Tackling the laundry beast

One of my New Year's resolutions was to get the house clean and organized, and I am off to a great start.  I decided to break the whole house up into small projects, with the first being the laundry.  My first week's project will be to get all of the laundry in the whole house washed, dried, folded/hung, and put away.  

Okay, so you're thinking, "Big deal.  A week to do all the laundry?  Easy-peasy."  Not so, my friend.  Not so.

I'm sure this will horrify some - probably most - people, but I am going to go ahead and confess anyway.  Sometimes - and by sometimes, I mean pretty much every time I do laundry - I do not put the laundry away after it comes out of the dryer.  In fact, half the time, it ends up sitting in the dryer - or if I am feeling particularly ambitious, on the ping pong table - until we need it.  Yup.  That's how bad the situation is.  And that's just the laundry.

Not to mention, there is a basket of miscellaneous socks and other random items that has been in a closet for a length of time too disgraceful to mention, simply because I have not sorted it.  In my house, doing all the laundry and getting it all put away is a huge job.

To keep me on track with this and other projects, I have decided to reward myself as I complete each phase.  I just got a new Spyro the Dragon game for my Wii - yes, for all intents and purposes, I am still 6 years old - and I am so excited to play it, so that will be my reward when I finish.  It is quite the motivator, and I actually got through most of the laundry today, with just a few items left to work through in the next few days.

Part of the reason I was able to get through so much is because my hubby was home, so he was able to help with our son.  During the week, it is very difficult to find time to do anything during the day since my son does not do a lot of napping, and when he is awake, I am spending time with him.  Showering is an accomplishment in itself, let alone cleaning or cooking something.

Even so, I am excited to be off to a good start, and I hope to continue to work towards organization in our home by setting realistic goals and continuing to reward myself when I complete a project.

2014 New Year's Resolutions

I usually completely forget to make New Year's resolutions until New Year's Day, and then I start scrambling for ideas and eventually settle on the classic "lose weight" resolution, which is nice because I never seem to lose weight, so it's good year after year.

This year, however, I have a list a mile long of things I want to accomplish in the coming year.  I talked about a few of them around the end of November, and I have been keeping track of my goals for the last month and a half and am excited to kick off the year right.

I wanted to share them on the blog so I would feel some kind of accountability, even though I think all of about 6 people read this thing. So, without further ado, here are my 2014 New Year's resolutions:

1. Get the house clean and organized.
2. Take time to be thankful for something every day.
3. Learn to sew.
4. Log 10,000 steps at least 4 days a week.
5. Finally use up my yarn stash.
6. Take better care of my skin. (I'm turning 30 this year and am already seeing the crow's feet!)
7. Read my Bible every day.
8. Lose weight.

Okay, I had to sneak that weight loss one in at the end because I am still way over where I want to be on the scales.  In my defense, not only did I have a baby, but I have been having trouble with my knees since the middle of my pregnancy, which has made exercise very difficult.  It does seem to be clearing up, though, so I am ready to get back in the saddle and start exercising - especially running - more often.

I also need to do better at taking care of my skin, especially when it comes to using anti-aging products.  I am getting so wrinkly, and I would like to prevent some of that, if possible.  The sewing and yarn goals are lofty.  I mean, really, who has time to be crafty?  I am ambitiously and unrealistically hoping that this year, I can say, "I do! I have time to be crafty."  We'll see.

Reading my Bible is important to me, and I have no excuse not to do it.  I have a Bible app on my phone, and I can always read while nursing my baby.  That one just has to happen.

So there it is.  What are your goals for the year?

Day 1: I am thankful for my husband

Today is January 1, 2014, and it is the launch of my 365 Days of Thanksgiving project.  I am so excited to be doing this, and I am eager for others to join me.  My plan is to not only blog about something for which I am grateful but to also go about my day actively proclaiming my thanks to God.

Today, I am thankful for my husband Jesse.  He works incredibly hard at his job, which has enabled me to stay home with our son, something that means the absolute world to me.  He takes good care of our family, and even though he is often very tired, he spends as much time as he possibly can with me and especially with our little boy.

Jesse will often pick out a treat for me when he goes to the store.  He knows I love to eat, so he will bring home some kind of fun snack.  He always knows just what I will love, and he brings home things I probably would never have found on my own.

He has also put up with my somewhat ridiculous obsession with and addiction to cloth diapers.  I am sure he probably thinks I am nuts, but he has supported my decision to cloth diaper and even changes them himself sometimes.  (Usually, I change the diapers, not because he won't do it, but because I love picking out the next one.  There is something wrong with me.)

Our son Clayton loves his father so much, and I can see it in his eyes when he looks at Jesse.  I thank God that I have a man who works so hard and who loves us so much.  I know it is not always easy for him, especially since he works such long hours, and I do not ever wish to take him for granted.

Your doctor does not hate you

Being a cloth diapering mother has given me a desire to reach out and connect with other fluff-obsessed mothers, and that has largely been a good experience for me.  Unfortunately, it seems some people who cloth diaper do so because they are head over heels for the earth and just must have everything in their lives be "natural" or "chemical-free."  (Point of clarification: I am not talking about the people who just like natural.  I'm talking the crazies who want to put a lead-free pencil point in your eye if you skip over the Seventh Generation and grab a bottle of Tide.)

Me?  I love chemicals.  You give me a toy that has just been slathered in some random kid's saliva at the local playground and then joyfully passed back to my child, I am not going to be looking for some natural cleanser.  I am reaching for the Lysol in all of its glorious chemical goodness.

And I just do not get the obsession with everything being natural.  People seem to think that if something fits into that ill-defined category, it is automatically good and superior to other things, but that is NOT the case.  Take, for example, childbirth.  I went through about 5 hours of back labor in the hospital before I got my epidural, and I can tell you that the natural part of labor was awful, and the part where I had numbing agents coursing through my body was awesome.

