Baby Jace...

Man who knew if you had a second baby they would grow with the blink of an eye! Really it is WAY faster with the second baby. My baby's already past the half way mark to a year. In 10 days he will be 8 months old! I can't believe that 8 months has flown by this fast! He is such a happy baby! Really! And so easy going. His smile just beams all day every day. And he has already mastered the art of flirting. I'm in for it! He gets the attention of any girl/woman around and smiles with his big old dimples and cocks his head to the side just cute as can be to melt the heart of the girl he's swooning! Lately he started babbling. He'll just talk to himself or his toys or brother. It's the cutest thing! And he's learning 'Dada' and 'Mama'. He will look at us and say it so I know he really understands what he's saying. He's also eating solid foods now. Poor guy has some of the worst allergies so we are keeping it to organic jarred baby food for a while and teething biscuits. That way we can control what he eats a little easier. But he loves to eat!


He loves his big brother. Sometimes he does not have the patients for him when he's in his face. But they play together all the time and really enjoy each other's company. They laugh together and get into mystchevious adventures together and talk to each other, I love having boys that click to well. Yep they already fight and wrestle! I had no idea it would be this soon but it's just kinda par with the course!

Really Cheap Cloth Diapers!!!

So how do you cloth diaper you baby on a tight budget????
Well get creative!

Here is the no sewing skills method:

This may not be the mos convienent way to diaper your baby but if you could save $60 a month or more it would be well worth it!! The old fashioned diapers are called flats they are a single layer of fabric that you fold to make the absorbent layers of a diaper. So here is what you do with this little piece of info. Gather as many old T-shirts as possible 1 x-large t-shirt will equal 2 diapers and 4 wipes if the sleeves are long enough. For one baby expect about 10 diapers a day so if you want to wash every 3 days get 15 t-shirts. You could get the t-shirts from any where, start in your closet first! Then the Goodwill or a local thrift store. You could even ask the clerk if they have a bag that they are going to pitch. Now take the shirt and cut a 24-25 inch square. Wala 1 flat diaper! So how do you keep this diaper on your baby???? Well it's simple you can either use pins or this new invention the snappi! (see link for example) Now what can you put over this so all those cute little outfits stay clean? The options are very vast so I will start with the cheapest: Plastic pants, yep those big old Gerber vinal covers. Or you can get something a little slimmer, a velcro cover. Thirsties covers are my favorite covers and one of the cheapest. If you wanted to save yourself a little money down the road you could get a 'one size' cover this should fit your baby from infant to toddler. And then what in the world to put it all in? A trash can with a lid! You really don't need one of those fancy diaper pails they are trash cans called diaper pails lol!!! And what about those outings? One medium sized wet bag to put the wet dipes in or you could reuse a large ziplock.

So to recap what you need for one baby:

1 pair of sissiors
15 XL T-Shirts FREE
2 Snappis $5
3-4 covers $15-68
1 Trash Can $12
1 Wet Bag $10

Total: $42 - $95

Example of a Flat: http://www.weebunz.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?pg=117
Example of Folding a Flat: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3d8wqLHCRdg&feature=related
Example of a Snappi: http://weebunz.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?pg=53
Example of Plastic Pants: http://weebunz.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?pg=7
Example of Thirsties Cover: http://www.weebunz.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?pg=18
Example of One Size Cover: http://weebunz.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?pg=28
Example of Wet Bag: http://weebunz.com/cgi-bin/product.cgi?pg=45

When you come into the world of cloth diapers it can be over whelming but remember if you are on a budget to keep it simple because in the end your kid really is just pooping on it :D

My cloth diapered cuties!

Time Flies!

So seems like yesterday and me and my sisters were fighting over something probably some one stealing my clothes or something like that. Now 2 kids 3 years of marriage later we're all growing up starting our families. I leave today to spend a week with my sister and mom before the wedding. I really don't think I've been alone with my sister in years! So I'm really excited to spend some time with her even if we will have my two little munchkins around. We will all really miss Kevin lots and i hope i can get the boys to bed easily with out him. But anyways, she has really grown in to a amazing woman. And she has finally picked a great guy, yeah there were a LOT of losers! I'm still working on my speech for her wedding hopefully I can find the right words to say and not embarrass her to much. Here is the slide show I made for the wedding that will be played at the reception. Makes me cry to see what all we came from and grew into.

good stuff....

