tons more I have to say on this subject, but if you are still reading by this point you are probably about bored to death. Although I'm pretty sure no one reads this blog anyways, it is nice for me to be able to word-spew about how I am feeling lately, because I have been a little down and hard on myself, and unsatisfied with my performance as a mom. Here's to doing better, being better, not being so harsh on myself, and focusing on the brighter parts of my performance.Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-46148582656564829212012-02-15T14:36:00.000-08:002012-02-15T14:57:22.821-08:00TeethingDesi-boo is teething. I am so not ready for this yet. He is only 4 1/2 months old! And it may take a while before they pop out, but who knows. Simon didn't get his first tooth until he was over a year-old, which I really enjoyed since I breastfed him til he was over a year old and I didn't have to deal with the whole nursing and teeth thing. One of the joys of Desi teething is that he has been nursing almost non-stop around the clock for the past couple of days. That is great if I have nothing to do, but not-so-great if I want to go run errands, or go on a date alone with my husband, or go to work. Yep, none of those things are happening this week. Instead, I am sitting on the couch nursing this baby constantly and showering very late in the day while baby screams in the bouncy seat just so I can be clean. Oh, what, I forgot to mention didn't I... That's right, if he isn't nursing he wants to be held. And not just anyone will do. Only mom will do. Hooray! (Note the many layers of sarcasm in this post.)<br />Last night Steve was holding Desmond while I was stuffing diaper inserts into diapers so Steve wouldn't have to deal with it while I was at work- the diapers would be all ready for him. The whole time Steve was holding Desi, he was rocking, bouncing, <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">shhhing</span>, swaying, patting, etc., and Desi just sat there screaming and staring at me, he would track me around the room, staring into my soul and crying. It was a very painful three minutes, and heartbreaking.<br />Don't get me wrong, I love holding my baby, and cuddling him, and nursing him, but I also love getting other things done too, especially when I am actually in the mood for doing other things like picking up the living room and cooking meals for my family for Valentine's Day. Meals like our breakfast (and by breakfast I mean lunch, it was at 1 that we ate our bacon, little Kari's little-a eggs, pigs in a blanket, and fruit) this morning with it's little heart-shaped pieces of fruit, and the dinner I want to make tonight for my husband with little heart-shaped roasted potatoes. It's gonna be <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">soo</span> cute, if it actually happens. Which at this rate, is probably not going to happen.<br />But anyways, teething- yikes. When he isn't nursing he is chomping on whatever he can get his hands onto and get into his mouth. And it doesn't feel like front teeth are coming in, its all <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">jaggedy</span> further back, like canines and molars are starting to come in. Ouch, poor little baby.Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-74110249285915428592012-02-04T01:08:00.000-08:002012-02-04T01:32:30.147-08:00Cloth DiaperingSince before Desi was born I thought that I really wanted to do cloth diapering with him, but the main thing stopping me (and that I was using as an excuse not to) was that to do laundry we have to go outside our back door, down cement steps, unlock a door, go down the hall and unlock another door. Three sets of doors to open, and if we are coming from up stairs in our place where the bedrooms are, then two sets of stairs also. Ugh. And then doubling or even tripling that for each load of laundry. Yes, I am a lazy bum. I would tell myself that if we ended up buying a house, that is when I would start. And then something wonderful happened. I had some cloth diapers on my amazon list, and my sister Heather bought them for us as part of our Christmas present this year. Then another thing happened, it was a Saturday evening and we were almost out of diapers, not quite enough to make it to Monday morning, and I didn't want to go to the store, especially with both boys (I think Steve was working or about to leave for work). So I opened up the diapers, washed them, and started using them. And I didn't look back. <br />So far I love it! It has only been about a month. The ones my sister got for us are BumGenius 4.0 with snaps. They are amazing. Then I bought an Econobum cover that came with a prefold, and a Flip diaper which came with an insert both with snaps. I hate the Econobum, and especially it's prefold that is just awkward when placed inside the cover. I like the flip diaper, you just switch the insert with every change unless you get poo on the cover which was happening almost every time, but I still liked the concept and that each cover will last a little longer. The BumGenius call themselves an All-in-one, meaning it's most like the disposables most people use, but it really isn't, it is a pocket diaper, which just means you have to stuff an insert into a cover. After that I bought two Thirsties Duo-Wrap covers, and started a sewing project sewing my own inserts to use inside of it. I had some prefolds that I can just fold and place inside them, but I hate prefolds. Some of you may remember after Simon was born we had diaper service for a week, and I wanted to like it, but I just couldn't- I just hate prefolds, they are not for me, but they are A LOT cheaper to use. Well the day after my two new covers came and I started my sewing-inserts-out-of-scrap-fabric project I went to help my friend Jenn who cloth diapered her two boys, and she lent me her BumGenius hook and loop diapers! 21 wonderful BumGenius diapers. So no need for my covers right now because I currently have a stash to get me through with a few extras between wash cycles. But I am sure as Desi gets bigger I will love those covers and will probably use them more, especially since he is a big boy I hear he will outgrow the BumGenius and end up needing something else towards the end before potty training. <br />Needless to say, I am pretty excited and am loving cloth diapering. Desi hasn't had diaper rash like he was getting before, and I am not throwing hundreds of diapers into landfills. A lot of people don't like cloth diapering because they say it isn't cheaper because of the cost of buying the diapers and washing and drying your diapers, but I don't care as much about it being cheaper, I care more about the environmental impact of throwing out diapers that don't decompose. So maybe a silly update especially since I haven't posted in over four months, and surely there must be other mom things going on in my life since I have had a baby since my last post, but this is what I am most excited about. Love my cloth diapers, and the extra bulk in the diaper bag doesn't bother me too much. Oh and P.S.- I may be washing diapers every two days, but Desi hasn't had a single blow out since I started using the cloth diapers and he would have 1-3 a day in his disposables, so I might be using energy to clean my diapers, but he is also not going through as many outfits each day, so it's more diapers to wash, but less clothes! <br />Oh and I am also going to be switching from disposable wipes to cloth wipes, but haven't done it yet. I need to sew all my wipes. I have a couple of old flannel receving blankets I cut up and I just need to hem the edges of them and then make a wipe solution to put them in and figure out if I want to do a spray bottle or wipe warmer filled with solution- I will probably just do the solution in a spray bottle because it is cheaper and I don't have to worry about keeping something plugged in by where I change diapers because there really aren't any unused plugs nearby. Happy Diapering, and wish me luck!Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-81072033810844401632011-09-16T22:11:00.000-07:002012-05-23T18:46:55.439-07:00Spoiler Alert: This blog contains info that may be disturbing to some readers- things about girl parts and labor and stuffI can't figure out if pregnancy posts belong on my mom blog or our family blog, so this one is going on the mom blog because its contents could be disturbing to some people.<br />
