Wonderfully Content

  This last week has been wonderful overall. I got my Baby Love box from LittleEcoFootprints, I got my fluff from Green Baby Goods, I got my coupon for a free box of disposables (since the last box I bought so many of the diapers leaked). This was all exciting and fun. What made this week truly awesome was that it was reading week for universities so M had a week off of work (though he worked at home). Hence this was a family week for us. It was great!

       Alek would wake up in the morning and we would carry him to our bedroom for cuddles and playing. Then we would actually get up about half an hour or hour after that. I had so much more help at home and with Alek, which was very welcome. Though, I really can't complain M is wonderful with helping out!

     There really isn't anything to huge or meaningful to report other then buying a new exersaucer, which I am disappointed in. His hopefully better sleep pattern *knock on wood*. Settling into our cloth diapering routine. Oh and our little play date.

   Alek began to do 1 5 hour stretch of sleep several times ion the past week. This little bit of extra sleep has been tremendously helpful for me! I really hope it continues. I need to see how tweeking our bedtime routine (temperature, what he is wearing, time he goes to bed, which way we lie him down) makes a difference. Alek has seemed to love his newly decorated room and has been one happy lil man

    As I have mentioned we began using our cloth diapers and I am learning and tweeking/changing and settling into a routine. When to wash, whether I need an extra rinse cycle. Drying. All those wonderful things are now being learned and becoming a routine. So far the disposables have been quite frankly avoided in favour of cloth (except for night). The disposables can now be found under the "diaper table". I went to the dollar store and bought plastic box things for storage, one for prefolds and covers one for pocket diapers. Also I made room for our new creams etc. 

    Our little play date. On the weekend we went over to family friends house. They have a little girl who is about 4 weeks older then Alek. She has been cruising since 5.5 months. Yep! My jaw dropped too. It is even more crazy to see with your own eyes then it is to hear this. There is a tiny little girl who crawls over to something, pulls herself up and begins to walk around whatever item she is hanging on. So, she kept crawling over to Alek who was happily sitting in her incredible exersaucer (Evenflo- Life in the Amazon), which goes from play gym to exersaucer to table. He was doing his new favourite thing...JUMPING. He was jumping and whacking at different birds and toys that would light up and make noises. Well she hates this toy but she must have gotten jelous seeing someone in HER toy. Or maybe she was just interested that there was someone just as small as her. So she comes over and tries to touch his face, his hand. The reaction? To her? None. He wouldn't even look at her. He kept on playing. Maybe it is the fact that he is younger, but I think this is a prime example of the difference between boys and girls. Girls are interested in faces, expressions, communication. While boys are more spacial.

     Lastly. The exersaucer. Sigh. We decided to maybe move our beach one to one of the grandfather's houses. Since my dad decided to pay 1/2 for a new one with cooler toys, since the downside of the exersaucer we have is that it does not play music and he LOVES music. Also a big bonus to finally have something baby over at the other grandfathers house. I bought the Baby Einstein Neptune. A) I like Baby Einstein products. B) It was 50% off. C) It plays music and no lights that flash and can give him a headache. Well, I really don't like it. It is much smaller and I kept worrying whether it was to small for him (it isn't but the toys are kind of cramped in looking). I guess its nice that it takes up less room but it looks cheap and strangely squished together. Next, it was so much harder to put together then the Evenflo exersaucer. Plus, once you click the toy in its practically impossible to make it come out. Also the toys have a specific order you MUST put them it so you really have to make sure you don't make a mistake. Worst problem of all is that it has NO springs. What does this mean? No jumping. My son is in a jumping phase now and he can't jump in this really. Lastly, once you are done with it since the toys can't be pulled out you have to hide it with the toys still clicked in. Ughh wish I spent the extra money and got another Evenflo one. The Amazon themed one converts and "grows" with baby quite nicely.

  Anyways,this has been my week. Nothing too exciting for others to read about. It was amazing and I felt wonderfully content. Hope this week will also be great...and if it wont maybe I'll learn something new or have a lovely rant to post!

