cloth diapering

Lots of people have been asking me how cloth diapering is going.
The overwhelming majority of people ask & are thrilled that it's going well, but there may be a few skeptics out there who ask & I think may be secretly hoping that I've given it up already.

Well...it's going great & there's no chance of us giving up cloth diapering any time soon.

I started using the cloth diapers with Owen consistenly when he was between 4-5 weeks. Because we had some issues with weight gain & were feeding him so frequently=I was getting so little sleep, I wanted to overcome that hurdle before jumping fully into the cloth diapering adventure.

We are using cloth diapers made by BumGenius. We use both the Econobum diapers (prefolds with waterproof covers) & the BumGenius 4.0 (pocket-style diapers).
There are pros & cons to each. For instance, the Econobums are not made to hold moisture for 6 or 7 hours meaning we definitely use the pocket diapers (double-stuffed) at bedtime.

I've gotten into a pretty good routine of laundering the diapers. I wash diapers on Monday, Wednesday, & Friday nights. The process is lengthy as we wash 1st with a cold cycle, then with a hot cycle, & then rinse with cold water again. I tumble dry the inserts, but line dry all of our covers.

In the interest of full disclosure, we do not exclusively use cloth diapers. There have been nights that if Owen decides to revert back to his newborn sleep schedule (up every 3 hours) that I am exhausted & stick a disposable on him. If we're going out for a long period of time or travelling a great distance we use disposables.

When Owen goes to WBC preschool starting in September, they have graciously agreed to use our cloth diapering system. I'm so excited about that!

So, all of this to say that yes, we love using cloth diapers and will definitely keep it up with Owen & Owen's future siblings!

Thanks to all of our cloth supporters!!!

I just love...

Owen-

I just love how you very rarely cry when you wake up in the morning or from a nap-instead you just starting babbling, or what mommy calls "singing". It's a sweet sound to wake up to!

I just love the big smile you give me every morning about 6:30 a.m. when I walk into your room & peer over the side of the crib & say "Good morning Owen"...it's the sweetest smile I've ever seen!

I just love how you often grab so tightly to my shirt when I'm holding you or rocking you that if you fall asleep, I usually have to gently pry your little fingers open so I can lay you down.

I just love the way you stroke my arms & my hands and grab my fingers while I'm nursing you.

I just love the way you need me like you need no one else & I secretly love the way that when no one else can soothe you, I can.

I just love that you are the happiest, smiliest little guy I know.

I just love...YOU!!!

(The sweet, happy face I get to wake up to every morning...he makes catching his smile on camera quite difficult, but it's priceless!)

picture catch-up

Whew, we've been so busy lately & I'm obviously way behind on blogging.

Here are some recent pictures from the last few weeks until I can find some time to blog more again!

(Some of these probably also appear on facebook)

Playing on the play mat is such hard work!

Owen is learning to hold lots of things-toys, shirts, bibs, burpcloths, hair...his hands are always very busy exploring!

We have frequent photo shoots around here. This was a pair of pajamas I wore as a baby & mom loaned them to us for us to take Owen's picture wearing them too.

A recent trip to Babies R Us resulted in Owen being the proud new owner of a pair of cool shades. Oddly enough, he loves them & never tries to take them off!

All dressed up like a little man for my 2nd trip to church!

Sadie is slowly warming up to Owen. Yes, she's nearly licking his nose!

Owen still loves bath time & is learning how to splash! He also enjoys hanging out in his super cute bathrobe after bath time.

Owen loves nothing more than sitting up like a "big boy". His head control gets better by the day, so he thinks he's Mr. Big Shot when we play like this.

Daddy celebrated his 29th birthday this past Thursday. Here's Owen watching daddy open his gifts from us!

And, a picture from today...Owen with "Buddy" the lamb (a gift from Auntie Cheri & Uncle J). He absolutely loves Buddy. He holds him, pets him, tries to chew on him (only out of affection I'm sure!).

