The Awesome Cloth Diaper Blog Awesome Giveaway!!

Referring to the previous post regarding hair-brained schemes, I have decided to go back to cloth diapering as soon as she grows out of these size 2 diapers we're using.  Trust me, it's coming.  I'm excited about going back, and something that made me even more excited was when I read about the awesome cloth diaper blog giveaway.  You can check it out overt @ the awesome cloth diaper blog.

I'm super excited about the chance to win some of these ones & twos.

If you're a cloth diaper momma, or interested in being a cloth diaper momma, enter this contest with me :)

What I've Been Up Too

I am the queen of hair-brained schemes.  Period.  I love budgeting money.  I could be a mad money-saving woman if I had *ANY* self control.  I would probably also be at my fighting weight if I had self control.   This week...I've had some big schemes.

Hair-Brained Scheme #1
I want to buy some land from someone in my family. Right now, he doesn't want to sell, but I think when we start seriously looking to buy land, then he might be ready.  I also decided he would be more likely to nibble if I had cash.  So, hair-brained scheme number 1 was hatched.  My DH and I are going to save $100,000 in 5 years.  That's *only* $1600/month.  Unfortunately, I'm not sure I make enough money to pull that off.  I mean, it's only $500/paycheck for myself and DH.  I'm not sure we're going to make it because of....

Hair-Brained Scheme #2

I want to have 2 more kids by the time I'm 30.  In fact, I really want to be pregnant now.  I, however, would like to really need to loose 25-50lbs before I get pregnant again.   I had some hypertension/preeclampsia issues before I delivered my dear HC.   My blood pressure has continued to run a little higher than I would like it too (135/85) vs. what it ran prepregnancy (115/70) and even though I'm only 10lbs heavier than I was pre-pregnancy, my body feels 40lbs heavier, and I wasn't small before.  I have to get this weight off, and you guys one faithful reader, might have to help me.  For some reason, my sweet tooth/my work/my busy self are inhibiting my ability to reach this goal.

Hair-Brained Scheme # 3

I think I want hair extensions.  Weird, right? If you knew me at all, it really wouldn't be so weird.  I like things that give me instant gratification.  I think that's why saving money and weight loss aren't nearly as appealing as shopping and eating sweets.  It's all about instant gratification.  I have chronic hair-changing syndrome.  My color, my cut, it's in constant rotation, which is made cheaper by my dear SIL who does hair.  I have short hair and then I want long hair.  That is not a process that allows for instant gratification.   It takes months, so then I thought...hairbrained scheme...I'll just get hair extensions.  The good ones, that are bonded to hair, aren't cheap.  Completely ruins HCS #1. 

Hair-Brained Scheme # 4

I don't have a lot of elaboration right now, but I really think I want to open my own therapy company one day.  Will update you when I figure everything out. 

It's what I love about Sundays....

A Comprehensive List of Baby Crap

I just want you to know, that I am currently speaking of only baby crap in my living room....

I'm folding little baby clothes right now.  That's what inspired this post.

1.  Fisher Price My Little Snugabunny Cradle/Swing Set ($126.97/amazon.com

We got this swing as a gift.  It was on our baby registry.  It was a little more expensive then other swings that we looked at (although, it seems cheaper on amazon), but I LOVED it, and we are planning on having more than one child.   I put it together one night in the middle of the night while I was pregnant and an insomniac.  I had to get the hubs to help me once, but it was easy to put together.  This swing was worth every penny.  HC spent 2-5 hours napping a day in it from the time she was about 2 weeks old until she was 6 months old.  Within the last week, she has decided she really doesn't love it so much.  It breaks my heart.   It's still in the living room, but I'm thinking it probably won't be for much much longer.

 

 2.  Combi All in One Activity Walker GT ($104.95, amazon.com)

This is a hand-me-down that a co-worker gave us, and HC LOVES it.  It's also super adorable.  I probably would have just bought a normal, boring walker, but I am in love with this car.  Don't be surprised if you see our little boys in it.  It has some toys, and a steering wheel where you can press buttons and play music.  You can also take the hood/steering wheel off and it has a flat activity table that she can eat in.  The heights adjust.  It has some bounce to it.  There's some way to take the back off so she can push it around.  It's just all over awesome.  

3.  Fisher Price Rainforest Jumperoo ($72.54, amazon.com)

I don't have a picture of HC in this, but she also LOVES it.  Are you noticing that she's pretty easy to please?  She'll bounce and bounce and play with the toys on it.  She can turn the seat in it, so she's pretty content to stay put here usually long enough for momma to work out cook dinner, blog, check email, play on the bump.....  This was not as easy to put together as the swing.  I got the frame together and then demanded that the hubs help me.  I got this for HC for easter, so I bought it, but what can I say, the girl LOVES to bounce. 

4.  Bumbo Baby Seat and Bumbo Seat Play Tray ( $29.31 and $9.50, amazon.com) 

HC could live without this chair.  But she will sit in it....sometimes...... and I've put the play table on her chair approximately twice.

