Yay For New Cloth Diapers!!!

Within the past week we have been able to get a few new cloth diapers for Miss Sweet Pea. Some have been great and others ehhh. Starting with the ehhh, Swaddlebees AIO/pocket diaper. I love the idea behind this diaper but it needs to be redesigned. They are sized very small especially through the middle where you don't want any diaper to be small. If it didn't have padding I think it could be on the verge of being a thong-diaper...not good. Thankfully I only washed one of the two ordered so the new one is going back and the other one is going up for sale.

Onto the good. I decided to try the large size Thirsties fitted diapers for Sweet Pea because I liked the look of the small ones I had ordered. They work great!! It held up as long as one of our pocket diapers with no leaks at all. I put in a stay-dry doubler and couldn't be more pleased. Now I just need to make some bigger soakers to use with them.

Now I may be speaking too soon on this next one but I think I may have found my favorite pocket diaper. I don't know how I came across Montana's Diaper Store but I did and found their Haute Pocket one-size pocket diaper. They had some seconds so I ordered one. This think has the softest fleece I have seen on a diaper, comes with either snaps or Velcro, and can fit from 8-35 pounds. It fit great on Sweet Pea and we'll see in the morning if it lasts through the night. This girl is a super soaker and I have to use two microterry inserts and sometimes a hemp insert to prevent leaks at night. I hope that the Haute Pockets work out for at night since they cost less than the bumGenius pockets and come with snaps. Though I like how quick Velcro is, snaps seem to hold up better for us.

Everything with #2 is still going well. I got to meet the other midwife this week and she is amazing. Sweet as can be. I really hope that I get to work with her for delivery. She was so excited that I want to do a VBAC and was very encouraging about it!! If this little guy stays in until next Thursday I'll be having one more ultrasound just to make sure he hasn't flipped and that my fluid levels are still ok. I don't think he's flipped with the way I've been feeling. I need to call my physical therapist to be sister to see if she can tell me a way to stretch out my leg muscles while big and large. If I was not pregnant I could do this without a problem but since I can't really bend over or lay on my back I need another solution or for this kid to come out soon.

Sadly we are still waiting to hear news on the house. I am so thankful that our realtor is working so hard to get answers from the bank for us. She's so angry we don't know anything yet and I think she might explode if she doesn't get an answer next week. Just watch the day she gets a price I'll be in labor. I'll take it though because that will mean baby is out of me and we're one step closer to getting a house.

I must confess that I have turned into a sugar junkie in the past week and a half-ish. So far during this pregnancy I have been good about sugar but oh how things have changed. I have had so much ice cream, chocolate, brownies, pop, and other sugar stuff it's ridiculous. I gained 3 pounds this past week!! That's the highest weight gain I've had between visits in a while. I just hope all that weight is on me and not the kid because he would be about 7 pounds by now and that's not good with 4-5 weeks to go. He needs to stay little, I can handle getting big right now, but he needs to stay under 7.5. My sister and I weren't over 6.6 so I'm hoping that I have babies like my mom. We'll see soon enough though.

Our Little Snake Friend

Thanks to a friend I think this is the kind of snake that is living near us. It's a black kingsnake. Not dangerous!!

Snakes and Noisy Bugs

We have suspected since we moved into this apartment that at least one snake is living around us, and today we finally saw it. A black snake with yellowish stripes is living under our front driveway/walkway. Sadly from my days working at PetCo I can't tell what kind it is. I just hope that it's not dangerous. Either way I would like it to find a new home that's not so close to ours especially since it lives where Sweet Pea likes to play. I think any outdoor fun will need to be somewhere else from now on.

Then there are the noisy bugs. I don't know what they are but they are LOUD! Thankfully they have stopped for now but they were driving me crazy earlier. Usually this doesn't bother me but today I was going to lose my mind. I'll blame it on the pregnancy. It's a good thing to blame certain moodiness on.

On a final note for the evening I would like to thank the person that invented Ginger Ale because without it I would be feeling really icky. Yay for Ginger Ale!!!

What To Do When Bored @ Work?