More to come soon, I promise!

Owen at 2 months.

Time is flying by faster than ever & now Owen is 2 months old!!!

As you can see, Owen is growing super fast & is such a big boy!

Here's what you're up to lately:

• You're so "busy" these days...your hands are exploring everything & you are kicking those strong legs & feet around like a crazy man!
• In addition to discovering your hands, you've discovered your voice. You make all sorts of cute sounds...mostly "maaaa" & "yaaaa". Sometimes when you 1st wake up in the morning or after a nap, you don't cry you just start "talking". It's super cute!
• You started smiling about about 6 weeks & you haven't stopped since!!! You tend to smile the most when you are lying on your changing table, so we spend a lot of time playing there. Unfortunately, you don't really like to cooperate in smiling at the camera & it's hard to capture many smiley pictures. I'm going to keep on trying though!
• You love to sit up with our help & have gotten super good with your head control.
• You also love to be carried around facing outwards so you can check out everything going on around you.
• You love, love, love to stare at overhead lights & the ceiling fans. I think you could stare at them for hours.
• At about 6 weeks old you started sleeping longer stretches between feedings at night...hooray!!! So far, you average about 5 & 1/2 or 6 hours from the time I lay you down (about 9 p.m.) until your next feeding. One night you even slept 7 hours!
• However, you love to start your day nice & early around 6:00-6:30 a.m. regardless of how recently you ate.
• From about 5 weeks-8 weeks the hair on the front 1/3 of your head fell out (sad :-(). I knew that was normal, but didn't want it to fall out. It's now coming back as the cutest and softest little sandy blonde fuzz. Your hair is definitely getting more of a redish-tint on the sides & in the back...love it
• You love things that make noise. When we get you ready for bed at night, I play the rain song on our sound machine & you love it. Your newest favorite sound is the hairdryer. You can be unhappy & if I turn on the hairdryer, you settled immediately...it's a handy trick!
• You got your 1st shots just before you turned 8 weeks old. It was super sad to watch you scream while you got a total of 3 shots in your tiny little thighs (1 in 1 thigh & 2 in the other). You also got the oral rotovirus vaccine which unfortunately gave you diarrhea for a few days...not fun. You were quite sleepy & a little more cranky than usual for about 48 hours, but all in all you handled the shots quite well.
• In addition to all of the family you met when you made your 1st road trip to Conyers, your Uncle Dave & Aunt Courtney came from D.C. to visit a few weekends ago. They had a great time playing with you & mommy & daddy enjoyed their visit too!
• 2 of mommy's sweet friends from Belmont babysat for you on 2 different occassions. Mrs. Sharon watched you while mommy had lunch at the Puffy Muffin with Catherine H. & Ms. Sara watched you while mommy got a much-needed haircut! We have a lengthy list of people who are dying to babysit you...what a blessing!

At your last doctor's appointment (you were 7 weeks), you weighed 10 lbs. & 12 oz. (45th%), measured 22 inches (45th%) & your head circumference was also in the 45th%...a perfectly proportioned little man!
You are wearing exclusively 3 months clothes & when you wear a disposable diaper (if we're out for a long time or someone else is babysitting for you) you wear a size '2'.

hands

I love touching people's hands, holding the hands of those I love, and just looking at peoples' hands.

The only reading we had at our wedding was a poem entitled "The Hands of the Bride & Groom".

I definitely think you can learn a lot about someone by looking at their hands.

It's suffice to say that I'm very intrigued by hands...and now, especially intrigued by little, tiny hands!

In the last few weeks, Owen has discovered his hands & has learned that he can do things with them.

It has been one of the most fun aspects of watching him grow in the past several weeks.

He started by reaching for our faces with his hands when he was on his changing table.

Quickly he learned that he could grab my hair as well (ouch!).

It wasn't long & he discovered my necklaces (no more jewelry for me for a while).

