Have You Seen My Beach Ball?

Another fun one... Poor Mr. Fussels...

My Week Long Cloth Diapering Journey

I don't even think it's been an entire week actually!

When I got my Thirsties covers in I was SOOO excited. I washed ALL of my prefolds & my covers and opened my Snappis and got ready.

Wow. I guess they don't call it "fluffy butt" for nothin'!

I tried the snappi method and it worked okay. I didn't like the rise of the Thirsties because they were hitting his umbilical hernia and I had to fold the prefold down in front, which made it super bulky. After that diaper change I tried to trifold it in the cover and at least 3 inches came up above the cover. So I had to fold down again, and it was just to bunchy.

I was HEARTBROKEN!

So I busted out the Bumgenius diapers and just used them. They are really bulky on him and he looks like a pear poor thing, but he'll grow into them.

Then a Twitter friend (@that_danielle) sent me some BambinoMio covers and prefolds. I'm in love. And I realized that I was folding the prefold vertically and should be folding them horizontally and they fit PERFECTLY into the covers. So I am going to try that with the Thirsties tonight.

Thirsties

I had a microfiber insert in this one and my FABULOUS Twitter friends said NO! It will totally draw all the mouisture from his skin and hurt him a lot! thanks girls!

Here's the prefold sticking out because I hated folding it lol

Bumgenius

His Banana Bottoms, which are a tad too big (they are fitteds) but I use it anyway ;)

Like I said in a previous post, we started cloth wipes as well just because we were going through wipes SO QUICKLY. I just throw the wash cloths in the washer with the diapers. Anyways, Sunday when we were out and about, I used regular disposable wipes after I'd been doing cloth dipes and wipes for a few days. Holy Diaper Rash Batman. It was ugly. So now I have to bring the cloth wipes with me! @MyNiftyNappy on Twitter suggested taking paper towels and doing my same routine with cloth wipes so I can throw them away. GENIUS!

BY THE WAY! Bumgenius and Cottonbabies have the most FABULOUS customer service!!!!

2 Months Old

Yesterday Austin turned 2 months old! It's so hard to believe that he's getting so big!

He had his 2 month appointment at the pediatrician's office. I really really wrestled with what to do about vaccinations. I want him to have them all, but I was (am) very worried about his small little body handling all of them at once. But I also didn't want to drag them out, I wanted to get them all done at once so he wouldn't have to go through all those sticks so many times.

I finally just decided to go with all three shots. Some argue that Hep B is an STD, but I have always understood it not to be, that sex is just the easiest way to transmit it, and if someone with Hep B leaves any trace of blood from a cut or mucous, someone could touch it & then their mouth, and then the rest is potentially devastating history. Austin already had the first shot at the hospital. When I was being wheeled to the OR the nurses were shoving papers at me to sign. Consents, etc. They handed me the sheet on the Hep B shot. I had not researched it yet, and I didn't know what to do. I asked everyone what they would do and they said they'd sign it, so I just did. Had I thought about it, I probably wouldn't have signed it. At that point I thought Austin just weighed 3 pounds. I can't imagine a vaccine being safe for him. Thankfully he is fine. So I decided to finish it because I don't want Austin with Hep B and he already started it... I did put off the Rotavirus oral immunization because he is stuffy. The pediatrician said he'd be fine, but I felt really really uneasy about it, so I put it off.

Of course he cried when he got the shots. Real tears too. It was heartbreaking. He calmed down when I picked him up and I immediately nursed him. I was so sad for him. He then went to sleep in the car and napped for a long time.

Then, he woke up. And cried. And cried. And cried. It was the saddest cry I ever heard. I gave him some Tylenol and rocked him in the recliner and cried with him. It was much harder watching him be in pain and not feel well than those days in the NICU. At least then he wasn't sick or feeling bad. Finally at about half an hour it kicked it, and he was old Austin again. He continued to be a little fussy here and there the rest of the day, but all night he was fine and today he has been great!





It was really hard watching him get those shots and even harder to listen to his crying, but I know it'd be a million times harder watching him be really really sick. Being a mommy is hard. Making these kinds of decisions and doing these things because I know I need to is hard. But worth it!

