Monday, June 29, 2009

Low Down On Cloth

So after finishing a dozen or so diapers, I decided to try them out. I must say that I am a fan. First off, I am not a crazy hippie eco nut. My choice to cloth diaper was not to save the environment. While I won't go punch a baby tree for kicks, I don't really go out of my way to save the earth. I do things because I am my mothers child, she taught me never pay for anything I can find cheaper, or do myself.
We went through 4 diapers today, from this morning until bath time at 7:30. I only put a cover on her when we went out and about. Even without the covers, none of the diapers leaked. Success!
Here is the first diaper cover I made, obviously not perfect, but functional. Plus it was made from an old blanket. :) Yay for saving money! Anyways, on to the diapering plan.
I pre-stuff all the diapers with microfiber towels, and stack them under her changing table. Right before I put them on, I plop in a piece of scrap fabric. (this acts as a liner for poo, that way I don't have to wash poo off the diapers) After pinning on a few diapers, I have only stabbed myself once. Wahoo!
Once its time for the diaper to come off, I pull out the microfiber towel, and toss everything into a garbage can. Our 'diaper pail' is sitting in our bathroom closet. Once I run out of diapers I'll get to washing them, hopefully I'll make enough that I only have to do diapers once or twice a week. Since I don't throw poo in with the diapers, smell shouldn't be a big problem.

(for washing you use 1/4 the amount of detergent reccomended, and no fabric softener. wash on hot, and sun dry, or toss in the dryer.)

I find these to be rather nice. So if anyone can sew, and would like to knew the patterns, hit me up. Or if you would like to buy some, I could sew some up a few for ya. :) If I like you that is. :P

The Cloth Has Begun!

This morning I decided to wrap my little monkey's rump in one of my cute cloth diapers. Today is a 'test run' to see how well we do with the cloth diapers. I've only had to change her once, and the diaper didn't leak at all. The diapers aren't too bulky, she just looks like she has a big bum, and they don't droop. I'll have to give you all an update tonight with more pictures of the diaper covers I've made. And let you know how my system will be working. (if you aren't interested in cloth diapers, feel free to skip the post later tonight, I'll still love you)

The Bestest Daddy

This may come as a shock to you, but my darling husband was not ready for a child. Crazy right? You would think every 19 year old guy wants a screaming blob of his own. Wrong. I, on the other hand, wasn't too worried about it. I had taken classes on everything from child development, to child psychology, to taking care of kids in a daycare.

After 9 months of cursing Denny for getting me pregnant (which caused me to throw up anything I dared to eat, and blow up into a hippo) our little girl was born. Postpartum hit me, and it hit me hard. However, it was a different kind of postpartum. I wasn't like those crazy ladies in the movies that want to throw their kid out the window, my hate went toward the poor man that got me pregnant in the first place.

(there is a reason for all of this babbling, be patient)

I only got more angry with him, when I came to realize that I was expected to do everything by myself. I raised my child on my own. I fed her, I changed her, I put her to sleep, I woke up every single night and rocked her for hours on end (while daddy slept soundly), I handled the colic, I went days on just a few hours of sleep, I played with her, and I did it all the while, never once getting upset with Sophie. This lasted about a year and a half.

Don't get me wrong, Denny wasn't the devil. He just wasn't ready to be a father, and didn't feel like I needed any help. About a week or so ago, he has decided to throw himself entirely into caring for our daughter. I know, I didn't believe it either. To my delighted surprise, he is doing wonderful. He changes her, he plays with her, every night I hand Sophie off to him once she finishes her bath, he gets her dressed then reads bedtime books, he is a wonderful daddy when he tries.

I just wanted to share my joy with everyone. Too many fathers don't take an active interest in their children, and that makes me sad. Thankfully my hubs has jumped on board. :P Here is evidence of the above. Denny has a bad back and bad knees to begin with, but he chugged right through it to make is daughter squeal with delight.

Friday, June 19, 2009

I Finished A Diaper! :D

Beautiful isn't it? I have oodles that haven't been completely finished, but this one is :) The above picture is the outer (left) and inner (right) fabric of the diaper. It is made of flannel so its super soft.
My model was not happy that she had to stay still for a picture. Denny was trying to hold her up for me, but she instantly fell to the ground to wallow in her misery. (she was a pain in the butt all day)
Even though it isn't perfect, I am rather proud of my little creation. Maybe I'll finish the lot of them sometime before she is out of diapers. :P

Popcorn Kernals + Toddlers = Gross

As most mom's do, I often have to fish things out of my child's mouth. Whenever I know she put something in there, I stick my hand under her chin, and she spits the object out. She is now under the impression that my hand is a garbage can. Often times when she decides that she is done chewing something, she takes my hand, and spits the food out. Ew, right?

