Cloth Diapers for Our Baby's Bum

So after doing quite a bit of research John and I decided that we are going with cloth diapers for our baby.  Not only is it better for our baby and the environment, it is also quite a bit more economical (especially if you can resist buying all the adorable diapers out there).  There is so much information out there about cloth diapers it can be overwhelming.  I have a few go to sites (my fave being www.allaboutclothdiapers.com) and there is really a community of support too.  With cloth diapers there are challenges and problems that arise but you just have to try to work your way through it.  We are under no presumption that this is going to be easy or as easy and convenient as disposables but in the end we believe it is worth it.  Keep in mind this is coming from a girl who has changed a minimal amount of diapers total in her life.  :)

So a few nights ago I made a spreadsheet which outlines the types of diapers (All in Ones, Fitted, Covers, Pockets, Flats) and how many we need/would like of each as they are a newborn and then an infant.  The whole cloth diaper thing seems to have come a long way in the past years.  No more is it just flats that you fold and hold together with pins and put a plastic coated cover over.  Now you have All in Ones (AIOs) that are just like disposables except you wash them instead of throwing them away, Pockets that you stuff with liners depending on the absorbency amount that you want, and Fitteds that have snaps or velcro but you still need a cover for them.  I picked the brands that I wanted based off of reviews and reccomendations.

So one of the brands that I want is Ragababe.  When I first went to their website they were out of stock and so I decided to check back frequently.  So I check first thing this morning and they were still out of stock.  For some reason I checked again 45 minutes later and they had stocked a couple colors in a couple sizes.  I thought "this is my chance".  Well I was wrong.  In that time they had stocked and were sold out of the ones they stocked already.  They have a minimum per family on how many you can buy in a month so I have a feeling these are good ones.

What I love about these diapers is that they are made by a mom.  Her name is Joy and you can learn about her and her family and how RagaBabe came to be on her website.  www.ragababe.com.  Here is a photo of one of the 2-Step diapers.  Aren't they cute?

 So my quest to get my hands on one of these continues.  These are just one of the many brands I want to try out and have in my stock of diapers.

Overall I am really excited about cloth diapers and am super into doing the research. I am happy to pass any of the information I learn onto anyone else who is interested in learning more.  I think it is something worth considering for your next baby.  If you decided it isn't for you, that's okay.  We may find in the end it isn't for us (let's hope not) but at least we gave it a try.  I am excited!  Now I just have to resist from over buying :)

Happy 3rd Birthday Allie Jean!

So quite a few weeks ago (almost a month already) Allie celebrated her third birthday!  I can't believe what a big little girl she is becoming!  WE had a great time celebrating with her and the family and friends before we headed out on our vacation.  Here are a few pics from the special day! 

 

Barbies!  She was pretty excited about them!  

More excitement over her gifts!

Can't get enough of licking the frosting off the candles.

Enjoying some cake with her friends

Water Fun! 

Hanging out with Grandpa Craig on the porch, taking a break from the water. 

Or so she thought, the sprinkler could reach all the way up to the swing! 

Allie and Uncle John playing upstairs after the guests all left.  

John and I relaxing in the sun!  What a beautiful, enjoyable day!  

The Envelope Has Been Opened

So we took our sealed envelope with us to Lanesboro, MN this past weekend when we went camping with some friends.  Lanesboro is a special place for John and I.  It is where we spent a lot of time while we were dating (since I lived there), where John proposed, and where we we got married.  It is only fitting to add one more special moment to the list right?  So on Saturday afternoon we went for a bike ride on the Root River Bike Trail and made our way to the spot where John proposed.  It was on that same picnic table we decided to open the envelope.  Prior to opening, we both were convinced we were having a boy.  Well, we were wrong!

