Cloth Diapering

We have been trying out the Gdiapers. She looks so cute in them! I put them on her last week and due to recent events we have gone back to disposables for now (more info to come in my next post). I was using the gcloth inserts that are made to go in them, but she leaked through every one. I was so frustrated. I wasn't sure if she didn't have enough chub yet to get a good seal or if I wasn't putting them on her right. My friend Anna made me cloth inserts for her medium size gpants, but they actually fit in the small sized ones as well. I decided to try them out and they worked great! We are still getting used to how to put them on her right, but for the most part everything was staying inside them atleast. Anyway, here is the little munchkin modeling her puffy bum.



Below is the cloth diapering pail that I ordered to help me clean the poo off of her diapers without splashing yuck around the bathroom. It came with everything you need to spray off the diapers and hang them to dry before throwing them in the bag of dirty diapers. The sprayer hooks up to the toilet and the water pressure is crazy. I just hang the diaper inside the pail and everything gets sprayed right off. There's a plug at the bottom of the pail that drains everything right into the toilet. It originally came with little hooks, but our cloth inserts can't really hang from hooks, so Joe swapped them out for little alligator clips that he attached to the inside. I just clip the cloth inserts right in them and spray away. I then leave it there to dry. I am going to have him add two more clips later so I can have 4 hanging in there at once, or if I want to spray off the plastic liner and leave it hang there too.


The pail definitely makes things alot easier. Cloth diapering definitely has a learning curve, so hopefully once things are settled back down again, we can start using them again full time.

Cousins

2 months old and 2 mos doc visit

The munchkin was 2 mos old yesterday! Can you believe it? I can't! The time really is flying by. She is getting so big. She is now holding things with her hands (like the little rattle below that my friend Anna's grandma made for her). She is making great eye contact and following things with her eyes. She giggles and smiles and coos all the time. She really is a happy baby. Unless ofcourse she's hungry, or tired or needs her diaper changed... or if she's just crabby.


She is eating every 2-3 hours (sometimes less or more) and goes for longer stretches at night. We usually put her down between 8:30 and 9:30 and she will sleep for around 5 hours. Then she will sleep for 3-4, then another 3-4. When she wakes up to nurse, we are usually finished and back to bed within 15 minutes. She is such a fast eater! Sometimes there is a diaper change in there too and when we are done, I lay her back in her swing and she goes right back to sleep on her own. She is still sleeping in her swing at night. We did talk to the pediatrician about it today and he thought it was just fine. She sleeps in her sling for her naps during the day. She usually takes 2-3 and they last for an hour or two. She doesn't sleep as well in her swing anymore for her naps (although she still does here and there), which is just fine with me.

Breastfeeding is going so much better. I am not sure what was the issue when I wrote my last post. But it has seemed to work itself out. I have been trying to read her signs more and feed her as soon as she acts hungry. I think we are both getting to know each other better and that is helping alot. I still have ALOT of milk, but even that is getting better as well.

I can't help but stare at her when she's sleeping. I know this time is going to pass so quickly and this time will be a foggy memory before I know it. I am trying to take it all in.

Yesterday was also her cousin's 2 week birthday. Their great grandparents came over for a visit.

We got the two together for their birthday pictures. They are best buds already.




Finally they had enough. I guess they weren't ready to be so close yet.

She loved this sling so much I had to send it home with my sister who didn't have one. We had 3 different ones, so I guess we can share.


Today we took her for her 2 month doctor visit. We recently switched doctors, I don't recall if I had mentioned that or not. Long story short, her other doctor was giving us a hard time about spreading out the shots and I wasn't happy with her at all. We love the new doctor! I handed them the vaccine schedule I wanted to follow and they didn't even blink. Infact, they acted like it was completely fine and normal routine for them. It was so nice to not be looked at and scolded as if I was being a pain or some kind of idiot. With the new vaccine schedule, we have to make more trips to the doctor's office, but for me it's worth it. It makes me feel a little bit better about giving them to her.

So here are her stats:

Weight: 12 lbs, 80 percentile
Length: 23 3/4", 92 percentile
Head Circumference: 15 3/4, 81 percentile

She is growing great! And she is tall:) Doesn't surprise me, since her dad is 6'4". She got one shot and an oral vaccination. She was pretty pissed at first, but then she seemed okay. She fell asleep instantly as soon as we left. She has been a little fussy tonight so I gave her some infant tylenol and now she is sleeping.

I can't believe I am going back to work in 3 weeks. Time has flown by. I started my maternity leave about a week before she was born, so I will have been home for a total of 13 weeks. It sure doesn't feel like it. Hopefully then I will have more things to talk about then just being a mom. It's hard to think about much else though right now, when it's all I do every day. I am really sad about not being able to be with her all day every day, but at the same time, I am also looking forward to getting out of the house every day and getting some adult time too. If I could afford to, I wouldn't work, but atleast she is going to be staying with someone who I trust completely and know she will be loved and well taken care of. If not, I would be freaking out alot more!