Green Baby Goods - Going Just a Tad Green

   So for my birthday present, yet again, I decided to order something not for myself but for another family member. Last year the cat got a wonderful scratch stand toy thingamajig. This year Alek got some surprises. I searched and searched online for a good cloth diaper, organic, natural store. There are great ones in the U.S. The Canadian stores are more expensive and unfortunately do not always carry the same items. Even the American stores cannot always ship every brand to Canada. I was on the hunt for a Flip Day pack, Kawaii Goodnights and some prefolds. Also I wanted an organic diaper cream/balm without petrochemicals and other nasty additives (Ewww read about the junk added to creams- wish I hadn't read about it but so glad I did!). Anyways, I searched and searched. Looking for great reward possibilities, pricing, shipping options and prices, samples, products and product reviews. I finally found the store I would order from, even if they did not carry the Flip Day Pack they carried amazing products, had great products and wonderful deals!

     The online store that I am talking about is Green Baby Goods, the link is https://www.greenbabygoods.net/ . The store specializes in natural, organic and green products and attempts to "help stomp out our carbon footprint." The owner is Erica Filson a mom of two boys, whom she cloth diapered! She is located in Leo, IN and you can set up an appointment with her to learn more about cloth diapering. "She is in the process of creating tutorials as well as information gatherings for those wanting to know about cloth diapering, breastfeeding or baby wearing. For those interested you can click the "Contact Us" tab on the left hand side on the store's website. 

Some of the great things this online store has to offer: point reward system, great prices, great products, quick and helpful customer service, deals of the day, give me 10 deal, free lip balm if you spend $50, layaway, explanation of cloth diapering systems, samples, free shipping after $25 for US residents and after $50 for Canadian residents and much much more. 

   A little bit about the above mentioned things the store has to offer: 
- I had a problem with the checkout not giving me free shipping and I got a response and help quickly.I have never gotten such quick and wonderful customer service before. 
- For each item you buy you get point you can later redeem and get items such as diapers, balms, laundry detergent and more!
- For every $50 you spend you can get a gift card code with $10 to spend in store
- With your purchase you get one sample (for example a Grandma Els Cloth Diaper Cream sample)
- If the price is too much to spend all at once you can buy it on layaway giving you up to 3 months to pay the sum in portions.
- Free vegan lip balm on purchases over $49
- Fast shipping 
- Each day there is a new deal, sometimes 21% off sometimes 29% etc. these are great times to buy a diaper you have your eye on.

Now for the review of the products I ordered:

1) Sweet Pea Flushable Liners
   I have not tried these out yet because I began with the other roll of liners I purchased. These are also 100 sheets in a roll and these liners cost $7.50. I love that when they were shipped they were placed inside of the wet bag to keep them clean. They appear about the same thickness as the other roll of liners and I'm guessing are just as good though as a beginner in cloth diapering I cannot exactly give the same type of review or know the same nuances as the experts!

2)Little Comfort Viscose Flushable Liners

     These liners are made out of 100% viscose rayon. They can be flushed in the toilet and are biodegradable  A roll of 100 costs 7.98. These are the liners I began with. I never used liners before and really as I have mentioned have been actually cloth diapering a whopping 1 1/2 days before I got these liners in! My first reaction: why is the diaper still getting stained? Then I realized how this system works. The liners catch the waste but some poop still seeps through, the benefit is that you don't have to dunk your diaper or hose it down after use, you can just put it in the washing machine. This makes sense because the liners looked very thin, kind of like dryer sheets!

3) Thirsties Booty Luster

   I need to give this American made product more time. I love that it is made without petrochemicals, parfum or other stuff added into baby products and wipes. This product is natural and uses ingredients such as chamomile, aloe vera and other non toxic flower and plant based resins. The smell is not overpowering but herbal. This product is used with cloth diaper wipes. You spray some of the booty luster on babies bum and wipe. Simple to use. This may be less ounces/grams of product for the same amount of money as some other products in which you mix your own solution but this is more convenient  The work is done for you and it already comes in a spray bottle. I have tried it several times. I think I wasn`t using enough  at first because it was not wiping everything as clean as I would have liked but now there is no such problem.

4)GroovyCheeks Wetbag

My first reaction when I saw this was: it's so small. I felt confused. Well my reaction was wrong. This "blueberry"  coloured wet bag is very stretchy and does indeed fit a nice amount of diapers. Right now the wetbag is holding 2 diapers, two very large inserts and there is space for for at least several more diapers and inserts. The fact that it is an elastic drawstring probably allows for more diaper space. Wetbags are great for soiled cloth diapers, swimming suits, wet clothing or other soiled and wet items because they hold the damp items without leaking. This bag was definitely worth the $7.50 I paid.

