Crunchy Cupcakes

Closing up shop

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 01:53:00 +0000

I've been thinking about making my blog private for awhile now and I really think it's time for the safety of myself and my family. In a few days I will be making the change from public access meaning anyone and everyone can read to private.

If you would like to be added to my private readers email me at crunchybabe at crunchycupcakes.com

Thank you!

Juno Rescued Beagle needs our help!

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:14:00 +0000

Some of you may already know her but Juno was part of The Great Beagle Rescue the summer we adopted Ace. Over 100 Beagles were rescued from a testing lab in New Jersey that had closed it's doors and left the animals to die. You can watch some about the rescue HERE. Be prepared to shed a few tears- some sad but mostly happy tears.

At any rate, the woman that adopted Juno, posting as Juno, has taken on cruelty testing from a rescued lab Beagle's perspective. I have been following Juno Rescued Beagle on facebook since shortly after she created her page, and on her site after she got her own site. The past several days Juno has been downtrodden and feels somewhat hopeless...

Having two Beagles myself, and knowing how great they are Juno and some Beagles on the Beagle forum I'm on have taught me about cruelty testing and because of that I'm a conscience shopper. One of the reasons they use beagles in lab testing is because they are such good natured dogs...isn't that sick and twisted?

I was wondering if you all could either go by her facebook page, her site, and/or email words of encouragement. She's moved from small stuff to big stuff and is hitting a lot of ignorance and brick walls as she attempts to get her message across. It's disheartening for her. If you're not sure how to encourage her, if you could just stop by and, after browsing her site or page, let her know that because of her you're looking into cruelty testing, compassionate shopping, etc. that would be great too!

Here's Juno Rescued Beagle's site:
http://junorescuedbeagle.com/home/

Juno Rescued Beagle's facebook page (which you can also get to by the above link):
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100001370390032

And for what it's worth, I gain nothing by posting these links, I simply hope to help someone whom works their butts off for the greater good, and for Beagles (and the other animals), to reduce and one day hopefully eliminate unnecessary cruelty testing.
Here are my beagles, Abby (red and white) and Ace (tri-colored) and as you're reading this thousands of animals, Beagles, Rabbits, Mice, etc. are being hurt, harmed, used, and abused in the name of Science and testing when doesn't require a lot of products, like those from P&G, to be animal tested.

Two different shoes

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:06:00 +0000

Parenting is imperfection that soothes the soul, fills the heart, and eases the mind....if we let it. Parenting is showing our children their way in this world and teaching them that they are capable of making a difference, no matter how small.

There are those parents that insist on micro-managing everything about their day, their child, their home...and what do they have to show for it? No, my children don't have the perfect hair that I've spent half an hour doing, they make messes, they wear mismatched clothes that they get dirty, they explore. I've cleaned marker off the wall more times then I like to remember... does any of that make them bad kids or me a bad parent? Quite the contrary. It's moments like that, looking at the world through the eyes of a child that you see what is truly important.

You may be pleasantly surprised what your child can teach you and the unexpected joy that comes from them if you just let them....be. I don't know why Kadie coming out with two different "pretty shoes" on touched me so much but it did-it was so cute. She touched my heart and soul.

There are parents that feel they never can be sad or angry in front of their children. You don't have to be strong all the time or be perfect to be a parent. Let your child see you angry or sad, let them learn how to express those emotions in a positive way. Let them see how anger can motivate and cause action. Let your child see you break and say "I can't do this anymore!" only to see you DO IT because you are a strong person. Pick your battles but if something is truly important to you or to your children's well being or safety don't falter. Show them that some laws just can't be broken.

Sometimes you have to break down walls to build bridges.

Wow...just wow!

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 00:04:00 +0000

I just everyone that comes across this post either by feed, email, regular reader, or search watch this. It is incredibly eye opening, especially to me as mother that had her first baby before the age of 15.

If you read my blog through feed and email and don't see the video below please come to my blog directly to watch it.

This is why I volunteer in rescue

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:39:00 +0000

I can't transport or foster, or donate hundreds of dollars of my own money...but I can do something and those things usually are things I can do from my home and my computer.

"I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something.
And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do."
-Edward Everett Hale

With my oldest daughter's help I made this slideshow. I did it over the last two or three evenings, either after Daddy got home or when the other four kids were in bed. Please, I'm begging you, watch it and share it...even if you're not in New York someone you may have on your facebook or reader of your blog may be-you may very well help one of the Hubbard's Hounds dog find their forever family!

For those that read my blog through a feed reader or email please come to my blog to see the video or go directly to the video on YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/rescueslideshow

You can find Hubbaard's Hounds at http://www.hubbardshounds.com
and on facebook https://www.facebook.com/HubbardsHoundsDogRescue

The miracle of life

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 02:12:00 +0000

One year ago I was just beginning Baby Valentine's pregnancy. We've overcome many hurdles, made it through a very high risk pregnancy without complications, and had an very fulfilling birth experience over the last year. I have also had a handful of experiences this past year that have validated me as a person-a woman and as an attached mother particularly.

I have seen my local communities devastated by flooding (September 2011) and have seen the worst sort of people come to light in that chaos and everyday people become heroes and miracle workers. I have heard utterly and completely gruesome stories of animal abuse and neglect, sometimes for money sometimes for disturbing and sick fun, sometimes for no reason at all. I have seen people like Kim and Susan from Hubbard's Hounds Dog Rescue and a hundred other people all come together to save one dog. I have been blessed to be able to adopt not one, but two of those dogs. I thought I was rescuing them but they have given me more than I could ever give them.

I have found recently found two things I thought would be lost to me forever.

I am extremely blessed.

The NEW bumGenius Freetime AIO, in Mirror!

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 02:58:00 +0000

I got these a couple days ago from Squishy Tushy. She was one of the few that actually had the BG Freetimes in Mirror in-stock and ready to ship earlier this week. I wanted to take some pictures and give you an early run down of these new AIOs.

FLUFFY MAIL!

The Freetimes attached, overlapping inserts with microfiber on the bottom and "sueded inner fabric" on top, against the skin

Both attached inserts extended (folded out)

Both attached inserts have a pocket to add extra absorbency in them on the underside of the attached edge

Leg opening/gusset (very similar if not the same as the typical BG 4.0s)

I used Macro to try to get a close shot of the toppers, it's very soft!

The back of the wrap

I am a Prep wash fanatic so here they are

On Noah (14lbs 8oz, almost 3 1/2 months), virtually the same fit as a BG 4.0

Great leg fit on Noah (14lbs 8oz, almost 3 1/2 months), virtually same fit on him as the BG 4.0s

My happy boy

The end...or should I say the bottom!

