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Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Cloth Diaper Update

We have still been cloth diapering Joey and still love it! We had to stop for a couple of weeks because we weren't sure when Hayley would make her arrival. I did NOT want to come home to a pail full of stinky dipes! We started back on the cloth diapers a couple of days after we got home from the hospital with Hayley. Joey's are so easy to use and wash, it really wasn't a big deal to use them so soon while having a newborn. 

Our favorite dipe is the Kawaii pocket. It has the best fit on Joey's bum and contains the messes wonderfully. We also like Bumgenius 4.0. Very easy to get a good fit on Joey with those.

We received a couple of Bumgenius Freetime's at Hayley's shower, and while I love the convenience of the inserts being attached, they don't seem to contain the poop as well as the Kawaii's or the Bumgenius 4.0's. Hopefully they'll work better on Hayley once she's ready to wear them! 

I have still been washing them every 2 days. If I go any longer than that, it seems like the smell starts to make it's way out of the pail (picture a green fog floating above the pail- ICK!)

Cloth diapering Hayley hasn't been as easy. Prefolds and covers are much harder and more time consuming! She is such a wiggly little thing I can't get a good fit on her before she works herself out of it. I'll give it another try, but I'm ready to just resell the prefolds and covers and just wait until she can fit into the pockets and AIO's! 







Hayley Is Here!

I have finally been able to snag a few minutes to jump on here and write! Both babes are taking much needed naps, but since I can't sleep I figured I would get on here! 

It has been a busy 11 days since she arrived. Hayley Grace was born on March 9 at 10:19am. She weighed 7 pounds 3 ounces and measured at 20 1/2 inches long! She is a great baby. 

Today has been the hardest day so far because she was awake a lot last night cluster feeding and has been eating ALL DAY! 

Birth Story
I was having contractions on and off all day Thursday and Friday. Thursday we had a false alarm and I really thought I was going into labor. Called my midwife, she advised me to have childcare arranged just in case because it was early labor and she wasn't sure how quickly I would progress. So I called my mother in law at 12:30am and asked her to please come out to watch Joey as I wasn't sure if it was time or not. By the time she got to our house, I was asleep and the contractions had faded away. I felt terrible that she came out so late and I woke her in the middle of the night, but she stayed the night and we had a fun filled day the next day (Friday). 

On Friday, I walked A LOT. Went to 2 children's consignment sales and the park with Joe. Joe and I cleaned the entire house that night since it was kid and dog free. I think he was going through a bit of nesting, too!Deena (mother in law) ended up taking Joey and Lexi (our dog) home with her just in case the contractions kept getting worse as they had already started up again that morning while we were out shopping. Good thing Deena took them home with her because by 10 at night they started coming every 4-5 minutes and would last about a minute long and were gradually becoming more and more PAINFUL. 

I called my midwife around 11, she advised me to take a bath and if the contractions still came while in the bath to come in after, so I did. We got to the hospital around 2am, they checked me and had me hooked up to the monitors and said I was definitely in labor! Joe and I were excited and nervous all at the same time. I had that moment where I thought, "Wow. This is it! This is REALLY happening!" Late to have that thought, I know. 

After laboring at the hospital for 3 hours without any pain medication, I decided to get an epidural since the pain was excruciating. After that, I was able to sleep for about 3 hours. I woke up, and felt like it was time to push. My midwife checked me and broke my water. I was at 9 centimeters dilated,  so she said I could do a test push to see what happened. Her head immediately dropped down into position so the midwife and nurse were frantically trying to get everything ready for her arrival! I pushed one more time and Hayley was out! It was such an easy delivery, and I couldn't wait to hold my baby girl. Unfortunately, there was meconium when she broke my water, so they had to take her first to make sure she didn't ingest any of it.

Things got a little blurry at that point. (If you have a sensitive stomach, you might want to skip this paragraph!) While I was delivering the placenta, my uterus was still attached to it. I ended up delivering my uterus as well, so I had to be rushed into emergency surgery. They put me under anesthesia, and I woke up some time later in a recovery room next to Joe. The surgeon explained to me the next day that my uterus came out inside out, so they stuffed it back in kind of like a sock (gross, I know). Hayley was in the nursery in the meantime, and I asked to see her shortly after coming out of la-la land. 

Recovery from the whole ordeal was easy! I thought after coming out of surgery that it would be very hard. I was able to get up a few times that night, and the next day I was feeling like my normal self! What hurt the most was my throat from them having to put in a breathing tube during surgery. Everything else was just a little sore. I ended up having to get a blood transfusion (4 units), and I still have some pretty nasty bruises on my arms from those. Everyone who treated me at the hospital said they had never seen anything like that happen. I threw everyone for a loop and gave them a teaching lesson! Hayley wanted to make a grand entrance, and that she did! 