5)2 Kawaii One Size Goodnight Heavy Wetters diapers

    I purchased 6 Kawaii HD2's before these Kawaii Goodnights and they had arrived a day ahead of this shipment (though were ordered much earlier). Alek wore them all day instead of disposables and I was  impressed especially after my only cloth diapering experience being a cute Dr. Suess Bumkins diaper, which was quite sub-par.  Meanwhile  reviews for these diapers are even more positive then for HD2's. After washing them the inserts fluffed up real big, which was very reassuring to me that it would keep my heavy wetter dry. Also the  inside lining of the diaper was super soft, it is made from micro fleece and is nice to the touch.  Kawaii makes amazingly absorbent inserts and Kawaii diapers each come with two inserts, one insert is used during the day and two for nighttime. All reviews seem to mention this diaper as being one of only few good enough for all night use. I used one during the day and it holds up well for 2-3 hours and Alek is fully dry and not lying in a damp diaper, this is awesome for eliminating diaper rash and redness (one of my main reasons for switching from disposables). These diapers are a 2 part cloth diapering system made with a waterproof outer layer. "Extra protection against leaking cloth diaper, featured 3 layer outer shell, specifically designed for confident nighttime protection...Fits babies 8-36 lbs. An easy clean surface with animal print introduces animals to  your little ones, cute and trendy dotty and cow prints, perfect match with your outfit!" The cover/outer layer is created from (TPU) thermoplastic Polyurethane Laminated fabric. Another great thing is that the pocket opening is really large making it easier to stuff even 2 inserts inside. The materials are environmentally friendly and the microfleece fabric used is 40x more absorbent than cotton and yet  is also less bulky then cotton would be!

6)3 Sweet Pea Prefolds

    I have set my mind to learning how to use these. My first attempt was quite frankly hilarious and my poor child was lying in a bulky diaper with a prefold sticking out of each opening in the cover. This is not the fault of the prefold it is mine. To add to this issue I also ordered the "baby size" when I should have ordered a size smaller since I don't want to use pins or fasteners. This diapering system (prefolds)  are more difficult to use compared to other systems (AIO, AI2, pockets, fitteds) but apparently become very easy to use when you get used to them. The second and third time I used the prefolds they were already all normally contained within the cover and I felt like I did a better job but this is much more difficult and less absorbent then the  Kawaii pocket diapers. Then again these prefolds are much more absorbent then I expected them to be. A big benefit to prefolds is that they are cheaper then most other cloth diapering systems. For example this prefold is $2.50-4 and the Kawaii cover was $5.95.

7)2 Kawaii Baby Happy Leak Free O/S Snap Diaper Covers

     I bought one regular dark blue and one minky tiger print. The minky is beyond soft and plush feeling. When Alek got a handful of it before I put it on he kept touching the cover. It is made without latex to avoid skin irritation. It did not wet through when used with the Sweet Pea Prefold. The snaps allow for babies between 8-36lbs to use the same cover. Also, the cover can be reused unless it was soiled through the prefold or fitted diaper. I like it but I still need to get the hang of prefolds fitting inside the covers properly!

(It looks a little bulky because the prefold inside is a little big on him)

8) Natural Vegan  Lip Balm (Summer Peach)

     I got this item free since my order was over $49. The lip balm is not made with beeswax like many others. The balm is not tested on animals and comes in standards tubes made out of post consumer recycled plastic (why not help the environment when we can?). Ingredients include but are not limited to: avocado and coconut oil, caster oil and caranuba wax. I wasn't too excited about this item until it arrived and I gave it a shot. My lips felt fabulous after this balm. It is winter and really dry and cold weather. In this type of weather anyone's lips get chapped and even sometimes bleed. This balm is different then most other balms. It feels like it gives a nice thick coat when you put it on. It stays on the lips well and doesn't just absorb/dry out or rub off on other things like your coffee mug quickly. Next thing you know your lips are actually so soft again and feel great.