Brain update

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:19:00 +0000

Have you all see those stupid brain graphics created for the sole purpose of poking fun at the opposite sex? Well, I posted this one on facebook and titled it "That explains it!" last night

I checked my facebook this morning and discovered that Daddy had posted this one and titled it "Right back at ya"

That led me to create this one which I call "Jamie's Brain". I think this is more reflective of a woman's true brain, don't you? Not all of us are all about shoes and making headaches for men. Some of us actually have some substance to us and aren't helpless little creatures waiting for a big and strong [albeit oblivious] man to come rescue us-some of us even do the rescuing while we handle our children and households almost all on our own. Take THAT male brain!

The NEW Thirsties Duo AIO (with pictures)

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:57:00 +0000

I purchased a brand spankin' new Thirsties Duo AIO (all in one) in size 2 from Kissed by the Moon the other day, received it yesterday, prepped it and put Noah in it today.

How it came from Kissed by the Moon (rise unsnapped)

Leg opening/gusset. Single gusset, not double like most other Thirsties products
(rise snapped down to the smallest setting)

Leg opening/gusset

I put my arm thru it to show the "tunnel" system. This allows for faster drying time and ability to stuff if needed

Showing the underside of the absorbent part of the AIO (Microfleece on the bottom)

Size comparison: Snapped down to the smallest rise and smallest waist setting. Comapring size to AppleCheeks size 1 (orange), Thirsties AIO (brown), BG 4.0 OS snapped down to smallest rise (yellow)

Noah is 14lbs 80z at almost 3 1/2 months old. He was born at 38w3d at 6lbs 15oz if you can believe it! He is on the smallest waist and rise settings of the size 2, but I think I'll open the rise one snap setting next time. As you can see the waist kind of, eh, rolls out, for lack of better description. I hope we don't get links because of that. Other than that, it's very soft, there's a little puff in the backside but the elastic is tight without being too tight. Great fit around the legs and waist, besides the inner popping/rolling out. Personally, I think they'd fix that completely if they used double waist snaps. It did take a little more adjustment to prevent "wing droop" and gaping but that's to be expected with a diaper I've never used before.

Great fit around the leg! A little "poofy" in the back (but I love the fluffy butts). It has a very soft inner and the elastic is tight enough to keep the mess in and the fit nice without digging into the skin or leave marks.

It dried very quickly, faster than the Knickernappies SuperDos and BG sized AIO. It also held up very well with absorbency, after one prep wash, through nap time and then some. I think it gets the Noah smile of approval!

I wasn't sure which size to order originally because the sizing for the current duo products we have is kinda funky with Noah right now. He's just about out of the size 1 duo diaper and size 1 duo wraps but the size 2 duo wrap is still too big/baggy on him. I am able to put him in the size 2 even thought it's big but I have to position it very carefully and check for gaping. He still has a little room to grow in the size 1 duo fitteds, but I don't think it'll last him to 18lbs or 9 months. I'm glad I went with the size 2 duo AIO! This seems to fit him very well.

If you decide to order from Kissed by the moon because of this post please consider ordering through this linked image. I get an affiliate credit if you do so. THANK YOU!

Noah's appointment update

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 02:37:00 +0000

I took Noah in to see Dr. S. first thing this morning. He spent like an hour in the room with us. I gave him all the details, everything the way I noticed/preceived it in as much detail as possible, and originally he said that babies change their breathing, IE they go from breathing heavy and fast to light and slow, etc. I knew in my gut he was wrong and told him I didn't think that was it. After a physical exam and a lot of questions and discussion the doctor determined that Noah is severely congested in his nose. He also noticed that it sounded like Noah had some gunk in his chest which he later diagnosed officially as Bronchiolitis) and an ear infection in his left ear.

Oh and he's 14lbs 8oz (75%) and I think 24 1/2 inches (just about 50%).

Regarding me thinking that Noah had stopped breathing what he ascertained was that his nose was so congested (babies breathe through their nose) and that his mucus was so thick that it was such hard work to breathe through his that that Noah just...didn't breathe. For those that don't know Dr. S. he is very hesitant to say anything that is solid and/or medically or scientifcally backed. For him to say that Noah did stop breathing and why he thinks that happened-holy shit! I mentioned to his nurse and to him that they (general they not the office) beat "SIDS! SIDS! SIDS!" into your head and to notice what I noticed not once, but twice in the spam of a few minutes...he just needed to be checked out. I'm so glad we took him in when we did!

Noah will be on a breathing treatments starting tomorrow, has an antibiotic, saline spray and a nasal aspirator, a cool mist humdidifer, and various other home treatments (Johnson's Vapor bath, etc.). Dr. S also told me to keep doing what I'm doing as far as attached parenting and co-sleeping. I told him I was kind of nervous about coming in there and telling them I co-sleep because of all the negative crap that goes aorund in the U.S. mainstream medical fields about co-sleeping. He told me that while he is not suppose to recommend it that we are probably the lowest risks with co-sleeping (he wasn't premature, no smoking in the home, I don't drink and parent, etc.) and that us co-sleeping, and "keeping him close to me" like with babywearing, especially now, was probably a good idea.

The thing is and I think what threw me for a loop was that he doesn't look sick. Yeah, I knew he was congested and I knew he had green poop but damn! He was much sicker than he was/is leading on. All day today he was pleasant (albeit clingy), smiley, cooing and talking up a storm. The picture to the left I took just a few minutes ago. He doesn't look THAT sick, does he?

I keep hearing "SIDS often occurs in association with relatively minor respiratory (mild cold) and gastrointestinal infections (vomiting and diarrhea) echo in my head. It makes me afraid to go to sleep, even if he is near me but I am so thankful for co-sleeping and attached parenting! Now I truly do feel, thanks to co-sleeping. I was able to know right away that something didn't seem right at the time and follow up on it today. I keep thinking about everything they try to beat into your heads about SIDS And keep thinking about the "What ifs...."

If it wasn't for the face that I woke him up when I put him down in the bouncer and he looked tired you wouldn't there there was anything wrong with him going by these pictures!

