September in Review

Oh my goodness, what a month!

Earlier this month, David went back out to sea. I handled it a lot better this time, now that I knew what to expect. It helped that I had a MOPS meeting the day before and a book club meeting the day after, so I didn’t have a lot of time to be sad. MJ loved having his daddy home. It’s heartwarming and hard to watch when I see them together. When David walks in, the baby-sized growth that attaches itself to his leg doesn’t come off until it’s time to say goodbye again. I still don’t think MJ understands what it means when David waves goodbye at the pier, but honestly that makes it easier. He figures out slowly that it’s just the two of us again and there isn’t any real anxiety to speak of. The first night is usually hard and we don’t sleep much, but after that he does okay.

When I first got to Spain, I was introduced to MOPS. I only went to two meetings because it was the end of the year for them, but I decided to jump in and join the leadership team anyway! We have our kickoff party this month at a beautiful park on base. I tried out a new recipe for pumpkin spice donuts that blew my mind. They turned out way better than I thought they would and I didn’t have to take any of them home with me. MJ loved all of the other kids running around and kept me busy chasing him most of the morning. I turned around once to find him elbow deep in a casserole dish of sausage rolls. When he saw me looking at him he grabbed two handfuls of them and tried to run away, haha! That’s my boy! Anyway, I volunteered to be a table leader, but was asked to step up and take on the treasurer role as well. I got to sit down with the rest of the team and brainstorm with them for a while, and I’m really excited about this year and the theme we’re working with.

David’s ship has a relatively new FSG (Family Support Group) so it’s still command sponsored. That means his CMC has to appoint all of the board members. I initially contacted him to volunteer for the secretary position, since I have a little experience with that. But, lo and behold, they needed a treasurer too, so I ended up agreeing to that instead. I figured with the two groups, I’ll be a pro by the end of the year. I haven’t met with the rest of the board members yet, but I’ve emailed a few of them and they seem like a great group. I can’t wait to get involved.

Did I mention, MJ TURNED ONE. My baby is officially a toddler. He’s walking and running and climbing all over the furniture. No talking yet, but lots of babbling and screaming. David and I decided we would wait until we were all together to have a cake and open presents, so I let Marshall have a “pancake smash” instead of the usual cake smash. He loved it, ate the whole thing. We spent the rest of the day playing and hanging out. It was low key, and part of me felt bad that I didn’t have something more exciting planned, but we don’t know that many people here yet. Really though, he’s a year old. He won’t even remember it, right? It’s probably just the mom guilt talking.

I got my Cricut Explore in the mail and hooked up and moved everything I needed to David’s Macbook, plus we switched the office and the nursery so I’m closer to the router. I’m still trying to fit designing and printing into my schedule though. I don’t know how to work it into the hours that MJ is awake because he doesn’t like me being in a different room than him. He’s struggling with some serious separation anxiety right now and that’s making it nearly impossible to work while he’s awake. I’m trying not to stress about it too much, though. It’s new, there are some kinks to work out, but that’s to be expected. We’ll get there.

October is looking full already too. I officially enter my mid-twenties (ugh) and I have a halloween party to plan. The Navy Ball is coming up soon too, and I have a huge surprise to share with you all soon about my hair! I’m debating giving it away right now, but the smarter side of me knows I should wait in case it all goes terribly wrong, haha!

Hope you all had beautiful Septembers. It’s FALL!

Tears, Tantrums, and 10 Month Olds

     Today was one of those days where I was counting down the minutes to bed time as soon as I woke up. We started the day with my son waking up early, having soaked through his diaper. (I’d probably be upset if I woke up in a puddle of my own pee too, don’t get me wrong, but it goes without saying that waking up to human screams and being coated in bodily fluids before you’ve had a chance to drink your coffee isn’t pleasant either.)

     I peeled off the old clothes, got him a dry diaper (disposable, because why not) and gave him his bottle. He’s at 4 bottles a day, 5-7 ounces each. But this morning? Oh no. You’d think I had tried to feed him dishwater with how much he fought it. I know why, too. He is usually still asleep when my husband leaves for work, but since he was up early this morning, he had to watch him walk out the door. I’ve mentioned before how attached MJ is to his Daddy, so that started an all out scream-fest. I gave up at 4 ounces and let him run around for a while.

