Cloth Diapers at 17 Months

This month's big announcement: our child no longer takes two naps.  About 2 weeks ago, she got really sick, and for days after she would not nap in the afternoon for anything.  I thought it was post-sickness-and-I-might-be-teething nonsense, but a friend of mine mentioned that our child might actually be done with two naps [since most kids are at this age].  I fought and fought and fought that our child still needs two naps .  She loves to sleep!  She is so happy when she's awake!  She usually goes down for naps perfectly! It's just teething!

Two nap-less afternoons later, Josh sweetly mentioned again that we should consider just trying one nap for the day.  If it doesn't work, so be it.

Turns out, Friend was right. Josh was also right.  We switched Kiddo to one nap and have never looked back.  This kid was so ready that it wasn't even a transition down to one.  For her, that is.  I've had to transition to early morning showers and actually getting up before my child wakes [terrible, I know].

In all seriousness, going down to one nap has been a lot easier than I thought it would be.  I was honestly terrified that I would lose what little time I used to have to myself in the mornings.  Instead, I've had to just shift it to before 7. And she still naps for a total of 4 hours in the day, its just now all in one chunk.  I think I can live with that.

Aaaaand...this actually does somewhat relate to our cloth diaper routine because the number we use in a day has changed.  We still use about 6 prefolds during the awake times, but now we only use 2 all-in-ones for 1 nap + 1 night. There has been some adjusting of the stash and all that and it has worked out pretty well.

Adelle - 17 Months 

# of Children: 1

Gender: female

Size: 20 lbs 12 oz, 31.25 inches tall

Average # of Diapers a day: 8

Laundry Schedule: Every three days.

Routine: pre-folds used during awake times [changed every 1.5 hours], all-in-ones during nap, all-in-ones with hemp insert at night

Diaper Size: One size diapers - middle settings, Thirsties covers - size 2, second smallest setting, Disposables - size  4

Leaking?: Two times - and it was really weird.  The covers were damp and stinky after being worn, like they had lost their waterproof-ness, and kiddo's pants got damp because of it.  Hasn't happened since, but I'm keeping a wary eye out.

How's the Poo?: Same, same. Gross and stinky and they always seem to show in the middle of nap.

Did you Use Disposables?: Yes, for a nasty rash that took a couple days to go away.

Any Changes: I feel like our child may be a weird size for some cloth diapers. A lot of her diapers wear low [like you can see things in front low] but still are loose-ish around the legs.  She is a pretty skinny kiddo, so it makes some sense why it happens.  Because of it, though, I do find myself messing with the snaps on a pretty regular basis now to try and find the right settings.

Any Issues: Last month I wrote that the laundry schedule was extending beyond what I was comfortable with [4 days of stink is tooooo much]. I did some re-organizing of diapers, and that along with the new sleep schedule has worked itself back into 3 days, on the dot. We now have a surplus of diapers, so the plan is to put our lesser favorites into storage.

Still Like Cloth?: Oh, sure.  You know I do.

The Week's Menu: Small Group Edition

This round of foodies is brought to you by: our church small group.  Read below to find out why.

Seven Layer Dip

The seven layer dip. Great for parties, the Super Bowl, and any night you're hoping to gain a few extra pounds.  We were the bringers of this delicious bowl for our small group a few weeks ago.  Easy, and gluten-free - all you need to do is layer guacamole, refried beans, sour cream, salsa, some tomatoes, olives, and cheese.  Don't forget the chips.

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

This dinner menu was inspired by [you guessed it] small group.  A turkey version was served for snack one week, and I like them enough I decided that I needed to give them another try.  After a weekend of family visiting [resulting in a full fridge!] I had just about everything to make my own lettuce wraps. I found the recipe linked above, which is supposed to be just like the wraps from P.F. Changs.  I don't know if its true, being that I've never had their wraps, but this stuff tastes pretty authentic restaurant. Josh claims its the secret ingredient in the sauce - ketchup. To make sure this recipe is gluten-free, use Tamari instead of soy sauce.  I also found that stir-frying the chicken/veggie mix in the special sauce worked better than spooning it over at the end.

To each their own, I suppose.

Enjoy!

Decoding Infant Clothing Sizes

For some strange reason, sizing on infant clothing is as bad as it is with women's clothes.

Why? I have no clue.

I have figured out a couple tricks to get an idea if an outfit is going to fit my kid.  This isn't fool-proof, mind you, but I've found it works better than just wildly guessing.

