Comparisons

A mommy friend of mine recently shared a quote that went something (kinda) like this: "Don't compare your behind the scenes with everyone else's A-game."

Let me set it up for you:

If we were real life friends and I invited you to my house I would greet you at the door with my hair done, make-up on holding Kaylee who would be all dressed up complete with leg warmers and a coordinating headband. I would invite you into my perfectly spotless living room offering cucumber water and chilled watermelon slices and a puff of my Albuterol since I am sure if you are reading this you have CF. Yes, life in Inhaling Hope's house would look grand!

BUT

If you surprised visited me this morning without calling I would answer the door with my unwashed hair in a high ponytail, wearing a shirt that was drenched in breastmilk since I forgot to put on a breastpad when I fed Kaylee this morning. Kaylee would only be wearing her cloth diaper since she spit up said breastmilk all over her onsie. I would invite you into my living room where you would have to step over 3 different quilts I had on the floor for Kaylee to play on (why 3?!? she is the size of a small bag of rice and can't move) and dodge a pile of clean unfolded (and probably wrinkled) laundry while stepping around a pile I meant to put in the wash, but never got to it. I would only be able to offer you water from the tap where I would try to throw away the melted unopened otter pop (yes, I am 5 and was going to eat an otter pop in the morning) before you noticed since I never got around to actually eating it. Yes, life in Inhaling Hope's house would look like a big hot mess!

Basically, we love to show  our best side to others which considering how I looked this morning is a good thing, but we have to remember when we are comparing ourselves to others (which we shouldn't do, but we all know we do it sometimes) that we are probably comparing our worst moments with other people's best moments. 

With that said I am going to shower so I can wash the spit up out of my hair...

Standing Still

You nestle your little face in my shoulder as your body goes limp from slumber. I nuzzle my nose to your neck. My eyes gently close as I breath in the subtle smell of milk still lingering on your breath. My arms wrap tightly around you, feeling the rise and fall of your chest beneath my palm. I could sit here forever feeling our hearts beating so close to one another.

It may have been a sudden noise or a shift in the air, I will never know, but I am pulled back to reality just as quickly as I slipped away from it.

My eyes crack open to a salt and pepper haired man standing in front of us, a toothy grin across his face. His cheeks quickly blush and he glances away, embarrassed at being caught for openly staring at such an intimate moment. He quickly whisper, "It was just so sweet" and hurries on his way across the bustling food court to place his order.

How many times since you arrived, dear Kaylee, have I gotten completely and utterly lost in the love I have for you?

3 Months Old

My Blue-Eyed Girl,

You are three months old today! It is amazing how much my life has changed and improved since I met you. We grow closer every single day and I learn more about the little person you will grow up to be. I am so lucky to be your mommy and am thankful for you every single day.

Things You like: You like to make sure others know what you are feeling, but you are not the typical baby like cried when something is bothering her. No, my dear, you are unique in that when you are angry you make it clear by spitting (blowing raspberries). If you are in the car seat too long you spit to let me know. You want me to dress you faster? Spit. But spitting is not the only way you let me know what you want. When you are feeling like you are in need of more attention (as if you need more attention) you fake cough to make sure I know you need me.

Things You Dislike: You are not a fan of sleep during the day. You sleep well with mommy at night, but those naps are not your thing.

3 months!

Dear sweet Kaylee,
You are three months today! I don't even know where to begin when telling you how much I love the baby you have grown into. You are such a sweetheart and have such a gentle soul. You are so cute when you speak, always softly, concentrating on each word while you tongue works double time to make the sounds you desire. Your hums and coos make my life feel complete! Papi and I always say how you are such a little adult especially with how well you communicate with us in a not so baby fashion. People will always tell new parents that they will be able to read there baby's different cries. Although you cry (when over tired or when a stranger wants to hold you and you need mama) you always found more effective ways of communicating. When you are bored or lonely you fake cough, when you are mad you spit, when frustrated you let out an exasperated sigh, and when you are tired you let out a very loud yawn!

Things You Love: So Fanny is old news and only on the rare occasion will you chat with him. Your new best friend is Pom Pom that hangs over your changing table. Every morningas I change you for the day you get  little naked time where you preform a little naked dance. You use this time to wildly dance your legs and arms while cooing to Pom Pom. I sometimes worry you will dance so hard you will fly right off the changing table. It sure seems like a good workout and I think contributed to the fact that you take your morning nap soon after you awake for the day!

