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Archive for the ‘Pregnancy’ Category

Cloth Diapers (No, I’m not kidding!)

09 Jan

When my oldest son was about a year old, my husband got laid off.  (Yeah, this is not the 1st time we’ve been through this…more like the 4th.)  And kind strangers from all over North America sent me cloth diapers when I mentioned in passing that I’d like to try some to save money.  Thus started a minor addiction.  Cloth diapers can be super simple and super cute, so I had a lot of fun with it for a while.  I backslid when he started working again and never really got back into them, despite buying some newborn size when my second son was born.  But I’d really like to try again, especially with our money situation being what it is!  The problem is that it can be a major investment…and one that we can’t afford right now.

I know most of you are thinking about diaper pins and plastic pull-on pants, but that is definitely NOT the way most of them work nowadays!  Sure, you can still get the old-fashioned flat diapers but now there are much better ways to fasten them and a multitude of cute diaper covers.  Not to mention the many other options, like pocket diapers or all-in-ones.  These were my favorites because they were super easy to use.  And as far as laundry, I didn’t have but maybe 2 extra loads a week.  Granted I did a combination of cloth and disposables (we used “sposies” when we were out and at night) but I honestly didn’t find that it made much extra work for me.  I kind of enjoyed doing the diaper laundry, like a lot of other cloth diapering moms I knew.

Don’t discount cloth diapers until you’ve seen the options that are available now.  If you want to learn more, The Diaper Pin is a great place to read up on everything.  And a word of caution…do NOT buy the cheap Gerber diapers you see at Wal-Mart or Target.  They are poor quality and not worth the money.  Order diapers online from someone with good reviews at Diaper Pin.  Personally, I’m coveting the packages from Green Mountain Diapers.  I’m saving money now so that I can order one when Violet arrives and I have an idea of how big she is.  Since they’re predicting she’ll be a big baby, I’m afraid to order the newborn size for fear that it won’t get much use.

How weird is it that I’m getting excited about diapers, of all things???

 
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Posted in Parenting, Pregnancy, Sites to See

 

I knew it!

07 Jan

So my heartburn has all but disappeared over the last several days.  And I can breathe again.  And I have this weird pain in my upper legs.  All of these things led me to believe that Violet has dropped, but since that has never happened to me before I kind of thought maybe I was crazy.  But I’m not…or at least not about this particular thing! ;)

Dr. Delaney confirmed my suspicions today and said that she’s definitely sitting much lower than she was.  This could mean nothing, but it’s yet another sign that this baby will eventually come out, whether it’s on my terms or hers.  Just thinking about it makes me feel a tad woozy.  My only request is that if she decides to do this on her terms that she’ll pick a day Dr. Delaney is on call.  I am quite sure the other doctors are capable of cutting me open and doing all of the things Dr. D promised, but she’s one of the best doctors I’ve ever had and I really want her to be the one.

Of course, I do not expect any daughter of mine to make anything simple for me so I’m quite sure she’ll decide to arrive at the most inconvenient time.  As soon as I make a list of days that don’t work for me, that’s when my water will break.  I suppose I can deal with that as long as she gets here safe and sound!

 
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Posted in Pregnancy

 

Still hopeful…

04 Jan

We haven’t heard anything else on the thing I mentioned Friday, but that’s to be expected considering this is a weekend.  I still have a crouptastic toddler and I am still pregnant, though I believe she may have dropped a little bit because suddenly my heartburn has gone away.  I’m still having a hard time breathing, but that is probably due more to the excess fluid and congestion than anything else.  There is some other potential labor stuff going on that I’m trying not to read too much into, but it’s hard!  I am so ready to be done at this point that I would welcome it, even if it messes up other plans.  For now I’m just doing my best to get everything ready so that I’m prepared no matter when she shows up!

