Week 20!

Hey Friends and Family!

This post is going up a little earlier then usual because I'm up at my parents house to have my gender reveal party! (Sorry, still not gonna tell you what it is until next week!) This is going to be a short post since I posted last weeks late (Monday) and only a few days have gone by!

Life Update:
This week has been pretty busy preparing for the gender reveal party. I've been trying to get as organized as I possibly can without having all the stuff I need since the party is up in Phoenix and I'm down here. I've got my final guest list and am happy to say that most everyone who was invited are happy to come to the party and discover Baby McCabe's gender before the internet!

It's also been kind of fun because around fathers day I finally came to the conclusion that the "gas bubbles" I've been feeling more and more is not gas. It's pretty cool knowing that these movements is the baby! It kinda helped last week during the sonogram when I saw the baby move it's foot at the exact time I felt a "bubble" so it kind of clicked in my head they were connected! So I've been feeling movement but nothing strong enough yet for the hubby to be able to feel too.

Also a few days ago I'm pretty sure I felt a leg or butt or foot or something on my abdomen. It was like squishy stomach and then hard small mass that wouldn't move then squishy stomach next to it. And today.. mass is gone, back to squishy stomach! I'm really looking forward the the baby's kicks (or punches) getting strong enough so the hubby can feel them too!

Developmentally:
My app says the baby is 10 and half ounces in weight and roughly 10 inches from head to heal. Almost a foot long! wow this baby is growing! The digestive system is also working. The baby is swallowing and its bowels are working. The kicks are also getting stronger each day!


Symptom Check!
Heartburn: If I go even a day without it, I think it will be a miracle!

Growth: My stomach has officially popped! I like to think anyway :)  I don't fit in any of my last years summer shorts :(  Most of my shirts are now VERY snug around the middle and even though my hubby says I look like I ate a HUGE lunch I like to think I'm starting to look like a pregnant lady?  My friends have said they think I'm really starting to show too, so they have to be right, right? but apparently only from the side... from behind or from upfront I guess I still look normal lol What do you guys think?

Swelling: Yesterday was the first day I experienced swollen ankles, specifically my right one, man my foot looked really big! I'm gonna have to make an effort to make sure I prop my feet up at night!

Belly button: Ok I know this one is weird, but I swear my belly button is starting to come out! I had a super inny, I'm talking, you couldn't see the end of the belly button inny and now... you can! I swear my belly button is loosing depth! This only makes me feel like a turkey with one of those pop out thingies that pops out with its done... I guess it would make sense, I'm about halfway done so my belly button seems to be halfway up? I really don't want it to pop out though! I was hoping because of my inny state I wouldn't have to experience that!

Ring: With all the swelling and popping of belly buttons, I've taken note of my wedding ring. In the summer my fingers swell from the heat normally, but I think I may only have a couple more weeks with this ring as my finger is getting a defined waist line! At the moment I can still get my ring on and off pretty smoothly, but I may have to soon invest in a fake set so I don't get those judgy looks from people thinking I'm an unwed mother (it's crazy how much society has changed, yet THIS is still something people get all judgy about!... plus if they would just look at my finger, they would see the tan line AND the finger waist line!!)

Bladder control: Well this may be TMI but it totally happened to me today! I waited too long and had too full of a bladder and sneezed... well you can imagine what happened lol

Alright folks! Next time I post it will be the gender reveal so stay patient and we'll see of all of you who guessed who is right!!

Until next time!
Bre and the Bump!

Week 19 | Boy or Girl?

Hey Friends and Family!

This week was a super exciting week for me and the hubby! We had our anatomy scan and you know what that means!?!?! I know what baby McCabe is!!! hehe I know something ya'll don't know!! Next week is the gender reveal party so I will post on week 21's mid week post what baby McCabe is :) I'll do a post on the party and the big announcement then :) Until then I'm open to guesses!!

Baby McCabe's profile and a little fist at the top

Life update:

This week has been pretty uneventful (besides the Dr's appointment) at our home. We said goodbye to a great set of friends as they packed up their moving truck and headed east :( but thank God for modern technology so we can keep in touch!!

This week was the first week I had people touch my belly! One was someone I didn't know.. it was weird, I was with a friend and she was getting a hair cut and the hair cutting lady didn't believe my friend that I was pregnant and touched my belly and then said she believed me, though I'm not showing much. Still weird.. I get it if people I know touch my belly but people I don't know??? At least buy me a snack first!

Also now that we know the gender I've made a couple purchases (I'll do a haul in a few weeks) I ordered a really cool diaper bag, storage tote for the cloth diapers, and bought some baby cloths that were just so cute I couldn't wait in hopes of getting them at a shower :)

The hubby has had a pretty uneventful week as well. Basically just trying to survive this crazy heat! It's been in between 110 and 112 all week! And the poor hubby is super white... and works outside most days... lets just say he thinks about the sun and gets burnt lol

Developmentally:

Book and my app says the baby is around 8 1/2 ounces and 6 inches from head to bum ( I don't know why they don't measure the whole length at this time?). But the sonogram showed the baby is around 10 ounces, but was not cooperating enough to get a length measurement. (takes after it's dad) The heartbeat was 146 bpm this time :)  I can now confirm Baby McCabe has 10 fingers and 10 toes, 4 developed chambers for the heart (super cool to watch on the sonogram) and loves to do the exact opposite of that the sonogram person needs.  I have to go back in two weeks for another scan to get the scans this little stinker would't cooperate.

Symptom Check:

Heartburn: yep, my constant companion, I don't think I'll ever get rid of it at this point.. but if this baby comes out bald I'm sending it back for a refund on the heartburn!!

Nausea: I really haven't had anything this week. I do get a little wonky when I haven't eaten anything for a little bit but I've gotten back into a routine of making sure I eat enough and drink enough water (very important in this heat!)

Growth: I don'f feel like I've gotten any bigger but then again I haven't weighed myself since last week. My cloths seem to be fitting the same too.

Migraines: Yep, I keep getting these too, but as I've mentioned before I'm not sure if it's pregnancy induced or allergy induced. But still... no fun

Cravings: I still don't have specific cravings, but I do enjoy a good turkey sandwich!

Upcoming: 

So this week I will preparing for my gender reveal party! I will also be half way through the pregnancy!! 20 weeks down 20 to go! It's amazing how quickly these weeks have gone by! I'm excited for this coming weekend not only to tell my family and closest friends the gender of our baby, but to catch up with them to! Its been a while since I've seen some of these people!

