Goodbye to a WONDERFUL year

Man, 2011 has been quite the year! My hubs and I welcomed in the New Year last year with one of those party packages through Wild Wings Cafe and it was AWESOME!!! We had so much fun! That's how we welcomed in the year....saying good-bye to the year I will be having a very small glass of champagne directly after nursing so that it will be out before Miss Emily nurses again. No wild and crazy for us this year:) This time last year I was really struggling with TTC....I had had almost all could take and was about ready to give it a rest for awhile. I was going to give it one more month and that was it....and that is all it took! In Feb. my little Victoria turned 2 and in March we found out we were pregnant! I have had a blast this year! I have had ups and downs but looking back I love every single one of them. I am very blessed with a wonderful family, a spouse...who at times makes me want scream, but who loves me with his whole heart for all that I am and I could not ask for a better hubs, I have 2 wonderfully beautiful and loving little princesses, school is going fantabulous, I have a roof over my head, food in my belly, and love and support all around me. I am very blessed and I am ecstatic to see what this year brings.

I haven't done resolutions in a long time. I don't keep them so what's the point? I always want to stop biting my nails and that never happens. This year though I have some goals.

1) Graduate with my B.S. in Education
2) Run the Knoxville half-marathon

That's it! I mean I want to be in better shape and lose some of this baby weight but that will come in time with training for the half-marathon.....and nursing.

I hope everyone has a very safe and blessed New Year!!

Cloth Diapering A Newborn

Diapering my newborn has proved to be quite the challenge. If you want to cloth diaper a newborn I would HIGHLY suggest investing in Rumparooz Lil' Joeys. I showed you those in this post. Jeez....wait just a min....have I really not talked in depth about cloth diapering on here?! Craziness I tell you! Well....let's just jump right in.

I use prefolds for the most part. I show a prefold in that linky up there as well. I LOVE prefolds!!! My fave prefolds are from greenmountaindiapers.com These prefolds are a bit more pricey BUT they come in a variety of sizes and I like that since it helps provide a nice trim fit. I can't stand a bulky diaper. I generally buy these when they have seconds sales which does not mean used (althought I have NOTHING against buying used dipes). This just means they aren't perfect, but honestly I can never tell what's wrong with them. I got 20 preemie prefolds for Emily (I didn't start cloth diapering with Victoria until she was like 4 months). I thought I may be crazy, but my babies tend to grow kinda slower than average so I took the plunge. I am so glad I did because they fit Emily GREAT!!! The problem you run into however is that you can't hardly find a danged cover to go over them for a new baby (and I just don't feel right putting a cloth diaper on a fresh from the womb baby for some reason). I started Emily in cloth around 2 weeks. My all time fave cover....Thirsties.....were a JOKE on my little girl (who weighed in at atleast 7 lbs. 6 oz. at the time since that is what she weighed 2 days after leaving the hospital). I did some research and ended up getting some used Bummis Super Brite newborn covers which do fit nicely but, IMO, fail in the no leaking category. They leak like CRAZY!!!! I definitely have to remember that I need to change her diaper like every hour in these things unless I want to change her clothes with every diaper change. I'm not a Bummis fan.....I'm pretty much only a Thirsties fan in all honesty and I am happy to report that at 1 month old they are not so rediculously huge on my kiddo. They are still a bit big but I'd say in about 2 weeks that I will be using them and not the Bummis anymore. Here's Emily in a prefold....please shield your eyes from the crazy lady holding her. Dear sweet hubby took it with his phone and it is a HORRIBLE angle mixed with baby thickness. That purple thingy is the snappi:)

I LOVE my prefolds because they are super easy to use, they are cheap, and they wash and dry very quickly. They are easy to sun bleach on a clothesline (which I'm about to buck my HOA guidelines and install come spring). I use a snappi but I used pins first and actually used them the other day when I couldn't find a danged snappi close by. You don't even need either of these......you can just fold the prefold into thirds and put it in the cover. You can't tell me cloth diapering is hard....it doesn't get much easier than that (well, unless you use all in ones).