Co-sleeping may have saved Noah

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 13:10:00 +0000

On good nights, or should I say not on bad nights, Noah wakes around three in the morning to nurse. This morning, I had woken up at one or so, saw that all was happy and well and went back to sleep. Around four Noah woke up to nurse. I noticed that he sounded very snotty so I grabbed a tissue and wiped his nose here and there. He finished nursing and we started settling back down to sleep, with him in the crook of my arm as usual. He sneezed twice and then I didn't hear his noisy breathing or feel him breathing. I shook him a little bit, he seemed to gasp and then started with the noisy breathing again right away. You don't want to think your baby stopped breathing so my mind automatically thought that he was breathing fine and just so peaceful that I didn't feel or hear it and he gasped because I started him a little bit when I shook him. I started settling back down, he sneezed twice again, and again the same thing-I didn't hear or feel him breathing. I shook him gently again. He gasped again and I started to hear him breathe and feel him move. Once? Eh, weird things happen, things get overlooked because you're tired, it's dark...yada yada. Twice is more than coincidental! I was up and out of bed with Noah so fast making sure he was OK! I headed to the living room so I could turn on the lights to see him better, watch him closely, keep him inclined, take care of his nose, have the phone handy just in case, and run through what I know about CPR for babies.

Noah ended up waking up fully in all the commotion. He had good skin color, his breathing was regular, it wasn't as labored as it seemed to be when we were nursing or settling back down, and nothing else seemed abnormal. I ended up waking Daddy up a couple minutes later because I wanted Daddy to hold him upright and watch him while I got the stuff together to take care of his goop. I told Daddy what happened so he watched him and agreed with me that nothing, aside from the goopy nose, seemed to be going on. Noah was moving around as normal, smiling, reacting and interacting with me, and bright eyed.

I thought it would be best for me to take a shower while someone was home to have eyes on Noah at all times, typically I take him in the bathroom with me and he sits in his bouncer, so Daddy held him and watched him for a few minutes then brought him into the bathroom to sit with me and he got the benefits of steam. I have a feeling today is going to be a sicky day. Thankfully I have baby wearing to help me and my favorite baby wrap in my tool belt! Baby wearing him in the wrap will keep him upright, which I think helps the goop drain, as well as keeping him close to me so I can feel, see, and hear him. It is also very comforting to him and I am happy I can provide him with that comfort and closeness. Aside from the goopy nose and the two teeth that I think are getting ready to pop through, it looks like they're sitting right under the gum now, he's fine. We're taking him to the doctor, not sure of time but I'll post an update once we go. Right now they're saying the only thing open is Thursday. I do NOT want to wait that long. I'm going to make sure his doctor knows exactly what happened, get his opinion, and pick his brain about the SIDS/respiratory illness link I mention below.

I have suffered a lot of "Oh my God! You're going to kill your baby!" with a handful of crib sleepers/independent sleepers lately because of bad publicity co-sleeping has received recently and it was wearing on me. I have talked about there being safe and unsafe ways of co-sleeping as well as things that increase risk of SIDS within the home (like smoking, or the parents being intoxicated and sleeping with their child) as well as with the child (prematurity, formula feeding, etc.) but it seems to fall on deaf ears as they reference things like this news article and the infamous baby sleeping with knife anti-cosleeping AD. What they don't seem to understand are two very important things.

One, not all children that die of SIDS are co-slept and not all co-sleeping children die of SIDS. All of my children have co-slept to some extent and the four other ones in the home are happy, healthy kids.
Two, there are other things besides co-sleeping that increase risk of SIDS. If you go to the American SIDS Institute's site you will see a list of many other things that can reduce the risk of SIDS on the page titled "Reducing the Risk of SIDS" including breastfeeding (Parents number 7), room sharing (Parents number 3), not smoking/not exposing the baby to smoke (Parents-to-be number 2 and Parents number 7). Why do these parents terrified of SIDS choose not to breastfeed-something that has proven benefit- or even room share, and allow people to smoke around their children-something that has proven negative impact of their child-, but focus on co-sleeping as a big factor in SIDS? These are the same parents that go out and spend $200 on an Angelcare Baby Monitor to put under their baby's crib that's in another room to detect movement and sounds.

Did you know that "SIDS often occurs in association with relatively minor respiratory (mild cold) and gastrointestinal infections (vomiting and diarrhea). " (Reducing the Risk of SIDS Parents number 8)? Either did I! Like I said above, you don't want to think that your baby stopped breathing but like Daddy and I were discussing neither one of us can say whether he stopped breathing or not for certain. What I do know is how thankful I am for co-sleeping! If I had not been co-sleeping who knows what would have happened. Maybe I would have walked him to another room, put him flat on his back in a crib, and left the room blissfully unaware. Maybe I would have left him in the crib, heard the first set of sneezes over the baby monitor and thought they were cute, or maybe I wouldn't have heard them at all because I was dozing in my baby-free bed already not knowing about the lack of breathing or movement that followed, and not knowing SIDS often occurs with minor colds. As I sit here and type this Noah is snoozing quietly and peacefully, but if I hadn't been near him enough to know that something didn't seem right and something was in fact wrong....I don't even want to think about it! I don't need an Angelcare when I have a Mama cares monitor -there are just some things that you can't detect from another bed in another room.

If you're still unswayed about the benefits of co-sleeping (say hi to a happy Noah) these more scientifically minded articles may be of interest to you:

Noah is THREE months old!

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 21:16:00 +0000

Noah is three months old today! It blows my mind to think that this time three months ago I was in the labor tub at the hospital. We weighed him on the house scale and he's 13lbs. He doesn't really look chunky at all, I think he carries his weight much differently than B and K.

He's wearing one of the outfits I loved on his big brother <3 Don't mind the sad look, he was tired-not sad.

Here's a much happier one after his nap

Chomping, er, trying to chomp, on his hand. He has started to bite down when he's nursing-I really do think he is teething the two middle bottom teeth!

Mr Fuzz Head and I are still breastfeeding! I do not plan to start solids for at least three more months and it really blows my mind that so many people in my mommy groups are starting solids early because THEY feel like it or because they think solids will help their baby sleep through the night and NOT because they're well read or have any real knowledge on why and when solids should be started to benefit their own baby.

Poor guy has baby patterned baldness, like his comb over? HA! His newborn dark hair is falling out and his hair seems to be growing in fuzzy and blonde (like in the above picture)

He's grown out of his newborn stash of prefolds and covers. He's also almost out of the Thirsties duo wraps size 1, Thirsties duo diaper size 1. There is no way on God's green earth those things would last him until 9 months or 18lbs like the company says, unfortunately. He's not an unusually large baby and he's also not chunky like Kadie was when she fit well into the medium fab fitteds and size 2 duo wraps. The Thirsties duo fitteds size 1 still fit him but the rise is shorter than I would prefer on him, even fully extended but they do fit nice around the legs and waist. BUT the size 2 duo wraps are still very big and baggy on him and leak if I'm not very careful and position them just right. I saw that Thirsties has come out with a one size AIO for about $16.00! I think I may order one to try but because of the funkiness with the sizing we're experiencing with our current Thirsties products right now I'm not sure what size to get. They also do not have the double gussets that I love on the other Thirsties products but the BG XS AIOs we used during his newborn days didn't have a double gusset either and they worked very well.