Boy or Girl?

So now that it is getting close to finding out if baby McCabe is a boy or girl I thought it would be fun to try out some of the old wives tales and see what they suggest!

High or low? - it is said that if the baby is sitting high its a girl, and if low its a boy: BOY

Heart rate: above 140 bpm girl, below 140 bpm boy: GIRL

Cravings: Sweets: girl, Salty and sour: boy: BABY (I like food)

Chineese birth chart: BOY

Brakeouts? yes = girl, No= boy: GIRL

Morning sickness: lots during 1st trimester = girl, not a lot = boy: Boy

Cabbage test: boil red cabage, mix the saved water with your pee (eww): red or pink = girl, purple= boy:

BOY

Even or odd: The mayans add the mothers age at conception to the year of conception; even= girl, Odd= boy: GIRL

Names: It's said when you think of names, the gendered names that come easier to you is what you are having: Boy

Parents.com has gender prediction quiz and according to it, after answering 10 yes or no questions: GIRL

And just for fun I had my dogs give their predictions too! I saw the puppy prediction test for the Super Bowl and elections done by late night show hosts and figured, if those puppies can make blind predictions then my pups who have been with me the whole time can make predictions too! I gave them each their own set of gender bowls with the same amount and type of food and photographed their picks!

 Mitzi's prediction:
GIRL



























Bruno's prediction:
BOY

Question time:

This week it's simple! When did you discover the gender (if you didn't until the birth, what was your motivation behind it?) And how did you tell everyone??

Go back to all my other weekly update posts and read the symptoms, what do you think?!?!?

Thats all for this week!

Until next time,

Bre and the Bump!

Cloth Diapers Part 2!

Cloth diapering 101

As I mentioned in my First cloth diapering post, I would explain all the different TYPES of cloth diapers! Yep that's right there are different kinds! In the first post I mentioned how one of the comments I got was "but cloth diapers are so old school." Well, yes, they can be, BUT have you ever heard the saying "if it aint broke don't fix it?" However there have been HUGE advances in the cloth diapering world. I'm going to take this post to tell the different kinds, the overall cost, (just the total cost this time, not the how I got the numbers, for that process go back to my first diaper post) how far their footprint from disposables are, ease of use etc. 

Flats

First up is what I like to refer to as the "old school way." "Flats have been used FORVER this is what people refer to when they say "old school" Back in the day they would use scraps of fabric or sheets and flour sacks. This is still a VERY popular way to cloth diaper and it's the CHEAPEST option. One of my closest friends actually diapers her baby with these and helped me get the pricing for this section! Parents these days can go online and buy special made flats with cute patterns for around $2-$3 a piece. However, there is a more economical way to go with this. You can get a pack of flour sack kitchen towels from Walmart or Target (about $5 for 10) or even use some of the MANY receiving blankets you end up getting from baby showers. 

One of the down sides is Flats are just that: a big flat piece of fabric, so it has to be folded to fit the baby's booty. HERE is a link to a bunch of different ways to fold the flats. These folds can be very complicated and have a learning curve to learn them all. They also need to be secured somehow. The old way is safety pins, you can still do that, but a new invention that has come forward is called the snappi. Think back to the little clips you use to secure an ace bandage... well this theory was used to create the snappi. It has three fasten points that clip onto the fabric and hold it in place. 

If you need more absorbency (if you have a heavy wetter) you can double up on the flats or add micro fiber kitchen towels. **they are a great source of slow absorbency but it is VERY important the micro fiber not contact the baby's skin** Lastly you will need something to make the diaper waterproof.... Unless you don't mind the wet leaking through to their cloths and whatever they are on. But any who, there are LOTS of diaper covers out there made by different companies and different prices. 

Another con to Flats is they are about as far away from disposable as you can get. They are NOT easy peasy changes like disposables, you have to fold the diaper sheet, put it on the baby, secure it, AND put a cover on it

So total cost for this kind of diapering stash for two years including washing and all the accessories you'll need is: $186.00  (with cloth wipes) to $793.00 (with disposable wipes) 

Diaper Covers:

Diaper covers are pretty self explanatory: they cover cloth diapers (haha). Their main purpose is to keep the wet in. They are usually made of waterproofing materials such as thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), polyurethane laminate (PUL), nylon, vinyl, fleece, and wool. (the last two are usually used for overnights because they allow air to get to the baby's booty while still preventing leaks!) They are usually anywhere from $10-$20 dollars a piece. (except wool covers, those are usually $35 or more) 

The cool thing is they are reusable! After the baby wets it's self, all you have to do is take the dirty cloth part of the diaper away and dispose of it, wipe down the inside of the cover (as long as there is no poo) and put a new cloth on the baby and put on the cover! Oh just make sure all the cloth is stuffed into the cover to prevent leaks! Diaper covers are secured with a velco material or snaps that are already on the cover. 

Pros to this is you don't need to buy too many to accommodate your stash; you could get away with having as little as 4 covers to last you through 2 days! They can be reused throughout the day as long as poo doesn't leak into the cover. It also great at preventing leaks and they are waterproof! They also come in a bunch cute patterns or solids if that's what you prefer. These are also super easy to wash and dry because they are basically like washing... well dish cloths or small blankets!

The Cons to the covers are only one step in a few steps of diapering and doesn't assist in making cloth diapering closer to a disposable. These can only be washed in the washer but should not be dried in the dryer, they should be set out or line dried. 

Prefolds

Prefolds are a lot like flat because they are a square of fabric that involves some folding to fit the baby's bum. This is another super popular and inexpensive way to diaper a baby. These are the most popular for diapering newborns because of the better fit. I actually was diapered on these and at least two of my friends have successfully diapered their 1st (and moving onto the second) baby with these! The main difference is these already have the thickness needed for average absorbency. The diaper is divided into three different parts, with the thickest part in the middle. They are usually made out of natural fibers such as cotton. Back in the day (when I was a baby and before that) there was only one size of prefold and there would be extra fabric to fold down when the baby was smaller. Today though, many companies such as Green Mountain Diapers makes them in different sizes:

This helps have a better fit as the baby grows. They, like the flats, have to be folded (only a little bit) to fit and secured with a snappi or pin: 

OR they can be folded into thirds and placed in a diaper cover like this: 

They are also great for adding extra absorbency to add to other diapers as a doubler for overnights. Some non booty use for these are are burp cloths and household cleaning rags! So these can have a nice long life after baby too (if you choose to not save them for a second child). These also like the flats are super easy to wash and dry! You can put them in the dryer or hang them in the sun (doesn't matter). These are the most common newborn cloth diaper because they are not bulky and can secure a really good fit. They are also pretty inexpensive (only a little bit more then the flats). 