Here are the two places to look at when trying to figure out what size a onesie actually is:

- the length [shoulder to leg opening]

- the width [either at the shoulders or the middle]

Here's a few examples to show you what these differences actually look like in real life:

Example 1: Length. Both outfits are size 3 months.  However, when you line them up at the shoulders, the orange outfit is longer than the pink outfit. [In fact, the orange outfit is actually the size of a 6 month onesie - thanks, Circo.]

Example 2: Width. Both onesies are size 6 months.  When you line them up, they are the same length, but the yellow one is wider than the pink one around the middle [the shoulders are the same width].

[See? the 3 month orange onesie is actually the same size as the 6 month yellow onesie.]

Here's what all that means for a growing baby:

- Some onesies actually are wider in the shoulder area. Skinny babes won't need wide shouldered outfits - they usually just fall off the shoulder and look trashy [joke! ha ha].

-The way most babies grow is that they get taller, then gain the weight.  So the skinnier outfits are great for when kiddo first grows into a size, and then later the wider outfits can be worn without your child looking like a deflated balloon.

That being said, I found a pretty decent way to arrange all the baby clothes so that they would actually be sized correctly. Here's how I did the baby outfit organization [this is going to get super nerdy, so if you don't care, you can quit here]:

*Note: This is a great time waster for when you are in nesting mode.*

First, I organized my outfits in the sizes labelled on the outfits, like newborn, 3 months, etc.

Second, I organized each sizing group by length of torso [shortest to longest].

Third, I organized each length group by width of shoulders [skinniest to widest].

Organizing this way helped me optimize [gah, did I say nerdy?] the wear-ability of each outfit when Kiddo fit, instead of finding outfits she grew out of before I even got her in them. I usually put the big-for-their-labelled-size outfits in the size group they really belong in [like that orange one].

By the way, you can do the same thing with t-shirts when you hit the 12 month size and bigger - length of t-shirt [shoulder to bottom hem] and width of the shoulders.

[Here's an example of the variety of t-shirt sizes in the 12 month group.]

Pants are also similar, but I've found they generally are the same length in each size group.

So I totally recognize here that comparing the size of each outfit seems a little overboard.  It probably is.  But it is not time consuming [the organizing can be, though. Especially if you enjoy doing it]. I discovered this pattern simply by grabbing clothing out of my child's closet over the last 18 months. Hangers are great for seeing clothes at the same shoulder height, making it super easy to note that this-here onesie is actually longer than its neighbor. Same goes for the widths.

Looking for some cute and inexpensive ways to organize baby clothes?  Here' s a few fun finds from around the interwebs.

[1] Organize baby shoes with a tension rod and shower curtain clips. link

[2] Use cardboard boxes covered in paper or fabric to organize a dresser drawer [this tutorial is to desk organization with cereal boxes, but the idea is the same]. link

[3] Free downloadable printout of baby clothing dividers from newborn to 6T. link

[4] Make dividers using cereal boxes and paper. link

[5] This tutorial makes dividers with foam and ribbon. link

Do you have any tricks to understanding and organizing your kiddo's clothing?

It Gets Uglier

So you know how a few days ago I said my kid threw up but I was sure it was just bad chicken?

It probably was.

Regardless, she did it again [throw up, I mean].  All night, Wednesday night, every 15 minutes on the dot.

rest came at 5 a.m.

You know what that means?  My child was actually sick. I think this was a first.

And then, yesterday, I woke to the same [throwing up, I mean]. Not every fifteen minutes, thankfully, but it was a long 24 hours.  The last time I remember feeling that awful, I was pregnant.

Now I don't ever want to be pregnant again [that was a joke].

So now we're just waiting for Josh's turn and then I think we will be done with this who being sick thing for a good, long while.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

 [1] The Good. Life around here has been full, but I'm half surprised by how good it has feels.  Granted, I'm sitting here at 2 p.m. drinking yet another cup of coffee, and our guest bathroom smells like pee [after this post, I'm on the hunt for the source]...  Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that lots of the mundane daily tasks, like sleeping and cleaning, have gone by the wayside. Still, life has been good.

Being intentional about doing film stuff with my husband has been really, really good for us and our marriage. Last week we had the film shoot for "Dudes Episode Two" at our house [it's okay if you have no idea what I'm talking about], and since then I have spent hours in front of the computer learning how to edit, watching Josh edit, and even doing a bit of my own.  Turns out being musical helps with that whole movie editing thing. Who woulda thunk?

