Honest Overshare: I Almost Lost It

When I started this blog over the summer, I did it with the purpose of chronicling my learning experiences as I took on my new (and daunting) role of being a mother. I don't know how closely I've stuck to that purpose, but today I promise to return with full gusto.

Levi, my sweet little no-fussing baby, has been officially sick (i.e. no daycare) for a week now. It actually started before that with a cold, but he'd already gotten one of those, so I knew it was no biggy - just suck out the boogers, turn on a humidifier at night, and help him get as much rest as he can - but last weekend it morphed into something that has grown increasingly grotesque. First it was a low-grade fever. Then, we discover a double ear infection. Then, when his fever went from low-grade to full-fledged and high, I was ready to take him back to the doctor, per her instructions. On the morning that I planned to call to set up an appointment, Levi puked. Everywhere. Ugh!



I take him to the doctor and find out that while the vomiting was nothing to worry about, the ear infection is resistant to our first try with drugs. Levi, unlike your normal kiddo, apparently hates the taste of bubblegum, so I'm sure he was elated to know that he wouldn't have to take amoxicillin anymore. Unfortunately, if Levi could talk, I think he would describe his new medicine, which officially tastes like apple, as tasting like death, so I think he would have preferred the bubblegum after all. On top of this, Levi's vomiting has gotten out of control. Is he dehydrated? No. Does he have diarrhea? No. Is he happy even? Yep. So that means I'm currently living in an apartment crowded with piles of vomit-flavored dirty laundry and a sick child who goes from happy to screaming in two seconds flat.



What, might you ask, is the point of my long tirade on what some of you are probably thinking is no fun, but no big deal? The point is that through all of this, I have learned that I do have a limit to how much I can take and that my past coping mechanisms are absolutely no good. You see, Justin's had to work extremely long hours all week this week, and into the weekend, so I've been going at it basically alone for most of this illness, and let me tell you, its been rough.

Last night, after cleaning poop off of my lap, changing Levi's sheets, and blotting throw-up out of the carpet because he puked right after he pooped on me, all while I was trying to put him down for what would be another restless night, I realized that I was VERY frustrated. I'm not saying I was mad at Levi. The poor guy can't help how he's feeling, nor can he control where and when he expels fluids of any kind. But, I tell you what, when you haven't had more than a 3 hour block of sleep in a few weeks and your baby is screaming and you're covered in puke and poop, it can drive you a little insane. In the past, to be honest, I probably would have blown up, most likely at Justin, and started crying, but last night, I couldn't do that. Not only would it be highly immature and inappropriate to react violently because of a bad case of Murphy's Law at the expense of your child's illness, it wouldn't have helped the situation. Levi needed me to be calm and collected and to do what needed to be done.

Did I react perfectly? No. I felt the anger and frustration rising in my throat, and it was right there like a fist, ready to explode if one more thing went wrong, for quite a while. Instead of yelling, however, I just walked out of the room for a minute. Levi was crying in his crib, but he was safe and generally ok. I just had to get away for a second. I collected what little was left of my sanity at that point and was able to go back in and soothe Levi to sleep after a while. Was I short with Justin later that night when we got to experience this all over again together? Yes. And not that that's ok, but learning how to handle frustration differently without any practice, while simultaneously feeling guilty that you feel frustrated at all, is the pits, and I think I did ok.

Some of you may be wondering at my lengthy version of an overshare, but I know I'm not the only one who has gone through, or is going through this. It's one thing to get frustrated at adults. It's another thing entirely when your frustration stems from your baby. Just remember, it's ok. Take a second and calm down. Focus on your love for your baby. And if you're feeling overwhelmed, allow yourself to indulge a little when you have some down time. For me, that was breakfast this morning - Vanilla Chex, meet Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Together you make the most sugary, delicious, closest-you-can-come-to-eating-puppy-chow-for-breakfast-without-eating-puppy-chow-for-breakfast, cereal I can imagine. Yummy! Yes...I know I'll probably have a sugar crash in an hour and then be hungry for lunch at like 10, but in the moment, it was total bliss.


