I promise not every post will be about cloth diapering, but I wanted to link here to some really fantastic CD giveaways going on right now...go visit these lovely ladies' sites and share the comment love to win a diaper!
Mama to 4 Blessings - win an envibum diaper
What Mama Wants - win a Best Bottoms diaper
Andersons Angels - win a Go Green pocket diaper
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Holy moly
I thought I was starting to get obsessed with cloth diapers...oh no, not even CLOSE! I found the wonder that is the DiaperSwappers forums today, and after just a few minutes on there, I realized I have barely even hit the tip of the iceberg. Some mamas on there have stashes of 100+ diapers for one child (uhhh, what?), and others are so obsessed, they'll pay in excess of $100 for one diaper. (Normal retail price - under $25.)
The thing is, these boutique/wahmie/mama-made diaper sellers (which is who I bought from--work at home moms who have started small diaper-sewing businesses) have gotten such a cult following on message boards, that many sellers cannot meet their demand and therefore can't keep any diapers in stock. So, they have "stocking dates", where they publish the date in advance that they will stock their online stores with a new batch of diapers. To get one, you either have to stalk the website and be quick on the draw (a la OU football or UND hockey tickets!), or you have to get one auction-style if the seller offers that. The auctions are crazy...I saw one today up to $105, and apparently that's pretty standard. Yikes!
Aaron doesn't have to worry about me doing that...I think it's absolutely INSANE! I can think of a lot better things to spend over $100 on, and it's not a diaper! ;-p
The thing is, these boutique/wahmie/mama-made diaper sellers (which is who I bought from--work at home moms who have started small diaper-sewing businesses) have gotten such a cult following on message boards, that many sellers cannot meet their demand and therefore can't keep any diapers in stock. So, they have "stocking dates", where they publish the date in advance that they will stock their online stores with a new batch of diapers. To get one, you either have to stalk the website and be quick on the draw (a la OU football or UND hockey tickets!), or you have to get one auction-style if the seller offers that. The auctions are crazy...I saw one today up to $105, and apparently that's pretty standard. Yikes!
Aaron doesn't have to worry about me doing that...I think it's absolutely INSANE! I can think of a lot better things to spend over $100 on, and it's not a diaper! ;-p
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Call me crazy...
...but we're making the switch from disposable to cloth diapers!
This is something I've been interested in ever since before I was pregnant, but I never really did all the research because the one thing holding me back was my fear of cleaning out poop! Well, after talking to a few friends who CD full-time, we (mostly I) decided this was the way to go, poop and all. We're spending exorbitant amounts of money in diapers already (we haven't had luck with the generics, and even with Amazon Mom and S&S discounts on the brand names, I'm still spending $40+ a month)...not to mention the waste. We religiously recycle everything, yet we're throwing out practically a dumpster full of diapers every month...yuck!
I kinda-sorta-mostly convinced Aaron last night that cloth is the way to go, and determined we would definitely save money in the long run. I did some more research and decided I liked the all-in-ones (AIOs) the best. They basically are just like a disposable ("sposie" in the cloth diapering world) that you wash. There are no separate or removable parts. But, there are some downsides, so we're mostly going with AI2s/pockets. These go on pretty much like a sposie or an AIO, but the liners come out, which I think is good. That way, I can replace the liners, if necessary, without having to replace the whole diaper. (Liners are cheap, diapers are not!)
Our diaper order won't be ready for another 2-3 weeks, so in the meantime, I'm reading more and trying to figure out a laundry and storage routine for them. I promise lots of pictures of Zoey's fluffy bum when she starts wearing them! The lady I ordered from is even throwing in an embroidered t-shirt to match one of the diapers, so that will be extra cute. :-)
Here's an example of type of diaper we're getting...the cuteness just kills me! :-p
This is something I've been interested in ever since before I was pregnant, but I never really did all the research because the one thing holding me back was my fear of cleaning out poop! Well, after talking to a few friends who CD full-time, we (mostly I) decided this was the way to go, poop and all. We're spending exorbitant amounts of money in diapers already (we haven't had luck with the generics, and even with Amazon Mom and S&S discounts on the brand names, I'm still spending $40+ a month)...not to mention the waste. We religiously recycle everything, yet we're throwing out practically a dumpster full of diapers every month...yuck!
I kinda-sorta-mostly convinced Aaron last night that cloth is the way to go, and determined we would definitely save money in the long run. I did some more research and decided I liked the all-in-ones (AIOs) the best. They basically are just like a disposable ("sposie" in the cloth diapering world) that you wash. There are no separate or removable parts. But, there are some downsides, so we're mostly going with AI2s/pockets. These go on pretty much like a sposie or an AIO, but the liners come out, which I think is good. That way, I can replace the liners, if necessary, without having to replace the whole diaper. (Liners are cheap, diapers are not!)
Our diaper order won't be ready for another 2-3 weeks, so in the meantime, I'm reading more and trying to figure out a laundry and storage routine for them. I promise lots of pictures of Zoey's fluffy bum when she starts wearing them! The lady I ordered from is even throwing in an embroidered t-shirt to match one of the diapers, so that will be extra cute. :-)
Here's an example of type of diaper we're getting...the cuteness just kills me! :-p
P.S. If you're a CD mama, or you're just interested and like to win free stuff, check out Knocked Up and Nursing's Bee-Bop Baby cloth diaper giveaway!
