38 Weeks

1 Week and 6 days left according to my What To Expect app.  Even though it's 1 day difference from 2 weeks, it still sounds like a lot less time doesn't it?  Anyway, my appointment went well.  I actually have lost 2 pounds from last week (see?  I TOLD you I was retaining water!) so total weight gain is 30 pounds.... right?   Oy..pregnancy brain.  Anyway, blood pressure was good, baby's heartbeat was good and the nurse said my urine was the best looking urine she's seen all week.  Ummm thanks? 
I had my midwife check me again (I know- it's only been 5 days but I was curious!) and basically there's been no change since Friday.  That's fine.  I know it's no indication of when labor will begin.  She did mention that she's the midwife on call this weekend.  That would totally be ideal since she's the one who delivered Taylor.  Maybe I wouldn't mind having the baby early.  ;) 

15 Month Check Up

Ahh yes, time for another Taylor update.  I know how anxiously you all have been waiting for one.  =)

Weight: 18 pounds 3.5 oz
Height: 28.75 inches

Conclusion: still a peanut
I have more to say on these stats but I'll get to that later.

Now for the past 2 months I have been worried about Taylor's language development.  I thought for sure that once she nailed this walking thing, the words would just come flying out of her mouth.  Ehhhhh it's been more like a very slow dribble.  Don't get me wrong- we hear lots of gibberish. And we just know what she's telling us is of the utmost importance.
Now I have to give Tayor some credit.  She does have a few words under her belt.  She says Daddy (and actually says it when she looks at Walker).  I can get her to repeat mama sometimes but I guess getting my attention isn't as important.  =)  She also says doggie and kitty.  She still says go but not in context like the other words.  Oh and we still get "mmmmmm!" while she's eating.
Now her non-verbal communication is something I'm proud of.  I think I've mentioned it before, but she pats her tummy when you say tummy.  She'll go get her Bitty Baby if you ask her where her baby is.  She dances when we say "dance."  "Yaaaay!" is met with clapping.  And recently she has started sticking her arms in the air when we say "soooo big!"  (thank you Ms. Monica for working on that with her!).  And she also blows air when we're about to feed her something that she thinks may be hot.  In fact, last night she was watching Walker pour sauce over our dinner and the pan was steaming.  She kept looking at the steam and blowing air.  So cute!

Physical development:  We think she's trying to start running.  She'll get up on her tiptoes and walk really fast.  It's quite funny...until she fall flat on her face.

Cognitive development: We finally can stack 2 blocks!  Oh yes, that was something she should have been doing at 10 months.  Oh well.  Better late than never.  And she still loves books.  Loves loves loves them.  Now while we play in her bedroom before bed, she'll go over to her bookshelf and pull books out instead of playing with her toys.  I'm not going to argue with that!  She seems to have a preference for non-fiction books.  I find that very interesting since as a teacher, I've heard over and over how I need to give my students more non-fiction books to read and that boys especially prefer them.  I wonder if there have been any studies done with babies to determine whether they like non-fiction or fiction books better.   Hmmmmm......

Okay back to those stats....the doctor said something kind of odd at her appointment.  Basically she told us to feed Taylor whatever we wanted without worrying about calorie or fat content.  Now I wasn't at the appointment so I asked Walker does this mean she's concerned about her weight?  Walker said no but her weight has dropped to the 1st percentile.  I don't know- why would a doctor say something like that if she wasn't concerned?  The thing is, we don't really worry about that stuff.  I give Taylor dessert almost every night and I'm pretty sure she gets dessert for lunch at Ms. Monica's too.   And Taylor is a great eater!  I don't get why she's not gaining weight as fast as other kids.  So I need some ideas on foods we can give her that will help her put on weight.  I'm not really thrilled at the thought of loading her up with fat and sugar.  Taylor's not big on veggies, she will eat some fruits, but she really loves carbs, protein, and dairy. 