Although he seems ready to eat solids we have to wait a bit longer :( He has food allergies which in turn are causing eczema so we are trying to clear that up then maybe in a few weeks or months we will try solids again. He has a flare up right after the carrots BOO!!!

whats going on...

Well right now I'm watching JW play with his wooden trains talking to his 'guys' and they are saying 'Thank you, Thank you' and 'Thank you very much'. He's so polite lol! And Jace is trying to crawl! He gets on his belly and scoots his self every where to anything he wants on the floor and he's trying to get his legs up and arms to the crawling position!! It's crazy how fast he's learning.

We've been outside a lot these past couple days. Swimming in the kiddie pool, riding bikes and walking lots of good stuff. My hubby moved our extra furniture and TV from the basement to the garage for his 'man room'. Which has been attracting men from all over the neighborhood! He also put his PS2 in there so there is lots of gaming going on and sometimes after the kids are in bed I hang out with him and play a little myself. He has me try to help him beat the hard parts lol!

We are almost all ready for my sisters wedding!! I'll be heading out soon to stay with my mom for the week before to help them as much as i can with my two little men with me. I'm not going to lie it's rough dragging two kids around when your not at your home base. They really know when they are home or not even as babies. Our last trip JW wanted to go home the entire trip! Hopefully this next trip will be better since we are staying for a whole week and we are just going to try to keep them at my moms. At least she will be there to help out.

My new finds!
Disinfectant Spray: Half Hydrogen Peroxide, Half Water Works great!!! Even as a cleaner!
Wipe Solution: 1 Cup Chamomile Tea freshly brewed. (it will stain your white wipes but I don't care) I also bought some Chamomile/Lavender tea to try. Just make the tea and add it to your wipes add water if you need it. Chamomile is a natural inflammatory so it helps with diaper rash and irritation. It's helped Jace stop scratching his bum raw. I also mad a double strength cup and put it in JW bath to help with his rash from his swim trunks.

Well I can't add pics booo!!!!

sights and smells....

Oh man I have that new mom smell... moms you know... that milky musty smell of spit up, sweat and maybe a little urine.... Sniff sniff ahhh!!!! I need a shower! So yeah you know your a mom when you think to yourself "what would be better buggers, pee, or crayon on the wall?" I came to the conclusion pee... technically sterile when it comes out and cleans up fairly easily. Buggers make me just want to BARF!!! and Crayon won't come off my walls, PERIOD! Flat wall paint should be banned from existence! But I do have this fear that the germ police will come to my house and quarantine it because its a bio hazard with all the little boy potty training accidents we have or maybe i didn't know happened... our carpet sucks it totally absorbs everything so i can't tell where things are so i just get the ol Lysol out spray and get the carpet cleaner and do my best to get it all clean. How annoying! Anyway we do the naked potty training approach :D My 2 year old runs around naked and goes to the bathroom when he has to go. Works AWESOME unless we have a super awesome balloon that must be played with... oh boy... now that I think about it its just freaking hilarious! So he got that 'look' any one with a tot in training knows the 'look' of wonder in their eyes as they are about to pee all over Gods creation! With us there are two separate look the 'Pee': a look of wonderment and aw, the 'Poo': a look of concern and deep concentration. So he was playing with his awesome balloon and had the 'Pee' I say hey do you have to go potty lets go try. His reply, 'No! Play!' well you can't make them pee, can you? So 3 minutes later he starts peeing on his shirt. So I thinking I want to make sure he knows to go to the potty and half mommy mush brain pick up said toddler mid stream and take him to the bathroom. What was I thinking!!!!!! Seriously what?!?!? I was like well maybe he will stop... uh no!!! Who can stop midstream! So Dads looking at me like I lost my freaking mind which is very well possible! There's pee going every where! TV, Floor, Dad's legs, some hit the baby, pantry door, Hallway Walls, Bathroom Door, then finally the Tub!!! Yeah he was um... done before we got to the potty! So what to do now clean up the mess or the tot? Yeah clean up the mess, tot is fine because he didn't pee on himself just everything else possible! All is well and clean and on to the next adventure... Oh the Joys of being a Mom!! Seriously I love it. Who else has these daily encounters to discuss on a regular basis?

