When does the crying stop?

No not the baby. She is sleeping peacefully. Me.

I have always been a crier. I cry at movies, especially Disney cartoon movies but I mean who didn’t cry when Bambi’s mom got shot? Disney are some sick F*ck’s putting that in a baby movie. Oprah could make me cry sometimes. Just thinking of certain sad things can set me off with the water works. I definitely think a good cry can be therapeutic.

Lately (since I first got knocked up that is), the weepiness has been out of control. Of course Oprah made me cry like 5 times this year. I’ve been avoiding Disney movies. Sometimes I’ve just needed to cuddle my baby to ward off the tears. Yesterday, I literally had to stop my train of thought and completely change what I was thinking of to avoid crying. Today, I completely freaked out at Hubby and had to yell at him to stop talking. I’m minding my own business, feeding angel baby, when in he walks and just starts telling me about this horrendous case of animal abuse. I tell him I don’t want to randomly hear about extreme cruelty to greyhounds that goes on in Spain when I can barely stand what they do to race dogs here. He continues to tell me horrible things so I had no choice but to scream at him. He then looks at me like I am insane and tries to say that he just wanted to tell me about one dog getting rescued from blah blah blah and tries to explain the abuse again! Needless to say I hollered at him again and he finally got the point. I was on the verge of tears during all this.

I know what is going to happen next. I am going to be sitting in class, suddenly his awful story is going to pop into my head, and I’m going to look like a crazy lady who bursts into tears for no reason in the middle of school.

So I ask, when does the crying stop?!? And for that matter, when does the ridiculous hair loss stop too? I am shedding so much I have broken the vacuum.

Cloth Diapers part 3

Have I mentioned I’m cloth diaper obsessed? There will probably be a part 4 as well.

I have been using some of the Flip diapers, the regular soaker inserts. They worked pretty well at first. I have been following the instructions on the label which simply say to wash hot and tumble dry on low. I have been drying them on high heat actually though. Suddenly they have started leaking! I decided to test one out overnight. I changed angel baby at about 11 pm and we laid down for her last night feeding. Half way through I realize she has peed through the diaper, through the cover, through her pj’s, and onto the sheets! I get her re-diapered and changed then move on to changing my bed sheets. Ugh. We were up until about 1230-1 am by the time all was said and done and we were actually sleepy again.

I was extremely pissed at the Flip diapers. They are only about 2 months old and should not be leaking. I had to strip them (wash them in Dawn dish soap). It seems too soon to already have to be stripping them. Come to find out ALL Free and Clear can cause build up on them. So I either have to wash them separate, which I don’t have enough of them to justify their own load, not use them, or strip them every other month. It is crazy how all these expensive cloth diapers out there have all sorts of special instructions and limitations that void the warranty. The simple cotton birdseye weave pre-folds I got for 6 for $9 are turning out to be the best option. Cotton- soaks up the messes, wash however you want, dry on high. One down side is that they might not wick moisture off her bottom quite as good as some other materials, that’s debatable though. I can’t wait to learn to sew and start making my own! Any material and care instructions I want!

A day in the life

I had been warned that I did not want my purely breast fed baby to only poop once a week as some of them do. Apparently, on this one day a week that your baby decides to poop, it is non-stop pooping! I had a small experience with this today. Angel baby had a massive crap this morning after about 3 days sans poo, possibly another diaper stainer. I was glad it was while we were at home. We went out for the morning and ended up using the diapers I had brought along in the diaper bag. I had to run to the bank before we went home. The diaper she was wearing would suffice and I planned to change her out of what would then be a wet diaper when we got home. I pulled into the bank parking lot and no sooner did I turn off the engine then I heard the second massive poop of the day. Normally I would have just changed her in the back of the car but as I mentioned, no more clean diapers with me. I run into the bank to make a quick deposit. Of course there is a line. My turn. Nope. This teller can’t help me and I have to wait for the teller already helping the woman who needs 10 different things done. Finally my turn, I’m done in a minute and back out to the car. We head home, a quick trip as our city is small. Nope. We get stuck at the railroad crossing for a middle of the afternoon freight train. Finally I’m home. I open the diaper and just see a small streak. Oh must have sounded worse than it was. Nope. The blow out is behind her butt. I am ill prepared. Poop on the changing table, poop on the baby butt, poop on the baby foot, and I sprayed the wipe solution on her outfit so that also needed to be changed. This was one of those times when most people are capable of going to the bank and changing their baby without getting stuck behind the longest line, stuck waiting for an on-coming train, and stuck with hidden poop, but not me.

Gluten What

I am slowly attempting to go gluten free. This all started because of the Elimination Diet I tried for breastfeeding. I noticed I felt better, less bloated and seemed to have more energy. The energy thing didn’t make much sense because I was sleeping less, so I attributed it to not having any wheat. The Elimination Diet for Breastfeeding is extreme, pears and sweet potatoes and brown rice oh my. Gluten free is going to be harder because flour is in many things and companies add gluten to almost everything as a thickening agent. It is also going to be expensive, $4.39 for 1 lb 6 oz of all purpose gluten free flour.