The Sweet Peas OS (one size) cover is fitting him great, has two sets of waist snaps, and double gussets. The Tweedle Bug OS pocket diaper (which also has two sets of waist snaps) seems to fit him very well now as well, he's on the smallest settings on both of those cloth diapers. The esbaby fitteds size small are a great fit on him, as are the Kissaluvs size 1 (Daddy's favorite) which they don't make anymore in that size, boo! I tried him in medium Thirsties fab fitteds, which they don't make anymore but I happened to have from Kadie, and they fit him well on the velcro cross over tabs-great fit around the legs!

We've been using cloth wipes exclusively for quite some time now and use Pure Baby Super Stars exclusively for our wipes solution. She's currently taking a "Baby Moon", thankfully I have enough to last a long time but I hope she comes back eventually!

He's been out of all his newborn clothing for weeks now but I just recently got the time and motivation to take out the newborn clothing and put the 3-6 month clothing away. There is such a big sizing discrepancy in baby clothes he's going to have some 0-3 month things, a lot of 3-6 month things, and some 6-9 month things in his drawers once I get around to adding the 6-9 month clothing into the mix.

Developmentally, as I said I think he's teething. He doesn't care for tummy time, he has fabalous neck control regardless. He loves, loves, loves to swim in the bath tub on his back! I think that is a pretty good baby work out so I don't stress about the tummy time too much. I have been taking Noah in the tub with me for baths since his cord stub fell off a week or two after birth and he LOVES the water. He has learned to "push off" the side of the tub while I'm holding him. He also splashes in addition to kicking his arms and legs. The huge grins on his face, when he "swims", are spectacular! The other day spent about half an hour with him in the bath just a little bit ago and my arms hurt from holding him on his back and supporting his head above water while he "swam" and pushed off again and again. If I can't bathe with him, I do have a Summer Infant baby bather which he'll tolerate just long enough to be washed, but then tries to kick and scoot out of until I take him out and let him "swim". I found two things that may give him the freedom he'd enjoy but still keep him safe: Papillon Baby Bath Tub Ring Seat and something called an Inflatable neck collar in infant size. I'm leaning toward the Papillon but I need to do more research.

He loves to baby talk and laughs on his own and when we tickle him and just at seemingly random things we do. He really likes the red bean bag chair my mother (Grandma C) got him for Christmas. That is his favorite place to hang out while we eat. He's discovered his hands and reaches out for toys that dangle in front of him. One of his favorite toys is the Skip Hop Hug and Hide dog we got him for Christmas.
I still wear him, mostly in the Sleepy Wrap (now Boba Wrap) regularly...the Sleepy Wrap is my favorite baby wearing device right now. He didn't seem too keen on having his legs spread once he grew out of the frog position in the Baby Hawk Mei Tai. I tried him in the Ergo, since his neck control is so good, and again he didn't like having his hips that wide in that either.

I'm looking into getting him a jumper and/or stationery playset (aka Exersaucer type) that way he's able to be UP and stimulated when I need to put him down. He loves to be straight up, looking around at everyone and everything.

Noah: Happy Baby Pictures

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:40:00 +0000

TEETH?!?!

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 03:57:00 +0000

I've seen stuff that I had thought were teeth coming up but...come on, three months? None of my kids have popped teeth through at three months and typically when I think they're teeth they're really not. Well, I really think his ARE teeth! I got a good look at them a little bit ago and they seem to be just about to poke through the gum. It's the two teeth in the middle, on the bottom.

I think that may have been/may be one of the reasons he was kind of "blah" today. Right now he's sleeping in a Woombie. It's the longest he's slept on his own this evening. I hope it lasts, little guy needs to sleep! The next time he wakes up I'm going to put a Baltic Amber Teething Necklace on him.

Here he is in the Woombie (yes I know it's pink but it was less than $1.00 so he can wear it anyway), in the corner of the couch until I head to bed here shortly

I didn't get his clothes completely rotated, between holding or wearing him I've been working my butt of doing things on the computer/internet for our business, things with his siblinigs and the normal household things. PLUS, he just has so many clothes that need to packed away or unpacked. He has enough to last him now until the weather warms up.

Funny!

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:48:00 +0000

It's funny that I just put in a request yesterday, on one of my mommy boards, for a siggie that says "Noah" and "My funny Valentine" because last night he started laughing-I mean REALLY laughing. New baby laughs are heart melting! This morning even though he's not feeling 100%, I think he's fighting whatever Rebecca has, he was laughing up a storm. As I type this is snuggled into the Sleepy Wrap and sleeping so good! I've been so busy I haven't even done his clothing size rotation yet. I've just been pulling the bigger clothing out of the bins, lol. My goal for today is to get the smaller clothing out and the bigger clothing in.

WOW! My Valentine turned into a pumpkin-- so much happens in a year!

(Thank you to AM for this siggie, you're the best!)

Long time no see!

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 23:09:00 +0000

I've been super, super, unbelievably busy since the last time I posted. Between holidays, family (my brother stayed with us for like two months and that was nothing but Drama with a capital D), business stuff, and the normal daily duties necessary to keep the household functioning I've been just a little overwhelmed. On top of all that my desktop Blue Screened on me because the motherboard was overheating. Thankfully a tech guy lives right down the road and did what he could and thankfully when I bought the computer I bough the Geek Squad protection plan. I just got the desktop back with a new motherboard and my neighbor got my up and running completely.

Noah is almost three months old now, Kadie is just over two and a half years. The two older ones are already counting the days until summer break. Jr. will be starting school in September, that's crazy to think about and makes me a little sad. Time sure is flying!

Noah is about 12/13lbs now. I took him to the doctor twice so far. Once because of his congestion, that later resolved with home treatment...he never actually got sick (thank you breastfeeding)! The other time was because of the yeast. We're selectively vaccinating and delaying vaccinates. I've come across some very interesting reading lately that validates that what we're doing is truly the right thing for the children.

