Suddenly the cloth diaper question is the least of my worries.
Apparently I am having a baby tomorrow!!!!!
The ob-gyn's office called a little while ago to reschedule my c-section because my doc has a family emergency and needs to go out of town.
And now to make a list of all the last-minute things we absolutely HAVE to get done today.
I guess this is my equivalent of going into labor a few days early?!?
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
To cloth, or not to cloth?
I have so many posts rattling around in my brain, but nary a moment to post.
And I'm running out of time. Yikes.
So, my current dilemma.
With KB, we tried cloth diapering. Or at least, we had the very best intentions.
We started by using a diaper service. It seemed simple enough. The diaper service would bring us stacks of clean cloth diapers. We would use them and toss them into the disposal bag said service provided each week. No rinsing required. Then, the night before our next delivery date, we would set the bag of soiled diapers on the porch and the lovely diaper fairies would replace this with a bag of fresh diapers.
Simple, right?
Except. Except that our parents, each of whom had cloth diapered us, suddenly grew fumble-fingered when trying to use the cloth diapers. Was it the absence of old-fashioned safety pins? Had they become spoiled by the disposables used by the other grandkids?
S also seemed bumfuzzled with the whole cloth diaper thing.
We tried Fuzzi Bunz but S didn't like the way they made KB seem uncomfortable at the waist. "Too bulky," he proclaimed.
So we gave up.
I'd like to try again. S is still adamant that the cloth diapers we've tried thus far are "too bulky" and not the "form-fitting" cloth diapers of his youth. He definitely doesn't want to use the diaper service again, which frankly, sucks. That method of cloth diapering will be much less work for me, as I'll be the one doing the laundry.
Please help. What cloth diapering system do you use? How much work is it on a daily or weekly basis to keep up with the diaper laundry? How do I soak/wash diapers? Do BF poopy diapers need to be swished in the toilet, or soaked, before washing? Is my washing machine going to be yucky and dirty after washing poopy diapers?
Don't laugh. I seriously need all the advice I can get.
And if I do go back to the diaper service, what diaper covers should I get? I pretty much gave everything away and am starting from scratch.
And I'm running out of time. Yikes.
So, my current dilemma.
With KB, we tried cloth diapering. Or at least, we had the very best intentions.
We started by using a diaper service. It seemed simple enough. The diaper service would bring us stacks of clean cloth diapers. We would use them and toss them into the disposal bag said service provided each week. No rinsing required. Then, the night before our next delivery date, we would set the bag of soiled diapers on the porch and the lovely diaper fairies would replace this with a bag of fresh diapers.
Simple, right?
Except. Except that our parents, each of whom had cloth diapered us, suddenly grew fumble-fingered when trying to use the cloth diapers. Was it the absence of old-fashioned safety pins? Had they become spoiled by the disposables used by the other grandkids?
S also seemed bumfuzzled with the whole cloth diaper thing.
We tried Fuzzi Bunz but S didn't like the way they made KB seem uncomfortable at the waist. "Too bulky," he proclaimed.
So we gave up.
I'd like to try again. S is still adamant that the cloth diapers we've tried thus far are "too bulky" and not the "form-fitting" cloth diapers of his youth. He definitely doesn't want to use the diaper service again, which frankly, sucks. That method of cloth diapering will be much less work for me, as I'll be the one doing the laundry.
Please help. What cloth diapering system do you use? How much work is it on a daily or weekly basis to keep up with the diaper laundry? How do I soak/wash diapers? Do BF poopy diapers need to be swished in the toilet, or soaked, before washing? Is my washing machine going to be yucky and dirty after washing poopy diapers?
Don't laugh. I seriously need all the advice I can get.
And if I do go back to the diaper service, what diaper covers should I get? I pretty much gave everything away and am starting from scratch.
Friday, June 20, 2008
Thursday, June 12, 2008
It's too darn hot
Just checked weather.com for this zip code. 72 degrees, feels like 72.
My ass.
