We LOVE our CLOTH DIAPERS!

Most people, including my husband, thought that I was crazy for wanting to cloth diaper Delilah. But what those people didn't know, is that cloth diapers of today are much different than old fashioned cloth diapers from back in the day. Prefolds and pins are still around and some people love the old fashioned way, but most moms I know use prefolds as burp cloth's and not for diapering purposes.


I always knew that I wanted to cloth diaper, and I really started researching it when we started trying to get pregnant. 9 months of trying and 10 months of pregnancy gave me a lot of time to read up on cloth diapering. It is easy to get overwhelmed with all of the different brands and styles, but once you jump in, you figure it out and find what style you like best.


Right now, Delilah is wearing Earths Best disposables over night, and when we go out, but while we are at home I have been putting her in cloth and really enjoying it.


If you are in the market for a fantastic disposable diaper that is much less toxic than the popular brands, I highly recommend Earths Best diapers. They are a great company with so many fantastic products from diapering to nutrition.

Right now I have about 30 cloth diapers and I feel like that is more than enough, especially since I love to do the laundry. Delilah has every color of the rainbow, and a few cute prints also. We have a mix of a few different brands, but the brand that I have the most of and am currently using exclusively to get my husband comfortable with them, is Charlie Banana. These are hybrid diapers which means that you can use them as strictly cloth, or add a biodegradable, disposable insert. I am using them as strictly cloth, but might order a pack of the disposable inserts to try them out for trips out of the house.


I'm so happy with my decision to use cloth on Delilah. I feel like I am doing something great for her and something great for the environment also.


If you are considering cloth diapers, this is a fantastic book that I found very helpful.

2 Months old... Already!

   Delilah is an absolute doll... and I am madly in love with her. I can not believe that she is 2 months old already. I'm so excited about all of the milestones that she has already reached, and all of the milestones that will come. I am sad to see the baby stage move so quickly. I cherish and hold onto every moment as I know each phase of her life will go by in what seems like a blink of the eye. Right now she is crazy about her momma and I pray that it always stays that way. She of course loves her daddy and her puppy too.

Over the last week or so, she has discover her thumb. She started with trying to get her entire fist in her mouth, and finally settled for her thumb. She loves to suck her thumb and for now... I find it absolutely adorable. I have noticed that it is always her left hand, and I have a feeling she is going to be left handed. Even if her left hand is covered by her sleeve and her right thumb is fully available, she will suck her left thumb threw her sleeve. Such a silly girl. 

She is full of smiles, especially early in the morning and late at night. Of course when I have the camera on hand she rarely flashes me a smile. She thinks its funny when she poops and when her momma sings. When she looks up at me while we are snuggling and grabs my face and flashes a big smile it melts my heart and usually gets me teary eyed.


Over the last few days her baby babble has increased and they are the sweetest sounds in the world. When she squeals, I squeal right back. A lot of her babble sounds like hi, momma and ok, but I know that it is just sweet babble right now. 

Her eyes are still very blue, some days they look a little green. She has long beautiful lashes and the perfect pouty lip. Her hair has gone from dark brown to light brown to now reddish brown with a sweet curl. She is growing out of her clothes faster than I can get them on her. 

Tomorrow she has her 2 month check up and I am interested to see what her stats will be. I can't believe how much she has grown over the last 4 weeks.

Look who is 1 Month Old ~ Already!

All of my life I have heard people say "they grow so fast" when it comes to their babies. Already in Delilah's first month I have learned that this is so true. Over the past week, I have found myself saying "she is becoming so independent". Sounds so silly, a 1 month old becoming so independent. 


She was so tiny and extra, extra fragile when she was born. In the hospital, and once we came home, I never slept because I was one of those moms who makes sure her baby is breathing every 5 seconds. I also have a fear of her chocking in her sleep. My fears have eased a tiny bit, and I have managed to get a little bit of rest. 


Another tip that is so true "sleep when the baby is sleeping". Although I agree with this statement, I find it almost impossible. When the baby is sleeping, I get a minuet to wash my face, brush my teeth, change my shirt that most likely has spit up on it, throw in a load of laundry and maybe pour myself a glass of water. By the time Patrick gets home from work, the first thing I want to do is take a shower. It's amazing how fantastic a shower is when you wait all day for it.


 I am slowly starting to get caught up on things, and we are slowly starting to get on a schedule, Kinda. I am very much looking forward to my 6 week after delivery Dr. appointment, and very much looking forward to getting the ok to exercise. Not sure when I will have the energy, or the time for it though, but it will be nice to know that it's an option. 

Delilah 1 Month Old ~ Already!

Welcome to the world Delilah - Part 3

We are now at around hour 18, and I am exhausted. The nurses continue to come into the room about every 15 minuets. The next time the nurse checks me, I have now progressed to 3cm. This is the best news that I have heard in days. They continue to up my pitocin and check in on me. From time to time they move my body and don't say much. I know from the night before that when they do that, it means that the baby's heart rate is dipping again. We have been told over and over that this is not anything to worry about, and her heart rate comes right back up. 