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
Yawnnnnn....
So how do you know if Zoey is having an early foray into the 4-month wakeful period, or if she's just being a little turkey? ;-)
She was up at 11:30 pm last night (after going to bed around 9:00), for an hour, wanting to fuss and play. Come on kid, I was going to go to bed early last night! lol We thought for sure she'd sleep in this morning since her usual routine was disrupted. Nope! Up and at 'em bright and early this morning around 6:00, ravenously hungry and ready to play! She normally wakes up closer to 7:00, takes her bottle, and then goes right back to sleep for a couple of hours.
I've been reading a bunch of posts on the 4-month wakeful period on a message board I'm on, and I just sort of took the "close my eyes and pretend it won't happen to us" approach. I didn't pay much attention to what everyone was talking about, and I just knew my perfect little sleeper wouldn't fall into that development trap. Ha! Well, I guess it's too early to know for sure, but something tells me I'll be running on a sleep deficit for a little while!
She was up at 11:30 pm last night (after going to bed around 9:00), for an hour, wanting to fuss and play. Come on kid, I was going to go to bed early last night! lol We thought for sure she'd sleep in this morning since her usual routine was disrupted. Nope! Up and at 'em bright and early this morning around 6:00, ravenously hungry and ready to play! She normally wakes up closer to 7:00, takes her bottle, and then goes right back to sleep for a couple of hours.
I've been reading a bunch of posts on the 4-month wakeful period on a message board I'm on, and I just sort of took the "close my eyes and pretend it won't happen to us" approach. I didn't pay much attention to what everyone was talking about, and I just knew my perfect little sleeper wouldn't fall into that development trap. Ha! Well, I guess it's too early to know for sure, but something tells me I'll be running on a sleep deficit for a little while!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Our weekend
What a fun weekend! Here's a little recap:
Friday:
After work on Friday, Aaron biked downtown to meet up with some people for a Critical Mass. Unfortunately, not many showed up, so that was short and sweet for him. Since Zoey and I thought he'd be gone awhile, we took a little walk around our neighborhood and then went to Super Target to kill some time, stroll the aisles, and pick up a few odds and ends that we needed. On the recommendation of a co-worker, we picked up a container of Enfamil AR formula, hoping it would help with Zoey's spit-up problem. (Spoiler alert: It didn't. I guess she's just destined to be a spitter!)
Saturday:
Saturday morning, we all got up relatively early with plans to walk downtown to the farmer's market, but we ended up not going because we were trying to be good, and the temptation of Dakota Harvest Bakery was just too much! ;-p So, while Daddy got some work done on his dissertation and around the yard, Z and I drove out to Larimore to spend the afternoon at the campground with my parents. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and took Zoey on a walk in the stroller. We stopped at the playground, and I held her in my lap while swinging. She LOVED it, and Mom and I heard her first giggles! Ohhh, such a sweet sound! (More on that later.)
After a delicious bratwurst lunch that my Dad grilled, we headed back into Grand Forks to check out the county fair. We didn't expect much (and it was about what we expected), but the petting zoo was awesome. They had tons and tons of animals, and Zoey enjoyed seeing them, since most of them were on her level. The goats liked Zoey...Mom has some pictures of them nosing around her stroller! We planned to check out some of the fair food (yum, corn dogs!), but Z had a diaper blowout, so I had to take her home and get her cleaned up.
As if that wasn't enough, Mom and Dad went downtown to the Blues on the Red outdoor concert. Aaron and I didn't plan on going, because we thought it would be too loud for Zoey, but then Mom texted that it wasn't too bad, so the three of us walked down to join them. Well, just as we got there, a new band came on, and blasted us out of our seats. Seriously, it was too loud even for an adult! So, Aaron, Zoey, and I sat up on the dike overlooking the town square and just enjoyed being out in the beautiful weather for awhile. We even had some people-watching entertainment as we watched a drunk guy fall face-first into the bushes. :-p
Sunday:
We slept in too late to go to church, but we did manage to catch Miss Z on camera with her giggles!
(If you're using a feed reader to read this, there's a video here, so click through to see it!)
After lunch, we were kind of bored, so despite the rain storm, we piled in the car to go to JC Penney's so Aaron could buy a suit for Feng's wedding (he's the best man), and then we went to Target again to kill some time before dinner. Not much exciting about Target, but I did get Zoey a pack of hair bows that actually stay in her little tuft of hair! So cute! We came home to put our groceries away, and decided we were ready for dinner--Blue Moose, yum. Zoey was a little fussy, so we hurried through our meal and got back home where she was a perfect angel, that little stinker! She and I read through 5 books before she was ready for her bedtime bottle and sleepytime. Her favorites were Where the Wild Things Are and Pat the Bunny.
Now we're excited for next weekend and all the 4th of July festivities we'll get to enjoy!
Friday:
After work on Friday, Aaron biked downtown to meet up with some people for a Critical Mass. Unfortunately, not many showed up, so that was short and sweet for him. Since Zoey and I thought he'd be gone awhile, we took a little walk around our neighborhood and then went to Super Target to kill some time, stroll the aisles, and pick up a few odds and ends that we needed. On the recommendation of a co-worker, we picked up a container of Enfamil AR formula, hoping it would help with Zoey's spit-up problem. (Spoiler alert: It didn't. I guess she's just destined to be a spitter!)