The cons are much like the flats. Even though they are one step closer to disposables, there is still a few steps you have to follow. These need a pin of some kind to secure them and only are water proofed when covered by a diaper cover. 

Total cost for this kind of diapering stash for two years including washing and all the accessories you'll need is: $246.00  (with cloth wipes) to $813.00 (with disposable wipes) 

Fitted

Fitted is one step closer from prefolds to disposables. They are made from the same materials as the prefolds, but they are also preshaped to fit the baby with elastic around the edges and snaps to secure to baby:

Here is a pics of some Green Mountain Fitted diapers

As you can see from the picture, when secured, it looks like the prefold diapers without a snappi. Luckily fitteds do not require any folding because the diaper is shaped to fit the legs and has elastic around the waste and legs spots to ensure a good fit. (PRO!) They usually come with an extra absorbency flap to help with the drying process. If they don't, it's just super thick there and the drying time can take FOREVER (CON) These are also pretty pricy and can be about $10 a piece. They do require a diaper cover to make them waterproof. If this were to be your main means for diapering it could be pricy because you would need to buy them in different sizes to grow with the baby. However, most who use these only use them at night because of the extra absorbency already built into them. So with that in mind, as a compliment item to a stash you already have, it would be an additional $40 per size assuming you already have the diaper covers. Or another option I've seen some people do is take the prefolds they already have and shape them themselves into fitteds... none of my cloth diapering momma friends use these that I know of, and if I do use them, it will probably only be during the newborn stage. These are considered one of the more babysitter or grandparent friendly methods because all the caregiver needs to do is change out the diaper and put on a new cover.

Total cost for this kind of diapering stash for two years including washing and all the accessories you'll need is: $1137.00  (with cloth wipes) to $1744.00 (with disposable wipes) ((adds up huh?? see why this one isn't my favorite?))

Terminology

Before I go any further into the next section I think I'm going to have to define some of the terminology and 'knowhow" otherwise I'm just going to end up repeating myself over and over again. Look for the BOLD letters for the terminology! 

Newborn/Extra Small sized diaper: manufactures have made teeny tiny diapers to fit the newborns. These usually range from 6-13 pounds for fit it depends on the maker so make sure to look at the size and weight recommendations. These can usually be used for the first three months before moving up in sizes (depending on how quickly your baby grows) 

*most newborn diapers have what's called an "Umbilical snap down" where there is an extra snap on the top middle of the diaper to snap down the section around the umbilical chord so it doesn't get rubbed or disturbed until it falls off. Other newborn diapers sometimes have a little notch cut out in the same section instead. 

*Inner leg gussets are often a feature on newborn diapers. It is an extra liner/barrier right inside the leg hole as an extra defense against blowouts. They aren't as common in the bigger sized diapers, but do exist in some companies!

*Cross over velro/snaps: are made so the wings that go around the waist can cross over each other and still secure the diaper in order to make fit around the waist snug. 

One size Diaper: made to fit from "birth" to potty training. Usually sizes 7 pounds to 35ish pounds. Again check the size and weight recommendations. They are adjustable in hight with rise snaps and side snaps or velcro sides. 

Rise Snaps: these are used to adjust the hight of the front of the diaper to a larger or smaller setting. 

**Even though it says "one size" these however don't always fit newborns very well. They often times on their smallest setting become VERY bulky to the tiny newborn baby. Because of this there is often times not as good a fit around the legs and waist and they can be prone to leeks. Also the extra bulk give the tale tell bubble butt bulk and often times the newborn clothing won't fit. Most manufacturers that make the one sized diapers actually sell a newborn size diaper the same style as well. 

**Wing Droop is also an issue with one size diapers on the smallest setting. The extra fabric stuffed inside the diaper can droop out of the leg holes messing with the fit. Some companies have added Hip snaps to better secure the fit around the legs on smaller settings. 

Snaps: in general these are a great STRONG way to secure the diapers and usually last for quite some time. They are also pretty quiet to secure and unsnap, so if a baby is sleeping during a diaper change, it's not too loud as to wake them up from the noise. A con would be, because the snaps are spaced evenly apart, there isn't always as snug a fit. 

Velcro/hook and loop tape: Now I know pretty much everyone knows what velcro is. Its great for cloth diapering because it has the effect that the disposable diaper closures do: they are super fast to secure and you can ensure a really good fit around the baby. The main con however is velcro is pretty loud, so it could wake a sleeping baby. And, velcro wears down after some time and may need to be replaced (if you can sew) or you'll have to get new ones. 

Soaker/Doubler: These are extra pieces of fabric to add absorbency for collecting pee. These can be a number of things such as an extra prefold, a dish towel, inserts that come with the pocket diapers. Super absorbent inserts that are usually used for night time are bamboo and hemp. Another good material is mice fiber, but this material CAN NOT come into contact with the baby's skin as it is a big skin irritant. If you use micro fiber inserts it is usually place below the fleece lining or prefold/ cotton material. 

All In Two/Hybrid

All in two (AI2) and Hybrids are basically the diaper cover and absorbency all in one place. 

Here is an AI2:

 As you can see the cover is still a TPU or PUL material, and there is an absorbency and liner added usually via a snap. The price and concept is pretty similar to using prefolds and covers except snappis aren't needed. The major pro to this is the cover is reusable (same as prefolds, just wipe the cover down and change the insert. And like prefolds, clueing is easy and fast. A major con though is the liners don't usually have a good wicking ability and the baby will fuss from being we a lot faster. These aren't as popular and are actually harder to find because of the popularity of hybrids and similarity to covers and prefolds.

