Time flies!

Well my baby is now 7 months old and has 5 teeth! Caleb is the joy of our lives (along with his brother Titus!) His smiles are plentiful and are bestowed on friends, family, and random strangers at the grocery store : ) He isn't showing any signs of crawling or rolling around, which I am very thankful for! Having 1 child on the move keeps me busy enough ; ) Poor Caleb, we are all so busy chasing after Titus that we forget to take pictures of him : (  I am really trying to be intentional about taking pictures of him because I want to document all his cute little baby stages!

Here is a sampling of the pitiful amount of pictures I have taken of Caleb:

Caleb on Christmas morning with some of his presents

Tummy time! (Love the whale on his butt)

Titus doing "tummy time" with Caleb : p

Chilling in the Boppy

Exersaucer - I love this thing!

Holding hands - so sweet!

I love these boys so much!

Cuties!

Caleb was relaxing in the beanbag, and Titus decided to join him : )

Our newly expanded family

Sorry about the unintended 2 month long vacation from blogging. I gave birth to another little boy, then things just became busy, and writing in this blog wasn't a priority. I'm hoping to be able to set aside some time to blog. My main hurdle is remembering to take pictures and upload them to my computer (I think I need to hire a photographer ; )

Here are the important details : )

Caleb Daniel

Born August 22, 2012, at 10:47pm

Weighed 5 lb 1 oz and was 18 in long

The top picture was taken when Caleb was 2 days old. He is now 6 weeks old, and he had gained 2 lbs and grown 3 inches at his 1 month check-up! Life is a little busier with 2, but still very manageable : ) Titus loves his new brother, and Caleb is happy to just look around and take it all in (most of the time).

God gives such good gifts!

28 weeks!

I haven't really written anything about this pregnancy so far, because I really haven't written much of anything on here at all lately! I think the main problem that I have been so lazy about posting is that getting pictures put up just seems like so much work. So this will be a picture-less update post, but I am hoping to post some pictures soon of projects I have been working on, Titus, etc.

As I mentioned in the title I am 28 weeks along in this pregnancy. 28 weeks signifies the beginning of the 3rd trimester, and it also means I will be going for visits to the midwives every 2 weeks instead of every 4 weeks. People are commenting that my belly is really starting to "pop" and I am getting comments from strangers about being pregnant : ) I feel great right now because the nausea and fatigue of the first trimester are a thing of the past, and I am not so huge that it is uncomfortable yet : )

This pregnancy has had a different range of emotions than my first pregnancy. I am very happy to be pregnant and excited to have another child, but I also really enjoy just being Titus' mom and spending time with him. I am looking forward to the birth of this baby, but also trying to slow down and enjoy my only child for the rest of the summer. Titus loves stroller rides, being read to, and snuggling with me, and I love doing those things with him! He fills my life with joy and I love seeing his personality become more evident each day, even though George and I are now having to deal with discipline issues : / Life will probably be a lot different for Titus this fall, with the arrival of a sibling, hopefully different in a good way!

I have been working on some projects for the new baby, so stay tuned for an upcoming post with some pictures : ) I also packed my bag to take to the Birth Center. I realize that it is still very early, but it was a little stressful not to have anything packed when Titus arrived so early, so it feels good to know that I at least have that done. July is probably going to be a pretty busy month for us, so I am hoping to use the month of August to make preparations. Some of the things I want to get done are:

- Make meals for the freezer so I don't have to think too much about dinner after the baby arrives
- Make some thank you cards in anticipation of receiving meals, gifts, etc.
- Read "I'm a big brother" books to Titus to prepare him for a little brother or sister
- Buy another dresser and fill it with the newborn clothes from the basement
- Order some diapers for the baby and for Titus, since I will probably take a break from cloth for the first month or so
- Make a basket of snacks and water bottles to have on hand after the baby is born to keep my milk supply up (and so George and Titus will have convenient snacks as well)
- Sew some cute things for this new baby to wear. Maybe I'll even make something pink.  I have a 50% chance of having a girl ; )

So much to look forward to this fall! It is such an exciting time for our family. Praise God for his goodness to us : )

Mother's Day

Yesterday I celebrated Mother's Day with my family, and it was such a nice, relaxing time : )

We went to church, and I enjoyed a convicting sermon and some great praise and worship. After church we had lunch with some good friends (crab legs, shrimp, and steak - yum!), then we went to my parent's house and spent time with my mom and grandmother, and my father-in-law came by in the evening to see George and I, and to play with Titus of course : )

George washed the dishes (from Saturday - yikes!) and cleaned the kitchen for me and Titus gave me hugs and tickles. They really were the best kind of gifts! Also I got to finished up the Rita's in the freezer ; )

This post wouldn't be complete without me thanking my own mom for all she has done in my life. I am just starting to learn what a beautiful and challenging thing motherhood is, and I am so thankful for all the time and work you put into me, and that you now shower your grandson with love! Thank you so much mom!