When it was time for breakfast, he spit every. single. bite. back in my face with gusto and determination. We were both covered in applesauce and oatmeal and I was having to dig down deep for patience. After 15 minutes, I abandoned that objective as well and hauled him off to the tub for a bath. This was the happiest he was all day (no surprise) so I let him hang out in there for a good 30 minutes.

After that? It was a constant stream of meltdowns set to a soundtrack of cranky hollers. All he agreed to eat was two handfuls of Gerber Lil Crunchies and a peach slice and noon came and went with me still not having been able to make myself breakfast.

These kinds of days are rare here. My son is a mellow, light-hearted boy who finds mystery in sunbeams and music in the dishwasher. The Resting Grump Face my husband and I have did not get passed onto him. Because of that, these moods throw me off balance. I have to remind myself that babies have bad days and tantrums aren’t a resut of bad parenting on my part.  He isn’t going to starve if he misses breakfast, and no one is going to arrest me for calling glorified cheetos a lunch.

It was a bad day, not a bad baby, not a bad mom, just a rotten string of hours that don’t mean much of anything in the long run. Thank goodness for that.

Naptime’s Secret Weapon

Until fairly recently, MJ wore disposable diapers for naps and bedtime. The pockets I had were great during the day, but he never woke up in them without having leaked through to his clothing and crib sheets. I tried adding boosters and changing the type of insert I stuffed them with, which worked for a while, but once he dropped his morning nap and started sleeping 3 hours in the afternoon, we were back where we started. I was really frustrated by only being able to use cloth part of the time, and even though I firmly believe any cloth is better than no cloth, the money I was spending and the waste I was creating motivated me to give it one last shot.

I asked around on some CD Facebook groups and had several people recommend flour sack towels (FST) paired with Flip covers. Both are fairly inexpensive (a Flip cover costs $15 on the Cotton Babies website and FSTs were $1 each at Walmart) so I was able to give it a fair shot.

Oh my goodness, guys. It was amazing.

I folded the FST into half, then half again, and then into thirds. This fit perfectly into the cover since MJ is currently on the second rise snap. I don’t know how such a flimsy-looking piece of fabric can hold so much. I suspect wizardry, but who knows. When I changed him after his nap, the FST was completely soaked but none of it made it’s way past the cover. And that’s saying something. When he wears a disposable, he’s about ready to bust a snap on his pajamas by the time naptime is over.

Needless to say, I’m in love.

Have you tried this combination for naps? What cloth diaper combo works best for you?

6 Month Update

Nearly two weeks late on this one, but here it is. In March, MJ reached six months. He’s 18 pounds, nearly 25 inches long, and there are even a few hair sprouting up on that head of his.

He’s grown so much already. Just today, he stood up on his own! I turned around, and he had pulled himself up on the side of his Daddy’s suitcase. The look on his face? Pure glee. He’s crawling and inch-worming all over the place. He holds long, detailed conversations with the furniture and can sit up on his own unasissted.

There’s so much personality in that little guy. His eyes light up every time he sees the cashier at the grocery store. He gasps with excitement every time his Daddy pops up on Skype. He wraps both arms and legs around my hand when I try and put him down for a nap.

I look back now and think about those newborn days, when I was scared that he’d never stop crying and I’d never know what I was doing. I wish I could have seen then what our relationship would blossom into. I no longer wish for him to fall asleep so I can rest my aching arms. Instead, I wish for him to fall asleep so I can gingerly pick him up out of his crib and revel in the snuggles he’s too busy to give during the day. I don’t inwardly grumble about making him a bottle at 4 am, because as the weeks go by, he’s needing those night feedings less and less. Those bleary-eyed bottles are our time. No tv, no phone calls, no Daddy. Just baby and me, wrapped up in covers, singing his lullaby while he drifts back to sleep clutching a fistfull of my shirt.

I fall more in love with this little person every day.

First Goodbye: Done.

Yesterday, my brother came to visit. He drove out here with his buddy who is being stationed close by and had him drop him off at my place. I’ve completed that drive before and it is long. They drove for three days straight so when my brother got here, he was pretty exhausted. He decided to tough it out and stay awake until his flight so we sat up chatting for a while.

