Adventures with My Monkeys

I Am a Mormon

2013-05-10T17:55:00.003-06:00

You may have noticed my link on the side of my blog that says that I Am a Mormon with a link to the LDS church's website Mormon.org. It used to be a pretty button but now it just says "I am a Mormon" and links to my profile on Mormon.org. I have always been hesitant to post about why I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints for a few reasons-I don't like to toot my own horn or try to look self-righteous and I have had people treat me differently because I am LDS and have different beliefs including being told I'm not welcome in several moms' groups or even treated differently by people I know. Being a member of the LDS church is a huge huge part of my life though and I decided to write a post about what my beliefs are and another post about my feelings about the Savior Jesus Christ. I ask that you please be kind in your comments-if you don't have anything nice to say don't say it at all. As a child I learned about the Articles of Faith which were written by the Prophet Joseph Smith just a couple of years before he died to a news reporter who wanted to know more about what members of the church believed. I am going to copy those here:

13 Articles of Faith
1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost.
2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam’s transgression.
3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel.
4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the Gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost.
5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof.
6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth.
7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth.
8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God.
9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God.
10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory.
11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may.
12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law.
13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul-We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report or praiseworthy, we seek after these things.

Along with these I would like to share my experience as well as my testimony. The LDS church is very pro-family. As a child I sang a song called "Families Can Be Together Forever." I also sang a song called "I Love to See the Temple." Both talk about how a family can be together forever. I wanted to be with my future family forever. I wanted that blessing in our life. I knew I wanted to marry a great guy who would take me to the temple to be married to him for eternity. I am grateful to know that I will be able to be with him forever and my children and my future posterity. I am also grateful to know that my three angels who I never had the opportunity to meet will be with us forever. I learned this because I prayed when I was going through my miscarriages for comfort and instead of just comfort I had a voice whisper to me that I would be able to raise my children someday after this life.

I am so grateful for Joseph Smith who as a teenager, 14 years old, read in the Bible James 1:5: "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." He went to the Bible when he didn't know which church was the true church that he should join. He decided to go to a beautiful grove of trees to kneel in prayer and ask Heavenly Father which church to join. He was visited by God and Jesus Christ who spoke to him and said that none of the churches were true and that he would be key to restoring the Gospel as it was in Christ's time on the Earth.

I recently learned that one of my ancestors was confirmed and received the gift of the Holy Ghost to be her constant companion to help her recognize right from wrong and to receive spiritual inspiration by the prophet Joseph Smith. She was very close to Heavenly Father and had very strong faith. She could have ran away when the mobs were burning down her neighbors' homes. She could have given up when she actually died from lightning striking her home as a teenager as could her father who gave her a priesthood blessing which brought her back. She could have not crossed the plains to get away from the persecution to a new home. She didn't. She knew that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints was true as did many of my other ancestors who crossed the plains to Utah.

I don't know everything about the Gospel. I do know that it is true. I have prayed about it and I believe Heavenly Father answers our prayers. I knew in my heart when I prayed if the Book of Mormon was true that it was as promised through the last chapter of the book of Moroni:

3 Behold, I would exhort you that when ye shall read these things, if it be wisdom in God that ye should read them, that ye would remember how merciful the Lord hath been unto the children of men, from the creation of Adam even down until the time that ye shall receive these things, and ponder it in your chearts.
4 And when ye shall receive these things, I would exhort you that ye would ask God, the Eternal Father, in the name of Christ, if these things are not true; and if ye shall ask with a sincere heart, with real intent, having faith in Christ, he will manifest the truth of it unto you, by the power of the Holy Ghost.
5 And by the power of the Holy Ghost ye may know the truth of all things.
6 And whatsoever thing is good is just and true; wherefore, nothing that is good denieth the Christ, but acknowledgeth that he is.

I was only a teenager in the seminary program when I did this but I felt a burning warmth in my chest that the Book of Mormon and the Gospel was true. I know without a doubt in my mind that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints is the only church with the full truth. All other churches have pieces and fragments but I know that the LDS church is true. I know that my Heavenly Father loves me and my family and knows ME as an individual.

I am a Mormon and I'm proud of it!

If you would like to learn more about my church I would recommend visiting the Church's website found here.

Breastfeeding Carnival Day 11: My Mothering Decisions

2012-07-26T00:30:00.000-06:00

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Blog Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Timbra Wiist landslidephotography {at} hotmail {dot} com. Today's post is about Motherhood Views. Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed in the comments section at www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com The Carnival runs July 16th through the 31st!

I went in to pregnancy pretty open and ready to do research to determine what I needed and wanted to do for my kids. I had NO idea when I first became pregnant with our first baby (that I miscarried at 8 weeks of pregnant) what I was going to do other than breastfeed and make my own baby food. When I became pregnant the second time (with Monkey) I started the research. I was part of an awesome online community on iVillage. I learned about all sorts of things like how parents didn't let baby cry it out (CIO) (I was always told it was necessary to help them "self sooth"-after research I found the complete opposite!), parents that babywear, etc. I was totally closed off to the idea of cloth diapers at first, then it became maybe I'll try them once we're doing solid foods, then there was a horrible time of having multiple blowouts in a row and my little man having to be naked because he'd burned through the few outfits we had in the diaper bag. I started in my intense research and decided to make the switch to cloth diapers.

I've always wanted to be a mom. When I was growing up and people would ask me at school what I wanted to be I remember ALWAYS saying I wanted to be a mom. My husband knew how important it was to me before we even got married that I wanted to be home with my kids all the time and not work. I think it's very important for a mother to be home with her kids. We agreed before we were married that we would make that happen.

To my great surprise I became pregnant and wasn't done with school yet. I actually found out before school was out for the summer just before our 1 year anniversary. I lost that baby just a couple days after our anniversary. At that point I started to look in to how I could finish school faster so I could be done in about a year and a half or so. THEN much to our surprise I got pregnant with Monkey just a couple months later and started scheduling appointments with counselors so I could get a whole minor and the rest of my major done while pregnant. My due date was during finals week but I knew I could do it. I was in 20 and 21 credit hours my last two semesters while battling hyperemesis (and not being able to go to class A LOT because I was either in the hospital or couldn't leave the side of the toilet) and then battling preterm labor and bedrest. I did it though and walked with my Bachelor's degree when Monkey was 2 weeks old (he arrived about a week before his due date). I had 3 incompletes-one that I needed to do in the summer, one that I just needed to finish a test, and one that I needed to write a paper. The class in the summer didn't work out so I ended up having to do an online course through another University to fulfill the requirement and transfer the credits. It was so so so hard to do the course with a newborn but I knew I HAD to finish school. The paper was also super hard to write because it was an in-depth paper about the research and readings I did the semester I was on bedrest. I did it though and was able to be a stay at home mom while doing so.

I also started a business while Monkey was tiny and was finishing my courses. I knew it would help give me something that was MINE that I could look forward to (changing diapers and being a housewife are not my favorite things in the world in all honesty) while being able to be with my baby and take care of his needs all the time. My business has changed from strictly sewing to strictly knitting over the 4 years I've been in business but it's still my passion besides being a mom.

When I became pregnant with Monkey I knew I needed to eat healthier. It was really hard for me because I was SO sick about the only thing I could hold down was Ramen Noodles. My habits couldn't change a lot while I was pregnant so I made a new goal to do my best and once he was born to change the way I ate. I would say that helped a lot and I still eat pretty healthy though I still like treats and to have what many would say is unhealthy sometimes. We eat a lot of fruit though and I pay a lot more attention to our fruit and vegetable intake and eat organic as much as possible.

I learned a lot through my pregnancy and still learn a lot. I think it's really important to try to be open minded and do research for everything you do raising kids. I am trying to remain open to new things and in doing so we decided we'd homeschool (and we used to be pretty closed off to it), rear face the carseat past the standard age of 1 (Monkey was 18 months, Kangaroo will be at least 2), etc. My idea of motherhood does change quite a bit but my main goal to breastfeed has always remained the highest priority.

Breastfeeding Carnival Day 10: Wordless Wednesday Babywearing Style!

2012-07-25T00:30:00.000-06:00

Monkey

Kangaroo

Photo Credit: Lynn Bettridge

From a Facebook Picture posted following the Babywearing Flash Mob August 2011

Photo Credit: Lynn Bettridge

Rockin Green Soap Giveaway Winner!

