It's Bunny's Birthday

On this day just a year ago. I was awoken from my slumber by contractions around 6am. They weren't very painful nor were they occurring at consistent intervals. After about an hour my contractions began to get stronger. I called my OB and he told me to come into the office.

After I got to my OB's office I sat in my OB's waiting for about 45 minutes (his office is always busy because he's the best). He got to me/as soon as he could and  checked me. He told me that I would be meeting my daughter that day and then sent me to Labor and Delivery. My husband and I made a detour to our house so that I could my hospital bag and laptop. After I gathered my things we went off to the hospital where I skipped up to L&D. Okay maybe I didn't skip... I wobbled up to L&D taking a break for contractions. When I got up to L&D the majority of the nurses recognized me because I'd spent a considerable amount of time in L&D over the past few months. I was taken to a birthing room and changed into my hospital gown and matching headband. After I was all set up my husband left to go pick up my mom and Awesome A. While he was gone I got my epidural and by the time he returned I was on cloud nine watching a Love It Or List It marathon on HGTV. I was progressing slowly so I was given Pitocin. While I waited I worked on an exam and a paper for class. I was determine to have my assignments done before I delivered. Around 7:50pm I told my nurse that in was ready to push. My doctor came in and I pushes for a few minutes and at 8:19pm my sweet girl was born.
It was such an amazing moment. The nurse placed Bunny on my chest and I fell in love. It feels like it was just yesterday.

12 Months of Exclusive Breastfeeding (in 2 days)

When I found out I was pregnant with Bunny and planned to breastfeed exclusively for at least year. I breastfeed Awesome A until he was 6 months old when he weaned on his own. On the 31st of January Bunny will be a year old. I'm quite proud of myself because there were a few times when I thought about giving up. I had supply issues and was dependent on a nipple shield for a few months in the beginning. I'm so glad that I kept going and had so much support.

Now that the one year mark is approaching various people including my husband keep asking me if I plan to stop nursing Bunny. The answer is simple. I plan to stop nursing when Bunny is ready. I am a big fan of baby led weaning and as of right now my daughter rather nurse than drink out of her sippy cup. However, I have no plans of  showing up for lunch when Bunny's in kindergarten with a nursing cover, Boppy and thermos of Mother's Milk Tea. So, for now I'll keep offering her a sippy cup and nurse her a few times a day and before bedtime.

The Baby Sneezed In My Face

The past two weeks have been rough. First my husband got sick, then Bunny followed by Awesome A. Now it's my turn.  I'm certain if I logged my symptoms into my WebMD App the app result would be "you're going to die" or polio. I think the common cold my husband and children had mutated by the time it got to me. When I feel like about about to get sick or if someone is sick in my household I usually start popping vitamin C tablets which usually does the trick. However, my vitamin C regimen has failed me and I feel awful.

 I used feel guilty about laying down when I was sick. Why? Because I'm a mommy and my babies need me. I somehow figured that giving birth gave me special powers. If not full immunity to illness, at least partial immunity. I could have malaria and do four loads of laundry, take the kids to the park and have dinner on the table by six.  Of course germs would understand that I didn't have time to be sick and go easy on me. I thought my succumbing to the symptoms of a cold somehow made me weak because I was a mother. How crazy was I?!?!?! 

Now when I'm sick and the hubby is home I say in bed and take care of myself. If my husband happens to be gone my children and I have pajama day. I'm also lucky to have great milspouse friends who bring me soup and watch my kids. Good friends are essential to the survival of the Milspouse (more on this later).

My hubby is home today and I've spent the majority of my day in bed so far. The children are still alive and the house hasn't burned down. 

How To Shoe Shop & Come Home With Bread

Who goes shoe shopping and comes home with bread? My hubby and I do!!! This post has absolutely to do with saving money. When I say bread I don't mean money, I mean loaves and bagels.