We've been exclusively breastfeeding since birth, no bottles, no formula! I had one instance over Christmas regarding negatively toward my breastfeeding but other than that no one bats an eye. I am so happy and feel very blessed to be able to exclusively breastfeed, especially now that it's "cold and flu" season and the issue with the Walmart recalling formula popped up. I truly do not mind feeding him exclusively at the breast and am happy to do it for my baby! Formula just doesn't cut it for us. The biggest issue we've had is that we've been battling thrush since Noah was several weeks old. Just when I think it's gone for good symptoms crop back up each time I feel better equipped to handle and the symptoms are less severe and we "get over it" faster. I'm still trying to find the cause, I think I may have figured it out so crossing my fingers, toes, eyes, legs...that it doesn't reoccur again.

Kadie is still nursing, we hit 2 1/2 years on December 8th. Some days she wants to nurse more than Noah does which is rough on me. I feel like I get done nursing him and she wants to nurse. I tend to notice that when she's "fighting" something so I try to accommodate her as much as I can. At this rate I don't know if she'll wean well at three like her brother did. I don't know if she'll be ready and if she's not ready I don't know if I'll be prepared to wean her.

The girls went back to school today. It was actually a very nice, calm day at home with the three younger ones. I finally got the cloth diaper laundry stuffed and put away, dishes done, and I got some baking done too. Laundry has been one of the hardest things to tackle since Noah has been born, there's just so much of it was seven of us and usually I'm the one that is completely responsible for it (GAH)! I got out of the habit staying up, after everyone went to bed to get it folded and organized-I need to get back into the habit but typically I'm crashing by 9 PM now.

We've gone to the business a dozen or so times since he's been born but for the most part I've been staying at home and doing what I can from the computer. I feel better being at home, because it is cold and flu season, and it's also easier on me to be at home than to take all three of the kids to the business and it enables me to take care of the stuff that needs to be done at home since I'm at home. I've been doing a lot of data entry and number crunching from home than going to the biz to organize, file, and look over things if necessary.

As far as cloth diapering goes, we started CDing shortly after birth. I did the prefolds and covers for the first 6 weeks or so then I got into the fitteds and covers. He's actually out of prefoldes we purchased and the smaller covers and BG AIOs. Sometime soon I'm going to post them for sale and whatever money I got I'm going to buy more sized esbaby fitteds. They're working out GREAT for him! We (big sis and Daddy) did use some disposables for the first few weeks while he was between sizes since they didn't know how to do the prefolds but he actually started developing a rash. I felt so bad but again it reaffirms that cloth diapering was the way to go for us. For the past several weeks we've been exclusively cloth diapering and using cloth wipes which makes me feel good. I'm going to add to his stash sometime in the next month or two. Besides the esbaby fitteds and Sweet Pea one size covers that I KNOW I want I'm trying to decide between a few different OS pockets and/or covers.

My Dandy Christmas

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 23:09:00 +0000

I'm a volunteer and adoptive mom for a rescue about an hour away from us, named Hubbard's Hounds Dog Rescue (www.hubbardshounds.com) and because of that I'm on the facebook pages of both of the founders/director. Over a year ago Kim (one of the founders) posted a picture of a dog and I fell in love with him.

Dandy is a double dapple Dachsund (aka Doxie) about 7 years old. From what Kim (co-founder and also his foster mom) told me he was born that way. Apparently double dapples are very rare-you can only get a double dapple breeding two dapples together-and therefore breeders make a lot of money off of them but they have a very high rate of birth defects and deformities. Dandy is completely deaf and partially blind-he has one "good eye" and the other eye he can only see shadows from. He was used as a stud dog in a puppy mill (a puppy mill is a commercial breeding facility that mass produced puppies for resale) and dropped off on the side of the road in a box, like trash, with 20 something other doxies, picked up as a stray, and made his way from Alabama to New York to the rescue. It's a very sad spectacle of what humans will do to innocent, defenseless animals for money.

I have been "asking" for Dandy for almost that long, every holiday that came up including my birthday this year but Daddy was firm on a two dog maximum and with us starting our own business (read: me being out of the house a lot) in January and then conceiving Noah in February it's been a whirlwind of activity which would not have been fair to a new dog, especially Dandy. I ended up cutting my hours at our business drastically because of the kids-being there as much as I was just wasn't conducive to the attached parent I am, the attention the kids needsed, or the homemaker I needed to be to maintain our home- and my growing belly.

Noah was born in October as you all know but I never forgot about Dandy. Earlier in December my friend and I went to the rescue's doggie picture day with Santa to go see him at the Picture Day with Santa that the rescue put on. This was the first time I actually "met" Dandy, more than a year after I decided I wanted him.

When asking me what I wanted for Christmas Daddy prefaced it with "Besides Dandy..." Daddy seemed to be giving in little by little and eventually he OKed a visit. I talked with Kim and had arranged for a weekend visit to see how Dandy would do with the family and how the family would do with him because of his disabilities. I was trying to get him here for Christmas. I really wanted to give him a home for Christmas because of a picture she had posted last yearwith a caption that tugged at my heart stings so much I still remember that picture. This is the picture she posted 12/12/10 with this caption: "Dandy is sitting here staring at the Christmas tree, wishing that he could find a home of his own."

She told me he had a vet appointment on the 15th and then I got the feeling that she wanted her hubby to be home (he was out of town for business and not due back until the 23rd) to say goodbye before Dandy left.

She was suppose to call me in a few days to talk about scheduling a visit and never did. I tried contacting her to ask about Dandy and every time I did she would change the subject, a couple times she didn't call me back. I started to feel like she didn't think it was the right home for him and was just too nice to say it. It got to the point a day or two before Christmas that I told myself I had to accept that Dandy would not be coming and I needed to let it go. She knew Daddy had been hesitant so maybe that was why or maybe she felt 5 kids would overwhelm him, I didn't know. My heart sank a little and I felt like crying but I knew that if it wasn't the right home it wasn't the right home-he deserves to be in the RIGHT home and I respected the fact that she was doing what she felt was right for him.

Christmas morning we were opening gifts, Daddy told my oldest which present to give me first (clothing). Then he told her to hand me the "little" one that her and I both noticed jingled when we shook it (yes I'm a present shaker). I opened it and it was a little collar with a name tag that said "Dandy" with our information on it. I looked at him thinking that my Christmas present was his complete acceptance of getting Dandy and felt very sad because of the feeling I got recently from Kim. I looked at him, sad and confused, and he said "He'lllll be here tomorrow!" I didn't believe it at first but I started crying out of happiness and disbelief. He explained that the two of them had been in touch since right after I went to see him at the Picture Day with Santa and they had had this arranged for weeks. She had been withdrawing from me and blowing me off because as it got closer and closer to Christmas she wanted to tell me so bad and figured if she didn't talk to me about him she wouldn't spill the beans.

