But Wait! There's More...

When we began our cloth diapering adventure, we did so to save money. The environment had absolutely nothing to do with it. Even now, I list "cuteness" over "environmentally friendly" when listing the reasons I love cloth diapers. After diving into the world of cloth diapers, I learned about the health benefits. Money and health still rank high on my reasons to skip the diaper aisle at the grocery store, BUT I've found other benefits to fluff.

• Stink: When Babyzilla has a rather stinky poop, it gets flushed down the toilet. Actually, all of his poops get flushed down the toilet, but I'm most thankful when it's a really stinky one. With disposable diapers, the stink stays in the trash can until you take out the garbage. Even if you take it out every night, a stinky poop in the morning will fester. People tell me that cloth diapers are "way gross" but I think letting poop sit around and stink up your kids room is grosser (more gross?).
• Blowouts: Really, it's more the lack thereof that I love. I'd heard horror stories about car seats, couches, carpet, etc. covered in poo. Babyzilla had one blow out in his 10 months on Earth, and it was while he was wearing a disposable diaper. Relatively speaking, it wasn't that bad of a poo. He's had way worse since then, but the pocket formed by the pre-folds holds the poo. There have been some stinky, messy ones, but never a poo leak. No matter how bad a poop is, I'd rather spray it down the toilet than scrub it off the walls, carpet, and couch.
• Versatility: We use pre-folds, which look like a thick dust rag. I've used them in more pinches than I can name. They're burp rags, soft enough for wiping faces, extra padding on high chairs in restaurants, toys (especially for peek-a-boo), oh the list goes on and on.
• Travel: By using our overnight method (bamboo insert with a pre-fold and cover), Babyzilla can ride in the car for hours without getting a rash or needing to make a pit-stop just to change a diaper; a big time-saver, let me tell you.
• Emergency preparedness: We live in Florida. Hurricanes are real. I have a great deal of peace of mind that, in the event of a big storm, my kid has diapers. Worse case, I have to hand-wash diapers in a 5 gallon bucket with rain water and line dry them. (We have drying racks that we use on a regular basis.) Super clean? No. Better than nothing? You bet.
• The illusion of a butt: My kid has NO butt. The cloth diapers give him some padding so his pants stay up. I know most people don't have this issue, but it makes my life a heck of a lot easier.

I'm sure this list will grow when Bump #2 gets here.

I'm Baa-aack and I Have BIG News!

It's been far too long since I've done a blog post. Make no mistake. It's not because I ran out of things to say. Oh no. If anything, I have even MORE to say.  I've been absent from the blog because I've felt like garbage for the past few months. Why am I feeling so yucky? Glad you asked. The answer: I'M PREGNANT! Surprise! Trust me, it was a surprise to us, too. You remember Babyzilla? Yeah, he's 9 months old and I'm 4 months (17 weeks) pregnant.

This pregnancy happened a lot faster than we'd planned. Babyzilla and Bump #2 will be 14 months apart. On the one hand, having 2 kids under 2 years old while being a full-time student is going to be a challenge. On the other hand, Hubby and I knew that we never wanted Babyzilla to be an only child. Actually, we'd love to have at least 4. However, once I hit 30 and definately by the time I'm 35, I don't want to get pregnant again, so we've got just over 7 years to make this happen. With the small age gap, we won't have to worry as much about Babyzilla adjusting to the new baby. He won't remember a time without his brother/sister. Another bonus to the more, faster method is that we never get a break from diapers and feedings. I know that doesn't sound like a bonus, but think about it. When you're used to running a mile a day, it's not so bad. Take a week off and it feels so much harder. Same thing with babies... at least that's what we're telling ourselves. With about 23 weeks left in this pregnancy, you can bet your bum that there are going to be posts, maybe even rants, about my journey to a VBAC and other tid bits I pick up along the way.

Hawaiian BBQ chicken

Hawaiian BBQ chicken

3-4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 can crushed pineapple (cubed works fine too)
1 16 oz bottle of barbeque sauce (any brand will do, but try to find/ make one with as few preservatives as possible)

Place chicken in a 3-5 qt slow cooker. Dump in pineapple and barbeque sauce. Cook on high for 3-4 hours or on low for 6-8.

Weekly menu: 8/29/11 - 9/4/11

Monday: Dinner at Mimi's

Tuesday: Salsa chicken and peppers, brown rice, slices or cubes of cantaloupe

Wednesday: (Feeding missionaries) Lemon-herb roasted chicken, macaroni and cheese, French bread, salad, peas, steamed carrots

Thursday: Spaghetti, garlic bread (if we have leftover French bread), salad

Friday: Mexican pita pizzas with leftover chicken, steamed broccoli

Saturday: Not sure. Grandma's coming for a visit.

Sunday: Hawaiian BBQ chicken, dill mashed potatoes, asparagus

Cool Things Babyzilla Does: Month 7

Another month gone? It just doesn't seem possible that it's been 7 whole months since you came into the world. In some ways it's like you just got here and in others it's like you've always been part of our family.

Some things you do now that you're a big (and I do mean BIG) 7 month old:

• Wear size 24 month clothes
• Love to hit buttons
• Chew on EVERYTHING.
• Roll from back to tummy and tummy to back.
• Crawl... backwards. We'll work on that. You've managed to get stuck up the leg of the coffee table a number of times. You can't put your feet on the ground to rool out of it, but you can't crawl forward either. You just look up at Daa-ee and I with a pitiful "Help me!" look. It's hilarious! Yes, we come to the rescue.
• Drink out of Mama or Daddy's glass. We hold it and you sit away.
• Hold your own bottle. I'm sure you could have done that earlier if we didn't use glass bottles.
• Say even more words. "Hi Da-ee!" is very common. People can tell me that you don't know what you're saying all day long, but I don't believe it. You only say it when Daddy comes into the room or when he's on the phone. You know that people say "hi" when somebody walks into a room or talks on the phone.
• Sign more. You have developed your own sign for "Change my diaper." You pat your diaper and then pull on the crotch area. We ask if you want your diaper changed, you smile and giggle. You give the sign for "milk" when you want a bottle. I never taught you that. I did the milk sign when I went to nurse you, but never for a bottle. I guess liquid food is all the same in your eyes.
• You love to grab hair and earrings. We're working on that. We don't get mad. You're a baby. You don't know that it hurts. But, we made a sign for "let go." It works really well.

You get cuter and smarter every day. Daddy and I can't wait to see what the next month has in store!

Berry, Banana and Peanut Butter Smoothie

Berry, Banana and Peanut Butter Smoothie

1 tablespoon flax seed or wheat germ

1 frozen banana

1/2 cup blueberries

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1/2 cup plain or vanilla yogurt

1 cup milk

 Add all ingredients into a blender and mix until smooth. If it's too thick , add more milk.

Mexican Pita Pizza

I was getting sick of PB&J and tuna salad for lunch, so I came up with this.

2 Whole wheat pitas
1/2 cup salsa
2/3 can of beans (black, pinto, kidney, whatever)
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 F

Drain and rinse beans.


Place pitas on a baking sheet. Spread half of the salsa on each pita.


Top each pita with half of the beans and half of the cheese.



Thinly sliced cheese works just as well.

Bake for 5-8 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the pita is crisp.


Makes 2 pizzas. Enough for 2 people or one very hungry person. :)


Yum!



Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Cake

My version of Hallee the Homemaker's Taste of Summer Lemon Blueberry Yogurt Cake. Almost identical, except I use plain yogurt to avoid artificial flavorings. If you can find a vanilla yogurt that doesn't use artificial flavorings or colorings, use that.
Ingredients:
1½ cups unbleached or whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp Kosher or sea salt
1 cup plain yogurt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 or 3 lemons
½ tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup fresh blueberries
1 TBS flour
½ cup vegetable oil
⅓ cup sugar

Directions:
Sift together dry ingredients.
In a large bowl, whisk together yogurt, 1 cup sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and eggs.  Add dry ingredients.  Whisk until thoroughly combined.  Using the spatula, gently stir in the oil.  Add the blueberries and stir just until combined.
Pour into loaf pan.  Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.
Let stand in pan for 10 minutes.
In a small saucepan, bring ⅓ cup sugar and ⅓ cup lemon juice to boil.  Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Put cooling rack on baking sheet.  Remove the cake from the pan and place on cooling rack.  Slowly pour the sugar and lemon juice over the cake, letting it soak in.
Let cool completely.

Slightly Spicy Couscous Stuffed Tomatoes

Another Hallee the Homemaker dish. I would have never thought up this flavor combination. It's delicious. If you don't like it spicy, omit or reduce the Tabasco sauce. I ate this all the time when I was pregnant with Babyzilla.

Slightly Spicy Couscous Stuffed Tomatoes
This dish works great as a side dish or a lunch entrée.
1 cup regular couscous
6 large firm ripe red tomatoes
dash Kosher or Sea salt
1 tablespoon cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon hot sauce (Tabasco or similar)
1 clove garlic — peeled and minced

Filling:
¼ cup finely chopped green bell pepper
¼ cup finely chopped orange bell pepper
¼ cup finely chopped red bell pepper
6 green onions — finely chopped
1 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
⅓ cup finely chopped fresh mint
3 tablespoons cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice (fresh squeezed is best)
Kosher or Sea Salt
Fresh ground black pepper

Prep:
(Can all be done while couscous is boiling and cooling)
Chop, slice, dice vegetables
Top and carefully scoop out tomatoes
Brush the inside of the tomatoes with hot sauce

Directions:
Bring to a boil 2 cups water in a medium-size saucepan. Add couscous and stir. Boil again, lower beat and cover. Simmer until all water has been absorbed. Stir to fluff, remove from heat and allow to stand 5 minutes. Cool in refrigerator.
Cut a ½ inch slice off the top of each tomato from the stem end. Discard seeds, remove pulp with a spoon, and chop pulp into small pieces. Set pulp aside for the filling. Lightly sprinkle tomato shell with salt and place upside down on a cookie sheet for approximately 10 minutes to drain its liquid. Mix together olive oil, hot sauce, and garlic. Turn tomato shells upright and drizzle them with olive oil mixture.
When couscous is cold, toss green, orange and red peppers, green onions, parsley, and mint together with couscous. Add reserved tomato pulp, olive oil, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Toss again and taste for seasoning. Cut a thin slice off the bottom of each tomato to keep them from rolling.
Spoon filling into each prepared tomato shell. Garnish with a sprig of parsley and serve

The BEST Banana Bread Ever!

The original recipe is Hallee's. See it here. A few notes: The batter rose WAY more than I expected. It overflowed the pan, but it was fine after I made the parchment paper stick up, a bit like one would do with a souffle. Do this before adding the batter to avoid spill-over. The directions don't mention when to put in the vanilla, so I left it out. Still delicious.

2 cups flour (whole wheat or white, your preference)
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp Kosher or sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 whole stick room temp butter (no subs)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs (room temp)
1 tsp.vanilla
3 medium/large bananas – mashed
½ cup sour cream (I use plain yogurt)
½ cup chopped nuts (optional – pecans or walnuts)

Line the bread pan with parchment paper.  This will keep your loaf pan clean, and it will make it really easy to remove the bread.  You can grease and flour it if you’d rather.
Heat oven to 325° degrees F.
In a small bowl combine and sift dry ingredients: flour, powders, soda, cinnamon, salt.  Set aside.
In the mixer bowl cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. (I assume the vanilla would get added here.)
In another bowl mix the mashed bananas  Stir in the sour cream (or yogurt).
Using a wooden spoon, blend ⅓ of dry ingredients into the butter mix. Then add ⅓ of the banana mix into the butter mix.  Keep doing this until both dry ingredients and banana mixture are gone.  Add the nuts.  Give a good quick stir, trying not to handle or stir the batter too much.
Scrape batter into loaf pan and smooth top with the spoon. Bake in center of oven for 70-75 minutes  or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.
Cool for a few minutes then remove from pan and finish cooling on a wire cooling rack.

It's amazing!

Sugar-free Applesauce Spice Cake a.k.a. Babyzilla's future birthday cake

Applesauce Spice Cake
3 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 1/4 cup frozen apple juice concentrate, thawed
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped dates
1 1/2 cups ground almonds (optional)
2 Macintosh apples - peeled, cored and finely chopped
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour one 9 inch square baking pan.
Beat the eggs until they drop like ribbons from the beaters. Continue beating and add the oil in a thin stream. Beat in the 1 cup applesauce and the 1 cup unsweetened apple juice concentrate then mix in the flour gradually until well blended. Add the baking soda, ground ginger, ground almonds and apples. Fold together until well mixed.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees F about 40 minutes or until the cake tests clean with a knife or toothpick. Cool completely before frosting.

Another Giveaway

Go here to enter Mother Rising Birth Service's giveaway. If you win, you'll receive a free product from Mother Love Herbal company. Also, if you live in north Florida/ South Georgia and are looking for a doula or Birthing From Within class, Lindsey comes highly recommended. (Not my personal recomendation, but people have told me to check her out for our next baby.) She is a member of the Tallahassee Doula Co-op.

Perfect hard boiled eggs

http://www.halleethehomemaker.com/2011/05/perfect-every-time-hard-boiled-egg/

Hallee the Homemaker strikes again! I made hard boiled eggs last night to have on hand durring the week. (Egg salad, egg on a salad, plain hard boiled egg, etc.) I've never been able to get the timing right and always end up with "over medium" boiled eggs. Not bad, but not what I'm going for. These eggs were perfect! Fully cooked, but the yolk wasn't dried out. They were really easy to peel, too. Throw a few ice cubes into the pot to cool it down faster. Save time and water.

Zuccini Ribbons with Parmesan Sauce

The original recipe can be found here: http://www.halleethehomemaker.com/2011/02/zucchini-ribbons-with-parmesan-sauce/ . I've tweaked it a bit.

Summer is squash season in our neck of the woods. It's cheap and delicious, not to mention healthy. However, squash can get boring. Try this for something different.

4-5 good sized zucchini
3 cloves of garlic (more if you really like garlic)
2 Tbsp EVOO
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
S&P (salt and pepper)

1. Using a veggie peeler, peel zucchini into ribbons. Go all the way around the zucchini, down to the seeds. Mince garlic or use a garlic press.
2. In a medium pan, heat 1 Tbsp of the olive oil and add the garlic.
3. When you can smell the cooked garlic, add the milk and S&P. Turn heat to high and bring it to a boil, stirring constantly.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. While the sauce is simmering, heat the rest of the oil over medium heat in a medium pan (large enough to hold all of your zucchini ribbons). Add zucchini and sauté for a 2-3 minutes. Don't let it cook through or it will get soggy. Remove pan from the heat.
5. After the sauce done simmering, remove it from the heat and wisk in the cheese. Toss with the zucchini ribbons.