And tada!! The culprit pee body :) A fitting pic don't you think!

Spring Time!!!

I'm so glad it's spring! I'm ready for warm weather, lemonade, the smell of BBQ and fresh flowers! We're going to have a busy spring. Our niece is graduating high school and my sister is getting married. So that means lots of trips to KS. Hopefully in June I will have time to see some friends! I can't believe my little sister is getting married it seems like we were just playing with our barbies together and I was just hauling her away in our wagon from another dare devil bike spill. Or fighting over her always stealing my clothes. Or picking up the phone when one of her boys called asking them how old she was and if the answer was wrong (normally was) I would tell them the right age! She could definitely pass for 16 and 17 when she was 13 and 14. Oh man did we fight at teenagers whew! We had some big ones! And now she's talking about having babies and buying houses! And I have the privilege to be her maid of honor and JW is going to be the ring bearer. It's pretty cool to actually be a part of her wedding instead of playing wedding in our basement! Maybe that's why hers is going to be so beautiful! And why we all love planning them! We've been practicing for a long time!

This is on my wedding day and Melissa wanted
to know what it felt like to be under the vail!

Melissa the Bride to be, Me, my littlest sis Crystal

Baby Jace just started using his saucer! I'm so amazed how big and alert he is seems like we had JW in there with blankets forever!
JW had the hand, foot and mouth disease this past week and is cutting his last two teeth, poor guy but we are on the up and up with all that he seems to be in a better mood today. His new favorite thing is to kiss his baby brother on the head and play with his hands. They love each other!

Here are some more pics!

What I'm a mom and its hard???

So yesterday on Oprah it was the Secret lives of a Mom episode. Cool, right! We're going to find out other mom's dirty laundry. So they were talking about how hard it is to be a mom and how some people thought they may have make a mistake of becoming a mother and questioning their abilities. I so get all that! We all as mothers deal with that. My problem was how they were taking lite on daily things that your children depend on you for. Examples: Not bathing for 3 weeks, Not brushing hair which turned in to dread locks, forgetting to feed them, stating you have a favorite child. These things are just not okay to neglect or say. When you have a child that child depends on you 100%. A lot of moms said no one told them how hard it was going to be a mom. No you really never know before your there but to think it's going to be easy is just lying to yourself! I knew I was in for anything and everything. I sometimes feel like my first child is the experimental child since I was a young mom and didn't do my own research! I have had 2 totally different births, one child is circumcised the other is not one had the full vaccine schedule one will have a delayed schedule. We all question things on a daily basis. But find your support group (which as seen in my previous blog I need to find a new one) and stop complaining about all the inconveniences of being a mother! You had sex you made the child if they can't depend on you who can they depend on? One of my friends put this very well: "Group thinking it into acceptance is bullshit!"

JW Playing

Feeding the fish his cheerios at the zoo with daddy

Stupid Funk

Oh man I need to get out of this funk I've been in... Kevin's been in one too. I really miss all my friends and playgroups from Kansas. We just need to start making more friends that are like minded. It can be hard to hang out with people that are so different from you especially on parenting choices. We started making friends from our Friends of Missouri Midwives group so that great! We just need to meet with them more often! So anyways I was talking to my awesome hubby last night and our goal is to watch less tv less internet and go outside more and find more friends. For a lot of people is it so easy to get in to just being lazy and feeling sorry for yourself. The hard part is doing something about it but if you have help it is so easy! I just love Kevin for starting the conversation and knowing me so well and knowing what we need to do to change. So here's to a new chapter in our life! For our boys because they don't deserve the parents we are at the moment! And we love them way to much to let it continue...

Snow in April! Thank goodness it was gone as fast as it came!

Heartbreak...