So we are in a lull season at the office right now. There is really nothing to do at all. I have searched and played on the internet all I can. I don't know what to do while I'm here. It would be wonderful if I could bring some knitting, scrapbooking or other fun stuff to do but sadly I can't. I am very thankful that my boss is willing to let me sit here and do nothing to get my promised hours in for the week but it is starting to drive me absolutely crazy! Plus being big and pregnant does not help the situation. If you have any suggestions for how I can pass the time I would be most grateful.

Sadly we have not yet heard anything about our house situation. I really hope we hear something this week so we can start planning. Right now I would love to move and have a house, but I'll be content in our apartment for a while longer. People with much bigger families live in less space than we have, and many people in this world would give anything to live in a real house so I shouldn't be complaining. I just want an answer.

I'd like to give a shout-out to a few friends who I have found out have been reading my oh-so-exciting blog!! Hello friends!!! I was excited to find out that other people are actually reading my blog. Please feel free to comment and introduce yourself. If you have blog type thing let me know so I can stay updated on your life too.

Bursts of Nesting

Nesting has once again commenced at our place. Since it was Saturday and I didn't have to work I woke up with Sweet Pea and had breakfast. Well, it was more like she had breakfast and I was cleaning the kitchen while making popovers. I managed to get the kitchen clean, towels that have been on the dryer for a week put away, and the floor swept. Yay for a mostly clean kitchen!!

After Mr. Man woke up and Sweet Pea went for her morning nap we started to tackle our bedroom. It has been a mess since we moved in. My goal today was to get our room mostly clean so there would be room to set up the playard and get rid of a lot of stuff. There was much success! The closet got cleaned out, book shelves rearranged and dusted, the playard is all set up, a few more things need to get cleared out and we can vacuum the floor!! Amazing I know.

Goal #2 is to get the kids room all set up. I found a deal on a dresser at Target this week and we, meaning mostly Mr. Man due to my pregnant state of being, put it together. I have some of Little Man's clothes already in it ready to go. Now I just need to sort though baby clothes again and put away things that are too small, and organize all of the boy clothes we have. It's amazing how much clothing kids have. Once the clothes are in order it will be time to figure out a diaper system for 2.

Now if I can just find a mattress pad that will fit in the playard I think we will be all set for this little guy to get here. I'm quite ready for him to be in the world and out of me. I'm quite uncomfortable and there are still 4-5 weeks to go. I just keep telling myself I can make it, I can make it.

Experiencing Freedom...and Pain

We got our car yesterday! This one is for going to work. The interior needs a little love and an air freshener, but overall it was a great buy. Last night I was able to go to the grocery store to get Sweet Pea some more of the 5 foods she eats since we were out. It was so wonderful. I just can't wait for a more fun reason to go out in the evening that doesn't involve routine household chores...like getting ice cream:)

I think I've finally started feeling some real Braxton Hicks contractions. I was feeling a lot of cramping last night and sharp pain this morning. Nothing regular so I'm sure it's just the "warm-up" that happens. The other unpleasant thing is more tendons, hip bones, and other stuff is starting to stretch out and that is not fun. I feel like I've pulled my leg muscles or that someone has been kicking me with a steel toe boot. The doctors say this is normal. Thankfully I have a appointment tomorrow so I'll get to see if everything is really ok.

And Today There Will Be FREEDOM!!!

Today is going to be a happy day because we are buying a second car!!! Someone Mr. Man works with is selling his car for a deal we can't pass up. Having two cars means that when one of us is at work the other is no longer trapped at home, and if I need to do something in the evening I don't have to wake Sweet Pea up to go and get dad from work!! Freedom!!! I'm so excited.

Yesterday was a good day too. I finished soaker #2, and got new diapers in the mail! Sadly none of them can be used yet because they are for little man. I got some more prefolds, XS covers, and Thirsties fitteds to try. Everything is so tiny. I forget how little newborn diapers are. They are so cute I can't wait to use them. Mr. Man does not understand my excitement over the cuteness of poo catchers.

Though it is sad that I can't use these diapers Sweet Pea needs some new ones too! She's starting to have some serious plumber butt action these days. Plus she's starting to enter the "I don't want to wear clothes" phase, along with eating only 5-8 foods. Now I just need to figure out what I want to get. We have really liked the bumGenius 2.0 one size pockets but the Velcro is starting to not work which is not nice. I'm thinking of trying the Mommy's Touch one size pockets. I'm not a huge fan of snaps on diapers but they don't wear out as fast as Velcro. Oh decisions, decisions.