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I hate my cervix. I had a doctors appointment earlier this week. My dr was going to do a cervical check and strip my membranes to get things moving with the whole labor process. She went in to check my cervix, and it is so tightly closed she couldn't even strip my membranes. Stupid cervix, closed up tight, and not even angled properly for birth giving. It is still pointing back instead of forward where it needs to be for the baby to come out. Did you even know they point backwards and then change angles at the end, I didn't until the night before my dr appointment when I read it in my book. My family all talks to my belly and tells the baby to come out. My sis-in-law Krit was doing it on Wednesday and I told her don't talk to the baby, talk to my cervix, she pretended to move my legs, it was pretty funny.<br />
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This appointment was on Tuesday, I have to go every week and the next opening my dr had was for the Thursday of the following week, the 22. My due date is the 24th, and the c-section is scheduled for the 26th, "just in case." I am really starting to lose hope that I am going to be able to do a VBAC. I want to so bad, and it's so important to me. I never thought I would care so much if I had to have a repeat c-section, but I don't want one. So badly I don't want one. I want to be able to have this baby naturally, I want to experience all the stages of labor. I want to know what it feels like to push a baby out of your body. I don't want to be high and drugged up and numb when my baby is sliced out of me. I want to be able to see the baby as it comes out of me. I even want to see the placenta after it is delivered. Is that weird? I have a child, and I've never seen a placenta, and I am really curious to know what it looks like. I don't want to be laying on a table shaking when my baby is cut out of me. I don't want to be laying in a recovery room for an hour or more before I can hold my baby. I don't want to be stuck with a catheter in and not be able to move from my bed (although when I had Simon it was nice not having to get out of bed to go pee, but that's because my abdomen had been sliced open and walking was nearly impossible). I don't want to have to yell at my husband and wake him up to shut the door every hour after the stupid nurse left it open after she checked my blood pressure. I would like to be able to get up myself and shut the door. I want to be able to laugh without it being extremely painful. I would like to be able to walk upright immediately, especially since I have stairs in my house. I can't remember how long it was after I had Simon before I felt like I could walk standing up straight, or even stand up straight.<br />
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I want and don't want a lot of things. But most of all I want a natural delivery and at the very least a vaginal delivery. I don't want to have another c-section. I want to prove to myself that I can do this, that my body can do this, and that I can have this baby in a normal way. I am just really losing hope. Every day that goes by without a single contraction is a day closer to that deadline I am trying to beat. That day the dr set that the baby needs to come out by.<br />
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I think if the baby hasn't come by my appointment next Thursday I will have Steve help me fight her again about the scheduled c-section date. I know that the due date of the 24th is wrong anyways and it's so frustrating. If you do the reverse from the due date to estimate the conception date it's December 25th through January 1st. Funny, my last period started on the 25th, so I know for a fact I was not having sex, and abstinence is 100% effective for birth control. It is impossible for us to have gotten pregnant then while I was on my freaking period and we were not having sex! But if you go with a due date of October 1st, well then it is possible and makes plenty of sense that we got pregnant then. Hooray for vacation baby made in Belize! So it just really sucks knowing we are getting shorted a week on the due date, and that this baby really has to come early, like almost a week early to make it out before the c-section. Which is possible, babies are born early all the time, but they are also born late all the time too. Simon came 5 days early, but that doesn't mean this one will. And even if he does come 5 days early, early based on when his due date SHOULD have been means a day after the scheduled c-section date. Sigh...<br />
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This was a good little vent for me. I have been majorly stressing about all this and it's nice to be able to type it all up and get it out. Steve hears it from me all the time, feels the same as I do, and is also giving up hope like I am, which makes it hard. How do you keep hoping for something that you want to badly, but your dr is basically setting you up to fail at?<br />
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On a side note, all day yesterday and this morning Steve and I both noticed the baby was moving considerably less than normally and we were kind of worried about it, so we called the dr office and talked to the nurse about it. She was rude and condescending but we went in to the office anyways and got hooked up to some monitors to listen to the baby's heartbeat and check for contractions. Heartbeat was fantastic, absolutely no contractions, the nurse was super rude to us and made us feel stupid for coming in, but the dr at the practice was really nice and told us it's better to come in when we are worried than be like a person who hadn't felt their baby for a week and didn't come in! The nurse even said to us, "You know the baby does need to sleep sometimes, it's not awake all the time and isn't going to be moving constantly." Uh yeah, we know it sleeps, but we also know how much he normally moves and that he was barely moving yesterday even after I ate tons of sugar and stuff, he would move a teeny bit if we were poking at him, but it just wasn't his normal movements and it freaked us out a little. And when we left the dr office the nurse totally said, "Bye Kari," in a very biotchy tone of voice and just seemed so annoyed with us the entire time we were there. She was the first person on that staff to ever be rude to us, except our very first appointment when the receptionist treated us like trash and told us we should go to the Pregnancy Center (a clinic for non-insured people and Medicaid) because I wasn't showing up on Steve's insurance yet even though I should have been. We just paid cash for the appointment and ignored her because we knew we had good insurance. So good in fact that it covers 100% of maternity- ha take that Stacy! Sorry for this last little rant, guess I am just a little annoyed and needing to express it, thanks for hanging in there with me for that!<br />
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Anyways, if you could please keep us in your prayers and if you want to suggest ways to ripen the cervix and get labor started go for it, though our dr says the only thing that works for ripening the cervix is sex. And I am doing evening primrose oil too and eating pineapple even though the dr says there is no point. And I'm not gonna try castor oil, sorry, but I don't think that I am going to be desperate enough to do that to myself.Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-68598071039500527012011-08-05T12:36:00.000-07:002012-05-23T18:48:26.976-07:00funny Simon sleep storyBackground:<br />