All that to say, please pray for Levi since he's having a hard time right now. Poor kid really doesn't feel good. And please pray for my sanity and unending patience.



A (Not-so-Awkward) Secret about Breast Pumps

Whenever you get a good piece of advice from someone, it’s normal to want to share it with others. When you take the good piece of advice and save yourself hundreds of dollars, it becomes something you need to share with others. But when you realize that this piece of advice that saved you lots of money is not known by too many people, it becomes your duty to spread the word! So, with that introduction, I want you all to know this little secret that I found out right before Levi was born: you may be able to get a brand new, double-electric, super-nice breast pump…for free!

That’s right! A few weeks before Levi was born, I attended a breastfeeding class at my hospital. We were talking about pumping and people were bringing up how expensive it is to buy or rent a pump. Then, one girl in my class said that she heard a rumor that you could get a free pump through your insurance company if you requested it.

That sounded awesome to me, so when Levi was born, Justin called our insurance company to find out about it. Turns out we could get a free pump if we ordered it from a list of medical supply companies that they provided to us. We can also get a new pump for each kid that we have, again, for free! You can’t beat that!

To be honest, even after we found this out, I was a little skeptical. I mean, a free pump from a medical supply company could be some weird, cheap, off-brand, crap machine. Nope! We got a Medela Advanced Double Breast Pump. The only complaint I have is that the carrying case is rather ugly…its old-lady beige and is not disguised to look like a briefcase or anything. I’ll take it though if it means we get a $450 breast pump for free!

So, pregnant women of America – call your insurance company and see if they will do this for you! It’s just another great way to alleviate some of the cost of having a kiddo!

Transition Week

As much as I tried to put it out of my mind, the time finally arrived for Levi to start daycare this week. When Levi was about 2 months old, I was talking to a friend about daycare and she gave me a great piece of advice (thanks Carly!)- she encouraged me to take Levi to daycare a few days before I actually had to go back to work and school so that I would be able to better adjust. She said that she didn't do that with her son, so her first day back at work (which was also her son's first day at daycare), she was a complete wreck.

Thankfully, Levi's daycare has what they call "Transition Week" for all of their new kiddos. Basically, the week before you kid is supposed to start school, you bring them a little more each day to help both mom and child transition into daycare. And bonus, it's free! It definitely made our transition a lot easier than it would have been otherwise and for that I'm extremely thankful! Here's how it went:

Monday - Me and Levi go to Daycare Together for a  Couple Hours
This was a great experience for me! I was able to take Levi to his class, see how things run, ask questions, and explain Levi's little quirks as they came up. I got to meet all of his teachers and start to develop a relationship with them, which was really nice.

That being said, I was a little worried about a few things. One is that Levi is younger than all but two of the other babies in the room, meaning the other babies are mobile and grabby. Also, I didn't see any books and to be honest, for the most part, all play time was pretty independent, which isn't what Levi is used to. More independent play will probably be good for him, but I'm concerned about the lack of academics. I know they're babies, but I'd argue that reading to babies is pretty common practice so I was confused when I didn't see it.

Overall, I felt more comfortable leaving him there than before, but I was a little disillusioned by what actually goes on during the day.

Tuesday - I leave Levi at Daycare for a Couple Hours
I dropped Levi off at Daycare for about two-and-a-half hours while I got my hair cut (finally!!). The actual act of leaving him was difficult. When I bent over him to say goodbye he looked up at me and smiled, melting my heart and making it extra difficult to leave him there. Once I was out and about though, I felt ok about it. I'm not going to lie and say everything was peachy and that I'm totally ok with him going to daycare, but it was more manageable than I thought it would be.

