Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere....Advice Requested!

So with all the adorable clothes we have been getting for little William, I'm starting to get an itch to start washing them and putting them away!  We are trying to decide what type of detergent to use though.  We have a HE washer and currently use Tide for everything.  We are leaning towards switching to something more green, especially for baby - and have started considering something like Seventh Generation.  They have a variety to choose from and they have a liquid detergent special for baby and HE washers.

I've also been trying to figure out what to use for the cloth diapers.  The brand I keep hearing about is Rockin' Green detergent.  I'm still a little nervous about washing these in my front load washer since it uses so much less water.

So I'm asking for your help, green and cloth diapering mamas out there!  Any recommendations on detergents for clothes and cloth diapers?

Let the Nesting Begin

I know nesting is a real thing and it generally begins towards the end of the third trimester.  Lately, after working all day, coming home with swollen feet and dealing with the headaches (not pregnancy related) I've been having, I figured it would never kick in.  I've been worried I would spend the remaining time I had left before lil' man's arrival barely making dinner and doing my normal house chores and spend the rest of my evenings with my feet up on the couch relaxing while watching TV or reading. 

I had an urge tonight though!  I wanted to hang the decals I have for William's room!  Hanging decals turned into hanging pictures in his room!  Hanging pictures turned into wiping down parts of the walls!  YES!  I was on my hands and knees scrubbing parts of the walls and the baseboards in his bedroom at around the time I'm normally getting ready for bed!  Sheesh!  How out of character!

Look how cute in the monkey/jungle-themed room!!

I love it!!!  The monkey and leaves stick-ons were a present from Adam's aunt!  I found the "No more monkeys jumpin' on the bed" decal from VINYLFORALL on Etsy - super good prices, a variety of decals and it was in my mailbox within days!  Super easy to put on - as long are you're patient!!

So excited for lil' man to get here!!  About 7 more weeks to go! 

Crossing Our Fingers

So I'm just shy of 33 weeks and there is something on my mind....

The last two sonograms (at 28 weeks and at 30 weeks), our little stinker has been breech.  My doctor has reassured me that even the late "turners" can bounce around to different positions until about 35 weeks, so I shouldn't worry - but how can I not?  From the last sono, William was measuring about 2 weeks larger than "normal".  So could be potentially more difficult for him to turn to head-down position. 

'Lil' Stinker' being breech leads us down the Cesarean route, instead of the natural path that I had hoped.  I know women have c-sections everyday and I have complete faith in my doctors and my hospital to deliver my baby safely either way, but a c-section would certainly not be my first choice.  I'm more nervous about the procedure in general and about my recovery from the surgery.  Mostly what I am worried about is not being able to experience the delivery in the same way as I could have by having a vaginal delivery.  More than anything, I am looking forward to pushing and delivering our baby and having him brought immediately to my chest and being able to start nursing soon afterwards.  That's the moment I have dreamed of before I was pregnant!  Cesarean babies may need to be tended to a little more and I'll need to stay in the OR to be stitched up while Adam heads to the nursery with the little guy and I can hope to be able to start nursing while in recovery.

Today's appointment, the doctor wasn't sure, but he thought perhaps he was head-down.  We will be able to confirm in a few weeks (at around 36 weeks) with another sono to get estimated weight and position. 

I am crossing my fingers and my toes that little man turns and can come into this world with the least amount of medical intervention possible!!

Stop the Madness!!

Whoa, Nelly - the mommy blogging world is up in a frenzy this morning!!  Words are being thrown out there and debates are being started - mainly on Twitter, I"m hearing....but I haven't taken the leap into Twitter yet.

All because of a Similac voluntary recall. 

For those that aren't aware, there has been a voluntary recall on certain Similac powder formulas. 

What is the reason for this recall - allow me to relay the message from the Similac website:

Abbott is recalling these products following an internal quality review, which detected the remote possibility of the presence of a small common beetle in the product produced in one production area in a single manufacturing facility.  The US FDA has determined that while the formula containing these beetles poses no immediate health risk, there is a possibility that infants who consume formula containing the beetles and their larvae, could experience symptoms of gastrointestinal discomfort and refusal to eat as a result of the small insect parts irritating the GI tract. 
More info:  Similac Recall

......and I'm back from throwing up.....beetle parts and larvae?  That's just nasty!