I had dreams about Dandy Christmas night and she brought him here the day after Christmas. She stayed a couple hours and let him get use to me, petted, etc.The day he arrived: Me with Dandy as Kim looks on from the couch.

We discussed his hand signals, where he came from, what probably happened to him during his time as a stud dog in a puppy mill, his disabilities, along with her weiner brigade and other dogs in her pack as well as the rescue. It made her feel comfortable when he got out of the dog bed Daddy gave me as a present that I put him in and instead of going to her he came to me. She said there was something about me because even at the doggie picture with Santa he sat with me for an hour which suprised her.

I think there's something about him, there's a warm, gentle soul in him. It makes me so mad and angry to think of the use and abuse that his genteel creature sustained in his "previous" life. I want more than anything to show him the kindness and gentleness he deserves and have him thrive. I want to see his tail wagging a mile a minute. It's been about four days since he arrived and I love him so much, I still can't believe he's here! Abby and Ace (my two beagles) have shown a mild curiousity toward him but let him be and he's the same with them. His first night, by his choice, he spent under "his" end table. Dandy under "his" table

I slept on the couch with my head nearest to him in case in needed to go out or he decided he wanted a warm body to cuddle up to. He slept in the "big bed" with us the last three nights. The first night he paced until I got on the bed then settled down across my pillow. He had to be up against me all night long, every time I'd move away from him trying to spread out he'd move over to be back against me. I was laying on my side the other morning, nursing Noah, and he propped his little head between my head and shoulder. That was adorable! When I got up he stayed in bed and laid back down next to my pillow. He started shaking a little bit when I brought him back into the living room, I didn't want him to get scared and try to jump off the bed himself.

I feel truly blessed to have him in our family.

Dandy the bone hoarder. These are just the things he took from us, there were others he passed on.

Everyone loves the Dandy Man, especially Béla Jr.!

Just a little bit ago he wagged his tail AND he came to me when I signaled "come"! I love, love, love that he finally wagged his tail. AND he's been walking around more inside, went over to the toy basket and picked out all the rawhide chewies and started chomping away.

I'll update you all about everything else in a couple days, but I wanted to share this great news with everyone.

Grovia Newborn AIOs SUCK!

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:24:00 +0000

I hate you GroVia Newborn AIO!

Since the night he was born we've had leaking out of these diapers. No, not a prepping issue since I prepped them through the entire pregnancy BUT gaps around the legs. I mean LOOK AT THIS, ridiculous! And this was AFTER following the troubleshooting email on how to properly cloth diaper him (as if I didn't know how to do that already) and proper placement of diaper, etc. These gaps have happened every time we've put one of these diapers on him, since birth...so he's gained three weeks worth of weight and length and they still don't fit. We've had more pee and poop leaks with these diapers than we ever did with Kadie.

We just CAN'T use these anymore, they were a big waste of money for us. Three weeks of battling gaps and leaking is long enough.

Blah!

Thank goodness for Thirsties and Disana covers, prefolds with the snappi, and BG XS! It's a good thing I didn't stock up on these like I had wanted because they were so darn cute!

Our Halloween, Noah is two weeks old!

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 01:46:00 +0000

At Noah's first doctor's appointment on the 24th he was a bit congested, which was the main reason for the appointment. Because of my concern over the congestion and knowing that Kadie caught Broncholitis her first October at doctor's suggestion of keeping Noah in as much as possible for the first month to reduce exposure to all those nasty, nasty germs I decided not to take him Trick or Treating. That didn't stop me from dressing him up though in the Candy Corn cocoon I had custom made for him by a woman named Stephanie.

I tried to put him in everything "Halloween-ish" that we had, ha! One onesie was just way too big to even make work but the SuperSoft Candy Corn baby legs, the pumpkin t-shirt, and a three piece outfit in size 0-3 fit well enough to put him in for pictures, at least. The hat of the three piece was way too big so we had to forgo that.

Sucking his thumb (two weeks old)

Modeling an Orange Size 1 Applecheeks cover w/ AC insert as a pocket diaper, Supersoft Candy Corn BabyLegs and the bigger pumpkin shirt (two weeks old)

"Put the flashy thing away already, Mom!" (two weeks old)

It was suppose to be Daddy talking Béla, Kadie, and Ashleigh out with me, Noah, and Rebecca staying home to hand out candy but Ashleigh came home from school with a headache. The headache progressed to her being on the verge of tears it hurt so bad and she decided she did not want to go out. I had a sneaking suspicion it was sinus related so I gave her Children's Sudafed and she rested the rest of the evening.

Kadie had picked Minnie Mouse and Béla picked Thomas-$10 costumes or not from Walmart they were both so excited to [finally] put them on! Kadie finished her costume off with some Bubble Gum flavored light pink lip gloss and light pink nail polish, she loves nail polish. It was 40ish degrees when they went out so they bundled up in winter coats and we put a hat on Kadie-which worked out OK because her mouse ears fit pretty well in the folds of the hat. My brother is staying with us now so he tagged along with Daddy and the younger two while the girls, Noah, and I bunkered down in the cozy warm house. Ashleigh put on cartoons in our room and laid down, Rebecca and I watched Ghost Hunters Live and handed out candy.

They were out and back within two hours. Daddy said they were READY to come home and got pictures of both of them falling asleep in the van-HA! When they got home though they were wide awake and wanted candy, candy, candy (of course)! They were both nice enough to share their loot with Ashleigh.

Noah (two weeks old) and me, totally in love Mama!

Today was our due date

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 21:39:00 +0000

but he's 11 days old

This was also the outfit he wore home, which I actually never got a picture of. It's a gerber sleeper and matching hat in NB size. Not the original outfit I picked but it's a good thing I packed it because it was such a Peanut.

I like this picture because the finger print smudge on the lens make it looks like he's a glowing angel, ha!

He had his first Peditrician appointment on Monday. They weighed him in at a whole 7lbs, which the doc said was a fantastic gain and 20" long which him and I both thought was probably a little off.