I'm not a pocket diaper fan so much. I do have some one size pocket diapers (Bum Genius seconds), but I HATE stuffing those suckers and they are super bulky. The dry and wash better than all in ones (AIOs) and you can make them more absorbent BUT......still not a fan. Pocket diapers are a waterproof shell that has a pocket that you stuff. They are generally one size which means there are multiple rows of snaps you adjust for the right fit. Let me just add that one-size will most likely NOT fit your newborn despite what they may say.

AIOs are bulky too IMO. I do like some AIOs so that my dear sweet hubby will actually use a cloth diaper. These diapers go on the same way as a disposable....you just wash it when you take it off instead of throwing it away. They take forever to dry and they are harder to wash since they tend to hold in more detergent and such. They are handy when you are out and about for sure though. Also....the Lil' Joeys are AIOs. I recommend going to Diaper Junction to get these or looking for used ones. They come in a 2-pack for about $30...used you can find them around $10-$13 each. I also have some Bum Genius from Cotton Babies that I like alright. I even have the XS ones for newborns with a cord notch......yeah....not so much. These were way to big on my newborn and are just now starting to fit....kinda.

So to sum it all up....if you want to cloth diaper a newborn I HIGHLY suggest the Lil' Joeys. If I had it to do over again I would get 20-30 of those and call it a day. They have a snap down for the cord stump and it actually stays under it better than disposable diapers!!! They fit up to 15 lbs. so they aren't a wasted investment. If your babies grow like mine you'll get at least 6 months use out of them, but if your babies grow more average then you'll get around 3-4 months out of them which is still not bad. Then you can turn around and resell them for at least $10/dipe!!! Okay....if you don't go that route you definitely should get some preemie prefolds. I think I will get at least another 2 wks.-1 month out of these (so up to 2 months use for $20 on 20 seconds prefolds). They fit super nice and trim and I'm happy to have bought them. I didn't try the rumparooz cover but it may work better than the Bummis because of the gussets around the legs. Not sure. Anyway...if you are stuck with the Bummis covers like I am then just be prepared for a lot of changes, but hey, you have to change newborns a lot anyway. Infant prefolds are A LOT bigger than the preemie so trust me here....you'll want some preemies.

Saddly I do not have any pics of Emily in a Lil' Joey so you'll just have to trust me.....this is your best bet.

Go away baby weight!

Soooo....I gained a lot this go around. With Victoria I gained 33 lbs. and with Emily I gained 39 lbs. I gained 3 of those over night before I went in for my c-section. I KNOW I didn't chow down on over 10k calories the day before but whatever. I ended at 183 and I am now at 157....so 26 down and 13 left. The thing is.....my clothes that I wore before I got preggo with Victoria don't fit like they did at all....or fit at all really and I was 158 when I got preggo with her. Ugh! I think it's fat and not muscle AND my hips spread a bit (or my butt is just as HUGE as I think it is). I am going to start walking and doing some exercises this week. Well, I have already started doing some squats (as in 1 set of 20) and some lunges and stuff. Since I had the c-section I am not really cleared for another week and a half but I'm feeling good and I'm going to just take it really slow. Here's to hoping that I am 5 lbs. from my pre-pregnancy weight at 6 wks. pp like I was with Victoria....even though I really don't see that happening. Maybe I should aim for 9 lbs. left....I am just really hoping that getting moving will give me the boost I'm looking for since the scale has not budged in over a week. Here's my before and after.....41 weeks and 1 day and 3 weeks post in the same pants.

I'm 4 wks. post now and look about the same....I will update as soon as I can jog 2-3 miles so HOPEFULLY in about 3 wks. but we shall see since I was not in the best of shape before and now....well....it's worse.

Mommy of 2!

Since my computer is down I am doing this blog entry from my iPad which means it will be sans pictures.....and probably have more typos than normal. Anywho.....we welcomed my second beautiful daughter into this world on November 28, 2011 at 12:21 pm. She was 7 pounds 15.4 oz. And 19.5" long. The weight was a complete surprise she she kept measuring small. She probably would have been 8 lbs. but she came into this pooping.....a lot.....and she still does! She had a poopy diaper when they took it off to give her a bath, pooped right after the bath, and another time later that day. She still poops if she sneezes, cries, etc. Cracks me up! Anyway....I love her to pieces:) she is almost 3 weeks old now and I was just telling hubs today she doesn't look fresh from the womb in her face anymore. Made me sad:/

Being a mom of 2 is definitely different. Victoria tries to nurse her or just help me nurse by holding my boob. I have to go pee with Emily on the boob and Victoria in there beside me doing something. It takes an hour to get out the door. Life is pretty perfect in other words! I have everything I ever dreamed of and this time next year I will be done with my bachelors degree and hopefully will be teaching soon. This semester I finished 24 credit hours.....and my brain is about to explode! My life is moving quickly lately but in the complete right direction!