2012-07-24T17:45:00.002-06:00

Thanks to all who entered! Congrats to Chelsea M. for winning a bag of Rockin Green Soap! To everyone else be sure to like Rockin Green on Facebook for special discount codes, giveaways, and to keep up to date on Rockin Green News!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Breastfeeding Carnival Day 8: Pearls of Wisdom

2012-07-23T21:11:00.002-06:00

Breastfeeding Carnival Day 7: PAST breastfeeding

2012-07-23T20:39:00.002-06:00

Breastfeeding Carnival Day 6: Weaning

2012-07-21T00:30:00.000-06:00

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Blog Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Timbra Wiist landslidephotography {at} hotmail {dot} com. Today's post is about Weaning and the family. Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed in the comments section at www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com The Carnival runs July 16th through the 31st!

I will talk about Monkey more than Kangaroo in this post because Kangaroo hasn't fully weaned yet :).

The weaning process begins when you introduce solid foods. We have had to do so cautiously because we knew there was a risk of food allergies in my kiddos due to my food allergies. Monkey had some severe carrot and peanut allergies and was originally allergic to peas, bananas, cinnamon, apricots, and several other things the first time he had them (we think barley was among them because he would throw up every time he had some organic animal crackers and that was the only new ingredient in them). We started feeding him homemade baby food when he was 6 months but didn't really push it. He started out by just having tastes once a day and I tried a second time a day when he was about 8 months but he wasn't really interested. We didn't start trying too hard until he was about 10.5 months and was more interested in having meals with us at the table (about the time he started really feeding himself).

Monkey continued the weaning process and at about 14 months started dropping feedings and just wasn't interested in nursing at times that he used to be. By about 14.5 months he determined he was done and dropped his last couple feedings over a few days. I was very upset because I wasn't quite ready for him to be done but he wanted nothing to do with it and never looked back.

I've done the same things with Kangaroo. Kangaroo COULDN'T keep solids down until he was about 9ish months and still wasn't super interested in having more than a few bites here and there (that he had to feed to himself) until he was about 11ish months. Kangaroo loves solids now and eats every meal with us. He still nurses a lot too. I keep feeding him on demand (except of course if it's super inconvenient or if he's been nursing for a couple hours straight and I simply need a break or to go to the bathroom or whatever. I don't believe in letting a toddler COMPLETELY demand everything because I think he needs to start learning boundaries a bit and understand that it's a relationship not one sided. That being said normally when he asks me I will nurse him and if it has been a while and he hasn't asked I'll ask him if he wants to nurse (usually the answer is signing milk to say yes or he'll run right over to me).

With both kids I've set smaller goals. With Monkey it started out at 6 months which was the age I was weaned because I bit my mom. I determined that biting wasn't going to keep me from nursing him since that's all he COULD do for the first few weeks and I had to train him not to bite me to nurse but to suck instead. Once we came closer to 6 months I said I wanted to nurse him AT LEAST a year and then take it from there. When Kangaroo arrived I said that I really really wanted him to nurse until at least 18 months but 2 if possible and we are now at just over 18 months and going strong. I don't know if I see myself going much past 2 but if he still needs it I'm not going to stop him. I don't have a date set on a calendar of when I will wean him and I'm already ignoring a lot of pressure to wean him. I plan on just taking it a day at a time!

Breastfeeding Blog Day 5: Night Time Parenting

2012-07-20T00:30:00.000-06:00

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Blog Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Timbra Wiist landslidephotography {at} hotmail {dot} com. Today's post is about Nightime Parenting. Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed in the comments section at www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com The Carnival runs July 16th through the 31st!

When both boys arrived they started out by sleeping in our room in a bassinet. I've never been comfortable with having my tiny babies in our bed and when I've even laid down to nurse them I haven't been able to fall asleep because I've just been too afraid of squishing them or something happening to them. I've always wanted to keep them close though so I could respond to the first signs of them waking up and being hungry.

Monkey wasn't able to sleep for more than a couple months in our room because his daddy snored too loud and would wake him up. We moved him into his room which was down the hall with a monitor and he slept much better but I was able to respond to him at the first signs of him waking up like I was with him in our room. Kangaroo was different. He was able to sleep through the snoring for quite a while and we had his crib set up in our room when he grew out of his bassinet (besides I was afraid of Monkey hurting him by accident if he tried to climb in the crib to cuddle his brother-he's always been VERY lovey towards Kangaroo). When Kangaroo was 7 months we packed up to move to Oregon (from Utah). In our "new" house Kangaroo needed to sleep in Monkey's room. It all worked out and they have been sharing a room for almost a year now. Kangaroo wasn't sleeping through the night still (and I've always had a monitor in his room) and didn't until he was about 14 months. Sleeping through the night is technically a 6 hour stretch. Kangaroo would rarely go more than a 1-2 4 hour stretches. He would often be brought in to bed with me to snuggle and nurse though that became a problem as he became more mobile. Hubby decided eventually he needed to leave our bed if Kangaroo sleeps with me.

Kangaroo got to a point that he wouldn't nurse laying down. That was at about 10-11 months. I would have to sit on the couch with the Boppy to nurse him 1-4 times during the night. He's 18 months and will still come to snuggle with me in bed often (while Hubby pouts and runs out to the couch). A few nights ago he fell out for the first time and I felt HORRIBLE. I don't know what to do now. He was able to stay in bed if he'd run in to a pillow and now that doesn't even stop him. Fortunately he hasn't got up since that night but I honestly don't know what to do now. We ended up snuggling to nurse on the couch after that and I sat clutching him for the last few hours of sleep.

Since I was an only child I don't remember what the arrangements were when I was a baby but my mom tells me that the arrangements were similar to that which we did with Monkey. We really haven't taken a lot of outside advice on our sleeping arrangements and just have done what we felt best. When I've been concerned about the amount of sleep that each boy was getting and when we were trying to wean from Monkey HAVING to fall asleep either in the car or his swing I looked to these books (disclaimer-these are affiliate links. Your purchase helps us buy homeschooling books and supplies-Thanks!)

I feel like my kids know that we are there for them if they need us during the night. We respond promptly when they need us and I feel like that's a very important thing to help them feel safe and secure in our home and attached to us.

Breastfeeding Carnival Day 4: Babywearing (also a guest blogger today :) )

2012-07-19T00:30:00.000-06:00

Kangaroo in a Sleepy Wrap (now known as Boba Wrap)

I have since gained quite the collection but I also gave some away to my friend that didn't work so great on me but I knew they would on her since she's quite a bit thinner than me :).

Monkey was never really able to nurse in any baby carrier due to being on a nipple shield through our whole nursing relationship. I was able to work it a couple of times in a ring sling when I needed to have a hand free. Kangaroo on the other hand has nursed several times in different carriers but I think the easiest to nurse in is the Boba for me.

Kangaroo in the Boba-obviously not nursing :)

All I have to do to nurse him in it is loosen the waist and pull it down lower to lower him, loosen the shoulders a bit and scootch him down a bit. This is my favorite tutorial of how to do it.

Even though I wasn't able to nurse Monkey in a carrier it really helped our breastfeeding relationship to keep him close. I remember wrapping, unwrapping, rewrapping the Sleepy Wrap a billion times a day so I could nurse him and then snuggle him. Keeping him close helped me see his hunger cues a lot faster than if he were laying somewhere or tucked away in a carseat (I ALWAYS use a carseat in the car when the car is moving-please practice safe babywearing). When we would go out somewhere it was much easier to put him in a carrier than to lug a big bucket seat around.

I started wearing Kangaroo earlier because I had more options.

Kangaroo, 3 days old

My favorite was a ring sling in those early days. I was able to spend more time with Monkey and while I didn't nurse in a sling for the first little bit I was able to watch his hunger cues and be able to keep him close and safe (Monkey was a normal rough 2 1/2 year old that REALLY loves his brother!).

Even at 18 months I still believe babywearing helps our breastfeeding relationship because it's all about trust and him knowing that I'm here for him when he needs me. It's also very handy to get through a grocery store because my boys LOVE to run two different directions!

And just one more for fun!

When my wrap arrived Monkey really wanted to try it out. He was only in it for a few minutes but is 35 lbs and was super comfy in it. This is a Wrapsody Stretch Hybrid wrap and I did the double hammock carry. It's my very favorite toddler carry.

Breastfeeding Carnival Day 3: Wordless Wednesday Breastfeeding Style!