Levi also did well. He didn't cry much while I was gone and he ate from a bottle offered by a stranger, which is good. I'd really like him to experience as little trauma (for lack of a better word) as possible during this time.

Wednesday - I leave Levi at Daycare for a Half-Day
This was my first day back at work. Levi was at daycare from about 7:30-12:15. Being at work wasn't actually as hard as I thought it would be. It was nice to be back doing the job that I enjoy with my friends and coworkers. However, when we went to pick up Levi at lunch, he was BALLING. He was so exhausted because he's still learning how to nap in a noisy room and he had never been apart from us for that long. Poor thing.

Despite the fact that I felt ok with it while I was at work, seeing my sad little boy made this day especially hard.

Thursday - I leave Levi at Daycare until 3PM
Well, unfortunately (sort of...) Levi and I both came down with a bad cold. His cough was getting a little chesty so I kept him home with me and we went to the doctor instead of daycare. I was worried about it being the flu, but it wasn't and the doctor said he was ok to go to daycare as long as he didn't have a fever. I kept him at the home the rest of the day though...haha! It was good for him to get some rest. And boy did he! He practically slept all day!

Friday - I leave Levi at Daycare All Day
Since he didn't go to daycare on Thursday, I didn't leave him there all day today. And honestly, I'm glad I didn't. He's still sick and unable to sleep, so I picked him up at 3. He was crying again when I got there, but I know it was mainly because he was exhausted. He fell asleep within minutes of being in his car seat.

(How could anyone say goodbye to this face everyday?)

Generally speaking, I feel ok with going to work this semester, but I really hope that come mid-May I'll be able to keep him home with me from then on. It's important for me to finish my master's degree and fulfill my apprenticeship commitments, but it still feels unnatural to send my kid to others to take care of him during the day. I won't say it feels wrong, but it definitely doesn't feel right.

I think having this transition week was really helpful (even though I didn't do it quite right). It gave me the opportunity to see what it would be like without feeling trapped into it (even though I kind of was). I highly recommend it to other new moms!



Cloth Diapers 101: Making the Decision



After four months of baby-ness, I can finally say, with authority, that I love using cloth diapers! The following is the first installment of a little-bit-of-everything guide to cloth diapers. In this post I'll let you know how Justin and I made the decision to use cloth diapers, including helpful research information for those of you who are thinking about using them, but just aren't sure.

Research!
Justin and I found out about cloth diapers pretty early-on in my pregnancy. We were looking for any way to save money and this seemed like a great way to somewhat avoid the "babies are so expensive" feeling that was slowly creeping toward us. Before we decided to use cloth we did LOTS of research, which I highly recommend to anyone that's looking into it. There are plenty of blogs out there dedicated to cloth diapering. They have all kinds of statistics and reviews to look through for all the different types of cloth diapers, and let me tell you, there are lots of them. Here are a few places that were helpful research sites for us:

• Baby Center - This is a good website for pregnant folks anyway, but this page specifically gives a brief rundown of all of your options, as well as links to give you more information on what it means to use cloth diapers.
• Dirty Diaper Laundry - This is one of those blogs I was talking about that's dedicated to cloth diapers. It's got more reviews and videos than you could ever ask for. We visited this site a lot!
• Product Sites - when we started seriously considering a brand of diaper we would visit the company website. Obviously the sites are all biased, but they give you good insight into how the diapers work and the overall cost (i.e. disposable inserts, special detergent, sizing, etc.). Warning: These sites are designed to sell! You may want to google negative reviews after visiting the site just to give you some perspective.

YouTube
Another random but excellent place to go to research cloth diapering is YouTube. There are videos about all aspects of cloth, from organization and folding to reviews and time commitment. Here are a couple videos that we found helpful in the beginning:

Why Choose Cloth Diapers?

  



A Day in the Life of a Cloth Diapering Mom

YouTube is also a good place for the hubs to research cloth diapering. Justin found some videos made by other dads that gave him the male perspective, so that was good. I've read about some women doing cloth diapers without having their husband on board with it, but I imagine that's a huge pain in the butt. Just sayin'...

