Saturday, October 26, 2013

The Name Game

The cover of Saga Vol. 1
So, Joe and I have had Little Miss named for quite some time now. We've told a few people here and there when they've ask, but we figured why not just let everyone know :). A lot of people tell us we may change our minds when Little Miss arrives, and that could be true, but I don't usually change my mind. Once it's made up I stick with my choice :). Joe and I decided on, Hazel Elizabeth.

Once we tell people, the first question is where did we get the name from. As many know Joe and I are a bit nerdy. I am hooked on the comic book, Saga. The two lead characters have a daughter, and they name her Hazel. I thought it was a truly beautiful name. Another reason I am really fond of the name is because it isn't terribly popular. Hazel will also have a pretty cool story to tell about how she got her name. I mean not many people can claim being named after a seriously awesome book with a stellar opening line like this.......
Page 1
For those who may not be able to read, shes saying, "Am I shitting? It feels like I'm shitting." As someone who is known to curse like a sailor, I thought that line was great! I mean it doesn't get more real than that. For those of you who are curious about why she's saying this terrific line should pick up the book. It'll change your life. I swear. 

Well, that's the story in a nut shell. Little Miss will be known as Hazel Elizabeth :)

I thought I'd also include some updates in case anyone was curious. I'm 18 weeks 3 days. Currently I am off meat. I can't stand it unless it is doused in mayonnaise, which is a condiment I haven't eaten since I was 12. When I say doused I mean like thoroughly drenched. To give you an idea, I just had some chicken salad that was pretty much a jar of mayonnaise with a piece of shredded chicken..... don't judge. Other than that I pretty much just avoid meat all together. Which is very strange because I am a serious carnivore otherwise! 

The bump is growing and I've started to feel Miss Hazel move :). It's very sporadic, mostly when I'm lying in bed. She feels like light tapping and somersaults.  

I recently purchased a Doppler because I am still on edge. I don't think my anxiety will fully go away until Hazel is here. Joe and I recently registered, and as soon as we got home I almost deleted everything off the list. I didn't, and I have been working hard to add some more things. Believe me, I am excited, and that's the scary part. The Doppler has helped ease some anxiety because I get to hear Little Hazel's heart beating away.

Here are some progression pics:



Saturday, October 5, 2013

Update

I figured I add some updates of Little Miss. We've already started receiving some cute gifts for her, and I have to say it's making me very excited :). We've got her cute little diapers, a really sweet Pens cap, and Joe's mom has already knitted the cutest outfit ever! I've already decided she will be coming home from the hospital in it :). Here are some progress pics and an update.









I can't wait to bring Little Miss home in this adorable outfit! 
Let's go Pens! She will never be a Caps fan!!!!




At this point I am 15 weeks and 3 days. I am getting my energy back and starting to feel a little more like myself. I've put on a bit more weight than I would've liked to, and I am trying very hard not to obsess over that! I still feel like I am eating cereal by the box, and I could eat fruit at any time of day. I am pretty sure I have lost my mind because my baby brain is out of control. Sometimes I can't remember what I said form one sentence to the next. My kids at school think I'm nuts for sure! Little Miss is sitting on a nerve, or so I think, and I know I am going to be in for a long 5 months of back pain. The good news on that front is, she is not constantly sitting there, so I do get some relief :). Although there are moments I feel like I am crippled! Again, my poor students think I am nuts! All in all I am feeling pretty fantastic :). 

Cheers! 

Cloth Diapers

When Joe and I got pregnant with BabyV, we started thinking about the costs of having a baby. Turns out it's wicked expensive. One of the most expensive things is diapers! They range in price, quality, and size. We did some calculations and decided that our baby was gonna have to be potty trained by the time we brought it home from the hospital! So, after my little freak out, I started doing some research on cloth diapering.

I've continued that research with Little Miss. I spoke with friends who use cloth, joined a couple of forums, and constantly Googled brands and comparisons. I found myself slightly overwhelmed, but very determined to dig through and come out with a brand! I finally did after about 7 months of searching. Let me go into the little bit that I learned about cloth diapering and then into the brand I chose.

There many options for cloth diapering. There are prefolds and covers, fitted with covers, pocket diapers, all in ones (AIO), and all in two or hybrids. Prefolds are the old school diapers. You actually take the cloth diaper and fold it into the shape of a diaper and attach using diaper pins or a Snappi. Then you place a waterproof cover over the diaper to hold everything in. Fitted diapers already come shaped like a diaper and have snaps or Velcro to keep them closed. After you place the diaper on the baby, you put a waterproof cover over top to keep everything in. Pocket diapers have a pocket in the waterproof cover that you stuff the absorbent diaper into. AIO are pretty self explanatory. They whole diapering system is in one diaper. There is no folding, taking off cover, or stuffing. It's all in one. All in twos are similar to AIO, but the absorbent part is removable, which means the cover can be used again for multiple changes.  Then there are a lot of accessories to consider, like cloth wipes, sprayer, wet bags. I mean the list goes on.

Very overwhelming indeed. I found that once I started researching, it wasn't so overwhelming once I figured out all the lingo and needs. The beauty of cloth diapering is you can mix and match your needs. One consensus was if you are going to cloth diaper you need to make sure you have a complete set before baby comes. Some people recommend trying a few brands out then choosing, but most recommend picking a brand a head of time. That way there is no confusion, you have everything you need, and you can get used to the system with baby on hand.

I decided on the brand Softbums. They come in pocket and all in two. I went with the Echo all-in-two system. The outer shell can be reused multiple times before washing, and the inserts are easy to transport. I had many conversations with a friend and this is her brand of choice, so I feel confident about my choice :). Softbums offers two options for their inserts - fleece and bamboo. I chose bamboo because it is 60% more absorbent and has antibacterial properties. Bamboo was a bit more pricey, but I figured since they are going to be used over and over I should get what I want :).

Softbums offers packages or individual diapers. I chose their good-to-go package. I got 9 shells and 36 inserts in the package. I added a few other shells and inserts to make sure I would have enough. I really like that Softbums gave an unbiased breakdown of the types of cloth diapers - they go over the cost of each type and how many you would need based on washing preferences. From their calculations, Joe and I should only be washing about every 3 days and then once a week when Little Miss gets older.

I've heard a lot of skepticism from people when I tell them my choice. Things like "that's going to be a ton of work! You're going to be doing a ton of laundry so you really wont be saving money. Cloth diapers are so expensive. You'll never be able to take your baby anywhere." The comments went on and on. I just polity smiled and nodded and stayed confident in my choice.

The price we paid for the entire set of diapers is roughly the cost of three months worth of disposable, and we won't be adding to the insane amount of diapers that are added to landfills each year, which can take an estimated 200-500 years to decompose! My inner hippie screamed when she read that stat! We will have a diapering system for all our babies, should we choose to have more than one. Joe is set on making sure we like the first one before we decide on having more :).

Our diapers arrived last night, thanks to the generous donation of my mom :). Aren't Nanas the best??!! I was super stoked about this arrival, and realized that my life is already changing in ways I never thought it would. I mean, I literally got excited about the device that is going to hold my child's waste. I do have to say that cloth diapers are super cute, so that was part of the excitement :)

Happy Diapering, Folks!

Good to Go Pack 

Cutest diapers ever!!!