2012-07-18T00:30:00.000-06:00

Breastfeeding Carnival Day 2: First Nursing In Public Experience (and happy birthday to me!)

2012-07-17T00:30:00.000-06:00

This post was written as part of The Breastfeeding Cafe's Blog Carnival. For more info on the Breastfeeding Cafe, go to www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com. For more info on the Carnival or if you want to participate, contact Timbra Wiist landslidephotography {at} hotmail {dot} com. Today's post is about First Nursing in Public Experiences. Please read the other blogs in today's carnival listed in the comments section at www.breastfeedingcafe.wordpress.com The Carnival runs July 16th through the 31st!

I'm reposting my post from last year about my first nursing in public experiences. I will add a little to the end.

I honestly don't remember the first time nursing in public with Monkey! I do remember several of the first times I was constantly checking and asking those around me (people I knew) if they could see anything or if anyone else could. I was worried I was showing something. I was worried I was making people uncomfortable. After my first LLL meeting I decided that I could ALWAYS nurse without a cover and not show anything. I kept a cover in my bag for a while though. I went to a mom group meeting and I was given the most disgusted looks so I put a cover on. A little girl asked what I was doing and the mother explained that I was feeding the baby. She asked why I didn't use a bottle. I was made to feel so uncomfortable there and secluded that I never went back. I for the longest time only went out to LLL meetings and if there was somewhere I could hide to nurse unless I was alone or only with my husband in a restaurant or something-somewhere where no one would see me.

Kangaroo needed a nursing cover for the first 8-10 weeks because he had a hard time latching without much extra help and exposing a lot of myself. I felt much more comfortable with one. After he figured it out without help I was glad to be rid of it. It was getting hot. I hated wearing it. I have ZERO problem with a mom wearing one if it makes her more comfortable but for me nursing covers are super uncomfortable. The very first time he nursed uncovered was at a LLL meeting. He did an awesome job not exposing me and was hungry enough and sleepy enough he didn't notice I wasn't giving him extra help.

The first time someone nursed in public near me was at church. Honestly I felt a little uncomfortable just because I wasn't sure if I was supposed to move to give her and her baby space or what I was supposed to do. She put a blanket over her and her baby but I just felt weird like I should do something but I didn't know what. I didn't want to make her uncomfortable so I tried to ignore it. She continued to nurse her baby whenever she was hungry and I grew to realize that nothing was expected of me and it felt ok. I've always felt strongly about nursing just didn't know what to feel about nursing in public. After having a baby I realize that when baby is hungry it's best just to feed them. At the same time sometimes (like on an airplane where we want space) it's fun to make people feel a bit uncomfortable. I don't ever nurse in public to cause a stir or anything like that-that's never ever my intention. It is nice to be an advocate though to hopefully make it feel more normal to someone or potentially have someone decide they want to nurse because they saw someone doing it and feeling completely normal with it.

My mom has never talked to me about her nursing in public experiences. It was kinda one of those things I don't think you did 25 years ago (yes I'm 25 today!). I know that when my aunt would nurse my cousins she would normally go in another room though it wasn't uncomfortable for her when I went in and asked her what she was doing. I admire those experiences watching family and neighbors that weren't uncomfortable answering questions and letting me know and feel that nursing was a normal thing. I hope that I am able to help my sons be supportive of their wives nursing someday and hopefully daughters and girls around me grow up to breastfeed and be comfortable with it and proud to do it.

Breastfeeding Carnival Day 1: Birth Experience

2012-07-16T11:59:00.000-06:00

Monkey
Friday, April 11, 2008 at 6:27 PM
7 lbs and 20 inches.

(I was 39 weeks and 1 day)

My water broke at about 7:30 in the morning. I got up at about 7 to have breakfast because I was STARVING and went to the bathroom-I noticed a weird watery discharge but there wasn't a lot so I went and had breakfast. I had a bowl of Life cereal while sitting on the floor of my living room watching tv. I suddenly felt funny and decided to get up. When I stood up I felt the gush! I squeezed my legs together and ran downstairs-it only ended up on my underwear and pjs. Spencer asked if it was time and I told him my water broke and there it went gushing in the toilet and while I put my contacts in. We grabbed the bags and left! When I got to the hospital he dropped me off at the door and I RAN inside because I had a really big gush. While I was begging the volunteers for a wheelchair it leaked all over into my shoes! I got upstairs and I got to skip triage (YAY!)-it was VERY obvious by looking at me what happened. I got into my room and settled and after my hour monitoring I went walking. I had to be on monitors for 20 minutes out of every hour and kept walking otherwise. I had lots of water, popsicles, suckers, etc-it was great! When I had progressed to about 8 cm I told them I needed to push-they kept telling me no and I started hyperventalating-yuck (he was already +2)! I ended up getting an epidural but the second he got it in they told me to start pushing. I ended up with Pitocin because my contractions slowed a lot. An hour and a half of pushing and playing tug-of-war with a sheet w/Spencer (highly recommend it-worked great) Monkey came and I couldn't help but cry :)! His Apgar scores were 8 and 9 just because he wasn't holding temp. We did have the vacuum because he was getting really tired at the very end so he had a little bruise but not too bad. I ended up feeling all the contractions at the end-my legs never went completely numb. I was very proud I made it as far as I did and hope I can go all the way next time :)! I on the other hand had difficulties after-I was bleeding and passing huge clots and they were worried I was hemorrhaging. I didn't get to hold Monkey for a few minutes because they had to push out a bunch of clots-THAT hurt! We tried feeding but didn't have success. I went to my room and walked out of the wheelchair and then called the nurse because I wanted to go potty-I walked there by myself. I ended up having 2 stitches because I tore before he even crowned. We had A LOT of issues feeding and I ended up having to use formula-we found out he was tongue tied. Sunday after he was born he tested mod-high for bilirubin so we took him to his first ped appointment Monday (the morning after we got home) and after another trip to the hospital found out we needed to feed every 1 1/2-2 hours. We had to go back for a heel prick again Tuesday and they wanted us to do bililights but he just started nursing because I met with a lc at the hospital after his Monday tongue clip. They gave me another day and it was down on Wednesday and down even further by Friday (18th). Wednesday after he was born I got rear-ended taking him to the hospital though. He made his first ER trip-low impact accident but wanted to make sure everything was ok. He was doing really well sleeping 4 or 5 hours at night but last night he was back to eating every 2 hours-hopefully it's just a growth spurt because he didn't want to sleep AT ALL last night! He is almost 3 weeks though! At his Pediatrician appointment last week he was 7 lb 6 oz so above his birth weight and had grown 1/2 inch and his head had grown 1/2 inch more too! Guess he's getting plenty to eat :)!

Written on our family blog Thursday, March 30, 2011:

Kangaroo
8 lbs 20 inches
January 14, 2011 8:16 AM

I started in labor at 30 weeks with this little man. It was 32 for his older brother. I didn't bother ever going in though because my cervix wasn't changing. When I hit 37 weeks though I was at a 4 and 38 I was at a 5. I thought it was insane my water hadn't already broken because my water broke at a 4 with Monkey! We really thought he'd make his appearance on 1/11/11 but no such luck! The next day I ended up going in to the hospital because my contractions were really strong and I had already had bloody show for well over 2 weeks and still no baby. My nurse was rude enough to state "You aren't in labor if your contractions stop when you sit down or lay down." OKAY... (I say sarcastically!) So back home I went.

I hadn't slept more than an hour here and there for a total of about 4ish hours a night for about a week-I was exhausted. Luckily enough I got a good night's sleep though and woke up feeling great the next morning (Thursday 1/13). I decided that he'd probably hold on until Monday (the date I originally thought he'd come from the time I found out I was pregnant-my due date was January 23, 2011). We were given a spicy chili mix for Christmas by my Dad's side grandparents so I decided to make it that night because I didn't think I'd be able to stand on my feet for a while to make it. I followed the directions and after it finally got done I found out on the first bite it was VERY spicy.

About an hour after I started eating little Kangaroo started thrashing around-I think he thought it was too spicy too! I started feeling a little leaking but I wasn't 100% sure my water broke because with Monkey it was a big gush followed by MANY other large gushes. I called my midwife. I laid down for about 30 min after putting Monkey to bed. We made lots of phone calls to see if one of our friends would come sit with him if we needed to go in. I stood up and didn't feel a gush but I went to the bathroom and found vernix so I KNEW my water broke. I hurried and finished packing my hospital bag and kissed Monkey (he was already asleep) and told him that when he saw me next I'd be holding his baby brother. Sister-in-law arrived just in time to sit and listen for Monkey if he woke up and a while later our friend and her friend arrived.