We are having a little girl!  No matter what the picture said we would have been so excited!  I am still trying to wrap my head around pink since I have been thinking blue for the past few weeks but we are so excited to welcome a little girl into this world in 21 weeks!  Before I got pregnant I had always hoped for a girl someday but it didn't make a difference if it was this time around or another. So we are very excited and have now started talking names.  We looked at some lists last night and were throwing some names out there.  What we decide on for a name will however, remain a secret until she is born! :)

So that is the news for the week.  We are now 19 weeks along, almost halfway there!  I am feeling great and definitely feeling and looking pregnant.  No definitive movements felt yet but I am sure that will be here soon.  I actually kind of felt something this morning but not sure that it was for sure the baby. I could do without this heat wave but thank goodness for air conditioning!   Camping wasn't too bad this weekend but the A/C definitely helped in the camper when it was time to go to bed!

Mid-Pregnancy Ultrasound

Well we had the big appointment today.  The ultrasound. I started to get nervous this weekend because I had talked with John's cousin who just had her's on Friday and she was telling me everything that they measure and check for.  so of course I was worried that they could find something wrong.

Well everything went great.  They check the brain size, the heart and it's 4 chambers, blood vessels, fingers and toes, nostrils, femur, spine, and on and on.  Everything is measuring right on for 18 weeks which is where I am at today!  So yay!  It's heart beats 140 bpm and weights about 8 oz.  It was really moving around too.  I of course could not feel it yet.  Which she said is normal and that I might feel it later because of how things are positioned.  It was such a relief to hear all is going well.

As for the gender... the results are currently in a sealed envelope.  I doubt we will wait until it is born but today we are celebrating that so far it is healthy from what they can tell with the ultrasound.  I am thinking boy, I think John thinks it is a boy too.  Only time will tell ;)

Everything else with the pregnancy is going great!  I am feeling pretty good-I could do with out this hot humid weather but no big deal.  I have A/C.  I walked a 5k on Sat night and even jogged a little at the end and it felt good! Let's hope that the 2nd half of the pregnancy is as good as the first half :)

Boy or Girl or Wait to Find Out

Okay so we have less than 2 weeks until our big ultrasound where we get to get a good look at the baby, check to make sure it is doing okay and to check for gender.  We still have not decided 100% if we are going to find out or not.  Part of me really wants to wait and then part of me things we should just find out now, because why not right?  So I think we can still be persuaded either way at this point.  Maybe we will make a game time decision.  Who knows.  So anyways I put a poll on the side of the blog so cast your vote, boy or girl or we should wait until it is born to find out.

The daycare interviewing has begun and is going good so far.  I have like 5 different prospects so we will see which one is the best for us!  We had one last night and it went great and another one tonight.  The others we are waiting until a few weeks into July to meet with.  I suppose we still have a little bit of time to decided ;)  I have gotten a lot of great advice on what to look for and what is important when looking for someone who your child is going to spend SO much time with.  So thanks for that!

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful 4th of July!

One of My Biggest Fears

I had to laugh at myself this morning as I was recounting my night last night to my mother-in-law.  So, one of my biggest fears is SEVERE thunderstorms that could produce tornadoes.  I feel like this has started only in the last 5 years or so and I can't figure out the root of this fear but lately it has gotten bad.  Tornadoes I feel can be so unpredictable.  And they can be so dangerous and cause so much damage in just a short amount of time.  If I know that a storm is just going to cause thunder, lightning, and some hail I am okay.  But I fell at any moment a tornado can arise.

So the other night I had John get our "tornado area" ready.  Our plan is to go underneath the stairs in the basement so we have a sleeping bag down there to wrap up in and flashlights in case the electricity goes out.  In our bedroom, I have him get Cinder's leash by the bed, we have both our headlamps by our bedside and I get my "tornado outfit" ready.  My outfit includes sweatpants, sweatshirt, and tennis shoes that I am protected head to toe haha.  I know it sounds silly but if it makes me feel better...  And of course we keep our weather radio in our bedroom too.  I have the most wonderful husband who does all this to make me happy.  He has no fear of tornadoes and would sleep through the whole thing if I let him.