9) Kawaii Baby Training Pants

   These are ideal for potty training when a child has less frequent accidents. It pulls up like underwear and helps them recognize when they wet their pants. It is thicker then underwear but is not like a diaper.  The outer layer is TPU fabric, which is lightweight and breathable, meanwhile the inner layer is absorbent suede cloth with 3 layers of cotton padding. I wont be trying this item for at least 6 months, so I cannot give much first hand knowledge. I cannot say anything about how absorbent or comfortable it is for a toddler. It looks bulky though, thinner then a cloth diaper but much thicker then underwear. The jean design is adorable. I'm not sure how good it would train a child not to have accidents because it sounds and looks very absorbent and thick.

10)THE BALM! Diaper balm/1st Aid

    Loving this Hawaiian made baby balm so far. It is a natural greenish/brown muddy kind of colour and appears as if it has seeds. Some of the ingredients include: olive, coconut and macadamia nut oil, chamomile, rosemary, candelilla wax and st. john's wort. This balm has many uses and claims to help with diaper rash, bug bites, eczema, post-partum "owies", cuts, hemorrhoids  dry hands and so on and on. It strongly of chamomile and gives the feeling that one has entered an apothecary. It goes on smoothly. Its cloth diaper safe. And I don't know what else to say I just really like it!

11)Punkin Butt Solid Bottom Balm Pocket Sized

   Whats great about this diaper balm is that it comes in a twist container like a lip balm so you can fight against diaper rash without getting your hands dirty. This balm can also be used not only on rashes and skin irritations, but scrapes and cuts. This balm moisturizes and soothes little ones skin. This antimicrobial and antibacterial balm is made with natural ingredients such as rosehip oil, olive, oil and shea butter. I haven't tried it enough to say how it works for redness. What I can say it spreads easily and would be great in the diaper bag for diaper changes on the go. The scent that I smell is lavender, but it is not a very strong smell (especially compared to THE BALM!. It is a thicker texture then THE BALM! probably because of the beeswax. Overall, it is a great choice of diaper cream.

12) Gandma Els Diaper Cream sample

   I have not tried this out but this cream seems extremely popular so I bet its pretty good. I didn't want to try to many creams in the same week especially since we tried the Gaia cream from The Baby Love Box from LittleEcoFootprints as well.

  I am very pleased with the products, service and deals from Green Baby Goods and will be shopping here in the future!

P.S when I get some more photos of my little man in his fluff I may post some up :D

First LittleEcoFootprint`s Box

    I wrote about subscribing to the LittleEcoFootprint boxes earlier, well mine arrived yesterday. (Hope I don't ruin what's inside for anyone who still hasn't got theirs).  For those needing a recap LittleEcoFootprints " is a monthly subscription box for mom and baby (newborn to 3 years), delivered to your door filled with healthy, natural and Eco-friendly products selected by real moms."

What was in the box?:

1) Gaia Baby Moisturizer samples. This product is made with certified    organic shea butter, rosehip oil and lavender, it is petrochemical free. It says to apply  a small amount whenever needed, (for best effects) on damp skin. This can also be used during diaper changes. Just add a small amount to babies' bottom and wipe clean. Yesterday I used some of this moisturizer on my son. It smells of chamomile. It is a bit strong at first but settles into quite a calming scent. This moisturizer is VERY watery. I can't say how well it moisturizes since I have used this once so I will reserve my judgement. What I liked is that not much is needed to be used each time and the scent is calming after some time. What I did not like is that the smell was WAY too strong at first, even my husband noticed it.  For more information you can visit: www.gaiaskinnaturals.com

2) Gaia Natural for Baby Skin Soothing lotion for baby. This lotion is enriched with calendula and lavender for soothing relief for redness and irritation. This cream is ideal for diaper rashes and for eczema. It is great for diaper changes but is for any relief of skin irritations, redness or sore skin.  This product is free from petrochemicals, artificial fragrance  mineral oils, parabens, glycols or animal ingredients. To me the scent seemed more mild and very calming and nice. I will admit that I did not read "natural for baby" and thought this was for me. I carefully put some on my scars from previous surgery and then had a strange feeling that this reminded me or diaper rash cream (it was kind of thick). Oops. Anyways this product I liked and will gladly use this on my son tomorrow and for some days to come. If interested in finding out more about this product the site is listed above.