I better go... time to get started on some dinner!

I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection. ~ Billy Joel

I am exhausted. I am confused. I am worried. I feel sad.

Yesterday started out great. The munchkin was in such a good mood. She was sleeping well, nursing well and giving out lots of smiles and giggles. Then in the afternoon, my mother came by. She was filling out an application for a job and then we were going for a drive to drop it off. When we were ready to leave, baby was napping and would most likely want to nurse in about an hour. I didn't know if it was a great idea to pack her up just then, messing with her schedule can sometimes really throw her off. I figured she could fall asleep in the car and if we had too, I could also nurse her in the car. I was sure we would be back within in an hour anyway, so it was probably not a big deal.

As soon as we left, she started crying and it wasn't easy to calm her down. She slept half the time and cried the other half. By the time we got back home, she seemed exhausted. I put her back in her swing so she could sleep for a while before eating. When it was about that time (around 3:30), I woke her up and changed her diaper. She was wide awake now and starting to fuss, so I sat down with her to nurse. She started crying and fussing ALOT and I was hoping she was just really tired still and would latch on after a while. She didn't. She seemed very upset with even the idea of it. So I decided to stop trying and wait until she let me know she was hungry. She went back to sleep and woke up after a couple of hours. She still wasn't acting hungry. After SIX HOURS had gone by, I decided to stop waiting and try again (it was now around 6:30). Finally, after putting up quite a fuss, she finally latched on and nursed. What a relief.

She slept a little more and we played with her a little more. She was a little fussy, but she was in a really playful mood part of the time too. Around 9:30, Joe put her in her Pajamas while I got everything else ready. I laid down in the bed to nurse her and she started crying really hard again. After trying for about 10 minutes to get her to nurse, I finally gave up and up put her in her swing to go to bed. I didn't want to try to force her and cause her to have bad feelings towards breastfeeding. She quickly stopped crying and fell asleep. I couldn't understand how she couldn't be hungry. Especially since she went six hours before her last nursing.

Around 11:30 she woke up crying and was acting like she was hungry. I brought her into the bed to nurse her. She started crying more and acting like she didn't want to nurse, but after about 5 minutes she finally latched on. Throughout the night she nursed two more times but not without putting up a fuss for several minutes first. This morning she woke about 8:00 acting like she was hungry (3 hours after her last nursing). I brought her into the bed again. She starting crying even more and acting extremely upset. After about 5 minutes, I picked her up and rocked her until she stopped crying, then I put her back into her swing. I didn't know what else to do. I can't force her to eat and even if I tried, this would only make matters worse. The last thing I wanted was for her to become scared of breastfeeding. After I laid her down, she fell back asleep and so did I.

Then around 9:00 she woke up again with hunger cries. I brought her into the bed with me to try nursing her again. I brought her towards me and she started crying harder. Her face became red and tears started running down her cheeks. She was so upset! I picked her up, rocked her, she calmed down and I changed her diaper. I know babies love skin to skin contact, so I stripped her down to her diaper, and pulled up my tank top. I layed in the bed and just cuddled with her for a while. She was smiling and giggling. I didn't know what to think. How could she not be starving by now? I brought her towards me to try again. She started crying again. I tried different positions. By now I was crying too. After about 30 minutes (from the time she woke up), she finally latched on. I sank into the bed with relief. She finished eating and acting as if everything was back to normal again.

This morning, I decided to try to keep her extra close to me and cuddle with her as much as possible. I was dreading the next time we would nurse. I was so exhausted. I hadn't slept well at all, with worry about what was going on. It seemed as if she felt fine. She didn't appear to be in any pain. She didn't seem like she had lots of gas or that she was having any problems nursing once she did finally latch on. She was still having a good amount of dirty diapers. I was completely clueless.

I decided to stop feeding her every 3 hours and try waiting until she acted hungry. Nursing had been going great for the last couple of weeks. I would bring her to me to nurse every three hours (or sooner if she acted like she was hungry) and then I would let her go as long as she wanted during the night. Maybe she didn't need to eat every 3 hours anymore? Every baby is different. Maybe she was getting bigger and was able to go longer between nursings. Maybe she was trying to tell me that every 3 hours was too much and to just wait until she was ready for me. So I waited. After 3.5 hours she was in a deep sleep. It was around 12:30 and Joe had come home for lunch to make us grilled cheese and tomato soup. So I set her down on her boppy lounger right next to me and started to eat. She woke up and began to route her tongue around and open her mouth, signaling that she was hungry. I scooped her up right away and brought her to the couch with me to nurse. She started to cry again but then after less then a minute, she latched on. I was so relieved.