On Monday we went shoe shopping. We drove a few cities over to the nearest Joy Stride Rite. I found the shoes I wanted to buy online on the Strife Rite website, but I wasn't sure about my kids' shoe sizes. Bunny and Awesome A both got their feet measured and I was excited about buying shoes. The store didn't have the shoes I'd already picked out, however, I did find 2 pairs the I liked. Unfortunately the store was out of the sizes I needed. We left Joy Stride Rite and went to Nordstrom but had no luck finding shoes to our liking.

We ended up at Panera Bread where my hubby bought a loaf of cheese bread and a bunch of bagels (We're all about the carbs right now). As we headed home we all munched on cinnamon roll bagels and I ordered shoes from Stride Rite from my phone (using a coupon code I found for 25% off).

Clek Foonf: Assembly

As you guys know Bunny's new car seat arrived on Tuesday. The seat came in four pieces, the base (for use when the car is rear facing), head rest, body of the seat and anti-rebound bar. Also, there was a little bag of bolts and cotter pins. There were no instructions on how to assemble the Foonf, however; Clek has a YouTube channel with assembly instructions. I think I probably could have managed to assemble the seat even if I had not watched the video. The seat was easy
 for me to put together until it was time to snap the anti-rebound bar in. I tried to give it some "oomph" like the lady on the video instructed, but I just could not get it in place. I guess my husband has more "oomph" than I do because he was able to snap the bar into place. The final step was to use bolts and cotter pins to secure the anti-rebound bar. I was able to put the seat together in about 20 minutes.
Although it was easy to find the instructions online. I really wish that instructions had been included in the box.

Adjusting the shoulder straps is simple

Awesome A overseeing the work being done

Bunny's New Car Seat

It's here!!! It's here!!! Anna's new car seat has arrived. I got the e-mail notification that it had been delivered around 4:45pm and placed at my front door. In my excitement I ran to the door. I was surprised to find... Nothing!!! The car seat was no where in sight. I checked my neighbor's front door... No car seat. About 20 minutes later just when I had deduced that the car seat had been delivered to the wrong address the FedEx truck pulled up to my house. I don't know why FedEx is always toying with my emotions.



Well... here is Bunny's new carseat:

Bunny trying out her new Foonf

Mr. Awesome tried it out too 

Teething: Hyland Tablets

I am certain that Hyland teething tablets are made of fairy dust and ground up unicorn horn. They have worked like magic for my teething 11 month old. The past few weeks have been really rough for Bunny. She's getting three new teeth and her gums are inflamed, but Hyland Teething Tablets have been making the ordeal easier.

Before I found out about Hyland Teething Tablets I was at my wits end. I bought her teething rings and tried using a cool wash cloth. The cool wash cloth worked, but the relief was short-lived.  Bunny would look up at me with those big brown eyes and I'd feel completely helpless. The worst feeling in the world is wanting to help your child whose in pain or sick and having no idea how to do so. I had to find a product to ease her pain.

I searched forums and reviews for teeth pain relief aids, but had a difficult time finding a product that did not have adverse side effects. I wanted to find the most natural product that actually worked. While  reading a forum about cloth diapers I saw a post by mom praising the little white tablets and I decided to do some research on them. I was impressed with the reviews I read and immediately began calling around until I found a local store that sold the Hyland product. I ended up finding them at our local Walmart (they were sold out at the other stores I called). We ended up purchasing the last package of the tablets.

 When we got them Bunny was having teething pain and had the most heartbreaking distressful cry. I gave her three tablets and after about 15 seconds. After six months of use it still amazes me how fast they work. The directions says to give the baby two or three tablets four times a day, but I only use them as needed. I would definitely recommend this product if you have a teething baby or toddler.

Cloth Diapering: On The Go Solution

I have been cloth diapering my daughter for ten months and it's been relatively easy. Well... It's been easy while at home. Traveling with cloth diapers was a bit more difficult. I've made numerous trips to South Carolina to visit family for weeks at a time and have gone on a few 3-5 day trips. Packing diapers along with everything else the kids need doesn't leave much space for my things. I am a fan of BumGenius (BG), Rumparooz (RAR) and Sustainablebabyish/Sloomb (Sbish) and those diapers take up a great deal of space in a suitcase.