I've just been out in the back yard, setting up drying racks for Round One of sun-bleaching some baby clothes that soaked in Biz + Oxi-Clean for almost 24 hours. (Wish me luck on that, btw).
There is no way it's only 72 degrees. Ugh, I dread the afternoon. Especially upstairs.
Had my 36 week appointment yesterday. Because of the spotting, got a surprise cervical check (yowza, was hoping to avoid those this time around!) and a swab to rule out a bacterial/yeast infection. All looks good; cervix is tightly closed and even though there is still blood pooled "in the vault" as the PA said, it's all old, brown blood. Would greatly prefer to have no blood but will take brown over bright red any day.
When I was giving my urine sample at the beginning of the appointment, noticed a lot of stringy solids in the cup afterwards. Sorry if TMI. I'm guessing this may be more of my mucus plug? I really don't know; I don't recall losing mine with KB last time so am not 100% sure I know what I'm looking for.
What else? We took KB to a ceramics-painting place last night, ostensibly so he could create something for S for Father's Day. We went with three other kids (between the ages of almost-3 and almost-4) and their moms, and one other dad for good measure.
Let me just say: four very active, rowdy preschoolers and a shop full of ceramic objects do not mix well. Amazingly, nothing got broken. However, poor S ended up wrangling the kids pretty much the whole time. He was not happy at being the babysitter. I don't blame him.
Luckily, there was a "Kids' Cave" complete with TV & DVD player, so that held the kids' attention for a few minutes here and there.
KB chose a dinosaur to paint for Daddy. Before all the kids lost interest in painting and started running around the shop like crazy, S gave the T-Rex its base coat of taupe (KB's choice). KB later added some jazzy green stripes before losing interest altogether.
I painted a photo frame and hope to use it for the first good picture I get of my boys together. I didn't paint names on it because we still haven't settled on a name for the baby. I still like "Ketan". S has now added "Aidan" to the short list. (Funny aside: folks on the Indian side of the family think the name Aidan sounds sooooooo exotic!!)
Hope the objects turn out well. We'll see tomorrow after they're glazed and fired!
OK, washer has stopped. Time to dry the laundry, and then start on the pee-soaked sheet, blanket and PJs from last night. KB's first accident since he started wearing underwear overnight on Saturday. My fault for letting him drink nearly an entire bottle of water on the way home from painting.
My ass.
I've just been out in the back yard, setting up drying racks for Round One of sun-bleaching some baby clothes that soaked in Biz + Oxi-Clean for almost 24 hours. (Wish me luck on that, btw).
There is no way it's only 72 degrees. Ugh, I dread the afternoon. Especially upstairs.
Had my 36 week appointment yesterday. Because of the spotting, got a surprise cervical check (yowza, was hoping to avoid those this time around!) and a swab to rule out a bacterial/yeast infection. All looks good; cervix is tightly closed and even though there is still blood pooled "in the vault" as the PA said, it's all old, brown blood. Would greatly prefer to have no blood but will take brown over bright red any day.
When I was giving my urine sample at the beginning of the appointment, noticed a lot of stringy solids in the cup afterwards. Sorry if TMI. I'm guessing this may be more of my mucus plug? I really don't know; I don't recall losing mine with KB last time so am not 100% sure I know what I'm looking for.
What else? We took KB to a ceramics-painting place last night, ostensibly so he could create something for S for Father's Day. We went with three other kids (between the ages of almost-3 and almost-4) and their moms, and one other dad for good measure.
Let me just say: four very active, rowdy preschoolers and a shop full of ceramic objects do not mix well. Amazingly, nothing got broken. However, poor S ended up wrangling the kids pretty much the whole time. He was not happy at being the babysitter. I don't blame him.
Luckily, there was a "Kids' Cave" complete with TV & DVD player, so that held the kids' attention for a few minutes here and there.
KB chose a dinosaur to paint for Daddy. Before all the kids lost interest in painting and started running around the shop like crazy, S gave the T-Rex its base coat of taupe (KB's choice). KB later added some jazzy green stripes before losing interest altogether.