I don’t see him much anymore. Even when I was still on the west coast, we lived pretty far away. We would see each other on holidays and at family gatherings but not that often in between. It makes me sad now. I wish I would have taken advantage of being closer when I had the chance.

Anyway, it was a good long talk and we caught up with each other. I got to hear about his life and his plans, and he got to listen to me vent about our paperwork fiasco. MJ woke up a little later and his Uncle got to spend some time with him while I dragged D out of bed and we both got ready to go.

We had planned on taking my brother to the French Quarter in New Orleans but, even after having been there before, we still have NO idea how to find parking close by. We drove and drove and drove and eventually just gave up. We drove north to a mall near the airport and stopped by P.F. Chang’s for lunch. MJ wasn’t thrilled with it and kept trying to escape from his stroller while we ate, but I snapped a few pictures before we left.

  

We finished up lunch and walked around the mall for a bit. MJ started to get fussy so I untangled the ergo from my diaper bag and started to buckle it when my brother tentatively asked if he could carry MJ instead. I had seen him eyeing it in the car and it was his idea to bring it in the first place, so I wasn’t really surprised 😉 I helped him get it on and settled the baby in. Poor MJ was exhausted. He is very, very picky about sleep right now and can’t nap if he isn’t in his crib. He was red-eyed and grumpy but calmed down as soon as he snuggled up to his Uncle. We did some walking around for a few minutes (D and I went into Restoration Hardware and drooled over the sofas. We left pretty quickly after a close-call with a $60 frame. Strollers and expensive housewares do NOT mix.)

I had to stay behind to make an appointment at the Apple store to get D’s battery replaced before we move, so I said goodbye in the middle of the shopping center next to Godiva and a kiosk selling Mardi Gras accessories. I had purposely not let myself dwell on the thought that this visit might be the last one for three years, but that last hug was too real to ignore.

I feel very privileged to have the opportunity to travel and see new places while D is in the Navy, but these moments never get easier. They’re hard. They suck. But we get through them. Luckily, my brother travels often, and even if he doesn’t he knows how to use Skype well enough that MJ will know who is Uncle is as he grows up.

Today, I’m catching up on sleep (when I can.) My brother didn’t get here until about 5am, and I hadn’t fallen asleep until midnight. Since I stayed up with him after that and MJ woke up around 3 for a bottle, the equals… well, not a lot. Baby and I took a nap last night before bed but I’m still dragging. I’m hoping to have my Verse of The Month and Marriage Goal posts up soon, but we have four appointments this week so it might be a few days.

Hope you’re all well!

Gratitude Project – December

Today I’m linking up with Janelle over at Simply Love for her Gratitude Project. This link up is an opportunity to look back over the last month and pull together some of the moments you were thankful for. Last week, I posted another gratitude-themed post, and I’m not even the least bit sorry to post another! After Thanksgiving, thankfulness tends to be pushed aside. Which is pretty sad when you think about the thousands of little blessings we have to celebrate the rest of the year. I know, if I’m honest, I don’t spend nearly enough time looking at the beautiful gifts I’m given every day. It’s easy to miss them if I’m expecting God to look ground-shaking or miraculous. He is all of those things, but he’s also in the (seemingly) trivial or unimportant moment that goes unnoticed. I’d like to think this link up will remind me to take a few minutes every day and look for the little miracles I’m surrounded by.

This was a simple one. I strapped MJ in the ergo and we took a walk. There aren’t much in terms of nature trails in southern Mississippi, so I was excited to find this cute country road close to our apartments. There were goats, horses, and sheep along the road and birds hopping between the trees. It reminded me a lot of other places I’ve lived and of the drives I used to take before I was married. There wasn’t anything particularly special about it, except for that the warm beauty of it eased my heart a little. And really, that’s not a little thing at all.

Sorry about the terrible image quality. This was snapped from far back with my cell phone at D’s Hail and Farewell. His CO surprised him with two awards that day, a Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal and Junior Sailor of The Year. I can’t even tell you guys how proud I was. D takes his job very seriously. He’s the guy who stays late and volunteers when his plate is already full. He’s worked so hard at this command, and all the extra hours wore him down sometimes. It was a great moment to see him recognized for the work he’s done (though I think he would have preferred some advance notice, he wasn’t expecting to give a speech!)