Earlier today I fot Iund out that she can now reach up onto our counter. I had a bowl of popcorn sitting up there, and went to sew. Sophie was watching Dora the Explorer (like she does every day), bu didn't see her get up. I found her in the kitchen stuffing her face with popcorn.

A few minutes later, I noticed she had something in her mouth. I stuck out my hand, and a blob of corn kernels fell into my hand.
She just looked at me and smiled. The little turd.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Believe It Or Not... I EAT!

Everyone, I kid you not, everyone has something to say about my weight. So let's clear up a few things. Here are a handful of questions everyone thinks they have the right to ask me.

Q -Soooo... how much do you weigh?
Me - 110 pounds

Q -Soooo... do you wear size 1?
Me - No, I am not a stick, I wear size 5

Q -Soooo... do you eat?
Me - Quite often, this may seem crazy - but when I'm hungry, I eat.

Q -Soooo... does your child eat enough?
Me - Yes, like a horse. Question my mothering skills again, and I'll kill you.

Q -Soooo... do you throw up after you eat?
Me - No, I enjoy digesting my food.

Q -Soooo... do you exercise too much?
Me - No. I eat junkfood all day, then chase after a very active toddler. That is my exercise.

Q -Soooo... are you trying to gain weight?
Me - Not like its any of your business, but I am. I would like to fit into my hundreds of jeans that I saved from before I got preggo.

Q -Soooo... why are you so skinny?
Me - My body threw up every day for about 7 months, pregnancy did not agree with me. I lost 20 lbs before I gained any pregnancy weight. Such is life.


If you want to know something else, ask me. Don't assume, or I'll just assume that you are a complete ass. I do know I am skinny, I own mirrors. My husband sees me eat. Don't believe me? Then feel free to rummage through our trash for evidence. This is not directed to one person, because a good deal of you are guilty of asking these absurd questions. Don't bother apologizing, I'll just think you are full of shit. Just keep your jackass comments to yourself.

You have all been warned. The next person to ask me something stupid like the above questions, will get a foot up their ass. I realize some of you may just be 'concerned' but there are nicer ways of going about sensitive subjects. I am a mother, and I know that I need to take care of myself, so that I can take care of my daughter. Unless you are my mother, or can ask a question with out sounding like a prick, don't bother.

For all of you who keep your comments to yourself, or ask things nicely, thank you. For the rest of you - maybe you should take a look in a mirror and put down the Twinkies before you start judging me. It hurts just as much to be told you are sickly skinny, as it hurts to be told you are a fat ass. Keep that in mind.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

The Sun... It lives!

After God knows how much rain, the sun blessed us with its presence the last two days. I took advantage of the beautiful weather, and made a mad dash for the duckie park. My friend Monan met us there, and we spent a good 4 hours in the sun. How I love the sun. Sadly, I forgot I even had my camera with me.

We fed the ducks, or rather the seagulls. I only saw a handful of ducks, the pond had been taken over by those damned birds. Sophie thought it was down right hilarious to throw a piece of bread right at my feet, and see the birds swarm me. She is her father's child.

After we ran out of bread, we went back by the little stream, so Sophie could play with her bubbles. She is now pro at saying "bu-bo" (bubble) and "du" (duck). There weren't other people in the area with us, so the ducks didn't feel the need to hide. Sophie loved this. She would grab my finger and we chased after the numerous ducks. She didn't seem to get frustrated when she was outrun by them.

The coolest part of the day, freshly hatched baby duckies. Monan pointed them out, I never would have noticed myself. There was a mommy duck in a bush, with 10 little ducks surrounding her. I thought it was downright adorable. (yet again it didn't click in my head that I had a camera only 10 feet away) Sophie wanted me to grab one for her, she thought they were fascinating. My little girl sat there for a good 30 minutes just watching the duckies and saying 'hi' to each and every one.

I wish I was as easily fascinated as her. Kids really are amazing.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Little Mommy

Mary bought Sophie a dolly for her birthday, she didn't pay much attention to it. The other day Sophie started saying "baby," I assumed she was trying to say another word. She grabbed her baby doll and continued with her baby rambling. I thought it was adorable.