Saturday:
Saturday morning, we all got up relatively early with plans to walk downtown to the farmer's market, but we ended up not going because we were trying to be good, and the temptation of Dakota Harvest Bakery was just too much! ;-p So, while Daddy got some work done on his dissertation and around the yard, Z and I drove out to Larimore to spend the afternoon at the campground with my parents. We took advantage of the beautiful weather and took Zoey on a walk in the stroller. We stopped at the playground, and I held her in my lap while swinging. She LOVED it, and Mom and I heard her first giggles! Ohhh, such a sweet sound! (More on that later.)
After a delicious bratwurst lunch that my Dad grilled, we headed back into Grand Forks to check out the county fair. We didn't expect much (and it was about what we expected), but the petting zoo was awesome. They had tons and tons of animals, and Zoey enjoyed seeing them, since most of them were on her level. The goats liked Zoey...Mom has some pictures of them nosing around her stroller! We planned to check out some of the fair food (yum, corn dogs!), but Z had a diaper blowout, so I had to take her home and get her cleaned up.
As if that wasn't enough, Mom and Dad went downtown to the Blues on the Red outdoor concert. Aaron and I didn't plan on going, because we thought it would be too loud for Zoey, but then Mom texted that it wasn't too bad, so the three of us walked down to join them. Well, just as we got there, a new band came on, and blasted us out of our seats. Seriously, it was too loud even for an adult! So, Aaron, Zoey, and I sat up on the dike overlooking the town square and just enjoyed being out in the beautiful weather for awhile. We even had some people-watching entertainment as we watched a drunk guy fall face-first into the bushes. :-p
Sunday:
We slept in too late to go to church, but we did manage to catch Miss Z on camera with her giggles!
(If you're using a feed reader to read this, there's a video here, so click through to see it!)
After lunch, we were kind of bored, so despite the rain storm, we piled in the car to go to JC Penney's so Aaron could buy a suit for Feng's wedding (he's the best man), and then we went to Target again to kill some time before dinner. Not much exciting about Target, but I did get Zoey a pack of hair bows that actually stay in her little tuft of hair! So cute! We came home to put our groceries away, and decided we were ready for dinner--Blue Moose, yum. Zoey was a little fussy, so we hurried through our meal and got back home where she was a perfect angel, that little stinker! She and I read through 5 books before she was ready for her bedtime bottle and sleepytime. Her favorites were Where the Wild Things Are and Pat the Bunny.
Now we're excited for next weekend and all the 4th of July festivities we'll get to enjoy!
Friday, June 24, 2011
Bumbo!
We finally caved in and bought Zoey a Bumbo Seat this week, and I'm glad we did--she loves it! Here are some quick pictures from yesterday when she was trying it out...
PS, I've noticed as I've looked through Zoey's many pictures that Aaron has taken, that she has a lot of gender-neutral clothes and baby gear. Part of that was because we didn't find out what she was until almost 30 weeks (shy baby girl!), and the other part was because if we ever have a little brother for her, I didn't want to have to buy all new stuff because everything was pink! ;-) She does have a TON of girly clothes, a pink umbrella stroller, a pink rocker seat, and a pink pack n play. The pack n play is the only thing that I wish we went more neutral with, but oh well! Hypothetical Little Brother can deal with that one...hehehehe.
PS, I've noticed as I've looked through Zoey's many pictures that Aaron has taken, that she has a lot of gender-neutral clothes and baby gear. Part of that was because we didn't find out what she was until almost 30 weeks (shy baby girl!), and the other part was because if we ever have a little brother for her, I didn't want to have to buy all new stuff because everything was pink! ;-) She does have a TON of girly clothes, a pink umbrella stroller, a pink rocker seat, and a pink pack n play. The pack n play is the only thing that I wish we went more neutral with, but oh well! Hypothetical Little Brother can deal with that one...hehehehe.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Back to work
I've been back at work for a week and a half now, and as everyone told me...the build-up and anticipation is waaaay worse than actually being here!
I love my job, and the people I work with--I honestly couldn't ask for a better place to work. However, I am one of those women who could easily be a stay-at-home mom and never look back. I don't need a career to be "fulfilled", and I wouldn't get bored at home. We'd find playgroups and stuff to do to keep us busy - and I'd actually have time to keep the house clean, without feeling like it's my second job! But, the bills must be paid, so until daycare costs exceed my income, then I must work.
I dreaded coming back from the very first day of my maternity leave, which was 4 days before Zoey was born. (And again, it wasn't because I didn't like work...it was because I was already dreading leaving my baby!) The 12 weeks I was able to take off were glorious, and went way too fast (even though those first couple of sleep-deprived weeks seemed to drag on forever!), but we got a lot accomplished during that time. We had three rounds of house guests, trips to Oklahoma and St. Louis, an afternoon in Fargo to visit the Easter Bunny, lots of stroller rides on pretty days, and several lunch dates with Daddy. Once I was within a couple of weeks of returning to work, however, I had a bad attitude and absolutely DREADED the day I had to come back.
I wasn't worried about Zoey - my mom is watching her until the end of August - I knew she would do just fine. I just didn't want to leave her, and I wasn't looking forward to getting back into the swing of things at work and catching up projects and goings-on that I missed over the past 12 weeks. I guess all those good thoughts and prayers from friends and family worked wonders, though...my transition back has been smooth as silk, and I've actually enjoyed being back. I miss my little girl with every ounce of my being all day when I'm gone, but I know she's being well taken care of, and maybe one day I'll be able to stay home with her and her future siblings.