We got to the hospital just after 11. We had to push a button and call up saying I needed to go to L&D. I had called my midwife on my way to let her know I was going in. After getting all settled in my OWN gown and telling my first nurse that she needed to read my birth plan and I absolutely WOULD NOT have an IV she walked out and got another one. This nurse was awesome! We really liked her (but stupidly enough I didn't write down her name so I forgot it!). She talked me in to getting the IV plug just in case there was something crazy that happened and I agreed as long as it wasn't in my hand and I preferred not to do it inside my elbow. She found a great vein on my right arm on the hairy side on the medial side (standing in prone position with your palms facing forward it's the side closest to your body). I didn't feel her poke me really at all. Best IV I've ever had (and after hyperemesis with both pregnancies I've had a few!). She poked me about 1 AM.

I enjoyed my snacks of string cheese and beef jerky and water and popsicles. I spent some time walking around the halls and bouncing on the birthing ball but every time I sat or laid down my contractions stopped. The leaking had slowed way down so there really wasn't anything at all and by 3 AM my contractions stopped completely no matter what I did (and for a while I was stopping and doing my hypnobirthing breathing through them). My nurse had a feeling that my little man broke the wrong water bag and that he had two around him and unless he broke the one under his head he wouldn't come. We wondered where my midwife was-she hadn't come and when I got to the hospital I was already a 6 (and hadn't made any progress whatsoever since). Days before she thought I'd have my baby within just a few hours of my water breaking or going to the hospital. My nurse called her, she had gone home and fell asleep. She came to the hospital and was there within about 15 minutes (and was there at about 4).

Sure enough, she discovered the bag under his head hadn't broken so she broke that. I got in the tub right after that and labored there for quite a while. I got out to use the restroom because I felt a lot of pressure and while there I threw up the chili-it was just as spicy coming up. I got back in the tub for a bit. I had lost ALL track of time by this point and labor was quite intense. I eventually couldn't get comfortable anymore and decided to get out-I knew there was no position I could be in in that tiny tub to have the baby.

Just before I got out I felt very much like I was in transition. It was quite intense and my mind couldn't relax. I felt like I didn't know if I could keep going. Spencer stayed very positive and told me I was doing a wonderful job. My midwife was also awesome and kept very positive. I got on the bed and they were trying to get monitors on me and I felt quite grouchy and told them I wouldn't have them squeeze that thing on my belly again because it was too uncomfortable. I asked for them to put the squatting bar on but then decided there was no way I was going to be able to stand up again. Before I knew it I felt the VERY strong urge to push and felt Kangaroo moving down. I started pushing on my own as I felt like I needed to and I kept breathing. Spencer kept reminding me to breathe and kept calm as I said "too hot" and he's put the fan on me, "too cold" and he'd move it away, and "water" and he'd give me a sip of ice water. He was doing quite the dance! It didn't take long at all-maybe just 4 or so pushes/contractions before all of a sudden I felt the "ring of fire" which REALLY is what it sounds like. I gasped and kind of stopped and my midwife knew what was going on and said when I was ready to just give one good push through the burning and he'd be there. About a minute later I would guess I felt him pushing down again and felt a contraction and gave one giant push and he flew out. I felt a huge relief-I really would compare it to needing to go to the bathroom REALLY bad and the feeling you feel after you go. I didn't feel 100% myself after he was born but really close. As he came out she put him straight on my belly. I was in complete shock. My first reaction was "I did it?" and Spencer, with a huge grin, said "You did it!" Then I immediately said "His head is REALLY hard and big!" I enjoyed every second cuddling with my freshly born baby. He had his first meconium uh-un-diaper on me and peed for the first time but I could care less! I put my tankini top on before I got in the jetted tub and I was still in that (thank goodness! It was great to keep me cool when I was hot when I got out!) so I just had Spencer help me untie it to get him to latch on. He kind of nursed a little but still hadn't opened his eyes so I just enjoyed cuddling with him with a blanket over us both.

My midwife repaired my second degree tear. I think the stitches hurt a heck of a lot more than having the baby! She gave me a shot to numb it but it didn't really work. I sat there for what felt like forever with my feet now in stirrups (I gave birth sitting most of the way upright and it was quite comfortable) squirming and loving on my baby. I think the reason my I tore again was because the first wasn't ever fixed properly. It was superficial but it took about 8 weeks to heal completely. After she finished we cut Kangaroo's cord-probably about 30 minutes after he was born. We were then ready to deliver the placenta. I wasn't excited to push again but after just a couple pushes it came and I immediately felt like myself again. We were worried about hemorrhaging but my bleeding finally slowed down a bit and everything worked out well.

Kangaroo was tongue-tied but it was clipped really quick after he was born. He was very sleepy though and didn't really nurse until 2 PM. He wasn't interested and wouldn't wake up. The doctor said he had fluid in his lungs so instead of discharging us after he was nursing well she made us stay. My midwife had approved me to leave as soon as we got the OK from the Pediatrician. They thought I was crazy to want to leave within 24 hours anyways (my goal was a max of 12 hours). He spit up all the fluid though and was able to go home the next morning after his hearing test and everything.

He had jaundice. His levels never got as high as Monkey's but he was very very sleepy and very hard to wake and he stayed jaundiced for about 2 weeks and looked yellow the whole time. By Monday he hadn't pooped or peed within 12 hours and he was diagnosed with dehydration but my milk was starting to come in and he ended up peeing in the diaper at the doctor's office which made me feel quite relieved! He was nursing every 2 hours anyways with about a 3-4 hour stretch at night. I had oversupply issues again and ended up having to pump off a little bit almost every feeding for him to be able to latch on. Ultimately he ended up losing a whole pound between when he was born Friday morning and at the doctor's on Monday morning. He had gained back up to 7 lbs 13 oz by 1 week and gained quick after that.

At his 2 month appointment he was 12 lbs 3 oz and 23 inches. At the same time Monkey was 11 lbs 8 oz and 23 inches. Kangaroo is a total butterball and I love kissing his squishy cheeks! I've also really enjoyed having him in cloth diapers since a couple days after he was born (he wore one home from the hospital and then we finished up the disposables they sent us home with before switching completely to cloth).

Smiles

Kangaroo's Blessing-at home March 6, 2011

My big brother loves me LOTS

Kangaroo's Blessing-in the outfit mommy made laying on the special blanket mommy made

Monkey had a LOT of issues at first which weren't really addressed much in the first post. Physically everything was OK with him other than his tongue-tie which wasn't caught until he was about a day old and a nurse was trying to look in his mouth to figure out why we had to stick our finger almost down his throat to get him to suck. He had major issues sucking at all at first even though he was full-term and came completely on his own (after several weeks of preterm labor I might add). It was so discouraging to me that I was forced to give him bottles and be a slave to the pump every hour for 10 minutes (not to mention extremely painful especially for not getting anything out at all). I would just sit and bawl as other people fed my baby while I sat and pumped. I wanted SO badly to be able to nurse my baby. My husband could see my frustration and pain and even recommended that I just give up or just get used to the fact that he wasn't going to be able to nurse. While he was intending to help it just hurt me that much more and made me that much more determined to make it work. I had a Pediatrician tell me he had seen worse ties and he wasn't comfortable clipping it in the hospital (???!!!) and told me that it must be a problem with me not him. I had a recommendation to see an Ear Nose and Throat doctor and called him as soon as they opened the Monday after he was born (we got home on Sunday) and begged to get in. The nurse said the schedule was full and I said I was told to mention to the doctor that he wasn't able to breastfeed at all. She went away for a minute and said "How does the afternoon work for you?" The whole procedure only took a couple of seconds. He was able to latch once after that but never again. I was able to see a lactation consultant the next day and she gave me a nipple shield which I tried constantly to wean him from. I determined later on he must have also had a lip tie because I couldn't ever get him to keep his mouth open enough to keep my nipple and he ended up using the nipple shield (and I had oversupply the whole time he nursed!) until he weaned himself about 14.5 months.