I change Bunny about every 2 hours which equates to about seven diapers a day and we use a fitted diaper at night. When I'm going to be away from home for more than a day I usually pack ten pocket diapers, three fitted diapers, a few detergent samples, a hanging wet dry bag, a medium wet dry bag  and a few disposable diapers. With only 13 cloth diapers I have to wash them everyday. Daily washes aren't a problem since I have access to a washing machine when I'm visiting my family in SC, but what if I'm traveling somewhere I won't have easy access to a washing machine? How can I travel and have enough cloth diapers without sacrificing suitcase/ diaper bag space? The solution I found was simple... Hybrid cloth diapering systems.

Hybrid or all-in-two (AI2) cloth diapers can be used with reusable or disposable inserts. You can buy two or three covers, pop in the insert and when the insert gets wet or soiled just replace it with another one. If the cover gets dirty simply use another one and wash out the soiled cover. After figuring out what I needed I started trying out some hybrid systems.  Finding the perfect system for Bunny was as easy as I thought it would be. The first two systems (Flip and Best Bottom Diapers) I tried had great reviews, but did not work well for her. I always ended up having to change her clothes because the diapers leaked. I do not think the leaks had anything to do with the quality of the diapers, but every diaper isn't for every baby just like a style of dress doesn't fit the same on every woman.

Flip Diaper System

I thought I would love these diapers because I love BumGenius Diapers and the same company, Cotton Babies make Flip diapers. I really wish that these had a snap or something to hold the insert in place. 

Flip Diaper Cover with Stay-Dry Insert

Flip Diaper Cover with Disposable Insert

              

                 

               Best Bottom Diapers

 This hybrid system is very different from the Flip system. There is a snap inside this diaper to hold the insert in place and instead of one insert that can be sized you have to buy different sizes as your child grows. I used these on both my son and daughter so I had small and large inserts. They worked better on my son than they did my daughter. 

Best Bottom Diaper Covers

Small and Large Stay Dry Inserts

Just when I was about to give up on hybrids and buy a pack of LUVs my friend and fellow MilSpouse told me about how she loved her daughter's Grovia diapers. I decided to give them a try and ordered two covers and four inserts. I was so excited when they came and prepped them right away. The first time I used them my family went on a day trip. I packed my diaper bag with the two Grovia covers four inserts and two BG diapers. I had so much more room in my diaper bag and the Grovia diapers worked great. I had no trouble getting a good fit and I had no leaks. The diaper covers are mesh on the inside and the inserts snap into place. The insert come in Stay-Dry and Organic Cotton and there are also disposable inserts. Unlike the Flip and Best Bottom Diapers inserts the Grovia inserts are backed with Thermoplastic Polyurethane (TPU) making them waterproof.  

 Grovia had a buy two get one free sale during Black Friday and I purchased more covers and inserts. I have been using them for almost three months with no problems. However, that doesn't mean I'm not going to try any other hybrid systems. I've heard great things about SoftBums and I plan to try those next. 

Grovia Ai2 Diapers

                                           Space Saving: Pockets Vs. Hybrids

10 Pocket Diapers in a Medium Size Suitcase

3 Grovia Diaper Covers and 10 Inserts

Bunny's Ready To Go

Links to the Hybrid diapers I mentioned:

http://www.flipdiapers.com/

http://www.bestbottomdiapers.com/

http://www.gro-via.com/

http://www.softbums.com/

Graco, Diono or Clek: Choosing the Perfect Carseat

Bunny turns a year old on the 31st and the number 1 item we plan to get her is a new car seat. I've been researching for months and I've narrowed the list down to the Graco Smart Seat, Diono Radian RXT and (drum roll please)... Clek Foonf!!!  They all have a hefty price tag; the Foonf with the largest.