  

A few moments of reflection

In light of HC's 6 montherversary,  I've been thinking about how I pictured myself as a mom.  As a person, I'm very laid back and go with the flow.  I love to budget money and make lists.  I recycle.  I like to spend time with my family.

I found two major things that I thought would go differently.

The first is breastfeeding.  I loathed it.  I was absolutely sure, as a pregnant woman, as a first time mom, that breastfeeding was going to be this amazing experience.  I was so certain that I was going to breastfeed exclusively until HC was a 6 months old, and wean her some time around the one year mark.   That was my vision.  My reality was that I'm pretty sure HC hated breastfeeding as much as I did.  We ended up supplementing with formula before we left the hospital.  After that though, she was exclusively breastfed for about...6 weeks....and 90% of that was pumped milk.  She wouldn't latch.  When she latched, she would nurse and nurse and nurse until she fell asleep, and then the *MINUTE*  *SECOND* *NANOSECOND that I tried to move her, she would scream and cry until I put her back on.  We would do that all day long. I tried slipping a pacifier in.  I tried letting her cry until she fell asleep.  Nothing.  Nada.  Not budging.  Until she was 8 weeks old.  I was ready to quit.  I was throwing in the towel, and then something came to me.  I'm not sure what it was, I just know, something was telling me.  Just try this last week.  This is your last week staying home with your baby girl.  Do the best that you can. Just try.  So HC was breast fed, from the boob not a bottle, for one week.  It was glorious.  I wasn't hooked to the pump all the time.  FANTASTIC.  Then I had to go back to work. I would get up, nurse her before I left, get her ready to go, and then drop her off.  I pumped on the way too work (40 minutes), one time at work, and on the way home from work.  I nursed her at home.  Slowly, over time, HC started fighting more and more nursing sessions until we weren't nursing.  Tables slowly turned so she started out getting one bottle of formula a day, then two, and then when she was 5 months old, I realized I was pumping 3-4 times a day, and she was getting 1 bottle of breastmilk.  Seriously???  That's when I gave it up.  To be honest, I'm not sure she's noticed.

The second thing I was just convinced I was going to do was cloth diaper.  It's good for the environment.  It's good for HC.  Who needs all those chemicals in diapers anyways?  I can just wash them.  I was very diligent with my cloth diapering on maternity leave.  If we were at home, that's what we used.  It was fine.  No worries.  After I went back to work, she was wearing disposables during the day, and I honestly had more on my plate then I could juggle.  Plus, being away from my dear, sweet daughter for 10 hours a day? I couldn't handle it all.  I mean, I was barely functioning to get laundry washed as it was, much less, adding cloth diaper laundry to the mix.  So I quit.  She's been using disposable diapers since I went back to work.  That means, I have all this fluff, laid neatly in a drawer, still on a dryer rack in the laundry room, and HC's bottom is just getting pasted with chemicals.  That's ok.

I've recently felt this strong motivation to become a better wife and mother.  I've been reading about how the Bible wants you to be a 'submissive/respectful' wife.  I know that's to an extent, but that is not me *at all.*  I'm going to try.    I know the breastfeeding ship has sailed, but I think I'm going to try cloth diapers again.  We'll see what happens.

Per my usual

I have fallen off the blogging wagon for a couple of reasons.  First off,  HC had her shots on Friday which made for a very cranky baby girl over the weekend.  Now, I'm sick.  Work has been crazy.  I'm envious of people who get their blogging done on time, but I think I've noticed a trend.  I think a lot of people that blog regularly, blog at work.  I don't have that luxury.  I'll try to come back soon.

6 Months Old

Dear HC,

You're my 6 month old daughter.  You are the most amazing thing in my life.  Everything I do, I do for you.  I'm constantly planning to see how I can spend more time with you. 

• You smile ALL the time. 
• You talk ALMOST as much as you smile.  You're favorite sounds are /b/ and /m/. 
• You've recently started trying to blow raspberries.  It's adorable. 
• You still sleep through the night.  Thank you baby. 
• You put everything you can pick up in your mouth. 
• You've decided that you LOVE grown up food. 
• You've had mashed potatoes,  lima beans,   carrots, peas, strawberries, and banannas. 
• You're favorites so far are lima beans and strawberries. 
• You grasp things in your hands. 
• You bear weight on your legs. 
• You roll from back to belly on your terms.  It's not very often.  I think there have been 5 documented incidents. 
• You try to push yourself forward when your on your tummy. 
• You smile. 
• You love you're car walker. 
• You're still not super thrilled with the bumbo chair. 
• You moved into you're big girl crib a few weeks ago.  It was much harder on momma and daddy then it was on you. 
• You're trying so hard to sit up. 
• You sit unassisted for a few seconds. 
• You're amazing. 
• I love you. 

Love, Momma.

Wordless Wednesday (actually requires words)

This post is courtesy of google images.  My favorite.   I feel like this is what my desk looks like.  Exhausted.