Ultrasounds

I learned the hard way that it's best not to eat before an ultrasound. What seemed like a deliciously harmless Luna Bar resulted in a baby who simply would not sit still and, while it is fun to watch the little bean scoot around, it makes it difficult to get a good look at the little bugger. So save your snacks for after the appointment (or eat them earlier in the day). 

Pooper Catchers (they catch the poo)

Though we hoped she would arrive all potty-trained, Beatrice apparently didn't get that memo and showed up as a Super Pooper, instead. The first couple of weeks after her birth, we used disposable diapers. First, she was so tiny that the cloth diapers were simply too big. At the same time, her belly button was healing and the fancy newborn disposables have a little notch cut out to protect the belly button during the healing process. Then we made excuses for a couple weeks: exhausted, overwhelmed, traveling...there's always a reason to fall back on the disposables. Once we moved into our own place and got a fancy new top-loading high-efficiency washer, though, we stopped making excuses. Horrified by the amount of waste we were producing, we finally took the leap into the cloth diapers that had been patiently sitting by since before her birth.

What a piece of cake these things are! Things in the diaper world have changed so drastically since our moms poked us with diaper pins. Now we've got designer diaper covers, sprayers to help rinse the poopers away, and resources galore to help along the way. With the exception of traveling, Beatrice is exclusively in cloth and it's a fabulous way to be.

We get our diapers from Wee Bunz here in Corvallis. The store is relatively new, so they're still building up their non-diaper inventory, but they've got everything you need to get started and they are so very helpful when it comes to questions. We've got about 3 dozen Unbleached Chinese Prefolds and about a dozen diaper covers. The unbleached diapers take a little more washing to get them ready to go (have to wash the natural oils out of the cotton to get to the maximum absorbency), but they're worth the extra wash or two. They hide stains, they're softer, and they're easier on the environment because they don't have to go through the bleaching process.

Diaper covers are a blast (we'll go ahead and make a check in the "Things I Never Thought I'd Say" column). Prorap is the most utilitarian cover. They're burly covers that are all function with very little to say in the fashion department, and they work great for overnight and nap time. Bumkins are both functional and fashionable. They have a little vent flap in the back that allows for air circulation--I was so weary of that little flap at first. I had images of all the ways that poo could escape and I was shocked that such a product was so popular. After I tried them, though, I fell in love. They're lightweight, so they're perfect for daytime. They're adorable, which makes diaper changing more fun. They don't stain. Did I mention they're super cute?

We also use doublers for nap time and overnight (and sometimes during the day because no one in recorded history has produced as many peepers as Beatrice). The doublers provide the extra absorbency she needs to get through the night. Just as with the diaper covers, there are so many options for doublers. The ones we have came from clothdiaper.com and are made of flannel. Even better, they're made by stay-at-home moms and I think that's worth supporting.

Also from clothdiaper.com, we have (and love) the cloth diaper wipes. They do a better clean-up job than disposable wipes and can be tossed in for washing with the diapers. We mix a few little squirts of Dr. Bronner's soap with some warm water and a couple drops of tea tree oil to make a cleaning solution for the wipes, and we store them in a plastic container with a flip-top lid for easy access (we just saved on of the plastic containers from the disposable wipes we used the first few weeks). The Dr. Bronner's is great because it's mild, biodegradable, and comes in all sorts of scents. We're using peppermint right now, but we might do the rose or lavender next. You'll know you've got too much soap in the mixture hands feel slimy after you've had them in the container. I have found that unfolding them and balling them up before you add them to the solution makes them easier to use when you pull them out of the container.

The most exciting advance in cloth diapers comes in the form of the bumGenius diaper sprayer. Greatest. Invention. Ever. Well, greatest cloth diaper accessory ever, at the very least. It hooks into the water valve that feeds from the wall to the toilet and helps spray the poopers off the cloth diapers before you drop them in the diaper pail. Heavenly goodness. A total must-have for anyone who does cloth diapers. We'd be lost without it.

So, we rinse the diapers off and drop them in the diaper pail. We use the dry pail method, meaning we don't soak the diapers while they sit in the diaper pail. When it's time to wash them, we do a soak cycle with 1/4 non-chlorine bleach, a spin to get all the icky water out, and then a wash in hot water with detergent, another 1/4 cup non-chlorine bleach, and 1/2 cup vinegar as fabric softener (we use vinegar as fabric softener for all our clothes). The diaper covers hang on a rack to dry while the diapers, doublers, and wipes go in the dryer on high.

It all sounds like a lot of work, but it's really not so bad. The first couple days are a little overwhelming, but, once you get the hang of it, it's a breeze. We watch football and fold diapers and laugh at just how domestic we have become.

Every once in awhile, if we are traveling, we will use a few disposables. The Seventh Generation Chlorine-Free Baby Diapers are our favorites, not only because they are chlorine-free and hypo-allergenic, but also because they do a great job and fit well. They're a little more expensive, but, since we don't use them very often, it's a luxury we'll afford ourselves. On average, we'll go through less than one pack of each size before she's ready to move to the next size up. This is either indicative of our strong commitment to saving the world or a glaring sign that we might need to get out of the house more often...

Another option is the Portland-based gDiapers. I don't have any personal experience with them, but they're a great concept. They use the diaper cover idea from cloth diapers and combine them with a flushable insert.