When I was looking for a car seat for Mister Awesome I researched for months and ended up getting him the Evenflo Triumph 65 LX. I started researching car seats 4 months ago and realized the changes that have been made in regard to safety. With my son I was told that he should stay rear facing until he was a year old, however, now I understand the importance of extended rear facing. I plan to keep Bunny rear facing at least until she turns 2 (hopefully longer). I searched for the top rated extended rear facing convertible car seats and the three I choose were consistent among forums and reviews.


                       Graco Smart Seat™ All-in-One Car Seat

The brand is a name I instantly recognized (What the heck is a Foonf?). It can be used from birth to booster, which is cool, but my daughter is past the infant seat stage and if I have another baby it would be before Bunny's out of this seat. I love that this is the last car seat we would have to buy for her. The seat is pretty wide, which is a con for me because I drive a compact SUV and already have one car seat in the back seat. The chair retails for $250 half the price of the Foonf and less expensive than the RXT. The prints this seat comes in are also pretty cool.

                              Diono Radian RXT 

The Diono retails for $270. I fell in love with the Radian RXT when I watched a review on YouTube a while ago. It goes from birth to booster like the Smart Seat, but is slimmer. The RXT got high marks for comfort and has a steel frame. It folds up and straps can be purchased to carry it on your back, however; the seat weighs a little over 26 lbs. After some research I was pretty much sold on the greatness of this seat. However, something did not sit well with me when I found out that the company had re-branded changing the name from Sunshine Kids to Diono. My inquisitive mind just had to find out why. I was expecting to find a lawsuit of some sort regarding safety issues, but it appears that executives at wanted the company to have a name that was more international. I guess Sunshine Kids was not sophisticated enough. Whether its Sunshine Kids or Diono this company makes a great seat. I absolutely love the look of this seat. It's kind of race car-esque.

*I watched a few installation videos on YouTube for the RXT and they raised my concern of whether or not I could handle installing this seat on my own. Most of the YouTubers I watched seems to get frustrated installing the seat rear facing.

                                        Clek Foonf

Then along came the Foonf. When I heard the name I wondered what in the world is a foonf. Now I'm pretty sure that "Foonf" is the sound that's heard when you hit the floor after hearing the price of this innovative seat. This seat retails for about $500, but can be found cheaper in various stores. Unlike the other 2 seats you can't bring home a newborn with this one. The baby has to be able to sit unsupported. On the Clek website is says that the seat is made for children ages 6 months to 6 years old. What really drew me to the Foonf were the height and weight maximums for when the seat is rear facing. These limits surpass all other car seats on the market's rear facing limits, and my daughter would be able to remain rear facing for longer. The fact that the Foonf is 100% recyclable and has a lower toxicity level than other car seats appeals to my crunchiness. The Foonf uses Rapid Energy Absorbing Crumple Technology. This safety feature is a crumple zone much like one you would find in a car reducing the force caused by a collision. With its steel and magnesium substructure it weighs 36 lbs which made me pause for concern, but the ease of installation I observed in various YouTube videos eased my mind a little. However, we're a military family and if any future PCS involves a plane ride I don't believe I would enjoy lugging this heavy seat from terminal A to terminal. I would definitely have to buy a Go Go Kidz Travel-mate. 

So which car seat are we going to get??? That's a great question. I'm still not quite sure.We plan to have a decision made this weekend on which car seat to get Bunny, but I'm pretty sure it will be either the RXT or the Foonf. The Smart Seat is a bit too wide and being able to have 3 car seats across is important. 

Until next time....

Happy New Year

Happy New Year Everyone!!! I hope everyone had a great holiday. I had pretty busy holiday. My little family celebrated Christmas 3 different times on 3 different days. We opened gifts ar our house on the 19th before we left for South Carolina. We celebrated Christmas at my parents' houses then hit the road on Christmas Eve and celebrated on the 25th with my in-laws in DC. Our car looked like santa's sleigh our entire trip. This was the first Christmas we've spent with both our families since we moved back to the mainland. Last Christmas I was on bedrest and my mom came to help out and was with us from Christmas. It was great to be with family.