Here are some pictures of the yarn I dyed, soakers, and Sweet Pea trying to pose for a picture.

Yarn after cooking in Kool Aid

All balled up

Soaker #2

Soaker #1 Now Blue

Miss Sweet Pea

Unnecessary Trip to Hospital Take 2

All Sunday morning and into part of the afternoon I was trying to decide if my water had broke. There was no major gush of fluid or anything, but a wonderful leaking feeling for hours. This is the same thing that happened with Sweet Pea so we called two great friends to watch the little lady as we drive to the hospital. I get admitted, the nurse does the litmus test which comes back positive, but they're still not sure that my water really broke. So, this doctor/intern guy comes in to do further examining. All I have to say is that young male doctors need to learn how to give proper examinations down there. It was the most painful thing I have experienced thus far...not nice. The end result is my water did not break, I'm not dilated at all, and I get to go home. Not so good news I'm just really leaky. Oh joy!

As we're driving home Mr. Man turns to me and says, so if this is the same thing that happened with Sweet Pea did she really come early? When I thought my water broke with her they just did the litmus test no real exam to see if my water broke. I wasn't having contractions either time. There's nothing that can be done now, but I really wonder if it was necessary to do a c-section with Sweet Pea because I may not really have been in labor just really leaky.

Needless to say I am happy that this little guy isn't coming this early since he's only 4 pounds and some ounces right now. But the question still remains...What the heck does it feel like to go into labor? I've never felt a contraction, I'm assuming I'll know if my water really does break, but I'm still in the dark about all of this birth stuff. All I have to say is that I'm not going to the hospital unless a flood occurs, I show signs of bleeding, or I can tell that contractions are happening. I hope it's pretty obvious because it's an annoying drive and you can only ask friends to help so much.

On a lighter note I almost have soaker #2 done! All I have to do is finish the leg openings and take pictures. The first one I tried to make for Sweet Pea was huge so I took it apart, dyed the yarn, and started over. It was much fun dying yarn with Kool Aid and I want to order a bunch of yarn and scour the town for more Kool Aid colors. I'm finding that knitting is more my thing over sewing.

So, I think the Serger dream is going to be put on hold for a while. I'd rather put some money into some more good needles and yarn that can be used rather than spend a fortune on a machine that I may not.

Pictures

Here are some of the pictures I have been promising.

This is the first diaper soaker that I made! Not too bad. It took a while to get to this point, but at least it's done.

This is the new Baby Bjorn carrier and cover I won on ebay.

Isn't she the cutest thing ever?

Belly picture at 33-34 weeks.

His Head is Down!!!

Can I just say how much love seeing a midwife over my OB? Today was my second visit with her and she is wonderful!!! Don't get me wrong my doctor is great but she's very efficient during her visits. If anything ever goes wrong, which it won't this time, she is the one I want around to help. It has been so refreshing to actually talk to someone about what's going on with this baby. Since I've been having a few signs that this little guy could be coming early she decided to do an ultrasound today to make sure all is well. Everything looked GREAT!! His head is down, my fluid levels are good, and he's around 4 pounds already!!! I hope they have my due date wrong again and he comes a little early so he's not too huge, but not so early it would be bad. If I can make it to 36 weeks I will be happy because then I can deliver at the hospital I want.

In other baby related news I was able to sell all of my cloth diapers and ordered new ones!! It's so exciting. I have also successfully finished knitting a diaper soaker! I just need to make the i-cord and it will be done. Pictures will come. It has been an adventure trying to get it right and I'm slowly getting the hang of it. The next step will be dying it so it doesn't look so blah. Pictures will come.

My patience and searching on ebay payed off this week. I was able to get a deal on a black Baby Bjorn carrier with a beautiful red cover for less than I bought my used plaid ok Baby Bjorn for! Plaid is being returned this weekend. I'll have pictures of the new one soon-ish.

My latest research project has been on sergers. I really want to get one. I was cutting out old t-shirts to make some prefold diapers and wipes and realized how nice it would be to just serge them. Especially the wipes. There's a Singer model that I was shown today that looks nice, but I really don't know anything about this stuff. I'm hoping to run across some deal. This isn't anything I need, but it could save money by making stuff myself and some time too. Oh decisions, decisions.

