7 Months old!

Like how I'm posting this a mere 6 days before she turns 8 months old? Ehhh...at least I posted it right? These two little rascals keep this momma BUSY! Not to mention throwing a few holidays into the mix, and it's turned into pure chaos. Oh and we're moving in 8ish weeks. Whoohooo! <<< that's a good whoohoo btw. Anyway here is her 7 month update!

Halloween Pictures!

As you can tell we had a Tigger & Piglet for Halloween this year. Gabe chose the costumes, and as you know (or maybe you don't) he has a thing for Tigger. He has slept with his Tigger since he was 9 months old. Piglet just suited Miss Kellie. Halloween was pretty fun this year. Gabriel figured it out pretty quickly. And once he had it figured out he wasn't going to allow anyone to take his bucket of candy. Here is pictures from their professional photo shoot by Heidi Lynn Photography (she also did their pictures that are at the top of the page).

6 MONTHS!!?!?!

Cloth Diapering!

I'm currently putting my Monday Night Dinner post together. But while I'm getting that together, I figured I would talk a little about cloth diapering!

Okay, so originally I had wanted to cloth diaper Gabriel BUTTTTTTT Josh wasn't having it. Come to find out the reason he didn't want to was because he thought it was like "the olden days", where you have to safety pin a piece of cloth to the kid then put him/her in plastic pants. Well cloth diapering has come a LONG way from then. Yes, many still use that technique, although they are called prefolds, but some use this thing called a snappi instead of pins. I'm sure some still use pins, we don't. We mainly use a diaper called an AIO a.k.a. all-in-one. So let me start at the beginning....

I showed Josh on the internet some types of cloth diapers. Mainly the pockets, aio, ai2's...because they were most like a sposie (disposible diaper). I also wrote down some calculations. A 'stash' of diapers would run roughly 400-500 dollars. Yeah that seems like a lot of money, but that's the higher end of the deal. Some can be as low as 200-250 dollars to diaper your child until they are potty trained...and these days that's on the closer end of three. Boys actually average three and a half. Then I calculated how much diapers are costing us for just Gabriel until potty trained...that equalled up to around 3500 dollars (and that was birth until three-ish years!!!!! so it's actually going to cost us more since he likely won't be potty trained by then). Yeah, expensive right? So I hooked him.

Yeah, Gabriel is still using sposie's because for some reason I just can switch him over. I'm not sure why. I think in the beginning it was the whole washing the poop off the diaper because solids don't dissolve in the wash, and breastfed baby poo does. But now that Kellie is on solids, it kinda seems silly to wash her diapers and keep him in sposies. I will ponder on that some more.

Okay so back to the diapers. So my mom went a little crazy, we ended up having something like 75 diapers right before Kellie was born. A good stash you only need around 30ish. So we went a little over board, to say the least. But here is where one of the cool parts come in. What I tried and didn't like or what she grew out of, we sold. And we pretty much made our money back too. Amazing right?!?!?! Well I think so. So the ones I absolutely hated, I sold...and bought others to try and so on and so forth.

So my stash now is actually completely different from what it was like in the beginning, then again changed after a few more months. I mainly had pockets in the beginning.Pockets are a diaper you stuff with an insert. Like there is literally a pocket between the PUL (what keeps the diaper waterproof, so baby doesn't leak out of the diaper) and microfleece inside (which is a stay dry fabric and helps to pull the urine off the bum and into the insert). The inserts can be made of different types of material. Most come with a MF or microfiber insert. It's a synthetic material that is really absorbable. You can also buy them with natural fibers such as hemp, cotton, or bamboo. These are really absorbent as well, SUPER absorbent, but also on the expensive side. The top two pictures are a WAHM (work at home mom-made diaper), the second a Blueberry Mini Deluxe (MY FAVORITE NEWBORN DIAPER BY FAR), then a bumgenius pocket diaper in the last two. By the way, notice how you can coordinate your outfit around the diaper and vice versa. I love it.