I just hope it doesn't go on much longer, or that we have too many episodes like the one this morning that brought me to tears. I have never had a such an awful feeling of rejection then when it is from my own baby. It's hard to not feel like it's your fault, that you've done something wrong or that she doesn't want you. When it comes to their nourishment, and how important that is, it's not taken lightly. When they are refusing to nurse, it is scary and you worry that they are not getting what they need. I try to look at the facts. She is not acting like she is starving. She has plenty of poopy diapers. She seems content while she is nursing and after. So she must be still getting what she needs. So I am hoping that things are just changing a little for right now. She doesn't need to nurse as often at this moment and I just need to be patient and try to figure out what she is trying to tell me.

She is now sleeping peacefully and I have no idea what to expect the next time we nurse. Has anyone else ever experienced anything like this? Nothing has changed in my diet and no new products have been introduced. I have read about nursing strikes, but this doesn't seem to be what is going on. Thank goodness she is still nursing, even if it takes alot of encouragement. Once she finally latches on, she seems totally content and relaxed. Maybe it is getting better already.

Like everything else that seems really hard at the time, maybe this will pass quickly as well.

Introducing the Munchkin's Cousin and other Misc Babble

My sister's baby arrived on October 26th! She is just as cute as a button. She arrived 5 days late, just like our little one. She came in weighing 7 lbs, 6 oz (2 oz more then the munchkin) and 20 inches long (munchkin was 20.5). They were so close in size. I am so excited she has finally arrived. My sister and her hubby are so sweet to watch with their little one, I am so happy for them. Here is a pic of the little angel getting her first bath at the hospital.


Here she is with her daddy...


And here she is with her favorite aunt (me)!

They are all at home and doing well. On friday we went over to visit with them. They had her dressed up like a Frog for halloween. She's only 4 days old.


Then we had to get some pics of the little cousins together. It's amazing how much size difference there can be when they are just 6 weeks and 5 days apart! The little munchkin's head is twice as big as her little cousin's. It's hard to believe she was that small too when we brought her home.

It is so awesome that my sister's baby is so close in age to my own. They are going to have so much fun together growing up. It's also great that we live so close to each other. It takes less then 10 minutes to get to their house from ours.

For Halloween we decided to just stay home. We were planning on going to my sister's house, but decided against it. We watched a movie and played with the munchkin. Next year will be much more fun when she is a year old. I figured that at 7 weeks, she didn't really care too much about halloween yet.

I thought I would throw in some cute pics I have taken lately of the little munchkin and her daddy. They love to cuddle.



In the above pic, you can see she is hanging out in her Boppy Lounger. I never would have thought this product would be worth the investment, but she really loves to lay in it. She fell inlove with her cousin's, so we had to get her one of her own. She doesn't like to be laid down anywhere for very long (other then her swing ofcourse), but she will lay in the boppy lounger for up to an hour sometimes. She'll just lay there and look around and sometimes even drift off to sleep for a little bit.

Today we tried out the Bumbo. I didn't think she would be big enough to fit in it yet, but she was. She did pretty good too. Her head is still a little wobbly, but she is getting pretty good at holding it up. Her face here cracks me up... she looks so serious.

Things have been really great the last few days. She still will mostly only sleep in her swing, but today she took a 3 hour nap in my lap and I loved every minute of it! I haven't been able to get her to sleep for very long anywhere other then the swing and it has actually been kinda sad for me. I was so happy to be able to snuggle up on the couch with her for so long today.

She has been in a really good mood the past few days too. She had been going through a phase where she would get extremely crabby in the evening for an hour or two, not every day, but maybe every other day. I was pretty sure it was because she wasn't getting enough naps in during the day. She was fighting sleep alot and we would have to coax her into taking her naps. But sometimes she would still be really fussy even if she had plenty of sleep. It was always about the same time. I had read alot about some people calling this the witching hour, so I just chalked it up to that. So it's been great the past few days, without the "witching hour" episodes.

Breastfeeding is going great and I am so glad to have made it through the worst of it. I still have problems with leaking milk all over the place sometimes when she nurses, but I am hoping that will subside over time. I still get extremely full and feel uncomfortable, but definitely not as bad as it was at first. I am just thankful that all of our latching issues are resolved and that there is plenty of milk to keep her full and happy. Although, like today when I spray milk all over her face because it is coming out so fast and she has pulled away, I wonder when it will get better. There is no way I would nurse out in public any time soon... not until this problem works itself out.

So there's a little update on how things have been going around here. Nothing going on with the sale of our house yet.. we've only had 2 showings! I am not too surprised though, this could definitely take a while. I hope everyone had a great halloween! I love seeing everyone's costumes.