I painted a photo frame and hope to use it for the first good picture I get of my boys together. I didn't paint names on it because we still haven't settled on a name for the baby. I still like "Ketan". S has now added "Aidan" to the short list. (Funny aside: folks on the Indian side of the family think the name Aidan sounds sooooooo exotic!!)
Hope the objects turn out well. We'll see tomorrow after they're glazed and fired!
OK, washer has stopped. Time to dry the laundry, and then start on the pee-soaked sheet, blanket and PJs from last night. KB's first accident since he started wearing underwear overnight on Saturday. My fault for letting him drink nearly an entire bottle of water on the way home from painting.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Still spotting
Still brown. Had some brown globby mucus in the toilet earlier today.
Called ob's office; they said not to worry. Easier said than done.
Maybe I will get my wish of spontaneous labor before my scheduled c-section date after all.
Will have my regular 36 week appointment tomorrow morning and we'll see where things stand.
But I did pack my hospital bag and shave my legs today, just in case.
Called ob's office; they said not to worry. Easier said than done.
Maybe I will get my wish of spontaneous labor before my scheduled c-section date after all.
Will have my regular 36 week appointment tomorrow morning and we'll see where things stand.
But I did pack my hospital bag and shave my legs today, just in case.
Monday, June 9, 2008
Spotting
Filed under "Things that make you go hmmmmm"
It was very hot today. The Prius's thermometer read 97 when I was out this afternoon around 3 pm.
When I picked KB up from school, we headed to the pool. For the first time in a long time, I got into the pool with him. It was cool and refreshing and fabulous.
Did not notice anything out of the ordinary until I went to use the bathroom just before doing KB's bedtime routine. Lots of brown spotting on my panty liner. Hmmm. I have not had an internal exam lately. I did have an internal check with a speculum on May 29 because of some fluid leakage, and had some spotting for a couple of days, but that ended a while back and I can't imagine this is related to that cervical irritation.
And no, I have not had sex lately either.
Paging Dr. Google.
I cannot find anything that indicates swimming could be a contributing factor.
Could be nothing, could be the start of losing my mucus plug (?), could be something more ominous. Not going to go there.
Will keep an eye on things overnight and may go in to the ob's office tomorrow.
Of course, if the bleeding turns bright red before morning, I guess I'm going to the hospital. Good thing I turned in my registration paperwork today.
It was very hot today. The Prius's thermometer read 97 when I was out this afternoon around 3 pm.
When I picked KB up from school, we headed to the pool. For the first time in a long time, I got into the pool with him. It was cool and refreshing and fabulous.
Did not notice anything out of the ordinary until I went to use the bathroom just before doing KB's bedtime routine. Lots of brown spotting on my panty liner. Hmmm. I have not had an internal exam lately. I did have an internal check with a speculum on May 29 because of some fluid leakage, and had some spotting for a couple of days, but that ended a while back and I can't imagine this is related to that cervical irritation.
And no, I have not had sex lately either.
Paging Dr. Google.
I cannot find anything that indicates swimming could be a contributing factor.
Could be nothing, could be the start of losing my mucus plug (?), could be something more ominous. Not going to go there.
Will keep an eye on things overnight and may go in to the ob's office tomorrow.
Of course, if the bleeding turns bright red before morning, I guess I'm going to the hospital. Good thing I turned in my registration paperwork today.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Tis the season
The birthday party season, that is. We seem to have an overabundance of birthday parties in the summer months. And of course, we are only adding to that by having a July baby, with another on the way, ourselves.
Am I the only parent who tries to schedule parties/events around naptimes? The last 3 parties we've attended have started between 11 and 1 pm. KB generally naps between 12:30 and 2:30 (his daycare nap schedule) or between 1ish and 3ish. We try to stick to his same schedule on days off/weekends but it doesn't always work.
But even the kids from his class tend to have their parties smack dab in the middle of what I consider prime nap time. I don't get it.