With Kangaroo I was better prepared. I wasn't about to have a Pediatrician say they wouldn't clip a possible tongue-tie in the hospital. Before he was born I interviewed Pediatricians and told them that was one of the most important things to me. I expressed my concern to my midwife. I set out making sure I would have access to an SNS and other options so we would never have to touch bottles. From Kangaroo's first cry I could tell he was tongue-tied. The first time he latched I could feel he had a shallow latch but I think he got a taste of colostrum from that first little bit of a nursing session. His tie was clipped within a couple hours of birth by his new doctor but he wasn't interested in nursing for several hours (I also wasn't up to eating much for a bit-I just wanted to snuggle my baby and have time to bond and we had major arrangement issues so Spencer was gone for a big chunk of that day). Finally after the birth high wore off we started to get sleepy and he decided to nurse and nursed very regularly afterwards. He did become a bit dehydrated by the time he was 3 days old but then my milk came in and that was a total thing of the past. 18 months later he is still nursing and loves his mama milk. He loves snuggling with me in the middle of the night many nights (though prefers to nurse with me sitting up on the couch as opposed to laying down in the bed though he likes to cuddle with me in bed but is kind of a thrasher so Spencer tends to leave and sleep on the couch the nights he needs extra cuddles) and throughout the day about 6ish times during the day. He's always been a higher weight than Monkey at the same age even though I know my milk is the same (and I have had copious amounts until he hit about 14 months then it balanced out more to what he actually needs and I stopped pumping to donate at that time). We've had little struggles here and there but after having big struggles the first time and being able to learn from those issues and learn how to avoid the same issues (primarily nipple confusion) we have had a much smoother nursing relationship though every day presents new hurdles.

Breastfeeding isn't always easy but is certainly worth the bond and relationship and benefits to both mom and baby. I am grateful for LLL especially and knowing that when I've had issues I can call/email/attend a meeting and feel support from every mother there (a lot of times I've just needed someone to say they know what I'm going through). I became a LLL leader because I wanted to be able to help other moms that struggle feel confident and have support. I love helping moms be able to give their babies such a wonderful gift! I am grateful for the challenges we've had because I learned a lot. Of course I wish I would have known about alternatives before we went down the formula and bottle path but I was also grateful I learned about support afterwards. I want to keep doing my part to spread the word about LLL because if I can help one mother avoid going through what I did and help them feel supported during pregnancy I feel like I've fulfilled my mission.

Gearing up for World Breastfeeding Week

2012-07-13T16:55:00.002-06:00

I haven't been around in a while again! I'm so sorry! I've been busy working with LLL (I'm a leader which means I volunteer and lead meetings as well as offering breastfeeding support via email), starting a Babywearing group, going on a trip to visit family in Utah, working with Monkey on school, keeping up the house, church callings, of course the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt in May, Monkey Bunns, etc, etc. I'm trying to organize my time a bit better to allow me to check in here more often and post pictures of the cute guys...speaking of which! PHOTO BOMB!!!!! (And in no particular order!)

At the park wearing our Wrapsody Gypsy Mama Bali Breeze

4th of July-you can kinda see the cute patriotic shorties I made Kangaroo!

Brothers :)

Monkey BEGGED me to take a picture of them at the table after lunch a few days ago

This is from April but Monkey is really loving riding his trike around and there's lots of room to ride here

Same day as the one before-I just LOVE his facial expression

Kangaroo is totally a rockstar!

Sweet baby!

I put my brother's pants on-OOPS!

"Silly Monkey!"

I just love how soft my diapers are underneath my bottom :)

Getting ready for a walk!

Monkey wanted to test out our Wrapsody Stretch Hybrid wrap and surprisingly at 34 lbs he is really comfy on my back!

I love this one :)

Kangaroo trying it out too (he was sick when we took this-he was happy to be snuggling but not happy for pictures)

Snuggles!

In Utah we went bowling-we took turns helping the boys bowl and the both LOVED it!

Daddy helping Monkey bowl

Checking my score!

Ok, now that we're set on pictures... I'm starting to write my posts for the Breastfeeding Carnival which is starting soon. Be on the lookout! I really enjoyed posting as part of the Blog Carnival last year and am happy I can participate again this year even though we moved away *you can find more info here*! I'm also running a Rockin Green giveaway right now so be sure to check that out!

Rockin Green Femme Rock Review and GIVEAWAY

2012-07-13T16:26:00.000-06:00

I received a pouch of Rockin Green Femme Rock a couple of months ago to review. This is a detergent specially formulated for washing mama cloth (cloth menstrual pads). If you aren't interested in learning about womanly cycles (ie my parents :) ) you may just want to skip down to the review or just skip this post :).

I'm not a huge menstrual cup fan. I tried the Diva cup and it caused excruciating pain (and it got worse after having my second son to the point I absolutely can't tolerate the pain). I got a Lunnette and while I like it sometimes it also causes me pain so I grin and bare it when I need to or just stick with my mama cloth. I used to get super irritated skin from using disposables because my cycle likes to drag on sometimes and postpartum is totally the worst because I bleed for about 6 weeks and really need a pad for about 4-5 weeks. I decided to try mama cloth after Monkey used cloth diapers for a bit so I bought some off of Etsy and from some WAHMs to try before deciding what I liked to be able to make my own. After my cycle came back and I was able to try the pads I was a BIG fan. I started to design Monkey Bunns cloth pads and eventually had a request for postpartum pads. I think I like my postpartum/overnight ones more than anything. I ended up making some for myself at that time and when I was pregnant with Kangaroo made a whole stash of them for postpartum so I just had to wash them every couple days and could alternate with some disposables when needed. I've rarely used any disposable pads at all. I've tried a few different wash routines and decided to change it all together to become super simple once I tried Femme Rock.

My first routine started as rinse the pads out with a diaper sprayer immediately after use, put in a wetbag that I kept near the toilet, and wash every few days. I would do a cold rinse with a few sprinkles of baking soda (just used a box and dumped some in with the pads) and then a warm cycle with Rockin Green (regular cloth diaper detergent) and then another cold cycle. I would normally lay flat to dry.

When we moved I no longer had a diaper sprayer and when we installed it we installed it in the kid's bathroom because I was using our removable shower head to rinse them. I would rinse each off but things were hectic with 2 kids after my cycle came back so I just washed once at the end of my cycle doing the same routine mentioned above. Seemed to work OK but I was having some staining issues.

When Rockin Green sent me a package of Femme Rock to review I was absolutely stoked (yes really-I get excited over simple things :) ). I waited for my cycle to come very anxious to try it. I decided to keep spraying as normal the first cycle and then at the end wash the pads. I started out again with a couple sprinkles of baking soda in the cold rinse cycle. After the rinse cycle I added just under 2 Tbs of Femme Rock (because I wash my pads alone so it's not a super huge load especially since I do use my menstrual cup some of the time) and did a warm cycle. When I pulled my pads out I was shocked! Most of my stains had come out of my pads that had been there for several cycles!

The next cycle I decided to hold off on the review a bit longer and try again. I decided this time I wouldn't pre-spray the pads but instead just put them all in the wetbag and then wash at the end of my cycle. Some of the organic bamboo velour ones I was just sure had stains all over them-NOPE! NONE!

I HIGHLY recommend trying Rockin Green Femme Rock. It's just as awesome for mama cloth as Rockin Green detergent is for diapers and clothes and everything else. Our water is really funky where we live because we have well water with a softener. The water is full of iron and pretty stinky. My homemade detergent didn't work to get our clothes smelling fresh and neither did anything else I tried. I decided to start using Rockin Green for all of our clothes and I've been really happy with using it with a few squirts of Bac-Out in our sweaty laundry loads (underwear, shirts, socks-any load with any of those). I love it so much that Rockin Green is allowing me to giveaway a bag to you! Please enter using the Rafflecopter entry form below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Updated to add that Rockin Green did give me a package of Femme Rock for my honest review. They are also providing the bag for the giveaway. I provided my honest review of Rockin Green and the free item and giveaway did not contribute to my opinion.

Congrats to the soaker winner-stocking announcement

2012-04-30T18:26:00.000-06:00

Congrats to Rebecca C. who was the winner of the custom Monkey Bunns soaker! She has 48 hours to respond to the email I sent or I will pick another winner. If you didn't win but want to get an awesome Monkey Bunns soaker I'm having a big stocking on Wednesday. I normally only do customs but have some super cute things stocking. I'm also participating in the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt AND another awesome WAHM item giveaway. Check both of those out :)

Real Cloth Diaper Week Day 5: Night time diapering

2012-04-20T09:37:00.000-06:00

This post is part of the Real Diaper Week Blog Hop.