The first time I made this, we put the zucchini over couscous and it soaked up the sauce! Delicious! We had some left over, so I heated it up the next night and added sliced chicken breasts (also a left over) and poured it over fettucchini. It was even better than the night before! Hubby insisted that I add this into our rotation.

Happy 2 years to Hallee the Homemaker!

Hallee's celebrating her 2 year blogiversary! YAY! To celebrate, she is giving away a L’Equip NutriMill Grain Mill, plus most of the stuff you'd need to make her French Bread and Honey Oatmeal Bread. Click here to see how to enter. If you're not interested in it for yourself, enter anyway. If you win, give it to me. :)

5 Minute Breakfasts

So, I posted a mini-rant on Facebook about the evils of Pop-tarts. This sparked some thoughts. Why do parents give that crap to kids? Because it's quick. (And Kelloggs has expensive advertising companies brainwash kids and their parents, but that's another post.) So I though I'd come up with a list of alternatives to the pre-packaged nonsense that some people consider breakfast that take 5 minutes or fewer to make and provide good nurtition for growing children.

• Oatmeal, old fashioned or quick cooking: Cooks on the stove (5 minutes to cook) or in the microwave (1-2 minutes). Kids can add their own flavors with blueberries, cinnamon, honey, nutmeg, etc. High in fiber and vitamins. If you pour milk over it, you get bonus clacium!
• Cold cereal: Takes less than a minute. Get quality cereal (fewer than 6 grams of sugar per serving and made with whole grains) like Cheerios. Add a banana or some berries and milk and voila!
• Eggs and toast: Eggs cook quick. Put the bread in the toaster while the eggs are cooking. Add a few grapes (cut up for younger kids) or oranges on the side. Great for families with multiple kiddos.
• On the run? Try homemade breakfast sandwiches. Fry eggs, top with cheese and put on toast, an English muffin or bagel. Wrap it in a paper towel and grab a box of raisins, preferably organic. You're ready to head out the door, and there's no need to stop by a drive thru.
• Smoothies: Also great for on the go! I discovered the beauty of smoothies durring my crazy month of June. Green smoothies are great for sneaking veggies in. Berry smoothies are full of antioxidnets. There are a million combinations out there. There's bound to be one that works for your family. I love my Berry, Banana and Peanut Butter Smoothie! Make leftover smoothies into ...
• Breakfast popsicles: They take almost no time because they're already in the freezer, and the kids think they're getting a treat.
• Frozen waffles/ pancakes: I'm not talking about the ones you buy in the freezer section. They're full of hydrogenated oils and other gunk. When you have a pancake/ waffle morning on a Saturday, make a double batch and freeze them. A cup of fruit salad on the side or strawberries on top go great. Maybe an egg or some sausage (cooked when you make the pancakes, so they're heat-and-eat style) for protein? Another option for protein is to top the waffles/ pancakes with peanut butter. Yum!

Any other suggestions?

Cool Things Babyzilla Does: Month 6

Dear Babyzilla,
     Daddy and I are constantly amazed by you! We've decided to throw out the books since you've decided to ignore what they say. I find myself writing letters to you via my Facebook status:

• Dear Babyzilla,
  You are not even 6 months old. You CANNOT understand the concept of object permanence. Therefore, you aren't supposed to ask for your "Da-da-da-da-da" (Daddy) when he's not in the room. Same goes for "Mmmmm boo" (Mr. Blue, your blue elephant). Seriously kid, they don't exist to you unless you can see them. Read a child psychology book.
  Love,
  Mama

You've learned some new tricks this month:

• You roll onto your belly all the time. However, you hate to stay there.
• You can sit up by yourself for about 15 secinds.
• You climb (sort of) over Daddy's arm to get to a toy you want, even if it's partially hidden.
• Daddy and I decided it was time to introduce you to a sippy cup. We just wanted you to get aquainted with it so it wouldn't be weird when we transition from the bottle. You figured it out in 2 weeks! The thing I love about the sippies that Daddy found is that they're trainer cups that teach you to drink rather than being an extension of the bottle. If you suck like you would with a bottle, they don't work. Such a big kid!
• When the phone rings, you say "Ha-woe." (Hello)
• You tell Daddy "Hi" or "Hey" whenever he comes home. Do you know what you're saying? Probably not, but it's still really cool.

At your 6 month check-up you were 29 inches long and weighed 20 pounds 1 ounce. You're down to the 100th percentile on height. Yes, down to 100th percentile. Your head, however, is coming in dead center of normal. Weird.

Your 6 month birthday present was 4 Thirsties Duo Diapers for you to use at Mimi's house. You are finally a 100% cloth diaper baby. YAY!

Being super cute and super smart is a hard job. Keep up the good work.
Love,
Mama

Cranberry Pork Roast

When we got married, Hubby had a book called 101 Things to do with a Slow Cooker. Almost every page has casseroles made with cream soups or packets full of MSG. I try to avoid using preservative laden ingredients whenever possible, so I considered throwing the book out. Then I read through it. I found two recipes that I use fairly often. Cranberry Pork Roast is one of them.

Medium pork roast (2.5-3 pounds)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 can of natural whole berry cranberry sauce (NOT jellied)
1/4 cup honey
1 tsp grated orange peel
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1) Place roast in greased cooker. Season with salt and pepper.
2) Combine other ingredients and pour over roast.
3) Cover and cook on low heat 6-8 hours or until pork is fully cooked
4) Let stand 10 minutes before slicing

This should work with chicken as well, but I've never tried it.

Weekly Menu: 7/11- 7/16

Ack! I forgot to post yesterday. Oh well.

Monday: Tacos!
Tuesday: Working, so Hubby's on his own. Mimi will probably cook something.
Wednesday: I forgot that my class is cancled. Consequently, we didn't plan anything. There's a cloth diaper expo that night that we're going to, so we'll probably eat out.
Thursday: Hubby's been craving Hamburger Helper (YUCK!) so we're having that and salad
Friday: Brown rice, bean, and spinach bake with salad and French bread
Saturday: Cranberry pork roast, rice, spinach, applesauce and cornbread

Cucumber and Tomato Salad

When I was growing up, my family ate this at least 2 nights a week in the summer. My grandfather grew the best tomatoes ever! Lucky for me, I married a guy that grows awesome tomatoes AND cucumbers.

Cucumber and tomato salad

1 cucumber, peeled and sliced into 1/4 inch rounds or half-moons
2 plum tomatoes cut into 1/2 inch half-moons
1 & 1/2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar ... add an extra tsp if you love vinegar like I do :)
1/8 tsp black pepper (fresh ground is best)
Pinch of salt

Stir together all ingredients and chill in the fridge for at least 10 minutes.

Salsa chicken and peppers

This is a great busy day dish. I'm a very busy lady, so my slow cooker is one of my best friends in the kitchen.

Salsa chicken and peppers

Ingredients:
1.5 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1 inch strips
Flour for coating chicken, about 1/4 cup
2-3 bell peppers, cut into 1 inch strips (any colors will do but red and green are a very good combination)
One yellow onion, sliced into 1/2 inch slices (half moon style)
1 & 1/2 cups of tomato salsa (Type depends on your family's tastes. We use medium.)
1 & 1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 cup cheddar cheese (optional)

1. Coat chicken strips in flour and place in bottom of slow cooker.
2. Cover with peppers and onion.
3. Stir together salsa and spices. Pour over chicken and peppers. Cover with lid.
4. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.
5. Stir before serving and top with cheese, if using.

I usually serve this over brown rice, but it is also great in tortillas. Corn or black beans would be a great addition to this!