My Two Cents
If you're on the fence or are just finding out about cloth diapering as an option, you may be wondering why people would willingly give themselves more work to do when it comes to taking care of their baby (although I would argue it's not that much more, but I'll get to that another day). As I mentioned earlier, Justin and I originally started looking into cloth diapering because of the lower overall cost. I know there are some price comparisons out there that factor in things like disposable liners and laundry services, neither of which apply to us, so this is all relative, but from what I've read we're saving about $1500 over the course of Levi's diaper career by using cloth. Other benefits include the fact that cloth-diapered babies tend to potty train faster because they know what it feels like to be wet, they are better for the environment because you aren't throwing away large numbers of diapers each week, and the threat of diaper rash is slim to none. In fact, the only time Levi started to get a little diaper rash was when he was wearing disposables when we first brought him home. Since we transitioned to cloth we haven't had a problem with it. Finally, call me crazy, but I hate the smell of disposable diapers. I don't know if they're scented or what, but I think they smell like a public bathroom and I'm so glad that I don't have to mess with that on a regular basis.

Obviously, other things that you may want to consider are the additional loads of laundry you will be doing and the fact that you will most likely need to buy special laundry detergent for the diapers. Other than that though, and I know I'm biased here, I totally think they're worth it.

In future Cloth Diapering 101 posts, I'll explain some of the things I've briefly touched on above, but as a first installment, I hope this is helpful in providing some background information on how to go about researching cloth diapering and why Justin and I decided to go this route. If you have any questions, please feel free to comment!

And now, a gratuitous baby picture featuring, you guessed it, a cloth diaper (and a cute baby to boot)!



An Early New Year's Resolution

I know it's only November, but I don't want to wait until January to make my New Year's resolution. Staying at home with Levi this semester has made me very aware of my lack of motivation to finish most of the projects that I start. I see evidence of it everywhere in our apartment - the painting in our bedroom that has a blank corner, the lamp that's only halfway covered in twine (that sounds weird if you don't know what I'm talking about...haha!), my thesis (still living at a standstill). I've decided that I'm going to take the time I have left on maternity leave to change this pattern for good! So...this year's (super early) New Year's Resolution is "Finish What You Start." I'm applying it to any and everything: long-term goals like finishing graduate school and writing my thesis, and short-term goals like sewing together the laundry bags for our bedroom. When I finish a project, I'll write about it to let y'all know, so keep me accountable if you don't hear about anything for a while.

And now, a series of pictures to publicly humiliate myself into getting things finished:

This is that lamp project I mentioned earlier...

And the painting...

 

 

And the laundry bags...



And my thank you notes...which I didn't mention, but that definitely need to get done.

Believe it or not, there are actually more unfinished projects hiding in our apartment in boxes and baskets and drawers. Ugh! I'll report back soon (hopefully!).

Saving Money with (semi) Homemade Carpet Cleaner

So, as many people have probably experienced, babies can be messy. Levi has a tendency to overeat (haha!) so when he does that, he just vomits everything back up that he doesn't need, which makes for a dirty carpet. On top of that, our cat spite-pukes when she feels like she's not getting enough attention, which has been a lot lately. Needless to say, we've been going through our Resolve a lot quicker than we normally do. Yesterday, Lu puked twice (of course) and what do you know, but we were out of Resolve (crap!). I hate going through the hassle of getting Levi out to go to the store for one thing, so Justin volunteered to pick some up after work today, but then I started thinking...you know, I bet I could make something out of stuff we already have. We could save some money and Justin wouldn't have to run to the store after working all day. Win win!

After a quick google search and some pinning on Pinterest, I came across a carpet cleaning solution that was super easy to make and that we already had all the ingredients for. YAY! And what do you know, it's courtesy of the great Martha Stewart (thanks Martha!). Click here for the article that has this recipe, and many more, depending on your carpet type and cleaner preference.