Now, he's grabbing at everything...

his shirt, our shirts, burp cloths, his bibs, his taggie blanket (his favorite thing right now), his toys hanging from the play mat and the bouncy seat...

He also likes to think that he's "helping" us with his hands. He likes to put a hand, sometimes two, on his bottle. He loves to "help" by wiping spit-up off of his face. He also has been known to put his hands down into his diaper = much less helpful.

Just this week, he's gone beyond just grabbing everything to rubbing things too.

We're reading him a few of his books that have textured objects, and I think he likes that!

I can't wait to continue to watch our little man learn new things with his hands...he's sooo fun!

Owen's 1st road trip!

Owen took his 1st road trip to Conyers a few weeks ago!

Grammy came up on Wednesday night and she, I, & Owen left for Conyers on Thursday morning. Chris joined us for the weekend.

Owen did great in the car on the way down! We even had to sit in traffic for an extra hour, and although he was a bit fussy then he was still not too unhappy.

He did great on the trip back to our house too.

1st road trip=success!

We enjoyed getting to introduce Owen to some Atlanta-area family & friends.

Here are some pictures from our adventures.

Smiling for Grammy!

Meeting Aunt Sissy

Hanging out with Grammy

Meeting Aunt Diann & Uncle Leon

Auntie Cheri introducing Owen to Uncle Jesse for the 1st time

Meeting Aunt Lisa, Aunt Kit Kat, & Uncle Sam for the 1st time

Looking forward to our next road trip!!!

you might be a new mom if...

• it's noon & you're still drinking your morning coffee!
• you realize at some point in the day that you have baby spit-up on your shirt & you have no idea how long it's been there.
• it's 2 p.m. & you can't remember if you brushed your teeth this morning :-(
• you think your boobs might spend more time uncovered more than covered!
• you're not entirely sure what day of the week it is.
• you consider going to the grocery store a 'retreat'.
• you haven't blogged in a month!!!

Yes, all of these things have happened to me in the last month.
Please do not think that I am complaining...I'm definitely not.
I wouldn't trade not one second of my time with Owen despite any of these things.

Being a mom to a 2 month old is an adventure & I love it!!!

(Hopefully more blog posts with pictures to come soon!)

Owen at 1 month

It's hard to believe that you were 1 month old on Saturday.

Our little boy is growing so fast!

This 1st month has brought so many exciting changes & so much fun:

• You had a few more visitors last week-Grammy & Grampy (who know wishes to be known as "The Big G") came back to see you, you met mommy & daddy's friend Hollie, & Auntie Cheri came back to see you as well.
• We took you back for a 1 month weigh-in since we had issues with your weight gain. You weighed 8 lbs. & 6 oz....what a big boy! We're still feeding you every 3 hours during the day, but every 4-5 hours at night now...whew!
• You're about to outgrow the majority of your newborn onesies. There are a few little newborn outfits you can probably wear for another week or two.
• Mommy started the cloth diapering adventure last week. We're using Pampers only at night now or if we're going on a long errand around town.
• When it hasn't been rainy (not often) we've gone on a few adventures around town-lunch with Auntie Cheri at the Puffy Muffin (you slept through it!), a trip to Costco, & several walks around the neighborhood.
• We started carrying you in the Baby Bjorn. We carry you in it for walks & Daddy carried you around Costco in it on Saturday. We love it & you seem to too!
• You have really discovered that you can do things with your hands. You love to sit in your infant-toddler rocking chair & swing your arms to try & reach the toy bar. You love to swing at the yellow lion on your entertainer mat too.
• You love to focus on our faces. It's so fun to think that you know we're your mommy & daddy!
• You also love to stare at your face in the mirror. Sometimes you'll reach out & try to touch the mirror too...so cute!
• You love music. I'm pretty sure your favorite song is "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" because you usually will stop fussing when I start singing it.

Here a few of the most recent pictures:

Watch me grow...