Here is a good example of a Hybrid diaper:

gDiapers are a VERY popular hybrid used. I actually have one of my friends that is on her second baby with these and swears by them. They are SUPER close to what a disposable diaper is in the sense that the insert is disposable! Basically the cover is a PUL or TPU material with a plastic cradle that holds the insert. Depending not the company, the insert is either flushable or trash disposable like a regular diaper (don't forget to flush the poo!) Plus side to these is it takes up way less room in the diaper bag because you only need a couple shells and a pack of liners. They are also great for traveling, don't have to worry about washing diapers! A major con is the liner cost adds up! Especially depending on the brand the liners can be super expensive. Lots of mom's I've met, buy these diapers and make them into AI2s, buy the shell and add a soaker from cloth (much like covers and prefolds!) The average diaper costs about $15 a piece plus the price of the inserts. (that right! they are sold SEPARATELY!) Personally this option isn't my favorite.... I'd rather go the basic cover and prefold/insert approach. But I can see how for travel this would be a good investment, couple covers and a pack or two of inserts would be nice :) 

So basically the difference between the two is the insert. One is reusable and one is disposable: 

I did the estimated price off gdiapers pricing and making the gdiaper itself the cover for the AI2 since I couldn't find AI2 cover pricing. For the hybrids I used gdiapers too but honestly, this system gives me a headache and doing the math made me pretty much convinced its the same cost, if not more then disposable diapering. You are buying disposable liners that compare in price to disposable diapers, the only difference is the shell is reusable. 

AI2 Total cost for diapering stash for two years including washing and all the accessories you'll need is: $305.00  (with cloth wipes) to $912.00 (with disposable wipes)

Hybrid total cost for diapering stash for two years including washing and all the accessories you'll need is: $2719.00  (with cloth wipes)**Same as disposable price! to $3326.00 (with disposable wipes) **more then disposables give or take! 

Pocket 

This is where the "new" way to cloth diaper really comes into play! These are not your grandmas diapers! Pocket diapers comprise of two pieces: waterproof outside (usually a PUL or TPU) with a micro fleece inside that has a pocket AND inserts.

The diapers are usually made as a one sized diaper or a newborn sized diaper. The micro fleece lining wick away moisture into the doubler inside the pocket. Most pocket diapers come with at least one insert but more can be purchased/ made for more absorbency. Prefolds make great inserts for pocket diapers and they are super cheep! The great thing about pocket diapers is you can customize the absorbency. Most of the inserts you buy are made from natural fibers such as cotton, microfiber (only use this as an insert in the pocket! microfiber is bad for baby's skin!) bamboo, and hemp.

Bamboo and hemp inserts can cost a lot more money then cotton inserts, but are great because of the absorbency they can give. A lot of cloth diaper moms use these for overnight doublers. Microfiber is also great because you can get microfiber dish cloths from anywhere for super cheep and stuff them in the pocket. They absorb slower then cotton so they are also great for overnights or heavy wetters. 

Pocket diapers are only a couple steps from disposables! These are super popular amongst moms new to cloth diapering because there are no complex folds to learn or too many extra steps or parts. At least two of my friends use this method for cloth diapering their babies. The main cons are you do have to grab a new diaper every time, so it does cost more to have this stash. Also, because you have to stuff each diaper it is more time consuming to prep the diapers. And, if you buy newborn sized pocket diapers, its super tough to stuff them! On the plus side drying times are pretty fast because you can take the extra absorbency out in the wash and they dry separately, Also as I mentioned its great because you can customize the absorbency pretty easily. 

The price on these can be tricky because depending on who you buy from they can be anywhere from $10-$30 a diaper, plus the cost of extra inserts. (I made my calculations of knowing that I follow deal sites and get the diapers for about $10 a piece plus one extra prefold per diaper for a doubler)

Total cost for this kind of diapering stash for two years including washing and all the accessories you'll need is: $401.00  (with cloth wipes) to $1008.00 (with disposable wipes)

All In One

All In Ones (AI1) are the closest thing you are going to have to a disposable. everything is there: the cover, liner, absorbency: all connected and no assembly required! The absorbency cannot be removed from this diaper because it is already attached, oftentimes one of two ways. Sometimes as a whole piece sewn in all the way around, or with flaps of absorbency sewn in on one side so it will open up for easier drying:

Absorbency sewn in all the way around. 

Absorbency with a flap for drying help. 

The big pro for these are they have everything you need! You may need to add extra absorbency, which can be done with inserts and prefolds, but they are usually pretty absorbent. They are also the closest you will get to a disposable, use and change, simple as that. This is the diaper they recommend for dads who are hesitant or grandparents and babysitters. The cons for these are they can be pretty bulky. They come with LOTS of absorbency built in and the bulk really shows on the smaller rise settings. Also, depending on the maker, the drying times can be a pain (1st pic would talk WAY long to dry then 2nd pic). 

Total cost for this kind of diapering stash for two years including washing and all the accessories you'll need is: $577.00  (with cloth wipes) to $1184.00 (with disposable wipes)

So that's pretty much all the main diaper systems you have to choose from! Below is the comparison of all of them. Basically you can make your stash as cheap or expensive as you want. There are other accessories that are needed and can be added to help with the diapering process.  I'll talk about those next week when I say what we plan on making our diapering system will consist of. 

Until next time! 

Bre and the Bump

Weeks 17 and 18

Hey friends and family!

Just a quick update this week, as my last post a couple days ago was so long! If you haven't read my post on why we are going to cloth diaper our baby the link for that is HERE.


I'll just get strait into it and say week 17 consisted of this:

The fetus hates me

Week 17 life update:
So week 17... yeah... that was the worst week EVER in this pregnancy so far. It started with my heartburn hitting an all time high. The Zantac kind of took the edge off, but I had a bad case of the burning burps for a couple days. I also had a VERY BAD gag reflux that week. For example my friend's baby farted... I puked...hubby farted... I puked... Bruno tried to give me a doggy lick... I puked.... I'm pathetic...