Sorry I have been MIA lately.....it's been hard on me....I just can't really do a lot without a computer. Hopefully soon things will return to normal and I will be able to update more because I have been DYING to share things lately and no outlet.

Missin' my blog

Just f.y.i. my computer has CRASHED!! Ugh! I miss my blog like no other. I am considering doing like 5 posts in 1-2 days....is that overkill? I like to keep up with my life on here because I read where one blogger's husband published a book for her out of her blog. I would LOVE that! Anywho....I can't keep up with it right now because I am borrowing computers to keep up with my school work so I just can't update the blog. Hopefully next week:) Stay tuned!! I have some good stuff to share....like pictures of my new baby girl!

Stationery card

Vintage Volute Pink Birth Announcement

Find hundreds of cute baby birth announcements at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

Sometimes we don't get what we want

This pregnancy has definitely been a roller coaster. Sometimes I forget how difficult it was to actually get pregnant and I feel sorry for myself over little things. When I felt nauseous for the first 30 something weeks that was definitely a toll. I felt horrible about being upset about it, but really there is only so much one can take. I have had a lot more water retention, constipation, heart burn, pain, tiredness, moodiness.....basically more EVERYTHING this go around than I did with Victoria. Now that I am in my last 12 days I'm starting to get sad. I don't sleep well at night anymore.....I'm just not comfortable. I have to literally roll out of bed when I want to get up. I have to scoot to the front of a seat and push myself up. I have to do squats to pick stuff up. On the flip side I will definitely miss feeling her squirming inside of me. I feel way more with this one than I did with Victoria and I enjoy it. I love watching her make my whole belly move.

I can't wait to meet Miss Emily. What will she look like? Will she look like Victoria? What will her personality be like? We are unsure if we will have a 3rd though so this is kind of bittersweet for me. I actually have not let myself think that it is my last or I would probably cry everyday. No matter how horrible I feel some days I love the miracle of life growing inside of me. If we do have a third it will be 3-4 years down the road. I just can't imagine this being my last go around.

With Victoria and with Emily I wanted a natural, unmedicated birth. With Victoria my OB was going to be out of town the week of my due date and I was so scared of delivering with another doctor I decided to be induced and that is something I regret on a pretty regular basis. I never progressed past 7 and I think that is because I was trying to force my body do something it just wasn't ready for (even though I was 3 cm. and completely effaced by the time I got induced). I ended up with a c-section. I felt like a failure. This time was going to be different. I was just going to wait it out. Well....this time is different. This time I don't have a choice. My baby is breech and despite my best efforts she is not budging. It has been hard to come to terms with. I will say I feel blessed for knowing from 28 wks. that she is breech. I think I would have had a lot harder of a time if she had flipped at 38 or 39 weeks and all my dreams of a natural birth came crashing down. I have to trust that God and Emily know what they're doing....maybe the cord is around her....maybe I actually don't have a very well shaped pelvis or uterus and Emily is best how she is. With Victoria the doctor told me I had a small pelvis or a big baby and Victoria was 7lbs. 2 oz. By looking at me you would never think I had a small pelvis but how big you are on the outside does not influence how big or small your pelvis is.

Anyway,I hoped, I prayed, I tried everything else out there to get my baby to flip but it does not seem to be in the cards. I will be scheduled for a repeat c-section. Sometimes we just don't get what we want. It's hard for me knowing that so many women out there that don't really want to experience birth get to and I don't, but I do get to have a baby and for that I am thankful. Sometimes I forget to look at the bigger picture.....I complain about the little things when really I should be praising God that I have been blessed with this little miracle and in the long run I guess it doesn't matter how she gets here. Maybe if we do have a third I will get my natural birth, maybe I won't, but maybe it doesn't really matter.