I made a gluten free pizza crust for dinner tonight. It was edible but not super tasty. I think I should have split the dough into 2 crusts instead of just 1, I don’t think it cooked quite long enough. I am on my second attempt at gluten free brownies. The first were super dry. The second batch just came out of the oven so we will see but I think I put too much oil in them (over compensating for the dryness of the first batch).

I have really gotten into making homemade things. I just need to channel this into cooking and I think I will be ok. Most of the time when I’m eating at home I prefer fresh veggies, fruit and cheese anyway so I just need to stick with that to avoid this nasty, man made side effect of wheat known as gluten.

well they look yummy

Diaper Destroyer Extraordinaire

Normally I get Angel Baby up at 11pm, do a quick diaper change, then feed her as we lay in bed together. We then drift off to a peaceful sleep. Well tonight her butt had other plans. She destroyed 4 diaper covers before I could even get them on her. She managed to pee on the outside of 3 and poo on the outside of a 4^th. I lost count of how many actual diapers we went through at around 5. She is on her 3^rd set of pajamas. I now have her diapered up so thick that I just dare her to try to destroy this one. Here it is 1230, we are both wide awake, there are diapers in the wash and covers hanging to dry. Luckily we are both night owls.

World Breastfeeding Week

Yay it is World Breastfeeding Week! Wait…just a week? Why don’t we get a whole month? Breastfeeding has been around since people have walked the earth. It is the universal way for mothers to feed their babies, no matter your culture, economic class, or location if you are a mom you have the potential to breastfeed. Yet we only get a week. And who decided this week should be in August? August is the hottest most miserable month, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Trust me I have done both, or don’t trust me and ask any mom who has been through either during August. It is hot enough without having a swollen preggo belly or swollen milk filled breasts and a warm little baby snuggled up to them.

There is a Big Latch on Event going on, see the link if you want some info. http://www.biglatchon.org/everything-you-want-to-know.html I won’t be attending but thought I would share the info. The site also has more info on World Breastfeeding Week. I found out about this from the La Leche League meeting I attended this week. I enjoy going to the meetings for the comradary and socialization. The topic this week was How Breastfeeding Saves the World. A bit extreme perhaps. I’m all for breastfeeding and think it is the best option, but I also think to each his own. Women have their own reasons for choosing how to feed their own child and have the right to do that. I think it is a shame if women choose formula b/c they are misinformed or embarrassed by breastfeeding. That is why I attend the La Leche League meetings, I am in support of making breastfeeding acceptable and common but not to force it on others or demonize formula. I feel like the meetings should end with us chanting “Breast is best! Breast is best!”.

I have not had a problem feeling shy or embarrassed about breastfeeding in public, or felt that it was unacceptable. The first time I was out and about and had to breastfeed was when we were running errands, my husband went to get his haircut and I sat in the car to feed angel baby. I went to the car b/c it was the best place considering the shopping plaza we were at didn’t have a coffee shop or anything like that. The next time we were out and I mentioned that we could stop in a diner so I could breastfeed and my husband responded with “why don’t you do it in the car?”, I gave him a look that said you better rethink what you just said to me before it causes a divorce. I refused to let him be embarrassed about me feeding our baby in public, he has not had an issue since. I am in support of helping other women have this type of confidence.

I love breastfeeding my baby girl and am glad we get at least a week of acknowledgement.

I'm Better Than You.

Lately I have been feeling high and mighty. I recently celebrated my 7^th anniversary with my husband, we have been together 10 years now. Most people my age still can’t manage a relationship let alone one since they were 18. Nahnanana I’m better than you.
I love being a mom. Everything about it has come easy for me. My pregnancy was fantastic, I did not have any morning sickness, heartburn or sleep problems. I only gained 23 pounds. Nahnanana I’m better than you. My baby girl is amazing. She is perfect. She is the light of my life. She sleeps great, during naps and through the night. She breastfeeds like a champ and also had no problem taking a bottle of breast milk. Nahnanana She is better than you. I have had basically no issues at all with breastfeeding. I’ve been to meetings and read blogs about how difficult it is and how moms need support and help to be able to breast feed. Well, my baby latched on right after she was born like she had been doing it all her life. We were a match made in heaven. My nipples were sensitive for about a week, a bit of lanolin and some soothies took care of that. Now they are primed and ready for action. Nahnanana I’m better than you. It is a shame that some moms have such issues with breastfeeding or think it is not natural and that a support group is the only way they can get through it. It has come natural to me and I love it as does my angel baby. Being a mother has come natural to me in general. I have been doing what my instincts tell me to and what I feel is right for my family. I followed a link today to the Dr. Sears site about how to be a natural parent. I felt like I should have written the page on natural parenting because the advice on there has been what I decided on my own to do. It is a shame that some parents out there have no clue on how to follow their natural instincts and need a “method” to follow, whether it be natural parenting or ferberizing or take your new baby into the woods and not let anyone else near him as you live in a bubble. I do not feel the need to tell anyone else how to be a mom or judge them for their choices. I do however feel the need to say that I am better than you nahnanana.

*Disclaimer: if you don’t like this post, please see my last post as an explanation. Also, this post will probably come back to bite me in the ass as my life falls apart due to karma for bragging. Also, I could probably write a post 10x this long about everything that is wrong in my life.