Sometime last month Steve and I bought Simon a nice twin size bed (and nightstand) that we found on Craigslist. He has been doing pretty good sleeping in it, but still wants to sleep in our bed every night. We co-slept with Simon as a baby, and he just stayed in our bed after that. Steve and I were both fine with it, we loved it, and loved having extra cuddle time with our boy. Now that I am pregnant I am getting tired of Simon sleeping with us because he wants to sleep so close he is sometimes on you, and I just don't feel like tolerating it. And I also don't want him to be in our bed still when the new baby comes, because we plan on co-sleeping again, and I worry about Simon and the baby being in bed together. So I have been working really hard on getting Simon out of our bed and staying in his bed. Every night is a challenge, but he has been doing pretty good. It's normal for him to wake up around 4:30 to 5:30 and want to come into my bed, and I am normally so tired I let him, but the past few nights he has been staying in his bed all night! I have found that if I lay down with him, "just for a second" as he likes to ask, in his bed, he will stay in his bed, but I often fall asleep before him and wake up an hour or two later and head to my room. Anyways, now for the story.<br />
<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5637466073127784338" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibkxCMghi41sncNjrlYNvdSPHPmn1zXreaZ9Y7SbtwZ36-im2BMpqpS7ZCc5oumky_YUEDW0DsB23xZYMZlyCt7wR2PjLQIYKNEY8-puCJKeGXBZN8lLWR6NXMRotlzzJX7MqJSUIRPhd7/s320/002.JPG" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /> <br />
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The Story:</div>
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This happened Tuesday night.<br />
On this particular night I didn't feel like laying down in Simon's bed with him, I was tired and I just wanted him to go to sleep in his bed and leave me along to sleep in mine. So I told him he needed to stay in his room. I said I didn't care if he played quietly as long as he went to bed in a little bit, but that he was not allowed to come in to my room and get in my bed. So we read our story, say prayers, say goodnight, and I remind him of the rules for the night. Don't come into mom's room or you will go to time out. So I proceed to my room to read for a little while in bed before going to bed.</div>
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About 10 minutes later I hear Simon fiddling with his bedroom door. He "snuck" out of his room ever so quietly, comes out of room, and then tries to quietly shut the door behind him, and pretend like he never came out of his room. At this point I am sure he is in the hall but I can't hear him or see him, so I keep reading and looking out in the hallway expecting to see him standing in my doorway, but not coming in- because then he will have to go to timeout. After about 5 minutes I hear him chattering out in the hall, so I climb out of my bed, and crawl across the floor to look out the open bedroom door and see what he is doing. </div>
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He was just sitting on the floor in front of my door playing with a ball and hanger and talking to himself. After a minute of watching him he looks up and realizes I am watching him, he got the biggest smile on his face when I caught him. I surrendered to his cuteness and asked him if he wanted to come sleep with me. Of course he said yes and climbed on up to my bed. Then I told him he was a turd, and asked if he knew he was a turd and he got a huge grin on his face, snuggled up to me and said yes! Little turd.<br />
I am such a pushover, and if he waits til I am tired enough he knows I will just cave. But the rest of the week after that he has slept in his bed all night by himself and hasn't even came in the middle of the night!</div>Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-22250368742684664362011-08-02T12:50:00.000-07:002012-05-23T18:53:06.258-07:00potty training... againI never mentioned before that potty training didn't work last time. Simon started to get really obstinate and had a lot of accidents and would scream anytime we tried to get him to go, so we switched back to diapers. I was actually <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">OK</span> with the switch back because he was having such a hard time with it and not doing very good, plus we had a lot of trips planned with a lot of airplanes, airports, and long car rides, and honestly I didn't want to have to deal with potty training on these trips. Especially since it was just him and I on all the trips and we were flying standby so we had to carry on all of our stuff- not the easiest to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">maneuver</span> around the airport with and in and out of bathrooms with teeny tiny stalls.<br />
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Well, a week ago Simon and I were hanging out in the living room and he pulled off his diaper and said he wanted to go potty. So he pulled it off, ran into the bathroom and went to the bathroom on his little "Simon seat." Since then he wears underwear about half the day and diapers the other half. By the evening he starts having a lot of accidents, not sure why, maybe because Steve is awake and Simon no longer has my undivided attention? Right now I am not pressing the issue with him too much. He sleeps in diapers and when he wakes up and I take his first diaper off I let him he choose if he wants another diaper or underwear, he normally picks underwear. He will also go into the bathroom by himself, take off his underwear, go to the bathroom, empty his seat into the real toilet and flush it down, he is doing good!<br />
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We are just going to take it easy this time, and let him make the decisions instead of trying to force it. Wish us luck! Hopefully he will be totally out of diapers before the baby arrives, and hopefully he doesn't go back to diapers because the baby comes.Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-13563853118156926162011-06-07T12:56:00.000-07:002012-05-23T18:53:56.595-07:00Worries about having two kids.I love being a mom. I love my Simon-son. He is amazing, and so sweet and he makes me so grateful that I have such a fun calm, well-mannered little boy. Knock on wood. Let's hope he stays this way. I am grateful that I get to be a mostly stay-at-home mom, and that I could be a full-time one if I wanted, but Simon loves going to his <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Vovo's</span> house and playing with his cousins and I love my job and my coworkers. I am also grateful that I am not working as much through this pregnancy. I am feeling pretty good <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">nowadays</span>, but am always tired. How did I work full-time through the last one? I actually worked two jobs last time and sometimes went a few weeks without a day off. How did I do that? How do other moms do that? I have no clue, but they are amazing.<br />
<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Some days</span> I wonder how I am going to handle having two kids. I feel like some days I have absolutely no patience for Simon and I thought I was a pretty patient person. What am I going to do when I have a crying baby and a whining Simon? I have a feeling it will involve watching more <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">tv</span> and movies than we already do. It may involve reading more books. I think it will definitely involve more sitting on the couch, though I already do a good deal of that because I am tired all the time. And hopefully it involves more walks but it will be getting cold out shortly after baby comes so we will have to bundle up! I do plan on getting a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Moby</span> Wrap or similar type of wrap to have the baby close and my hands free for Simon, I had a sling with Simon and didn't like it, all the weight on one shoulder was not comfortable.<br />