Okay in Missouri midwifery was illegal until this past June... literally you could not have a birth with a midwife period. They could go to prison for it and still can if they are not a least Certified Professional Midwife (CPN). When moving from Kansas to Missouri I didn't know that. In Kansas my plan was to have our second child in a Birth Center and I was sure St. Louis would have tons of Birth Centers on every corner! Not the case! You see to have a birth center a Dr has to oversee the whole operation and in Missouri not many Drs want to even associate with midwives. :( So it makes the choices for parents very limited before June you options were OB and hospital birth, Midwife and home birth (break the law), or unassisted which means you deliver your baby yourself. So sad for parents to not be able to make a choice on how they want to experience the birth of their child. Parents who choose Home birth typically are very educated in making that decision because lets face it you are totally going against the grain and you want to know all the fact when your family thinks your crazy that you want to have your baby at home :) At least that was the case for me. So its not like they are just sitting at home clueless to whats going to happen ready to pop out a baby. Midwives have check up just as OB's do just not quite as invasive. And in my experience much more hands on care. I learned more about how my body worked with my midwife on my second child than with my OB (technically she was a midwife too but it was in KS where they work with Dr's and she was basically a OB with a Midwife title) with my first. So with the care you receive you form a bond with your midwife, i knew she truly cared about me and our baby almost as if we were part of her family. We had a Home Birth not totally free of complications but we knew we made the right decision and trusted the ability of our midwife and I truly believe that she helped me avoid a c-section. If you want to read my birth story go further back in my blog. But what I didn't add is the tragic loss of a baby whose mom was in labor the same time I was. Only God knows what happened to that poor baby. And I can't begin to imagine loosing a child. Tonight at our monthly midwife meeting the Dad was there furious at the Midwife, with a mission to keep her from practicing. I think as a Husbands and Fathers men feel an obligation to protect their family and I really believe that is what his goal was coming to our meeting tonight. I don't think he has come to the place yet where he knows nothing could have been done. If it were me I would be questioning everything my decisions, religion, the ability of my midwife, my ability to birth... And going through the what ifs because what if the tables where turned and it happened to our family. It could so easily happen to anyone, life is a very precious and fragile, especially a child's life. For a while the death of that baby made our birth almost bittersweet for me. I kept thinking what if I had chosen to have a hospital birth would the midwife then been able to save the baby. But driving home last night as I tried to process everything I realized she could have done nothing more. She was meant to be at my birth as devastating as it was for the other family there is nothing that could have been done even at the hospital. Yes if she was in the hospital she would have been monitored more which may have shown the baby in distress or may have not. We will never know and that has to be devastating for the parents... I would want answers... I did not introduce myself to the Dad in fear I would just make his pain even worse. What he said really tore at every ones heart for him 'this is supposed to be the happiest time of my life and it's the most horrible time of my life'. I also feel pain for my midwife for a long time she is going to wonder if there was more she could have done. That would be more than I could bear and you could see the pain she felt for them which the dad was blind to in his anger. Well I really don't know what else to say I 'm still in shock about this and I think it makes it harder to put a face with the event that happened and see all the pain that came with it.

Bubbles!!!

So the other day we were looking at all the fun outdoor toys at Walmart while we were waiting to get our tire fixed and we ended up getting a few bubble things. I saw the gallon size jug and thought well that's not horrible for a couple weeks worth of fun. But since I'm starting to become more self sufficient I decided to look up a recipe and whala 50 cents for a gallon!!! Here is the recipe i used:

2 1/2 quarts water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 cup clear liquid dish detergent (not soap for an automatic dishwasher)
Food coloring (optional)

I doubled it and didn't use food coloring cuz Dawn soap is blue already. It works great right after you mix it but a lot of sites say to let it sit for a day. We will be using this instead of buying it ever again. Although we may get a few bubble guns and stuff like that.

Cheap and 'Green' Cleaning

So like many I am looking for cheaper ways to do things. So far I menu plan, cloth diaper and make my own laundry detergent. My next feat is making my own cleaning supplies! So far what I have found is the main ingredents to all cleaning supplies are Baking Soda, Borax and Vinegar! With some additives here and there. But you can make less hazardous cleaning solutions for half the price! Even Oven Cleaner and Stain Remover!! Here are some recipes I haven't tried them but I will update you on how it goes!