By the way, Austin weighed in at 8lbs 12oz & 21 inches long!

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A Look Back

This past week I looked back at my little baby Bumble B. He has hit 8 pounds, and is double his smallest weight. I look at him and I can't believe that he was half his size. I also could never in a BAJILLION years imagine carrying or giving birth to a baby his size. I was 9lb 4oz, my poor mom...


One Day Old

One Week



8 Weeks Old





What a blessing he is!

My smily little baby boy. (The end is the best part! I laugh every time...)

Super Motherly Instincts

I've been blogging for awhile now that I want to cloth diaper. About a week and a half ago, Austin got some pretty nasty blisters on a special boy part (won't he appreciate me talking about this on the internet?!) from his Huggies. I took him to the pediatrician and she said that he has very sensitive skin. I mentioned that we are going to cloth diaper when he gets a little bigger and she said that he was an excellent candidate.

My friend Nicole acted amazed. She said what great motherly instincts I had! I decided to do cloth, and turns out, he NEEDS it!

I went ahead and made a small purchase on some prefold diapers, snappis, and newborn size Thirsties covers because I didn't want to wait on him to fit into his Bumgenius. He had the saddest most heartbreaking cry when his blisters hurt him. It shattered my heart into pieces when I put him in his car seat or had to wipe up there with a messy diaper.

These came in today! I haven't been home yet to wash, but I will be washing ALL NIGHT so my little man can start tomorrow!



I also started cloth wipes yesterday. I just CAN NOT believe how fast we go through disposable wipes. If anyone asked me "What's the #1 thing you learned from being a mother" it would be the wipes. Not "I didn't realize how much I took showers for granted" (that is a CLOSE second) or "I'm so tired!", it's "OMG This kid uses 294 wipes a day!" Plus if the poopy is dried up one little bit it's a pain in the butt (haha get it?) to get off. I bought a bunch of Gerber wash clothes last week on sale at Babies R Us. I filled the sink with warm water and Johnson&Johnson baby wash, and got all the wash clothes nice and wet, folded them up, and tossed them in the warmer.

I'm IN LOVE! They are so so so warm and smell great and work 100X better than the disposable wipes. I'll still use disposable when we're out, but for home use, the wash clothes are THE way to go. I'll just wash them every night with the diapers!

Wordless Wednesday

Who do YOU think Austin looks like?!



Grandpa? Me too...

Fun Laundry!

I did some laundry the other day and I had so much fun! I was so stressed, but I did it! What could make me so happy and anxious all at once you ask? Cloth diapers! My Bumgenius diapers and my Rockin Green Soap came in. Austin had an allergic reaction to Huggies. The pediatrician said he had highly sensitive skin and was a perfect candidate for cloth! He also weighed in at 7lb 3oz (HOLY COW!) so he'll be in these bumgenius sooner than I thought! So I got CRACKIN on the prewashing!

I got 2 of each color :)


In the basket with my Rockin Green Soap in Cherry Lemonade!


The washing machine is filling up!


Mid wash ;)


There's my Banana Bottom hanging with Bumgenius and gDiapers!

Fun Day & Due Date!

Wednesday Austin and I had a great day. We slept in a little and kinda lounged around. He was really cranky and I was really tired. We eventually got dressed and headed up to the hospital for our breastfeeding support group.
We met up with Lindsey and baby Kash! Lindsey & I went to high school together & got pregnant at the same time & had the same due date! She had Kash on December 28th (almost my birthday!). He and Austin are going to be best friends! We had a really good time hanging out. I'm so glad I have a friend Austin & I can share this with!

At group we weighed Austin! He weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces! That is a 6 ounce increase, 14 ounces in 14 days since we started breastfeeding! I am thrilled! An average of an ounce a day is PERFECT. He also transferred/drank 2 ounces in that hour. Kash drank 3 in 10 minutes. How jealous am I? A lot. LOL. After last weeks weigh in I cut down from 2 fortified bottles to one. I think I will stick with the one for another week or two and see how he continues to gain. Now that he's 40 weeks and doing so well gaining, he may start packing on the fat a little quicker. But for now he's right on track so I'll keep doing what I'm doing!