In addition to the hundreds of pictures we've been taking of our Owen, each week on his "week birthday" we take a picture of him in the same chair with his little chalkboard birthday sign.

Owen was 4 weeks old last Wednesday (wow!), so here are the pictures from the 1st four weeks of his life...

1 Week

2 Weeks

3 Weeks

4 Weeks

I promise I won't be taking weekly pictures forever...I imagine they'll fade to monthly pictures very soon!

Thanks Dolly!

Owen is one of the newest members of the Dolly Parton Imagination Library.

I had never heard of the Imagination Library until we moved into our house in September & started receiving books in the mail each month addressed to the little boy who lived here just prior to us. I tried sending the books back, but kept getting them back & decided to keep them for Owen.

One day I thought to go online & find out about the Imagination Library...
Basically Dolly Parton established a program almost 15 years ago that allows any child in a participating community to receive a book in the mail each month until the child is 5 years old. The best part is that the books are gender & age appropriate!

After Owen was born, we signed him up as a member of the Imagination Library.
So, thanks to Dolly Parton, Owen will have another 60 books in his library by the time he turns 5!!!

You can find out if you & your child live in a participating community by going here: http://imaginationlibrary.com/.

Thanks so much Dolly!

Owen at 3 weeks

Owen was 3 weeks old on February 8th...time is just flying by!

In your 3rd week of life:

• You had your 3 week check-up & everything looked great except you weren't gaining any weight :-(. We started giving you formula supplements temporarily & you gained 8 oz. in 3 days. Dr. Rauth said you were a rockstar!
• You had more visitors-Mommy & Daddy's friends Claire, Laura, & Meghan, and your Auntie Abbey returned for a fun weekend visit!
• You & mom made your 1st solo trip out to Harris Teeter & Whole Foods...success!
• You have found your feet. One afternoon you were in your swing & I looked over just as you ripped your socks off your feet & then laid them across your belly. You definitely do not appreciate socks!
• You have fallen in love with your bath time. We sit you in the sling inside of the infant tub until you get a bit bigger, but you often figure out a way to throw one of your legs over the side of the sling to get it down in the water.
• You love to stare at bright lights. Your eyes will always find the overhead lights in any room.
• You've come to love your 'binky' & have learned how to grab it with your hands. Unfortunately, all you do when you grab it is yank it out of your mouth. We're going to have to work on teaching you how to put it back in!

A few pictures from your 3rd week of life:

One happy little family!

Playing with my feet

Hanging out with Auntie Abbey

Chilling out in the bath

Owen at 2 weeks

Owen was 2 weeks old on February 1st.

Highlights from his 2nd week of life:

• Grammy stayed with us until you were was 9 days old. Having her here was simply amazing & to say that she was helpful would be an understatement.
  
• Katie Mosley came to shoot newborn photos on day 9...so can't wait to see how the pictures turned out. We had such a blast with her!
  
• You had had lots of visitors-grandma & grandpa, Boo Boo, Big Nana, Aunt Erin, great grandpa & Marion and mommy & daddy's friends Kim and Kyle & Scott & Sarah.
  
• You had your 1st tub bath on day 11. You didn't love it at 1st, but by the end you were pretty content.
• We know you can't see much, but that doesn't stop us from showing you everything we can. You've definitely started focusing on our faces a little more this week. You reached up & touched Daddy's beard one night!

A few pictures from Owen's 2nd week of life:

Still love your swing!

We've started laying you in your crib to play & for a few naps here & there...sometimes you love it & sometimes you hate it.

If we leave you in your crib for more than about 3 minutes, you turn your upper body over onto your right side...clearly you didn't get the memo about "Back to Sleep"!

You can definitely focus on things a bit better, but focusing usually makes you go cross-eyed. You love your fun, yellow giraffe!

We love you so much Owen!!

i just can't get enough...

