My daughter is 9 months old now, it has gone by so fast! During my first pregnancy in 2003 my husband and I decided to cloth diaper. It was purely a financial decision, cloth is so much cheaper in the long run than disposables. I started out with a few dozen gerber prefolds and a handful of pull on ‘plastic’ pants. They worked but not fabulously. I belonged to a message board where many mothers cloth diapered their children and I began to lurk in the topics reading and learning. Once I had a little extra cash I purchased my first Fuzzi Bunz diaper. I was hooked and not long after we used Fuzzi Bunz almost exclusively. When my second son was born he soon fit into my older sons cloth diapers. I loved using the Fuzzi Bunz system, it worked so well and my kids never had rashes. While I was pregnant with my last baby I purchased http://www.clothdiapersnmore.com I never imagined owning my own cloth diapering store but my husband convinced me it was a good idea, the biggest perk is I can shop for my daughter whenever I please. I am still frugal with it though, and I wash her diapers every other day, I have less than two dozen in rotation right now, but with Fuzzi Bunz thats plenty!
It took me about 8 months to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, I think running and walking throughout my pregnancy really helped me shed my extra pounds. I ended up gaining right about 35 pounds (ouch) after my weight stabalized I was at 177lbs-which was 21 pounds over my prepregnancy weight. Double ouch! I managed to run every now and then and I tried to eat half way low fat and the pounds slowly came off. It was only recently that I really picked up my work outs and paying better attention to what I have been eating. I can see a big difference in my body eventhough the scale isnt moving as much as it had been. In the past month Ive only lost 2-3 pounds but Ive lost a good inch off my waist and tummy and by some miracle my hips are actually smaller than they were befor I had kids! I still have about 20 more pounds to go.
Hailey is four months old today, she is nursing perfectly and seems to be working on her first tooth. She really is the perfect baby, she only fusses when she is tired or hungry. She smiles a lot and is very alert, sometimes it seems like you can see the wheels turning in her little mind. She is such a joy! If all babies were like her Id have a dozen. She is about 13 pounds and 25 inches long. She does not like tummy time, she tolerates it for a few minutes and then starts to squeel and let me know she is mad. She has been rolling for a few weeks which has made for the demise of tummy time. When she is done she just rolls over onto her back where she finds her toes. Her toes are her best friends- she loves to hold them and suck on them. She has brought so much joy into our home, I had no idea babies could be so pleasant and sweet. My boys both screamed basically non-stop from the time they were born until they were 6 months old. Hailey wakes once during the night, around 3am and then again at 6am and then gets up for the day around 7 with a few naps here and there. I had no idea babies could sleep so well!
Im two days post partum and my milk is beginning to come in! My baby is nursing like a champ. She is my third so my lurning curve isnt so bad this time. But we are still learning to nurse, its definatly teamwork. My nipples are very different in shape and she is having a hard time latching onto my right side. I have to make sure she isnt overly hungry or needing to suck to get her to latch onto it. I know it will just take time for her to learn how to do it. I just have to keep offering and making sure she gets equal time on each side during these crucial first days. I have been monitoring her weight on my digital postal scale. I have a large shallow box that I lined with a soft blanket, I first tare my scale with it on and then place her in it. She has been losing wieght but it is fine for a new baby to lose 10% of their weight in the first few days, once my milk is in and she gets a few good meals in her belly she will be doing absolutley awesome! She has a great latch on my left side so I am not concerned. Until now she has been getting colostrum, which is the greatest food for a human baby on this earth. Im thrilled that nursing is going so well. I hope to continue for at least a year. I weaned my youngest son just before his second birthday, we will see how long Hailey nurses.
My daughter was born yesterday, 7lbs 20.5″ long with lots of long black hair. She has stunning blue eyes, just like my boys. She has my eyes. Im so happy to see those baby blues again. My daughter was born at home with the expert assistance of a wonderful midwife. Due to the great care I recieved I did not tear, and my midwife does not do episiotomies. She is a smart woman, sizzors do not belong near a vagina. I tend to agree. I feel really great today, I am sore and tired but I dont feel like Ive been hit by a mack truck as I did with my other births. My chest is a little sore, from pushing and my back feels ‘wonky’ and keeps clicking because of the hormone relaxin but it will tighten up in the coming days. These are minor issues, and I have no major issues. My oldest son, who is four is absolutly smitten with his baby sister. He held her when she was five hours old. She was here when he woke up. He came into the master bedroom and I was sitting semi upright and told him to come over, his baby sister had been born during the night. He was very excited and completly in love with his baby. My younger son who is 3 has been a bit more reserved, he isnt so hot on not being the baby anymore. He will come around, he is very loving and cuddley, it will just take a little time for him to get used to being the BIG brother.
We are officially done having children now, I never understood people when they said they just ‘knew’ when their family was complete. I guess I just had to experience it to understand. We are a complete family of five. Mom, Dad, two boys and one girl (oh and a big white lab/pitbull baby)