Then came that Thursday... for those of you who saw my Facebook post last week you know it was a horrible few days. Basically I felt pretty heartburnish the whole day but thought nothing of it, I just took it pretty easy. When the hubby got home I had just enough time to tell him "I don't feel good" when he asked me how my day was and then the upchucking began..... every few hours.... for the next day.. basically I started throwing up at 9ish pm Thursday and couldn't keep ANY food or liquid down until around 3pm the next day. It was especially bad because when there was nothing left the dry heaving ensued. I pretty much now am a believer that dry heaving is WAY WORSE then actually throwing up. When the next morning rolled around, I was still not able to hold anything down. I called my doctor's office and they recommended trying vitamin B6 for the nausea and said they would check in on me in a couple hours. I dragged the hubby out of bed and made him go to the store for me (first time ever I've made him get me anything for this pregnancy!). He got me that and some pedialyte in hopes that even if I couldn't keep anything down at least I could try and be a little hydrated. (the main concern was if I continued to not hold liquid down, I would have to go to the ER to get IV fluids). I thought this was kind of helping because three hours went by without upchucking... Then the hubby left at 11 to go to work ... and I puked again... and then again at like 2 :(

Luckily I have a great doctors office, because they called me around 2:30 to check in on me and when I told them I was still nauseous my doctor (on her day off) called in a prescription of Zolfran. I had to be driven to the pharmacist by one of my friends in the area (you know who you are and THANKS SO MUCH) because I was pretty woozy and didn't think it was wise to drive. But an hour after I took this magic pill I started to feel SO MUCH BETTER. I bought a fruit smoothie to kickstart some extra vitamins and the liquid was bound to be easy on the stomach. I slowly kept feeling better as the day went on.

Over the next few days I took 2 more Zolfran and haven't taken any since. (I'm not a big believer in taking medicines just because it's prescribed, I only take them when I have symptoms) I have however continued to have really bad heartburn... needless to say the fetus and I are fighting. Month four of pregnancy ended with a "bleh" but I guess I'll take a week of gross instead of a few months!


Week 18:

Developmentally the baby has now grown to about five and a half inches long and weighs around five and a quarter ounces. Around this time the babies existing areas developed in the first trimester just continue to strengthen and grow! I love knowing now the baby can hear from inside the womb and that its moving around like crazy. I however still cannot feel the baby. :( I've had many of my mommy friends try to describe what the "flutterings" feels like, but I can't distinguish gas bubbles from "flutters" so as far as I'm concerned I still haven't felt the baby. But I was told this is pretty normal for a first pregnancy and I'll probably start feeling movement in the next couple of weeks. :)

Yay for week 18 and the start of the fifth month of pregnancy!! I can't believe I'm almost half way done! This week has been WAY BETTER then week 17. I still have heartburn but its pretty manageable. This is also the first week someone noticed I'm pregnant :) I was wearing a shirt I got at a maternity store so it was pretty form fitting to my stomach and the guy did cautiously approach me to ask if I was expecting, but hey it counts! I was finally asked by a person I didn't know! Plus he thought I was only a couple months along and not almost halfway! 

I also had a doctors appointment this week on Wednesday. Not the gender scan, (thats next week) just a normal check up. I've gained another 3 pounds since my last appointment so its a total of 6 pounds gained in 18 weeks. I'm assuming that's not bad because the doctor dint' say anything about it. She said my blood pressure and all the other stuff they make you do each time you go looks good. So if she's not worried, neither am I. My pregnancy book says the average person gains about 10-13 by this point, but considering I spent pretty much all of last week talking to the porcelain in my house.. I'd say my weight is pretty good.  

She also checked the heartbeat and its 148 this time! It's always so fun to hear the heartbeat when we go and makes me wish I had a home doppler! I'd be sitting at home all the time just listening to the baby's heartbeat!

So this coming week I have my anatomy scan. Bright and early! In this appointment, the hubby and I will find out if we are having a boy or girl! Though we will not release the gender to you folks until after the gender reveal party for our AZ families at the end of the month. Sorry guys! Hey I've had to wait almost 20 weeks! whats 2 more for you guys?! lol 

Well that's it for now!

Until next time!

Bre and the Bump!

Cloth Diapers Part 1!

Why Cloth Diapers?

Part 1

Ever since I've said on my posts (many of them) that I will be cloth diapering our baby I have gotten ALOT of comments! And not all of them have been good btw! I've gotten the:
"EEEEWWW but the poop!"
"Don't you think about how people who are going to watch your baby will struggle with those!?" 
"You aren't going to be able to do that!" 
"You haven't thought this through have you?"
"But disposable is SO MUCH EASIER!" 
"That's super old school! Catch up with the times!"
"Disposables are BETTER!" 
"Sure at home it will be fine, but what about when you are in public or visiting people?"
"You really didn't take into account other people did you?"

WELL all you doubters! THIS post is for you!  I really want to address all the questions and I think explaining the WHY's of Cloth diapering will help make my case and maybe even sway some of you doubters! This will be a 3 part post series. First the WHY's of cloth, Second all the TYPES of cloth diapers (there are a BUNCH) and the benefits of each, and Lastly what WE are going to cloth with for our baby! THIS one will be about all the WHY's: why we are choosing this approach, why we believe its better, why MANY others are going BACK to cloth, why it will benefit the baby AND us etc. SOOOO firstly:

Why Cloth diaper?
Well the main reason we are going to cloth diaper is because I said so. I didn't really give the hubby a choice lol. I said, since we got married, when we have a baby we are going to cloth diaper! He had his doubts.. at first... but I had to present my case (over a series of months... he has a short attention span lol) and in the end convinced him! So with that in mind I'll tell all of you what I told him that won him over the the cloth side!

Why cloth diapering benefits the pocketbook: 

This is a pic from google I got that kind of gives a good vision on the AMOUNT of diapers you go through... in one year

This was my main sway point to the hubby. This time last year we finished up Dave Ramsey's financial peace university and really committed to paying off all our debts (house and car) and committing to a life of living debt free. This took us getting on a really strict budget

So babies on average over a 2 year span go through about 12 diapers a day (over a TWO year span). I know you go through more in the beginning and less before they potty train, but this is the average for the two years. So with that number in mind (2 years, and 12 diapers a day) I'll give you the $$ numbers.

(If you want to skip all the number figuring go to the GREEN LETTERS at the end of this section to just see the final numbers.)

***Disposable Diapering:
Average price per week for disposable diapering a baby: $20 (if you get the store value brand)
Times that by 2 years worth of weeks: $20*104 (2 years of weeks)= $2080.00 (WOW!! that adds up!)
PS that's also almost 8,000 diapers in two years!

So our base price for disposables is $2080.00

BUT you have to clean the baby's butt too! Average diaper change takes about 2-3 wipes:
So 3 (wipes) * 12 (per day)= 36 wipes a day But we'll say 30 for the sake of our calculations
so that makes about 200 wipes a week.
the average box of wipes has about 60 wipes for $2 so 3 packs a week costing $6 a week
$6 *104(2 years of weeks)= $624.00 JUST IN WIPES!! (and that's the bargain kind!)