After we left there my mom, Austin and I headed up to Once Upon A Child. I LOVE that place! They had a swing EXACTLY like A's, but instead of lambs it was bumblebees!!! I almost bought it!!! At night Austin goes down in his bassinet, but after a feeding or two he's either wide awake or wants to held & won't go back to sleep & cries. I'm exhausted, so I just scoop him up and put him in the bed with me, something I swore I'd never do. I'm too scared to smother or squish him. I found an Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper there for only $50. It's a bassinet that you put one side down and it comes up to your bed. So now I can see him, keep my hand on him, and not have to get up 20X. It's so convenient, I love it, he loves it, and most importantly, he's safe.

Once we got home we found- FLUFFY MAIL!!!!! Bumgenius had a Buy 5 Get 1 sale and I took full advantage of it! I ordered two sets and they arrived! They are so cute! I want to use them now, but A is still too little. I'm contemplating getting some prefolds and covers because I'm ready to start cloth NOW! Day before I got some fluffy mail from a Twitter friend who lives here in South Carolina. She sent me 5 used Bumgenius diapers. They are in great condition... However... Pink. BUT I'm going to make them my night diapers! I'm not turning down anything free! Especially cloth diapers! Wasn't that so generous of her?

Also in the mail Austin received his first birthday party invitation! Isn't that exciting? I know he & I are excited! :) We had dinner at Nana's and Papa's (I can NOT eat enough! & I weigh 10lbs below prepregnancy weight! Another plus to breastfeeding!). We had a great day!

I'm posting this very early morning January 7th. Today is my due date. Austin should be making his appearance any day now. I feel so incredibly blessed to have had these past 6 weeks with him. I'm so lucky to be his mommy. I couldn't ask for a better baby. He is absolutely amazing. I wanted him for so long (my whole life!) and now I have him and I even got him for 6 extra bonus weeks and I couldn't be happier. God is great and if I ever doubted that before (which I didn't) there would be no questioning it now. This little baby is so amazing, definitely a gift from God. Science doesn't make stuff like this ;)

I'll add pictures to this post later. I'm posting from my phone & I don't know how to add pictures!
Sent via BlackBerry from T-Mobile

The Kind Of Mommy I Am

When I decided what kind of mom I wanted to be, I just listed off things I like. I like to hold my baby, I like cloth diapers, I think slings are cool, and breastfeeding is really cheap.

I love holding Austin. I tried a year and a half to get pregnant with him, lost 2 babies, feared my entire pregnancy that I would lose him, had to leave him in the Level 2 NICU for 2 weeks... Why in the WORLD would I ever put him down? You can't spoil a newborn right?!
Consider Austin the most spoiled rotten little cutie you have ever seen in your life... But I don't care. I spoiled him and I will continue to. He's going to be 40 weeks this week, he's allowed to be born now, so may be I'll stop carrying him since my uterus isn't supposed to be anymore! Or may be I'll just keep waiting for Christopher to get home to shower and brush my teeth ;)

I love cloth diapers. They are cheap. They are super duper cute. I don't know why everyone doesn't use them... Throw them in the washing machine at dinner, hang them up to dry over night... Done... So easy. It's not like I'm doing anything but holding Austin all day anyways! I have time for one extra load of laundry every 1-2 days!

I love slings. I hate those stupid bulky heavy infant carriers. I love holding my baby (as discussed above...) so my Baby K'Tan sling is perfect. It keeps my little man snuggled up to me and keeps us both pretty warm! It's so easy in the store and I can cover his face so that he doesn't get germs. People don't ask to hold him when he's in it, and if they were to and I didn't want them to, I could say "sorry it's really hard to get him in and out" (which it is kinda) (BTW this is for back when he was really early and I was more afraid of germies than I am now!). There are a few other baby carriers out there that I long for, but for now my Baby K'Tan is perfect!