So, all this was to say that if you're in the same boat...dreading returning to work after maternity leave...it's really not that bad. Don't be like me--don't waste your last couple of weeks moping around. Enjoy every bit of your time off and know that everything will turn out alright!
I love my job, and the people I work with--I honestly couldn't ask for a better place to work. However, I am one of those women who could easily be a stay-at-home mom and never look back. I don't need a career to be "fulfilled", and I wouldn't get bored at home. We'd find playgroups and stuff to do to keep us busy - and I'd actually have time to keep the house clean, without feeling like it's my second job! But, the bills must be paid, so until daycare costs exceed my income, then I must work.
I dreaded coming back from the very first day of my maternity leave, which was 4 days before Zoey was born. (And again, it wasn't because I didn't like work...it was because I was already dreading leaving my baby!) The 12 weeks I was able to take off were glorious, and went way too fast (even though those first couple of sleep-deprived weeks seemed to drag on forever!), but we got a lot accomplished during that time. We had three rounds of house guests, trips to Oklahoma and St. Louis, an afternoon in Fargo to visit the Easter Bunny, lots of stroller rides on pretty days, and several lunch dates with Daddy. Once I was within a couple of weeks of returning to work, however, I had a bad attitude and absolutely DREADED the day I had to come back.
I wasn't worried about Zoey - my mom is watching her until the end of August - I knew she would do just fine. I just didn't want to leave her, and I wasn't looking forward to getting back into the swing of things at work and catching up projects and goings-on that I missed over the past 12 weeks. I guess all those good thoughts and prayers from friends and family worked wonders, though...my transition back has been smooth as silk, and I've actually enjoyed being back. I miss my little girl with every ounce of my being all day when I'm gone, but I know she's being well taken care of, and maybe one day I'll be able to stay home with her and her future siblings.
So, all this was to say that if you're in the same boat...dreading returning to work after maternity leave...it's really not that bad. Don't be like me--don't waste your last couple of weeks moping around. Enjoy every bit of your time off and know that everything will turn out alright!
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Stuff we like
I stole this idea from Jessie, so I thought I'd share the top 5 baby products we couldn't have gotten by without these first three months...
Cloud B Sleep Sheep - $20, Amazon
I'm not sure if Zoey needs the sheep to sleep or not, but she sure does like it. If I put her in her crib awake, all I have to do is turn on the sheep's ocean sounds, and she stops fidgeting and falls right to sleep. The best part? It runs for 45 minutes, and then shuts off automatically. Perfect! I think if I were to buy another one, I'd buy the travel size one, so it would be easier to travel with (duh). The original size is pretty large.
Fisher Price Rock n Play Sleeper - $45-$50, Target (or just about anywhere baby gear is sold)
We have the yellow polka dot one, but Target has two other really cute prints available. When Zoey was itty-bitty, I just couldn't bring myself to put her in her crib, or even in her bedroom--it just seemed so unnatural to be separated from her! Anyway, we don't have a lot of extra space in our room, so I wanted something smaller than a pack n play, but something more useful (or less expensive) than a bassinet. This fit the bill perfectly. It folds up easily, and takes up as much space as a folding chair when folded. We traveled with it to St. Louis, and it was also great as a travel bed. It snuggles Zoey in pretty close, and she slept really well in it. There is some debate where some parents think it causes babies' heads to get misshapen, but Zoey used it for about 2 months, and never had an issue. I do admit to lining it with a soft and fluffy blanket, so it was warmer for her and that may have also protected her head from the hard plastic in question. We love it!
Catbird Baby Pikkolo Soft Structured Baby Carrier - $129, Amazon
I really love wearing Zoey, and the Pikkolo is perfect for us. I tried the Beco Butterfly, but it wasn't comfortably for me or Aaron, so I sold it and then we received the Pikkolo as a gift. It works for newborns up through toddlers, in a variety of different carrying positions. It's similar to a Mei Tai, but has buckles instead of ties, which to me, was a little easier to handle when I'm trying to get Zoey in and out of the carrier by myself.
Motorola Digital Video Baby Monitor - $169, Amazon
I didn't think we needed a monitor, but after having this thing, I don't think I could get by without it, especially with a 2-story house. If Zoey's asleep upstairs, I can do whatever I want downstairs or outside, or wherever, and not have to run up and check on her every few minutes. It also helped this paranoid first-time mama get through those first few nights when Zoey slept in her crib - instead of getting up to check on her throughout the night, I could just look at the monitor and see that she was fine, and watch her breathing, etc. We haven't had any problems with interference, and it has a couple of other nifty features, like being able to remotely play music for the baby, and a temperature display so you know if her room is too hot/cold, or just right. (Also, this monitor can frequently be found way cheaper on Woot via Amazon.)
Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle Stroller - $500, Amazon
I will preface this by saying we did NOT pay $500 for this stroller. We found it on Zulily (one of those daily deal sites), for under $400, and it came with the carrycot and storm cover. An absolutely unbeatable deal. I knew that the plastic wheels on the typical Graco or Baby Trend or Chicco travel system stroller wouldn't hold up to the abuse we'd put it through, on Grand Forks sidewalks alone, not to mention when we go camping, or basically anywhere with uneven terrain. I cannot tell you how much I love, love, love our stroller! Don't buy into the travel system hype - get a quality stroller with real tires if you're going to do anything other than indoor or smooth sidewalk use. Most of them are compatible (either inherently or with an inexpensive attachment) with a wide variety of infant car seats. If I hadn't been lucky enough to come across the Mountain Buggy deal on Zulily, I probably would have bought a Baby Jogger City Elite or a Phil & Ted's Explorer. Expensive, yes, but we decided the stroller was the one thing we were going to spend a bit of money on because we'd use the heck out of it.
And, for a bit of a change, here are a couple of things I probably wouldn't buy again...
An infant car seat that goes up to 30+ pounds
We have the Graco Snugride 32 in Zurich. (Wal-Mart used to sell it for even cheaper.) Anyway, it's a perfectly fine seat, and the fabric seems like it will hold up well, but it's humongous. Seriously gigantic and heavy. If I had to do it again, I'd go with a seat with the standard 22-lb weight limit. The larger seat barely fits in our Forester, and come on, it's not like I'm going to lug around a 30-lb baby in the carrier anyway.
A typical bouncer seat
We have the Bright Starts Ingenuity Rocker in Turtle Dove, and we hardly ever use it. Why? Because we also have a Fisher Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker, and I like that one way better. It fully reclines to make a mini-bassinet type thing for when Zoey was a newborn, and it will turn into a toddler seat when she gets bigger.
Cloud B Sleep Sheep - $20, Amazon
I'm not sure if Zoey needs the sheep to sleep or not, but she sure does like it. If I put her in her crib awake, all I have to do is turn on the sheep's ocean sounds, and she stops fidgeting and falls right to sleep. The best part? It runs for 45 minutes, and then shuts off automatically. Perfect! I think if I were to buy another one, I'd buy the travel size one, so it would be easier to travel with (duh). The original size is pretty large.
Fisher Price Rock n Play Sleeper - $45-$50, Target (or just about anywhere baby gear is sold)
We have the yellow polka dot one, but Target has two other really cute prints available. When Zoey was itty-bitty, I just couldn't bring myself to put her in her crib, or even in her bedroom--it just seemed so unnatural to be separated from her! Anyway, we don't have a lot of extra space in our room, so I wanted something smaller than a pack n play, but something more useful (or less expensive) than a bassinet. This fit the bill perfectly. It folds up easily, and takes up as much space as a folding chair when folded. We traveled with it to St. Louis, and it was also great as a travel bed. It snuggles Zoey in pretty close, and she slept really well in it. There is some debate where some parents think it causes babies' heads to get misshapen, but Zoey used it for about 2 months, and never had an issue. I do admit to lining it with a soft and fluffy blanket, so it was warmer for her and that may have also protected her head from the hard plastic in question. We love it!
Catbird Baby Pikkolo Soft Structured Baby Carrier - $129, Amazon
I really love wearing Zoey, and the Pikkolo is perfect for us. I tried the Beco Butterfly, but it wasn't comfortably for me or Aaron, so I sold it and then we received the Pikkolo as a gift. It works for newborns up through toddlers, in a variety of different carrying positions. It's similar to a Mei Tai, but has buckles instead of ties, which to me, was a little easier to handle when I'm trying to get Zoey in and out of the carrier by myself.
Motorola Digital Video Baby Monitor - $169, Amazon
I didn't think we needed a monitor, but after having this thing, I don't think I could get by without it, especially with a 2-story house. If Zoey's asleep upstairs, I can do whatever I want downstairs or outside, or wherever, and not have to run up and check on her every few minutes. It also helped this paranoid first-time mama get through those first few nights when Zoey slept in her crib - instead of getting up to check on her throughout the night, I could just look at the monitor and see that she was fine, and watch her breathing, etc. We haven't had any problems with interference, and it has a couple of other nifty features, like being able to remotely play music for the baby, and a temperature display so you know if her room is too hot/cold, or just right. (Also, this monitor can frequently be found way cheaper on Woot via Amazon.)
Mountain Buggy Urban Jungle Stroller - $500, Amazon
I will preface this by saying we did NOT pay $500 for this stroller. We found it on Zulily (one of those daily deal sites), for under $400, and it came with the carrycot and storm cover. An absolutely unbeatable deal. I knew that the plastic wheels on the typical Graco or Baby Trend or Chicco travel system stroller wouldn't hold up to the abuse we'd put it through, on Grand Forks sidewalks alone, not to mention when we go camping, or basically anywhere with uneven terrain. I cannot tell you how much I love, love, love our stroller! Don't buy into the travel system hype - get a quality stroller with real tires if you're going to do anything other than indoor or smooth sidewalk use. Most of them are compatible (either inherently or with an inexpensive attachment) with a wide variety of infant car seats. If I hadn't been lucky enough to come across the Mountain Buggy deal on Zulily, I probably would have bought a Baby Jogger City Elite or a Phil & Ted's Explorer. Expensive, yes, but we decided the stroller was the one thing we were going to spend a bit of money on because we'd use the heck out of it.
And, for a bit of a change, here are a couple of things I probably wouldn't buy again...