Looking down the road, babies in cloth diapers are generally easier to potty train. Today's disposables wick the peepers away from the skin, thereby making the baby more tolerant to the loaded up pants. With cloth diapers, the baby is more immediately aware that something just isn't right and, being uncomfortable, will start to demand action. Beatrice starts to growl when her diaper is wet. That she already recognizes that she needs her buns checked is so encouraging. If she continues to be so outraged when she pees, we'll have her potty trained in no time.

Babies in cloth diapers also have fewer incidents of diaper rash. We use a tiny bit of Baby Bee Diaper Ointment if her cheeks start to get a little rosy and it usually clears up in a matter of hours.

Whew! I've been dying to get that all off my chest. Now I have to go fold diapers. Next time we can talk about how it's okay to have a little bit of Carolans in your coffee while you fold diapers :)

Feelin' lucky?

Rachael Ray is giving away some pretty awesome stuff this holiday season. 

Go to rachaelraymag.com/giveaway and click on Enter to Win. You'll have a week to enter for each prize (there's a Viking Range up for grabs right now), so make sure you check back every week or so to see if there's anything you'd like. And if you win the trip to Aruba, you have to take me with you. 

The Mother Dance

I started, but have not yet finished, The Mother Dance by Harriet Lerner, PhD. That the book has kept my attention for nearly 150 pages is a testament to its greatness. I was going to write more about it, but I'm hungry, so just read the book (moms and dads) and I'm going to go eat something.

So, you're all knocked up...

Here are a few things that make being newly pregnant a little easier...

Annie's Bunny Grahams I was going to go nuts if I had to eat another Saltine. These crackers are far more delicious. I kept them by my bed, in my purse, at my desk, in the car. Honey Maid Honey Bees are a nice change from the bland ol' crackers, as well. 

Kagome Juices I didn't find out about Kagome until the day after I had Beatrice. Our friend Amy came to see us in the hospital and brought a bottle of this deliciousness along with her. Oh, how I do love the Purple Roots and Fruits mixed with a little ginger ale! This juice makes it easy to get some of the benefits of fruits and veggies, even when your tummy is rebelling and refusing to cooperate with the whole eating and keeping it down thing. Digging around the Kagome website, I found tons of recipes--I hadn't even thought about cooking with the stuff, but now I'm thinking I might give it a shot. 

Zen Mama Yoga I wasn't allowed to work out for the first trimester and that set a lazy tone for the rest of my pregnancy. Once I fall off my workout pony, I have a tough time just hopping back on. This was made even more difficult by the protruding belly that began emerging while I was sitting on my also-growing ass those first twelve weeks. Rainbeau Mars is one of my favorite yogis. She seems to be totally high most of the time, but she's a total yoga badass. Seeing her pregnant was fun for me and the moves in Zen Mama really made a difference in both my delivery and recovery. I actually had a pregnant pilates video, too, but I never managed to do that workout...maybe next time :)

Go for a walk. No link for this one. Just go for a walk. The fresh air is fabulous. The exercise will help with any constipation that might set in during the first trimester. Plus, getting out of the house and out into the world will distract you from all the thinking and fretting and fretting and thinking. 

A bra to sleep in will make life so much easier. I'm a pretty busty lady to being with, but pregnancy turned me into a total Tits McGee. I'm still nursing and have finally shrunk from an I cup to about a G cup. It's insane. My boobs are bigger than my baby's head. I got a sleeping bra very early on. I couldn't (and still can't) sleep without it. It's not super supportive, but the little support it does offer makes a world of difference. The one I found was at Motherhood. I waged a one-woman war against Motherhood after that purchase. I was pleased enough with the sleeping bra, but I was outrage by the little salesgirl who scoffed in disgust when I didn't want to give her my name, address, phone number, email, and due date. It was maddening. All I wanted was my sleepy bra. Just let me pay cash and leave the store already! Geez...so, I managed to get through the pregnancy without ever having to give the little wench my information, but it jaded me a bit and now I avoid the stores like crazy, unless I need a new sleepy bra. I'm sure there are others out there that are great, but I like this one. 

Luna Bars are good. So are Junior Mints. Oh, I loved the Junior Mints. I swear their minty goodness made my tummy feel better.  

Sleep. Sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep. If you feel like sleeping, then sleep. 

What to Expect When You're Expecting made me feel like I was doing everything wrong. Granted, there is some good information and I turned to it pretty often, but I learned to do so with a certain amount of disdain. The book claims that ice cream is only for special occasions (whatever!), constantly harps on weight gain, and uses adjectives like "unsightly" and "gross". I never managed to find the perfect pregnancy book, but I know there are better ones out there. Pregnancy, Childbirth, and the Newborn was pretty good. 

Oh, and a Bella Band will make getting dressed a lot easier when you start to enter that looking-bigger-but-not-looking-pregnant-yet phase.

It's an amazing time, those first few weeks of pregnancy. Nerve-wracking, stomach-turning, exhausting and anxiety-filled, but still so much fun. it's crazy. You're growing another human being. Every step of the process is absolutely miraculous and you are forever changed--both as a woman and a couple. Just thinking about it is enough to make me want to have another baby, so I'll call it quits for today and go get some things done before the baby I do have wakes up to face the mid-morning.

woohoo!