Here I go, I will admit it... I did NOT want to breastfeed. I thought it was weird. I thought something sucking on my breasts was going to be odd and strange. I decided halfway through my pregnancy that I would give it a try. Why in the world would I turn something down without trying, especially since it is FREE?! I went to a breastfeeding class and BAM I was sold. Watching those little babies nurse was so heart warming and gave me fuzzy wuzzys! When I had Austin and he was in the NICU pumping was all I could do for him. That was the only thing that I had that I could give him that no one else in that place could and it made me feel so incredibly special and like FINALLY I was helping him. When I look down and he's all droopy eyed, falling asleep, so content... My heart melts. I don't know what it is about it, but I really love it. Plus it's cheap, and I now weigh 10 pounds less than my prepregnancy weight, and I chalk it all up to breastfeeding!

So far everything I had hoped and wished for has worked out for us really well! There are labels I could use (attachment parenting, crunchy, etc) but instead I'd like to just be Katie, Austin's mommy!

In Bumble B news,
Austin is getting so big. He smiles and he squeals when he's excited. He squeals at me and Christopher when we're playing with him and tickling him and being silly, and he squeals at his seahorse. It's so so funny! He's a pretty happy baby. I wish more of his awake time was during the day and less the middle of the night. I feel bad for making him go to sleep or leaving him awake and going to sleep when he's wide awake, but what can ya do?

His eyes are getting bluer (I hope they stay!), he's smiling with gorgeous dimples, he has the most beautiful skin, he's picking his head up and turning it, he's grasping things, and his fingernails grow faster than anything I've ever seen!

Here is Austin talking to Mr. Fussels :)

Happy New Year!

2010 is here! I hope everyone had a really great new year. We rang in midnight at home in bed. Christopher was snoozing away and Austin gave me my midnight kiss after he was done eating. I celebrated on Twitter with all my Twitter gals!

Last Monday the doctor told us we could start breastfeeding and only do a couple fortified bottles a day. Last Wednesday (the day before Christmas Eve) we went to see the lactation consultant at the hospital and she got us on track. I eventually got on a schedule where Austin was getting a fortified bottle in the morning and in the evening. I was really scared that he would lose weight and I was very very anxious for this past Wednesday. I took him to the Best Fed Baby support group at the hospital to have him weighed. On December 22nd he was 5 pounds 11 ounces. The pediatrician said she would like to see him gain an ounce a day. So at the Best Fed Baby I was looking for 6 pounds 2 ounces. I really didn't think he would have done it. I saw a change in him overnight during his last growth spurt. I didn't see much change this week. Once we got little man on the scale, he proved to me to never underestimate him! He weighed in at a whopping 6 pounds 3 ounces! I am so proud of him! He is obviously getting enough to eat and not burning too many calories doing so! So now we are down to a bottle at night that his daddy gets to feed him and I pump. I'll go again next week to make sure he's gaining what he still needs to be!

I'm also looking to make my first big cloth diaper purchase. Cottonbabies has Bumgenious buy 5 get 1 free. Hopefully I can scoop some up before the offer is up! I really want to try Flips as well.The initial purchase is so much but I can't wait to start. I hate disposables. And half the time I change Austin and 2 minutes later I have to again! The Flips with just the changable inserts would be so awesome for times like those! Austin's butt is getting a lot bigger so it's almost time for him to start! I have some birthday and Christmas money that I hope to use on them very soon!

Austin wakes up ever 2-3 hours to eat. I am so so tired. We nap until 10ish usually in the morning. Yesterday we went to Target to get some wipes and things. I was exhausted! Getting him ready, everything ready, me ready, shopping with him, it's all very tiring. My sister in law could never stay home. She was always on the go. I have no clue how she did this. Going to Target has made me miserable for 2 days! Thinking about it- I haven't slept for more than 3 hours at a time in a month. That is so crazy to think about. I'm surprised I am functioning at all! But I suppose you get used to it!

I love being Austin's mommy. He is so amazing. He is so funny. He's starting to talk and smile. When he's on his belly he is lifting his head and turning it the other way. He LOVES his little seahorse friend my mom gave him for Christmas. We named him Mr. Fussels because that is what I call Austin when he fusses.