Today I'm going to give some tips on night time diapering. This seems to cause big issues for newbies to cloth. I feel very confident in our night solution after trying just about everything at night.

Everyone has their different answer at night. Some really like pocket diapers for the wicking ability to help baby sleep longer by not feeling wet. Some really like prefolds or flats day and night. Many others seem to go the fitted and wool route. Some others wake baby during the night to change them-but honestly I've always thought that was a bit silly because I REALLY like my sleep :). I've tried everything at night and different things have worked for each kid.

We started cloth diapering Monkey when he was 2.5 months and I pretty much jumped right in. He was ALWAYS a super soaker and would even soak through a disposable at night. I started out by just using pockets with both the one size insert and a doubler. Eventually that didn't work anymore so I started using 2 full inserts. Eventually I tried a hemp insert with a microfiber one. Occasionally I'd use a fitted but I didn't really like them on him all that much-honestly I don't know why! I started using wool on him when he was about 6 months old (upcycled from old sweaters that I'd find). I would sometimes put him in a prefold or fitted with wool over but the pattern I originally used didn't really fit over fitteds well. When his urine issues started we switched exclusively to prefolds and wool and didn't look back. At night I'd lay a hemp insert in his prefold before putting it on. I eventually had to switch to toddler prefolds not really for size as much as for the extra absorbency. I would always lay a microfleece liner on top to help wick the moisture away. We eventually switched to Gerber style undies (thick panel in the center) with a Monkey Bunns overnight wool soaker over top and sometimes we'd even double the undies up so that he'd feel like he was in underwear but not cause a huge puddle in the bed (have I mentioned Monkey is a SUPER deep sleeper?).

Kangaroo was in mostly fitteds when we started cloth diapering him as a newborn. I made his stash of fitteds except for the few Kissaluvs I had. I made them to have a microfleece layer against him so they'd work as night diapers too. I would change him every time he woke up. I normally would put a PUL cover over top because I ran out of time before he was born to make him some overnight covers which REALLY make a big difference if you have a heavy wetter due to oversupply and overactive letdown. When he grew out of his newborn diapers I decided to switch to fitteds at night. We only had a few one size fitteds and a Kissaluvs 1 from when Monkey was a newborn. We stretched the 0s as far as we possibly could. Eventually I heard about Pooters contours. As of writing this they are out of stock again but they are well worth the wait especially for the price! They are only 2 layers of fabric so you will want to add something else inside (a flat, a hemp insert, a hemp preflat, whatever floats your boat) and may want to lay a microfleece liner over top. They are SO soft though and very easy to Snappi, pin, or Boigo. I also was a tester for Fancy Cloth Baby (awesome WAHM!) and her one size fitted diapers. I did a trade with her a couple months ago to get another one size fitted I love them so much! When Kangaroo was a few months old he started to fit in the medium wool covers I made for Monkey so we started to use those while I started making a couple overnights. Now he has several he can wear overnight now that he's in a size Large (I made him 3 upcycled for overnight, bought a Baby Beehinds used, and made him a linen stitch soaker and an overnight one-all are AWESOME for night, nap, and under jeans in a carseat). We do wool day and night most of the time now.

Some tips for Night-time diapering

Whatever you use during the day you will need more absorbency at night. You'll want to add an extra insert regardless of what you try. If you do prefolds or flats consider trying hemp instead or a hemp insert on top of or try laying a flat inside of the prefold or flat.
Don't be afraid to try wool! Night wool is fairly inexpensive-especially for only a few covers. It's really easy to wash-it pretty much involves soaking it for a bit and gently wringing out and laying out to dry. You could even try wool over a pocket diaper if you want to be super sure it won't leak.
Night diapers are usually bulky. It is what it is. To get the best absorbency you're likely going to end up bulky. I've found using stretchy PJs or going up a size in some footie PJs is best. OR you could always just get a couple pairs of wool longies and pair with a t-shirt at night. One other option is a wool sleep sack or wool gown (Monkey Bunns offers wool night gowns for babies with a bottom that closes).
Every baby is different and every phase is different. What works now might not work later or what doesn't work now doesn't mean it won't work later.
Consider adding a microfleece or suedecloth liner to the diaper. These can be really easy to make at home if you don't want to buy any. You can even cut up a thin dollar store fleece blanket to make rectangular liners. When your baby feels dry it helps them sleep longer. Not all babies have issues with this though-it totally depends on your baby. I have noticed that poop is easier to remove on these types of liners though so that's a plus.
You don't HAVE to wake your baby up to change them. Experiment with different options. It is a good idea if baby is already awake to change them so always plan on 1-2 spares if you don't want to use disposables. When you have a sick baby you aren't going to want to run to the store at 2 AM to hurry and get another diaper they can wear at night and you probably won't want to start a load of laundry either.
You may want to be sure to have an extra couple for naps too. Night diapers work very well during nap time if your little one takes a regular nap.

Sweet dreams little one!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a custom Monkey Bunns wool soaker!

*The Amazon links link through my referral program. I receive a small portion of the sales. The money helps us to buy homeschooling books for Monkey and Kangaroo. Thanks in advance for your support! I will also note that I am the owner of Monkey Bunns so I do talk about my products sometimes. I also talk about other products I like because in developing my product I have tried many other things too.*

Day 4 Real Diaper Week-Health Benefits for REAL babies

2012-04-18T23:13:00.001-06:00

This post is part of the Real Diaper Week Blog Hop.

I've mentioned before that Monkey has a weird medical condition that his urine literally burns his skin. Well that's not the only issue he's had when it comes to diapering. As a newborn disposable diapers and wipes hurt his bum. He eventually developed an allergy to disposables. Kangaroo was allergic to all baby wipes from birth-the plan was to get through meconium in disposables. Fortunately he got through meconium quick and we were able to use cloth intermittently until the disposables were gone from the hospital (using cloth wipes all the time).

Back to Monkey-I noticed by the time he was a year he was totally sensitive and allergic to disposables-whenever he wore one he'd get big bumps all over his bum. By the time he was about 15 months he developed his weird medical condition. I knew all along it was something in his urine (my husband who is a chemist agreed and knew when he smelled his urine something was up). The ER doctor (had to take him to get his bladder emptied with a catheter) said he just had yeast and a staph infection. 3 different doctors at the Pediatrician's office recommended various elimination diets and to see an allergist. They also recommended switching to disposables because "cloth holds urine next to their skin" though one said that disposables do too and recommended just keeping with potty training. The allergist was boggled by the condition. Eventually he ended up going to a urologist because (TMI ALERT!) he would scab over and couldn't urinate. Right before we went we had to try yet another catheter-granted this time was about a year later. The urologist gave him a steroid cream to try and take down the swelling on the outside to see if that would help. It didn't. Monkey ended up having a scope to see what was going on after a kidney ultrasound (THAT was fun pregnant, super sick, and trying to wrangle a not-quite-2 1/2-year-old while they did that). He also had a meatomy (TMI again-basically they made the opening larger) and was re-circumcised because in the urologist's words the job they did when he was a newborn looked like they didn't really do anything at all and that extra skin they didn't remove was swelling up and pinching his urethra off. This helped a lot but didn't take care of the root of the problem. He then saw a genetic specialist and she was also stumped but said she knew it was genetic and likely his baby brother would have issues and highly recommended making sure he was circumcised and even said we should keep him in cloth because it seemed to be a lot more breathable and kept the problems down a lot more than in disposables.

So after MUCH experimentation during all of this we found that prefolds (didn't know about flats back then) and wool were our best and most breathable options when he wasn't wearing underwear. I started making wool because of this-learned to knit even. After trying MANY diaper rash creams and detergents (which it wasn't a detergent issue but he is allergic to many of them) we found that Northern Essence Diaper Rash Salve and Better "Butt"er cream are the very best creams plus they don't cause any cloth diaper issues (no build up on pockets, no stains).

Cloth diapers are the REAL solution to help my REAL babies when they have mega sensitivity issues. If you have a sensitive baby I recommend trying at least a few diapers and giving them a few weeks. The very best would be to jump in full time to give baby a break from the disposables (see my last post on how to do this on a tight budget). I know that many families see a big difference-I know it was a huge difference with both of my boys!

***In your comments I WILL NOT accept any debate on our decision or other's decisions to circumcise. This is NOT a post that is open to this kind of debate. We made our decision together and for our second son it was especially based off of Monkey's issues.***

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a custom Monkey Bunns wool soaker!

