Of Poop & Parties

Of Parties:
Thanks to Maggie, my mom and Sylvia I had THE best baby shower EVER. I now feel like I have the clothing and gear necessary to have a baby! The theme was "Little Man" hence all the mustaches you will see. Here are some pictures of all of the fabulous things they did for me and all of the wonderful people who came out to celebrate with me. For the few of you that couldn't be there...WE MISSED YOU!!!!!  If you click right HERE, you can see the photos! Just scroll through the first couple pictures until you get there. My favorite are the photo booth shots towards the end.

explosion. imminent.

Last Monthly Check Up
    Melissa checked in with us at home today and everything is measuring and sounding great! We finally could hear Jaxen's heart with the stethescope and we measured 140bpm. For those of you who have been fretting that I'm not seeing an OBGYN, you'll be happy to know that at the visit today we established both an emergency back up plan and a non-emergency back up plan. Other than that, I've had to make some changes recently due to intensifying aches and pains. An intense stretching pain (but no stretch marks, yay!) is happening to the left of my belly button and an all around feeling of malaise has warranted dropping one workout a week. Melissa told me today that that spot is where my placenta is and also that fit women have a lot more growing pain than women who don't workout. I finally had to take my belly button ring out (@ 27 weeks) and found out the hard way how uncomfortable retainers are so I'm just leaving it out.
   From now on I will be seeing Melissa twice a month for the next several weeks and I'll be updating this blog more frequently so don't forget to check in! This means we're closing in on Jaxen's birthday! I am insanely excited for this day no matter what it brings. 

25 Wks: He was a cauliflower.

Of Poop:


I've spent weeks and weeks and weeks doing the research on cloth diapering only to conclude that different brands work better for different shaped bodies. Greeeeeaaaat. What I was able to accomplish by parousing the

Wk 29: He's a butternut squash!!!

consumer reports are the superior brands, makes and models. Game plan: half fitted diapers with covers (better for night time) and half all-in-ones (for day time.) I'll start with 12 just to see which ones work best. The downside is with this few I'll have to do laundry every single day. There's a picture of my diaper stash below.

Daddy, Grandmas, Grandpas and all other helpful visitors pay attention to this next part!!!!!!

How to wash cloth diapers:
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1) Take diaper off baby, pull out the diaper stuffing (if stuffing is removable.)
2) Use toilet sprayer to remove waste when it becomes more solid (~ 6 months)
4) Throw in seal-able bag until laundry time
5) Agitate in cold prewash cycle first – NO DETERGENT
6) Run through a full hot water cycle w/ Rockin Green detergent.
7) Hang dry in sun for best drying/strain removal results. In the winter, dry inserts in dryer and hang dry rest of diaper inside by a window or door.

**8) Add calgon to wash cycle if stains or smells persist

Side note: Got diaper rash? Slap some COCONUT OIL on that bum! This stuff is good for anything & everything. 

Elimination communication is something I plan to practice as soon as I get the hang of this floppy new baby thing and is essentially an early form of potty training used by many traditional cultures. See now, that's my Anthropology degree at work. It has been rather invaluable and extremely applicable for every facet of life I have yet encountered. There are a few traditional practices that I'll be making use of on my baby journey. Naturally, every one I've talked to poo-poos these ideas, but in my mind indigenous wisdom is not to be shat upon.
 
A Few Reasons I Chose The Cloth:

• Contrary to popular belief it is not still 1972 and these things are no longer a hassle to operate. (Yay all in ones!)






• 18 Billion Diapers are used and thrown into landfills each year (enough to stretch to the moon and back 9 times).

•  If 1 disposable diaper from costco is about .50 and you need roughly 8,000 of them until potty training occurs...that's $4000 per child. My newborn stash will cost roughly $300-500, some of which I'll get back via diaper swap to put towards one size all in ones later on. I anticipate spending much less than $1000 total over Jaxen's whole diaper wearing life.
•  11 Billion pounds of untreated body excrement, which may carry over 100 intestinal viruses, is brought to landfills via disposable diapers each year. Overtime, this ends up leaching into our soil and water sources.
• Fabric is more absorb-able and more breathable than the plastic in disposables and better for maintaining healthy skin (without absorbing chemicals into the skin -- it only takes 28 seconds for whatever you put on your skin to enter the blood stream.) 
• Disposables take 70% more energy to manufacture and dispose of than cloth.  

L to R: 4 ecoposh fitteds, 2 kissaluvs fitteds, 2 thirsties covers, 4 lil joey's all in one & 2 swaddlebees all in ones. (My dino print swaddlebee hasn't arrived yet!)

Quote: Paci vs. Thumb

"The thumb belongs to the infant. She has to discover it and learn how to use it as part of her own body. It is always available. It doesn't fall on the floor and get dirty or get lost when needed. The infant can put it in her mouth and pull it out according to her own needs and desires. In the process, she learns how to soothe herself and how to become self-reliant. When there are no misgivings about it, she will use it when and for as long as she really needs it. Yet some parents frown on thumb sucking. --- The pacifier is a plug. It does stop a child from crying but the question is, does an infant have a right to cry? Should an infant be allowed to express her feelings and communicate them? Plugging her mouth gives the message, "Don't do what comes naturally. Do what pleases me, your parent. I am in control of how you should feel and how you should show your feelings." 

~Magda Gerber