As part of the "let's be natural" movement, I find a lot of people who seem to have the idea that American doctors - specifically, OBGYNs - uniformly possess the following characteristics:

1. An intense desire to identify their patients' birth plans, goals, and wishes and then pursue any means necessary to ensure they are not fulfilled.
2. Extreme laziness to the point of ordering random C-sections in order to make their lives easier.
3. An unholy and disgusting lust for C-sections.

There are so many posts on the various groups and websites out there about doctors who are pushing patients towards unnecessary C-sections.  I think much of this stems from the popular documentary "The Business of Being Born," which paints an obscene picture of doctors as C-section-happy little monsters who run up and down the halls of the hospital, terrorizing young unsuspecting women into foregoing vaginal birth for no apparent reason.

As someone who had a C-section, I will attest that this is simply not the case.  Sure, there may be a few doctors out there who just LOVE cutting open their patients instead of letting them deliver their babies, but they are certainly in the minority.

After about 25 hours of labor, including 2 hours of pushing, my doctor asked me about doing a C-section.  We knew going in that my son was on the larger side, so a C-section was always contemplated as a possibility, but I really wanted to try to deliver him vaginally first.  My doctor, who I later discovered thought I was a bit crazy for even trying, was very supportive of my decision.  When my son stopped progressing, she gave me her opinion, which was that if I continued pushing, my son could get stuck, which could put him in distress.  I immediately said, "Let's do the C-section."

To me, any risk to my child was way too much.  I did not want a C-section, but I was much more willing to have one than to put the health of my little boy on the line.  When I told the doctor to go for it, she took the time to talk with me some more and asked me if I was sure that was really what I wanted to do.  There was no pressuring whatsoever, unless you count me saying, "Yes, let's do this.  Come on!"

Doing a C-section did not seem like laziness on the part of my doctor.  Cutting me open, extracting a human being, and then putting my insides back together properly was a pretty big deal, I think.

People often cite the fact that the United States has a high rate of cesarean births compared to other western countries.  Perhaps so, but let's stop for just a minute and think about why this might be.  In the United States, doctors tend to be very risk averse.  Why?  Because (a) they do not want to maim or kill patients, as a general rule and (b) they do not want to get sued.  And why would they get sued?  Because they took unreasonable risks with the health of their patients and their babies.

If you look at it that way, it is obvious that most doctors are simply trying to avoid any risk to babies.  I would rather have 10 unnecessary surgeries than put the life of my child at risk.  Could I have delivered my son vaginally if I had kept on pushing for another hour or two?  Perhaps yes.  Perhaps no.  But the most important thing is that my son was born healthy and continues to be healthy.

If your doctor really is putting all this pressure on you, go find another doctor.  Otherwise, stop and consider that maybe, just maybe, your doctor is looking out for you and your child instead of trying to ruin your life.

Getting started on those New Year's resolutions

Okay, so everyone is worked up over how all the stores have "skipped" Thanksgiving and gone right to Christmas, but I am going to take it one step further and start talking about the new year.  (On a side note, people need to just settle down about skipping Thanksgiving.  The reason the stores go right into Christmas stuff is because at Christmas, most of us buy stuff for other people, and it turns out those stores have to make money in order to continue operating and paying their employees.  No one complains when the grocery stores "take advantage" of us by selling turkeys.)

I have been thinking a lot about New Year's resolutions, and changes I would like to make in the coming year.  One major one is cleaning the house.  I have never been a neat person, but I love the feel of being in a house that is neat and clean.  Even before I had my son, I had a heck of a time keeping things clean, but other people do it, so there is no reason that I shouldn't be able to do it, too.  So, in 2014, getting the house clean and maintaining it in that state is one of my big goals.  I want to be able to invite someone to come into my house without 3 or 4 days notice.

Since I am terrible at keeping the house clean, I am working on developing a good cleaning plan, which I will share when it is complete.  I get overwhelmed if I try to tackle everything at once, so I want to find a way to just do a little at a time without letting the sheer volume of it make me give up.  Once things are clean, I also want to use this plan to maintain the house with daily, weekly, and monthly chores.

Another thing I want to do in 2014 is finally learn to sew.  I have had a sewing machine for several years, but I have only used it a few times.  I would love to take a class, but I just do not have the time (especially if I also plan to have a clean house).  I have found several instructional videos on YouTube to help me get the basics down, so that will be a good start.  I have to get the house clean first and then set up a good work space.

I also want to take time every single day to be thankful for what I have.  I am so often reminded of how good I have it and how blessed my life is.  I want to make a point to do that every day.

Those are a good start, but I'm sure as the end of the year sneaks closer, I will have more.  What are your resolutions for the New Year?

30 Before 30 Challenge: #7: Get back to my wedding day weight.

On my wedding day, July 2, 2011, I wore a size 0 dress, and I weighed 110 pounds.  Then I got married.  Within the first year of marriage, I rapidly gained 15 pounds and then crawled all the way up to 130 before deciding it was time to GET SERIOUS about losing weight.

I lost about 5 pounds, but I could not seem to drop the rest, due in large part to the fact that I often just fell off the wagon.  I LOVE food so much, and it is so hard not to eat yummy things, especially because healthy stuff never seems to really fill me up.  I end up hungry all day long, and being hungry makes me weak, physically and mentally.

I did experience some success when I started eating a lot of hard-boiled eggs for breakfast and lunch.  They would fill me up so that I could go a few hours without eating, and then I could still have a big meal in the evenings.

And then I got pregnant, and the whole thing went out the window.  I ate pretty much whatever I wanted, within reason (or sometimes not within reason, like the epic fried pickle craving day, of which I cannot speak without experiencing both pride and shame).  I gained about 38 pounds during the pregnancy, and my weight topped out around 164.  

Once my son was born, I lost most of that weight in just a few weeks.  He was more than 10 pounds of it, and I was breastfeeding, so it was easy to drop.  But then I hit 133 pounds and just stopped.  For more than a month, I sat at 133 pounds, not gaining or losing anything.

Yesterday, my mom called me and said she was going to be trying to lose some weight and asked me to help hold her accountable and encourage her.  I was inspired and decided that it is time to get myself motivated and start losing the rest of this weight.  Coincidentally, yesterday was my half-birthday, which means I have exactly 6 months from yesterday to reach my wedding weight in order to accomplish #7 on my list of 30 things to do before I turn 30.