All you  need is some free and clear laundry detergent, some water, and a container for your solution. I used All detergent, which I already had for the two sensitive-skin men that I live with. Mix 1/4tsp detergent (that's all!!) with 1 cup of water and you're done! I poured the detergent and water into a mason jar, closed the lid, and shook it to mix everything together. Worked like a charm.

Martha stressed that you do not want to pour the solution directly onto the carpet, so I dipped part of a rag towel into my jar and started scrubbing. Not only did it clean up the stain, but it took less scrubbing than Resolve, I used less solution, I didn't have to wait for it to lift the stain before scrubbing, and it didn't smell like chemicals. I mean, you can't beat that!

I was concerned that after the carpet dried it would be a little crusty from the soap, but it wasn't at all! It's like it never happened! This recipe is definitely a winner folks!

For more homemade carpet cleaning recipes, and other ideas for saving money with homemade items, follow my Pinterest board, Homemade Living.

Searching for a Day Care

Today, Justin took a personal day so that we could go tour potential day cares for Levi. I've been mentally preparing myself for months for the day that we actually drop him off for the first time because I know it's going to suck. I was not, however, prepared for how difficult today turned out to be. We visited First Baptist Waco first, which had been pretty highly recommended to us by a few people. Despite this however, as soon as we walked into the infant rooms, I could feel myself getting upset. The room was dark (probably naptime), lined with cribs, with a small play mat in the middle. There were a couple babies playing on the mat, but there were others just sitting up in their cribs looking around in the dark. From what I could tell there weren't any windows in the room either, so I felt a little bit like I was in baby prison. By the time we were ready to leave, I was itching to get out. As soon as the door closed behind us, I burst into tears: "I don't think I can do this!" I knew it was going to be hard not being with him all day anymore, but I didn't realize it would hit me this early.

Thankfully, after I calmed myself down, we stopped by the Tower to introduce Levi to Justin's coworkers. We told a few people that we just visited our first potential day care and there was overwhelming sympathy and understanding from all the women. They know how traumatic it can be and they reassured me that it gets better. One woman told us something that I think will become my mantra during this experience - "It's better for both you and him." Not to say that being a stay-at-home mom is a bad choice, because I definitely don't think that, but I know it's not the best decision for me personally. It will be better for me because I will be able to work and be myself again, but it will also be good for him to be able to socialize with other babies in a safe and educationally-focused environment. (Thanks Sheila!) So while it will be hard, it will be good for both of us in the end.

After our stop at the Tower, I felt a lot better about everything (or at least as good as I can right now). We went to visit Central Faith on our way home and I felt much better about it! The rooms each had a wall of windows, and while there were still lots of cribs in the room surrounding a play area, the rooms were more open and the staff talked to us about the different developmental activities they do with them throughout the day. I was most impressed by the fact that they work to teach them both Spanish and sign language. So cool!

While we haven't decided on a place yet (we still have some more to visit), I feel a lot better about it knowing that most other women in my situation have gone through similar emotions. I hope that other new moms or moms-to-be can read this and know that, while the process is hard, you are not alone. If you start feeling isolated or alone in your feelings, talk to other moms that have put their kids in day care and I guarantee their sympathy will be immediate. Us working moms have to stick together!

And now, a gratuitous baby picture because he's just so darn cute!

Refocusing

Lately I've been living an unbalanced life. I know I should cut myself some slack since I just had a kid, but now that a month has passed it feels like things should start to come back together. While Levi is clearly my top priority, as he should be, my other priorities seem overwhelmed and out of whack. When he's sleeping, I can decide what I should do, but my decisions during this time are usually poor (aka I binge-watch reality TV on Netflix). Because of this, I spend my time stressing over the fact that I should be finding a feasible way to exercise (because I'm still limited physically as to what I can do), working on my thesis (whoops...), finding time for prayer and spiritual focus, getting as many chores done as possible (so I can spend time with Justin when he gets home), and taking care of myself (grown-ups need naps too!).