I worry about Simon <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">alot</span> though. He has become much more of a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">momma's</span> boy than he was already since I stay at home a lot more now. How is he going to handle having a younger brother? Is he going to get jealous, is he going to love the baby so much? I think he will love the baby, he likes to see my belly to see the baby, and when the baby is moving a lot I will take Simon's hand and put it on my belly so he can feel it. I'm not sure if he feels it or not but he giggles and he likes to kiss my belly. Hopefully he is still as fond of the baby when it is no longer in my uterus.<br />
We went to register at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">BabiesRUs</span> the other day because if I went and registered I got a free $10 gift card, so I figured why not, and also at the end we get 20% off anything on the registry not purchased, so even if no one else looks at it, we still a discount on the stuff on it like swings, bouncers, bibs, blankets, whatever! But while we were there I realized there is a lot of stuff we never had for Simon and for two reasons. 1. We were in a pretty small 1 bedroom apartment and didn't really have the space for a lot of stuff. 2. He was in daycare 5 days a week, and got to play with lots of cool toys there and when he was home I was mostly playing with him and holding him and didn't have a need for lots of things to amuse him and keep him occupied, because I was that thing. Now that I am a stay-at-home mom, and have another kid that is going to need attention too, I am going to have to buy a lot of that gear I never had before. With Simon we had a <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">bassinet</span>, a swing, a tummy time pad, and his crib. He never had a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">pack'n'play</span> (which we aren't going to get this time either), he never had a bouncer, or a vibrating seat, or a play <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">exersaucer</span> thing, or a baby monitor (his crib was in the living room, his <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">bassinet</span> was in our room, and we co-slept), or a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">boppy</span> (i just used a small pillow). We never had to buy an infant carrier (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">carseat</span>) because we were given a used one by a trusted friend, but now the handle is broken and doesn't lock in place so we need a new one. I am realizing now that these things add up, there is tons of gear we have to buy and it's a little scary- so much money! We have a swing already, but I am thinking of getting one that is a swing, bouncer combo, and you can take the bouncer seat off, but maybe it's smarter to keep the swing we have and just buy a bouncer seat, but having the two in one saves a lot of space in our small place. We are thinking about moving, but want to stay here because it is so cheap, we would rather keep the extra $350 a month we would have to pay to live in a larger place. Oh goodness having another kid is a little scary. So much to think about and buy to get ready for the new one, perhaps a trip to Once Upon a Child is in store instead of stressing about the cost of all the new stuff. Thank goodness we are having another boy so we don't have to buy an entirely new wardrobe too, and thank goodness Steve has a real job now, so money isn't quite as tight as it used to be, though it's still a little tight since we have to pay off his school now.<br />
So, sorry about the complaining about all the gear we have to get, really if we just worry about the basics, we'll get a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">carseat</span>, a double stroller (buying from my sis), and a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">moby</span> wrap, and we should survive. And as far as Simon I plan on giving him his own special time at night like we do now, where I will rock him and read books and sing to him before I put him to bed, I am hoping that his special time at night will help a lot and I will try to give him special Simon time whenever the baby is sleeping. Any suggestions on how you prepared your first kid for the arrival of a second one and still made time for the first one so s/he didn't feel left out would be appreciated. When we get close to delivery time I will ask for suggestions on the hospital/delivery part and what you did with the older kid during that time- but we will worry about that part in a couple of months. Simon wants attention now, I have been typing too long and he is hungry and needs Dora!Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-34896989492514042482011-03-09T00:51:00.000-08:002011-03-09T01:06:30.967-08:00Up too late...Now that I decided to name this blog, I realize it can have two meanings. The first and intended meaning is that I am up way too late right now because I am working on laundry. But then I realized it also applies to our late habit of Simon staying up way too late.<br /><br />This new schedule of Steve's is still some taking some getting used to, and is definitely impacting our schedules a little bit. Through now fault of his though, I just hate cooking dinner for just Simon and I, and I can make enough for Steve too, but then it is cold and not as good by the time he wakes up, so I have big dinner most nights at 10, and have healthy snacks and smaller dinner earlier in the evening. It is still some getting used to, and I still have yet to develop a routine for our family, though it's only been a month, and new routines take some getting used to. Right? Maybe...<br /><br />Who knows, but I have been better this week at cooking. I made us homemade mac and cheese tonight. Came out of the oven right at 10, it wasn't as good as I wanted, but Steve said it was good, Simon hardly ate any of his. I was hoping it would be creamier like Kraft, but apparently homemade in the oven doesn't come out that way. I even added extra cheese, but it wasn't very cheesy and definitely not creamy.<br /><br />I don't know how stay-at-home-moms do it all. I am having a hard time with it. Not the mom part of it- that is so easy and fun. Simon is just so much fun, and is really starting to have an imagination and making up games and rules. He even put a balloon in time-out yesterday because it wasn't being nice to him! He makes being a mom pretty easy. The hard part is the homemaking part of it. How do they keep the house clean, especially with said fun two-year old running around? Which brings me back to my original point...<br /><br />I am up way too late right now doing laundry. Why I am doing laundry, and why must it be done right now? Well, that is because I need whites, I had them all done and folded and on the sofa waiting to go upstairs yesterday when Simon fell asleep on the couch on top of said pile of laundry. You may recall that he is potty training right now... You see where this is going right? Well at some point during the waking up and whining process of napping, he must have peed, because my entire pile of whites was soaked. So sad, definitely need underwear because I work tomorrow, so I can't even wait until noon to shower after some laundry has gone through. Ugh! And I am going to Idaho for work and leaving Thursday morning, so I need all my clothes clean so I can sort through them and figure out what to pack. I always over pack for everything, so I will need lots of clothing options. Lots of folding and hanging has been going on. Just waiting for the load in the dryer so I can throw my whites in and then head to bed. Goodnight!Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-40335024711740641752011-02-23T16:12:00.000-08:002011-05-17T01:39:10.624-07:00Oh PoopI love when my son tells me he needs to go poo-poo. I tell him okay, let's go, and we proceed to run to the bathroom. I look at his little bum running ahead of me and he is running a little bow-legged and his underwear are drooping in the bum area.<br />He is doing okay with the potty training still, but I think poop is going to take him a while. He has a poop accident everyday, but is getting much better with pee. I do put him in a pull-up when we go anywhere still, and at night, and will probably do both for a while, at least until he gets better and more consistent with using the toilet. He only goes about 4 times a day once he is out of the pull-ups in the morning. He can hold it forever, and we haven't been staying as hydrated as we need to be. But still, he will hold it through a movie and wait for it to be over before he goes to the bathroom, it's so cool.