MJ had just woken up from his nap in this photo and was so, so happy to see my face! Nothing is sweeter than the way his eyes light up when he sees me. I don’t feel like I deserve a love so innocent and complete, but he gives it to me freely every day. No matter how haggard I’m looking or how frustrated I was the day before, when he wakes up, he smiles. Maybe I have his goldfish memory to thank for that, but I like to think the kid just likes me.

We didn’t have a lot of money to spare this Christmas. We’re getting ready to move, paying off a mountain of medical bills from MJ’s birth and the few complications I had afterward, and we had just got home from a trip out of state. We gave each other modest gifts this year and made Christmas dinner out of what was already in our fridge/pantry (with the exception of a baguette and some cheese.) Our families know that it’s hard being away for the holidays, though, and they showered us all with gifts and Christmas cards with pictures. MJ got toys and clothes and books, D got techy nonsense I don’t understand, and I got a collection of baking supplies that would make Martha Stewart cry. The gifts themselves were a lot of fun, obviously. But checking the mail and seeing a package or letter from your family really is the best gift. Knowing that the people we’re missing are missing us too made this Christmas a little less bittersweet.

Christmas morning, I sat MJ on my lap in his Santa pajamas and opened his gifts for him. He didn’t understand what the commotion was about, of course, but it was a special moment nonetheless. D snapped some pictures as we laughed at the confused look on our son’s face. He’ll never be this little for Christmas again, and while his growing will no doubt bring beautiful experiences with it, I am so, so grateful for the Christmas where he sat on my lap and was completely uninterested. There’s magic even in that.

 
My mom (Gigi to MJ) brought a crib mobile with her when she came to help during my c-section recovery. MJ loves that thing. It’s like he’s seeing it for the first time every time you turn it on. A few notes are off and as of two days ago, it no longer rotates, but when he hears the “click, click, click” of it being wound up, he loses it with glee. Now, I know my son is just over 3 months old, but I can totally understand why so many parents struggle with telling their children “no”. I would stand on my head, recite Shakespeare, and roll out handmade pasta if I thought it would make him smile. Someday, it’s going to be a lot harder to do. Someday, he’s going to be a teenager and I’m going to be embarrassing and annoying and painfully uncool. So for now, I’m thankful for the plentiful grins I get and the beautiful lack of attitude.

The Great Diaper Hiatus

I know I just wrote an update about how I was kind of getting the hang of cloth diapering, but ignore all of that. Scratch it from your memory. Strike it from the books.

The day before yesterday, when I pulled my beautiful diapers from the dryer and started stuffing them, I noticed that a few of the inserts and prefolds had a strange smell to them. A few, mind you, as in three or four. Three of them were microfiber so I figured- eh, people always seem to have issues with microfiber, right? I’ll just set them aside. I don’t really need them anyway

(A note to newbies: Don’t do this. Don’t ever do this. Don’t you ever, ever ignore a weird smell.)

So anyway. I stuffed my pockets and stacked my GroVia snap-ins and tucked my diaper covers neatly into their plastic organizer. The world was grand.

Until, you know, I actually had to use them. Here’s how it went.

8am- put diaper on MJ
8:15- vaguely wonder why the room smells like pee
8:30- realize it’s the BABY that smells like pee and frantically remove diaper.
8:33- wonder for a split second why this mostly dry diaper smells like a men’s room
8:34- apply new diaper.
8:45- WHY DO YOU SMELL LIKE URINE I BATHED YOU LAST NIGHT PEOPLE WILL THINK YOU’RE NEGLECTED
8:46- THIS ISN’T EVEN WET YOU PEED LIKE TWO TEASPOONS
8:47- creepy ominous feeling
9am- frantic google search
9:15- inevitable facepalm

You got it folks, that wonderful smell was ammonia. Yummy. But wait! It gets better! After double checking with a cloth diaper troubleshooting group to make sure my wash routine was solid, I decide to switch from Tide Free and Gentle to Tide Original. The Free and Gentle wasn’t winning my love with any of our other laundry either and it seemed like people really like the original powder, so why not. I also picked up more Calgon (we were out) and bleach for the soak I was planning on doing.