My first day was a rough one because I ended up eating way too much and then having to stay up late exercising in order to even things out.  I chose a calorie goal of 1,350, which I think is probably reasonable, but I ended up so hungry last night.  I was already discouraged by this morning, but when I did my weigh-in at 10:45 - according to my Wii Fit, I should weigh myself at the same time every day - I discovered I had lost 1.8 pounds since yesterday.  I realize some of that is probably water weight, but it is most likely excessive water weight since I did manage to get in my recommended 8 glasses of water yesterday.

Today, I am doing better, and I even ate some carrots this morning, even though I really do not like them.  I do miss being able to fit into my clothes, and I know that if I cannot lose the weight soon, I will have to start donating all of my itty-bitty clothes and buying bigger ones, and I just do not want to have to do that.

If you are interested in losing weight, join me on MyFitnessPal.com, and we can cheer each other on as we log our food and exercise!  Gooooooo team!

Mission accomplished: Traveling with cloth diapers

Well, I did it.  I got through my first weekend of traveling with cloth diapers only.  Last week, I posted about the planning process, and I felt I was quite well prepared for the trip.  Unfortunately, I forgot my diaper pail, which was not a game-ender but was definitely a game-changer.

Part of the reason I forgot it was because I did not fully consider the fact that there is never a time when ALL of my son's diapers are clean.  I realize this seems pretty obvious, but I thought I could just leave one or two in the pail as we traveled, and I just did not plan laundry time right.  I did plan to just take out what was in there and leave them, but then I just forgot the whole thing.

To make matters worse, my son decided to have one of his "poop days," so I had poopy diapers with no pail in which to store them.  I ended up just using some plastic grocery bags to store the poo diapers and tossing them, along with the wet diapers, into a garbage bag.  It was pretty stinky when I opened it up at home, but all in all, it really was not too bad.

I really enjoyed showing off my son's diapers to family.  I made sure my sister got to see the adorable Charlie Banana robot diaper she got him.  (By the way, I highly recommend Charlie Banana.  I do not particularly like the front-loading pocket since that part of the diaper is always soaked when I take it off, but it works so well that it is still one of my favorites, especially when we are out and about.  I love any diaper that I can put on without having to worry about leaks.  It's the little things.)  I also loved being able to put him in his BumGenius 4.0 and send him off to bed for the night without worrying that his clothes would be soaked in the morning.

All in all, it was a successful weekend, and I look forward to doing it next time, hopefully with my diaper pail along for the ride.

Getting ready to travel with cloth diapers

The weekend is almost here, and I am excited because tomorrow I am taking my son up to Pennsylvania to see my family.  My husband is not able to go with us, so it will be just the two of us, plus our two dogs.  Fortunately, it is only a 2 and a half hour drive, and if I time it just right with his usual morning nap, we might even make it without having to stop.  Maybe.

I am also excited - and a little nervous - because this is going to be our first time traveling with cloth diapers.  The first few times we went away overnight, we used disposables for the sake of convenience and because we did not have anywhere to launder the diapers or enough diapers to go without washing for the length of the trip.  This time, we have my mother's washing machine available to us should we want to use it, but we also probably have enough to make it through without washing.

Traveling overnight with cloth diapers does require a bit more planning than using disposable diapers, but I think it is manageable.  I am definitely taking all of my BumGenius diapers from Kelly's Closet and my SmartSnugs because those are, by far, the best in my stash.

I have several BumGenius Freetime diapers, but I have even more BumGenius 4.0 pocket diapers.  The 4.0s are my absolute favorite diapers.  I use them as my son's overnight diapers and any time we are going out or doing something where I know I cannot change him as often as I do at home.  I can leave them on him for as long as I would leave a disposable because the material wicks away moisture.  Even when his diaper is soaked, his skin is not.

I also have several SmartSnugs pocket diapers, including 1 NatureSnug and 3 SimpleSnugs.  I love them all, but I do think the Nature Snug does just slightly better at keeping my little man's tush dry over time.  I use them with the 6-layer Bamboo Charcoal insert, which is one of the best inserts I have found.  It defies logic because it is thin, absorbs a ton, and somehow dries super fast after washing.  I don't know how it works, but it does, and that's good enough for me.

For storage, I am taking my Bambino Mio diaper pail, which I absolutely adore because the lid locks, which makes it great at trapping odor and travel-friendly.  It is just the right size to hold about 2 days of diapers, which is perfect for me since I do diaper laundry every other day.  I am also taking my SmartSnugs wet bag.  I wish I had more wet bags, but hopefully in the future I can snag a few more.  So far, one has been enough, but I think traveling may change that.

Finally, I am taking along my Bummis Super Whisper Wrap and some prefold cloth diapers, just in case my son has one of his poopy days.  (Being breastfed, he only poops every 5-7 days, but when he does, it tends to happen in three's, and it tends to be ferocious.  I'm still not sure which is the better way to go - regular small poops or rare but deadly poops.)

The Bummis Super Whisper Wrap is something I never would have purchased on my own, but it came with a big stack of prefolds that I purchased from another mommy.  This is my absolute favorite diaper cover.  I have 3 of them in medium, but they fit my son well before he reached the minimum weight.  They are so easy to use, and I love being able to just lay a prefold into the cover and put it on.  They are also super trim, and they fit so well under my little guy's clothes.  I use them with his one fitted diaper, too.

And that's it.  I am doing up all my laundry today and using as few of his "good" diapers as possible, so he will have plenty that are clean and ready to go in the morning.  If nothing else, it should be interesting, and I am hoping to influence my sister a bit, just in case she decides to go for baby #3.

Have any tips for traveling with cloth diapers?  Please share them in the comments below.  Thanks, and wish me luck!