S&P Chicken

S&P (salt and pepper) chicken is a staple in our home. It's easy and delicious.

Ingredients:
1 boneless, skinless chicken breasts per person
Salt
Black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 F

Cover a baking sheet with foil.
Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of the chicken breasts and place on foil.
Cook for 20-25 minutes or unti chicken is cooked through.

Variations:

• Add herbs such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, etc
• You can squirt some lemon juice or top chicken breasts with a slice of lemon.

Tips:

• Make extra for chicken salad, chicken stir-fry or to go on homemade pizza.
• Forgot to thaw the chicken? Just cook it for an extra 20 minutes. Still tastes great.

Weekly Menu: 7/5-7/10/11

We were too busy on the 4th of July to post the weekly dinner menu, but here it is:

Tuesday: I'm working until 8:30. Hubby is on his own.
Wednesday: (School night for me) Spaghetti, salad and garlic bread
Thursday: S&P chicken, zucchini ribbons, green beans, steamed carrots, couscous
Friday: Salsa chicken and peppers, tomato and cucumber salad, brown rice
Saturday: Beef stir-fry noodle bowls
Sunday: Tacos!

My support system

To give you a peek into our lives and some background info on this story here is an outline of my class schedual this summer:

5 days after my last class of the spring semester I start my speech class. It's a 3 hour class every Wednesday night. It will go on until the end of August, and the instructor is a jerk. (Blech!) I have Math for Liberal Arts II from 11 a.m. until noon, Monday through Thursday. I thought I was done with math once I got my A.A. but my program requires 3 math courses instead of the normal 2. It's pretty easy, but the students are SO immature, and they expect to be spoonfed the tests. Our final is July 20th.

Those two aren't too crazy. Babyzilla goes with Mimi for a couple hours while I go to class and do homework. I'm home 6 nights a week, except for the occasional shift at work. Then June came. With June came my Educational Foundations class. It's Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday for 4 weeks. This class is a sprint. I'm used to that. My entire program is based on 4 week courses (4, 4 week courses 3 nights a week is a semester). This is different. This time I have other classes. And not just another night class, a class durring the day, too!

My day starts at 7 with feeding Babyzilla. Between the time Hubby leaves for work and we go to Mimi's (about 2 hours) I feed the baby his morning bottle, change diapers, feed Babyzilla his oatmeal and apples, pump, start a load of laundry, wash dishes (sometimes), make bottles, pack the diaper bag, pack my school bag, play with Babyzilla, and get out the door. Maybe I'll eat breakfast. Most of the time I don't. And by "breakfast" I mean a banana and a glass of milk or juice. I walk Babyzilla to Mimi's (we live in the same apartment complex), give a run down on how the morning went, walk home, get in the car and drive to class. I come home, switch over the laundry, do my homework, try to beat the apartment back into submission for a bit, eat lunch (normally a fried egg sandwich), pump, pack Babyzilla's dinner stuff (jar of babyfood, bowl, spoon and another bottle) and head to Mimi's. I usually get there around 2:00 p.m. She's decided that she's going to cook the month of June on nights that I have class (AWESOME!), so I don't bother to schlep Babyzilla home just to come back in 2 hours. I eat, feed Babyzilla dinner, and get on the road by 5:15. Hubby and I exchange a quick "hi" and a kiss. I get home about 9 that night. <- That has been my life for the past month, except when Hubby was out of town for a week on a business trip. That was peachy.

The good part: This is the last week of the madness! Tonight I have a presentation and I'm DONE. (We're getting an "independant study" night on Thursday. Wooo!) After this week, I'll get to cook again. I'll get to have an actual conversation with my husband. I'll get to see my kid for more than 4 hours a day!

The bad part: This weekend I had a bunch of homework. A PowerPoint presentation worth 25% of my grade and online quizzes worth 10%. Not to mention, I have to write a speech for Wednesday and study for a math test on the same day. (I had nightmares about my homework load, if that says anything.) Lo and behold, our keyboard dies. I was not in a happy place, let me tell you.

Another good part: Without even being asked, Hubby went to Target and bought a new keyboard. I asked him why he went right then. You know what he said? "You have enough to worry about without dealing with a dumb keyboard." At which point he hooks up the keyboard (I don't do technology), and packs the diaper bag. He takes Babyzilla to Mimi's place so I have the apartment to myself. No distractions. 2 hours later, he calls and tells me to take a break and get some dinner. Mimi cooked. :)

People ask me how I do it all (school, work, family, home). The truth is, I don't do it all. I have an insane ammount of help and support. I have faith that life won't always be this nuts, but even if it is, we can handle it, because that's what families do.

Something new!

The Feminist Breeder has decided to do something called Family Food Fridays. Basically, it's posting our meal plans for the week in hopes that it will help us make sure our families are getting decent meals (not Ramen, take-out, etc.) MOST nights. Hallee the Homemaker does something similar, but she posts on Mondays and has her menu for breakfast and dinner. Either way, I see great resources for dinners. I've decided to TRY to get our meal planning on the blog once a week.

Cool things Babyzilla Does: Month 5

Dear Babyzilla,
Oh my goodness! My baby is growing up so fast! In some ways it's awesome, but in other ways is stinks worse than your poopy diapers.

Cool things you do:

• Giggle. Oh, it's the best sound ever! Apparently you find Mama and Daddy very funny.
• You hang out in your crib in the morning until 7:30-8. Mama really appreciates the sleep!
• You love talking to that handsome baby that lives in your mirror.
• You get all excited when you see "Daaa-eeee" in the morning.
• When you're on your back, you try so hard to sit up. You've developed quite the baby six-pack from all of those crunches. Rolling over is of no interest to you. You proved that you can do it already, but you seem to feel that rolling over is below your level now, Mr. High and Mighty.
• Sometimes, when you're struggling to sit up, and you try SO hard, I hold out my hand. You grab my fingers and pull yourself into a sitting position. You are so pleased with yourself. I'm always amazed that your face can hold a smile that big.
• Scoot. Even though you're too cool for rolling over, Mama still insists you get tummy time just in case you decide to give it another go. Well, you're still not into rolling over, unless I flip you. You find that hilarious. When I flip you onto your belly, you get into a quasi-push up position and kick your legs. You've managed to move a few inches. Crawling is on the horizon!
• Eat! Oh how you enjoy eating! You love to take Mama's or Daddy's hand and feed yourself. It's all you kid. We just help with aim.
• Help Mama change your diaper and/or clothes. When I get your onsie over your head, you do a crunch so I can get to the onsie. You don't go down until I put the dirty onsie in the hamper and say, "Thank you." When I'm changing your diaper, you grab your feet and present your seat. You're very good at keeping your feet out of your poopie. When I get your diaper ready, you lift your tushie into the air back-bend style so I can slide the diaper under. Smarty pants!
• Bounce. Oh my goodness how you love to bounce. At home, you have a "Johnny jump up," as Grandma calls it, and at Mimi's you have a horse that is kind of the same thing but without being suspended from a door frame. You LOVE that horse! Sometimes we turn on the sounds. It plays "She'll Be Comin' 'Round the Mountain" and "William Tell Overture" and says "Yeeee-haw!" You really like the "Yeeee-haw!" As a mater of fact, there's some debate as to whether or not "Yeeee-haw!" was your first word. When you're on some body's knee, you rock back and forth like you're riding your horse still. Too cute!
• Try to speak. You imitate sounds all the time. I'll say something like "hand" and you'll grab my hand and say "haaan." Once is a coincidence, Twice is cute, but you've done that 5 times in the past week. That's not normal for a baby your age. You're freaking me out, kid. (In a good way.)
• Ask for your favorite toys. Mr. Blue (your blue elephant) is your BPF (best pachyderm forever). You always want him by your side, especially if we're in the car. Mr. Blue (or "mmmmmmm buuuu" as you call him) chases away your grumpy side, so I'm all for him. You also love to hold your cloth diapers. Daddy and I thought we'd packed up your smaller ones, but apparently we missed one. You found it and now you take it everywhere. You don't have a name for it, but you reach for it all the time. Even though it's not a toy, per se, you do love your bottles (or "baaaaaaaAAAaaa" in Babyzilla-ese).