<br />Now if he can just get a hold of the pooping thing. Not a fan of the run to the bathroom and I can see the poop hanging there in his underwear (though it does make me laugh inside to see him run like that)Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-59717896912783114172011-02-15T12:47:00.000-08:002011-05-17T01:38:49.320-07:00Potty Training UpdateSo I think the potty training is going good. He has had less accidents today and yesterday.. but he also went 5 hours without peeing, and then had 3 accidents right after that yesterday, and they were all after Steve woke up. I think he is really learning to hold it. Simon does not like going poop on the potty and hasn't really done it yet. He's finished it off on the toilet, but he hasn't started out on it, at least since we actually started officially potty training, he has done it in the past. But yeah, he is good at holding it. He also stays dry during his naps which is nice since we typically take them on the sofa together and half the time he is in my lap.<br />He held it all through a movie today, and I was getting nervous thinking he should be about to go anytime, and I would push pause during it to show him the movie can wait and going to the bathroom is most important, but he wouldn't go. As soon as it ended I stopped it, and looked at him, a little wet spot was starting to form on his underwear like the pee was starting to leak out, but he still mostly had control, so we ran to the toilet and he sat down and went pee!<br />I think his biggest motivator though is the "potty snacks," he gets a pack of fruit snacks every time he goes. I think as he gets better we will cut it down to like 4 fruit snacks every time or something like that. I am trying to motivate him to go poop on the toilet by using marshmallows, but I just started that today, so we will see how it goes. Also when I go to the bathroom I make a big deal of it, and I get potty snacks too, just to try to be an example to him that if he goes he gets treats. He liked the sticker chart the first couple days, but now he doesn't care, he just wants fruit snacks!<br />I'm not really sure how trained he is, he isn't good at telling us yet, so I still haven't decided if he should go to Cindy's tomorrow armed with pull-ups, I'm kinda nervous about it and don't want him to regress by wearing the pull-ups and not being able to feel it when he pees and wets his underwear, I am just going to have to call her and see how much she wants to deal with with the whole underwear and peeing and accidents thing. And maybe promise to shampoo her living room carpet when I am over on Sunday! I will keep you updated, it seems to be going well if you ask me, definitely a lot of improvement since we started, I just need him to tell us when he needs to go.Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-47079916037852599162011-02-12T15:01:00.000-08:002011-05-17T01:38:07.745-07:00Potty Training- Day 1So I finally decided it is time to start potty training Simon, we have kinda done the letting him go on the potty/trying to get him to go on the potty thing, but I decided it's time to do it for real. I kind of judge things by when my sis does them with her son because he is just a couple months older than Simon, and since B did potty training around Christmas, well, now it's a couple months later so it's about time for us to do it too! Plus, I am only working part-time now (which I love by the way- more on that in a seperate post if you are lucky) so I actually have one-on-one time with my son where I can be the one doing the training, otherwise I would have had to say, yeah I am gonna do this, and then make my daycare do it (which is Steve's mom, and that's just not fair to do). So we started yesterday. Basically, we just try to get him to drink tons of liquids, have him running around in underwear and a shirt, and whenever he starts to go to the bathroom tell him no gross, yucky, etc., and run him to the bathroom. We also added in a sticker chart for some extra incentive which he is digging. He gets a little sticker for pee and a big sticker for poop. Last night before he went to bed he was kind of telling us if he had to go, and today he has told us a little more than half the time already, but by the time he realizes it he is already starting to pee. I think he is getting it pretty fast though, it's supposed to work in three days. We have tarps covering the living room floor right now to protect our already-needing-to-be-shampooed carpets. We are "cheating" at night and putting him in pull-ups because he normally ends up in bed with us halfway through the night and I definitely don't want to deal with that (pee) in my bed. So anyways, so far it is going good, and I hope he gets it, I am nervous to send him to daycare on Wednesday because I don't want him to pee all over Cindy's carpet, so I am thinking about doing pull-ups for daycare too. Wish us luck! I'll update and let you know how it goes. It definitely takes a lot of vigilance, you can't be doing anything else except watching the kid and making sure their underwear are dry and praising them when they are.Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-72766071694552281802010-11-10T22:29:00.001-08:002010-11-10T22:29:45.831-08:00boogersHow do little kids fit so many boogers in such tiny little noses?Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-56111347204966989972010-10-21T19:00:00.000-07:002012-05-23T18:56:09.485-07:00routineI was talking to my SIL Mel today, and I told her that after almost 2 years, I finally feel like we have some sort of a routine and our day-to-day life has become somewhat predictable. It is quite nice. I feel like I get to spend enough quality time with Simon everyday, I make dinner most nights, get Simon into bed by 9 now (or earlier some nights!) instead of 10 or later, and even have time for myself. I still need work on spending enough quality time with Steve, but this past week we have been playing lots of Halo together, and that has been really fun. But most nights I do something for myself while he is studying and then we crawl (or I get carried) into bed exhausted. I have even been doing pretty good at keeping the house clean. The kitchen gets cleaned about 3 times a week, the living room 2 times a week, and upstairs... well does that really count as part of the house? We pretty much just go up there to sleep anyways. and laundry... well that gets done about once a week-and by done I mean we wash it all normally once a week or whenever we are out of whites or scrubs and then it goes into a huge tote in our bedroom.<br />
I feel like things are finally under control around here, life doesn't seem as hectic, and I feel like I get a lot of good quality time out of the 3 hours a night I get to spend with my son. I really enjoy being a mom, and I can't wait until I get to be a stay at home mom.Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-80475913093904556262010-09-06T23:56:00.000-07:002012-05-23T18:57:30.302-07:00having kidsNo, I am not pregnant. But I very recently came to the realization that if you want more than one child, it is smartest to get pregnant with that second child before #1 gets much more than 18 months old. At that point Child #1 starts to get a lot of "personality" and starts to become more independent, stubborn, smart, and frustrating. And at that point you start to wonder if you really want more than one child. Seriously, there are brief moments when I wonder why I would want more than one child, and then you get those wonderful moments where you think you would want tons of kids because they are so wonderful and sweet, and want to call their dad before they go to bed just to say goodnight and I love you.<br />