Hooray for small victories: Recovering after pregnancy

Today, I wear a pair of jeans - not sweat pants, people! Jeans! - that are NOT maternity jeans.  Now, granted, they are a couple sizes larger than what I wore pre-pregnancy, but only a couple.  And last week, when I tried to put them on, I was able to button them but not able to breathe comfortably after doing so.  Although I cannot see a difference in the size of my belly since last week, the fact that I can wear these jeans is an indication that it is still getting smaller, even though it does not appear to be.

I am absolutely floored by how long it is taking to get rid of the belly, but I am so glad to know it is shrinking, albeit much too slowly for my taste.  I have tried doing abdominal exercises to move the process along, but that still causes me a little pain around the incision from my C-section, so I am going to wait a bit longer before getting too crazy with ab work.

I still cannot fit my wedding and engagement rings on my fingers, at least not without feeling as though I might be dangerously close to cutting off all circulation, but I think I will be able to soon.  I was so not prepared for this to take so darn long, but everyone keeps telling me that it took 9 months to grow the baby, so I should give myself 9 months to recover.

2 and a half down.  Only 6 and a half to go until I am "normal" again?  And really, I doubt I ever will be like I once was...5'2", 100 pounds soaking wet, flat tummy...but you know what?  Even though I still look pregnant, I would not change it for the world.  Carrying my little boy in my belly was the most amazing thing I have ever done.

And, on the bright side, at the rate we're going, we'll be ready to try for the next one before this belly is gone, so my son will be used to seeing Mommy with a big tummy.  Ha!

Taking time for Mommy

A few days before my son was born, my husband surprised me by presenting me with a "push gift," which is essentially a "thanks-for-having-my-kid-gift."  My hubby had filled mine with my favorite wine, my favorite vodka, my favorite coffee, my favorite snacks, and a gift certificate to Brush Strokes, a very nice salon in our area, so I could go get my hair done after the baby arrived.

After 2 and a half months, I finally managed to get to the salon this past weekend, and it was glorious.  I got my hair cut short and had highlights put in, so it took almost 3 hours.  It was the longest I have been away from my baby thus far, and I definitely missed him, but it was nice to just sit still for awhile and relax.  (It was also REALLY nice to get back home to my little boy.  Turns out I just cannot get enough of him.)

The salon was a lot more expensive than where I usually go (Hair Cuttery, I'm not ashamed to admit), but the service was noticeably better.  It was so nice not to have someone tell me six times that I have an awful lot of split ends and should have come sooner for a trim or that my attempt at coloring my hair on my own was a bad idea (even though I obviously know that because I said so when I came in).  They were so nice and even did my makeup for free.

Since I am still carting around a decent potbelly and starting to wonder if round is just going to be my permanent look from now on, going to the salon made such a difference in how I feel about myself.  I got myself dressed instead of just rolling around the house in sweat pants and a nursing tank like I often do, and I daresay I may even consider shaving my legs tonight...well, okay...maybe tomorrow.

The point is that it is so important to take time to do something nice for yourself from time to time.  Whether it is a trip to the salon, a new outfit, a massage, a mani-pedi, or whatever does it for you, make it happen.  If money is too tight for luxury items, treat yourself at home.  Have your spouse or a friend watch the kids for a few hours and take a long bath, do your hair, and give yourself a manicure.  It will make such a difference and make you feel so refreshed. Do it for you.  Do it for your spouse.  Do it for your kids.  Do it!

Breastfeeding for beginners: What they don't tell you

I originally planned to formula feed my son, and I had several reasons why I thought that would be best. I wanted my baby to be able to bond with other people through feeding, especially his father.  I wanted him to sleep well, which is a much easier feat to achieve using formula than breast milk since formula keeps them full longer.

At the end of my pregnancy - and we are talking 37 weeks plus, I changed my mind and decided to breast feed.  I had been leaning that way, but honestly, it kind of freaked me out.  I know, I know - "It's natural," and "It's the way God intended us to feed our babies," but still, I was kind of feeling a bit "ew" on the whole thing.

But reading about all the health benefits for my little guy (and me) made me decide that I would just bite the bullet and make it happen.  I got a book from the library and read up on breastfeeding as I waited out the last few weeks.  I went into the hospital ready to rock and roll.  Things went pretty well from the start, apart from a few initial latching issues.  Once we found a position that worked for both of us - my 10 pound, 2 ounce baby necessitated a c-section, which left me in quite a bit of pain - we were off to a good start.

Our first night home, however, my son would not sleep, and all he did was cry when I put him to bed.  I could tell he was hungry, so I kept nursing him for hours.  I was still in excruciating pain from the surgery, not to mention absolutely wiped out from the surgery and the Percocet.  The pediatrician had told us to consider supplementing with formula because Clayton lost a good bit of weight in the hospital.  That first night home, I finally gave him 2 ounces of formula, which was enough to fill him up and allow him - and me - to sleep.

When it comes to breastfeeding, it seems there are so many rules out there that are touted as being absolute, as well as so many things that are said in such a way that they do not really prepare you for life as a nursing mom.  So, first a disclaimer, then on to breastfeeding as I see it.

Disclaimer:  I am not a medical professional, nor have I been educated in breastfeeding, lactation, childbirth, child rearing, or anything to do with any of these things.  The following comments are based solely on my experience and should be taken as such.  Consult a medical professional or lactation consultant for expert advice because this is not it.

