Update on the Prefolds...

So, the last time I wrote a blog I had just bought some prefolds. I was a little nervous about trying them too. I love them. In fact, we are in the process of selling my pockets, and switching over to prefolds.

They are easy, cheap and trim. We spent $70 on 10 pocket diapers. That is an extremely cheap, but $70 IS quite a chunk of money for us, just to find out that they are too tight on her chunker thighs. It is nice to find a diaper system that is cheap and easy to use.

To be honest, I was hoping I could use the pocket diapers at night, but they were leaving deep marks on G's thighs. There was no way around them, so I decided to get rid of them.

I posted them for sale on campbellyardsales.com, (Similar to craigslist.com) for $5 per diaper. I sold the "boy colors" immediately, but I am still waiting on selling the girly ones. I was hoping to sell them together, but I made one hell of a sale/trade with her. She got 6 of my diapers... She gave me 4 prefolds, one cover and $10.

Thanksgiving-
Thanksgiving is coming up. I'm cooking, but not a lot. It will only be me, my husband and a friend. Last year, I was pregnant and we went to a friend's house. That friend has since lost contact with me, but I miss hanging out with her the way we did. She is a good person. Oh well, stuff like that happens, right?

Sometimes, I wish it was as simple as elementary school... No one cares who's "fault" it is/was. They just decide they want to be friends again.

"Scary" prefolds...

Today I went to the local cloth diapering store Butzie Covers to get some Rockin' Green detergent. We were having some issues with her pocket dipes causing a rash... Thanks to mommy's washing mistakes :( The staff was wonderful and very willing to help.

We went in there to spend $15 on detergent... and left $55 later with Rockin' Green, 6 unbleached prefolds, a super cute cow-print cover and a snappi. I never thought I would see the day... Ever. I also never thought that I would choose this route, and even moresurprising??? I am thrilled. In fact, they are being prepped right now! :D

The ONLY reason I even considered prefolds was because G has chunky thighs and a skinny waist, so finding a good fit with her other pocket diapers can be difficult. When I asked for advice on diaperswappers.com, prefolds were suggested. They are cheap too, which was definitely a necessity.

I will give an update as soon as I try them!

Gay Rights are Human Rights

I am extremely pro-gay rights. I have been asked why I care so much, so here's why...

Call me cliche, but I want better for my daughter. I want her to grow up knowing it is okay to be herself. I want her to know that she is beautiful and perfect just the way she is.

And, if she isn't gay? I want her to stand up for what is right. I want her to be the child that stands up for the bullied kid. I want her to take his/her hand and tell them THEY are beautiful and perfect, just the way they are. Nothing would make me more proud then to know my daughter can see passed what others seem to get so hung up on. (Race, religion, sexuality... you name it.)

Gay rights are civil rights. Separate but equal wasn't fair then and it isn't fair now. Someday the "hot topic" of that is currently gay marriage will be a thing of the past. I look forward to that day.

Back from the Retreat

So, my fears of leaving G with the daycare were stupid. The daycare staff was amazing and they absolutely adored her. Every time we dropped her off they said things like "She is the best baby!" We were glad she was good, but we also wondered where that baby went when she saw mommy and daddy later that night! Haha. She didn't sleep at all in the hotel room, but other than that, we all had a blast.

She absolutely loves water, so during our "free time" on Saturday we took her to the in-door pool. (Apparently we chose a good time to go, because there was only two other people there.) She splashed and kicked and laughed at daddy. I can honestly say that was our favorite part of the trip... and we were only there for 30 mins.

Regrettably, I didn't take many pictures. I took two, both of G passed out on the bed. I guess she had too much fun that day ;)

I am very glad we went, but let me tell you, there is nothing like getting home to your own bed.... And NOT sharing a room with an 8 month old, lol!

Lovin' the Cloth!

I have ordered and received my KaWaii diapers. They are the one-size pockets with snaps. I LOVE THEM!!! I got them on Tuesday, but I didn't get to use them until yesterday. (Will explain later.) Yesterday I was a bit awkward with them... Which I suppose is to be expected, since before yesterday, I had never even handled a cloth diaper.

My daughter has chunky legs and a very skinny waist. Getting a "good fit" with the snaps was a bit difficult in the beginning. At first I was afraid of snapping the waist too tight, but what that really meant was it was too loose, and it leaked. I started to get nervous. I wondered "is this really what cloth diapers are like!?" I was completely turned off.

Luckily, after my husband got home, he was able to distract the baby while I played with the snaps. We were able to get a good fit with no leaks! I wasn't feeling confident enough to let her wear one overnight, though.

Now, for an update on myself-
I went to the ER on Monday night. Apparently, I had a gotten a UTI a week or two before and THOUGHT it was from my interstitial cystitis. Good news? I have not "relapsed." (I hate that term!) The bad news is I have a horrible kidney infection.

I went to the ER because I couldn't keep anything down. I was getting sick every 10-20 mins. I really didn't want to go if I didn't have to, but I knew I had reached my breaking point.

They wanted to keep me overnight, but I really just wanted to get home. Honestly, I probably would've felt a lot better (physically) if I had stayed, but god knows I hate nothing more than the hospital.