Today's party was at noon, at Chuck E. Cheese. KB has been looking forward to it for weeks. He was mostly interested in the tokens and the games, which is good, because food was pretty scarce. I think there were 4-5 medium pizzas for about 35 people. KB ate the sausage and olives off one slice of pizza and didn't touch another bite. He ate the frosting off his cupcake. That's it.
I ate one slice of pepperoni pizza and S ate a slice of something and then finished off KB's denuded slice. By the time we left at 2:30, we were all starving. (Note to self: Burger King is not a good solution, even though it seemed like a good idea at the time)
KB's nap went from about 3 to 5:30, which means he's going to go to bed late tonight. Argh. S has taken him to the park to try to tire him out.
I really am grateful to S for how much time he's spending with KB lately. I am just feeling too poopy to do much of anything.
Speaking of which, the housecleaner will be here at 9 tomorrow morning, so I've got to get the kitchen and bathroom counters cleared off. Or maybe I will put my feet up for now and wait until after KB goes to bed, then try to sweet-talk S into doing most of it.
I seriously do not remember being so tired last time. Some days I wonder if I can even make it 3 more weeks. Ugh.
Am I the only parent who tries to schedule parties/events around naptimes? The last 3 parties we've attended have started between 11 and 1 pm. KB generally naps between 12:30 and 2:30 (his daycare nap schedule) or between 1ish and 3ish. We try to stick to his same schedule on days off/weekends but it doesn't always work.
But even the kids from his class tend to have their parties smack dab in the middle of what I consider prime nap time. I don't get it.
Today's party was at noon, at Chuck E. Cheese. KB has been looking forward to it for weeks. He was mostly interested in the tokens and the games, which is good, because food was pretty scarce. I think there were 4-5 medium pizzas for about 35 people. KB ate the sausage and olives off one slice of pizza and didn't touch another bite. He ate the frosting off his cupcake. That's it.
I ate one slice of pepperoni pizza and S ate a slice of something and then finished off KB's denuded slice. By the time we left at 2:30, we were all starving. (Note to self: Burger King is not a good solution, even though it seemed like a good idea at the time)
KB's nap went from about 3 to 5:30, which means he's going to go to bed late tonight. Argh. S has taken him to the park to try to tire him out.
I really am grateful to S for how much time he's spending with KB lately. I am just feeling too poopy to do much of anything.
Speaking of which, the housecleaner will be here at 9 tomorrow morning, so I've got to get the kitchen and bathroom counters cleared off. Or maybe I will put my feet up for now and wait until after KB goes to bed, then try to sweet-talk S into doing most of it.
I seriously do not remember being so tired last time. Some days I wonder if I can even make it 3 more weeks. Ugh.
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Pooped
We ended up not going to Sacramento today. I woke up this morning with some lower back pain, plus I've had a crappy few nights' sleep lately. Takes me forever to fall asleep, then once I *do*, inevitably I wake up with horrible heartburn and have trouble getting back to sleep. Argh.
Anyway, I figured driving 5+ hours round-trip, just to spend a couple of hours at the party itself, wasn't the best idea. So we passed along our regrets via a cousin who was going to the same party. I'll call the birthday girl's mom and hope that she understands. At 35.5 weeks pregnant, I think I deserve a hall pass.
We tried to exhaust KB today to see if he will sleep any better. Nowadays, he usually wakes up 1-2 times a night to pee, and then wakes up anywhere between 3 and 5 in the morning asking to come to bed with one of us. S and I have been sleeping in separate beds for a while, taking turns with the monitor. Makes sense to let one person get a good solid sleep.
KB had "Daddy and me" soccer this morning, and then we went to a local sportsplex to check it out as a possible birthday party venue. The sportsplex was having an open house today and the inflatables area was having open play -- free! Woot. KB had a blast playing in/on the various bouncy houses and slides.
Got home, had a quick lunch, and we all went down for a 2-hour nap. After the nap, S took KB to an indoor play place called Jungle Island so he could expend some more energy. Alone in a quiet house for a couple of hours -- AHHH.