All of a sudden my Dr. came walking in. I assumed that they called him and told him that I was at 3cm and he decided to come right in. I looked at him with so much excitement and I give him a big smile and said "are you excited?, I'm excited"! He looked at me like I was a crazy person and put on his serious face, which I never see from him. He sat down at the edge of my bed. He tells us that the baby is having a hard time and we are going to have to do an emergency c-section. Now my room is packed with nurses and all kinds of equipment is being brought in. They prepped my room for delivery, and also prepped the operating room and called for another Dr. to assist. 


I was completely exhausted at this point and so disappointed. To top things off, my epidural was wearing off and I was getting crazy contractions. All of a sudden I was fully dilated and the baby was coming out. My Dr. looked at me and asked if I wanted to try one push to see if the baby could handle it. I gave it my all, and the baby loved it. Her heart rate was back up, and I was determined to push my baby out as fast as possible. 


The mood completely changed in the room. Patrick was holding one of my legs, and an adorable nurse named Nikki was holding my other leg, my Dr. was in position, and there were at least five other nurses cheering me on. I was completely silent, and focused on my breath. With each contraction, I would take three deep breaths and give three of my best pushes. I was suddenly full of energy and excitement, and not in any pain at all. I remember saying that the baby felt like a fish swimming out of me. Within five contractions, Delilah was out. 


They placed Delilah on my chest and the first thing that I said was "I'll do that again". My Dr. was in shock by the turn of events and at how calmly and quickly I pushed the baby out. I think that it had a lot to do with years of yoga and meditation. I also think that I was due for one part of this pregnancy and birth to be easy, and the delivery was the easiest and best part of it all. 

Welcome to the world Delilah May

Welcome to the world Delilah - Part 2

So we were now 10 hrs into the induction process and so far nothing positive had happened. I had been told that my Dr would be coming in to make his rounds and that he would most likely break my bag of water. I still had hopes that my water would break on its own, but who was I kidding. My body was just not cooperating with me. I was happy to know that at some point in hopefully the near future I would be seeing my Dr and hopefully he would make some magic happen.


Throughout the morning, nurse after nurse would come into my room and try to push me into getting my epidural. I had been having regular contractions for so long that they really were no big deal. I really only had 2 that I thought were going to kill me. One was during a family dinner at my in laws. It came out of nowhere and I screamed. That was the only time I screamed throughout this entire process, and that was a few days before I gave birth.


I questioned every nurse who came in about why they thought it was necessary for me to get my epidural now. I wasn't in any pain that I felt I needed drugs to handle. For the record, I hate drugs. I don't even like to take a Tylenol.


When I was younger, and hadn't experienced much physical pain in my life, I had planned on when the time came having an all natural water birth. When it came time to make a decision of what type of birth plan I was going to have, I decided that an epidural would most likely be a good idea since I tend to panic when I am in pain. The last thing that I wanted was to have a panic attack as my baby girl was coming into the world. Calmness was still at the top of my list.


After getting every hospital employees opinion who came into my room on me getting my epidural, and then having a nurse come in to tell me that the anesthesiologist was about to go in for a scheduled c-section and that if I decided I wanted it I would have to wait over an hour for it, I gave in and got the epidural.


The anesthesiologist came into my room, along with my least favorite nurse, and Patrick was asked to leave the room. They told him it would be about 20 minuets. He decided that was a good time to run to Dunkin Donuts and grab a cup of coffee. At this point I was so exhausted that I could care less about the epidural. I wasn't nervous or afraid of the needle at all. I told the anesthesiologist that I was very sensitive to meds. and apparently he didn't take me very serious. Well... Things got serious real fast.


They prepped me... No big deal, they gave me some sort of numbing shot.... No big deal, the gigantic needle went into my spine, not really that big of a deal, then the anesthesiologist injects the meds into my system... Big Deal... Very Big Deal!


I remember the anesthesiologist saying that I may feel warmth, burning and tingling as he pumped the meds into my system. Within seconds of the meds entering my system I was going down and I was going down fast.

I had a true going toward the light experience. I'm not sure if any words came out of my mouth, but I clearly remember the dialogue going on in my head. I was at peace with the fact that I was dying on that table and my life was ending. For the record... In reality, I am not at all ok with my life coming to an end any time before I reach at least 100. It does however give me a sense of peace to know that when life comes to an end, it truly is a peaceful journey. I remember hearing the nurse whisper that my BP was 50/30 as I started to come to. I was sideways in the bed and I had an oxygen mask on my face. Eventually I was able to open my

eyes and Patrick was there. He didn't leave my side after that.