Then I switched to Tots Bots, which is an all in one, meaning you don't have to add an insert...BUT I still had to stuff the tongue of the attached insert into the pocket, and it had the pocket to add absorbancy. I got tired really quick of stuff. I LOVED Tots Bots, but ehhh... I hate stuffing, it's time consuming. Baby girl rockin' the Tots Bots Easy Fit

I also tried fitteds with a cover and/or fleece soaker for a short (very short) time. A fitted is best for night time diapers, but a lot of moms use them for any time. They are great for heavy wetters, and most moms use them without a cover around the house--because they are JUST that absorbant. However, Kellie would cry when she was in them because the bulkiness would cause her not to be able to move her lower half really. So...I got rid of them pretty quickly, but I am glad I at least tried them out :) A cover is a waterproof cover you put over the fitted, which is another step I didn't like having to take. Pretty much like pockets, it's an extra step I didn't want to have to take. Because I'm just that lazy. And the fleece soakers act as a wicking agent. Meaning you put it over a diaper and it will help push the pee back into the diaper, thus less leaks. Here are some pictures of fleece soakers (with ruffles [I die!] and a fitted without and with a cover on.

Now my stash is all contained of all in ones. I also am a bit obsessive and have 3 of every color that I own. The brand that I use is Bumgenius and I use freetimes. They have two flaps attached that you can fold however you want to put the most absorbancy in the area you need it most PLUS they dry super fast. AIO's are usually a pain because the soaker is attached to the actual diaper itself, thus not having to stuff it. But since its attached it usually takes so much longer to dry (in my opinioin anyway). But the freetime dries in half the time it takes any other AIO I've tried. Here is baby girl rockin' a freetime.

I am by no means a diaper expert. I do what works for us and us only. For instance, most HATE velcro but I prefer it. It's so quick and easy to put the diaper on--not worrying about which snaps to put together and what not. Although I'm sure we will have to convert our diapers to snaps at some point as older babies tend to rip their diapers off with velcro since it's easy removal. But for now that's what we like.

Here is a little chart that shows another reason why we are cloth diapering (although its not the main reason by far, as we do still put disposibles on Gabriel)...

We also use disposibles on Kellie when we need to go out of town. It's just easier that way. We don't have to worry about what kind of water there is (hard, soft, normal--believe it or not that plays a big part), whether or not they use fabric softener in their washer and/or dryer (yes that plays a huge part too), etc. It's just easier that way. BUT Kellie hates them. She really doesn't like the feel of them on, which who really would? Plastic and scratchy absorbant material vs. soft cotton or microfleece against the bum... mmm, I would choose cloth too.

So there is my speal on the whole diaper thing. It's not for you? That's fine... it works for us. Do what works for you :)

*By the way, I started this post last week...and it literally took me this long to put it together. Shame on me*

5 Months Old!

Menu Monday!

Okay, so I'm getting a little better, eh? Well, I'm trying anyway. Today I'm going to start a new weekly blog post called Menu Monday. I got the idea from a blog I follow: Blessings, Miracles, & Thoughts in Between. So here it is:

Monday: Chicken & Scallop Cajun Fettuccine Alfredo (yum!)
--It's actually suppose to be shrimp, but...I hate shrimp, so I'm substituting with Chicken!
Tuesday: Chili
--I'm so excited it's started to get more and more chilly outside, because I love me some soup. And Gabriel LOVES Chili!
Wednesday: Salsa Chicken Wraps
--Delish! And so easy to make!
Thursday: Leftovers!
--I'm sure we will have all sorts of leftovers from the Chili & Salsa Chicken! *I like to cook for 20 and often forget I'm only cooking for 3. Womp Womp...
Friday: Tuna Noodle Casserole
--super easy to make and throw in the fridge for Josh to cook right before I get home on lunch break!
Saturday: Leftovers!
--Remember how I said I usually cook for 20??? Yep, we frequently have lots of leftovers.
Sunday: Brown Sugar Glazed Salmon
--Haven't tried this yet, but it sounds yummy! My parents went to Alaska on vacation, thus I have lots of salmon and halibut! *and some game meats too--bear, moose, buffalo!*  :)

So, that's what we're having this week! What are you gonna eat? Also, I will post pictures and recipes on each of my days if anyone wants to try them out! (The whole 10 people who follow me that is, haha.)

A day in the life of our family!

