An article I have to blog about...

OK, so I read this article titled, "Forty-two things that change when you have a baby" by Rebecca Woolf and I really liked it since I can sooo relate.  I wanted to share the things that changed, that surprised me.  They are all great, but I have bolded the ones that really hit home to me.  Check out Woolf's full article here:
http://www.babycenter.com/0_forty-two-things-that-change-when-you-have-a-baby_1452535.bc?scid=momsbaby_20110920:2&pe=MlV6VGdqc3wyMDExMDkyMA..

1. You finally stop to smell the roses, because your baby is in your arms.

2. Where you once believed you were fearless, you now find yourself afraid. [See a reader's perspective in #22, below.]

3. The sacrifices you thought you made to have a child no longer seem like sacrifices.

4. You respect your body ... finally.

5. You respect your parents and love them in a new way.
6. You find that your baby's pain feels much worse than your own.
7. You believe once again in the things you believed in as a child.

8. You lose touch with the people in your life whom you should have banished years ago.

9. Your heart breaks much more easily.
10. You think of someone else 234,836,178,976 times a day.
11. Every day is a surprise.

12. Bodily functions are no longer repulsive. In fact, they please you. (Hooray for poop!)

13. You look at your baby in the mirror instead of yourself.
14. You become a morning person.

15. Your love becomes limitless, a superhuman power.

And from our readers...

1. "You discover how much there is to say about one tooth." — Ashley's mom

2. "You finally realize that true joy doesn't come from material wealth." — Anonymous

3. "You now know where the sun comes from." — Charlotte

4. "You'd rather buy a plastic tricycle than those shoes that you've been dying to have." — Sophie's mom

5. "You realize that although sticky, lollipops have magical powers." — Roxanne

6. "You don't mind going to bed at 9 p.m. on Friday night." — Kellye

7. "Silence? What's that?" — Anonymous

8. "You realize that the 15 pounds you can't seem to get rid of are totally worth having." — Brenda

9. "You discover an inner strength you never thought you had." — Ronin and Brookie's mom

10. "You no longer rely on a clock — your baby now sets your schedule." — Thomas' mom

11. "You give parents with a screaming child an 'I-know-the-feeling' look instead of a 'Can't-they-shut-him-up?' one." — Jaidyn's mom

12. "Your dog — who used to be your 'baby' — becomes just a dog." — Kara
[Many readers begged to differ, saying things like, " I disagree with number 12. My dogs are my additional children," "Nothing about previous babies, whether two- or four-legged, changes when a new miracle comes along," "My dog will never be 'just a dog," and "This is sad to me. My dog is still my baby too."]

13. "You take the time for one more hug and kiss even if it means you'll be late." — Tracey
14. "You learn that taking a shower is a luxury." — Jayden's mom
15. "You realize that you can love a complete stranger." — Dezarae's mom

16. You find yourself wanting to make this world a better place. — Arizona

17. If you didn’t believe in love at first sight before, now you do! — Ciara

18. You start to appreciate Sesame Street for its intellectual contribution. — Anon.

19. You have to quit watching the news because you see every story from a mother's perspective and it breaks your heart. — Brooke&Boys

20. You just plain love life more - everything comes together and becomes better because of one tiny person and your love for them. — Anon.

21. You finally find out the real reason you have those breasts. — Anon.

22. In response to #2 [above], I'd say that where you were once afraid, you're now fearless. I was always very timid and shy and let myself get walked all over … but now where my kid's concerned, I'll speak my mind and really connect with my inner "b"! — gummismom

23. The support you get from other people surprises you, because the people giving it are not always the ones you'd expect. — japanese_macaque

24. Nothing is just yours any longer. You share EVERYTHING! — DylanLsMom

25. No matter what you've accomplished in life, you look at your child and think, "I've done a GREAT job!" — Anon.

26. You want to take better care of yourself for your child. — Treasor

27. You can have the most wonderful conversation using only vowel sounds like "ahhh" and "oooo." — littlehulk2008



In more E News I finally caught her smiling on camera.  Here is the first picture of her gorgeous smile:

...and yes, I will do anything, everything, and sacrifice all for that smile!  :-)

My exploits in Cloth Diapering...

So, for those of you who know, I have been cloth diapering little E.  It has been quite an adventure but to those of you who thought I wouldn't last or gave me the side eye, guess what, I LOVE IT!!!!! 