Well, little man, I'm sure I've forgotten some things, but that's a glimpse of how adorable you are right now.
Love,
Mama

Cloth on the Go

This past weekend Hubby, Mimi, Babyzilla and I went to a family reunion. It was our first time traveling with cloth diapers, and I was nervous to say the least. I packed some sposies "just in case," but we never used them. That's right. Our trip was 100% cloth! No leaks, no chaos, and, unlike previous road trips, no rash from waiting for the next rest stop to change a wet diaper. Even better, no need to stop at a rest stop just to change a diaper!

For travel we used a prefold with a hemp fleece insert. It works for overnight, why not in the car?  The drive to the reunion was about 3.5 hours, including a stop for feeding, and when we got there Babyzilla got passed around, so he was in the one diaper for about 4 hours. I changed him, and the pee hadn't made it to the outer part of the pre-fold. I swear, those inserts were the best $5 we have ever spent.

We stored the wet diapers in the normal wet bag, but ran out of room on the way home Sunday. Target bag to the rescue. Thank goodness it was only the one diaper.

I will say that the one down side to packing cloth was the room the prefolds took up, but it helped us organize everything. The black bag for clothes and toys, the brown bag for diapers, and the green bag for bottles/ feeding. Hubby and I could grab what we needed without rummaging through everything, so I guess it wasn't much of a down side.

Monday morning, I popped the diapers into the washer and washed them as usual. The ones from Saturday morning were a little strong, but nothing terrible. I sniffed them after they came out of the washer. No smell at all.

At first, I wanted to use all cloth just to see if we could do it. Maybe for a bit of shock value. Maybe to show how easy cloth diapers are for family members that think we're "crazy." Either way, I'm so glad we did it. Cloth diapers made the trip so much easier! And we're one step closer to being 100% cloth!

I use cloth diapers because I'm cheap and lazy.

Originally, using cloth diapers was a matter of money. Everybody is on a tight budget theses days. When I was pregnant, Hubby thought we could save a few bucks with cloth. (Yes, my husband wanted to use cloth before I did.) Then we crunched the numbers.

We are assuming a box of diapers lasts about a week, and a box of diapers costs about $20. (I'm a coupon girl, and I can usually score some really good deals, but I've never been able to get a box of diapers cheaper than $15.) Also assuming a child will potty train at age 2. There are 52 weeks in a year (104 in two years). Thus:

104 weeks X $15 = $1560 to diaper a child from birth to potty training. *2 years is an average. Most will take longer and keep in mind that you won't be able to get $15 diapers every time, so this number should be higher.*At $20/box, it will cost more than $2000!

Compare that to cloth, using pocket diapers (which are more expensive than PFs, but are the most common choice) at $25 each (most are not that expensive). A two day supply is about 20-25 diapers. 25 diapers X $25= $625 Keep in mind that most pockets are one size, so once you have your stash, you're set.

You could save over $1000 by the time the child is potty trained. If you have more than one child, you've already made the initial investment, so every cloth diaper you use on child #2 is pure savings. That's a savings of $3000 or more with two children! Even with detergent and electricity factored in, that's a huge savings. We use a quilt rack to air dry the diapers, so we don't use the dryer.

Even with the "extras" we've acquired along the way, we've spent less than $500 for everything (including 6 boxes of sposies). We have 1 more size to go with pre-folds and we plan on using cloth training pants, so we'll probably end up spending about $600 total.

While money is our main reason for using cloth diapers, it's not the only one. I've heard stories about "emergency" trips to the store for diapers. We never have that issue. We wash on a schedual, but if we do run low, we can always pop a load in the washer and in less than an hour we have a full stash again.

Another motivation for using cloth is the concern over the chemicals in disposables. The same absorbent materials in diapers used to be in tampons, but were removed because of the connection to TSS. Now, I know that the method of contact is different, but there's something to be said for keeping a toxic material that close to a baby's genitals. Have you every smelled the diaper area at Target? It reeks of chemicals and I'm not comfortable with putting that on my baby's skin 24/7.

The most common reason to use cloth diapers is the environmental impact, but to be honest, even if cloth diapers were just as bad as sposies for the environment (And that argument has been made) I would still use cloth. Eco-friendliness or "going green" is at the very bottom of my list, even below cuteness. (Cloth diapered butts are SO cute!)

I'll admit that we're not cloth purists. My mother in law watches Babyzilla 4 days a week while I'm in class and he wears sposies there. When we visit my mom, she buys a box of diapers, so we don't have to worry about packing them. Every family has to develop their own system that works for them. Many daycares don't use cloth, but baby wears cloth at home. I know a family that uses cloth on the weekends and overnight. In our cloth adventure, we've been all over the spectrum too. It's not something you're locked into. That's why I'm a huge fan of the Change 3 Things Challenge. The idea is that you commit to changing at least 3 dcloth diapers a day. It won't save you thousands of dollars, maybe just a couple hundred, but it's a good place to start. Many people find themselves changing more than that. I'll give you fair warning though: Cloth diapers are highly addictive! :)

Cloth Diapers

I've had quite a few of my friends ask for information on cloth diapers. I dedicate this post to them. I am not claiming to be an expert on the subject, but here is some of what I've learned on my cloth diapering journey.

First of all, there are lots of acronyms and abbreviations with cloth diapers. Learn them or you'll be lost.

CD: cloth diaper
PF: pre-fold
CPF: Chinese pre-fold (made from Chinese cotton. more durable than Indian cotton, but not as soft)
IPF: Indian pre-fold (made from Indian cotton. softer than Chinese prefolds, but probably won't last through multiple children)
DSQ: diaper service quality (refers to the quality of a pre-fold. You definitely want them DSQ.)
AIO: all- in - one
Sposies: disposable diapers
OS: One size
OC: organic cotton
PUL: Polyurethane Laminate- a waterproof material used to
make covers, and the outside of many pocket diapers & AIO's

Types/ Styles of CDs

Flats: Rarely used anymore. These are the old fashioned ones your grandma probably used.
Pros: Cheapest diapers. Can be folded for a tailored fit to your baby.
Cons: They need to be folded and pinned. None of the convenience of disposables. Also require covers. Hard to use with a Snappi. (What's a Snappi? Don't worry. I'll get to that later.)

Prefolds:

Like flats but already folded (hence the name) with an absorbent middle. When you see numbers such as 4x8x4, that refers to the layers. 4x8x4 would mean 4 layers on each side, and 8 in the middle. *Note: You don't want the thin Gerber ones from Target/ Babies R Us. They're useless as diapers.*
Pros: Cheap. Relatively easy to use. Work with a Snappi. Come in many different materials. Dry quickly. Can be doubled for heavy wetter/ nighttime. PFs have 1000 or more uses: burp cloths, dust rags, changing pad, make-shift bib, absorb spills, etc.
Cons: Not as similar to sposies as other styles. Require cover, so diapering is a 2 step process. Need to buy multiple sizes.