One of these days we might find out something about the house we want to get too. Right after we put in our offer we found out that the family went bankrupt and the house is now in the banks hands. Now we have been waiting for the bank to give us the price on the house. I just hope that they give us a really good deal. We've been prying hard for a good price and I hope we hear what it will be soon so we can start the rest of the buying process. There is so much going on right now it's quite crazy. Thankfully Mr. Man has spring break next week so things won't be as crazy even though he'll be trying to get ahead on work before little man gets here.

Unnecessary Trip to Doctor's Office Take 1

My day began around 6 o'clock am-ish wondering..."hmmm did my water break, or is our room just really warm?" I stay in bed and realize it's just really warm which is good. Despite this realization I'm still feeling a little off and my brain won't fall asleep. I'm thinking about everything that needs to get done around this house just in case Little Man is early and on his way. While laying and thinking I start feeling a lot of cramping, pressure, and what very well be contractions. I'm still not willing to get out of bed or mention this to Mr. Man.

He gets up for the day, I keep sleeping until Sweet Pea wakes up. I start giving her breakfast and as soon as Mr. Man goes to class I turn into a frantic cleaning machine. Loads of laundry are going, the dishwasher is emptied and reloaded, I find a suitcase to pack, I rearrange the clothes in the kids room, get the other crib all ready, and finally take a shower. I couldn't stop doing stuff...I had to get all this done.

I finally call the doctor feeling stupid that I'm calling but felt I should. They said to come down and get checked out because of everything I was feeling. The only problem was Mr. Man was at some lecture thing and I couldn't get a hold of him. I was texting my friends and mother-in-law hoping someone might be there. Sadly no. Thankfully he got home we quick fed the kid and got in the car.

My doctor thought I was there for a routine visit. Baby's heartbeat is still fine and I'm not dilating yet. She's not worried yet but I'm on weekly visits now.

So the good news is so far I'm not going into labor, but I wouldn't put it past this kid to come early. I'm only 32-34 weeks depending on who you ask. So, he should be ok. I'm ready for him to come, but we'll see how things go. Oh the joys of pregnancy.

Random Fun

Your 1996 Theme Song Is: Breakfast at Tiffany's by Deep Blue Something

And I said "What about Breakfast at Tiffany's?" She said, "I think I remember the film, And as I recall, I think, we both kinda liked it." And I said, "Well, that's the one thing we've got."

What's Your 1996 Theme Song?

I don't know if this really is my song, but it's not too far off.

What's your 1996 song?

What were you doing in 1996? It was my first year of high school. So glad that is all over and done with!! I'm trying to decide what is worse pregnancy heartburn or parts of high school...sometimes I think they're about the same. At least the rewards of pregnancy will be better than high school lows.

Have we lost our minds?

I think Mr. Man and I have lost it. We just started the process yesterday to buy our first house!!!! AHHHH! I'm super excited about having a house and not renting anymore, but this is all falling at a really bad time. Since our loan is through a government program it can take 4-6 weeks to get the house. This really means that it could take less time, but it could take more.

What else is happening in the next 4-8 weeks? Oh not much...Just giving birth!!! I still don't know if my doctor will let me try to have a VBAC or not, so I might have to go through another c-section which would be just grand for moving. Last night I came to the realization that I'm ready for this kid to come out now. I have about 2 months left to go, but the super-uncomfortableness has just set in full force.

Our hope with the house is that everything goes really fast and we can get things fixed and moved before baby comes, or things get really delayed and we do everything after. Not only do we have to worry about baby coming, but Mr. Man is getting to the busy point of his semester and has a ton to write and other stuff to do for class. So this means I'm handling most of everything. I don't mind since I don't have school and I would much rather be doing all the house stuff than writing a paper any day.

There are some fun parts to having a new house like picking out flooring and paint. Right now I'm looking for inspiration. In my dream world that has all the money in the world, I want to put wood (or what looks like wood) in the "great room" (living room, kitchen, hallway) and recarpet all the bedrooms. I know carpet can happen, but I'm not sure about the rest. The kitchen floor isn't bad, but I'd still like to have one type of flooring rather than the 3 that are there now.

My days will be filled with trips to HomeDepot, thrift stores, and fabric stores looking for ideas to decorate the new place. I just wish we had cable so I could watch TLC for some more inspiration.