I love my Simon-son, but man, sometimes I ask myself, do I really want to go through this again- and then maybe even a couple more times after that? No worries though, we do want more kids, and intend to start trying in January while we are on amfabulous trip to Malta! And after that, maybe it will be a good idea to have the kids a little closer in age. I actually wanted them to be about 2 years apart, but I also wanted Steve and I to be able to go to Malta- which had to happen after he graduates, and I didn't want to be pregnant on the trip because that would be miserable, and I knew if I had a young baby at home there was no way I would be able to leave it behind for two weeks. Luckily I have finally gotten over my attachment issues with Simon, and I am pretty sure I can handle being apart for 2 weeks. I left him with Steve for 1 week while I went to Vegas for work, and it went very well.<br />
So anyways, if you plan on having kids, have them about 2 years apart, because if you wait until Child #1 is almost 2, you are going to be seriously reconsidering your desire to have more kids.Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-58159965819764316472010-03-16T20:53:00.000-07:002012-05-23T18:59:24.711-07:00WeanedSo back in mid-January Steve, Simon, and I went to see my sister Leslie and her family. After that trip and having a hard time with getting Simon to take a bottle in my presence or even a sippy cup we decided it was time to finally wean Simon. It's really not much fun to spend your vacation trying to get your son to take a bottle and I didn't wan to spend the whole time pumping and trying to nurse him still It was hard for me the first two days, but we did it very quickly and Simon never even seemed to notice, so I would say it went very well for us. I did enjoy breastfeeding Simon and I think we ended perfect timing for us. It was getting really stressful for me pumping at work and I was just really tired all the time. Since weaning, I feel more energetic and happy, I am less stressed, I actually get to hang out and do nothing during my breaks at work, I get to eat lunch with both hands, I don't have to stress about getting enough to eat and drink so I can produce good healthy milk, and I feel like I have more time to spend with my son at home. Granted, we have just as much time to spend together, but now we can spend it together playing! At nighttime I do still rock him to sleep and give him a bottle, but it just feels more relaxing now. I let Steve put Simon to bed at least once a week now which I think is nice for Steve because it isn't something he ever got to do in the past.<br />
All in all, breastfeeding was wonderful. I am huge fan of breastfeeding and plan to do it with our next child also. The other day Steve was studying for his OB class and asked how long I want to nurse our next kid, and I said just as long as we did with Simon, and maybe even to 18 months. Yes, I am one of those people... Simon was weaned at about 14 months, and I think if I hadn't been working it would have been a lot easier, it is definitely a huge commitment and lifestyle decision, but for anyone willing to do it, it is totally worth it. I think as a working mother I enjoyed it even more because I felt like since my son is in daycare I don't get to be around him as much, so for me, pumping was a way for me to still provide for my son and take care of him even though I couldn't be with him all day.Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-63689549402876687632009-10-11T23:27:00.000-07:002012-05-23T19:04:52.688-07:00Baby food<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MUToOur6RlRALOGlS40ne3a7m4ULHnqujc2uU54XasjEzSDOmt7q6QQShWjK8oJa6io0zS0XgeVeJyAGOZFmI0i7RsHNfui7TAWV2snQWvo6QsqIzfybRpWLslTCSgqFv6JuN1ytzasR/s1600-h/131.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5449445665508626018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5MUToOur6RlRALOGlS40ne3a7m4ULHnqujc2uU54XasjEzSDOmt7q6QQShWjK8oJa6io0zS0XgeVeJyAGOZFmI0i7RsHNfui7TAWV2snQWvo6QsqIzfybRpWLslTCSgqFv6JuN1ytzasR/s320/131.JPG" style="display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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So lately Steve and I decided we wanted to save some money and start making our own baby food. It's actually really fun and kind of rewarding to make your own food, but in the end it is a whole lot of work and kind of disappointing if you work really hard to make a batch that your kid doesn't like. The latest one was carrots, chicken, and rice. I even thought it tasted good!! But Simon wouldn't eat it, I think it was one of two things: either it was too thick or lacking some bit of sweetness. When I mixed it with pear puree, he would eat it up, so next time I try it I will do it thinner.<br />
Some recipes I have done that Simon has liked: avocados and egg yolks (from hard boiled eggs), zucchini with jalapeno cheese and spaghetti, zucchini with swiss cheese and whole wheat rotini, peaches (boiled and pureed), pears, and the carrot chicken and rice combo I talked about earlier. We have only been doing this for about two weeks, and I have had a few lazy days so we stocked up on the beechnut and gerber again for my lazy days. When I do make it I use our Oster stick blender that comes with a food processor attachment so I just put it in the food processor, blend it up, and then put in baby food jars that I saved from the store-bought stuff.</div>Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-21569516449218182952009-03-18T20:29:00.000-07:002012-05-23T19:03:15.142-07:00Some things about SimonI decided I have put enough blogs on my normal site, so I want to post on this one too. I noticed a common in thread all of my posts, they are all about breastfeeding pretty much, which before now has been a large majority of my time spent with Simon. I am still doing it, pumping at work and everything, but this boy is getting to a point where I cannot keep up with him anymore. He has been eating 20 oz a day at day care!! Not to mention what I feed him in the morning before I leave, and what he eats at home at night, this kid is incredible!! I said a couple sentences back that before now eating is what Simon and I spent a lot of time doing. But now he is getting to a point where we are getting to spend a lot of time playing together. My little boy is so much fun already. Yesterday he rolled over for the first time, so that was pretty exciting. Here are a few little things about Simon.<br />
At his last doctor's appointment March 13th he weighed 14 lbs which is in about the 30th percentile. His height was in the 15th percentile. His head was in the 90th percentile! So I have a short semi-chubby man with a huge noggin!! But that's ok, I think the big head thing must run in the family because Leslie was asking me about Simon's size because Bryant's head is in the 97th percentile!! I think it just means they are really really smart babies and need bigger heads because they have bigger brains.<br />
His right pupil dilates more than the left one, so I need to make an appointment and go see an opthamologist about it. It's called unequal pupil size, it is probably nothing, but we are going to make an appointment just to make sure. Our doctor said it's more important that his pupil's constrict and his do that just fine. You can really notice it in the following pictures where he has one freaky red eye and the other eye is not nearly as big. I have noticed this for a while, and finally remembered to ask the doctor about it last week, she hadn't even noticed. (If you click on the pictures they will be bigger and then you can really see the difference in pupil sizes.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XclGJSOLBKBVMJQnxULZrQrM-yw0a7_G-8R59ExyNKZBYBbXyPC1czXz29LPm94UdpvXQuGbiiOWSttQa4JNl-Uqchb7XaFLin-N9RInrDc7SgyxwFt2Sm7SSDiuxp5J9CaG_AfQuOJn/s1600-h/pictures+326.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314743825974014690" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4XclGJSOLBKBVMJQnxULZrQrM-yw0a7_G-8R59ExyNKZBYBbXyPC1czXz29LPm94UdpvXQuGbiiOWSttQa4JNl-Uqchb7XaFLin-N9RInrDc7SgyxwFt2Sm7SSDiuxp5J9CaG_AfQuOJn/s320/pictures+326.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_RS1FU-E9iBtkfhTY1YkcpZOPmP3F7XVG76yq4Q7OzimgiZsSAJO21-qAEv16cTOesGTvhCUSLSL2R3Ufq91AxVBVbXaSik5u_YU_JZy6Jyb_0tdjcS7EvKR5BtlEyAzOPsBaToxceIO/s1600-h/pictures+372.