Justin and I have talked about this several times, but I still can't find the motivation or direction to distress and just do what I need to do. Thankfully, this evening I had one of those moments where you read something that directly pertains to what you're going through right then. I was reading How Deep A Mother's Love...A Devotional Journey (thanks Shelli!) and the devotional was about finding proper perspective. It talks about feeling lost or overwhelmed with the demands of motherhood and life and how the best way to re-center yourself is through God. I know, some of you are probably like, "Duh Annelise! I could have told you that...," but regardless of the simplicity, I needed to read that today.

All of these things that make me feel stressed and unbalanced are really just worries, but, as the devotional says, if I spend less time worrying and more time focusing on God and the blessings he has given me, I will be able to relax and find the perspective I need to do what I need to do (instead of staying in my living room all day).

Levi's Birth Story (finally!)

DISCLAIMER: As the title suggests, this post is about Levi's birth, and while I don't go into too much detail, it still talks about each part of the labor experience. If you are at all grossed out by this, please stop reading here and take comfort in the fact that you know he was born and is doing well.

Levi's arrival having been a month ago, I am finally awake and sane enough to recount his birth story (yay!). And now that he's gone to sleep, I have (limited) time to write it down.

If there was a moral to Levi's birth story, it would be that you can't believe everything you read about labor and delivery - everyone's experience is different and mine is just another example of how true that is. Around 11:45PM on August 30th, right as Justin and I were going to bed, I had a pretty painful contraction. I had already experienced a few false labors, so Justin and I were hesitant to believe that this was real, but this contraction was more painful and it hurt in a different way than all the Braxton-Hicks contractions I had before.

Here's where things started to differ from everything I had read: Instead of my contractions becoming regular and gradually growing closer together and stronger over the course of several hours, within 30 minutes my contractions were coming every 2-3 minutes. While they were all pretty painful, they were not consistently so, meaning that some were more painful than others. Justin and I were both pretty confused by this, so I called the doctor (finally) at around 2AM and she told me to come to the hospital. At this point I was also starting to doubt my willingness to give birth naturally, because my contractions were getting to be pretty excruciating. The contractions themselves were not what was so painful, it was the back labor I was experiencing in conjunction with them. Because of Levi's position (which also played a role in his delivery), every time I had a contraction, his head would press on my lower spine.

At the hospital, even though I dilated a centimeter during the hour that I was there, they would not admit me. My contractions were irregular and I was only at 3cm. I felt frustrated because it seemed that the nurse did not really believe the amount of pain I was in. When I asked her what I could do about the pain (because she was treating them like Braxton-Hicks contractions), she told me to take 2 Tylenol (really...). By the time we left I was crying because of how much pain I was in.

Back at home, I took my two Tylenol, which of course did nothing, and continued to have contractions every 2-3 minutes. Thankfully, there was about an hour where they seemed to back off for a while, so Justin and I got a little bit of sleep, but for the most part, I was crying, yelling, and grabbing Justin for support every time a contraction hit. We called the doctor again at around 8AM and she told me to come back in if the pain got too bad, but I was convinced that I would just get sent home again because my contractions were still irregular. Finally, at about 10:30AM, I told Justin I couldn't take the pain anymore. I insisted that we go to the hospital immediately.

This time, as soon as I walked into the lobby, the receptionist looked at me and told me to go straight to check-in. After I checked in, which was done very quickly, they got me a wheel chair and wheeled me to triage. This time there was no denying that I was in labor. Even though my contractions were still irregular, I was now up to 5cm. When the nurse asked if I was planning on getting an epidural, I said that I hadn't planned to, but that I would like one. The pain was too unbearable. After the nurse left to get our room ready, I cried to Justin, telling him that I felt I had let him down because he believed in me so much. He insisted that I shouldn't feel that way because he was already so proud of me. He was so supportive the whole way through.