You also love that you have so much saliva now! You love to spit and blow bubbles. One evening Papi called me into the bedroom where I found you mimicking him making spitting noises at you. You went back and forth for at least 20 minutes and the look of joy and pride in your face was amazing. You imitate your Papi whenever possible, but you sure have turned into a mama's girl and I love it!


Things You dislike: You still hate your carseat with a passion. You spend the first 5 minutes trying to arch your back and escape. When you realize there is no getting out you often have a long spitting session. If you are still strapped in after a lengthy spit you start whining until we reach our destination. Sigh, little one, you have a long time before you can ride without the carseat, I wish you could just be friends.

My favorite thing about this age: What isn't there to like about this age? I love how you seem fascinated by everything around you and your curiosity is inspiring! You are such a little person now. I think one of my favorite things about this age is that you smile so easily and it is so fun to see the joy you give others with that gummy smile. When Mama and Papi make you smile that huge wide mouthed smile you get so overexcited that you have to bury your head in our shoulder . It really is the cutest thing. I can't wait to see what next month brings!

Understanding Cloth Diapers Part 2

You can find Understanding Cloth Diapers Part 1 here.

Below I highlight some of the most common cloth diapers. I did not include them all (such as wool) because I know nothing about them and so I wouldn't be helpful. I give a quick description, pros and cons of each, and pictures where I can:

AIO (all in one): Everything you need for the diaper is all there, it is one piece and you put it on baby just as you would a disposable. Take it off when soiled and wash. Repeat. Easy enough!
Pros: These are the easiest and are most like disposables
Cons: They are the most expensive and take the longest to dry.

(I never purchased any of these so I don't have a picture) 

AI2 (all in two or hybrids) These are diapers that come in 2 pieces. A cover that is waterproof and  an insert. Place the insert in the cover and put on baby. When baby goes to the bathroom replace only the insert as long as cover is clean. If cover is dirty replace both pieces. It is a hybrid diaper when it has a disposable liner option that can usually be flushed (FLIP and GDiapers).
Pro: Most compact for diaper bag, fast drying time, inexpensive. 
Con: More steps than a AIO (see above).

Here is the empty cover which can be reused throughout the day unless it gets soiled.

Slip the insert (microfiber shown) in the cover.

Put on baby!

Pocket: This one is easy to remember because there is a pocket that you can stuff one or multiple inserts in. Stick insert in pocket, put on baby, pull out insert after use and wash all pieces. hen dry restuff and repeat. Pro: Faster drying time that AIOs, Can stuff pocket as much as you want which is nice for nighttime and heavy wetters.
Cons: You have more steps and sometimes when you pull the liner it is saturated with urine.(some people claim if you leave the insert in it will work itself out in the wash, but I was never willing to risk having to rewash diapers so I always pull them out.

Insert and pocket diaper after wash

Putting the insert in the pocket (although you really can't slide it in like the picture shows. You have to stuff it).

Put on baby!

                      

Hook and Loop: VELCRO!!!! Why the heck they call it hook and loop beats me. Maybe cause it sounds cooler?
Pros: easy and fast, unlimited sizing
Cons: Wear out faster and you have to use laundry tabs or they will adhere themselves to everything!!

Velcro

Snaps: These have snaps. Simple enough
Pro: longevity!
Con: more time consuming and wiggly toddles might not like that! Also, unlike velcro you do not have endless possibilities on sizing because if there isn't a snap there, you can't snap it. 

Snaps

 

Wait, there is more!

One Size: Grows with your baby! Same diaper can be used from 8-30lbs, but in all honesty they don’t fit till about 10-12lbs.
Pro: Saves money! 
Con: Bulkier than fitted diapers.

Fitted: These are made for certain weight groups and often come in sizes small, medium, and large.
Pro: Usually less bulky.
Con: your baby will grow out of them and you will have to buy more diapers in a larger size so it is more expensive since you have to keep replacing your stash.

(left to right) Thirsties size 1, Fuzzibuns size small, Flip one size.
The flip is bigger even on the smallest setting, but as you can see it is not that much bigger than the fitted Fuzzibuns.