Summer sewing

I have had my eye on a few sewing projects to do this summer before the baby comes. I decided to list the links to the projects I want to do on my blog, to help me remember what I want to make, and also to provide inspiration to anyone who reads my blog : )

Car seat tent

I think this cover looks perfect for a napping baby. Titus used to sleep in his infant carrier all the time, so I want to make this cover for this time around : )

Nursing cover

I used this tutorial to make a nursing cover for when Titus was nursing, and it turned out really well. I'd like to have an extra cover, so I can wash them, and still have a cover to put in my diaper bag. 

Quiet book

Titus is just at the right age to enjoy an activity book like this. I will probably create my own pages and style, but this quiet book has some great ideas for pages I think Titus would really enjoy : )

Stroller cup holder

I really like our stroller, but it doesn't have a cup holder for me. So when I saw this tutorial I thought it would be perfect! I got some laminated cotton in a cute bicycle print from my mother-in-law's fabric store that I can use to make this cup holder : )

Summer skirt

I saw this skirt tutorial on Pinterest, and I thought it looked like the perfect summer skirt! It has an elastic waist, to accommodate my growing belly, but it still looks polished and well-made.

Wetbag

I made a wet bag to use with Titus, since I do cloth diapers, but I have since lost it : (   I probably won't start cloth right away with the new baby, but Titus is still in diapers, and it is nice to have a pretty wet bag to put in my diaper bag in case of diaper changes on the go.

One more makes four!

George and Titus and I are so excited to welcome a new member into our family in September! I am about halfway through this pregnancy and have been amazed at how fast it is speeding by : )

I hope to post some fun baby projects and preparations, Lord willing. Or maybe I will just get caught up in the craziness of life and not post at all ; ) But hopefully I will be able to get it together.

There are several other women in our church who are due right around the same time I am, and it is wonderful to be able to share the joys of anticipating new life! Praise God for his blessings to our family and to all the other families that are expecting : )

"Cute as a Button" baby shower

In February I hosted a baby shower for my friend Adriane, and her sweet baby Hunter. I chose the theme "Cute as a Button" because I could use up some of my millions of buttons (found for me by my mom at garage sales - thanks so much mom!) and also because Hunter is truly adorable ; ) My friends Jessie, Jasmine, and Jean helped with the planning and decorations, and it was a great collaboration!

I had a lot of fun putting the decorations for this party together, and I am posting pictures in the hopes that they will be helpful/inspirational to other people who are planning button themed parties : )

I glued buttons to card stock to make name cards for the food

I decorated jars with burlap, ribbon, and buttons to hold the utensils and sharpies for labeling drinks

I used strips of burlap, buttons, and pieces of twine to make simple napkin rings. The twine was threaded through the button holes and tied in a knot to hold it in place.

Jessie made an adorable garland using strips of fabric, which she used to decorate the window and fireplace

She also made this "Cute as a Button" garland. It was so simple, and yet so perfect. She decorated a frame with buttons, and put in baby pictures of Adriane, Hunter, and Mike (Adriane's husband) so people could see who Hunter looked more like : )

 

 

Jasmine counted all the buttons in this jar to make a guessing game for the shower guests

I glued large buttons to magnets, to make button magnets as favors for the guests to take home. 

I made shortbread buttons using this recipe. I cut out the buttons with a shot glass, used a slightly smaller glass to form a rim, and punched out 2 holes with a straw.

 

Finally, I made carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and made chocolate buttons to decorate them. I melted red candy melts, and poured the melted chocolate into a button-shaped candy mold to form the buttons.

Washing cloth diapers

   Welcome to part three of my series on cloth diapering. Today I will be talking about washing cloth diapers. You can read about buying and using the diapers in part one and part two.
   As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I have 24 cloth diapers, which allows me to wash diapers 2-3 times a week, and have diapers to use in between washings. My son is 15 months old, so he can go longer between diaper changes. Newborns should be changed often, so you may have to wash more frequently with a younger baby.