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314743830216551922" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_RS1FU-E9iBtkfhTY1YkcpZOPmP3F7XVG76yq4Q7OzimgiZsSAJO21-qAEv16cTOesGTvhCUSLSL2R3Ufq91AxVBVbXaSik5u_YU_JZy6Jyb_0tdjcS7EvKR5BtlEyAzOPsBaToxceIO/s320/pictures+372.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDsZrD_4UkWOzIiyYydS-GIdcQ7kr4Xr4zl3ncV8Cl1HO49j3KQUIUS-P-dwn1Q1VUC_4ubcIw9BPVpLlouV-zvsDoazN0IG_UjBmo7n5QTzcrcOHVD4unDoL-GTmwP4M2Nm5WIHvgHy4/s1600-h/pictures+293.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314743820749820594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpDsZrD_4UkWOzIiyYydS-GIdcQ7kr4Xr4zl3ncV8Cl1HO49j3KQUIUS-P-dwn1Q1VUC_4ubcIw9BPVpLlouV-zvsDoazN0IG_UjBmo7n5QTzcrcOHVD4unDoL-GTmwP4M2Nm5WIHvgHy4/s320/pictures+293.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 240px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 320px;" /></a>Simon loves food! He doesn't really eat baby food yet, though we are starting him on rice cereal now. But he has an intense fascination with whatever I am eating, he doesn't seem to care as much about what Steve is eating, just my food. Today Steve and Simon came to have lunch with me and Simon kept grabbing my food and then he grabbed the to-go box and was shaking it all over the place so I couldn't even get my food. The other day I was eating yogurt and he kept trying to grab the spoon out of my hand so a few times I let him have it and he took it and put it in his mouth, and another time he hit himself in the face with the handle. It was really cute. Sometimes if I am eating soft mushy liquidy food I will give him a little taste. He really seems to like yogurt, but I don't think he should be eating it yet.<br />
He loves putting anything he can find in his mouth, especially his toys like his giraffe and his monkey. He eats hangers, spoons, mom's necklace, mom's hair, mom's face, anything really. I just love, he does the most adorable things.<br />
He has been super duper cuddly since he had the flu last week.<br />
When he isn't smiling he is either asleep, or you can't tell because his hands are in his mouth. He is just a super happy smiling baby, I love it.<br />
We have been co-sleeping with him which seemed like a great idea, and was very good for me as far as being able to sleep at night and not get interrupted too much by feedings, but now that he isn't waking as much as night I am starting to try to get him to sleep in his bassinet. It's really hard, I think he doesn't like it because he loves his mommy and loves sleeping with her. The bassinet thing is hard, but I am slowly working on it, starting with naps and hopefully we can get him to sleep in there through the night soon. I think he likes the comfort of having someone near and being able to hear my heartbeat.<br />
His favorite radio station is 105.7, a classic rock station, he LOVES classic rock!<br />
His favorite game is peek-a-boo.<br />
Flying/getting tossed in the air makes him laugh.Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-41800075256047353682008-12-12T17:56:00.000-08:002012-05-23T19:06:41.511-07:00Another new post today! Some of MY milestonesSome things I feel I have accomplished in the past few days:<br />
On Sunday I discovered I can fold laundry with both hands while breastfeeding.<br />
Today I learned I can wash dishes with one hand.<br />
Getting dressed with one hand, and holding the baby with the other.<br />
The other day I actually went to the bathroom while holding him, it was a little difficult when it was time to pull up my underwear and pants, ever try to do that? It's not really easy with one hand, it's like one side goes up, then the other one, and you kinda have to shimmy them up.<br />
Figuring out how the heck that sling works and successfully carrying Simon in it.<br />
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And Some new discoveries:<br />
Simon can pee ridiculous amounts! This morning while I was changing him peed while the diaper was off, no big deal, getting pretty used it. So I responded like I normally do: I screamed, frantically looked around for something to block the pee with and then waited a second and got back to cleaning him off, he barely got the onesie with it, not bad. Then he did it again, I screamed again, laughed because he was spraying his onesie and then got his face, once again removed the towel and continued cleaning off the poop. Then he did it again!!! I grabbed the towel, sighed and dried off the dresser. Each time he managed to shoot a completely different direction. Oh, and when I was getting him ready for his bath a little later, I had him all wrapped up in a towel and was carrying him from the bathroom to the kitchen when my shirt suddenly became very warm. Yep... he peed on me.<br />
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I have been warned about leaking and spraying boobs when breastfeeding, and until today had only experienced the leaking end of it. But when I was feeding Simon this afternoon he spit my nipple out to take a break and I looked down and the milk was spraying out of me all over the place, so of course I panicked and didn't know what to do so I quickly stuck my boob back into his mouth. That was a fun new one for me! Normally they just leak a lot and I have to hold the spit rag over my boob until he is ready to eat again and in the meantime the whole rag ends up saturated in milk!Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-6812385461659249602008-12-12T11:58:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:09:58.447-08:00Mister Fussy ButtI'VE CREATED A MONSTER!!<br />Not really, but sometimes it sure does feel like it. Simon hates to be alone, and he hates not being held. Yesterday I had him propped up on the couch so he could watch me while I was doing stuff, and the second I walked out of the room he started screaming. The past few days he has been extremely fussy. I don't know what his deal is. I am praying that it is just being gassy and that it has been caused by all of the triple ginger snaps I have been eating, and am going to cut out of my diet today to see if it helps. I went and bought a sling a couple of days ago and wore him around in it yesterday. He screamed as I was getting him in it, but as soon as he got settled he fell asleep and stayed that way for a couple hours. I was able to have him in it while I got some things done around the house.<br />Bedtime last night was particularly bad. I had fed Simon out in the living room and then went into the bedroom to change his diaper and go to bed, Steve was in bed asleep. As soon as we walk into the bedroom he starts screaming, soI took him into the bathroom to soothe him, he calms down, so we go back into the bedroom and I put him on the changing table to change his diaper and he just started screaming and would not be soothed. After what felt like an eternity I got him to calm down a little bit but not entirely, and managed to hold him while I changed into my pjs with just minimal fussing. We hopped into bed and after bouncing him up and down a lot he calmed down but was still wide awake, so I kept him with me and fell asleep.<br />It is now several hours after I started writing this blog and today has gone by much better and included many naps for Simon which is pretty unusual. I hoping it was a combination of the ginger snaps and maybe he just doesn't sleep enough and that makes him cranky. He usually doesn't sleep very much throughout the day which I think is unusual for newborns, I know his cousin is almost always asleep and rarely awake, and Simon is the opposite. I shouldn't complain too much though, during the night he goes to bed at midnight wakes up around 3 or 4 and again at like 7 or 8, so he sleeps really well at night. I think I am going need to invest in a bouncy seat though, whenever he is fussy the fastest way to calm him down is by bouncing him, so maybe a bouncy seat is the thing I need to be able to get things done during the day.