2 Down, 8 to Go!

Well since I had my 37 week appointment today, I'll update just a bit more from my last post.  First, the bad news- weight gain was not so great.  As in I've gained 4 pounds in the last week and a half.  I'm going to blame it on the fact that I wasn't great about drinking water today (so obviously I must be retaining fluids!) and I was wearing a sweater and jeans (i.e. heavy clothes).   Anyway, the last few weeks I've been swearing up and down that I was never going to have my midwife check to see if I was dilated.  However, this past week, my contractions have been increasing in frequency (still not in any sort of pattern at all) and to be perfectly honest, I've been having a lot of pain and pressure...uh...down there.  So when the nurse said "you're almost 38 weeks, do you want to be checked?"  (remember they think I'm due Mar. 5th) I thought why not?  Let's see if all this activity has actually been productive.  To my great surprise it has been.  My midwife said I'm dilated 2 cm already and "things feel ready."  Now, I'm not stupid- I know this doesn't mean I'll go into labor tomorrow or even next week.  But I have to say, it does make me feel a lot better about everything.  Just knowing that it won't take me 8 hours of active labor to get to 2 cm (which is what happened last time) is great. 

I go back again on Wednesday.  I probably won't get checked again.  It really wasn't painful (unlike with Taylor) but I just don't feel like a lot will change between now and then. 

Feeling Conflicted at 37 Weeks

I won't "officially" be 37 weeks until tomorrow but since my next dr. appt. isn't until Friday, I'll just update now.  Oh wait, my midwife thinks I was 37 weeks this past Saturday so it's close enough.

Alright, not a big change from last week.  More and more people keep telling me that I've "dropped."  I can't tell but I could never tell with Taylor.  I do know it's easier to breathe when I'm sitting down.  My belly button has been popping out for the past few weeks (not sure if I've mentioned that already) so I no longer have an innie.  Well, the whole thing's not sticking out yet.  It's more the top of it.  It's not gross looking or anything but it feels kind of funny.  =) 

I still feel pretty good.  I'm tired as all get out but maybe if I cut down on the sugar, I'd have more energy (but it tastes soooo good!).  I've also been majorly thirsty the past few days.   It wouldn't be such a big deal but I can't make it until lunchtime without a bathroom break now.  Thankfully, a teacher's aide comes in my room for a half hour in the morning- that's my chance to run out!

I've started feeling a lot more pressure so I'm hoping the baby is moving downwards and helping me dilate.  I do NOT want a repeat of last time: almost 12 hours of labor and only getting to 2 cm.  Feeling lots of contractions too.  Nothing regular of course.  But I have to say sometimes they get uncomfortable.  They don't really bother me- I just hope they're doing something beneficial.

Okay so now the feelings of conflict.  Here's the thing, after setting up the pack n play, installing the infant car seat, and packing our hospital bags this weekend, I feel ready now.  So I kind of want to just get this over with.  But at the same time, she's a lot easier to take care of while she's still inside.  I have to admit, I'm feeling very apprehensive about dealing with 2 under 2.  I know the first few weeks will be manageable because Walker will be here and if the timing's right, my sister will be here right after that.  So it's possible I won't be alone for the first month.  But what about after that?  I almost feel like it'll be me vs. them.  They're going to gang up on me!  =)  No, I know it won't be that bad but I'm still nervous (maybe I should have thought about this about ohhhh 9 months ago??). 
I'm also feeling apprehensive about labor.  I did not enjoy it last time.  Well who enjoys labor, right?  But I'm just not looking forward to it.  I don't want an epidural but at the same time I do not want to be in excruciating pain again.  And I really don't want a c-section.  I know those are very common, but the whole procedure totally grosses me out.  Don't get me wrong- if it's necessary I'll get one.  I would just really prefer to avoid it.
And then there's the whole issue of breastfeeding again.  Part of me is confident it will go well this time.  But part of me is really scared it won't.  I"m honestly not sure I'd be able to deal with that disappointment again.  I still get sad that I wasn't able to breastfeed Taylor the way I wanted.  I mean I know she's done fine on formula but part of me wonders if maybe her weight gain would have been better if she had been breastfed. 
I don't mean for this post to drag on and on....I just need to get these thoughts out.  Maybe my hormones are hitting me really hard right now.  What I do know for sure is that I'm exhausted and I need to go to bed.

It's Working!