Breastfeeding, as I see it:

1. Virtually every breastfeeding resource out there will tell you that it is normal to experience sore nipples in the first couple days or weeks of breastfeeding.  This is absolutely true.  However, having just gone through pregnancy, that translated to me as, "Sore, but not a huge deal."  In the first two weeks of my son's life, I experienced excruciating pain to the point where I had to stop using one side or the other for days at a time, just to allow some healing.  (I still used a breast pump, which was much less painful than nursing and kept the sorest boob from getting engorged and even more sore.)  Seriously, I used to have to do lamaze breathing to get through the first few minutes after my son latched.  After about two weeks, things improved rapidly, and even during his growth spurts when he is eating ALL DAY, it has never been nearly that bad.  To get through it, I imagined that by dealing with the pain of nursing, I was sparing my son the pain of an illness he might otherwise get if I was not breastfeeding.  Stay strong, ladies.  This, too, shall pass.  (And if it doesn't, talk to a lactation consultant because it really isn't supposed to be like that all the time.)
2. There is a lot of talk about nipple confusion and how you should not give a baby a bottle or a pacifier until he is about a month old because he will forget how to nurse.  My son had his first bottle (Tommy Tippee) at 5 days old.  We never had a problem with nipple confusion.  I was afraid to give him a bottle at all, but when the pediatrician recommended supplementing with formula, I asked if I should give it to him in a dropper.  Her response was, "Yeah, sure.  Or a bottle.  As long as you are putting him on the breast regularly, he's not going to get confused."  And he didn't.  (See disclaimer above before freaking out.)
3. When it comes to waiting for your milk to come in or growth spurts, there is a lot of talk about how you should never supplement with formula.  When my son hit his first growth spurt at 3 weeks, I was floored by how much he was eating.  He has always been a big eater, probably because of his size, but he was eating almost constantly during his growth spurt.  The first two days, I tried so hard to keep up with him, but in the evenings, I could not keep up anymore.  There was no milk coming out of me, and he was hungry.  So, guess what.  I did supplement with formula.  I gave him a couple ounces to help him fill up, and then I popped my breast pump on and let it do its thing.  That way, my body would still get the signal to produce more, but my son did not have to starve.  People like to say, "Oh, your breasts are never empty," but mine might as well have been because there was nothing coming out of them.  Today, we no longer have to supplement, and even at his last growth spurt, we made it through without formula.  But if you are a little low on milk, don't let other people make you feel bad about using a little formula so that your child doesn't have to be hungry.  This is not the stone ages.  Thanks to formula and breast pumps, we can feed our kids from bottles and trick our bodies into thinking we are nursing so we can produce more.  I am not about to let my poor son cry from hunger out of some misguided devotion to breast milk.
4. There will be growth spurts around 3 weeks and 6 weeks of age.  These are no joke.  When your child is having a growth spurt, try to avoid having company or going out because he is going to need to eat A LOT.  (On a side note, by the time your child is 3 weeks old, you will probably know his hunger cues like the back of your hand.  No matter how little experience you had with babies before having one of your own, do not let anyone try to tell you he does not need to eat when you know he is hungry.  You know your child.  In my house, the rule is, "If he's hungry, he's allowed to eat.")

Starting the 100 Pushups Challenge

When I turned 29 in April, I published a list of 30 things I want to do before I turn 30.  Number nine on the list is completing the 100 pushups challenge.  Now that I am a day shy of 8 weeks out from my C-section, I am eager to get started strengthening my arms.

The 100 pushups challenge is a workout program that is designed to help you achieve the ability to complete 100 consecutive pushups.  As someone who has never been able to eke out more than 20 at my best, the idea that I could one day be able to do 100 pushpus in a row is pretty wild.

I have been encouraging my hubby to do the challenge with me, but it keeps getting put off for a later time.  Finally, I decided that if I am going to do this, I have to get started on my own, and hopefully, when he realizes that I can do more pushups than him, he will join me.  Ha!

First, I had to take the initial test to determine which level of the training program to use.  The initial test simply asks users to perform as many consecutive pushups as they can.  When I performed the initial test, I only managed 7 pushups, which was depressing, but not surprising.

Ever since my C-section, I feel like my whole body is so weak.  I don't know if it is from the surgery or if it just because I am weakened from the pregnancy, but whatever the cause, I am just happy to be back in the saddle and able to start working towards a better body and better fitness level.

Because I could only do 7 pushups, I will be following the 2nd column of the training program.  Every week, I will be doing 3 days of training.  It takes only a few minutes to complete each day's workout, so I intend to stick with it and in six weeks, I should be able to do 100 pushups in a row, which will be incredibly empowering.

My rant on cloth diaper naysayers

I am excited for my little man to arrive (sometime in the next two weeks!!!), and I really cannot wait to get started using my extensive cloth diaper stash that I have built up in anticipation of his arrival.  Although I have not yet started using them yet, I have become quite an advocate for cloth diaper use over the past few months.  I have spent a lot of time researching cloth diapers and how to properly use and wash them, so I feel I am as ready as I can be to use them on my son.

One of the things that drives me absolutely batty right now is the way that people who have never contemplated using cloth diapers seem to think they know everything about it.  I was at a party a few weeks ago, and one of my friends mentioned that I was planning to use cloth diapers.  Another woman at the party, who I have met a few times, started telling everyone what "the problem with cloth diapers" is.  She went on and on about how difficult they are to clean and said, "You have to rinse them and then wash them, like, four times, and spray them and bleach them and wash them again."

I, of course, attempted to jump in and clarify that it really is not that difficult, not to mention that bleaching your diapers will destroy them, but she happens to be one of those people who thinks she knows everything about everything and is generous enough to share it with all the other humans who are just stumbling through life awaiting her guidance.

The whole situation really irritated me.  I mean, I certainly have a lot of folks in my life who think I am a little crazy for cloth diapering.  Maybe I will end up being one of them after I give it a try.  However, nearly everyone is at least supportive of me doing it.  They may not be ready to convert themselves, but they are at least watching to see how it goes for me.  I don't even mind some good-natured ribbing about it.  After all, 8 months ago, I was right there with them, and I never thought I would consider using cloth diapers.

But when people who don't know anything insist upon getting noisy with their misguided instructions on how to live life, I get irritated.  I suppose it did not help that the gal who decided to give a "how-to-wash-your-cloth-diapers" lecture - or, in her case, a "how-to-destroy-your-cloth-diapers" lecture - is not one of my favorite people to begin with.

To make matters worse, last week, my husband and I attended two days of childbirth classes to prepare for our son's birth.  On the second day, a local pediatrician came in to speak with us.  He asked if anyone was planning to use cloth diapers, and I raised my hand.  He then made some joke about me trying to save the earth and delivered it in this condescending tone that indicated that he thinks I am some naive little woman with big dreams that I will never accomplish but aren't I just adorable for trying?