   I have BumGenius and Fuzzibunz diapers, and they are very simple to use. Every couple of days I carry the diapers and inserts in the diaper pail liner I made down to the washing machine and dump them in. I add about 1/2 a scoop of Charlie's Soap to the load and wash once on cold, then I wash the diapers a second time on hot.
   You can use many different kinds of laundry detergent, but you should buy a detergent that is considered safe for cloth diapers. Some things to look for are: no enzymes (then can irritate the baby's skin and cause a rash), no dyes or fragrances, and low/no-sudsing.
   BumGenius and Fuzzibunz recommend adding bleach to your washing routine about once a month or so. I prefer not to use bleach, so I will do that occasionally if I think it is warranted, but I usually rely on the sun to bleach the diapers and inserts.

   After the diapers are done being washed (sometimes I run them through another hot cycle without detergent if they still smell) I hang them up to dry, either on the line outside, or the drying rack downstairs. I prefer to hang the diapers outside, because the sun helps bleach them, and they smell fresher. However, if it is raining I will hang them on the rack in the basement. I occasionally dry them in the dryer if I am short on time. The dryer makes them soft & fluffy, but it will wear them out much faster. BumGenius actually recommends drying diapers in the dryer occasionally, to help the PUL to stay waterproof and tight.
   I hope I remembered to say everything. Washing diapers is very easy, and probably only takes me 5-10 minutes, every couple of days. The diapers may be a little bit stained (see above picture :), but the sun can help to whiten them, or you can use chlorine bleach on the diapers. I am glad that I chose to do cloth diapers with Titus, and I hope the information I have shared will encourage others to look into cloth too!

Using cloth diapers

Today is part two of the cloth diapering series I am doing. Part one is here. I will be explaining how I make cloth diapers work for our family, and hopefully if you are reading this you will be able to glean some information that will be helpful in your decision-making process.

I have a 15-month-old son, and I have been using cloth diapers since he was 3 months old. The main reason I didn't use them before that was because his little legs were too small for the one-size diapers (he was only 4 lb. 4oz. when he was born). Now that I am more comfortable with cloth, I want to start cloth diapering earlier with the next one, using prefolds and covers. The prefold system is a lot more intimidating to me, but it has the advantage of fitting even tiny newborns.

I have learned a lot by trial and error, and I want to share what I have learned, in the hopes that other people might be able to use some of the same methods that I use.

I currently have 24 one-size pocket diapers. I have had as few as 12 diapers in my rotation, and I got by, but I really had to stay on top of the laundry, and a lot of times I resorted to disposables because I didn't have any clean diapers. With 24 diapers I wash 2-3 times a week, which is usually when the diaper pail is full, and I don't have to worry about running out of diapers.

I also use cloth wipes. To me it just makes sense, I can just throw the wipes in with the diapers and wash everything together. Before Titus was born I sewed some flannel wipes, thinking flannel would be nice and soft, but flannel is actually a little rough once it is wet, and it is not very good at removing solids. Next I tried pieces of fleece, but fleece repels water, so that didn't work very well as wipes. Finally, I decided to try some washcloths I had gotten as a shower gift, and they were perfect! The terrycloth has some texture to help dislodge sticky poop, and they are easy to maneuver, and very soft. The key is to get the very thin, inexpensive ones. I bought a pack of 10 from Kmart for $4.50. Here is an example of washcloths that look like the right kind.
   I  keep them in an old wipes container, and I put them in while they are still damp from the wash. I add a little bit more water so they are nice and wet, and I keep a little bottle of baby shampoo at the changing table and put a drop of that on a wipe to get Titus nice and clean if he has pooped. I would recommend having at least a dozen cloth wipes.

My diaper pail is a trashcan with a lid that I got at Target. I made 2 liners for it out of PUL, so I can just pull out the liner and wash it with the diapers. That way I don't have to wash out the diaper pail as often. To make each diaper pail liner I took a yard of PUL, and folded it in half widthwise so it was 36" X 21". Then I sewed a french seam around the bottom and side, to create a bag.

 Here is the outside, which faces the diaper pail

 And this is the shiny, waterproof inside part, which faces the dirty diapers

 Here is the liner in action! If you aren't into sewing BumGenius makes diaper pail liners that cost about $20 each. My homemade liners don't look as neat & professional, but they only cost about $5 each.