Magic Bullet

My husband and I celebrated our 2 year anniversary this week (Sept 5) and decided to take a 2 hour drive into the mountains to one of our favorite vacation spots. This was our first vacation with little Kaylee (more on this later). My daughter is the most mellow, go with the flow, laid back baby except when in her carseat. She hates that thing with a passion! Most babies sleep in the car, but not my dear Kaylee. She tries her hardest to break free, good luck kid, and then hollers at us to let her out. The only way we survived our trip was by playing her favorite song over and over. Want to know what her favorite song ever is? Sure you do, take a listen:



b

Needless to say it was the theme song to our anniversary...how romantic!

Understanding Cloth Diapers Part 1

As my belly grew more and more round during pregnancy I found I spent more and more time researching how I wanted to care for my baby. When I first started hearing about cloth diapers I was immediately intrigued. There are several reasons that people cloth diaper and below I have listed the main reasons I decided to cloth diaper:

1. Safer for baby: I didn’t like the idea of all the chemicals found in disposable diapers. After the baby soils the diapers seems to turn their pee into gel. YUCK!  I love the idea that when you use cloth you know what you are putting on your baby’s bottom, my personal favorite is organic cotton.  For me, the closer to natural the better.
2. Money: I love the idea that I spent around $400 on all my diapers and accessories and I should be done purchasing diapers and diaper related products (minus laundry soap) until Kaylee is no longer wearing diapers. What?! Only $400.00? How awesome is that!?
3. Environmental: I love Mother Earth as much as the next chic, but after having a baby I want Mother Earth to be even cleaner because my daughter has to live here well after I am gone. And my daughter’s daughter will have to live here too. So if I can keep several hundred disposable diapers from rotting away for the next 500 years then I figure why not!

After I decided that I wanted to try cloth I got on the computer with the intent to research a few brands, look at reviews, and start my stash. Easy right? 

HAHAHAHAHAH, NO!!! 

I started reading a few of the thousands of blogs about cloth (seriously there are thousands) and started seeing things like this,

“My husband loves hook and loop AIOs and pockets because they are so much like sposies, but I for one like AI2 hybrids in snaps because I never remember the laundry tabs and I hate stuffing.”

HUH!?!

Basically the cloth world has its own lingo and it can be utterly confusing for a new to cloth mom. In my next blog post I will break down all the crazy lingo and then finally I will tell you about what works best for me and my baby!

First Clinic After Baby

Last Monday I went to the CF clinic and boy was I nervous! I really was unsure as to how my PFTs were holding up because I only had Kaylee two months prior and I had just started exercising again two weeks prior. I was also nervous because when I was pregnant my bladder control was less than ideal and PFTs were kind of an issue.  Here is the good, the bad, and the ugly of my clinic visit:

The great news is that although when I get a coughing fit my bladder is weaker than I would like (that wasn't the great news ye), I had no problems doing my PFTs which was a huge relief!

The good news is that even though I lost my baby weight pretty fast and by my 6 week appointment I was just 1lb over my prepregnancy weight of 125lbs I am now 128.9lbs. Obviousness, I have been eating like a pig and despite having CF and breastfeeding I am almost 4lbs heavier than usual!

The not so good news is that my lung function is down 3% from my prepregnancy baseline which isn't horrible, but I sure miss my high (for me) lung function that pregnancy brought. The doc said that if I continue to workout it should increase, but if I have any indication that I am developing an infection I need to call and get antibiotics. Unfortunately, there really aren't any safe orals so it would be straight to IVs.

The awful news is that I reordered more hypertonic saline which is really a lifesaver when it comes to my CF and makes a huge difference in keeping my lungs clean. The pharmacy ran out (!!!!) so they weren't able to get it for me on Friday and now it is a holiday weekend so I can't get it until Tuesday!!! Ugh, I have been coughing insane amounts this weekend!

It was really fun introducing Kaylee to the clinic staff. My dad came along to help with her since the clinic appointments are long and I would be a little too busy to tend to her if she was fussy. She was awesome and took a nap for most of the clinic visit and after she woke up she gave a few smiles to the staff. It was super cute having her there, but once she becomes mobile I can see clinic visits becoming a little crazy!