3) The Pumkin Seed Mama Cream.A cream for moms and moms to be It moisturizes, alleviates dry and itchy skin as well as avoids or reduces the appearance of stretch marks and scars. Uhmm where was this when I was pregnant? Or rather why didn't I know about it?! Okay there are a million creams like this but I had a good feeling about this one. I was sooo excited to try it out. Finally yesterday evening I put some on. First off the scent is very nice, a natural rose type smell, probably from the rosehip used within the ingredients. I looked at it and it looked very thick and rich. Finally I put some on my finger and it felt like whipped cream. Hmm interesting. Then I lathered some into my skin. It began to look like oil. Very cool. I can't say anything about the reduction of appearance of scars or stretch marks yet after 1 use but I have a feeling I will really like this product! Also the jar was very cute looking and feminine it was very visually appealing. Also those who bought this subscription box got 20% off of future purchases. If interested: http://www.thepumpkinseed.ca

A sample size of:

4) Teething Bling necklace. I have mentioned this particular item before, my friend mentioned this item in her blog. She had said she really enjoyed this item and I kept meaning to buy one but never got around to it. I'm so glad this item made it into the eco-box! I have to say I was kind of expecting it because when I contacted LittleEcoFootprints with a suggestion to try this product I was told I may just be surprised with the upcoming boxes. Teething Bling by SmartMom was inspired by babies since they like to tug on jewlery. The necklaces are made of the same material as many teething toys and look fashionable for mom, and are fun for baby.  My necklace was very fitting for a February (valentine's) box. It was a bright red heart. This colour will be very appealing to Alek and I'm sure he will love it because he is always holding and examining my necklace and LOVES to chew on anything and everything! If you want to check these out the link is: http://www.smartmomjewelry.com

5) Caspar Babypants CD. Acoustic, timeless, sing along songs for children ages 0-6 years old. I have not tried this CD out yet. I think Alek will enjoy it more when he gets a bit older. There are 20 songs on the disc and include but are not limited to: Run baby run, Im a nut, Itsy bitsy spider and Sittin on this rock.

6) BabyOrganicJoy 5$ gift card  This store is wonderful for organic and natural products. Anything from toys, cloth diapers, maternity, to even pre-school products. This store can fit MANY of your everyday needs...and wants!

7) EcoParent Magazine. To begin with I will say I love the feel of the pages of this magazine. That may sound weird but they do not feel like other magazine pages. They feel silky nice. May be a weird statement but you try it for yourself. I just feel like taking this magazine around everywhere just so I can feel the pages (okay I'm going overboard but really they are great!). Next, there are great articles about parenting, health & beauty, books, travel, home & gardening, food, fashion and kids. Articles range from exercises for those who baby-wear  to choosing the right cloth diapers, to home eco-decor DIY,  to an article about the midwives of the Matraea Centre. Plus there are great ads for various stores that fit your daily needs and wants. This magazine will be read in depth and probably highlighted for future use and knowledge. Useful item for sure. What's also great is that there is a 20% off for subscriptions or a whopping 40% off for digital only subscriptions!

I read the cloth diaper 101 article before going to bed. It was easy to understand the different systems and I appreciated the tips from the expert moms :)

8) A little brochure from Little Eco Footprint  with the featured products/stores/brands, a recipe, 3 articles, and a playdough recipe. I'm definitely trying out the playdough recipe when the time comes!!! Also great that there is a little blurb about each product company and 20% off for some of the companies.

9) 2 sample chocolates from Mercury Chocolates. These chocolates came in a cute pink little favour box. They are made with dark pure cocoa  2% milk and some cane sugar. This companies chocolates were created to allow wineries, fine food shops and resteraunts to show their products beside wold-class pure cocoa. For those that love pure dark chocolate, they will LOVE these. http://www.mercurychocolates.com

10)Hand Made Wooden Jalopy Car by Bannor Toys: This is one of my, rather probably my favourite item. I have been meaning to buy my son a toy car and now we have one! I was about to buy him some plastic car but this is eco friendly made with natural materials and is beautiful. These toys are made in Iowa and are not mass produced. LOVE LOVE LOVE it!

All in all,  this box contains approximately over $55 worth of products plus codes to get 20% of certain stores/merchandise (you pay 25$ for your box). The products are great, some hit the nail right on the head with items that I need/wanted. Other products were great to learn about. There wasn't anything in there that I found actually useless or unneeded. Happy camper over here!


P.S for those wanting to join please use my affiliate url when joining : https://littleecofootprint.com?a=151 

Infinity Photography Fun!