An infant car seat that goes up to 30+ pounds
We have the Graco Snugride 32 in Zurich. (Wal-Mart used to sell it for even cheaper.) Anyway, it's a perfectly fine seat, and the fabric seems like it will hold up well, but it's humongous. Seriously gigantic and heavy. If I had to do it again, I'd go with a seat with the standard 22-lb weight limit. The larger seat barely fits in our Forester, and come on, it's not like I'm going to lug around a 30-lb baby in the carrier anyway.
A typical bouncer seat
We have the Bright Starts Ingenuity Rocker in Turtle Dove, and we hardly ever use it. Why? Because we also have a Fisher Price Infant-to-Toddler Rocker, and I like that one way better. It fully reclines to make a mini-bassinet type thing for when Zoey was a newborn, and it will turn into a toddler seat when she gets bigger.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Zoey's birth story
The arrival of Zoey Mae Kennedy
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Today was my due date. I went to the doctor’s office today for an acupuncture session to hopefully get things moving. I was very skeptical about the acupuncture, but it turned out to be a good thing. While I was at the clinic, Dr. Bell stopped by to talk to me and offered me the opportunity to have an induction. There wasn’t a real medical reason for the induction, but Dr. Bell was about to leave for a 10-day vacation, and I really wanted her to be the doctor there when I was in labor with Zoey, because she is so supportive of a natural birth, and is not quick to rush to medical interventions or c-sections if they’re not absolutely necessary. Up until that point, I had told myself I wouldn’t have an induction “just because”, but when it came down to it, I accepted. I was soooo tired of being pregnant, and I was feeling some pressure from my family to have the baby sooner, rather than later, while they were there visiting. So, it was set. I would have my acupuncture session that day, have another one the next morning, and then Aaron and I would check into the hospital Friday evening at 5:00 p.m. to start the induction. I was still unsure about whether or not I had made the right decision, because the term “failed induction” came up more than once, which meant that if things didn’t progress well, we’d be doomed to either a c-section or being sent home without a baby if labor stopped.
Aaron, my parents, and I went out to dinner at Texas Roadhouse that night for a sort of celebratory dinner. The waiting game was officially over! Dr. Bell called me at home later that evening to confirm plans and to go over how she hoped the induction might go. Talking to her made me feel a lot better about our decision, and I went to bed that night knowing it would be the last night in our house before we had a baby!
Friday, March 18, 2011
Unfortunately, I didn’t get to enjoy my last pre-baby day sleeping in late, because I had an early acupuncture appointment. My mom and I made the drive to Crookston, then did some shopping at Wal-Mart for some last-minute things I needed, and had lunch at Subway before heading back to our house. We made an early dinner (omelets) at home, then my parents left so that Aaron and I could pack our things and head over to the hospital. I couldn’t believe it was finally time to have a baby! Eeeeek!
We checked in just after 5:00 p.m., and had to go through the ER admitting since it was after clinic hours. Everyone there was so nice, and it got me even more excited to be having my baby at Riverview! A nurse escorted us up to our room, and I was pleased to see that we were given one of the larger L&D rooms--woohoo! We were introduced to our first nurse—she wasn’t very personable, and was even a bit crabby, but I found out she was ending her shift at 7:00 p.m., so we only had a short while to deal with her.
I changed into a hospital gown, and let the nurse start IV access and take my vital signs. The lab came to draw my blood, and the tech that came up turned out to be Hannah’s classmate at UND that I had met before during some of my prenatal clinic visits. Small world! Before the induction was actually started, Dr. Bell wanted at least an hour of baseline fetal monitoring to make sure all was well. Well…Zoey had other plans, because once we got on the monitor, her heart rate (and mine) was sky-high. Fortunately, it wasn’t much of a cause for concern…it just caused our one hour of monitoring to turn into four, just to make sure we got back to normal. Dr. Bell said it was a combination of me being a bit dehydrated, caffeine (I had a Diet Coke that day for the first time in a long time, ugh!), and my adrenaline pumping from the excitement.
At 7:00, we got our new nurse, Frieda! We were so excited to have her, because she taught our childbirth classes, and was very sweet and also excited about natural births. Around 9:00 p.m., Zoey’s and my heart rates were low enough that Dr. Bell was comfortable starting the induction. After an internal check which revealed me to be just a fingertip dilated, maybe 30-40% effaced, and baby’s head much lower than in previous clinic visits (yay acupuncture!), she decided to do three doses of Cytotec overnight, and then proceed with Pitocin the next morning. She inserted the first Cytotec dose, and told us not to expect anything to happen until the next day, probably not until after Pit was started. Aaron and I finished watching the UND hockey game on TV, then I sent him home just after 10:30, so he could get a good night’s rest. After all, nothing was supposed to happen overnight, right??
Frieda went home at 11:00 pm, and I got another crabby nurse who clearly wanted to be anyplace else but at work that night. Ugggghhhh! It was difficult for me to sleep comfortably because of the fetal monitors, the blood pressure cuff, and the vital sign checks every so often. My nurse kept telling me to get some sleep, and I was starting to wonder what I had gotten myself into. All of these monitors and such were the exact opposite of the natural birth experience I had hoped for!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
I was supposed to get my second dose of Cytotec at 12:30 a.m., so I stayed awake for it, knowing I’d just be woken up anyway. I’m a little fuzz y on the details here, but I think the nurse inserted the dose, then after I’d laid in bed for the requisite hour afterwards, I asked her to unhook me from the monitors so I could go to the bathroom. I was feeling some slight cramping, but I didn’t think it was anything to get worked up about. When I got up to go to the bathroom, I discovered I was having bloody show and had lost some of my mucus plug. I was SHOCKED! I honestly didn’t expect anything to happen that soon. The nurse asked me if I was experiencing any contractions, and I said no, but I was having mild cramps. She showed me on the monitor where those “mild cramps” were actually contractions, and were coming every 90 seconds or so. Huh, whaddya know…I was in labor!