Okay, so I pretty much suck. At blogging that is. I even vowed to blog on my vacation, and still didn't/haven't. Oh well...you are used to it by now. I'm currently tallying up how many words Gabriel can say now. I swear every day a new one pops up. It's crazy how much he can talk now...and even putting sentences together. I think I'm going to have to do a post on just one day of his conversations just to show you how well he can talk and how many funny things he says. But for now, I wanted to show you just how crazy our "schedule" is, and thus why I hardly ever blog.
4:50am--Josh wakes up for work
5:30am--Kellie wakes up to nurse
5:45am--Kellie falls back to sleep
9:15am--Gabriel comes into our room and wakes us up for the day
9:30am--Change Gabriel & Kellie's Diapers
9:45am--Turn on cartoons and lay Kellie down on her piano mat for playtime
10:00am--Josh comes home on break; cook breakfast
10:30am--Nurse Kellie; feed her a veggie and fruit
10:45am--Naptime for Kellie
11:00-12:30pm--cook lunch and supper; play with Gabriel; clean the house
12:45--Eat lunch, nurse Kellie
1:00pm--Take a shower with two kids, get them dressed for the day
1:15pm--snack time for Gabriel
1:30pm--nurse Kellie to sleep
1:40pm--Pack up the kiddos and leave to meet Josh at work
2:30pm-4:30/5pm--Kiddos take a nap
(2:00pm-6:00pm--I'm at work/4:30pm--I pump)
6:00pm--supper/break
6:20pm--nurse Kellie; feed her a veggie and fruit
6:45pm--Give the kiddos a quick bath and in pj's
7:00pm--I go back to work, Kiddo's play/watch cartoons
8:00pm--Gabriel eats a snack
9:00pm--Kellie has a bottle/I pump at work
9:15pm--Kellie takes a nap, Gabriel watches a cartoon
10:30pm--I come home from work, Josh goes to bed, I nurse Kellie
10:50pm--Gabriel goes to bed (kicking and screaming usually); I lay down with him or sit on his bed while rocking Kellie and singing lullabies
11:30pm--all kids are (hopefully) asleep and I watch my T.V. shows
12:30am-1:00am--I go to sleep

And then it starts all over again. Blech....I wish our schedule was better, but right now thats how it is. Busy huh???

Updates!

Okay so I suck at blogging :( BUT, I'm going to change. I plan on blogging AT LEAST 3x a week, if not more. I got this idea from The Paro Post and thought it would be a good thing to do with Kellie, since I kinda sucked with updates with Gabriel. I will start them with him too, but have a LOT to catch up on. So for now here are the first 4 months of Kellie's life :)

I will be on vacation starting tomorrow, so maybe I can actually catch this blog up!

Updates!!!

Wow....I'm a sucky blogger! Life has me completely swamps :) These two are amazing. Gabe is a wonderful big brother and loves "Kale-we" very much! It warms my heart! Okay so until I can come up with everything that's gone on in the past 3ish months (what?!?!? How has it almost been 3 months already?!?!) here are some photo collages of Miss Kellie from birth until now :)

Weight: 9lb 8.4oz
Height: 20 inches long
Percentile: 90th

Weight: 11lb 9oz
Height: 21 3/4 inches long
Percentile: 94th

Weight: 13lb 4oz
Height: 23 3/4 inches
Percentile: 95th

Kellie Rain’s Birth Story

A Little Backstory

At 18 weeks I was diagnosed with PIH (pregnancy-induced hypertension). I was placed on blood pressure medications and monitored my blood pressure at home twice a day. My blood pressure would spike up a little, but nothing that was worrisome. That is until Tuesday, May 1st. I started to feel woozy, lethargic, and was getting headaches. I had taken my blood pressure and it was elevated, but eventually went down after I took an extra BP medication. As the hours past, it slowly creeped up--and even extra medication wouldn't keep it down longer then an hour or two. Wednesday it was 166/104. I was stubborn and waited until Thursday morning to call my doctor and get an appointment. The main reason I waited was because my doctor had been out of town the previous weekend and wouldn't be back in the office until Thursday, and since he knows my history with pre-eclampsia, PIH, and postpartum hemorrhage--I wanted him to deal with me.

