My New Obsession

Custom Crib set designing websites.

This one is great www.javisdavis.com

They let you take fabrics that are already grouped and mess around with how you use them. Too much fun. (They are a little pricey, but totally cute) It gives me a little more confidence about how to make my own. Here's some of the ones I came up with just now!







Like I said, my new obsession. There are a few others out there that let you do the same, but this one by far has my favorite fabric choices. If you're bored, check it out. It'll eat up a few hours of your time. ;) The sets on this site will run you close to 300 bucks - so another reason why I would make my own, I'm cheap.

Here's the weekly poll:

How far along? 16 weeks 2 days

Weight gain/loss: Holding steady at down 5 pounds. Remember, I don't own a scale, so I only weigh myself once a month ;)

Maternity clothes? All the time, depending on what I wear, I either don't look pregnant at all, completely pregnant, or a few cheeseburgers past skinny

Stretch marks? Not yet!

Sleep? I'm sleeping well this week, when I'm not passing a kidney stone

Best moment this week? Wearing my first maternity dress to a shower! Everyone said I looked so cute, I love the compliments. :)

Food cravings: I have a wicked sweet tooth right now, more so than usual. I have to be careful...

Gender: Still thinking boy, we'll see in a few weeks

Belly button in or out? In

Movement? I'm still trying to feel something, but I haven't yet. I'm hoping this week or next week somtime.

What I miss? Nothing

What I'm looking forward to: The BIG ultrasound and getting to register for all the baby stuff in a few weeks

Weekly wisdom: Today I am pregnant, and I love my baby.

Milestones: Blood work complete, unless there are more problems!

An Exciting Pregnancy Story

So, yesterday I started having pains "down there" and I assumed it was most likely a UTI. I've never had one before but what people have described was similar to what I was feeling. I called the Dr. and they told me to go for a urine analysis and if I felt like I needed meds to call the answering service over the weekend to get some.

I peed in the cup and went to class still feeling some discomfort. Results on Monday, great. When I got to class (with a gallon of cranberry juice) I started feeling a lot more uncomfortable. I was there for 2 1/2 hours and went to the bathroom at least 6 times. Still thinking it was a UTI, I figured I'd give it the night and call for meds in the morning if I needed to.

I went home and promptly fell asleep on the couch. I woke up, now with pain in my side, just a little, but still scary. I thought "great, I really have a kidney infection" but I still decided to wait until the next day to call the doctor.

Well, I woke up sometime after midnight with SEVERE pain in my left side. It felt like something was going to burst. I imagine that apendicitis would feel something like that, but it was the left side. I just thought that kidney infections suck, but I don't want to bother the doctor right now.

Well, 2 or 3 hours passed with me on the floor with cold sweats. The need to pee but not really the ability to pee. I couldn't lay down, stand up, or anything, it just hurt. I thought I was going to lose the baby - it was worse than the pain I felt with my miscarriage.

I called the doctor and they insisted it was most likely a UTI, that I should take some aspirin (yeah right) and they'd call in a prescription for antibiotics. About 10 minutes later I was puking in the bathroom. Figuring that was not a good sign, I called the doctor again and said I was going to the ER because something was wrong with me.

I couldn't wake M up, so I called my parents to drive me there. On the way, I laid down and started to feel better. When we got to the hospital, the pain was mostly gone. Great, they're going to think I'm a crazy pregnant lady with a UTI who was being big baby. I peed about 6 and a half drops into a cup and waited.

Apparently, I had passed a kidney stone. At least I'm not crazy. I was in severe pain and I wasn't being a baby. Luckily it only took a few hours to pass instead of a few days (I thank the half a gallon of cranberry juice for that). The doctor told me that many people think kidney stones are worse pain than child birth. I find that hard to believe (although I was screaming and crying on the floor in the bathroom), but we shall see.

Hopefully this is the last time I have to go through this!

Fluff Mail!!

I got my first 2 trial pairs of cloth diapers in the mail today! I was excited to actually show them to M so that he could see what I was talking about. I thought he was going to pass out when I first suggested it, but he seems to be getting on board slowly... he agreed to "try" them today. That's a step in the right direction :)

I ordered 2 Blueberries (supposedly the Cadillac of one-size pocket diapers, we'll see) made by Swaddlebees. I ordered from the clearance section, there is supposedly something wrong with them, but I don't see anything. I got them for a much cheaper price (18 bucks each), this is one of the more expensive brands of one-size pocket diapers.

Here they are at the smallest size



For a quick lesson in these diapers, they come with either snaps or velcro closures. Some people prefer one over the other, so I got one of each. Essentially, they get longer by undoing the snaps across the bottom and fastening them wider. You can see the difference in the picture below, the one on the left is at the smallest size, and the one on the right is the largest size.


There are three rows of blue snaps on the right, that allow you to make them longer and the legs wider, and the velcro/snaps across the top also get larger. There looks like a much bigger difference in size in person.

There is a pocket in the back. The inside layer against the baby's bum is fleece, which allows the liquid to go through onto the doubler while keeping the skin dry.



In the pocket you put a "doubler" which is basically two or three layers of organic bamboo/cotton to absorb the liquids (or pee, whiz, urine, etc). When you change the baby, you take out the doubler and wash all the parts together, then restuff them when they're clean.


I think we are going to use a type of disposable liner inside the diaper, too, to catch solids (or poop, fecal matter, stinkies). I'm really not interested in scraping poop off of a diaper with a spatula. This way, the poop and the liner go into the toilet. Flush. Voila, clean diaper.

Yes, I am aware that this does not account for massive baby blow-outs. We'll cross that bridge when we get there folks. (I might need the spatula to scrape the walls, I should keep one handy)

Even though these diapers run about 18 bucks a pop for the cheaper brands, they will still save money over buying diapers and wipes every week. If we go the cloth diaper route, we'll probably use a combination of disposable and cloth wipes, too. We're hoping to get about 20-24 cloth diapers, if we decide to use them, so we (by that I guess I mean "I") only have to do laundry about every other day.

Also, there is no need for a nasty "wet pail" that I've read horror stories about. You can use a traditional trash can type thing with a lid and a leak-proof bag, that goes in the laundry right with the dipes. Hopefully flushing the solids will also help.

From what I've researched "they" (that would be the earthy crunchy people I've been stalking) say that cloth diapers prevent rashes better than disposables, they are more absorbent and have less leaks, and really aren't so bad once you get in the swing of it. I do think it is an upgrade from folding diapers, using large safety pins (ouchie), and rubber pants. I might change my mind in about 7 months ;).

If you want to see more of the different kinds of cloth diapers, there really is a lot out there. Check out some of these websites
www.kellyscloset.com
www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com
allaboutclothdiapers.com/new-to-cloth-diapers