It was rough in the beginning because I was trying to use prefolds and covers but I had bought the wrong size prefolds (they were too big for my little E) so I got some cheap contours and they worked ok but since they were cheap they were a little difficult to get on.  My OS pocket diapers arrived two weeks ago and I LOVE THEM too!!  They are very cute and so easy.  They are one size (OS), so they'll grow with her, and they are super easy to wash and take care of.  I only have to do diaper laundry every other day and it is a snap.

For anybody who is on the fence, or has never considered it, I highly recommend it.  However, I would wait until the little one is big enough to fit into OS pocket diapers (around 10-12lbs). 

Using cloth is saving us so much money, at $7-10 for a pack of diapers, disposables are soo expensive.  My OS pockets with the additional organic inserts, total, have cost me around $200 and that's all I'll  have to pay.  Why do you say?  Because I got pretty gender neutral diapers just in case our next little one is a boy, then we can also use the diapers on him aswell.

How easy is it, super easy...see...

This is the actual diaper shell, it is lined with PUL so that it is water-proof and then the inside is fleece to wick away the wet from the babies skin.

These are the inserts, the bottom one is microfiber (I am still waiting for my hemp/bamboo inserts to arrive).  This soaks up all the pee.

This is a hemp liner I use to double up on the main insert.  I do this because my little E is quite the heavy wetter.  She has blown out disposable diapers with her pee in 3 hours.  These little hemp liners can really absorb.

Then I take the insert, put the liner behind it, and stuff it into the diaper.  I do this while watching TV just like folding laundry.  Once stuffed I snap them closed and stack them in her diaper caddy. 

This is my full caddy (I just did diaper laundry today).

Here is happy E just after a diaper change.  I still have not been sable to catch her smiling with the camera...

It is so easy that Adam likes using cloth too.

Ok, my rant about cloth diapers is done, phew, that felt good!  :-)

E is 2 Month's Old

It was official on Tuesday, but this week has been very busy, E is now 2 months old!  HAPPY 2 MONTH BIRTHDAY E!  :-)  Although, we celebrated by going to the doctor...  :-( 

The past couple of weeks have been very busy, a bit of a blur, and lots and lots of fun.  This past weekend was the best.  Grandma and Grandpa Miller flew out for the Labor Day holiday and Grandpa got to see, hold, and cuddle E for the very first time.  Then on Sunday, September 4th, we had E's baby blessing at church.  It was perfect and we were really glad all of our friends were able to come and make the day extra special for us.  Monday was my birthday and we had a very busy day, we went to the LA Zoo, it was a first time for all of us.  The zoo was really nice, definitely not as big as the San Diego Zoo, but still a lot of fun.  Even though it was really hot we stayed in the shade a lot and none of us got sunburned! :-)  We also went to dinner for my Birthday to El Torito on the Redondo Beach Pier, it was great, the waiters even sang happy birthday to me in Spanish and English.  On Tuesday morning we had to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa, it was a short, but awesome trip!!!!!

On Tuesday I went back to work, big bummer, but it had to happen sometime I suppose.  I am glad we moved so close, it has made it much easier being able to go home for lunch and see my little sweetie.  Then in the afternoon we went to the doctors for E's 2 month appointment.  She got 3 shots and a liquid vaccination that she drank pretty well.  The shots were rough.  She put up with the first two pretty good but the nurse warned us that the last one stings, which is why she left it for last, and not more than 2 seconds after she gave E that shot she started wailing.  I don't think I have ever heard E cry that hard, poor girl!  The doctors office was nice, they let us stay in the room and cuddle and nurse for as long as we needed.  I nursed her to sleep and we packed up to go home.  She slept very hard for the next 4 hours, hard enough that she was sleeping in her car seat with the car seat out of the car.  If you know E you know she HATES her car seat, so it was a sign of how hard the vaccinations were on her.  She was a little fussy after she woke up later that night but mostly cause she was just so tired still.

*UPDATE* I forgot to add her info from the Dr appointment.  She is 11 lbs 9 oz, 22.5 inches long, and the doctor said she is very strong for her age. 

Here are some pictures from this weekend and from Tuesday:

E sleeping in her car seat after the nasty doctors appointment

Grandma, Grandpa, and E at the zoo...  She's hungry!

Just chillin with the Gma and Gpa!

E and Grandpa

E and Grandpa watching the sleeping tiger

In the Jaguar cage!

Grandpa's already trying to tickle her little feet