I'm very proud to say that yesterday Taylor was in cloth diapers all day!  We had no leaks and no blowouts (well we haven't had too many issues with blowouts anyway) and changing her diaper was not all that different or harder than doing disposables.  Okay, yeah cleaning the poopy ones was a little gross but I was surprised to see that most of it fell into the toilet on it's own.  We just used a plastic bag to kinda scrape off the rest (thanks Liz!).  I know that's not totally environmentally friendly but I haven't made my way over to the dollar store yet to get a cheap spatula (thanks Carissa!). 
Anyway, yesterday morning we returned all the disposable dipes that were given to me at school in exchange for some return cards.  We could only return about half to Target because of their return policy.  So when we came home, I looked online at Walmart and saw that they sell gDiapers too!  So the rest went back to Walmart.  I guess I feel kinda bad that I returned all of them since they were given to me by others, but I was able to use the return cards to help finish out our supply of gDiapers and liners.  I think I would like to get one more gpant for Taylor and I'll definitely need more liners in her size once Lucy is wearing the medium size too.  I need at least 2 more gpants for Lucy in size small.  Like I mentioned earlier, I have friend who is selling 2 small gdiapers and 6 cloth inserts for an amazing steal- I can order those on Tuesday when I get paid.  I'm not in as big a rush to get dipes for Lucy because she will probably wear disposables for the first few weeks while she's passing meconium. 

An added bonus to cloth diapers?  They give Taylor a bigger bootie so her pants fit better!  I'm really excited this is working so well.  As far as daycare goes...well we still have a ton of 'sposies so I can just send those to Ms. Monica's as needed.  I"m not sure what we'll do for Lucy once she starts going to daycare.  I did have to keep a few packages of the 'sposies because when I used my iphone app to see where they were sold around here, no stores came up which I thought was weird.  Although, one package was the old kind of Pamper's Swaddlers (w/o the dry max that their new dipes have) so I guess I can understand that.  Anyway, we'll probably just send her in those come May. 

Oh and if you're wondering about the laundry- it's seriously not bad.  The only reason I did a load yesterday was because I ran out of liners (I only have 3 and when Taylor poops it gets on the liner) so I figured since I had to wash those, I might as well wash the inserts as well.  But I was never close to running out inserts.  I think with the additional inserts I ordered, I'll probably be able to get away with doing laundry every 3-4 days.  And the added cost of detergent?  Well, considering I use 2 tsp. of Allen's detergent per load and a small amount of Ecos, I really don't think we'll be spending that much more on detergent.

So, not that I would consider myself an expert, but if you have any questions about gDiapers, let me know.  So far, we are loving them!

Laylalou Studios

Two weekends ago, we visited my BFF for her son's baptism and I got to do a new kind of photography- product pictures!  If you didn't already know, Carissa's mom is the best seamstress I've ever known and she and Carissa are working together to make adorable handbags.  Please check out their Etsy store: Laylalou Studio.  As someone who got to personally handle the purses, I can tell you they are very high quality and even cuter in person.  Happy shopping!

Success So Far!

Yesterday our gDiapers arrived in the mail.   Oh man, I was so excited!  First, they are super cute- much cuter than disposables.  And the cloth inserts that they make are soooo soft.  I wouldn't mind having undergarments made out of that material!  Anyway, last night, we layered a hemp/cloth insert underneath a prefold in her gDiaper and this morning, she was completely dry!  Well, the inserts were wet obviously, but there was no leaking!  I was so relieved.  I have to admit I was really worried because using 2 liners made her diaper really bulky.  She actually has a ghetto booty- it's so cute.  And the front is super bulky too because I folded the excess material from the prefold up in the front since that's where she saturates her diapers the most.  Anyway, with all the bulk, it's hard for her to keep her legs together, but she seems to get around just fine.

This weekend we will try and do cloth all day.  Truth be told, I'm nervous about poopy diapers.  Pee ones are easy- take the inserts out, rinse them (I know you don't have to, but I like to since we don't have a diaper pail for the inserts yet) and then toss them in the bag to be washed.  But poopy ones?  I know I need to scrape the poop in the toilet, but what do I use to do that?  I know they make diaper sprayers but I don't really feel like spending the $40 that they cost.  I'll probably post a question on CFP since a lot of people on there cloth diaper. 