Real Diaper Week Day 3: Cloth Diapering on a Budget

2012-04-18T13:05:00.001-06:00

This post is part of the Real Diaper Week Blog Hop.

Do you remember the Flat's Challenge? If not I will remind you about it a little. It was a challenge (last year) that Kim from Dirty Diaper Laundry challenged people to because of this article. Basically families that were feeling the pinch would dump out disposable diapers or even rinse them out and reuse them over and over. This is NOT healthy for any baby. It's not healthy to NOT change baby's diapers and disposable diapers are meant to be thrown away.

I felt inspired so I joined. I wanted to join to show to myself and others that it is possible to cloth diaper inexpensive and easily even if you don't have access to a washer. As long as you have clean water and even detergent from the store in a pinch you're good to go. Here's my first post about joining. This is about why we cloth diaper and our newborn stash. We still have basically the same set up but pretty much use flats and prefolds exclusively (with wool and sometimes PUL). If you're looking for organization ideas I think you'll find that post to be very helpful. It's very easy to keep diapering simple if you have a great way to organize them on the changing table.

This post is wonderfully written by Cotton Babies. It links to several different ways to cloth diaper when you have nothing or very little. Here's how I addressed the issue last year. This is a collection of my pre-flats challenge posts. This is from another blogger-everything she used for the challenge came from Walmart.

Here's the nitty-gritty though. This is a link back to the original post written last year.

We've been in a situation in our VERY recent past (during my pregnancy with Baby K) that we wouldn't have been able to buy diapers period. No cloth, no nothing. We could barely buy groceries. Ok, let's be honest-we had to have help to even buy groceries. We made "too much" to qualify for any assistance but had too much going out in medical bills and everything else to be able to afford anything really. I sat home other than my appointments with my midwife. Monkey and I went to the library every so often but we couldn't go on any playdates or see other people. It got to the point we could only drive to church and to see family once in a while. It was rough and super embarrassing. I cried a lot. I didn't feel like doing much including blogging. I still made sure Monkey was reading books often but that's about all we did! We had already canceled everything we possibly could that we weren't under contract for (stupid satellite-we couldn't afford to break the contract though!). Our A/C broke and we couldn't afford to have anyone look at it. We sat here burning up in the heat and trying to save money by keeping stuff off. It sucked. I was SUPER grateful we used cloth diapers because Monkey needed something to keep him dry at bed and nap (he's been day trained since 18 months). I'm not saying this to get sympathy or anything-it is what it is. We learned a lot and I learned how to help us eat super cheap and we learned to be grateful for VERY small blessings. I didn't think at all to wash laundry by hand though or anything like that.

The flats challenge opened up my mind to washing something by hand besides wool diaper covers or some of those things you have to hand wash. Hubby lived in Brazil for 2 years (while serving his LDS mission) and had to wash his laundry by hand. He was fortunate to have a clothesline-I don't have that "luxury" nor am I allowed to with my HOA. I did find out about this: $5 indoor clothes line and we plan to make one once we move. I do have a small drying rack but it's just enough to hang dry the kids clothes (we have a high heat only drier so I hang dry most of my clothes and the boys' clothes-I have one little shelf in my laundry room plus this drying rack and use our towel rack in our bathroom and our banisters for diapers, clothes, etc). I also found out about this: Breathable Washer (I also learned about this but didn't think it will suit our needs of washing laundry for our whole family while hubby is in graduate school). Learning about these from links from Dirty Diaper Laundry and other ladies doing the challenge I decided that I *CAN* do our laundry by hand if I need to. We won't be able to afford laundry facilities and we possibly won't be able to get an apartment or rent a home with washer and drier hookups. I wasn't even open to this a few weeks ago. I guess I can sit here and say I'm open to doing it with the luxury of a working washer and drier but I do feel like I can do it if that's what I need to do.

I'm super grateful that Kim started this. Yet another small blessing. Also, we were able to get some stuff paid off and got some SUPER good news when it came to insurance so I decided with the little extra we have to help a couple other mamas out by buying their flats for the challenge. I offered to pay the mama back that bought ours (I'm still VERY grateful for her help-I didn't think we were going to be able to do it but we got really good news and were able to pay for things that we didn't think we could!) but she said to buy them for another mom instead. I put out the offer and had two respond fairly quickly. I wish I could have helped a third but I can't. I hope the two mamas I'm helping will be able to use the diapers for a long time to come. I know we'll be able to use them on Baby K's tushie and any other babies that we will welcome while hubby is in grad school or after.

It sucks to not have and not be able to get diapers. It is possible to use towels and even cut and do minimal sewing to make your own diapers if you're in a pinch. Hopefully someone has found this post informative. It's very possible to cloth diaper when you don't have much money. There's also cloth diapering banks that serve poor families and help them to keep babies in cloth or help them to free up money to purchase their own diapers. Kim from Dirty Diaper Laundry did an excellent post recently on diaper banks and included info on several. Diaperswappers is a great place to find inexpensive or sometimes even free for shipping diapers. Many mamas would love to help a family in need too!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a custom Monkey Bunns wool soaker!

EDIT:

This morning the Second Flat's challenge was revealed. While I do not plan on participating due to my baby's medical issues (my diapers didn't get clean enough) and my out of control asthma (I know there's no way I could handle the washing right now) I highly recommend participating. Here's more info.

Real Diaper Week Day 2: Elimination Communication-ish?

2012-04-17T00:00:00.000-06:00

This post is part of the Real Diaper Week Blog Hop.

Using cloth diapers eliminates A TON of waste that goes into the landfill. If you also use cloth wipes you reduce your impact even more. Another way to really reduce your impact is to do Elimination Communication-or diaper-free baby. This CERTAINLY isn't for everyone and it isn't for us for the first little while however we introduced the potty really early to Monkey. We followed the Diaper Free Before 3 method (see link below).

This is Monkey ripping in to his first birthday cake in underwear. He was mostly trained by his first birthday because we introduced the potty at about 10.5 months when he started following me to the bathroom. He quickly picked it up and started holding it until the regular times I would put him on the potty. He was mostly trained by a year and then had a little bit of a regression at 15 months when he started having his urine issues. He was fully trained by 18 months-during the day. He still bedwets at night sometimes but we figure that's likely genetic and he is a SUPER DEEP sleeper.

Kangaroo is a different story.

This is his first time on the potty. He has never actually GONE on the potty. Ok I take that back-I caught half of a poop on the potty. We've just been so sick all winter I haven't gone with it but probably will this summer.

What do I recommend when early potty training?

Patience!
Undies or nakey bum-putting kiddos in waterproof trainers doesn't help you know when they go and doesn't help them feel the trickle down their leg. Not much different than a diaper. If you aren't comfortable with them running around naked then a regular pair of undies or if they're a super heavy wetter the Gerber or Carter's style undies that have a thick panel in the center are great.
STAY HOME for at least a few days.
Watch the clock-the first day or two take them every 10-15 minutes and help them sit there for a few minutes. If they go great. If not say "Let me know if you need to go and I'll help you." Remind them to say "Potty" or sign potty.

If they don't get it at first just keep sitting them on the potty before and after meals, before and after a bath, etc. All kids get it on their own time but I really believe in the benefits of introducing the potty early!

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This is an Amazon affiliate link. Clicking this link and purchasing through this link helps us to buy homeschooling books for our boys. Thanks in advance!

Don't forget to enter my giveaway for a custom Monkey Bunns wool soaker!

Real Diaper Week and the Great Cloth Diaper Hunt (GCDH)

2012-04-16T12:51:00.000-06:00

It's that time again for hunters to register for the GCDH (Great Cloth Diaper Hunt) for May. Monkey Bunns (my business) is one of many sponsors-it's my 4th time being a sponsor. This week I'm going to be busily working on finishing Kangaroo's second pair of spring/summer convertible pants (here's a picture of his first pair) so I can get a few fun things stocked for the hunt. I normally don't stock because I like to knit custom measurements, colors, etc so you get exactly what you want but I think the things I'm working on now are going to be super fun :).