Diaper changes are usually pretty painless. Take off the diaper, pull out the liner, dump both in the diaper pail. However, if there is poop involved it becomes a little more interesting. Newborn, breastfed poop is just fine to go in the wash, I never had problems with it washing out. But once the baby starts solid foods if you don't rinse all the poop off into the toilet you will find partially digested food and other questionable things in your washing machine (gross!). You can hold the clean part of the diaper and swish it around in the toilet to dislodge the poop, but I found that to be messy and not always very effective.

A friend generously gave us her diaper sprayer, and I love it so much! It "power washes" the poop off the diaper, and is quick and efficient. The only downside that I can see to the diaper sprayer is that the spray doesn't always stay in the toilet, so it can be a little messy. That really doesn't bother me, I just wipe it up with toilet paper, but I thought it was worth mentioning.

 If I have the time, and I think about it, I stuff the clean diapers and store them in this basket, which I keep under the changing table. They look so nice and are very convenient.



However...

Most of the time I just dump the diapers and liners out into Titus' closet and shut the doors and walk away.

Just keepin' it real : )

Buying cloth diapers

   This week I am going to be doing a three-part series on cloth diapering. I was very intimidated when I started using cloth diapers because I didn't know many people that used cloth. So, I did some research on the internet, and I learned a lot from the blogs that I read.
   I have used cloth diapers for about a year now, and I want to share what I have learned so that other people can benefit from my experiences, and to hopefully encourage any mothers (or fathers) that are interested in using cloth diapers. It really isn't very hard : )

   To begin this series, I am going to share how I decided on the particular brand and style of diapers that I use. There are so many options, I think there is really something for everyone. I hope the information I provide here will lead you to make an informed decision if you are considering cloth.

The three main choices...

 All-in-one diapers -  These are the simplest kind of diaper to use. All-in-ones are the most similar to disposable diapers. Their main advantage is ease of use, and the biggest downside is a long drying time.   

Pocket diapers - These are the kind of diapers I use with Titus. They have a main diaper piece with a built-in cover, and there is a microfiber insert that is slipped into a pocket in the diaper. I picked them because they are more user friendly then prefolds, but take less time to dry than all-in-ones.   

Prefolds & covers - This is the most cost effective system. Prefold diapers are usually around $1 each. Covers are more expensive, but not as expensive as pocket diapers or all-in-ones, and you don't need as many of them. You can buy wool, PUL, or nylon covers. The main disadvantage to using prefolds is that they are more work, and can be very intimidating to husbands, grandparents, babysitters, etc.

   I have only used 2 of the numerous cloth diaper brands available, so I will just cover those 2 brands. But please don't feel like you are limited to only those 2 brands. You can buy diapers from major retailers such as Cotton Babies or Diapers.com, purchase from sellers on ETSY, or make your own cloth diapers if you are a good seamstress and very ambitious : )

   I have used Fuzzibunz and BumGenius diapers with Titus. Here are my opinions on them:

BumGenius - one-size pocket diapers
This is my diaper of choice and the one I most recommend to people, for the following reasons:
- They last for a long time. I have BumGenius that I received used, that had been used to diaper 2 babies before Titus, and I still got a few more months out of them.
- They come in fun colors :)
-They have a good warranty. The velcro tabs and the elastic are the first things to wear out, but you can buy replacement kits for $1 each.
-The inside is soft and cozy
-The velcro closures and the snaps for adjusting size are very easy to use
-I have one-size diapers, which means the same diapers should last until Titus is potty-trained

The only thing that I have disliked about my BumGenius diapers is the fact that Titus can undo the velcro himself, which can be messy and annoying. If this is a major problem for you, BumGenius also sells diapers with snap closures.

Fuzzibunz - one-size pocket diapers
Some of the benefits to Fuzzibunz diapers are:
- The snap closure prevents babies from taking off their own diapers
- The leg elastics are adjustable, which means less leakage, because you can always ensure a good fit
- Again, cute colors : )
-They are also one-size, so the same diapers should last until potty-training

I have 2 Fuzzibunz and I like them, but not as much as the BumGenius. I think all the snaps are a little overwhelming, and they definitely don't fasten as quickly as velcro. Also, the inside is fleece, which was nice and soft at first, but it pilled up and is not as nice anymore. : (

In summary, I really like the BumGenius one-size pocket diapers. I have used them for a year with Titus and have been very happy with them : ) Tomorrow I will talk about how I make cloth diapers work for our family, and some helpful tips I have learned in the process.