    On the day of love, we went into a different direction. We had more of a day of family love and fun. We started the day off with a wonderful photo session by a great new photographer. Infinity Photography is a new company founded by Marina Aleinikov, who is the lovely photographer.

  Infinity photography specializes in  weddings, couples and children's (family) photography. The photographer has a very positive view of life and the  wonderful place of photographs within our lives. She is a hard worker. Her photographs come out beautifully and she has many ideas for poses and styles for pictures.

     The photographer came to do Alek's 6 month photo's (and family photos) on Valentines day, a few days short of Alek`s 6 month birthday. In the afternoon we dressed our young man  in a cloth diaper and a lovely baby blue corduroy one piece outfit and waited for the photographer. She arrived on time and ready to work. The atmosphere was very lighthearted and fun and time seemed to fly. We did many different poses in many different areas of the house. At one point Alek got exhausted about a half hour past his nap time and fell asleep! The photographer was very understanding, thankfully!

    The disc of photographs have not yet arrived and I am awaiting it anxiously even though less than a week has passed. The disc is set to arrive tomorrow. Yep that`s right, under a week after the photo session! Yes some are edited  Yes I'm getting the raw images too! Awesome, huh?! This is efficient and quick work. Oh. that's not all. Eleven sneak peek photos have already been posted on Facebook and a few different ones on the company blog. I love them! The black and white family photo, Alek crawling and me and Alek playing are my favourites. I will definitely want more pictures captured by this photographer in the future!

For those interested in catching a few sneak peeks or are interested in having her do a photo-shoot, her blog is : http://infinityphotographs.blogspot.ca/

P.S: tomorrow a review of the LittleEcoFootprint box that I recieved. (excited to try the items out!!!)

Adding a Splash of Child(ness)

    

  So in yesterdays post I said we decorated his room for his 6 month birthday. We moved when Alek was 4 1/2 months. Since then he lived in a room with bare walls. The only baby things were his diaper changing stuff on a desk, his bed and the chair I use when I feed him (well a few stuffed toys too). We decided to make the room more child friendly. 

   His bed was placed haphazardly in a bad position in the room and we learned that it fits where we had originally wanted to place his bed but thought it would not fit. Next I went to Zellers and because of the closing sales I got 2 rather large children s carpets for $11 a piece. Love these carpets. The floors all over the house are hardwood and we have a dog and cat so we need a baby friendly clean place where Alek can sit, crawl and play. When he gets older he can play with his toy cars on this carpet since there are "roads" that he can lead the cars around on. 

    Next, the walls were bare. We did not want any nails or paint on the walls so my mom found wall appliques. We had a jungle theme and with the carpet we added a transportation theme so the wall appliques combined both elements. The wall appliques are jungle animals on cars. Lastly, we have to add curtains. I took a photo before they went up but they are space rockets with the colours of the room (greens, browns, blues), hence the transportation theme. Its a bit eclectic because I was thinking when he gets a bit older the jungle theme will be gone and we will move into only a transportation theme. For now the room FINALLY looks child friendly. 

Here are some pictures (curtains missing and no picture of the glider and ottoman):

This board was done at our baby shower and has well wishes and pictures of me pregnant

This is our diaper changing area (that dog is our first stuffed toy bought by his god father)

These are the animals on wheels :

Here is the edge of the carpet and bed (I took down the mobile so its just lying there sorry!)

By the way, attached to the bed is a toy a friend bought. This toy is amazing. It is a fisher price projector crib toy. It has a night light and it projects 2 images that change (zebras or giraffes) and is accompanied by music. He LOVES this toy. Also you can take the top part off and there is a mirror :)

Six Months To Treasure

Today my dear son turned 6 months. My lil lovebug, darling,, wonderful happy young man is half a year old!

Dear son,
             Time has flown (even though sometimes it felt like it was stuck). I will treasure this past 1/2 year (and all the time to come) my whole life, till the moment I no longer exist. It has been the most wonderful time of my life, from your first breathe to now, and I hope for many many years to come of memories and great moments. I hope you learn, grow and become a healthy, smart handsome smiling charming adult. I hope that all your dreams, wishes and ambitions become a reality. I pray I will remember as much as possible and the memories do not just get lost. I love you beyond what I can describe, I never knew I could love someone THIS much! I am rambling because my mind is racing with things I want to say, so I will wind this down already. I hope you love how we decorated your room for this little birthday of yours and that you feel comfortable and happy in it.
                                                                          Love, Mom (Dad joins in all of these wishes!!!)