About an hour later, the cramps were starting to intensify, but they were still lighter than bad menstrual cramps, so it was definitely manageable. I did, however, want to get out of bed a bit, so I went to the bathroom again (and lost the rest of the second dose of Cytotec…hmmm), and asked the nurse if she could get the telemetry unit for the fetal monitors so I wouldn’t have to be confined to bed. She looked in one cabinet for the monitor, couldn’t find it, and told me too bad, I’d have to go without. It kind of upset me, because Dr. Bell had promised me that I’d be able to move around as I chose with the telemetry monitor. Plus, the cramps/contractions were getting worse. Ugh, I was not happy with how things were going! Around 2:30 or 3:00 a.m., the contractions were finally bad enough that I felt like I needed someone there with me, so I texted Aaron and told him what was going on, and he got up to get ready to head back to the hospital to be with me.
In the meantime, I guess my nurse felt bad for me, because she decided that even if she couldn’t find the telemetry unit, she’d let me off the monitors completely for awhile, since everything had looked good since we started the induction. Ahhhh, sweet relief! I was able to bounce on the yoga ball. She checked me, and she said I was about 2-3 cm dilated. Progress! I was pretty excited to hear that.
Aaron showed back up around 4:00 a.m., and I think he was just as surprised as I was to find that I was in full-blown labor. The nurse pretty much just left us alone for the next couple of hours. We were able to work through each contraction together—he would rub my back or let me lean on him as I needed to. Between contractions, I still felt good enough to laugh and joke, and we both commented about how close to each other we felt during that time, working together to have our baby. By around 6:00 am, I was in a lot of pain. I think a lot of it was a mental hurdle – I was trying to prepare myself for a long day of labor with Pitocin contractions, and at the moment, it just seemed insurmountable. I had Aaron give Rhonda, our doula, a call, and tell her that if she’s available, we could use her. (She had previously told me she would be unavailable that day, but things worked out to where she got to attend our birth, and still make her prior commitment. Thank goodness!)
About the same time, the crabby nurse from the night shift decided to check me again, and I hadn’t made any progress. That didn’t help my outlook, and I was having a harder time coping with each contraction as it came. She kept trying to talk to me about pain medication, which seemed ridiculous, because at the same time, she was also telling me how they don’t like to give anything until at least 4-5 cm. I just wanted her to shut up and leave me alone! At 7:00 a.m. shift change, I met my new nurse, Kristen. She turned out to be amazing! Dr. Bell also stopped by around 7:30, and was very pleased that I was in actual labor all by myself. They never gave me the third dose of Cytotec, so the dose I had received just after midnight was long gone from my system, yet my contractions were continuing to intensify, so yay! This meant that we wouldn’t have to start Pitocin, and we’d just see what my body decided to do on its own. This also meant that I could get off the fetal monitor and the IV fluids—I could move around as much/wherever I wanted! Honestly, just hearing those words helped immensely. I no longer felt hopeless about the situation and I was able to relax a bit. Kristen got me some breakfast—I was able to nibble on a bit of toast and some eggs—and then Rhonda showed up. I think she was every bit as surprised as the rest of us that I was already in the midst of hard labor.
The one thing that sounded divine was a hot shower. Aaron went with me into the bathroom and helped me through the contractions there. Once it became too hard for me to manage them standing up, we switched to the bathtub, and Rhonda came in and brought me a bath pillow for my head, and helped me to work through each contraction as it came. She was wonderful with encouragement and support—she always seemed to know exactly what to say or do that would get me through every one. I felt like my labor really amped up while I was in the shower/bath. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was apparently transition. I truly felt like I couldn’t do it anymore. Luckily, I was able to doze a bit between contractions while I was in the tub. I was having to vocalize a lot more during contractions, and I finally decided I’d feel better standing again. Well, that didn’t work, so I dried off and went back to the yoga ball, leaning over the bed. I remember saying “I can’t do this anymore…” and thinking to myself “I want drugs!”, but never actually saying that part out loud because I knew Rhonda and Aaron would just try to discourage me from getting them!
All of the above took place between around 8:00-9:30 a.m. At around 10:00 a.m., Aaron had to go to the bathroom, so he took off down the hall for the public restroom. While he was gone, I had a contraction that felt different. I felt a little “pushy” with it, so I pushed a little to see what happened. Pop! My water broke! (10:02 a.m., according to the nurse’s notes.) The first time, it was mostly mucus and just a little bit of fluid, so we weren’t certain it was my water. However, the next contraction sent a huge gush of clear fluid out, so we were sure! Aaron was very surprised at what he had missed! Every contraction after that was waaay more intense. I kept telling myself I’m probably only dilated to about 5-6 cm, so there’s no need to get excited. In fact, I really felt like I had to have a bowel movement. (Even though everything you read and hear in childbirth class tells you that when it comes time to push out the baby, you’ll feel like you have to take a poop, I was insistent it was not the baby!) I went to sit on the toilet, but Rhonda was convinced the baby was coming, so she had the nurse come and check me. I heard Kristen say I was 6 cm, but she wasn’t sure. She had another nurse come check me, and then they called Dr. Bell to have her come in. I knew it! I knew it wasn’t the baby I was feeling, and that I just had to go to the bathroom! They let me go back to the toilet, but made me promise not to push. I was STILL convinced it was not the baby when Dr. Bell arrived around 10:35 a.m. She had me get on the bed so she could check me, and her words were: “Uhhh, okay, she’s crowning!” [Side note: My nurse Kristen later told me that she only said I was 6 cm out loud because she thought I was complete, but she didn’t want to get my hopes up until Dr. Bell came and made sure! Sneaky girl!]