These past 11 days with her have been wonderful. She is such an "easy" baby! She sleeps great, eats great, and has been completely healthy. We are so blessed and thankful to have such a wonderful addition to our family. 

My oldest sister stayed with us for a week and unfortunately had to leave yesterday. She was so much help and such a great person to have around during this huge transition in our lives. She's an amazing mother to her children, and an amazing sister to me! She introduced us to a lot of new meals that can be thrown together pretty easily, and they were delicious! Her Trader Joe's addiction has also rubbed off on me quite a bit. I am already ready to go back and get more yummy food! 

I won't be able to update here much in the near future. Hopefully I'll be able to get on every once in a while to share pictures and stories! 






Until next time...
-Laura




Wednesday, March 6, 2013

39 Weeks


This week has been a better week! I feel more upbeat and optimistic that this pregnancy soon will be over and Hayley Grace will be in my arms instead of my belly. Last night was a rough night, had a hard time falling asleep. I think all the anticipation and making sure everything is ready before she gets here is getting to me. Luckily, my wonderful husband who I woke from a deep sleep talked me through my frustrations and helped me fall asleep. 

Joe and I got a lot done this past weekend. Organized the bathroom cabinets (I can't believe how much JUNK was in there!), made Joey a reading corner in the living room, TAXES ARE DONE! woohoo, and a few other things. It feels good to have more things crossed off the to do list! 

What's Going On With Hayley Grace:
  • Between 7-8 pounds and measuring between 19-21 inches. 
  • Pink skin has now turned white. 
What's Going On With Momma:
  • More frequent Braxton Hicks contractions. A few of them have made me think they were the real deal! 
  • Lots of backaches, all day everyday. She seems to have "dropped" more into position, so I think the pressure of her being so low is radiating around to my back. 
  • Emotional ups and downs! Hormones have been all over the place but have steadied out this week thankfully. 
To Do List For This Week:
  • I wish I could say I have packed my bag and it's ready to go... but it's been sitting in the same spot in my room for the past 3 weeks! I need to get on that. For real this time. 
  • Make Hayley's baby blanket... Still haven't made it. Those dang mitered corners are giving me a heart attack just thinking about them! 
  • More cleaning and organizing, try to get things done that I know I won't be able to do for a while. 
  • HAVE THIS BABY! Haha, I wish!! 
-Laura

Monday, March 4, 2013

Tour Of Hayley Grace's Nursery

A lot of hard work went into creating this nursery from scratch. From picking out the fabric, finding tutorials online that were easy to follow, a few broken needles on the sewing machine, and even a few tears. It is finally complete and I couldn't be more excited! Well, if Hayley were in here I think that would be the ultimate amount of excitement... But we're waiting patiently!

Dresser on the left is made by Delta, we picked it up off Craigslist in great condition for $30!
Area rug is made by Urban Outfitters, ordered it online for about $60. 

Close-up of the picture my Sister is letting me use. She had it in her daughters rooms when they were growing up, and I am so happy that she wanted me to hang it up in Hayley's room <3

Please excuse the clutter in the corner! We have since changed out the silver lamp and taken out the floor lamp. Joe is in the process of sanding and painting a new nightstand that matches the white dresser from my childhood. 
Mental Note: Replace with updated picture...

Handpainted wall letters from Michael's, I need to iron her crib skirt...

Bedding I made using Kumari Garden fabrics (www.fabric.com), and a beautiful crocheted blanket from Florida MomMom for Miss Hayley.

This is the dresser I used as a child. Before we got our hands on it, it was a birch (light colored) hardwood piece. Joe and I sanded it down and painted it with a few coats of Interior Latex Paint in a semigloss finish (I definitely recommend using a paint gun for projects this big!) It turned out wonderful! I am so happy Hayley will be able to use this for years to come. 

View from the door. I can't wait to see Hayley Grace sound asleep in her crib.

Chandelier from IKEA, $50. I made the chain cover out of a pink silk fabric, attached it using velcro. Made it 3 times the length of the chain (about 24 inches) in order to give it that scrunchy look. 

I would eventually like to mix in some picture frames along this wall of Hayley. This will be a work in progress for many years to come! I made the bow holder using an art canvas, fabric, and ribbons. The staple gun was my BFF for this project. 

Thanks for touring Hayley's nursery! I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I do. 

-Laura