First of all, my motivation for using cloth diapers is primarily financial.  Second, even if all I wanted to do was save the earth, what the heck is wrong with that?  Third, why in the world does he feel the need to make fun of a new mother who is trying to do something a little differently?  Talk about insecure.  Needless to say, we will not be employing him or his practice as our pediatrician.

Yikes! Fundal Height Measuring Large

I am 2 days shy of 34 weeks pregnant, and at my doctor's appointment this morning, the doctor informed me that my fundal height was measuring large for my due date.  In fact, she said I was measuring like someone who was a week from her due date, not six.

At first, I thought she was telling me that my due date must be wrong, which was a bit startling given that I am supposed to go to the beach with my family next week, host a bridal shower/bachelorette party for my best friend the following weekend, and serve as matron of honor for my best friend's wedding the weekend after that before finally settling in for my last few weeks.

She quickly clarified that an incorrect due date was not her concern but rather that I may be carrying a large baby.  This could, of course, mean that I would have to have a c-section instead of a vaginal birth, which, naturally, I would really like to avoid if possible.

My doctor did reassure me that having a big baby has some serious benefits, including better overall health, better appetite, and better sleep habits.  However, as she put it, "we just have to figure out how to get him out of you."  (I assume she has some ideas on how best to do this, which will be revealed once we know more.)

I was able to get an appointment for an ultrasound tomorrow morning at 9 a.m., so hopefully after that I will know more.  It's funny because I am not really nervous about any of it, at least not in the conventional sense. I get that if this little guy turns out to be not so little, I may have to have a c-section, and that is fine.  It's not my preference, but I can deal with it.

I guess what makes me freak out a little is that I have been mentally preparing for the labor and delivery process for months and especially in the last few weeks.  I really felt like I was ready for it, and now I feel like I have to mentally prepare for something else entirely.  I know, I know.  Every woman should prepare herself to have a c-section because it is always a possibility, but I guess now I may have to seriously prepare myself.

If it comes down to it, a c-section would not be that bad.  I would be prepared for it, and I would deal with it, and it would be fine.  But the goofy thing is that a part of me feels like if I do have to have one, I would be missing out on the birthing experience.  Which is just plain ridiculous because that is not exactly an experience that people crave.  However, after reading and watching videos and preparing, I was kind of looking forward to the whole thing.  Kind of.

All that being said, I think it will all be fine.  I mean, yes, my family does tend to have big babies - even I was a big baby - but my family also tends to not have c-sections.  My mother carried big, just like me, and she was fine.  And since the beginning of my pregnancy, I have been praying and proclaiming blessings over my delivery, so it is almost unthinkable that something other than a normal, relatively easy and uncomplicated birth would happen.  As my mother said, this is probably nothing more than a roadblock thrown down to test my faith, and I will meet it with a confident smile and believe that everything is still going to go according to my birth plan.

Go ahead - rub that belly!

I saw this posted on Facebook this morning, and while I can understand the sentiment, I have to admit that I have never felt like this.  Now granted, I have not had a lot of strangers touch my belly, and the few who did had the decency to ask first, but I have always been so excited to bask in the glory and wonder of pregnancy that I never minded.

What makes this particularly weird is that I am very much a person who needs her space.  Whenever my husband and I travel, I am always eager to get home after about two weeks because I just need to be back in an environment where people respect the bubble.

But when it comes to the belly or questions about our baby, I have to remind myself to rein in my enthusiasm and not talk the ear off of each kind person who takes what she thought would be only a moment to politely inquire about gender or due date.  I just cannot help myself.  

Rationally, I recognize that I am not the first woman to become pregnant and experience all the wonderful feelings - emotional and physical - that come with pregnancy, but I am just so overwhelmed by how awesome it all is that I find myself gushing on and on about it to anyone who will listen (or pretend to listen), including women who have had multiple children of their own and already know all about how fabulous it all is.

People often ask me if this is my first, as they ask with a knowing smile that seems to say that this must be my first child because I am so excited.  But the funny thing is that I believe I could be like this with every single one of our children, just because that's how I am.

For example, my husband laughs at me when we go places because I get so excited over every hotel room and every little amenity that comes with it.  Although we have done a lot of traveling in the past few years, I continue to exhibit this enthusiasm.  As he once described it, "She walks into a hotel room and gets really excited when she sees that there is indeed a bed, a television, and a shower."

I do.  I know it is ridiculous, but there is something so luxurious about staying in a hotel where someone comes and straightens up, empties your trash, and makes the bed.  It never gets old.

Similarly, I can never imagine that pregnancy will wear on me.  Even with all the aches and pains, it is the greatest experience I have ever had.  Recently, my sister, a mother of two, and I had a conversation in which we discussed all of the aches, pains, and unpleasant side effects of being pregnant.  She paused for a moment, then said, "Don't you just hate those women who say they love being pregnant?"  To which I responded, "No, because I do.  In spite of everything, I love it."

On that note, I am going back to bed.  I was up almost all of last night alternating between searing pain in my chest - the kind caused by swollen breasts, not the scary kind - pelvic pain, and leg cramps. Ha!

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How Examiner.com is Helping Me Work from Home

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article about how you can earn money for your writing and work from home.  For me, this is a major deal because, as those who follow this blog know, I am due in July with my first child, and I am really trying to figure out how to be able to stay home with him, even if it means working during his naps and when he (hopefully) sleeps.

Shortly after writing that post, I left for a trip to Spain and Ireland.  When I returned, I set about the task of really making the most from my Examiner.com writing role.  The first thing I did was take advantage of the resources that the website has available to help me improve my writing and tailor it to their standards.  I discovered that certain types of articles and media include incentive pay, so I decided to make sure that I completed as many of those article types as the site allows each week in order to get that pay.