Now, for the fun stuff-
Tomorrow, the Army is putting on a marriage retreat. My husband and I have been to one before... The one before was a more exciting destination, Gatlinburg. (We are going to Franklin, in the Nashville area, this time.) But more "exciting" typically means "more expensive" in my house. Lol! The nice thing is they will be covering our hotel room and meals.

G is allowed to go with us, which is nice. They will even have free child care, if we want it. I am not so sure about that though, because other than family, she has never had a babysitter. I don't know how many kids will be in childcare either, which is important. She is only 8 months old. She can get into a lot of trouble, haha. She is attempting to crawl, so eyes have to be on her constantly. If not, she might do something bad, or another child might hurt her. (Unintentionally or intentionally.)

I know I sound like an overbearing mommabear, but I really don't feel comfortable with the idea of any baby crawling around without direct supervision. Who knows??? I will be sure to give an update (and maybe post pics!) when I get back.

Update 10/21

SO I'm sorry this is so late... I can't really lie and say I have been too busy, just distracted. So, this is what has been going on-
1. My husband left for Ft. Bliss for off-post training. (Which he coming home from in a few days!)
2. G is 7 months old!
3. I ordered 10 cloth diapers last night. I am so excited to get them!
4. I (finally) finished my first semester of school, and I am just waiting on my final exam grade.
5. I have made a lot of progress with my feelings about my eclampsia. I can talk about it and not get upset.

Jason hasn't been gone very long, he will have been gone for 20 days total. Compared to deployments, it really isn't that long. I hate missing him because it makes me feel like I will have a terrible time with the deployment.... And I am scared for him. Not for his health/safety, but saying goodbye to his daughter for so long. I hate to see him upset and I know this will kill him.

Ahhhh, I can't believe my little girl is 7 months old! Time has really gone by way too fast :( I am trying so hard to enjoy it now, because it will be my only time in "the baby phase." I wasted way too much time waiting for the next stage. I have decided to enjoy it now. 18 years will go by way too fast... and if she follows in our footsteps she will leave at 18 :( (But she better not leave to get married, her daddy will kill her! lol)

I have been wanting to get cloth diapers for a while now. We use huggies with G.... Which has come out to be very expensive for us. I decided to buy the Kawaii brand diapers. They aren't a well-known brand (like bum genius or fuzzibunz) but they are about half the price, and according to the reviews, just as good. I ended up spending about $72 for 10... The price is certainly right! I am so excited to get them, I'm just being so impatient.

I have finally decided that school was worth my time again, lol. I decided to suck it up and take my proctored exams. I have no idea what I was so "busy" with before! Haha. I passed two out of the three, and I am just waiting to hear on the last one. I am excited to continue with the program.

I don't have a ton to say about the last one... Except that I no longer cry when I talk about it :) I used to think "oh pooooorrr meee" but that was stupid. I realize how lucky I am that the seizures were postpartum and NOT during my pregnancy. If that was the case, we might not be here. I really think the fact that we are, and we are both healthy, is something to be thankful for.


Yep, that's pretty much it... I'm not too exciting :) I do want to add, though, that Nancy Grace is disgusting and she can't take the heat that she LOVES to dish. Any negative comment on her facebook gets deleted. *Roll eyes*

Shame on you Safety 1st! *

I have been looking for a car seat for my daughter for a while, and my husband and we have finally decided on one. We have been doing research (thank you consumerreports.org) and going to see them in store. Yesterday we made an hour trek to go to the only Babies R US in the area just to be 100% sure.

Our first choice was the Safety 1st Convertible seat. They make you think that the car seat is doubly safe with its "air technology." It IS safe, don't get me wrong, but it is not any safer than any other seat.

Let me explain further...
Most car seats are lined with (at least some) EPS liner. EPS stands for Expanded Polystyrene. (It looks like Styrofoam.) The safety 1st doesn't have any EPS liner, but instead has their "air bags." (For lack of a better term.)

Take, for example, a bicycle helmet... It has its hard, outer shell. That is protect your head from most damage, should you fall and hit it. Think of that as the plastic part of the car seat. Then, you have the EPS liner that will protect your head further. It will take the brunt of impact from the fall and greatly reduce what kind of pressure your head will recieve. Then, since styrofoam really isn't exactly confortable, there are the pads. The pads also protect from the impact, but the work mostly falls with the EPS.

The same goes for car seats. It may not sound very high tech, but it has been proven to work time and again. As I said before, there are car seats that don't have EPS, but like helmets, the impact will lie on the car seat covers.

Safety 1st makes you think that their car seat is safer than the rest. Yes, the "air bags" will take the brunt of the impact (the whole point of EPS) but they make you feel like it is doubly safe. When we took the cover off of the seats (and yes, we did this to every seat) we were extremely disappointed. To me, I might as well of just bought a convertible car seat with EPS (there was an Evenflo there for $70 with EPS) because, in my opinion, it was equally as safe.

I am not into "scare tactics" for marketing. I don't appreciate people making parents feel like they don't care about their kids if they don't buy ______ product. You can see their website for the air seat here- http://airprotect.safety1st.com/

Also, call me stupid, but I trust Consumer Reports. I realize the Safety 1st is new, but I don't really like that they haven't tested it.

*DISCLAIMER*
I am not a doctor. I am adamant about research... Especially something that will keep my daughter safe in a car accident. I am not telling you not to buy anything, this is solely my opinion.