But I couldn't just sit around (or nap) -- I'm still trying to sort through and wash all kinds of kiddie clothes. KB has more clothes than I ever remembered. And I did not do nearly as good a job as I thought I did packing them away. I thought everything was neatly categorized, but I have boxes that are jumbles of 0-3, 3-6 and 6-9 months.
And since KB was the king of spit-up from birth until about 7 months, I have huge stacks of clothes waiting to be pre-treated, washed, and sun-bleached in the hopes that I can get rid of the stains.
I am kicking myself repeatedly for not doing more of this prepwork over the last, oh, 6 months or so. What the hell was I doing with my time? I should have been chipping away at this instead of leaving it for the last few weeks. What a maroon.
S is taking a well-deserved break and took himself to the movies. Ah, a quiet evening. No Formula One on TV. No "Top Gear". No DVR'd crap on for background noise.
Just pure. unadulterated. quiet.
Enjoy the silence.
Anyway, I figured driving 5+ hours round-trip, just to spend a couple of hours at the party itself, wasn't the best idea. So we passed along our regrets via a cousin who was going to the same party. I'll call the birthday girl's mom and hope that she understands. At 35.5 weeks pregnant, I think I deserve a hall pass.
We tried to exhaust KB today to see if he will sleep any better. Nowadays, he usually wakes up 1-2 times a night to pee, and then wakes up anywhere between 3 and 5 in the morning asking to come to bed with one of us. S and I have been sleeping in separate beds for a while, taking turns with the monitor. Makes sense to let one person get a good solid sleep.
KB had "Daddy and me" soccer this morning, and then we went to a local sportsplex to check it out as a possible birthday party venue. The sportsplex was having an open house today and the inflatables area was having open play -- free! Woot. KB had a blast playing in/on the various bouncy houses and slides.
Got home, had a quick lunch, and we all went down for a 2-hour nap. After the nap, S took KB to an indoor play place called Jungle Island so he could expend some more energy. Alone in a quiet house for a couple of hours -- AHHH.
But I couldn't just sit around (or nap) -- I'm still trying to sort through and wash all kinds of kiddie clothes. KB has more clothes than I ever remembered. And I did not do nearly as good a job as I thought I did packing them away. I thought everything was neatly categorized, but I have boxes that are jumbles of 0-3, 3-6 and 6-9 months.
And since KB was the king of spit-up from birth until about 7 months, I have huge stacks of clothes waiting to be pre-treated, washed, and sun-bleached in the hopes that I can get rid of the stains.
I am kicking myself repeatedly for not doing more of this prepwork over the last, oh, 6 months or so. What the hell was I doing with my time? I should have been chipping away at this instead of leaving it for the last few weeks. What a maroon.
S is taking a well-deserved break and took himself to the movies. Ah, a quiet evening. No Formula One on TV. No "Top Gear". No DVR'd crap on for background noise.
Just pure. unadulterated. quiet.
Enjoy the silence.
Friday, June 6, 2008
Annoyed ramblings
It is next-to-effing impossible for me to catch up on my blog reading while the incredibly irritating whine of Formula One cars blares from the TV.
Gah.
I should just go to bed.
We'll be gone to Sacramento all day tomorrow (extended family birthday party) and then there's another kiddie birthday party (locally) on Sunday. So naps and bedtimes will AGAIN be disrupted over the weekend.
This week has sucked in terms of getting KB to bed at a decent time. Very much our fault for having too many evening activities. It's hard to get him to bed by 8 or 8:30 when it's still light outside.
I'm tired of having things to do every day/every night/every weekend. Is it really such a big deal to ask for ONE DAY of absolutely nothing to do, no commitments?
KB is really frustrating me lately. He is pushing buttons like crazy, testing limits, refusing to do whatever we ask him to do. Today at naptime I yelled at him when he refused to get in his bed. I had to leave the room for a few minutes to try to compose myself. There were more than a few tears shed even before that point. I'm just tired of feeling like he fights me on EVERYTHING.
Gah.
I should just go to bed.