The beginning of the end of Kellie's Pregnancy

At 8am on Thursday morning, May 3rd, I called the doctor’s office and asked to talk to a nurse. I told the nurse my symptoms and asked to see Dr. P. The nurse got me in, but Dr. P was booked so I was scheduled to see Dr. S at 9:30am. I went in and my blood pressure was 144/94 (which was 1 1/2 hours after I took my medication, so it shouldn't be that high), and I was symptomatic for pre-eclampsia—which I had with Gabe. Dr. S notified Dr. P of my blood pressure, and Dr. P came in right away. He did a quick assessment, checked my cervix (which hadn’t changed since Monday, April 30th), and told me we would be having a baby that day. He asked me when I would be able to arrive at the hospital so he could notify the nurses and start the orders. I still needed to pack our suitcase (Yes...I know last minute), take a shower, Josh needed to get ready, and we needed to wait until my mom and step-dad could get to the hospital--so my mom could be there for the birth and my step-dad could watch Gabriel. I told him I could be there between 1-2 pm. I then called my mom and told her to head our way, it was 2 1/2 hours from where she was. 

Arriving at the Hospital

We showed up at the hospital at 1:20pm, got checked in and settled into room, and started with the millions of admission questions. Labor & Delivery was busy, so it took a while for me to get my IV, labs, and all that good stuff. By 3:30pm my IV had been put in and the Pitocin had been started. I was already having contractions, but they didn’t amount to anything. 

Waiting for my IV

 

My board...

Waiting for something to happen!!!

The Start of Labor

Around 4:30pm they were getting intense. Josh rubbed my lower back during each contraction to help with the pain. The nurse came back in and checked me at 5:30pm and I had increased to 4cm (from 3cm 50% effaced—like I had been since 36 weeks), but still 50% effaced and -3 station. She asked if I wanted an epidural and I told her not yet—that I didn’t feel like I was in too much pain, but may change my mind in an hour or so. The nurse then came back an hour later, and checked me and I was 5cm 50% effaced, and -2 station. I requested the epidural. I received the epidural at 7pm and felt instant relief. I was soooo happy.

"This shit hurts...enough said"

I love you epirdural!

Okay....I must have been feeling really good!!!

My mountain peak contractions

Almost Ready!!!
At 8:45 they checked my cervix and I was 8cm, 100%, and -2 station, and my water was bulging. The nurse notified the doctor, and he said he was on his way. At 9:40pm he came in and said I was 10cm, 100% effaced, and still a -2 station, but my water sac was actually hanging out—so he grabbed ahold of it and tried to break it with just his fingers, but needed the amnihook to tear the sac because it was thick. They, the doctor and nurse, went and got all the supplies and told me to practice push to help get her down lower. I pushed through one contraction and was told to stop. We, the nurse, mom, Josh, and I had bets on what time she would come and how much she would weigh. When we did the practice push the nurse said that she would definitely be here before Josh’s guess, which was 10:24pm. Mom’s guess was 10:15pm and my guess was 10:05pm…the nurse said she guessed between 10:05-10:15pm.

Let the Pushing Begin

The doctor came in and got gowned up and gloves on. My mom held my right leg and Josh held my left and at my next contraction they had me push….and her head came out. They had me stop, so they could suction out her mouth and nose, then they told me to grunt with baby pushes. I did that twice then got irritated, so I pushed and out came her shoulders. The doctor said, “well she’s definitely not as big as I thought she would be!”…I got to hold her for much longer than I got to with Gabriel, mainly because I didn’t have postpartum hemorrhaging. As Josh was cutting the cord she sarted peeing all over me and the doctor, which I think is kinda funny because the nurse kinda panicked and started grabbing for towels. After snuggling her and wiping her off, I let the nurse have her to check her over. She weighed 9lb 8.4oz and was 20 inches long. Her head was 14 inch circumference!

For now her nickname is monkey. She is super hairy! She’s got dark black hair on her shoulders, neck, back and ears.. she also has dark black hair—it’s fine on top and thick and long around the back and sides (she’s like an old man haha). She has been nursing like a champ ever since birth, but does have a sensitive tummy and doesn’t handle gas well—but she makes the cutest little puppy dog/pouty face. She is a pretty calm baby though—sleeps for 4-5 hours (for now I know) and only wimpers with gas. She does hate getting an outfit changed or diaper change, but who wants uncovered and made all cold? She does have some differences from Gabe. He was fussy 24 hours after/she isn’t so far, he hated the paci/she LOVES it, he hated being swaddled/SHE ABSOLUTELY LOVES it!!!