So Diapering with disposables for JUST 2 YEARS will cost $2704.00!!!

And yes I know it will end up being only about $4 a day or $26 bucks a week but that's date night for me and my hubby!

***So for cloth diaper prices:
YES cloth diapering CAN be expensive, but it can also be pretty cheap too. So I'll give the spectrum of both sides, and on my final post of what WE are going to do I'll post what our cost should be.

Cheapest way to cloth diaper:
When you cloth diaper you usually want two days of cloth diapers as a MINIMUM so you can wash some while the baby still has a clean stash available. Flats and prefolds (Explained in next post) are for sure the cheapest option. These are what our moms and grandmas are the most familiar with. It's roughly $32 for a dozen prefolds (flats are even cheaper, but I'll get into that on the next post) and I would get three dozen (you can use some as burp cloths, and JUST in case of a bad poop day you'll want extras!) so for about $100 you can have the cloth. To hold the cloth in place you'll need what's called a Snappi (safety pins are no longer needed!) and you can have 3 for about $9. With flats and prefolds you need a diaper cover (you don't want leaks!) and you need about 4 of those. They cost on average $10 a piece. So:
$100 (3 doz prefolds) + $9 (Snappi) + $40 (4 covers*$10) = $149.00

That's it! $149.00 to cloth diaper your baby for 2 years!

But lets be fair and include the wipe like I did for disposables: ALOT of people who cloth diaper DO use disposable wipes so the CHEAPEST route for 2 years so far would be $149 (diapers) and $624 for wipes= $733.00 Thats a little over a dollar a day or just over $7 a week!

Thats almost $2000 LESS then disposables for 2 years! Think of what you can buy with that extra $2000.00!!!

As promised there are more expensive types of cloth diapers: wool, all in ones (AI0) all in twos (AI2), hybrids ((I'll go over all these in the next post)). Since the AVERAGE person ends up getting AI2's I'll quote those ones:
Most AI2s are "one sized diapers": diapers that should last from newborn to potty training. BUT I've found the smallest setting is kind of bulky for a newborn (again, I'll explain on the next post) So you'll need two sets of diapers: one set for newborn to 3-4 months on, and a set for after. Since newborns go more you'll need about 30 diapers for a 2 day supply, and then 24 for a two day supply after 4 months. The average AI2 costs $20, so 54 (30 newborn and 24 after 4 months) diapers would cost $1080 just in diapers. Add the cost of wipes: $1704.00. Only about $1000 cheaper then disposables.

***Cloth WIPE costs
BUT I can STILL make it cheaper!!! So a lot of people who cloth diaper have the moto if you cloth diaper, why not cloth wipe!? This thought had never occurred to me until I saw a couple pins on Pinterest. The point was made: You already are going to be washing diapers so how hard is it to throw the wipes in with them!?  This got me thinking.. hmm could I really cloth wipe too? would it be beneficial and cost effective? Well here are your answers!: Remember the disposable wipe count needed for a day? (36 a day) well you'll be happy to know that not as many are needed for cloth wipes. Turns out, cloth does a MUCH better job cleaning up then disposable. On average 1-2 wipes are needed per clean up (depending on how bad the poo) so we'll say 1.5 wipes * 12 (remember the diapers per day?) So 18 a day. For the sake of bad poos, we'll just say 20 per day. BUT for this we don't need to have a week's supply, just at least 2 days, so 40 wipes.

There are a few ways to get cloth wipes, you can buy them from people who have made them or from some company. (I'm not putting those costs because I'm crafty and can make my own) You can just cut up some fabric i.e. old shirts/ receiving blankets and use those (If you get these as gifts... FREE). OR you can make your own! The average wipe is about 7inches by 7inches. Keeping that in mind, a yard of fabric would make about 25 wipes. However if I'm making the wipes, I'm going to have them reinforced (double sided) So it will take about 2 yards per 25 wipes. Knowing I'll need 40 wipes, I'll have to double the yardage, and end up with 4 yards to make 50 wipes (yay for extras!). Different fabrics are used to make wipes, depending on the person, some use flannel some use cotton, some use the t-shirt material, or terry cloth. For sake of easy sewing job I would do 2 yards of flannel (about $4 a yard) and 2 yards of cotton blend (bout $3.50 a yard). plus the cost of thread (about $2 worth).
Total cost to make 50 wipes= $17.00

***Washing cost
And I know... there is the "but you still have to do laundry! all that money added in water and electricity makes up the difference easy!"... well here are those numbers:
To calculate the cost of what a load of laundry costs I went to this site. Keep in mind I have a HE washer and a gas dryer/ water heater so there is some savings there. You'll have to do some research on your bill and possibly call your electric/ water/ gas company to get some of the prices btw! but here's what I came up with number wise:
Cost per load of WASHER laundry including detergent: about $0.14 a wash (don't hate me, my HE is awesome!)
Cost per load of Dryer Laundry: $0.18 a load.
Total cost per load: Roughly $0.32 a wash. BUT I'll be drying most of my diapers on a clothes line out side (I live in Arizona people, the SUN is FREE and sometimes depending on the the weather actually drys faster then the dryer! ** PLUS the sun is great for bleaching out stains) But I'll do both quotes of with dryer and without:
since I'll be doing a load of diapers about every other day it will be about 4 extra loads a week.
Total cost with dryer $.32 *4 (loads a week) *52 (weeks in the year) *2 (years of diapering)=$133.12
Total cost wash only: $.14*4*52*2= $58.24
And realistically I'll probably get rain some days and have to use the dryer so my total cost will between the two... Lets just say $80 for fun..
Total cost to wash diapers for 2 years: $80.00

TOTAL COST COMPARISON FOR 2 YEARS OF DIAPERING:
Disposables only: $2704.00
Cheapest cloth W/cloth wipes and wash: $246
Cheapest cloth W/ disposable wipes and wash: $813.00
Average cloth W/ disposable wipes and wash: $1784.00
Average cloth W/ cloth wipes and wash: $1177.00

So as you can see for price comparison sake, the cheapest route is less the $300 for two years and $2704 for the most expensive (Disposables) BUT the cool thing with cloth is if you have another baby you can REUSE the cloth diapers for the second so then you would have THESE Prices

Total Cost comparison for diapering 2 kids:
Disposables only: $5408.00
Cheapest cloth W/cloth wipes and wash: $326 (added the cost of 2 more years of washing)
Cheapest cloth W/ disposable wipes and wash: $1517 (cost of another 2 years of wipes and wash)
Average cloth W/ disposable wipes and wash: $2488 (cost of another 2 years of wipes and wash)
Average cloth W/ cloth wipes and wash: $1257 (added cost of 2 more years of washing)

In reality you can do all the above for cheaper with baby showers and registries. Those are all rough estimates, but if your cloth diapers are gifted there is a much bigger savings initially. You can see from the prices of cloth diapers, that parents are more willing to do small amounts of money little bits at a time (the $26 a week for disposables) and not so much the initial $200 or $1000 up front for cloth.