If this weekend works out well, then I will definitely be ordering some gDiapers for Lucy to use.  I have a friend who is selling 2 smalls, and 6 cloth inserts for $35 which is definitely a bargain considering the inserts alone cost $5/piece brand new.  And then I'll probably return some of the disposables (not all!) to Target to get the store credit so I can buy some more online.  And as soon as my diapers.com credit shows up on my account with them, I can order some additional liners.  I have to admit, I am really excited about all this and I didn't think I would be.  I don't know- I guess I thought cloth diapering was something I'd never be able to do (maybe I thought it was too much work?) and I'm so glad that it's working out and that it's really not much more work than using disposables.  Look at me....I'm going green.  =P

36 Weeks

I guess now I'll be updating weekly as I started my weekly appointments today.  Hmmm, how did we get to this point already?

Anyway, the highlight of the appointment was definitely my weigh-in.  I know, what preggo likes that part?  Well, anyone who has gained only a pound in the last 2 weeks likes it!  Total weight gain is 28 pounds.  Honestly, I was surprised because I've had just a few Jimmy John's cravings lately, and waaaay too many ice cream cravings (speaking of which....).

Blood pressure was good too but that's never an issue.  Also happy to report that I still don't have any swelling, heartburn, or leg cramps.  Overall, I feel pretty good, other than not being able to bend over very far anymore.  Oh and now I pee every half hour- haha!

I had my GBS test today so hopefully it comes back negative.  I didn't have it with Taylor so I'm hoping that's the case this time.

Nothing else is really going on.  I'm still having contractions here and there and a few have even been just a tad uncomfortable.  But nothing regular.  My midwife is very positive I won't be going into labor anytime soon.  I'm just fine with that.  =)

Small Success

Just wanted to report that my temporary solution to Taylor peeing through her diapers was successful.  Last night, I lined her 'sposie with a cloth pre-fold.  This morning, no leaks!  Although I have to laugh because doing this makes her tiny butt look ginormous.  Also, I think she has a harder time walking- oh well.  It's worth not having to wash all of her PJ's every weekend!

Getting Ready to Cloth Diaper (I hope)

Last night was the 4th night in a row that Taylor peed through her diapers.  It's a good thing she has around 7 pairs of PJ's, so I don't have to rush to get laundry done.  I decided yesterday enough was enough and maybe I should look into cloth diapering.

I know, how would that work with daycare?  That was my initial thought and the main reason why we never cloth diapered in the first place.  However, back when I was pregnant with Taylor I had looked into cloth diapering options so I already knew what was out there.  I decided that perhaps hybrid diapering might be the way to go.  Hybrid diapers are cloth shells that you can put either flushable inserts or cloth inserts into.  The most well-known hybrid diaper is the gDiaper.  Now there are pretty mixed reviews out there on gDiapers.  Some people love them and some people hate them.  I definitely hope we end up being the former.  My plan right now is to use them at night with cloth inserts.  Then, while I'm home on maternity leave, we'll try using them all the time with cloth inserts.  When Taylor (and Lucy) go back to daycare in May, if gDiapers have been working for us, we'll send all of Taylor's disposables that I'm assuming we'll still have to daycare so the sitter doesn't have to worry about messing with cloth diapers.

As for Lucy, well I just had a diaper shower at school.  So I have tons of 'sposies.  But, if we like the gDiapers, then I can return them all to Target, get a store credit and buy gDiapers in Lucy's size online.  (As a bonus, if I use my Target card for any part of that transaction, we'll get 5% off- I heart you, Target!).

So why hybrid diapers?  Well, like I said, it gives us options.  If it goes well, and I'm still working next year, then I can either send the disposable inserts to the sitter's, or, I can just send pre-made gDiapers with cloth inserts and the sitter could just put the dirty ones in diaper sacks for me to take home at the end of the day (although honestly, that sounds gross- haha!)  If we did that, I'd probably pay her a little more just for dealing with having to possibly scrape poop off the diapers.
But if I don't return to work (still looking into this), then we could just do the cloth and supposedly save a lot of money on diapers.  That would definitely help on what would for sure be a tight budget on one income. 