Once I got to my room, they immediately put me on Fentanyl to help ease the pain until I got my epidural, which happened within about 30 minutes or so. After getting the epidural I was finally able to rest and enjoy my time with Justin while we waiting for Levi to arrive. After about an hour without dilating past 6cm, the doctor broke my water to try to speed up delivery. She also wanted to put me on Pitocin at that time, which was the one thing at the top of my list that I did not want (besides a C-Section). As soon as she explained what she wanted to do, Justin asked if we could wait for an hour after she broke my water to see if I could dilate naturally. She agreed without hesitation and when she returned I had dilated to 8cm (yay! no Pitocin!).

After this, I started to dilate more quickly and began to feel the urge to push by 6PM or so. With Justin's support (which was more helpful than he will ever know) and the help of different nurses, I pushed for about 2 hours. After about an hour and a half of pushing (I think...time started to lose meaning at this point), the doctor came in and realized that he was sunny-side up, meaning he was facing the ceiling rather than the floor, which is what was causing my back labor earlier. I didn't realize it, but apparently it's difficult to deliver babies in this position vaginally if it's your first time. She mentioned that we may need to do a C-section if we couldn't get him out, but that she wanted to try turning him with forceps. I was getting scared for Levi at this point and I was upset at the thought that I may have to have a C-section.

After a couple of attempts, the doctor was unable to get Levi to turn, so she decided that she could deliver him vaginally using the forceps because he was low enough. All of the sudden my room was full of nurses and the anesthesiologist returned to give me additional pain medicine because of the type of delivery. At this point I was determined to get him out, and fast. After a little while longer, Levi was delivered with the forceps and we were able to avoid a C-section! I asked that he be placed on my chest right after delivery, which he was, and I was able to hold his little body and see his face as soon as he was out. The first thing Justin said was, "He looks like me!" and when I held him, I agreed. His swollen little face looked just like Justin when he was a baby.

After the fact, Justin and I both felt that Levi's delivery had been a traumatic experience. The length of time spent pushing, the urgency of the doctor and nurses during delivery, and the fact that forceps were needed left both of us scared to go through the process again. Now, a month later, I feel better about the idea, but feel that, no matter how much you try to prepare for it, labor and delivery cannot be understood until you go through it. In the end, Justin and I have a beautiful, healthy, pudgy son, and while it really takes a toll on your body, having a kid is totally worth it!

Finally, I would like to add that I have had several people say negative things about delivering at a hospital, and even specifically at Hillcrest, because its not a birthing center. Even though I felt that Levi's delivery was traumatic, it was not at all because I was in a hospital or because I was at Hillcrest. I would recommend that hospital to anyone, and, because of how Levi ended up being delivered, I'm glad I had him where I did. The process would have probably been more upsetting if I had been somewhere else. All of the nurses and doctors were extremely friendly, helpful, and supportive, and would have remained so, I am convinced, if I had not had any pain medication. So if you're pregnant in Waco and trying to decide on a place for delivery, I highly recommend Hillcrest.

Saving More Money wtih Homemade All-Purpose Cleaner

Like I mentioned at the end of my last post, Justin and I have been looking into other ways to save money by making our own stuff, or by simply doing things the old-fashioned way (hello cloth diapers!). A few days ago we ran out of our Clorox Green Works Cleaning Wipes, and let me tell you, we use those things for everything! Instead of going to the store and getting another container for $3, which will generally last us 2-4 weeks, I decided to make some homemade all-purpose cleaner.

It's really easy to make...it's just equal parts water and white vinegar. And since you can buy giant bottles of discount vinegar I spent less than $1 on 4 cups worth of cleaner and have plenty left over for when I run out. Now, instead of using Clorox Wipes, I just grab an old wash rag, spray some vinegar solution on it, and go to town. It works really well to break down grease and it's also a disinfectant. The only downside is that it smells like vinegar when you're done (not cool), but it goes away after awhile. If it weren't so dad-gum hot outside I'd open a window, but I don't want to waste my precious AC!