I came home, gathered up my diapers, and threw them in the washer. I ran my prewash, then added in my Tide and let it work its magic. Only, when I pulled an insert out to transfer it to the dryer, something just didn’t feel right. It felt… slimy? I guess that explains it. Out of curiosity I gave it a good squeeze and HOLY BUBBLES BATMAN. I’d hazard to say about 20% of the detergent actually rinsed out. I ran an extra rinse (something I never do because of our hard water) and got back online. I got about 10 responses with ideas of things that could be wrong with my wash routine. Water level too high? Not washing often enough? Using too little detergent? No, nope, I don’t think so. I took the diapers out and transferred them to the tub for an RLR soak and ran the washer empty as I was recommended to.

Not one, not two, but THREE full wash cycles later the water was finally suds-free. Not only that, the water was filled with what looked like left overs from the last three washes. How long had this been happening? How many weeks of dirty water, leftover detergent, and ruminating nasty were hanging onto our diapers and clothes?

Ewwww.

So Friday morning I’m going to give a call to maintenance and have them come over and take a look at things (whenever they get around to it.)

Until then, D and I will be taking our clothes to the laundromat. -shudder-

First Official Outing!

A few nights ago I worked up the courage to take MJ out in cloth diapers for the first time. I say “official” because I’ve taken him out a hundred times on short trips where I was pretty sure I’d be back home before he needed to be changed.
On Friday we had a dinner party and instead of wimping out and taking the Luvs, I packed three pockets and my bummis wet bag and headed out. Initially, I figured I’d just change him in another room and avoid having to discuss it at all, but our hostess had a beautiful log fire burning and poor MJ was sweating buckets. I ended up needing to take him out of his footed pjs (that I had dressed him in because I was SURE he’d be cold) and viola- instant questions! The moms there were very nice and one was even planning on using cloth with her third child, so we had a good conversation about it. MJ was much happier too, which is always a plus.

It was the positive experience I needed to feel more confident using cloth diapers full time. It’s too easy to pack the disposables when we’re headed out because it seems easier at first, but in the end that’s costing us more money and creating more waste. I’m hoping I’ll start branching out more and more until someday I don’t even have to think about it.

That’s my positive story for the week! I’m going to try and post a stash shot (maybe video?) after laundry is finished today, but that will depend on MJ. He skipped his morning nap so who knows how the afternoon will go!

Cloth Diapering: The First 3 Months

MJ will hit the 3 month mark the day after tomorrow, so I thought it was a good time to write up an update on how cloth has been working out.

We’ve done a LOT of travelling, so I don’t feel like the past three months have given me as much experience as I would like. We started late and had two straight weeks where he was in disposables out of state, so I’m still figuring out a lot of issues that I think beginners normally grapple with.

As a refresher, we have Sunbaby pockets, GroVia Hybrid shells, and Thirsties Duo Wraps. With those- I use a combination of microfiber inserts, bamboo inserts, organic cotton snap ins, no-prep snap ins, and bleached/unbleached cotton infant sized prefolds in various brands.

The Good:
-Laundry has been a snap. We have a simple enough routine since our washer and dryer don’t have many settings other than load size and an On button. We skip the extra rinse due to hard water and use Tide Free and Gentle detergent. As of yet- no issues with stink or repelling. The shells are air-dried and everything else goes in the dryer. After one dry cycle, the pockets come out and the inserts and prefolds stay in for another round since they are all still very damp. I stuff my diapers before putting them away and I don’t really notice the extra effort it takes.

The Bad:
-Sizing has been a giant pain in the neck. Before our trip, MJ was at the smallest setting on every diaper. Two weeks later when we got back nothing fit right anymore. His thighs got much chunkier while his belly stayed petite. This is proving especially difficult with the pocket diapers. I gave him more space by moving out a hip snap, but now I have to stretch the wings to keep his waist at the smallest size. This is causing the wings to curl out and the inner micro fleece to rub against his onesies which means I’m changing his clothes multiple times a day when they get damp from urine. If I move out a waist snap he has a large gap and leaks there as well, so there’s no winning right now.

-My inserts are junk. I bought the ones that came with the Sunbaby diapers and I can’t stand them. The bamboo inserts aren’t much thicker than a hand towel. If I want to get any use out of them I have to double them up and they still don’t last him more than 3 hours so he can’t wear them at night. The microfiber isn’t terrible but I usually have to end up adding one of the flimsy bamboo inserts with those as well if it’s an overnight diaper. I know my kid is a heavy wetter, but come on. I guess this is one of those cases where I got what I paid for. I’m wondering, too, if I would be having the wing issue had I purchased I higher quality pocket diaper. Who knows?