[2] The Bad. There's been a nasty puke-virus going around our circle of friends, and we almost got it.  Kiddo was rocking some serious grumpies on Monday, which turned into a vomit-fest all over her toys [yay]. Good news was, it wasn't a virus - just some old chicken I forced her to eat a few hours earlier.

Others, however, have not been so lucky. I had the honor of taking care of a sick friend's kiddos for nine hours, making me a "mother" to three children for the day. For my "hard" work, I was rewarded with an accident minutes after arrival [hence the pee smell in the bathroom] and watching my husband wrangle a wiggling 7 month old with a blowout.  Our kid was never a gymnast during diaper changes, so this was Josh's first time deciding which was worse, a poop covered infant, or a poop covered carpet. I wish you had been there.

In all seriousness, all the kids were really manageable the whole time.  But I am officially stating here that mothers of three young children deserve  medals for bravery.

[3] The Ugly. Thinking that frozen spinach is a decent replacement for fresh spinach when making smoothies.  I tell you this, I tell you this, I tell you this: it is not.

And this gluten-free cupcake mix? Weird, ugly, no good. I'd hate to see what bad Passover cupcakes are like.

My C-Section Story - Part 2

Before I get started again, I want to say that yes! there is a part one, right here.  If you haven't read it yet, you might want to.  It will probably explain a few things.

And also, a disclaimer: this is still part of a written birth story account, so once again, some of it is probably not suitable for all audiences. You still have the option to watch this hilarious video.

I have no intention of scaring anyone with my story. I simply want to share my story for three reasons: one, to get it out of my head and down permanently. Two, I want to have the memories recorded before I forget any more.  Third, I hope that somehow I can encourage some one else through my story so that they may not feel so alone.

While going through the physical and emotional healing process of my c-section was very hard for me, I am thankful that they do exist.  And while it is easy for me to wonder if I could have done things differently and avoided having one, reality is that I made the best choices at the time with the information I was given. Ultimately, I know that no one was at fault - my c-section was simply a part of living in a broken world. 

When I met my daughter for the first time, she was still swollen, although not as badly as at first.  Josh made sure to show me pictures of how bad it initially was.  I was afraid that I had cursed my child with an ugly face.  Thankfully within a day the swelling was down and she actually turned into a very adorable newborn.

The first nursing session went well [in large part due to the fact that she had to wait two hours for food], and she was in perfect health.  I was so happy to be done and amazed that I had survived "it" - a c-section.

I still couldn't move from the waist down, and in no time at all the post-surgery shakes hit me [if you haven't experienced this, it is something else.  I was so cold, even with 3 heated blankets over me, and I shook uncontrollably and visibly for I don't know how long].

I think a little after 5 p.m. we finally got the green flag and moved up to the mother-baby unit.  I remember the nurse coming in, introducing herself, and telling me a bunch about the IV pain meds that I couldn't really track with.  She put pressure cuffs around my calves and told me to get some rest. The cuffs would go off randomly, one leg and then the next, working to prevent blood clots from forming. Each time they would go off, I would get jolted out of my half-stunned state. Getting any rest with those on was a joke.

I remember my parents finally coming in to their new granddaughter.  Details evade me.  I don't know if I actually ate any dinner or not.

I remember a talk at one point from the nurse about the breast pump.  I didn't realize that using it was optional - so I used it regularly to pump nothing out.

I remember realizing at one point that I had soaked through the pads I was wearing in my mesh "underwear" and being embarrassed to have the nurse roll my still-paralyzed body around on the bed while she cleaned up after me.

I remember the night nurse coming in and deciding for some reason that my baby wasn't nursing well.  She had me pump, then fed the little bit of colostrum to my baby through a syringe. Looking back now, I wish I could remember her reasons for doing that.

I remember the first time I got up to walk, once I finally felt my feet again.  The ache in my abdomen was awful.  I don't care what they say about making sure you stand up straight after a c-section - there was no way I was going to be able to stand upright for while.

I remember hobbling around the room in the wee hours of the morning with a crying baby I couldn't soothe, crying myself, with my exhausted husband sleeping through all of it on the chair-bed in the corner. I felt too guilty to wake him up [it had been a very long two days for him as well], but at the same time furious that he could sleep through her cries while I couldn't.

I remember the surgeon coming in at 6 a.m. to check my incision.  He had trouble looking me in the face, and barely took a peek at his handy work.

I remember that I started struggling with breastfeeding because the pain of latching was intense.  I remember my nipples were raw and bleeding, having the lactation consultant come in twice, and again, the night nurse deciding to syringe feed my baby at 3 a.m.