<br />Anyways, I am very glad to report today has gone better in the fussing department, he has been pretty good, and his fussing is normally about two hours after his last meal so today fussing has just meant "feed me" instead of the stuff from yesterday where he was just unsoothable. Also, yesterday we started a little thing Steve's mom told us to try when he is fussy. If he has eaten, has a clean diaper, and still won't be soothed put him down for 10 minutes, let him cry, and then pick him up and calm down for 2 minutes. Didn't work so well last night, or maybe it did since he has been good today? Who knows, but if anyone has any suggestions on calming a baby down let me know, I am open for advice, and it doesn't mean I have to take it, but there are some times where I think to myself when he is crying that I will try anything!!Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-6611858986404315142008-12-08T16:22:00.000-08:002008-12-08T16:34:28.794-08:00My First Day as a Mom- alone!!So technically I have been a mom for a month and a day, but today feels like my first day because it my first day doing this all on my own! My mom came into town the 5th of November, and stayed with Steve and I until yesterday. She took really good care of us while she was here and I feel quite spoiled by everything she did. So today is my first day as a Stay-At-Home-Mom when all the responsibility falls on me and I can no longer rely on my mom to help me out (Steve is at work and school all day). This morning before Steve left to go study he changed Simon's diaper and played with him a little bit, then gave him back to me and we went back to sleep. When I did get out of bed, at 10 this morning, (my mom would be proud normally I didn't get out of bed until closer to noon when she was here) I changed Simon again and then ventured into the living room picked out a movie and nursed him. The day was pretty uneventful around 2 Simon was napping so I decided to take a shower. I made it through the whole shower until right when I was about to get out anyways I heard Simon start crying, and by crying I mean screaming, so I told him he was okay and that I was coming, dried off, brushed my hair, threw on a robe and went and got him. More uneventfulness, and then a while ago he was being kinda fussy and I hate just putting him down when he is upset, but he wouldn't let me do anything, so I finally put him down for some tummy time, he screamed for about thirty seconds and while I was in the kitchen he stopped. Me being the paranoid mom I am and always a little nervous about SIDS had to go check on him since he was on his stomach laying down... he was asleep, thirty seconds after I layed him down he was sleeping. So cute. So now I am making a cup of noodle soup, catching up on some blogging, and wondering why one of Steve's sisters never brought over baby Zane like she was going to. Zane is Simon's cousin, Simon is ten days older than him and about twice as big! All in all today has been good. In a couple hours I have to get us ready to go to Steve's parents house for FHE, we are decorating their Christmas tree tonight, and then Steve and I are going to buy our Christmas tree and decorate it too!! Speaking of which, I told Cindy I wanted to bring something baked.. Too late now to be adventurous, I think I will just make some brownies from a box!Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-45402135423717976002008-11-29T14:20:00.000-08:002012-05-23T19:08:22.816-07:00Thankful for....I am thankful for being able to nurse openly in my house and at Steve's parents house. I have never realized how nice and convenient it is to be able to just whip a boob out and nurse Simon whenever I want to without having to worry about covering up or anyone seeing me. Not being able to nurse whenever I want really makes me wish that I lived in a place where it was more socially and culturally acceptable to nurse openly in public without needing to cover or hide what I am doing. I wish I lived in South America where it is perfectly normal and acceptable to just whip it out and start nursing whenever you want.<br />
I am also thankful for the "HooterHider" my mom made for me. It makes it so I can still be around people while nursing. Places I have enjoyed the convenience of nursing while still getting things done: Charity dessert social last Sunday, the grocery store, Target, Arby's, Steve's grandparents house. On Thanksgiving I was very grateful for the HooterHider because it made it possible for me to hang out with people and play Risk while still taking care of Simon's eating needs, which was very nice because he wanted to eat all the time on Thanksgiving Day, I don't know what his deal was but it felt like he was wanting to eat every 5 minutes. One downfall to the hider I discovered that day, it's really hot!! or maybe Steve's grandparents house was hot, I don't know but me and Simon were both all sweaty after feeding and it got to a point where I was trying to get him to wait just a little longer to eat because it was so hot under that thing he came out bright red and burning hot everytime he ate.<br />
One last thing I am grateful for: changing rooms and the nursing mother's room at BabiesR'Us. Yesterday while doing some black Friday shopping I was able to just sit in a clothes changing room and nurse Simon for a few minutes, it was very nice and convenient, and much better than trying to figure out how the heck I can do it in a bathroom or get him latched on somewhere and then use the HooterHider. The nursing mother's room at BabiesR'Us is also wonderful. I can time my shopping trips out so I will end up at that store when Simon will be needing to eat next, and then I can go sit in there and relax while he eats, so nice!!Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3156386102817010624.post-66761663124340492482008-11-19T12:33:00.000-08:002008-12-12T18:11:43.094-08:00Cloth vs. DisposableSo one of the shower gifts I got that I am really grateful for is diaper service for a week. Yesterday the lady from Poops-A-Daisies came by to drop off the diapers. So far, I am unimpressed by cloth diapers. If Simon pees more than one time in them he will soak through the diaper and the plastic liner and onto his clothes. Yesterday he went through either 3 or 4 outfits. THe diaper lady left us 4 of the waterproof liners, and we went through three of them yesterday and had them out of commission while we waited for them to dry because we had to wash them. The service costs $80 month if you sign up for 6 months, or $100 month if you do a month-to-month contract. Not too bad to have someone drop off diapers at your house and then pick them up. We don't even have to rinse the poop off them or anything, just toss them in the diaper pail and put them out every Thursday night and Monday night. Last night, we put Simon in a disposable diaper while he slept or we probably would have had to get up about 4 times to change him during the night either that or have a very irritated cold baby sleeping in his pee. So as far as cost, it isn't really that expensive, until you add in the cost of having to buy the plastic pants and stuff. I think this is more one of those things where I would rather pay for the convenience of using disposable diapers that lock in the wetness than use the cloth ones. My mom changed Simon half an hour ago and just now had to change him again because he was very fussy, and had peed, and it almost leaked through. So yeah, its more a matter of convenience vs. feeling good because you aren't using disposable diapers that clog up landfills. I personally am fine with filling up the landfills, because it means my baby isn't crying as much and going through a bunch of outfits a day.<br />* I am very grateful for the diaper service though, because if Steve and I had a washer and dryer at our house, I was going to consider going with the cloth diapers, and now I know what works best for me. And it is kinda cool to be using cloth diapers and being environmentally friendly and all that stuff.<br />Do any of you use cloth diapers? If so, do you have any little tricks for making them work better? I tried putting a second diaper folded up inside the first one, and the first time Simon peed it soaked right through and half an hour later Steve was changing it.Kari and Stevehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15996147640036139038noreply@blogger.com3