Next, I studied what the site defines as newsworthy content.  For writers who consistently produce newsworthy content, the site will sometimes promote your content and eventually submit it to news partners. In the past week, I worked hard to find content that was both on topic and newsworthy.  This included such articles as "Couple weds after 21-year engagement", "Bakery refuses to supply wedding cake for same-sex couple", "Former Facebook president's $10 million wedding raises red flags", and a personal favorite, "Wedding invitation blown up after police suspect it is explosive device".  I am now eligible to have my articles promoted in the news section of the site, and with continued diligence, I can work towards even more exposure.

My earnings have continued to increase even just over the last week.  I still have a long way to go, but the more I learn through the information provided by Examiner.com, the more I can focus my writing to maximize my full earning potential.  I requested an additional title this week, and it is my hope that in a few months, I will be able to earn a significant income from my writing there, as well as here.

As I said in my previous post, Examiner pays a $50 referral fee for writers who apply through my referral link and are accepted.  THERE IS NO COST TO JOIN.  If you are interested in joining Examiner.com as a writer, please use my link to do so and then email me once your application has been submitted.  If you are approved, I will share $10 from the one-time referral fee with you once it is paid to me.

Questions to Ask When Interviewing a Pediatrician

My husband and I are getting ready for the birth of our son, and as part of that process, we face the daunting task of finding a pediatrician to care for our itty bitty.  Our appointment with the pediatricians we hope will be a good fit is set for May 28, and I have been working on putting together a list of questions for the doctor with whom we will be meeting.

We chose to interview this particular office because they have 8 doctors on staff, a daily walk-in clinic from 8 to 9 a.m., and their office is in the same building as my OBGYN and right across from the hospital where our little man will be born.  They also were all very nice to me on the phone, which was a huge factor in me deciding to meet with them.  Any time a doctor's office staff is rude or pushy, I run the other way.  If the doctor is willing to tolerate that in the people who often are responsible for first impressions, then he or she is probably rude or pushy, too.

Below are the questions I came up with so far.  Please share any other suggestions or experiences in the comments.

1. Participation with insurance.  This one is huge, of course.  If the office does not participate with your insurance, you probably want to look elsewhere.
2. Travel preparation services.  Because the hubby and I travel a lot, we want to make sure that we choose a doctor who will be able to help us prepare our son for international travel in the years to come.  Obviously, we will not be taking him to any high-risk areas when he is very small, but any time you go to another country, it is good to check into any possible health risks.  Having a doctor who is well-versed in travel health is essential for traveling families like us.
3. Vaccination schedule.  Different doctors have different schedules for vaccinations.  It is good to know what you should expect for your child such as how often vaccinations will be given and at what age they will be administered.  Also, be sure to ask about how flexible the doctor is on the schedule and whether you can spread the vaccinations out more over time.
4. Recommended vaccinations.  I plan to get most, if not all, of the recommended vaccinations.  My father nearly died from polio when he was a baby, and in this global age, an outbreak of deadly disease is only a plane ride away, especially with so many people deciding not to vaccinate their children against diseases that still exist all over the world.  However, it is still important for me to know exactly what vaccinations are recommended by my baby's doctor, as well as which ones he or she may think are less important.  If nothing else, I want to make sure that my child gets protection against the horrific diseases that could easily make a comeback in this country, especially since there are now so many potential carriers.
5. Internet appointments and resources.  I hate the telephone.  If I can avoid using it, I will.  So one thing I love in a doctor's office is the ability to contact them via the internet, at least for general things.  HIPAA laws prevent some communications, but doctors who are willing to at least allow patients to request appointments via the internet are always going to get an extra vote in my book.  If I can also ask a general question via email and see whether I really need to be concerned about some issue with my child, even better.
6. Ability to get same day appointments.  If your little one does get sick, it is important to know how long you should expect to wait before getting an appointment.  If the practice is too busy, you might end up having to wait a day or two before you can get in to see the doctor.  When your child is suffering, that is an eternity.
7. Frequency of recommended appointments.  Different doctors recommend seeing children on different schedules for wellness checks.  Be sure to find out how often your doctor will want you and your little one in there.  World of Pediatrics offers printable forms for each recommended wellness visit.
8. Other office locations.  Usually you can find this information online, but if your pediatrician does not have a website, make sure to ask if there are any other office locations.
9. Cloth diapering.  If you plan to use cloth diapers, ask the doctor how familiar he or she is with cloth diaper specific issues such as topical creams, antibiotics, and rashes.
10. How to contact during non-office hours.  Finally, make sure you know what to do if you need the doctor during non-business hours.  Is there someone on call?  Also, if you are choosing a solo practitioner, find out who will cover the doctor's duties when he or she is on vacation or otherwise unavailable.  Make sure you get contact information before you need it.

Earn Money for Your Writing and Work from Home!

If you like to write like I do, the idea of finding a paid writing job sounds ideal, but unfortunately, the competition for such positions is fierce.  That is why I love Examiner.com!  Examiner.com is a website that brings together the work of many different local writers from all across the country and helps to promote it.

Because the website management promotes the site and site content, writers get much better earnings on their writing than they do when starting out with a blog.  Earnings can vary depending on a variety of factors, but I am currently earning about 1/2 a cent per pageview, which is significantly more than what I earn writing for Spare Time Super Mom.  I also earn incentive pay for certain types of content.  For example, you can currently earn $2.00 per list article that you create.  An example of a list article is shown here.  You can do 3 per week, so as long as you get the lists done, you earn a base of $6.00 per week.  Each view of the items in the list then count as a pageview, so the earnings can stack up pretty quickly on these.

Since I am trying to find a way to make some extra cash from home so I can spend more time with my son when he arrives, I am trying to focus more on Examiner.com as a job rather than a hobby (although it is definitely both!), and I have really seen my pageviews and earnings increase as a result, even after just a few days.  My topic is Herndon Wedding Planning, and I am committing myself to writing at least one article every two days from this point forward, at least when I am at home.  (I do leave for Spain and Ireland in a few days, so I may not be able to keep up while I am away, but when I get back, I plan to be all over it!)  I would like to eventually get to two articles per day, and I have some plans up my sleeve to help me get there.