Just when I thought she couldn't get any cuter. She grabbed the baby's little bottle and started to feed her, while saying "sip sip sip." My heart melted. :) I grabbed the camera, but only got a few seconds of it. Then she was far more interested in taking my things.

Air Show

Today we went to the Air Show on base with my family. Silly me, I didn't expect every person within a 50 mile radius to be there... I was wrong. While the show was free, the food was insanely priced. We spend $40. Stupid overpriced food.
Sophie thought the planes were pretty cool. She would point to them and say "wow" - when she wasn't throwing my food everywhere that is.
Can you tell Denny just loves being outside?
We found an inflatable man walking about. I HAD to get a picture.
After dinner, we decided it was a good time to go swimming. The Clearfield Aquatic Center finally opened the outdoor area. It was too damn cold to play out there though. :(
I love her little swim suit. :)

Friday, June 5, 2009

Cloth Diapers

Before Sophie was born, Denny mentioned cloth diapers. I looked at him like he had lost his mind. My mind instantly flashed to olden days with a big piece of cloth, a big ass safety pin, and hand washing poop. No thank you! I told him he was insane, and the matter wasn't brought up again.

After Sophie turned one, I stumbled upon cloth diapers on ebay. (I have an addiction to ebay) I spent a few days learning about them, and to my surprise, they weren't that bad. Besides the fact that they are about $15-$20 a pop, they would save oodles of money in the long run.

Right now we spend about $40 a month on diapers, that's $480 a year, and if the kid is in diapers for 3 years that's $1,440... do you know how many other things I could buy with that?!?

I eventually forgot about the cloth diapers, because we just didn't have the money at the time. Last week I came across them again. This time it was a group of women that sew their own. I spent a good week looking up everything I would need to know. I've decided to make some.

Aren't they cute? They can be used on itty bitty babies all the way up to 30 lb toddlers. The best part, they will survive through baby two and three! If Sophie stays in diapers until shes 3, then I use them on the two other kids of 3 years... thats a grand total savings of $3,640... I'LL TAKE IT!

I've already started cutting out fabric, so I'll be sure to post some pictures once I get a few finished. I think I may even sell some. They are super easy to make. Wish me luck!

(Denny informed me that I forgot to mention "how awesomely right he was." So here it is, props to my hubs. You were right. :P Happy now?)

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

So Long Boobies

After months of defeat, Sophie is finally taking to the weaning process. Denny loves milk, he drinks it like his life depends on it; I on the other hand, am slightly lactose intolerant. If I drink straight milk, my body will kick my ass. Sadly, Sophie did not get daddy's genes. She absolutely refused to drink milk, until yesterday. I tried everything to get her to drink it, and finally found something that works.

It has to be warmed, with strawberry nesquik, and in a little olive garden cup... strange, but I'll take it!

Bedtime rolled around yesterday, and I prepared a cup of milk. After Denny finished reading books with Sophie, it was my turn. I braced myself for all the fury of the world to escape Sophie when I gave her a cup instead of the boob. To my surprised delight, she took the milk! The little monster actually drank cows milk and didn't scream at me once.

Naptime today was also just as easy. I read her books and she sipped on her milk. Once she had enough she burrowed her head in between my boob and my arm, then passed out... without a binky!

Hopefully all continues to go this well. Thank god for nesquik.

Monday, June 1, 2009

Predicament

I've wanted another baby for months, and finally convinced Denny that I wasn't crazy. For weeks we have been figuring things out, money, living arrangements, jobs, and so forth. We came to the agreement that we could get pregnant around October, and we would live just fine.

Last night Denny brought up the fact that we have worked out all of our worries, but haven't thought about Sophie yet. She has claimed me, and won't share with anyone. Sometimes she doesn't even like to share me with Denny. With another baby, she would no longer have my complete attention during the day. It would be a good deal harder to get out and about with a newborn and a toddler in tow. After I thought about all this, I felt kind of selfish - as odd as that may sound. It wouldn't hurt to wait an extra year, but come on... who doesn't want another one of these?
Denny says it would be best for us to wait another year, and by then Sophie will be big enough to help out with the new addition. I also feel guilty for robbing her of the few years that she will have mommy and daddy all to herself. It looks like the "waiting" option is going to win out.

Oh well, its not like I'm trying to race my biological clock here. Well now I must depart, to the land of OBGYN. Wish me luck!