I remember that eating food was surprisingly easy to do after surgery. I remember showering was surprisingly mortifying. Measuring my pee output was particularly mortifying as well.

I remember pulling off the stickies over my incision and expecting my incision site to burst open.  It didn't.  I remember how messy post-delivery was.  I felt like I was getting blood everywhere.

I remember confusion the second night over the class I needed to attend before being allowed discharge.  The first nurse told me I could stay in the room and sleep - my husband could go in my place because I was a c-section patient.  Five minutes later, the head nurse and teacher of the course came storming in my room, telling me I was late for class and "what on earth was I thinking?"  I remember spending the entire hour of the class falling asleep in my chair, over and over.  I have no memory of anything she told us that night.

I remember the excitement of hearing "discharge" the next morning.  I was lucky to be getting out so early with a c-section, but apparently I was doing "exceptionally well." I remember the nurse that day was my favorite, and she actually knew what she was talking about and was actually really helpful with explaining meds and breastfeeding.

I remember the surgeon coming back in again during discharge, this time to give me a prescription of birth control, telling me that taking it sooner than the 8 week recommended wait was a good idea - I didn't want to accidentally get pregnant again too soon.  I remember a part of me was pretty miffed that he assumed I was that dumb.

I remember carefully dressing my baby up, afraid of breaking her fingers through the sleeves, and of getting her strapped into her carseat 30 minutes too soon.  I remember seeing my swollen belly, swollen feet, and realizing that it was going to be some time before I felt normal again.  This realization made me incredibly sad.

I remember getting the option to walk out of the hospital instead of going in a wheelchair because I was doing so well post-operation.  I decided to slowly hobble my way out, so I could proudly show each person I passed that I was a big, brave, new mama. I survived the worst, and I was walking out on my own.

I remember waiting for Josh to bring the car around to the front of the hospital and thinking how momentous today was for only me, and no one else outside would ever understand this moment like I would.

There are a book's worth of memories about the first couple months of Kiddo's life [breastfeeding! sleeping! not sleeping! doctor's visits! and a hospital stay!], and to add to it, I had this scar.  It would never go away, no matter how much it may fade.  Forever until death it would affect my life - a detail I would have to note in every medical form, a line I would always be able to feel on my skin, a distinct part of my life's story. It's been a long process coming to terms with what my c-section means now.

I learned that at the end of the pregnancy road comes not the experience of birth, but a baby. When I was pregnant, I was so wrapped up in the details of the experience of birthing my first child that when it didn't happen the way I wanted, I was crushed. This isn't to say that I didn't want the baby at the end [I very much wanted her], but I think I didn't have my priorities straight.

I've also begun to understand a tiny bit better what earthly suffering is about, and where God fits into all of it. I don't know if God made me have a c-section for some specific reason - in fact, I wonder if there really is no reason at all for it. It may be that I simply live in a fallen world, and therefore experienced the natural consequences of the original sin.  But I've decided I'm not going to look for answers from God.  I'm going to look for a chance to give my hurting heart, tight throat, and tears to Him each time they surface. And so far, He has blessed my efforts to do so.  For that, I am grateful.

Father's Day Re-Cap

Happy [belated] Father's Day!

It's been really fun to get to celebrate this holiday the last couple of years, because my very own husband is now a father himself.  We spent this year's Father's day discussing which sushi restaurant in Tempe had the best chance of being as good as Hawaiian sushi. We finally settled on Sushi 101 because most sushi places are actually closed for Sunday lunch out here [boo].

Conclusion: the sashimi just doesn't compare to fresh sashimi from the islands, but their cheetah roll was surprisingly delicious.

I Heart Miso Soup on Vimeo.

Kiddo's first conclusion: Miso soup is bottom-lip-sucking good. The extra-deep spoon ain't so bad either.

Kiddo's second conclusion: chopsticks are fun. And the sushi sauce is far more delicious than sushi itself. Maybe next year.

Also, we three made a video for our dads in honor of all the years they've been dads. Make sure to tell me how awesome the editing job was, okay?  It was my first time - I'm a natural, I know ;)

Father's Day 2013 on Vimeo.

And on a personal note, I am incredibly thankful to be surrounded by three great dads in my life.  I realize even more now how blessed Josh and I are to have dads who are involved, loving, and hard workers to look to as role models as we try to do our best at this parenting thing.  I can see the overflow of their love come out through Josh as he loves and raises our goober.

So thanks, dads!