There are a ton of topics to choose from, so whatever your hobbies, interests, or areas of expertise, I am sure there is something for you.  Go ahead and browse the site for available topics, but make sure to come back here before you sign up because Examiner.com pays $50.00 per referral.  If you sign up through my referral link and get approved, I WILL SHARE $10.00 OF THE REFERRAL FEE WITH YOU!

Examiner.com also provides access to a ton of photos that are free to use for your articles on their website, as well as the comprehensive Examiner University, where writers can learn about all kinds of topics to improve their writing and their earning potential.  They have a vested financial interest in seeing their writers do well because the more you earn, the more they earn.  Their support for their writers is awesome!

It is really easy and, of course, FREE to sign up, and they usually process your application within about a week or two.  If you do submit an application, please email me at sparetimesupermom@gmail.com with your name and topic choice so I can watch for your application to get approved.  Happy writing and happy earning!

Parenting Failures: Green or Otherwise

Day 11 of the April Blog Challenge from Green Moms Network:

Today's topic is "a green parenting failure."  This topic kind of turned me off because I do not like the term "parenting failure."  I suppose it really is not the Green Moms Network's fault since it was placed in the context of a "green failure," rather than just an overall failure, but still those two words in rapid succession irritate me.

Right now, I can proudly say that I have never had a parental failure of any kind because my son has not come into the world yet.  I suppose if I really wanted to try to pin myself down on something, I could point to the time when I was approximately 8-10 days pregnant and, blissfully unaware of this fact and unable to communicate well in Turkish, I accidentally ordered an entire bottle of wine in Cappadocia, which I then consumed in its entirety so as not to be wasteful.  That really wasn't a parental failure so much as it was a linguistic one.

But the idea of being a failure as a parent, even temporarily, really irks me.  I certainly know I am not going to be a perfect parent.  No one is or can be.  I will do my best like everyone else, but the most important thing will be that all of my decisions - including my screw ups - will be motivated by love for my children.  If I am too strict on something, it will be because I don't want them to get hurt.  If I am too lax, it will be because I did not want to tell them no when they were so excited.  But to label these things as failures is harsh.

As for the specific topic of green parenting failures, I am fortunate enough to not be too terribly green, which means the likelihood of me failing at green parenting is very slight...unless, of course, you just look at my green parenting overall.  Then I suppose the whole thing would be a failure.

I do often worry about the kind of mommy I will be and whether I will do things right.  It is such an awesome and terrifying responsibility to be a parent, and sometimes when I read books about child psychology and development, I become convinced that there is absolutely no hope of me raising my children without somehow also scarring them for life.

According to different theories, I can damage my children psychologically if I either (a) hold them too much or (b) do not hold them enough.  I will be paving the way for years of psychoanalysis if I either (a) do not praise them enough or (b) praise them too much.  I suppose I should try to find the middle ground between all of these theories and apply that, but I fear if I do, there will be another theory out in the next 10-15 years based on my child.

I always end up telling myself to relax and remember that the most important thing I can do for my children is to teach them to know Jesus.  His love is perfect, and His responses are perfect every single time, and the beautiful thing is that if I do end up inadvertently damaging my children, Jesus' love is capable of repairing anything my fleshly form can do.

What Being Green Means to Me

Day 7 of the April Blog Challenge from Green Moms Network:

I really should have read all the prompts before I jumped in with both feet on this blog writing challenge.  I don't even know what to say about what being green means to me.  I do not really consider myself a "green person."  I recycle because I have a box to put recyclables in, and all I have to do is carry it (or, now that I'm pregnant, drag it) to the curb each week, and someone comes and takes it away.

Being green is not a focus of mine.  I do try not to be wasteful, and I do things like composting and home gardening, but that is because I just enjoy doing those things, and it's really not driven by the overwhelming desire to care for the earth that seems to consume some people.  I even plan to cloth diaper my son, and I encourage other people to cloth diaper, too.  Again, though, what motivated me to look into cloth diapering was the desire to save money, and what kept me dedicated to cloth diapering was the desire to add those awesome diapers to my stash.  (You can ask my husband; I have a serious fluff addiction.)

As a Christian, too, I have become alarmed by the "green movement" in this country.  I do believe that we should all be good stewards of the earth.  It is our home, and it is a beautiful, incredibly well-organized gift from God.  It is our duty to maintain it and care for it.  What concerns me is how being green has, for some people, become almost like a religion in itself.  Children who will never hear Jesus' name mentioned in their classrooms come home singing praise songs to "Mother Earth."  As Michael Crichton notes in his article "Environmentalism is a religion:"

If you look carefully, you see that environmentalism is in fact a perfect 21st century remapping of traditional Judeo-Christian beliefs and myths.

There's an initial Eden, a paradise, a state of grace and unity with nature, there's a fall from grace into a state of pollution as a result of eating from the tree of knowledge, and as a result of our actions there is a judgment day coming for us all. We are all energy sinners, doomed to die, unless we seek salvation, which is now called sustainability. Sustainability is salvation in the church of the environment. Just as organic food is its communion, that pesticide-free wafer that the right people with the right beliefs, imbibe.  

Now, I'm not talking about people who are out there doing their part to keep our planet in good shape for our enjoyment and the enjoyment of others.  I think that, if anything, I could really stand to work on my own dedication in these areas.  No, what I am talking about are the people who approach environmentalism as a sacred and holy way to live and give more importance to a somewhat vague notion of saving the earth than they do even to helping others and living life with love towards others.  The people who are perfectly willing to say horrible, nasty, and destructive things to other human beings in defense of their cause.  They tear others down in the name of their love for the earth, and to that, I have to object.

Because the idea of "being green" evokes these images in me, I will describe instead the things that I do to take care of this beautiful home that God created and gave to us for our use.  I enjoy gardening and learning about new plants.  I plan to take my son on nature walks and show him the different kinds of plants, animals, and trees in our world.  I will teach my children about the amazing ways in which all these organisms work together to maintain each other.  And I will use cloth diapers on my little babies and occasionally allow someone to think I am good enough to be sacrificing my time to do something good for the planet instead of just feeding an unnatural addiction to adorable prints.