For a while after the epidural ordeal, I was basically on another planet. I felt paralyzed and like I had completely no control over my body and what was happening any more. I couldn't feel the baby move and it freaked me out. I couldn't move my legs, and I wanted to scratch my face off. 


Shortly after I was headed toward the light.... My Dr came walking into my room. I was really happy to see him. He checked me, still no change, then he broke my bag of water. After a brief visit, he told me that he was going to head to the office and didn't expect to need to come back for me until later that evening.


He was wrong.


To be continued.....

Welcome to the world Delilah - Part 1

Now that Delilah is almost 1 month old (I cant believe it), I am getting my first chance to sit down and blog about her birth. I'm extremely sleep deprived, so please excuse me if I ramble.


Our sweet baby girl sure took her sweet time coming into the world. She also had a lot of fun playing tricks on me. I spent the last 10 days of my pregnancy in what my Dr's called phase 1 of labor. I would go in for my regular appointment and they would tell me that I was having real contractions that were consistent and they would be surprised if I didn't go into full labor that night. 10 days later and another visit to the office still no change. My Dr finally returned from what I assume was an amazing tropical vacation, and he scheduled me for an induction. Being induced was not what I had hoped for, but at that point, it had to be done.


On January 4th, Patrick's birthday, we went into the hospital for the induction. At 8pm on that Wednesday night the induction began. We walked into the hospital, well I waddled, and we went to the front desk and told them who we were. I had my pillows in hand along with my water, and Pat had my suitcase. The sweet security guard said "this must not be your first" I smiled and told him it was, and he said he was shocked by my calmness. Calmness... a major part of my plan. I really wanted to enjoy our birth experience. As we waited in the lobby for the women who escorted us to the maternity ward to come get us, we were showered with smiles and kind words of good luck and congratulations by complete strangers who I'm sure were not there for good reasons. I loved all of the smiles and kind words, and I was so happy to help put a smile on these hospital visitors faces.


Our maternity ward escort was not so nice. She thought I was ridiculous to bring my own pillows to the hospital. She called me an armature. The birthing bed was the most uncomfortable "bed" I have ever been in, and I spent 5 days in it. I would not have survived without my body and memory foam pillow. Lucky for her we didn't cross paths again.


We were brought to our room #232 and I was told to put on my gown and then hit the call button for the nurse. This was all getting started very quickly, and without any visit or word from my Dr or any Dr for that matter. This is when I learned that the nurses basically run the show here. The first of what would be at least 20 nurses that we had over our 5 days in the hospital came in to get me prepped for the induction. Next up.. a women with paper work for me to sign... Followed by a women to take my blood... Followed by a blood taking specialist to find my veins to get my IV started... Followed by a nurse to set up my IV drip and pitocin bag and baby heart rate monitor. Throughout the night, someone was in our room at least every 15 minuets either adjusting the heart rate monitor, repositioning me, changing my IV bag or turning up and then back down my pitocin drip. It was a very long night, sleep was impossible, and my nerves were starting to kick in. I would have a nurse who was either super fantastic, or one who was horrific and I wanted to kick out of my room. From 8pm Wednesday night to 6am Thursday morning, my body was still not progressing. I was still stuck at 1cm, and the baby's heart rate was dropping.


To be continued...

Induction.

I didn't think that it was going to take us as long as it did to get pregnant. I thought that I was going to love every minuet of being pregnant. I thought that my body would naturally progress the labor process and let me push this baby out. I had hoped that my Dr. would be around, or at least someone from his staff when I needed them. Things don't always work out the way that you plan or hope for.


I have been stuck in phase one of labor since last Thursday at 1am. Who knew that real labor could start and then take days to progress,  or not even progress at all, not me. My parents have been in town staying with us for a week and patiently awaiting their 1st grandchild's arrival. We have all been as patient as possible. We have been stuck in an "any minuet now" phase for 6 days. Thankfully my Dr. is back from his 11 day vacation. Today we were scheduled to see him and guess what, he was stuck at the hospital. So the office called and said I would have to see the nurse practitioner again. We like her a lot, but I was really hoping to see my Dr. so he could see how much I needed him to do something, anything. When we got to the office, all of the ladies in the office and the nurse practitioner were socked to see that this baby girl had not arrived yet. I'm super well done at this point.


Last night I was contracting so hard for 2hrs with 3 minuets between contractions. We called the on-call Dr. and were all set to walk out the door when once again my labor stopped. So we stayed home and managed to get some rest. By morning nothing other than some mild cramping was happening. I was counting down the minuets until my 3pm appointment. 


Tomorrow night (Patrick's Birthday) I am being induced. My body has not made any progress since they last checked me on Thursday, and its looking like it isn't going to do it on its own. So tomorrow night we go in, and by Thursday evening Jan. 5Th hopefully we will have our baby girl in our arms. 


I had hoped not to have to be induced, but I am excepting the fact that this is what has to happen at this point. Now I am hoping that everything will go smoothly and that I will have the ability to push her out on my own.