We'll be gone to Sacramento all day tomorrow (extended family birthday party) and then there's another kiddie birthday party (locally) on Sunday. So naps and bedtimes will AGAIN be disrupted over the weekend.
This week has sucked in terms of getting KB to bed at a decent time. Very much our fault for having too many evening activities. It's hard to get him to bed by 8 or 8:30 when it's still light outside.
I'm tired of having things to do every day/every night/every weekend. Is it really such a big deal to ask for ONE DAY of absolutely nothing to do, no commitments?
KB is really frustrating me lately. He is pushing buttons like crazy, testing limits, refusing to do whatever we ask him to do. Today at naptime I yelled at him when he refused to get in his bed. I had to leave the room for a few minutes to try to compose myself. There were more than a few tears shed even before that point. I'm just tired of feeling like he fights me on EVERYTHING.
Thursday, June 5, 2008
To-do list
What I have done:
- washed Pack n Play & co-sleeper sheets
- washed receiving blankets
- washed towels & washcloths
- washed burp cloths
- washed enough 0-3 month clothes for the first couple of weeks
- picked up a package of newborn diapers
- picked up bottle of fenugreek
What I have not done yet:
- killed S for giving away $2800 that we don't have
- registered for the hospital
- washed/cleaned the Pack n Play or the co-sleeper
- called the diaper service
- dug out the baby toys for cleaning
- washed/sterilized breast pump parts
- cleared out the office that will (someday) become the nursery
- moved KB's baby furniture out of his room
- primed & painted KB's room
- moved KB's big boy furniture from garage to his room
- packed my hospital bag just in case
- figured out when/if to have a bangle ceremony
- figured out what to do for/when to have KB's birthday party
What I am in the process of doing:
- sorting through KB's old clothes to see what can be used in the near future
- plodding through load after load of laundry
- getting KB's old clothes organized and packed away neatly
- trying to figure out how to get out old spit-up stains
- trying to remember what in the hell I packed for my hospital bag 3 years ago
- desperately wishing I could clone myself (minus the tired pregnant part) about 3 times over
What am I forgetting?
- washed Pack n Play & co-sleeper sheets
- washed receiving blankets
- washed towels & washcloths
- washed burp cloths
- washed enough 0-3 month clothes for the first couple of weeks
- picked up a package of newborn diapers
- picked up bottle of fenugreek
What I have not done yet:
- killed S for giving away $2800 that we don't have
- registered for the hospital
- washed/cleaned the Pack n Play or the co-sleeper
- called the diaper service
- dug out the baby toys for cleaning
- washed/sterilized breast pump parts
- cleared out the office that will (someday) become the nursery
- moved KB's baby furniture out of his room
- primed & painted KB's room
- moved KB's big boy furniture from garage to his room
- packed my hospital bag just in case
- figured out when/if to have a bangle ceremony
- figured out what to do for/when to have KB's birthday party
What I am in the process of doing:
- sorting through KB's old clothes to see what can be used in the near future
- plodding through load after load of laundry
- getting KB's old clothes organized and packed away neatly
- trying to figure out how to get out old spit-up stains
- trying to remember what in the hell I packed for my hospital bag 3 years ago
- desperately wishing I could clone myself (minus the tired pregnant part) about 3 times over
What am I forgetting?
Monday, June 2, 2008
Pissed
I just found out that S sent his parents $2800 for their plane tickets to visit us after the new baby arrives. Without telling me.
I saw the debit in our joint checking account and asked him what it was for. Then I asked him why he did it without discussing it with me first.
His answer? "I did bring it up when they were first looking at tickets, but I could sense resistance on your part."
So he did it behind my back because I was "resistant". Yeah. That makes a lot of sense.
OMG, am I pissed. Will elaborate further when (if) I cool down.
I saw the debit in our joint checking account and asked him what it was for. Then I asked him why he did it without discussing it with me first.
His answer? "I did bring it up when they were first looking at tickets, but I could sense resistance on your part."
So he did it behind my back because I was "resistant". Yeah. That makes a lot of sense.
OMG, am I pissed. Will elaborate further when (if) I cool down.
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