Well last night we had strong strom predictions.  Around 11:30 PM the weather radio goes off for our country for a servere thunderstorm warning.  We had given Cinder a sedative (prescribed by our vet) before the storm came our way.  If you think I am scared of storms, you should see Cinder haha.  We gave her one pill (it is prescribed for up to two).  There had been no tornado warnings since the storm got to Iowa so I had relaxed a little thinking that it must have died down. Well I was wrong, not too much longer the weather radio went off for a third time and before it even said what the warning was for I knew it was for a tornado, there was no other options.  So I wake John up and he goes downstairs of course to look out the window.  I get my "tornado outfit" on and go downstairs.  I bet I looked ridiculous.  We found out the tornado was south of us and would miss us but I refused to take my outfit off until the warning expired.   But I felt ready and in control.  I am so glad John as so much patience with me when I look silly.  There I am in my whole outfit and there he is in glue to the window-the place you should not be.

Cinder slept through the entire thing thanks to the ace (sedative).  We tried to get her roused before we fell asleep and she was just like a rag doll that is how bad it knocked her out.  Even this morning she has trouble walking and is still really loopy.  We will definitely have to cut back the dosage even more the next time but at least it kept her calm through the storm.

Bottom line, I just want to be safe and I want my family to be safe.  And when we do have a tornado, we will be ready :).  At least I can still laugh at myself.  Right?

Dr Apt and Some Random Bits

So yesterday I had my 14 week check-up.  Through this pregnancy I haven't worried much about how things were going.  It was going to go how it goes right?  As long as I am eating healthy and doing what I should, everything else is out of my control.  Until yesterday.  The bad thoughts kept going through my mind.  What if we don't hear the heartbeat, what if something happened since the last ultrasound and I never knew, what if what if what if.  If there was something wrong, I would find out at the Dr.  So off we go to see my Dr.  I am armed with a short list of questions which I wrote down so I wouldn't forget.

1.  Can I got swimming/floating in rivers or streams (I am hoping this is a yes but doubtful).  I didn't even have to finish asking the question  and she is saying No way.  Pools-great but not those dirty places.  So no tubing on my trip to Lanesboro this summer :(

2.  Can I eat suhsi rolls that are made with only vegetables and cooked meats- Yes totally okay-YAY!  I have been craving wasabi and sushi rolls this whole time!  I know what I will be having for lunch next week.

3.  Is it okay that I still find myself sleeping on my back-Yes, for now.  If I do later in pregnancy it won't hurt the baby, just me. Plus she said I won't be comfortable on my back later in pregnancy so not to worry. 

4.  Can I use insect repellent and which kind- (I am not big on insect repellent and not so keen on ones with DEET)-She says I should be using insect repellent and it should have DEET.  It is not good for me to get mosquitoes bites

Super bummed about the water since it is summer time but oh well, won't be the last sacrifice I make for my child :)

So after my questions were answered she checked the heartbeat-We heard it and I am so relieved.  So far so good.  Everything else was good and as I was leaving she said " I am going to track your happiness level through this pregnancy and see if you are this happy through the rest of your pregnancy-I haven't seen someone smile so much in a while"  I told her it has been a couple of good weeks.  Why wouldn't I be happy right?  So all in all it was a great appointment!  

Couple of other random updates:

A. Our countertops are backordered and won't be here for at least another 3 weeks :(  I am getting tired of cardboard countertops but what can you do.  

B.  I am loving watching the Twins-they have been winning even when I watch.  Joe Mauer is back tonight in the lineup so hopefully that means we will be playing even better.  

C.  We got our first CSA disbursement last week from the local farm and I am loving the fresh veggies!  They are soooo good.  It is fun to get some different things than we normally eat.  At the grocery store I buy lots of fruit because that is so what I am craving right now.  I can't get enough!  

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!