So far I've had a good experience with it. I've been able to get some tough grease off of our stove that I'm sure has been there since before we moved in and it made cleaning around the bathroom faucets super easy. It also makes me want to clean more! There's a sense of gratification that comes with successfully cleaning the kitchen counters with something I made myself. If only this translated to some of our other chores...

Speaking of which, here's an update on our recently-implemented chore chart: Just as I predicted, Justin was a little hesitant to use it at first, but he's come around (yay!). We haven't worked out a perfect system yet, but the longer we use it, the more on top of things we become. I'm sure Levi's arrival will throw us off for a while, but I'm glad we already have a (somewhat) working system in place to fall back on when we're ready to start operating with routines again.

The Nursery is Finished (well...pretty much...) Part 2

I'm sure my last post left people wanting more. I mean, I didn't even post anything about what's actually inside Levi's nursery. Sorry! Here's what his actual room looks like:

Just in case anyone wasn't sure whose room they were entering, I put this sweet pennant on the door from the baby shower put on by my cohort. Friends, correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe Emily made this. Thanks girl! Bonus, the colors match his room perfectly!

 

 

Here's what the room looks like when you peek in. You can see the rocking chair that I got from my parents (the same one that my mom used when I was little), Levi's toy boxes under each window, and the bookcases. As I mentioned in my previous post, our apartment is rather small so even though Levi's room is now a nursery, we still needed to use the space for our books like we had when it was our office/study before. The blanket on the back of the rocking chair was made for Levi by my mom. She used the monster shapes from a set of sheets as a template for the quilt. It's absolutely precious!

 



 

Here's a close-up of the wall art above the bookcase. I painted a verse that Justin and I picked out onto an orange canvas.

 

Here's the wall next to the door when it's open. This is where the rest of our books are. I tied it into the rest of the room by hanging some Julius Alphabet flashcards above the bookcases. Please excuse the lighting, I'm not the best photographer with an iphone...haha!

 

 





Here's the far wall with the crib. I made three monster pictures for him as well as a pennant with his name on it. Close-ups are below.

 

 

 

 

Here's a close-up of one of the letters of Levi's pennant. I cut the letters out of felt and then stitched them onto pre-made pennant triangles that I found at Hobby Lobby.

 



 

Finally, here is the diaper station. I found this great antique buffet at Ms. L's Chic Tiques here in Waco (I also got my coffee table from them!). They had already painted it and replaced the drawer pulls...I couldn't resist the sunflower yellow! Click here to visit their Facebook page and see all the cute stuff they make!

 

 

 

Yay for a finished nursery (almost)! Hopefully I'll be able to find a replacement cushion soon (or learn how to recover this one...).

The Nursery is Finished (well...pretty much...) Part 1

I got my last needed item in the mail today (hello, white lamp stand!) and can finally say that Levi's nursery is ready to go! Granted, I'm still looking for a new cushion for the rocking chair since the sage doesn't really match anymore (and I've only been able to find other fall shades in stores lately...lame), but other than that it's ready!! Here's what we've got goin' on...

Because we live in an apartment with limited storage space (understatement!), I've expanded Levi's room to include the little entryway just outside of his door. Thanks to one of those cube storage units from Target, this space now makes up for the lack of storage in the bathroom, kitchen, and Levi's room. Yay! I topped the storage unit with a name board that my sister made (super cool!), a set of sock monkey nesting dolls (just combine my two favorite things why don't you?) and some vintage baby books that I got at one of my showers (thanks Cindy!).

 

 

Here's a close-up of the name board that my sister made. It's pretty neat! You can see other cool stuff she does here.

 

 



 

I'll post more pics soon of the rest of the room.