All Purpose Spray:
http://groceryshrink.com/store/WsAncillary.asp?ID=8

Green Cleaning Kit:
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/make-your-own-non-toxic-cleaning-kit.html

Disinfectant Wipes:
http://www.stretcher.com/stories/00/001120a.cfm
http://carlalynne.blogspot.com/2007/12/homemade-disinfecting-wipes.html

Carpet Cleaner:
http://greenliving.suite101.com/article.cfm/homemade_carpet_cleaners_lean_mean_and_green

Stain Remover:
http://www.thefrugalshopper.com/articles/softener.shtml

Great Ideas:
http://www.homekeeping101.com/news/cleaning/household-cleaning.html

Word World

Have you seen it! My husband is laughing at me right now because I love this show! Yes it's a cartoon duh! The best one ever! All the animals are made out of letters and they build a word... which means they put letters together and the letters form the object. My kiddo loves this too! I mean what could be better when you are watching cartoons when that cartoon is literally all about spelling! http://www.wordworld.com/ It's on PBS Kids which is one of the new digital channels or it's on cable. We don't have satellite or cable right now just a giant antenna and the converter box! Free HDTV! And you know we really are doing just fine with what we have. We have 11 channels and i doubt we will ever get satellite or cable ever again.

Boys, boys, boys!!!

I love being a mama to boys I really do! Sometimes I wonder if I'm gonna be able to wrestle them both at once lol! I'm sure my creative instincts will kick in and it won't be a problem but I don't really enjoy being a punching bag :) Today I was playing with JW my 2yo and WHACK!!! My nose and the back of his head make contact! Nose makes cracking sound and this mama who has NEVER broken a bone in her body swears that this is #1 broken bone! But no bleeding and not much bruising and hubby assures me it's not broken, lol! Oh but it hurt and seriously for a second I thought I was going to pass out. Now how great would that have been I would have made the head lines "SAHM of 2 found by neighbor passed out with children crying over body" How horrible is that! So that's the latest 'funny' on JW....besides the whole potty training venture but thats another blog subject :)

Now Jace... I can't believe he'll be 2 months this week on Valentines day! He's growing so fast right before my eyes! He can hold his head up pretty well and smile and just started cooing its beautiful and awesome! First of all I cosleep with my kids and love every minute of it. Anyways Jace always sleeps on my bicep and early one morning he leaked through a tiny bit of pee so instead of getting the whole gang up at 3 in the morning I changed his diaper and put a blanket over the wet spot. Good enough and lets get some more sleep. So about 9 the next morning (hubby let me sleep in and got up with JW) I felt the familiar wetness again oh geish I thought but i already knew i was going to have to wash the sheets. So i start getting out of bed when i see ORANGEISH-YELLOW every where! Yes! POOP!! Jace exploded right out of his diaper like the biggest explosion in his short little life! It was hilarious just the full gotta give him a bath then myself a bath and know I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life that little face looking at me like whats going on mom? So that's my life lots of bodily fluids going on in our house of boys and lots a wrestling!

25 Things...

25 Things about Me...

1) I really do love my life right now... I have a awesome hubby and two beautiful...oopps handsome boys a roof over my head and food in the pantry.

2) When I was little I loved playing in the rain! Because that was when all the worms would come out, HAHA!! So i would go to all the mud holes and see how many worms i could collect in my hand.

3) When I was about 7 i used to play in this really cool pond there were tons of baby frogs and lots of different flowers, i used to play there all the time. A few years ago i found out it was a sewer pond! Yeah i was playing in poo!

4) I have totaled two cars! One when was 15 and one when i was 18. Both times all the air bags deployed. I think thats why i get so freaked out when someone else drives even though I was driving when i wrecked.

5) I have been in a private christian school home schooled and then to public school. Hated them all and really did like college and my technical school.

6) I love art! I love painting and just making things with my creative skills. That is why i have a degree in graphic design. Even though i don't use my degree i'm glad to have the experience of college.