Pockets:


Knicker Nappies pocket diaper. Great brand!



Very common type of CD. Pockets have a waterproof outer layer, and an inner layer which wicks away moisture. These two layers are stitched together leaving an opening in the end where you stuff inserts. The inserts absorb the mess. You remove the insert when it's time to wash.
Pros: Design is similar to disposables (great for people not used to changing cloth diapers, like a babysitter). If you have a heavy wetter, you can add more inserts. One step process. (No cover needed.) Dry quickly. Most are one sized, meaning baby can wear the same diaper from birth to potty training.
Cons: After each wash, you have to stuff the diaper again. Can be more expensive than PFs.

AIOs: A waterproof layer on the outside, with an absorbent layer sewn right in (hence the name, all in ones). Often includes a "stay dry" layer closest to baby's skin such as microfleece or suedecloth.
Pros: Closest to disposables. Easy to use. Most are one size.
Cons: Most expensive. Slowest drying. Can't customize.

What we do:
Our main motivation for using cloth was the money factor so we use PFs with covers most of the time. Babyzilla is a "super soaker," so we use a hemp doubler with the PF at night. They're easy to use, once you get the hang of it. My mom found some pocket diapers at a consignment store for about $3 each. They're normally $20 or more each. We use them for running errands because they're easier to use on a small bathroom counter. (It never fails that we're somewhere without a changing station. Thanks Murphy!) We have 4 pockets and they're a bit of a pain to stuff. I couldn't imagine doing it for 20 of them. With PFs you just stack them by the changing table. We use a small bin to hold the covers and doublers. Personally, I don't understand the popularity of AIOs. Pockets are just as easy to use, but take less time to dry and you can customize the absorbency. Eh... to each their own, right?

Other things to consider:

Diaper pail/ pail liner: You need a place to put the dirty diapers. We use a trash can with a lid that flips up. People used to use a "wet pail" with water and vinegar. This is unnecessary and can actually make the smell and bacteria growth worse. A pail liner is great. It keeps the ...uh.. mess from getting all over the pail. You just pick it up like you would a garbage bag and dump the dirty diapers in the wash. The liner goes in with it. I recommend having 2. One to wash and one to use. (Our liners were about $15 each)

A CD friendly butt cream: Cloth diapers have fewer issues with diaper rash, but sometimes it happens. Desitin and Butt Paste will do serious damage your diapers. Grovia makes a stick that you put on kind of like deodorant. It smells really good. It's a bit pricey, but one stick will last as long as your kid's in diapers. Ecological Babies sells CD friendly diaper rash treatments. (No, I don't receive anything if you buy from Ecological Babies. It's a great company and I'm happy to support them.)

Diaper sprayer: Nonessential, but you'll want this when your kid starts solids or if you formula feed. Breast milk poop is water soluble, so you don't have to clean it before you pop it in the wash. Formula poo and solid food poo need to be washed out first. (If you want to get technical, you're supposed to do that with sposies anyway.) With a diaper sprayer, you spray the poop into the toilet and flush it away. Diaper sprayers are good for hosing down high chairs, too. (Sprayer was $30. I asked for it as an anniversary present. Wow, I'm a cloth diaper nerd.)

Wet bag: The one we have has a dry area for clean diapers and a wet area for dirties. Not a must have (you could use a plastic grocery bag instead), but definitely nice to have. (Ours was $17 and worth every penny.)

Fasteners:  If you use flats or PFs, you'll need a way to fasten the cloth before you put the cover on. You could use the old fashioned diaper pins ($1 for 5 at Burlington Coat Factory) or you can use a Snappi. Snappis are AWESOME! They work kind of like the old ACE bandages. The ends have little teeth that hook into the diaper and hold it. No worry about sticking you or the baby during night time changes and no storing them in soap to keep the ends sharp. (Snappis are about $4 each and should be replaced every 6 months. We keep 3 on hand.)

Doublers: Doublers are great if you use prefolds and your kid is a heavy wetter. They're the prefold equivalent to adding more inserts into a pocket diaper. Ours are hemp (very absorbent) and cost $5 each. We have 4.

Cloth wipes: You're already doing the load of laundry, so why not? More savings, less mystery ingredients on your baby's bum. I confess, we're not using cloth wipes yet. It's the next step though. I'm sick of sorting the wipes from the diaper. I like to roll it all up and toss it in the pail (or garbage, if I'm using a sposie). I've found some great recipes for homemade wipe solution, but good old water works just fine, so I've been told. (Price will vary by what you use.)


I know it's a lot of information and CDs can seem overwhelming. I promise that it's not as bad as it seems! If you have any specific questions, feel free to ask.

Solids

So Babyzilla went for his 4 month appointment a couple weeks ago. He's HUGE! (Duh, that's why I call him Babyzilla, right?) No, but for realz. He's in the 110th percentile for length and 90th percentile for weight, but he's not fat. Seriously.

He's a happy, secure, healthy kid. Just huge. Our pediatrician asked about his feeding schedule and how breastfeeding was going. Well, our kiddo eats about 42-45 oz of formula a day plus whatever he sucks out with nursing. Her jaw hit the floor.

Pediatrician: He sits up well when he's supported?
Hubby and I: Yup.
Her: He shows interest in what you're eating?
Us: Yup. He chews right along with us.
Her: Oh yeah. Time for solids.

Now in my head a billion bells are going off. Aren't you supposed to wait until 6 months or more? The pediatrician explains that with a normal baby, if I were breastfeeding, I'd be right, but this kid is not normal. Our kid eats at a rate about 2 months ahead of his actual age and has doen so since he was born.

On his 4 month birthday (the day after the appointment) we started him on brown rice cereal. He loved eating! Nothing but smiles. The pediatrician had mentioned that he might push the first bit out with his toung, but that was not an issue for us.

On a side note: Have you ever read the ingredients in rice cereal?!? It's crazy what gets put in there. I'm not all about organic, but this is one of the exceptions. Earth's Best doesn't have half the garbage that Gerber has. Definately worth the extra $.75 a box, in my opinion.

Anyway, we've since started him on stage 1 squash puree (also Earth's Best). Holy moley! The kid LOVES squash. Last night he grabbed the bowl from me and tried to dive in. Good thing the Mama has super reflexes. The thing that really sold me that Babyzilla is ready for solids? The kid will take hold of my/Hubby's hand and bring the spoon to his mouth. Such a smarty pants! Right now he's getting a full jar of squash and a serving of cereal if he's still hugry. He takes down a 4 oz bottle after his bath and he's ready for bed.

He's been a bit gassy since starting solids. Nothing crazy. He's always been a bit of a frat boy in that regard. Everybody said that we'd stop using cloth diapers when we hit solids because the poo changes. So far, we haven't had any issues. Maybe it's because Hubby bought me a diaper sprayer for our anniversary (my request). That thing is awesome!

The next new food is going to be peas. That starts tonight. Unfortunately, I'll be at school. :(

All of the stage 1 purees are from Earth's Best. I have issues with the Gerber Company. Everything from the way they market formula to adding high fructose corn syrup to baby food. It just doesn't sit well with me. Besides, my favorite store, Earth Fare sells Earth's Best for relatively cheap. Combine the already low price with the 10% discount we get for buying a full case (12 jars) and coupons I get from the Earth's Best website and they're actually CHEAPER than Gerber. And I don't feel like I've compromised my values.

We bought 2 variety cases; one veggies, the other fruit. Those give us 6 varieties plus we bought some loose jars in 2 more fruits.