Never heard of the GCDH before? It's been on a hiatus for the last year and a half. It's under new management now but should have the same awesome hunt goodness. It's like a scavenger hunt on different websites for the infamous "owl diaper" that you click on. Each day you hunt you're eligible to win a prize, each diaper you get gets you closer to winning a Grand prize, 1st place, 2nd place, and so on. It's free to hunt so why not? Be careful though-it's addicting! Here's where you can sign up and don't forget to tell them that I sent you (Monkey Bunns). The extra cool thing-it's not ALL cloth diapers so even if you're expecting or your kiddo is out of diapers it's still fun to play! For that reason Monkey Bunns donated an extra cool-non-cloth-diapering prize.

Many sponsors also offer a special discount code-the same code is good for all the sponsors that offer it. Monkey Bunns is offering the code again-10% off anything! If you want a cute spring or summer romper for your baby, or a diaper cover, or convertible shorties/longies, or a dress for your baby girl, or a skirtie, or a crayon roll, or a hat, or an outfit to bring your baby home from the hospital, or in-stock leggins (or even knit ones), or anything else your heart desires you can get 10% off the total :).

Just a quick reminder about my giveaway going on right now for an awesome custom wool soaker-knit to your measurements or my approximate size-measurements. In winner's choice of overnight or normal and winner's choice of colors. Can't get much better than that! If you can't wait to win you can purchase one (custom) here. I could even do an awesome linen stitch one for you if you'd like-they're awesome under pants and overnight.

Homeschool Sick Days

2012-04-16T12:27:00.000-06:00

We've had A LOT of sick days lately. Everyone approaches sick days differently when homeschooling. Some families see it as a total day off, some choose to cancel or go with the day depending on how bad it is, some just power through or have a lighter day. We've had A LOT of sick days this winter. It's been NON-STOP sick since October here (ok except Christmas Day and like the day after and then again Spring Break and half the week after). It's alternated between colds and flu. It's always from one of a few places-church (mostly here), going grocery shopping (because we seriously didn't go anywhere else in the week so I KNOW it was from the store-and we don't even put kids in the cart :( ), LLL toys (even though I KNOW I washed hands well after playing-Kangaroo always gets sick first when it's LLL), or if we go ANYWHERE any other kid has ever been-yes seriously. This time we all picked up colds and I'm pretty sure it came from Monkey's birthday fun at the bounce place.

BAZINGA!

Yes they had a blast. I keep reminding myself of that as I wipe the snot away from Kangaroo's nose 100,000,000 times in a day. Proof that hand washing somehow isn't enough for our family I guess!

Yeah, we're skipping school AGAIN. Hopefully we'll get some reading in today. We all feel like crap though.

Do you skip school on sick days?

Happy Birthday Monkey and Giveaway!

2012-04-12T18:55:00.001-06:00

Yesterday was Monkey's 4th birthday!

In celebration of his birthday I am giving away 1 Monkey Bunns soaker in the winners choice of size and color (from what I can get locally-I will be happy to work this out with the winner). It can be a regular day soaker or an overnight soaker-winner's choice! If you can't wait to win you can purchase one through my custom listing on my website here. Don't forget to "Spot" an item on Hyena Cart :). Enter to win in the Rafflecopter below! Be sure to fill out all fields including your @ name on Twitter (I'm @monkeybunns so in the box I'd put @monkeybunns) so that I can verify. Also be sure when you Tweet to copy the actual URL of the Tweet so I can verify-any entries missing this will be deleted.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Long time no post!

2012-04-12T13:07:00.000-06:00

I know it's been a LONG time since I posted. Since I last posted we started our first day of Kindergarten, have had A LOT of sickies (flus, colds, etc), Kangaroo celebrated his first birthday, etc. We're still doing our school year and because of lots of breaks with sickness we will certainly be continuing in the summer. Here are some pictures to enjoy from our school year.

Monkey found Daddy's goggles that he has to wear while TAing his lab

First day of Kindergarten! Almost 3.5 years

Our lovely school room/office-Monkey's table and book cases with reading books

Need to put the flag brace up (still)-this has all of our curriculum books and school books as well as churchy books and some adult books (novels, etc-nothing dirty!)

Puzzles on top, Art supplies, other misc things all organized in the clear filing cabinet, our normal filing stuff (and homeschool stuff) in the mettle one. You can also see the puzzles under the puppets and box of I See Sam books to the side

Kid bookshelfs

Desk and whiteboard-at a level that Hubby can write while sitting at his desk doing homework.

Maps, Bookshelf with hubby's books on the bottom, my knitting books, patterns, etc on the center, novels and misc cds on the top shelf

Another view-to the left you can see where we keep our math manipulatives on top of another clear filing cabinet with yarn and other craft stuff.

A better view

Close up to show the organization-organized chaos :). In the bin in the center are all the white board markers and crayons, next to that are stamps/ink/painting things

The basket in the back has some pencils and what not, Melissa and Doug letters and numbers magnets in the center, books for the day next to that. Bob books and other reading books on the top shelf, Fablehaven, Chronicles of Narnia and Harry Potter in the center, Board books and books that Monkey can write with whiteboard markers on bottom

The supplies are all organized inside

Our clock and calendar wall-eventually there will be a flag mounted to the side

All of our school books of different varieties

Monkey excited to begin his day with scripture study/Book of Mormon reader

Kangaroo also excited to play!

Another day-how he lined his Kangaroo counters (he did this on his own-silly boy!)

Kangaroo also likes to get in the action with the Kangaroo counters (and all the other math manipulatives)

A day at the park

Boys in their mama-made Halloweeen costumes. Kangaroo is a frog, Monkey is a spider

Using linking cubes to count the days of school

Whiteboard we added later showing the days of school. It's up high because Kangaroo got ahold of the magnets and totally ruined one :(

Fall in Oregon

Kangaroo in our backyard with all the beautiful fall leaves

Also in our back yard :)

I really like this one of Monkey

Sweet boys!

Monkey playing hide-and-seek in our front yard

All my boys!

Super embarrassing I know but I HAD to throw in Kangaroo's first time on the potty-he still hasn't ever gone in it :(

Sweet baby!

Ok, not so sweet baby-what he did to Daddy's glasses in a matter of seconds while I was going to the bathroom

First snowfall here

Yeah-it kinda picked up. This was the worst of that first snowfall.

A couple days later we had record flooding in our city-here's around our house-back

Back-side

This is supposed to go on a banana when you cut one open and don't finish it. Kangaroo likes to bite it-I thought it was silly :)

First steps!

More first steps!

Monkey working on some words/word families. He is starting to spell now

Kangaroo LOVES the swings

Another snowfall-our second I believe. We made a snowman!

One of Kangaroo's sick days-so sick he zonked on the box :(

Monkey underwent allergy testing and a couple days later had a peanut test and now he can have peanuts again!

The boys helping-doesn't happen often so I HAD to get a picture!

Our Spring Break trip to Newport with my parents-from Cobble Beach

Pretty lighthouse

Another view from Cobble Beach

Yet another view from Cobble Beach

Monkey climbing!

I really like this one :)

My big guys :)

This is at the OSU Aquarium in Newport

Newport!

Kangaroo's first cookie (my pictures here on out are a little out of order-this was February)

100 day pizza!

Making a 100 day necklace

He wouldn't look at the camera and didn't like wearing it at first :)

Counting other special 100 day treats

See what I mean by out of order haha! My dad took this picture of me taking a picture of my guys climbing lol!

It was SOOOO windy-Kangaroo had to look out at his Grandpa though :)

Rockin Green REMIX Review

2012-04-12T11:45:00.001-06:00

This was supposed to post long ago. UGH!

Rockin Green released a Remix of their former formula early fall. I had the opportunity to sample and test it. Here's the awesome package they sent!

I immediately used it! They released a new scent just before-Earth, Wind, and Orchid. I was able to try it out in the new formula and I was amazed.

I have super hard water in Utah-as in I normally strip every month with Calgon. You can see more about my routine in a previous post and on Rockin Green's blog :). Anyways I added 2 Tbs in the wash after doing a cold rinse-it's better if you remove the diapers first but I found with Remix you don't necessarily have to-it dissolves even better in the water than the previous formula.

I ended up stripping the load of diapers to get off old detergent. After using it for a month (I wash about once a week) I noticed I didn't need to strip off the stink! The Remix helps me go longer between strippings which saves me time and money!

You can find Rockin Green here or also at your favorite diaper retailer. We use it and love it on ALL of our laundry.

Rockin Green provided me with samples free of charge to write an honest review of the product.

The opinions in this post are my honest opinions, not that of Rockin Green.

Wordless Wednesday: Homeschool PE

2011-09-28T15:02:00.001-06:00