Modified Bed Rest

So, I'm 25 weeks and my OB has put me on "modified bedrest" for some preterm labor symptoms that I am having.  Maybe I'll actually blog now?  Don't get your hopes up (ha!)

My husband just took the kid to the park.  I don't remember the last time I was home alone, but I'm itching to turn off the Boy Meets World and start cleaning things!

Gumpy Waddler

This morning started out like every Thursday morning.  The boy and I got ready (super fast, because of course we didn't move fast enough) and headed to church for my Women's Bible study and his play time.  I love Thursday mornings with the women from our church. It's always a great way to start the day!

On our way home, we hit some pretty flooded streets.  Thankfully, I only had to cross one and there were police officers there. The water only came up 1/2 way up my tires, so I felt pretty okay about driving through it.  All of this rain plus the thunderstorm/sever weather/tornado watches and warnings stressed me out and had me pretty distracted in bible study. 

So, I did what I do when there are storms. I had a minor freak out, sort of like this and maybe even this, too.  I went down in the basement and got the "baby closet" which held all of the baby gear that we haven't used in over a year and a half (ya know, because we don't have a baby) and got the baby gear out (ya know, because we will have a baby in 20 weeks). 

I made the baby gear closet into a storm closet.  Okay, I didn't. And that is because I got side tracked and took pictures of the baby gear that I didn't use and decided i would sell them on a Facebook garage sale site or Craigslist. I'm sure next time we have a sever weather alert I will finish that project. Even if I don't, we can go in there and grab the crib mattress which is down there. Win? yep.

I did something dumb today, I didn't take my 2 hour nap.  Yes, I still nap every day.  If I don't nap, I get grumpy around 7pm. I decided that I would post pictures, descriptions, and prices of baby things on a few Facebook garage sale sites instead of napping.  By the time I was all "holy crap, I better go to sleep rightthissecondoriwontgettonap!" the kid woke up.

Kid woke up in a good mood though, so that is a plus. I hate when he wakes up on the wrong side of the Corvette bed. We ran a few quick errands, came back home, did some crap around the house, then that awesome part of the day happened: My husband came home.  Doesn't the house feel so much more lively with your husband home? I love it!

I made dinner (breakfast--always a great idea!) and then it happened.  I was walking from the kitchen to the table and I felt it.  I took a few more steps.  Yep. I was waddling.  I'm only 20 weeks! Why is this happening?! Am I being punished for not napping?

So, I'm grumpy and waddling = grumpy waddler.


My guys are pretty darn fun though. I love listening to them while I'm being grumpy in our room or while I'm soaking in the tub.  The little girl makes me pretty happy, too.  She moves a whole lot more than her brother did at 20 weeks.  She's a strong little lady!

Rock A Soak

When I first started using cloth diapers (a whopping 2ish months ago), that majority of the diapers that I had were from a very dear friend and were used.  This is a normal thing in the CD world.  Diapers can be washed and sanitized easily.

The friend who I had gotten the cloth diapers from told me that she had not stripped the diapers in a while, so I decided that is where I would start.

I got some Rockin' Green from Amazon and read the directions on the back to "Rock A Soak".  Rocking A Soak helps get rid of any mineral build up, detergent that has not been fully rinsed out of the diapers, and gets any stink out of the diapers.  Stink is usually caused by left over detergent, mineral build up, or ammonia from diapers sitting too long in the wet bag before getting washed.

The Directions on the Rockin' Green to Rock A Soak are:
1. Fill your washer with water and 3 tablespoons of Rockin' Green along with clothing/diapers.
2. Let soak for approximately 30-60 minutes, then launder as usual, skipping the soap. Follow up with several rinse cycles.

I had so many diapers that I wanted to Rock A Soak, I didn't used my washer. I used two huge tubs.  I filled both with super hot water, 3tablespoons of Rockin' Green, and I let them sit for an hour.  I then laundered the diapers on a normal hot cycle and did a few rinses.  They came out sparkly and clean.  (note, there was no stink or anything causing me to rock a soak, I just wanted to clean them really well. 