Babyzilla's meal plan looks something like this for the next month or so:

4 days of peas and rice cereal
4 days of apples and cereal
4 days of carrots and rice cereal
4 days of bananas and rice cereal
4 days of sweet potatoes and rice cereal
4 days of  prunes and rice cereal
4 days of pears and rice cereal

Hubby wants to switch to an oatmeal or barley cereal some time in there, and we'll add in more meals with solids. Any tips/ suggestions/ experiences from people that have been there, done that with solids are welcomed!

Our Parenting Style

Our parenting style comes from a mix of research and what seems to us like good old common sense. I've learned that almost everything in life is on a spectrum and labels don't address that, but if you must label our parenting, I guess you could call it attachment parenting, but I've never read Dr. Sears' book. *shrug*

A brief overview of what believe in doing:

~ Co-sleeping: Not the same thing as bed sharing. We didn't feel comfortable with bed sharing, so we got an ArmsReach Co-sleeper- a bassinet type of thing that attached to the side of the bed- so Babyzilla could be close to us at night for feeding, diapering, general reassurance that Mommy and Daddy are here and everything is okay.

~Breastfeeding: I'm a lactivist. I am all about exclusive breastfeeding. From a health perspective, it's MUCH better for baby and mom. It's also nice for lazy people, like me. No mixing or pouring or waiting for a bottle to heat up. Whip out a boob and you're ready to go. That said, my son is mostly formula fed. I have huge supply issues. (I believe my c-section had a huge part in it) I've tried it all; fenugreek, pumping constantly, oatmeal, Ovaltine, wireless bras. No dice. But that doesn't mean that I think formula's great all of a sudden. I know I'm giving my son something inferior, and it breaks my heart every time I give him a bottle.

~Babywearing: A Moby Wrap is my weapon of choice. The idea behind babywearing is that Mom or Dad (or whomever, really) uses a sling/ wrap/ carying device to hold baby on the person's chest. It's convenient because it makes you hands-free, so you can eat a sandwich or fold laundry. No fighting a stroller and there are health benefits galore! In the interest of full disclosure, we do own a stroller and use it occasionally, but most of the time we're all about the Moby or a sling.



Me wearing Babyzilla in a Moby Wrap.
(I don't know how to rotate pictures on here. Sorry)

~Night Parenting: We don't believe in sleep training/ cry-it-out methods. It's not only unnecessary and unhealthy, but can be down right cruel. We also don't believe in making a baby sleep longer by using rice cereal or other remedies. Babies have needs at night and it is a parent's job to tend to them.

~Gentle discipline: We aren't going to spank our children to teach them right from wrong. We believe it's unnecessary and largely ineffective in the long run.

~ Natural healing methods: We don't believe in running to a doctor for every little thing. Cold washcloths and clove oil work great for teething (rather than Orajel). Breastmilk can clean out a stuffy nose and cure an ear infection without antibiotics. Luckily, we haven't had to test out the breastmilk in the ear yet.

~Cloth diapering: I think this was the start of our slippery slope down into the crunchy canyon. I wish I could tell you that we do it all for the Earth and in the interest of being "green" but that would be a lie. I hate fads with a passion, the "green movement" included. Don't get me wrong, I think God gave humans stewardship over the Earth and we are responsible for taking care of it, but the fad-ness aspect drives me nuts. But that's for a future post. The bottom line is that cloth diapers save us lots of money. They also happen to be cute and healthier for babies.


What's your parenting style?

Birth Story

Spoiler Alert : I gave birth to a healthy baby boy via c-section.

Let me start by saying that nothing went according to plan. NOTHING. That doesn't mean I love my son any less. My feelings about my birth and my feelings about my son are not the same thing. I can be thrilled beyond all description that my son is here and healthy and still think it sucks that he came into this world that way. I don't expect most people to get that. I guess you have to have lived it.

Anyway, my plan was this:

• Go to the best OB in town with the lowest c/s rate in the area. (Check)
• Be informed about my options and rights when it comes to interventions. (Check)
• Have a flexible birth plan based on having as few interventions as necessary. (Check)
• Prepare mentally, physically, and emotionally for a natural vaginal birth. (Childbirth education, various relaxation methods learned from the Internet... Check)
• Create a birth environment with minimal stress. (Low lights, few people, soft music)
• Have OB and hubby on board with said plan. (Check)

This was all for the sake of breastfeeding. There is no debate; breast milk is far superior to formula. Period. The few interventions, the greater the likelihood of success for exclusive breastfeeding.

From 16 weeks on, I measured 2-3 weeks ahead of date.
December 14, 2010. Parking lot after registration. First contractions. Very mild.

December 15 2010- January 9, 2010 Have contractions every day. Trying everything imaginable (except castor oil) to get labor going. Small success with "labor induction cookies" in late December. Contractions lasted for about 4 hours then went away.

Monday, January 10, 2011
I wake up with contractions about 5 minutes apart. At 9 a.m.We go to the hospital because that's what you do at 5 minutes apart. We get hooked up to the monitor. Baby's doing well. Contractions aren't very strong. The nurse "can't find" my cervix. She proceeds to shove her fingers up me like a sock puppet. IT HURT! Even though she "can't find" my cervix, she declares me 2 cm and tells us to walk for two hours. We walk and walk. We call my mom and let her know what's going on. We walk some more. Nurse checks again. She "can't find it" but I'm "still 2 cm." We get sent home. I'm ticked and sore. I contract all day. I try to sleep.

11 p.m. We're at my mother-in-law's. Contractions have been coming on stronger but nothing crazy. 2 minutes apart. She advises we go to the hospital. Hubby and I drive around for a bit to kill time. We get to the hospital around 11:45. We get hooked up to the monitor again. Baby's fine. I get checked again. 2 cm. We get told to walk for 2 hours and then they'll check again.

1:30 a.m. We're walking and walking. Out of nowhere, my contractions stop dead. Not slow down. Stop. From every two minutes to nothing. I tell the nurse what happened. My next OB appointment is 12 hours later, so we get sent home. Best night's sleep I'd had in weeks.

Tuesday January 11, 2010
We go to my OB. We get an ultrasound. The estimated size of baby is 9 pounds 11 oz. At this point my OB is "legally required to offer a c-section." She does so reluctantly. Ummm... knife? My baby? No thanks. However, baby is getting bigger everyday (I'm eating over 3000 calories a day and not gaining weight) and needs to come out sooner than later. We schedule an induction for 7:00 a.m. the next day. My mom comes up that night.

Wednesday January 12,2010 7:05 a.m.
We're late for our induction appointment! ARG! Well, as it turns out, that's okay because every pregnant woman in our city went into labor the night before and every bed was full. (They'd called earlier, but we couldn't hear the phone ring in our room and my mom didn't pick it up because she didn't want to "invade our privacy" by answering our phone. ) They tell us to go home and they'll call us when we can come back. We wait all day. I'm stresses beyond stressed. This is NOT how my labor is supposed to be, dang it! I'm the first one to snap. (I blame the hormones.) Then Hubby kind of looses it. Mom breaks about 4 hours later as we're sitting around the table playing cards and stress eating everything in the house. We all start laughing for no reason, and it didn't stop. I swear, if you walked in at that moment, you'd swear we were drunk.

5:30 p.m. We get a call from the hospital. Induction isn't going to happen that day. We reschedule for the next morning. We watch The Sword in the Stone  to pass time. More stress eating.