    Your Birth Story

    August 16th was the first full day your grandmother was here in Canada. We had a great morning and your dad came home early from work. In the afternoon I exclaimed I'm going to give birth today or tomorrow at the latest. My mother in law did not believe me. In the evening I had not had any contractions. We went for our daily walk and I literally skipped around. I had so much energy (I had spent the last 3-4 days cleaning non-stop like crazy for your grandmothers arrival and cooking for the big dinner after she arrived). My husband and mother in law said there is no way I was going into labour any time soon. I would give birth in a few weeks. Plus I had only had 1-2 braxton hicks all day, no water breaking, NOTHING. So I went to bed around 12 after a few painless braxton hicks that were VERY far apart.

     

      August 17th. I wake up at 1:40, I am having a first real contraction. I run to the restroom where I have 2 more. I compared them to the predromal labour I had on Saturday and thought "they are about the same or slightly stronger". The different was they were closer together. A day and a half ago my doctor had yelled at me when he heard that I had not gone to the hospital after several hours of contractions about 7-12 minutes apart. He had said "you are a good stretchy 4cm so you need to go to the hospital fast whenever you get contractions". I had protested and said I heard you go when they are about 2-4 minutes apart. He said "you are way to dilated to wait that long." I started going back to our bedroom and I had another contraction. There was no doubt they were contractions but they were really not too bad, nothing I would need pain meds to manage! At this point I paced back and forth and decided it was time to go in. I woke M up and said  I'm having pretty frequent contractions though I have not timed them. We need to go in. To myself I then thought, "watch them stop while we are driving." M got dressed and I grabbed some last minute items, then paced the halls. M woke his mom, gave her my cell and said we were going in. She was disoriented and jet lagged  and didn't understand what happened.

     M helped me outside and a contraction hit and I squatted down at which time M got angry I wasn't getting in the car. He kept telling me to get in until I yelled at him give me a minute and I couldn't yet. I had more contractions during the 10 minute car ride to the hospital. After one I said "If this isn't labour then I don't know what is." I kept fearing I would not be able to tell labour apart from braxton hicks which I had not really had during my pregnancy. But I began to really believe I was in labour.

M parked the car and we walked down the stairs out of the car park and into the emergency doors at the hospital. We were quickly given directions to L&D. I smiled and said thank you but had not been able to concentrate enough to understand how to get there. Thankfully M was with me. I was asked if I wanted a wheelchair and I said no thank you and that I would walk. We got to triage and I was sent for monitoring (I was still walking and would walk by myself to my room as well).

 At triage I was given a gown and hooked up to a monitor  The monitoring only lasted one contraction because I ewas checked and found to be 7 cm. We were quickly taken to our labour suite where a nurse came in right away (this nurse never left my room ever, not even for a second!). I was placed on a monitor and I remember thinking the contractions aren`t bad they are very manageable! I gave my birth plan to the nurse (much of it was not followed - by me, by staff etc.). She did not push an epidural on me and coached me through contractions naturally. I was checked later and still 7 cm, waters unbroken. During this time the contractions got worse longer and stronger with back pain starting and ending each contraction. The nurse told me the baby was posterior and that's why 2-2 1/2 hours after arrival I was still 7-7 1/2 cm. I could hardly manage through the contractions anymore and my uterus felt like it was choking me to death during each contraction. Also the back pain was unbelievable. Also there must have been some decels because I was given an oxygen mask.

    I finally decided I can't do it anymore and asked for an epidural. Even as I asked I wanted to kick myself for it. The nurse had asked if I want to walk and move around like I asked in my birth plan but I felt like I couldn't get up and I was so nauseated (I was stuck in transition).  As I waited I even wished for a c-section. Finally the anesthesiologist came in. He made M sit further away, I had an IV put in and my blood tested. I was turned on my left side and told to do what I can so that I do not move during the contractions. (I never finished reading the thing they gave me to sign about the epidural - its impossible to read and understand when you are in transition!!!). My back was sterilized and right before the epidural was placed a woman was wheeled screaming bloody murder by the hallway. The nurse and anesthesiologist looked at each other and he said "I wont be able to help her - its too late" to which the nurse answered "Yep, she's ready to go". At this moment I felt relief I was getting an epidural. The epidural did not hurt to get done and soon it began to help, but on one side until I was turned to the other. The nurse said the epidural was a good idea it may help me progress and it would give my son more oxygen. The doctor came in and broke my water (it had meconium) as she had said she would and soon after I felt pressure. I was checked and was 9-9 1/2. Then checked again soon after and only has a cervical lip. I was given 30 minutes before I would be checked again but the pressure was so bad so I was checked again in about 15-20 minutes and was complete. 