Cloth Diaper Detergent

We have super hard water.  Cloth diapers are high maintenance.  These two things do not mix well.  However, after doing a lot of research, I found a good cloth diaper DIY recipe.

Previously, I spent about $18 on Rockin' Green.  I really liked the detergent, but hated how much it cost. I will keep some in the house for times when I need to strip (aka, super duper clean) the cloth diapers.  When you use Rockin' Green for stripping diapers, it's called "Rock A Soak".  I did it, I liked it. I'll write about it later.  Anyways, $18 for 45 loads of diapers was not a good deal. Especially since I throw a load of diapers in the wash each night before bed!

My recipe that I settled on includes Borax, Washing Soda, and Oxy Clean.  These three things mixed together is a magic combination that should work wonders!  The Borax breaks down into hydrogen peroxide when it hits the water, this makes an awesome cleaner.  Washing Soda is great for making hard water soft and is a good degreaser.  Oxy Clean becomes  Sodium Carbonate and Hydrogen Peroxide.  This helps remove stains, soften water, degrease, and cleans amazingly!

The Recipe
1 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Oxy Clean

I made a huge batch (filled up a 7.7 quart plastic container with a locking lid) but made it by the exact recipe a few times.  This let me mix the ingredients together very well.  I also opened a window, turned on the ceiling fan, and protected myself with gloves and a mask since the borax and washing soda aren't the greatest thing to have on skin or in lungs.  (however, both are totally safe to have on your clothes!)

I use 2 Tablespoons of the detergent for each load of laundry. Holy cow, this will last for-eeev-veer!

My washing routine goes like this:
1. hot rinse, no soap.
2. hot cycle, 2Tbsp of detergent. I also add 15 drops of both Grapefruit Seed Extract and Tea Tree Oil to help disinfect.
3. hot rinse to make sure all of the detergent is out of the diapers.

I hang the diapers up to dry.

I used so many different resources, I don't remember them all.  However, Fractured Fairy Tales is who really made this make sense to me!

Cloth Diapers

Remember how I freaked out about all of the chemicals that I realized were in baby wipes?  My freakish-ness took it a step farther and switched the kid out of disposable diapers (sposises, as many "crunchy" mom's call them) and put him in cloth diapers.

I am in love.  The husband? Well, I can say that love is not what he feels for the cloth diapers, but he tolerates them.  The kid seems to like them!

A good friend of mine was ready to sell her cloth diapers (this is not a gross thing in the CD world, totally normal since the diapers can be cleaned and sanitized very well) and I took them off her hands.  It's been a learning experience, that's for sure!

We have a mix of BumGenius 3.0, BumGenius4.0, FuzziBunz One Size, FuzziBunz One Size Elite, Smart Bottoms Too Smart, and Smart Bottoms All-In-One (AIO).  I love having a variety of diapers! The Smart Bottoms are by far my favorite! They are super slim and perfect for a busy little guy. They have amazing inserts that are so super absorbent - perfect! Also, a second cousin (or something close to that) is the creator of this organic 100% made in America diaper brand! 

All of the diapers I have right now will fit babies from 8lbs to 35lbs.  B is 33lbs right now and has room to grow, but he has gotten tall and slim.  They may fit him a bit longer.

I make my own detergent. I have learned to strip diapers. I have asked a million annoying questions.  I had my dad install a poop sprayer in my bathroom and I have enjoyed almost every second--even with the messes--of cloth diapering so far!

This is my new awesome drying rack! I am in love! It works well for indoors, and will be great for outdoors once the rain stops an the sun decides to grace us with its rays!  Sunning diapers is a good way to get stains (yes, poop stains) out that do not completely come out with cloth diaper detergent.  The sun also is another way to kill any germs left over from the wash. 

It Was One of Those Days

Ever since I became a mom tragedies seem worse. 9/11 was horrific. I remember crying and being so scared.  But yesterday was different. Maybe because I have more to loose? Because I have more to live for? Because I appreciate life more? 

All I know, is last night when I got home from work I couldn't wait to hold my 2.5 year old baby.  I couldn't wait to tell him how much I loved him.