This is an unfortunate situation for all mommies and babies that are affected by this.  For the moms that trusted in the quality of the product that they are feeding their children, I'd imagine it's quite scary and angering.

However, this is NOT why all the mommy bloggers are in a frenzy!  This incident is just fueling the fire on the breastfeeding vs bottle-feeding debate!  I've said it once, I'll say it again - how a woman chooses to feed her baby is HER decision!  If a parent is going to be able to weigh decision after decision on how to raise their child, I don't understand why this is any different.  Each family needs to decide what is best for them.

Comments like "Breast milk never gets recalled" can just cause problems, in my opinion.  What about the women that didn't have breastfeeding as an option for health or medical reasons?  Mostly, the reason those comments make me mad is that regardless of your stance on the 'best' way to feed your baby, there is not a single person that doesn't deserve to get a quality product that they can trust to feed and nourish their precious babies. 

Thankful Thursday - 9.23.10

Is it Thursday already?  How has a week gone by already in what felt like 45 minutes?  Work has been getting much busier, I've had filled evenings and my sis and Jaclyn came to visit this past weekend to throw me a baby shower!  I can hardly believe it's about that time for another weekend already - trust me, I'm not complaining!!

Plenty to be thankful for!!

• Flip Flops - OK, so this might not be the thing I'm MOST thankful for - but with my swelling and my compromised and limited bending ability - socks and shoes just aren't an option and I love all my sandals that I can just throw on with no worries.  Only problem.....what happens when the temperatures start to drop....hmm....tricky tricky.....
• My Friends - Jaclyn and my sister drove over 5 hours each to Peoria to throw me a baby shower.  My friends all got together at my house for the shower on Sunday.  Me?  I had an amazing time spending time with my girlies and getting baby stuff to prepare for William!  I understand that things will be changing in about 8 weeks or so, but I just want them to know that I'm so thankful for them all and all their love and support!  It made me giggle, all my engineering girlfriends trying to work together to set up the bassinet while my sister started organizing other things in William's room!  Those ladies could rule the world!  hehe
• A Healthy Pregnancy - I have been very blessed up to this point to have a very healthy pregnancy.  Besides some of my complaining for some normal pregnancy side effects, I can't really complain as things have been very smooth and I have a growing, kicking baby boy inside me!
• A good laugh - I'm a fan of anything that will make me laugh - whether that means I'm laughing with friends or family or at a good TV show or at myself (and I do that one a lot!), I enjoy it!  Adam and I watched the new episode of Modern Family last night - seriously just 30 minutes of some good laughs!  They had us cracking up!  If you watched - I can't wait to look forward to the "cool chair that goes up the stairs."  HA!

A Lovely Pregnancy Side-Effect

I work in an office as a management employee.  It is expected that I dress fairly decent in business casual attire and appropriate shoes, and, on occasion, am required to wear steel-toed shoes to walk in the manufacturing shop.  Pre-pregnancy (or more like pre-third trimester) my shoes basically consisted of high heeled pumps, dressy heel sandals or steeled toes.  As my pregnancy progressed and I got bigger (and walking more clumsily), heels were getting far too uncomfortable to be an option so I bought two pairs of dressy sandals - one black, one brown, to wear to work. 

Everything was fine and dandy.

Cue 32 weeks.......

I'm about to the point where I need to call in 'fat feet' to work.  More like 'swollen feet', but either way, when I am waking up and unable to slide my feet into any pair of shoe in my closet (with the exception of my Old Navy flip flops), we have a problem.  What's a girl to do when her pot roast feet won't fit into any shoes?  The answer - a girl is to wear her Old Navy flip flops to work......very professional.

Do I smell another shoe shopping trip coming up?  In the meantime, I'm chugging water like it's my job and trying to cut out the salt to hopefully turn my balloon feet into something closer resembling a smaller, more deflated balloon.....lovely....

Does This Baby Make Me Look Fat?