Commence panic in my hospital room…haha. They called in all the extra nurses who assist with births, and the baby warmer and the tray of instruments and the bassinet and everything else were brought in, and the room was turned around in about 30 seconds flat! Dr. Bell had just come from a church ladies’ brunch, so she was throwing her hair up in a bun and putting on scrubs in between having me push. I really only had to push about 3 times, I think. Once just for “practice”, to see if I was doing it right (apparently I was), once for Zoey’s head, and then once more for her body. Everything just happened so fast, and before I knew it, she was born at 10:43 a.m.! Aaron got to catch her, and it was just such an overwhelming feeling of joy, love, PAIN, and everything else.
Our big girl was 8 pounds, 3 ounces, and 20 3/4 inches long. She was pronounced to be perfect, and I really couldn’t have asked for a better labor and delivery. Dr. Bell warned me next time, since things went so fast, I better have a home birth or come to the hospital the minute I go into labor! haha As Aaron later realized, I went from 2 cm – birth in just about 3 hours. Insane!
Zoey's first 3 months
It's been a LONG time since I've blogged, but I wanted somewhere besides Facebook to share what's going on with Zoey, so here we go again!
Highlights from Zoey's first 3 months:
- We had our first visitors on Easter - Aaron's parents came to meet their granddaughter, and we had a great time. The next weekend, our good friends Kristen, Michael, and Sarah drove up from Minneapolis to spend the weekend with us. Zoey and Sarah will have to have playdates in the future. :)
- Zoey had her 2-month well child appointment with Dr. Pearson on May 17, and she weighed 10 1/2 pounds (45th percentile), but was 76th percentile in length! She got the Pentacel shot (covers diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, and Hib), and didn't even act like it bothered her.
- She took her first plane ride to Oklahoma with me to visit my family in mid-May at just 8 weeks of age. She did so well, and slept through the majority of our flights!
- Also at 8 weeks, we had to stop breastfeeding and switch to formula because of my RA meds. I was heartbroken, but it seemed to bother me way more than it bothered Zoey. She's such a champ with the bottle and is definitely thriving!
- We drove to St. Louis for Liz and Jeff's wedding on May 29. Zoey did better than we ever expected on the car ride, and we had a great time seeing old friends and introducing Zoey to everyone. Aaron and I were both in the wedding party, and a big thanks to Katie for "babysitting" Zoey while we were otherwise occupied!
- My mom and dad brought their camper up and parked it at the campground in Larimore for the summer. Mom is watching Zoey every day since I returned to work on June 13 (Zoey was 12 weeks old). We're so spoiled, and won't want them to go home in September!
- Zoey turned 3 months old yesterday, on our 7th wedding anniversary. She rolled over from back to tummy twice last week for my mom, but she hasn't done it since. Come on, Zoey!
Here's a One True Media montage I made of pregnancy, birth, and Zoey's first three months of life...
Highlights from Zoey's first 3 months:
- We had our first visitors on Easter - Aaron's parents came to meet their granddaughter, and we had a great time. The next weekend, our good friends Kristen, Michael, and Sarah drove up from Minneapolis to spend the weekend with us. Zoey and Sarah will have to have playdates in the future. :)
- Zoey had her 2-month well child appointment with Dr. Pearson on May 17, and she weighed 10 1/2 pounds (45th percentile), but was 76th percentile in length! She got the Pentacel shot (covers diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, poliomyelitis, and Hib), and didn't even act like it bothered her.
- She took her first plane ride to Oklahoma with me to visit my family in mid-May at just 8 weeks of age. She did so well, and slept through the majority of our flights!
- Also at 8 weeks, we had to stop breastfeeding and switch to formula because of my RA meds. I was heartbroken, but it seemed to bother me way more than it bothered Zoey. She's such a champ with the bottle and is definitely thriving!
- We drove to St. Louis for Liz and Jeff's wedding on May 29. Zoey did better than we ever expected on the car ride, and we had a great time seeing old friends and introducing Zoey to everyone. Aaron and I were both in the wedding party, and a big thanks to Katie for "babysitting" Zoey while we were otherwise occupied!
- My mom and dad brought their camper up and parked it at the campground in Larimore for the summer. Mom is watching Zoey every day since I returned to work on June 13 (Zoey was 12 weeks old). We're so spoiled, and won't want them to go home in September!
- Zoey turned 3 months old yesterday, on our 7th wedding anniversary. She rolled over from back to tummy twice last week for my mom, but she hasn't done it since. Come on, Zoey!
Here's a One True Media montage I made of pregnancy, birth, and Zoey's first three months of life...
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