Last night, we prayed at dinner for everyone in Boston and all of those hurt.  We found out there was a sweet little boy who died and so many other children hurt.  My heart aches for those kids and their families. 

He woke up at 3am and came in our bed to snuggle.  At 4am, he and I came out into the living room to play so his dad could get some sleep before he had to go to work all day. I was barley groggy, I definitely wasn't upset about being up with him.  We snuggled, I did some laundry and cleaned up the kitchen.  I spent time with my kid that I otherwise wouldn't have.  I am so tired today, but I'm thankful for those peaceful hours we got to spend together.  I'm thankful that I get to tell him I love him as much as I want to. I'm thankful for today.

I told my sweet boy that most of the people in the world were good, but that we needed to pray for the "bad" people too. He doesn't have a clue what I'm saying. I was probably more talking to myself, but he's a semi-good listener, so he got to hear it.

Homeade Baby Wipes

So, my kid has had a stomach virus twice in the past month.  The first time was a lot of puke and this time is more of the runs.  He also has a sinus infection on top of the virus.  The sinus infection wouldn't be a big deal if it didn't come with antibiotics.  Antibiotics = diaper rash on top of the one he already has.

Worse than the puke and poop? The diaper rash and the screams that come with a diaper change.  The diaper rash itself isn't horrible, but wiping hurts him so much.  I've never heard him scream like that and it has made me cry on more than one occasion (could we go ahead and blame that on the pregnancy hormones?).

Last night I was thinking about how to make this better and it dawned on me to check to see what was in his wipes.  Do you want to know what I found in the wipes? This: Water, Potassium Laureth Phosphate, Glycerin, Polysorbate 20, DMDM Hydantoin, Tetrasodium EDTA, Methylparaben, Malic Acid, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Extract, Calendula Officinalis Flower Extract, Camellia Oleifera Leaf Extract, Cucumis Sativus (Cucumber) Fruit Extract, Retinyl Palmitate, Tocopheryl Acetate, Zea Mays (Corn) Oil, Phenoxyethanol, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben, Propylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Fragrance.

What the heck!? I can't even pronounce most of that quickly!  I feel terrible that all of that junk has been going on his booty for the past 2.5 years.

So what did my impulsive self do? Well, I decided to make some DIY baby wipes.  Instead of using paper towels like many of my friends and people online do, I decided to haul out my (over stuffed) drawer of tshirts and sacrifice a few (I'm really never going to wear those size small tshirts again anyway).

I cut the tshirts up into small rectangles, washed them in hot water and my DIY laundry soap, dried them and got out a Sterelite container I've had in the bathroom with pads and tampons in.

I put all of the tshirts...er...wipes into the container

 Next, I mixed up:

• 4 cups of distilled water (warm)

• 2 Tablespoons of Baby shampoo/wash

• 2 Tablespoons of Coconut Oil - It’s naturally anti-bacterial, microbial, and fungal, and a moisturizer! (olive oil or vegetable oil are both options, too)

I used Burt's Bees Baby Shampoo and coconut oil

 

I poured the mixture over the wipes.  I also picked up half of the pile and poured some of the liquid half way down just to help the wipes soak up the liquid a little more quickly. 

Just as I was closing up the bin and shaking it around, I smelled the stomach virus and got to use the wipes right away.  There was no screaming!!  He wasn't happy about having his butt changed, but he didn't scream!  I may have converted for life!  I have already been looking into flannel options and thinking about that for B and the new babe.  

We will still use packaged wipes when we are out, but I think that this is our new route!

My husband will be so excited when he gets home from work and sees what his impulsive wife has made changes to today! ha

Oh! And you may be wondering, "what are you going to do with all of those poop covered wipes?" Well, you see, I have this awesome wet bag that I got from Lilies and Jasmine when B was tiny for wet bathing suits/clothes.  That will now be hanging on his dresser for dirty wipes. Shoot Megan a message on facebook, she can hook you up with cute wet bags, reusable breast pads (that are also amazing!), and all sorts of other hand made goodies!