I am close to the 32 weeks mark!  We are more excited to meet William than ever!!!

These pictures were taken right before my 1st baby shower, with friends, at 31 weeks and 4 days!

Whoa, belly!

Who's pregnant??

Practice?

OK...I'll be serious, I love sleep.  I value my sleep.  I've been fairly successful in avoiding being sick and I feel it's because of the regular sleep I get.  I do realize that a baby will absolutely change this.  I'm also starting to realize the irony of the people that advise me to get my sleep now, before the baby arrives.  The irony coming from that this is already becoming difficult and baby is still two months away.  Is this just practice and a small taste for what's to come?

10:45pm - went to bed, fell asleep almost right away
1:30am - 1st trip to bathroom; Adam got home from hanging out with friends and I talked to him for a few minutes
1:45am - Adam is asleep
1:46am - nasty lightning and thunder keeping me awake
1:48am - William feels as if he may have found a secret passage thru mommy's belly button and has decided to attempt to escape.  Translation - holy crap, baby is a-moving and a-kicking enough to keep mommy awake
2:00am - still awake;  check weather on phone to make sure we aren't about to blow away
2:30am - still awake - mind racing with things I have to do today for shower
2:50am - finally asleep
4:31am - puppy is now throwing up in the bedroom
4:34am - since daddy is still passed out, mommy is now on hands and knees cleaning up doggy barf
4:39am - let dog outside
4:42am - let dog inside
4:43am - 2nd trip to bathroom
4:44am - back in bed in barf-free and sanitized bedroom
5:10am - William dancing in mommy's belly again....still awake
5:30am - finally asleep.....again
7:40am - 3rd trip to bathroom....time to start the day and getting ready for baby shower

Not sure if it was excitement for the baby shower, hormones, William rehearsing for So You Think You Can Dance, my hip pain or the storm....but sleep is getting more and more difficult.  Shouldn't a gal be able to kind of enjoy her last few months of  baby-free sleep at least?? 

Thankful Thursday - 9.16.10

• Stocked Fridge - This is something I've never been without and it's easy for me to take advantage of one of the most basic human needs - a fully stomach.  I have the ability to run to the grocery and pick up anything I might need (or want) and not have to worry about when my next meal will be.
• Toilets - OK, this one might seem awfully weird, but it came up in a conversation at work and let's say - whoa boy, am I thankful for our modern toilets and the plumbing systems we have!!
• My Scrapbooking Room- I love scrapbooking and when living in apartments for the last 10 years, have always had to cram all of my (expensive and large) collection of scrapbooking 'stuff' in a corner, in bags and boxes.  This made it so hard to get anything done and I fell so far behind (and still am!).  I love having a place to organize everything and easily be able to go downstairs and knock out a page in my scrapbook or make a few cards!!  Adam got his man-cave in our house and I got my scrapbooking room!
• Adam's "Handyman" Skills - In the last week, Adam has set up William's crib, dresser, car seat and stroller, (and probably by the time I post this) a changing table.  It's been so nice to be able to come home after work and seeing these already set up and done!!  His 'Mr. Fix-it' skills have come in handy plenty around the house!!!

Fetus Olympics

That is currently what is happening inside my body.  You hear stories all the time and it's understandably normal for a pregnant woman to feel a baby's movement.  However, it is completely different than anything I could have expected. 

Several weeks ago, when William was in franks breech position - with his head and legs up (kinda under my ribs), I could feel movement, a little poking or prodding here and there, that's about it.  William has since lowered his legs (stinker is still breech) and is now able to move about more freely - to do jumping jacks, cartwheels, soccer, tackle football, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and any other activity that he now has the flexibility to do.  I'm pretty sure with what I've been feeling over the last few days, my baby boy has been practicing all of the above.

I figured peeing in the middle of the night, some hip pain and becoming a little uncomfortable would be what keeps me up at night.  In fact, it's actually my active baby boy!  It isn't waking me up, but after one (or two or three) trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I get back to bed and little William seems to think halftime is over and he's ready to bounce around in there.  It's an amazing, unbelievable, wonderful feeling!!

As my mom would say - "My arms are aching to hold him!"