7) My senior year in High School I worked as a Nanny. Very interesting! Would much rather have my own kids :)

8) My mom wants to start a new business making jewelry designed by me and my sister. I really thinks its a cool idea and she wants me to make a baby line and a website and I'm really excited about it! She said she's tired of everyone making money off the internet and wants to see if we could profit from it.

9) I would love to go to Germany on my own terms. My sister and I went to stay with my Dad 6 years ago but we didn't get to see all the history making stuff! I would love to go in a few years.

10) We moved to St. Louis/Wentzville in July to try to get a better start and we are still trying. We really miss our family but at the same time we have never got to spend so much time together as a family and i really love that. Kevin can really get to know his boys and not feel like he's missing all the growing up stuff!

11) I just wanted to cry and cry every time Kevin said he was sick or needed to see the doctor when he was sick. I just all reminded me of 2004 when he was in ICU for 4 days and in KU Med for 7 days with no real explination for his illness. I felt helpless but hopeful because i knew that this time we would find a doctor that could help him. And neither of us was gonna give up we were going to figure out what would help him. One of the other reasons i love living here!

12) I am a 1/4 mexican and pretty proud of that! My mom's family is from New Mexico before it was part of the US. Part of my dad's side came from the Oregon Trail.

13) Kevin and I met on a blind date in High School and he became my type lol!! I learned from my Grandpa Stan that it was important to laugh! So I always wanted to marry someone who made me laugh and I pretty much hit the jackpot, LOL!

14) Kevin and I moved in together right after I graduated. My mom hated it but can't really blame her. I still think I made the right decision.

15) I am really passionate about breastfeeding and honestly think it is the best way to feed a baby but understand if it's not possible but really think everyone should at least try if they can. I'm thinking about becoming a Le Leche League Leader when i get the hang of two kids, LOL.

16) I love watching the clouds and stars and just found out JW likes it too. My favorite moment in the past couple weeks was laying on the grass with Jace on my chest sleeping and JW next to me as we watched the clouds pass by and looked for planes...blissful!

17) I really think we all have a purpose in life but that it may change from time to time

18) I love Spring!!! All the pretty flowers and wonderful smells!

19) When I was 12 I had my tonsiles removed

20) I know more Amy's than i can count lol!

21) I have 8 sets of Grandparents! 5 still living... And wish my Grandpa Stan was still here... I really miss him and all our conversations and his great look on life

22) I would love to go snorkeling and learn how to scuba dive!

23) We are trying to eat healthier in our house but i'm starting to despise salad already

24) I got my first tattoo on my 18th birthday and want more. My Dad called me and I told him I was at Walmart while I was in the tattoo parlor parking lot LOL!!!

25) I am going to be a Maid of Honor for the 2nd time in my life for my Little sister Melissa and am thrilled I love all the girlie girl stuff with planning weddings.

Detergent

My friend gave me some awesome recipes for CHEAP natural soaps had to post so we can all save some moula!

Dishwasher Detergent:
1tsp Liquid Dish Soap
1/4 cup Borax
1/4 cup Baking Soda
1tbsp Vinegar
2 gal water

Mix well until dissolved.

add vinegar to jet dry for streak free shine

Laundry Detergent:
1 bar Dove (or bar soap of your choice)
5 gallons of water
6 cups water
1 cup washing soda
1 cup borax powder

~You will also need a bucket, about 5 gallon size~

Grate the soap and put it in a sauce pan. Add 6 cups water and heat it until the soap melts. Add the washing soda and the borax and stir until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Pour 1 gallon hot water into the bucket. Now add your soap mixture and stir. Now add the rest of the water. Let the soap sit for about 24 hours and it will gel. You use ½ cup per load. 1/4 cup for front loading machine.
I saved some of my old detergent bottles and filled them with the soap, you could probably use milk containers too.

I did a accidental flop of this recipe. I used baking soda and left out 4 gallons of water and i use that on my diapers and it works great!