To combat the issues with leaks and poor absorbency, I’ve started stuffing my pockets with the prefolds he never got to use as a newborn. They’re bulkier than the other options, but work a lot better. They also work great in my GroVia and Thirsties covers, so that’s a win. I’m finally getting some use out of them!

Over the next few months, after we move, I’m going to invest in more GroVia inserts and some higher quality bamboo or hemp. I’m also going to purchase some boosters for over night since there’s a night or two each month that he sleeps  7 hours straight and I never know when that will happen (I know, I’m one lucky lady!) Looking at the issues we’re having, I honestly believe they’re all fixable. They aren’t deal breakers, they’re just annoying. I’m going to continue toying around with different combinations until we find something he doesn’t soak through.

If you cloth diaper, did you ever have any of these issues? What solutions did you find?

Our Trip Home

Like I mentioned, we took a trip to the west coast to visit our families before the move. My family and some of D’s knew we were coming, but we chose to surprise D’s parents. We flew into Los Angeles and spent a few days with SoCal relatives, and then flew up north. D’s Aunt had worked it out so his Mom thought she was picking someone else up at the airport. It was really complicated actually finding her once we got there since she was at the wrong terminal and didn’t know to be looking for us, but in the end it worked out. It was a beautiful moment watching her meet her grandson for the first time, and I caught it in a few not-so-grand photos. One of the many things I forgot on this trip was a camera, so forgive the quality.

       

We kept the secret on the drive home and were able to surprise D’s father as well. I wish I would have had a free hand to take a picture of his face when he saw his son and grandson walk through the door. Priceless.

After introducing him to that side of the family, I drove him over to my grandpa’s to let them get acquainted. This is my grandpa’s first great grandson, so I like to think it was a special moment for him as well.

We spent a few days in California and then MJ and I met up with my sister and drove up north to Washington to spend Thanksgiving with my family. What was normally about a 7 hour trip turned into 9 on the way there and 13 1/2 on the way back as MJ did not take the car ride well, but we made it just in time for dinner. Unfortunately for me, the artichoke dip was gone by then…

 MJ enjoying the leather couch

     MJ rocking Uncle Jonny’s hat

MJ in a cuddle-induced coma

We had a wonderful dinner where everyone took turns holding the baby while the others ate. I had to make a quick trip to Walmart to grab some wipes and got stuck in the line for some TV that was on sale, but eventually we made it back to my parents’ house to get some much needed sleep. My mom and sister went with us to walk around the mall the next day and they both fought over who got to wear him in the Ergo (Auntie won.)

We drove back down south and my parents followed so they could spend some more time with their grandson before we left. We spent time back and forth between D’s parents’ house and my grandpa’s house trying to make sure everyone got as much baby time as possible. It got a little hairy a couple of times (what can I say, he’s a popular guy) but we figured it out.

We went with D’s family to get MJ’s first ever picture with Santa. He did amazingly well. No tears, no fussing, he just calmly stared at all the Christmas lights and mechanical reindeer. Santa was a little on the creepy side but the picture still turned out well.

 

He did great on the plane rides for the most part. He fussed a little here and there and got sweaty a few times, but there weren’t any full-blown meltdowns. Actually, that’s a lie. At one point, D accidentally smacked MJ’s head on the roof of the plane and every passenger turned to stare in horror at the sound coming out of our son’s mouth. It was short-lived though, and he was back to happily sucking on his hand in no time.

It was a good trip. Long, stressful, trying… yes, but good nonetheless. It was a blessing for us to be able to let our families meet our baby before we leave for three years. Many of his relatives won’t see him again until he’s walking and talking. It also served as a trial run to see how he would handle a long trip. Granted, the trip to Spain will be much, much longer. Still, we learned a few lessons and made some mistakes. My hope is that the next time we all get on a plane together we’ll be better prepared (hint: there’s a post to come on that very topic!)

And since I couldn’t find a good place to squeeze these in, here are two more pictures of MJ getting loved on.
Because I think he’s cute, that’s why.

Grandma getting MJ ready for family pictures

enjoying sunny California and working on his tan