Owen-

I just can't

get enough

of your...

little full & pouty lips,

round little cheeks,

super cute tiny nose,

soft, soft hair,

baby soft skin,

most precious fingers & toes,

sweet baby smell,

& every single little detail of who you are!

Owen's First Week

Owen,

The 1st week of your little life just flew by!

I wish we could stop time & keep you this little forever.

But, time keeps moving so I want to try to document things we learn about you as you grow.

In your first week of life...

• You got the hiccups at least once a day...luckily, they don't seem to bother you!
  
• Everyone comments on your perfect skin complexion...you definitely do have beautiful skin!
  
• You love to keep your hands near your face. We weren't too surprised by this as you had your hands over your face for the majority of the 3 of the ultrasounds we had.
  Keeping your nails filed is the challenge so you don't claw your little face to pieces
  
• We're working on getting you to take a Soothie pacifier (your "binky") because if not, I'm convinced you'll be sucking your thumb or fingers for years to come. So far, you take it ok, but when you want to suck your hand, you won't even entertain the binky. Time will tell...
  
• You eat about every 3-4 hours
  
• Nearly everyone comments about how much you look like your Grampy...your hair, your coloring, many of your facial expressions-it's quite wild!
  
• You got a bit jaundiced (a little yellow in your eyes & around your nose & chin) starting about day 4...Dr. Rauth wasn't worried
  
• In the 1st week of your life you met your grandma, grandpa, Grammy, Grampy, Auntie Cheri, Auntie Abbey, great-grandpa, Pastor Jon, Pastor Todd, & Mrs. Shannon Simon.
  
• You went for your 1st week check-up at Dr. Rauth's on 1/26...you weighed 6 lbs. & 15 oz. (the same you weighed on Friday when we brought you home) & she said you looked perfect!
  
• You don't love tummy time, but you don't absolutely hate it either
  
• You absolutely love your swing. It doesn't matter if it's on & swinging, if the music is just playing, or if you're just sitting in it...so happy tou like it!
  
• You are a noisy, noisy little sleeper...who knew babies could make so many noises. You coo, gurgle, squeak, whimper, whine, and sometimes it seems you are almost laughing.
  
• We love to watch your facial expressions when you sleep...sometimes it looks like you are smiling, sometimes you just peek out of one eye ("the pirate look"), & you have a very serious look too when you furrow your little brow!
  
• You absolutely love, love, love to have your hair washed but don't so much love our little sponge baths.
  
• You've already earned yourself 2 nicknames-
  
  1) "Scooter"- You are such a wiggler...you don't like to have your arms or legs too contained & during tummy time you are already digging your feet into the play mat to get your butt up in the air. We imagine you'll be semi-rolling over in no time!
  
  2) "Shooter"-On your 1 week birthday, you entertained Grammy & I by peeing all over everything during a diaper change. You peed on the wall, the closet door, the floor, the picture hanging above your changing table. It required some major clean-up, but was hilarious & priceless (as long as you don't make a habit of it!)!
  

We have absolutely loved everything about the 1st week of your life & can't wait to see what next week holds!

Coming home...

Owen & I were realeased from the hospital on Friday around 1 p.m.

We couldn't wait to get home!

We got the little man all dressed & snuggled in his car seat & we were off...

Owen seemed to love the ride home & never made a peep from his car seat.

We arrived home to Auntie Cheri & Auntie Abbey anxiously awaiting to meet little Owen.

They had blue balloons tied to our mailbox & a sweet "Welcome Baby" banner & balloons decorating our carport to announce Owen's arrival...it was so cute!

You can't imagine all of the "ooohhhing" & "ahhhing" that started as soon as Chris pulled our car under the carport.

It was a super cute moment when Owen's aunts saw him for the first time.

We finally made it into the house & within minutes Owen was meeting Auntie Cheri & Auntie Abbey more up close & personal.

I think it's fair to say that everyone was sooo happy & instantly in love.

Thanks to my sisters for making our return home so special!