 
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Posted in Me Stuff, Pregnancy

 

Party Girl

01 Jan

I didn’t even make it to midnight last night.  In my defense, I had gotten very little sleep the night before (plus the quality of sleep I’d been getting had gone downhill over the previous several nights) and in an effort to make sure that didn’t happen again, I took some Ambien around 11PM.  I thought I could tough it out, but I headed toward the bed by 11:30.  According to my husband, who locked up and turned out lights then headed to bed right behind me, I was very soundly asleep before he even got there!  Oh well…it’s probably the first time I haven’t greeted the New Year since sometime in the 1980s.  There are some I don’t remember, but I have been awake for all of them!

Today I’ve spent most of the day cleaning up my desk and office area and putting away the baby stuff that (finally) got washed.  I picked out some baby things to take to the hospital with me, and finished packing my suitcase for the birth.  I guess I’m all ready if she decides to make her appearance, other than some final cleaning/rearranging in the house and getting her carseat installed/inspected.  I plan to finish all of that up next week and then try to relax until January 16, when my mom arrives.  If anyone is interested, we’ve booked a session at Dinner Savvy in Apex.  I can’t promise a ride up there (the van will be full, plus we’ll be doing some additional errands while we’re up there) but it’s a lot more fun if you can do it with people you know.  We’re scheduled for 9:30AM on Saturday, Jan. 17.

 
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Posted in Food/Recipes, House/Home, Me Stuff, Pregnancy

 

2008: Glad to see the end!

31 Dec

Today is the last day of what may go down as my worst year EVER.  I feel terrible for saying that, as I sit here less than 3 weeks from having a baby…clearly I got pregnant this year and I know that is no small thing.  It feels like something of a miracle considering our past struggles with fertility.  And if we’d waited until the time we’d initially planned on, there would be no baby because we would have put off trying due to my husband’s job loss.  So there is that one redeeming quality!  And in an effort to think a bit more positively, I’m going to try to come up with 3 more things that made this year not as bad as I’d like to think it was.

1.  We found a church where we “fit in.”  No easy task!  It’s been a long time since we felt this way about anything having to do with religion.  Though as Bill mentioned Sunday, it’s not about “religion.” ;)   If you’re looking for a church home in Sanford, give BCC a try.

2.  We are all (relatively) healthy.  After both kids having pneumonia this spring, and repeated trips to the doctor to figure out why my oldest son’s cough just will not go away lately, I realize that things could be much worse.  There’s also a million things that can go wrong during pregnancy and I’m thankful to have escaped any serious problems.  And my husband is healthy, which means not only is he willing to work, but he is ABLE to work.  And that is a major advantage in this job market.  AND, I have not had to have any kidney stone surgeries this year!  I had 3 (or maybe 4?) last year, so this is very good news.

3.  My oldest son started kindergarten at a school we love and has proven to be a great student…smart, well-behaved, and a friend to all.  I vent about his behavior at home a lot, but at school he is the kid every teacher wants.  As a mom, this makes me so happy.

4.  I thought of another one!  We’ve been very blessed this year with people who have stepped in and helped out when things got really sticky.  My mom played Santa for the boys so they would have more than the few small things we were able to afford.  A group of friends gave us $100 when we were in danger of having our power cut off in the fall.  I’ve been given maternity clothes, baby clothes, and other items that will save us money.  We’ve been given cash for our birthdays and Christmas gifts by my in-laws.  And though this isn’t really something that someone helped us with, we liquidated my husband’s 401(k) *before* the market tanked and it gave us several extra months of food and housing money.  There has been much, much, more and I know I’m forgetting people and things that happened that were true blessings to us during this year.  Each and every one has been much appreciated and we are surviving thanks to all of you.

I have high hopes for 2009.  If nothing else, we’ll be welcoming a new baby into our home and that’s reason enough to celebrate.  So raise your glass and say a toast…goodbye to 2008 and welcome 2009!

 
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Posted in Faith/Religion, Family, Health, Kidney Stones, Me Stuff, Parenting, Pregnancy, Sanford

 
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