Diaper Rash

Also I've had the argument from people that their kids don't use THAT many diapers.. BUT I know first hand that with disposables SOME parents take advantage of the "up to 12 hours of feel dry protection." These diapers can TRIPLE in size with pee and the baby will still feel dry because of the chemicals and materials used. BUT I can also argue diaper rash.

This one kind of hits home because this is the problem my mom said my sister and I had. She started us on disposables or when we went to the sitter we had disposables. BUT the disposables would give us a diaper rash! Many babies have diaper rashes, some parents even take it as being part of diapering a baby. Diaper companies even state that diaper rashes are COMMON and EXPECTED on their websites! There are a bunch of creams and powders out there to help with rashes right? Let me explain how rashes work: it's a REACTION to something irritating the baby's skin. simple. as. that. The complicated part is figuring out WHAT is the irritant. A lot of the times its the baby sitting in its own WET (weather that be pee or poo), and other times its a combination of the wet AND the chemicals in the diaper touching the baby's skin. And sometimes all it is is the diaper its self and what its made out of. Well this was mine and my sister's problems. We were allergic to the synthetics in the disposables and always got rashes when wearing them. So my mom cloth diapered out of necessity for our poor little booties!

Now I'm not saying cloth babies DON'T get diaper rashes, but they are less likely to. Just like you usually don't get rashes from the cloths you wear, babies don't usually get rashes either.. when they are dry. The rashes usually come with the baby sitting in a dirty diaper too long, but trust me they will let you know they are wet WAY faster then disposable babies. Plus the cloth diapers BREATH better, they let air get to your baby's bum which helps ALOT when recovering from a diaper rash.

So back to the personal side... fast forward 26 years, I've baby sat and watched babies since my early teens. Non of which had cloth... BUT at one time or another each baby has had diaper rash... and so have I! That's right I STILL get rashes from the diapers! FROM JUST CHANGING THEM! I think I mentioned I have really bad allergies in past posts? Yeah well.. I'm still allergic to synthetics... like when I have surgery: no latex gloves, and some of the medical tapes make me break out. I can only use certain types of detergents etc.. you get the point.. cloth will benefit the baby and ME.. the main care giver.

Potty Training

I think it should ALSO be noted that the 2 year estimate needs to be addressed.. this was IF your baby potty trains by 2, any time after that... add more money. FUN FACT TIME! Babies who cloth diaper are aware of being WET faster and potty train faster! I was a cloth diaper baby and potty trained super fast! Babies who use disposables aren't as aware of the WET because of all the chemicals used to absorb the wet and help them feel dry. Don't feel wet... don't realize you went... don't learn to not wet yourself. I mean I know 4 year olds who still aren't potty trained! I was more shocked that they MAKE diapers for 4 or 5 year olds.. but I guess in the industry of making money it would benefit the diaper people to keep the kids on diapers as long as possible.. =more MONEY for the makers.

Why deal with the poop?

This is probably the biggest thing that is brought up to me as a "hey you don't want to go this route." BUT again I've done my research and have an answer for you on that one too! Less then HALF a percent of people who diaper, dispose of the WASTE correctly. EVERY BOX says something to the effect of "dump the waste in the toilet before disposing of the diaper." Here are a few examples.. costco brand, seventh generation, pampers brand:

Fun fact: ALL disposable diaper boxes have this message.. ya'll just choose to not follow the LAW that human waste isn't supposed to go to land fills! So to answer your "but you have to deal with poop!" comments... well YOU are supposed to be "dealing" with it too! You dispose of you OWN poo, no different for babies too! People just get their fancy diaper genies and throw the poopy diapers diapers in there and forget about the rest. Even IF I used disposables I would still dump the poo in the toilet, no different for cloth diapers. Plus they have these cool things called diaper sprayers that connect to toilets that will pre rinse the poo AND pee before washing! (I'll talk more on that in the next post)

Blowouts are also a problem that ALOT of disposable (if not all) users experience. Blowouts for those who don't know are when your baby has a HUGE poop that either goes out the leg holes or up the back through the waist band. This issue has been brought up: "but when you have blow outs you just want to throw the diaper away! You can't do that with cloth diapers!" Where yes that is true, blow outs are gross... cloth diaper clean ups can be dealt with the same way IF (more on that in a minute) you get one. You put the baby AND all the poop mess in the bath tub and wash them down. Poop, especially baby poop on breast milk is water soluble so it should clean up pretty easily.

BUT (hehe pun) fun fact! If you cloth diaper correctly you should RARELY get blowout! Like I said before blowouts happen through the leg holes or up the back through the waist band... When you think about it... its because of an ill fitting diaper. If there is a GAP around the legs or around the waist then there is room for poo to escape! And when you further think about disposables... what are they made of??? a kind of papery/plasticy stretchy material right? and can this material be stretched out? (Yes.. the answer is yes) That's what you get from mass produced diapers that fit a baby's size...(just like every person who thinks they are a size 8 fits into ALL sized 8 jeans JUST right... see where I'm going with this??) And its funny with all the "absorbency" these diapers advertise, shouldn't they be able to hold in a little extra poo?

Well cloth diapers can help alleviate this! Cloth diapers are a true adjustable fit around the legs and waist and the best part is because they are made from CLOTH it doesn't stretch out! Most mommies and daddies that use cloth RARELY have blowouts! And when they do its because of the diaper fit is off or because the wash routine is not quite right (I'll go into wash routines another time) and the diapers have build up (eeewwww right?). So long story short: Cloth diapers SHOULD hold in the poop!