Cloth Diapers :)

First Cloth Diaper! JW at 14 Months

So I cloth diaper my 1 month old and 2 year old. I started when my first was 14 months old. The old fashioned way: prefold, pins, plastic pants = hated it! So I ordered the try it package from cottonbabies.com. Velcro covers (Bummis), prefolds, snappi = much better!! Some times I just fold the diaper and place it in the cover and it's almost like a disposable diaper. Now I am a cloth diaper guru! I love it! They are so fun! And who knew poo could be fun! You can get Pocket diapers, All-in-Ones, One Size, any fabric, color the possibilities are endless! So far i have some BumGenius, Flurries of Cloth (WAHM Co), Bummis, Bumkins and I am going to try to make some of my own.

Jace in his Bummis Cover with a prefold and Snappi inside.

I love talking about them too! I know kinda freaky! Seriously it's amazing what you never thought you would talk about before you had kids. My husband Loves them... he loves that they are saving us tons of money and that they are safer for our kids than putting them in disposable diapers 24-7. We do occasionally use disposables (right after baby #2 when we all ready had plenty on our hands) but generally try to steer clear of them. There is a lot to know about disposables what they do to the environment and our children's health. I just think it's amazing how the rise of infertility and health problems kinda matches up to the start of disposable diapers. Here are some facts to wrap your head around so you can make your own decision and why not even if you work you can cloth diaper just use them at home and on weekends there's no wrong way to do it.



Disposable diapers contain a super absorbent chemical inside their plastic casing called sodium polyacrylate, which pulls fluid away from the baby's skin and holds it inside the diaper. This chemical causes allergic reactions, was removed from tampons after being linked to toxic shock syndrome, is lethal to to some animals on inhalation, and lab testing [when injected] has shown it to cause hemorrhage, cardiovascular failure and death.
Dioxin, a byproduct of the bleaching process, is the most toxic of cancer-linked chemicals according to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). Even in barely detectable amounts it has been known to cause liver disease, immune system suppression and genetic damage in lab animals. It can also cause birth defects. No level of dioxin has been established as safe for human exposure. Every American has a measurable amount in their body, and its half-life is seven years. Over thirty pounds of it are released every year.
The FDA regularly receives complaints from illness or injury associated with the usage of disposable diapers, this includes babies pulling the diapers apart and ingesting pieces, skin being torn from the tabs, plastic melting into the skin, dizziness, rashes, headaches and many other problems.

"In 1987, the Sunday Democrat and Chronicle published news about the new Pampers Ultra. The new gel they used caused severe skin irritations, oozing blood from perineum and scrotal tissues, fever, vomiting, and staph infections in babies. Employees in Pampers factories suffered from tiredness, female organ problems, slow-healing wounds and weight loss. According to the Journal of Pediatrics, 54% of one-month old babies using disposable diapers had rashes, 16% had severe rashes. A survey of Procter & Gamble’s own studies show that the incidence of diaper rash increases from 7.1 percent to 61 percent with the increased use of throwaway diapers, great for manufacturers of diaper rash medicines. Widespread diaper rash is a fairly new phenomenon that surfaced along with disposable diapers. Reasons for more rashes include allergies to chemicals, lack of air, higher temperatures because plastic retains body heat, and babies are probably changed less often because they feel dry when wet."

This chemical remains in the diapers today.

In 2000 a German study linked male infertility to the use of disposable diapers. The scrotum hangs away from the body to keep it cool - high temperatures reduce sperm count and motility. This study found that during diapering years the scrotal temperature was significantly higher, and in some the natural cooling system was completely abolished.

Even the dyes in disposable diapers have been linked to health problems similar and just as serious as the ones mentioned above.

As far as the sanitation issue, studies have shown that disposable and cloth diapers are equally sanitary. As far as spreading germs what matters is not what the diaper is made of but how it and the baby are handled. Hand-washing being the most influential factor.