       The nurse asked if I was ready to push. I said NO. She asked why, I answered I was scared. In a minute or 2 she asked again and I again said no but she said I had to push so a contraction or 2 later I began. The doctor came in after a bit and said I would need an episiotomy (even though my birth plan had said not to do that unless absolutely necessary, but I was in no fit condition to ask why or if it was necessary). I push. Next thing I know I look down and a nurse is holding a baby and first thing I think is where did THAT baby come from? Then I realized I pushed my son out! This was about 6 hours after the first contraction including 1 hour of pushing. I felt him moving down the birth canal but didn't seem to feel the moment he slipped out even though my epidural was on a minimum and I felt everything else. He was taken to a table to be suctioned and then he gave out a cry. I kept asking if he was okay and waiting impatiently to hold him. Then I held him and breastfed for an hour. He was so beautiful, calm and alert! He weighed 3.175 kilo or 7 pounds exactly and was 49.5 cm (19.8 inches). He was perfect and I fell so in love with him.  It was easily the happiest moment of my life.

    

  Since then life has been about learning. You learning to do things but also you teaching and M and I learning. It has been the most amazing ride of my life so far.

   

A Goodnight's Sleep

    I spent about an hour and a half trying to get Alek to sleep last night. I fed him rocked him. M sang to him rocked him. We put him in bed and said goodnight and walked out. Nothing worked. He would fall asleep in our arms and the second we would put him into the bed he would wake up. We began to think about why this is happening and getting worse and worse each day and why he wakes so often all of a sudden.

     When he moved to the crib in our room he did great. Slept all night. Then right before he turned four months the sleep regression hit. Then we moved homes and he slept in the bassinet in our room until we could put his bed up in his own room. He slept not so great the first few days but all of a sudden I had a 9 hour stretch of sleep. I saw the light at the end of the tunnel. This was a month and a half ago.

   The light at the end of the tunnel grew dimmer then flickered out. Maybe I had even imagined it? What happened? We moved him into his own room back into the crib. The stretches got a bit shorter. Then shorter. Then shorter. Well it can't get worse right? WRONG. They got even shorter. We were up every 15 minutes to an hour most of the time. Oh that's okay? Well he began falling asleep worse. Then later. Oh that isn't ...a so scary yet? Well he wasn't waking up later either still 7:30 or 8 on a good day. OHHH. Yeah that isn't great. Poor you. Well I worry more about lack of sleep and his development but I'm not going to pretend that I am some ideal mother who doesn't need sleep and everything is always sunshine and roses. I needed sleep too! I was exhausted and actually had been having a cry in the dawn hours.

     M and I discussed things and deduced that he may feel uncomfortable in his new room. The fact that there is a balcony door and some light might come in from the cars passing by and streetlights. Also maybe the room is slightly chillier, even though it really is not cold in there. One way or another he seemed to hate the room.

     We decided to do an experiment and see if we are making things up and he really has just become a bad sleeper or if there is something about the room that he doesn't like and is keeping him awake. We had no time to set the bassinet up again so we got his stroller bassinet up and put him to sleep in it and walked out of the room. WAIT...silence....still silent. Wow could he actually sleep better? NAHHHH.

     We go to bed. I wake up to crying. What time is it? 2 a.m. That's not too bad. I feed him and he falls asleep straight away. That's awesome. We sleep. Then again he awakes and it is 6:30 a.m!!! That's a 4 hour stretch and a four and a half hour stretch. We haven't had that long stretches in a while. I guess we will set up the bassinet for tonight. Guess the idea of Feng Shui is real. Maybe be doesn't like the set up of where his bed is or the brightness of the room or something else. Of course it could be that he wants to be in our room. If that is the reason then we will have to teach him to sleep in his own room but for now last night was a success but the work is not done. A battle is won, but the war is still on.