Thursday January 13, 2011
My mom wakes me up to tell me the hospital called. No reason to come in. Another rush of pregnant ladies came in overnight. More waiting. I cry. I just know something bad is going to happen! No. No. No. We're going to get me to go into labor. More attempts. No go.

5:00 p.m. Dave went somewhere with his mother and of course, we get a phone call from the hospital. Come on in! Typical, right? Good thing he wasn't far away.
5:15 p.m. We're admitted. I change into the hospital gown. I immediately begin to itch. Guess who's got sensitive skin and having an allergic reaction? (Hint: ME!) I change back into the undershirt I was wearing. The doctor comes in and explains what's going to happen. I'll be stuck on every beeping machine they have. In my head I hear all the reasons you're supposed to avoid that stuff. But I'm being induced and it comes with the territory. (Maybe induction wasn't such a good idea? But, of course, I never said that out loud.) The most awesome nurse says to me, "You wanted to do this naturally, didn't you?"
"How'd you know?"
"Because you look like you're about to cry."
"This just isn't how it was supposed to be."
"I know the feeling. But you're here now and I promise I'll do everything I can to make this as close to what you wanted. Dare I ask your preferences on pain management?" We giggled.
"Don't offer it to me unless I threaten your life." :)

5:45-ish Pitocin is started. They tell me to try to get some rest. My MIL goes home and my husband and mom lay down on the cot and bed-chair thing. I stare off at the wall and cry a little.

5:55 I feel a cold, wet spray. It tastes salty. I scream for my mom. I'd managed to pull my IV out of my hand. It's dark. My mom feels it, but doesn't notice the cold. She thinks I'm bleeding out. (It's actually kind of funny in retrospect.) We call a nurse. She has to re-stick me. She tries my left hand. Nope. Tries my left wrist. (OUCH!) No good. She tries my right wrist. (Again, OUCH!) We got it! It's taped in good. We're sent back to bed.

6:00-ish Hello contractions! It hurts but nothing crazy. I wanted out of that bed, though. I call my mom over to help me with the IV line. I get on the ball and breathe. My mom rubs my back.

The next few hours are blurs of increasing pain, me demanding my mom put hot packs on my lower back and trips from the birthing ball to the toilet. (I peed 6 or 7 times that night.) The "breathing techniques" we learned in childbirth education class did squat. My mom taught me Lamaze breathing while I was IN LABOR. About midnight the contractions got INTENSE, one right after the other. I thought I was going to die. The line that shows the strength of the contractions on the monitor was peeking out at the very top. At one point, I turned to my mom and asked why the h-e-double toothpicks I hadn't just had the stupid c-section. Her response was exactly what I needed. "Don't think about that. You need to focus on the now. Not the past or the future. Just worry about right now, and right now, you're doing awesome."

Around 3 a.m. I realized that my contractions weren't doing anything. I could tell that the baby wasn't lower. I had to shake that thought out of my head. I didn't have time. I had breathing to do. All I can do is pray and visualize my cervix opening and breathe.

5:30 a.m. I make a deal with my cervix. If it will just dilate to 6 cm, I can handle the rest naturally. If it can only dilate to 3 or 4 cm, I'll wuss out and get the epidural. "You can do it," my mind tells my cervix." You can open another centimeter before you get checked at 7."

7:30 a.m. (Friday) I get checked. Still 2 cm, and I'm less effaced than 12 hours prior. I'm broken. I'd break down and cry but I'm too busy breathing through contractions. "Cut me," I think. One centimeter! My cervix couldn't open one centimeter?! Seriously?! The doctor says that they could break my water and see if that will help. Maybe put an internal monitor in and see what's going on. "What's the point," I think. "I've failed. Just cut me." I tell him, "No, it's time." The nurse stops the Pitocin. I want everybody out except my husband. I cry. We pray together.

The nurse and our moms come back in. The Pitocin stops. I contract for another half hour or so. I sign the forms. There's a woman ahead of us in the OR, so we wait. I get a shower and get prepped for surgery. I put on the happy face. Yay, my baby's being born. It's a facade. I'm devastated... inside.

11:15 a.m. I walk to the OR. The scrub nurses are prepping everything. I get the epidural and go numb, physically and emotionally. As I lay on the table, I look around and begin to see everything in terms of "That shouldn't be that way." The bright lights should be dimmed; the beeping machines should be soft music and encouraging words; the body, numb from the chest down, should be up and moving to facilitate labor and instead of lying on my back, I should be up, squatting or on my hands and knees pushing my child out. It's all wrong!

11:49 a.m. My son is born via c-section. He poops on the doctor and pees on the nurse. They show him to me over the curtain. He weighs in at 10 pounds 6 oz. and 21 inches long. I'm given some drug and I fall asleep while they stitch me up. I see my son in recovery, but I'm really drugged up and don't remember much of the next 3 days. I found out later that Hubby was with him in the nursery for an hour because he had breathing trouble.

Maybe a c-section is how Babyzilla needed to come into this world. Maybe he wouldn't have been able to handle a vaginal birth. Maybe he would have been fine if we'd waited for labor to start on its own again. Maybe I have nobody to blame but myself. I don't have the answers to that, but I do know that having that c-section changed me forever.

In the Beginning...

The first post of a blog is always interesting. There are a ba-zillion things I'd love to write, but I don't want to get ahead of myself. I've become a fan of a few blogs lately. (I'll post links once I figure out how.) I've admired these women and gained an incredible amount of insight because of them. As I read their experinces, I've thought "I'd love to write like that about such-and-such." I don't expect to gain a vast readership. That's not my intent with this blog. I want to chronical life in my little corner of the world. I want to get my thoughts and experiences down. I'm terrible at keeping up with my journal. Maybe this will be different.

I guess the standard thing to do would be to introduce myself, my family and my blog. I'm Elizabeth. I'm 22 and studying Elementary Education. My hubby and I have been married for almost 2 years. We welcomed our son this past January. I'd love to show him off to the world, but there are too many sick people in the world, so it just isn't going to happen. It's a shame because he's dang cute. He's my angel and the inspiration for this blog.


When I got pregnant, I "knew" there were two types of parents: "Crunchy" hippie- types that did wierd things like use cloth diapers and give birth at home with a doula. What? Pay a stranger to be there when I give birth? Psh. And of course, all crunchy-granola parents are hard-core liberals. My husband and I are definately NOT liberals. I won't get into a huge thing about politics, but just take my word for it. We are not liberals. Therefor, we must be the other type of parents. Mom gives birth in a hospital with an epidural the second she gets there with some Nubane for the heck of it, has no desire to breastfeed, spanks constantly, lets baby "cry it out," ect.  (Disclaimer: I'm not saying either way is evil, just not my bag.)


But... I didn't want pain meds during birth and I'm a breastfeeding advocate. Psychologists call this cognitive disconance. (This is the feeling of uncomfortable tension which comes from holding two conflicting thoughts in the mind at the same time.) The more research I did, the more I began to realize that I lean towards the "crunchy" side. What they said made sense and they have science backing it up to boot! But, but... I'm a conservative.


The discussion went around and around inside me for a trimester or two. Now here I am. A conservative with a 10 week old son who wears cloth diapers, breastfeeds (at least as much as I can... supply issues, but that's another post), uses glass bottles, co-sleeps, is planning a VBAC with a midwife and a doula (next time... it's a while off) and LOVES, LOVES, LOVES babywearing. At the same time, we own a stroller, use sposies (disposible diapers) at night and when we're going out for the day, supplement with formula, vaccinate (and will do so with any future children) and I had the most invasive birth possible: a c-section.


So here I stand, just to the right (wing) of crunchy.