Here is another picture I really like, wide eyed while nursing

Rockin' Pooh PJs

Hanging with his sisters

Pumpkin carving fun

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:25:00 +0000

We got three pumpkins this year. Originally I was going to do one, thought Rebecca and Ashleigh could do one, and Daddy could do one with the two little ones. It ended up I did my pumpkin, with Kadie's help, and Rebecca, Ashleigh, and Béla all worked on the other one. I did not get a picture of the kid's pumpkin...bad Mommy, I know.

Kadie helping me get the gook out of "my" pumpkin.

She did NOT want to touch it with her bare hands, she used these gloves and a spaghetti spoon, ha!

Béla, Kadie, and Ashleigh getting the gook out of the "kid's" pumpkin

My pumpkin. I have no artistic talent what-so-ever and evening following the stencil this was the best I could do. Knowing my own limitations though I think I did a pretty good job.

Noah, in his portable swing watching and listening to all the pumpkin carving commotion.

Baby Valentine's (Noah's) Birth Story

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:58:00 +0000

It just felt like something was happening last weekend (13,14,15, 16th). I lost (most?) of my plug on the 10th, bloody show Sunday (the 16th) morning. I ended up at L&D Sunday night (the 16th) because of pain and contractions all day but had no change the hour or so I was there and not too much happening on the monitors. We came home, I took medicine, a bath and settled in for bed Sunday night. At about 4 AM Monday morning my water broke with a very loud POP-so loud Daddy heard it. He called L&D, where the nurse and doctor I had were still on and we headed back to the hospital.

On the monitor things were barely happening when I got there. We weren't strapped to the bed at all which I really liked, I could be up moving around, showering, etc. I changed very little most of the day which my OB was OK with because I had just taken my blood thinning injection at about 11pm Sunday night and he wanted to check my levels and things to see what kind of risk there was with bleeding out, etc. Around 11 my OB talked to me about Pitocin because the lack of contractions and the fact that I was at that point not coagulated (meaning I was at risk of developing clots) so he felt the baby should be born sooner rather than later but didn't push at that point. About noon I talked to my nurse about trying to stimulate things myself with a shower walking, walking, walking, birthing bally, etc. and it worked! I made "significant progress" making it to 6 cm at 3 PM. When my nursed determined I was 6 she also said she felt "something" and thought maybe either the second layer of the sac never broke or that I had a leak on the top of the sac and it re-sealed at some point, which could have explained my stalled progress. They had done a Amnio-Sure swab when I first got there so they knew for certain my water had definitely broken then. She said it's not uncommon but it's the first time it's every happened to me. I went into the birthing pool about 3ish, which was fantastic! Just Awesome!

At about 5 I just felt like it was time to get out and I knew my doctor was coming to check me anyway so I called my nurse and she helped me get out, to bed and back on the monitors for a little bit (like I said I loved the intermittent monitoring! Getting out of the tub was so hard. It's like the second I stepped out it was a completely different sensation, worse pain and a lot more pressure. Baby had looked great, perfect, on the monitors the entire time.

When my doctor came in sometime after 5 he broke the intact bag of water and we started Pitocin at which time I also got one shot of Stadol. Stadol dreamland was pretty interesting. I was dozing off or something and every time I had a contraction I would dream(?) that the balloon part of a hot air balloon was crossing over a rainbow. Out of nowhere I felt like I had to push and that got me out of the dreamland in a split second. I yelled to Daddy and my mother "I FEEL LIKE I HAVE TO PUSH!" and they went scrambling for the nurse/doctor and I laid on the call bell. My nurse came in with a couple other nurses and said I went from 7 to 10 in two contractions and that the baby was coming. She yelled at another nurse to "Get the doctor in here now because she is involuntarily pushing!" Thankfully it took 5 actual pushes to get him out or else he would have been born on the bed, delivered by the nurse. As it worked out we had enough time for the OB to get there and get into position, etc.

Noah Kristof was born at 6:47 PM

We nursed at about 15 minutes after birth and he took to it like a champ, perfectly! He was in his first cloth diaper about three hours after birth, a Grovia NB AIO. He didn't fit into anything else I brought, he's such a peanut.

He's been perfect with his newborn exams, hearing, etc. His APGARS were 9/9.

Nursing has been going so great! The Ped. that did his second exam, the morning of discharge, noticed he was "tongue tied" and after discussion with the hospital's LC and my PP nurse that had a tongue tied baby, and our own experiences with Kadie, we decided to have his tongue tie cut. Daddy watched the whole thing and said it was no big deal, he didn't cry or bleed or anything.

They offered us 24 hour discharge but I was having significant "afterbirth" pains, and a pain they couldn't really determine but thought it was a deep muscle strain (it turned out to be digestive issue related, gah-embarrassing!) and chose to stay until Wednesday. We were discharged before noon on Wednesday and things have been going very well since. Aside from the first night and last night he's been sleeping in three hour bouts...my kids just don't do that so I lucked out this time around! He only cries when he getting a diaper change or sponge bath, etc. He didn't even cry through his exams or hearing test.

I have to say, after his birth experience, that a lot of managing pain is mental and based on fear and anxiety. I think everything from knowing I had other methods of coping, to reading and re-reading my Birth Affirmations, to just thinking I could do it, and having the Labor Tub available, helped me to cope and get as far as I did without pain medications. I also have to thank the entire Birthing Center for having such progressive "policies" and being so open and supportive, especially the nursing staff. (If you're in our area-Twin Tiers area on NY/PA) feel free to message or email me to find and I'll tell you where he was born).

Here's the birth announcement that one of my Mommy Message Board ladies made for our Due Date Club

BABY IS COMING! BABY IS COMING!

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 08:17:00 +0000

***BABY IS COMING! BABY IS COMING!***

I was sleeping and POP my water broke with a force a few minutes ago. So loud Daddy heard it. 38w3d pregnant!
----
7:18 AM-Not too much going on on the monitors. One blip every 10 minutes or so which I have felt but not painful. I'm up walking around now (come on gravity!), have a birthing ball, and can shower. Baby looked great on the monitor so far (yay). Ready for the party to get started but enjoying the "downtime" without the stress of "Is it or isn't it?!?" Definite rupture, they tested me with Amnio swabs.

----
12:39 PM-Walking, walking, walking...contractions seem to be coming harder and closer together, hoping they're doing something significant. Would like to avoid Pitocin at this point so trying our best. Back to the track!
----
3:02 PM-Just checked..."a good six!" YAY, significant progress which is good because I was kinda stalled for awhile. Love this hospital and the fact that they were willing to let me walk, walk, walk, bounce, etc. for a couple hours instead of jumping on the Pitocin to help things along. So far no pain meds, Nurse is filling up labor tub right now for me!
----
7:53 PM-

Baby Noah was born at 6:47 PM!