So yesterday, I went on diapers.com and ordered 3 gDiapers, and a pack of cloth inserts.  The great part is, right now on diapers.com, new customers get 30% cash back on diaper purchases.  So, you buy your diapers, and within 10 days, a credit appears on your account with them.  And all orders over $49 have free 1-2 day shipping.  So I ordered on Saturday afternoon, and I should get my stuff on Tuesday.  And that's with the delay from all the weather we've had.  And, if you enter UIUC0326 at checkout, you get 15% off your order (new customers only I think?) and I get a $10 credit to my account!  Win-win!
Okay I got totally sidetracked there.....anyway, we will find out Tuesday night (or rather Wednesday morning) if this is going to work for us.  In the meantime, I'm busy preparing my Babykicks cotton/hemp cloth inserts that I bought at B. Lime so they'll be ready for my little supersoaker by Tuesday!  Oh yes, and a trip to Strawberry Fields to buy the laundry detergent Val recommended in her blog post on cloth diapering (thanks Val!).  Tune in for an update- hopefully it's a good one!!

No More Snow Please

It's not a secret that the midwest got pounded with snow and ice this past week.  I did enjoy my 3 snow days but now I'm done with the snow.  And what is it doing right now?  Snowing!  It's been snowing all morning.  WCIA said we'd get a light dusting this morning but no accumulation.  Really?  Because there's a good 2 inches on top of my neighbor's fence right now that I swear was not there this morning.  Oh and there's more good news.  We're supposed to get more snow on Monday and Tuesday. I can barely contain my excitement...

She's a Maniac!

3rd snow day in a row leads to ultra-geekiness!!  If the video takes too long to start here's the link to YouTube:
Dance Taylor!

Loving This New Stage

I just had to write a post about how every day I'm falling more and more in love with my baby girl.  She's reached an age where she just does incredibly adorable things that warm my heart.  Mother Nature is pretty smart in that regards- it's good to build up the love bank before she reaches the dreaded terrible two's!  Anyway, I just wanted to share a few of my favorites...

1. Taylor loves books.  It is a rare moment when she walks by a book without stopping what she is doing to sit down and look at it.  It is amazing how far reading to your child can go.  I swear we only read for about 10-15 minutes each night with her but already it is paying off .  I'm proud to say she is even learning directionality in regards to which way to turn the pages.  And when she's reading by herself, she even talks as she turns the pages- I love that she's associating books with spoken words.

Yes I know she's looking at the book upside down, but normally she does turn it the right way.

2. Taylor's really gotten into snuggling with her stuffed animals and her Bitty Baby.  She now walks around holding them against her cheek.  She just loves anything she can cuddle; if it's soft, she'll hug it.  This includes diapers...

By the way, that is the Snuggle Bear (from the fabric softener commercials) that I had when I was a baby!

3. That she is making more of an attempt to communicate other than crying.  It seems Taylor has finally understood how to use the "milk" sign.  I thought she got it before, but now she uses it pretty consistently.  And even though she doesn't use actual words in context, she definitely tries to tell us things.  Like when Walker runs the vacuum or the swiffer sweeper, she'll run over to him and yell at him because she doesn't like the noise. 

4. Going along with the communication is her being able to understand us.  If you say "yaaaay!" she'll clap.  If you say "tummy" she'll pat her tummy.  "Bye-bye" will get you a wave (most of the time) and now you'll get rewarded with some fast stomping if you say "dance."  Oh and if you ask her where the kitty is, she'll go look for her (much to Mazie's dismay). 

Other little things I love....
-the way her diaper makes a rustling sound when she walks (I know this is a weird one but I think it's cute)
-how she sleeps on her tummy with her knees tucked under so her tush is up in the air
-the huge hug she gives me every morning when I get her out of her crib
-the fact that she's eating table food
-the little amused/surprised face she makes after she sneezes


I could probably go on forever but I won't.  I'm just going to enjoy this wonderful time with her before her baby sister comes.  ::happy sigh::