Use by others

Now to address people who say its not fair to those I'm going to have watch my baby. Well firstly if I come to your house to watch your baby, you have your own set of rules: what they can eat, what time they eat, when bed time and bath time is, bed time rituals, what the kid is aloud to watch/do etc... The point I'm making is if I watch a kid/baby I respect THAT parent's wishes and instructions of care... I would expect the SAME from whomever will be watching my baby. On the plus side my mom and dad have successfully cloth diapered two babies (me and my sister, and probably many more in their church nursery days) and have no problem with our decision to use cloth. Any others can take a crash coarse in cloth diapering or I won't have them watch my baby. Simple as that, it may seem mean but I believe parents have a right to parent their kids however they want as long as the child is not in any physical or mental/ emotional harm (this is the social worker side of me). But there are also cloth diapers that are called "grandparent and sitter friendly" and I'll point those out in my next diaper post.

Why travel with cloth diapers? 

Now this is something I really thought long and hard on. It's easy to cloth diaper at home, toilet is right next to the baby room, laundry is right there, I have the unlimited stash of diapers in the same room. But, what happens when you go on vacation or up north to visit family, or just have a day out shopping and driving? Babies don't go through less diapers just because you are out of the house. But if you have a diaper bag, you can cloth diaper away from home. Cloth diapers fold down pretty small and fit easily in the diaper bag. Everywhere has a toilet, so you can dispose of the waste anywhere. Also the soiled diapers waiting to be washed get put in wet bags (more on this in the next post) so a small wet bag is all that is needed for a day trip. Put the wet diapers in the bag after changing the baby and put the wet bag in the diaper bag. (they are water proof and leak proof)

Leaving for longer then a day? Overnight maybe? A couple days? Well if its to a family member's house, they probably have a washer and dryer. You can take a medium or large sized wet bag to hold the soiled diapers until you are able to do a load. If you are only gone for a day you could always just bring them back home and wash them when you get home. If you end up taking a trip away from family for a couple days, find a local laundry mat, OR if you are really worried you could find disposable diapers like Honest company diapers they are ALOT more money ($14 for 40) but they are a lot better for the baby then normal disposables HERE is some info on what they use in their diapers. These would be good for a short amount of time if you are really against traveling with cloth diapers.

SOOO Here is my cliff notes list of benefits to cloth diapering:
*Cheaper- cost effective
*less chance of diaper rash
*Potty train quicker
*poop is a "big deal" no matter how you diaper
*less chance of blowouts! (YAY!)
*ANYONE can cloth diaper if they try
*Traveling with cloth isn't THAT hard

As far as the points I didn't address:
-Old school?- That will be addressed in the next diaper post
-Disposable is easier- so is getting fat, but anything worth while takes effort. Marriage isn't easy, childbirth isn't easy, raising a child isn't easy, diapering doesn't have to be "easy" either, but with time and practice it will be!
-Disposables are better- lets agree to disagree on that one, I think I made MANY point in this post defending WHY I think they are better... and not just because I THINK, I had some hard evidence (see cliff notes)
-"haven't thought this through"- Um... yeah I have If you STILL don't think I've thought this through then please re-read and then wait for my other posts on diapering with cloth :)

***If you have any questions or comments I'll be happy to address them! I may have forgotten some points or who knows, maybe there is an element I haven't thought of that you could bring up. ***

Well until next time
Bre and the Bump

Secret Project #1

Rocking Horse Makeover

31 years ago my sister was born. And during that time my aunt gifted her with a wooden rocking horse. (This is where I would insert the pic of her on it as a baby, but it's at my parents and I'll have to snag it next time I'm up in Phoenix) One of her first pics as a baby is with this horse... and the black eye she got falling off it (hehe). 

Then fast forward 5 years and then I get to inherit the horse. Then slowly the years went on and we got to big for the horse and it got put away somewhere until last year. When I was at my mom's and demanded the crib from the garage and the rocking horse for my child guest room (now slowly becoming the baby room). As soon as I got home, this happened: 

 

So obviously my cats felt the rocking horse was for them.... I would catch them hanging out on the horse, trying to eat the nasty old 31 year old hair... So I ended up stashing it in the garage under a blanket for the last year... UNTIL last month when I told the hubby it was TIME.. time for the pony to get a NEW life! 

PONY MAKEOVER!!!!

BEFORE

As you can see from the before pic, the hair is pretty gross looking.. I'm not sure if the hair was always brownish grey (I'll have to check my parent's pic) but I can confirm that it was pretty dusty and matted and .... well... eewww is the only way I could describe it. Also the face is drawn on and I can honestly say it kind of creeped me out. The tail was only screwed on with one screw (at a diagonal) and the wood was striped. Speaking of the wood, it wasn't in the best shape, its 31 years old for goodness sake, yes it was stained, but had never had a clear coat sealer and you could tell from the rough wood that the maker didn't really put much of an effort into sanding it down before selling it..

And so deconstruction started! We found that only a few screws and what looked like a couple gobs of hot glue (yes HOT glue like from a glue gun... not even wood glue!) holding it together... It was kinda scary how easy the whole horse came apart!

Hubby took the pony apart, limb for limb

 As the hubby took the pony apart, I took the fur off of it... I had thought I would be fighting with a bunch of glue holding it on but found that the maker had actually used a staple gun and staples to attach the fur!... And all the staples had rusted over time! I found that most of the staples were not flush into the wood so one wrong pet of the pony and the petter could get cut! (not to mention get tetanus!) So long wine short I removed the staples: (remember my sneak peak from last week?!?!)

 Meanwhile the hubby sanded down the pony and put it back together.. with lots of wood glue and lots of screws.

NAKED PONY!

He then stained it with an Ebony stain (super super super dark brown) and then added clear coat on it. We let it sit for a couple days in the garage until the smell went away then brought it in the house for my part!  For the fur I purchased a 1/3 yard of rabbit fur from the fabric store (I'm pretty sure it was fake... at least that's what I'm telling myself) for a couple bucks and 3M adhesive spray:

I took the old pieces I took off to use as a size guide for cutting out the new pieces. I had to fight with the staples some more because of the rust it kept pieces of fabric together and made it hard to lay flat. Once I got that done, I set them onto of the BACK of the fur and cut new pieces for the tail and head

. 

Finally I drew a line down the middle of the head piece so I would have a reference spot when gluing the hair on! (no one needs a crooked main!) 

 AND NOW THE BIG REVEAL!

AFTER

What do you think!? Was it worth the wait?! I'm super happy with how it turned out and like it a lot! I think it will make a great addition to the baby room and will last for AT LEAST another 31 years! 

Until next time!

Bre and the Bump!