He weighed in at 6lbs 15oz and is 18" long.

Longer story to come but in short, no progress in labor tub (two hours) thought it definitely helped with the pain! Pitocin started about 5:30ish, one shot of Stadol for pain at the same time, went from 5/6 to 7 quick and went to 7 to 10 in two contractions (my nurse was stunned). My body started involuntarily pushinig him out, sent everyone scrambling for nurses and doctor. He's doing GREAT, nursing fantastically since about 15 minutes after birth. I'm sore, have a couple abrasions but other than that I feel great!

I think LABOR stuff is starting!

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:39:00 +0000

I went to the bathroom earlier and much to my suprise saw more mucus with tiny specks of blood in it. No big deal, they were so tiny but the second time I checked it was more mucus looking discharge and slightly pink.

What's interesting to me is that I thought just based on his movemepnts and position along with location and direction of my belly button (ha, funny, eh?) he dropped the other day. This morning I woke up feeling like I had a bowling ball between my legs. Since yesterday I've also had a lot of PMS type pain and sharp stabing pain that's made me gasp and stop what I'm doing. The "BH" have also picked up and unlike the other day haven't worn off yet and I have been trying to drink a ton of water, thinking that was why they were coming like they were. I'm not timing them yet, I guess I should start just to see what they're doing.

I went to bed last night with the intention of coming to the biz today, even though I didin't repack the bags like I had wanted because my mother brought some stuff I want to bring. I woke up today just feeling like I should stay home and re-pack...didn't listen to my gut, came to the biz anyway. Now I'm restless to get back home.
------
ETA: 11:18 AM ET-OK stuff IS happening. Just checked again and it's completely light pink mucus and I'm much more uncomfortable now than yesterday or even earlier today, nothing unbearable yet though.

This is only my second sporadic, term, labor and with Kadie it happened completely different, my water had already broken when I had bloody show. I'm not sure what to expect or when but I Ithink I'm going to try to go home in a little bit, finish some stuff up, start timing contractions and wait. Business closes at 4:30 then Daddy will come home, unless I need him sooner. I'm thinking of calling my OB's office just to let them know because I'm on the blood thinner.
------
ETA: 1:45 PM- Went to the store after we left the business to get a few things we needed at the house, got home a few minutes ago. If I'm timing these contractions right they're about 7 minutes apart. My lower abdomen particularly feels veeeery tender when I'm not contracting.
------
ETA: 5:34 PM- Going to the hospital shortly-time to figure out if this is actual labor!
------
ETA: 7:34 PM- At the hospital, on monitor right now and 2cm with lots of gook. will stay on monitor for about 20 min, get up walk around and they'll check me again to see if there has been any change. baby looks good on the monitor.
------
ETA: 10:52 PM- Home! There was no change so we were discharged. More pain now than I was when I went in, gah! Going to hydrate, take medicine and go to bed.

Huuuuuummmmm.....

noreply@blogger.com (Crunchy Babe) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 01:09:00 +0000

my water may be leaking.

At about 8:15 ET I was sitting on the couch, changed position and felt lots of stuff, like bubbles, come out. I put my hand down there and it was clear water. I sat there for another minute or two and felt some more. I haven't felt anything that significant with vaginal discharge-other than my plug the other day-this pregnancy though. It was significant enough I had Daddy call his mom (aka baby sitter) to let her/them know.

I took a shower, put on a pad. It's been about an hour and there doesn't seem to be any continuous leak, though I notice I'm "wet" and contractions seem to be picking up. I just had Daddy call his mom back and tell her I am still not sure, that I'm going to time contractions, try to sleep and if something more concrete happens we'll call her/them back.

-------------
ETA: 6:25 AM ET 10/13-
I contracted all night long but they felt/feel like BH. The only thing different was that they didn't come in spurts like they have been but one right after the other right after the other. As for as the fluid, I didn't feel anything else, like a gush, all during the night. My pad was damp but only in a couple spots when I checked it this morning. No bloody show either, I wish there was at least that if this was actual labor. I don't think it was my water at this point. My plan was, originally, to labor at home as long as possible to avoid the "necessary" medical interventions of triaging, etc. Plus, I really hate to make a "false alarm" trip to L&D, but if the contractions continue we may go in, in a few hours, just to see what's up or not up. I took my last Lovenox injection at 8 AM yesterday, didn't take it last night, and won't take it this morning assuming the contractions keep up. If this is labor or not I should find out and handle my blood thinner accordingly; take a dose if it's not labor so I don't clot.
----------------
ETA: 11:02 AM ET-
After my shower I decided to call my OB's office. As my DDC ladies know MY OB is out of town. The "Head" doctor is on call the receptionist said so I asked if I could leave him a message. I gave her the run down told her what happened and how I've been contracting regularly but that other than that nothing else seems to be happening. I also told her that I took my Lovenox at 8 AM yesterday morning but not at 8 PM because. I told her I wasn't sure, just based on contractions, if I am in labor and shouldn't take it or am not in labor and should take it. She said he'll call me back...who knows when that will be, so now we wait. I'll update when he calls.

Here's what I've been thinking. These contractions aren't hurting. They're also not progressing (longer, stronger, closer together) to a point that has led me to believe they're labor contractions, again nothing painfully unbearable. The only thing that's really making me wonder is that they have been coming regularly for over 12 hours now. The contractions I know to be BH from the last few weeks, have come in spurts for a couple hours and then gone away. Beats me, it really does and that's exactly why I decided to call the doctor.
----------------
ETA: 2:30 PM ET
The office still hasn't called me back but I didn't want to leave you all hanging. Since my shower and another nap the contractions have subsided a great deal. I had like four in the 1 o'clock hour which was a far cry from what had been happening. I'll let the doctor know when he calls and still get his input but at this point I don't think it's actual labor...maybe my body gearing up in pre-labor if anything. I think the contractions backing off before the office called me back is a blessing in disguise, at least I hope it is...it would have sucked to get there with what was happening to have them say "Well, since you're here and it's been 24 hours since your last shot let's get this baby out." and want to augment labor somehow. I checked myself, just out of curiosity, and my cervix was still too far for me to reach. If this is pre-labor it's obviously got a long way to go. I'll give the doctor another hour to call me back and then take my shot. My mom says she'll be up on Sunday (like I said it'd be cool if he waited for her but I'm not holding him in for anyone, ha). MY OB appointment is Tuesday (5 days from now) so if nothing else he should check me and get some plan of induction then.