1st Road Trip w/ 2

So today was our first road trip to KS 4 hours no biggie... My awesome neighbor Ashley came over to play with Baby Jace while I packed which was pretty awesome because I swear to God I packed everything in the house for two freaking days!!! I have it all, 1 suitcase of diapers, 2-3 outfits for each day for Jace, JW and me for all those spit up events, toys, coats, blankets, sippy cups, snacks, everything but my SHOES!!! I wore slippers, RED slippers so I'll be getting a new pair of shoes tomorrow... Funny stuff! We left at 5 and got here at 10 not to shabby if your asking me! And made one, ONE stop! Jace nursed for a half hour when we stopped and JW ate some chicken nuggets one the way... So we are here at the in laws. Sleeping on the air mattress in the living room which would have been no biggie if the air pump had charged batteries in it, LOL! So it's a little mushy I'm sleeping on the couch. But it's good to see family and I'm glad the trip when well.

....

Here I am nursing this little miracle and all I can think about is the freaking house work! Geish! So before baby #2 I was pretty good almost obsessive about keeping things at least picked up. I'm not super clean but just like things to be where I can find them. And for me our house not being picked up makes me feel out of control. I don't know if it's hormones or just me but lately I just feel like all my emotions are totally out of control. The one person who gets the brunt of this is the hubby. And hes a trooper but is getting annoyed. Part of me feels really bad but the other part, maybe the hormonal part, says suck it up hubby im a sleep deprived, hormonal, cranky new mom of 2 deal with it. But he's really been a lot of help cleaning, doing laundry, playing with JW all evening when he's off work and his whole weekend. Spending all of his time at home with us, just loving us. I try to show my appreciation but lately we've been having communication problems he doesn't understand me and I think hes pissed at me. Who knows what's going on hopefully we will get it figured soon. It's just a hard frustrating time for both of us. I think I'm going to start blogging more it's a great stress releif and reminds me of what he does and releives some tension for me.

Jace's Birthstory

Now that I have mastered nursing and typing and JW is napping I thought I would tell you all our home birth story! It's a little long but I know some of you really want to know what it was like.
Jace Vincent Hartoebben was born Sunday night (12/14) at 10:21 a whopping 8lbs 11oz and 20inches long.
Saturday I felt the sudden urge to clean the entire house air up the birthing pool and check the checklist the midwife gave us just to make sure everything was ready because I was so ready Sure enough Sunday at 4am I started having contractions and I quietly counted to myself to see how far apart they were by 5:30 I practically had to kick dad out of bed he was kinda in disbelief that they really were contractions after weeks of braxton hicks, LOL! Sure enough by 6:30 they were 5 minutes apart and since the baby has been so low the midwife wanted us to call right away. The midwife and her assistant came at 7:30. Started setting up all the equipment and all the contractions slowed way down which they said was normal so a couple hours later they went and checked on another couple and they started back up again. This time going no where! And our aunt picked up JW (we didn't think he would understand and I was to distracted with him there) I got to spend about an hour relaxing with my hubby just the two of us and then the midwives came back and checked me and i was a 6. Then my mom came from KS, a day earlier than she had planned, lol! And to my surprise decided to stay for the labor (she was a little freaked out about the whole thing) By 5 ever thing started getting more intense so we filled up the pool and I hopped in loved it made me feel much lighter. Started pushing and 2 1/2 hours later we started getting concerned because i wasn't making any progress so they had to check everything out which was a scary because he should have been making his way out by then it was disscouraging to me because I was working so hard and nothing was happening. The whole time his heart rate stayed in a healthy range of 140 but he should have been moving down. After another hour he started crowning and they saw a hand next to his face, what a relief to know why he was taking he sweet time to come. So after moving his arm there he was swimming through the water to meet me! A perfect little man! Immediately he started nursing! I think that was the highlight for me! With JW I had to wait 3 hours for no good reason to nurse. I will have to say my husband did and awesome job being a support person and enjoyed feeling useful. He said seeing me do that has given him a whole new respect for me. My mom also impressed me! She stuck it out the whole time even though she didn't agree with ever thing she was an awesome coach telling me when to push and just looking out for me. I couldn't have had a better team.

This is one of my favorite pictures. It shows all the love and support we had at our birth. Each hand is a different person. My husbands who supported me the whole time and now has a whole new respect for me. My two midwives who were talented enough to guide me through the process. And a new friend who had 'magical' hands and helped me through my contractions. And me holding my beautiful little angel Jace.

Highlights:
Midwives stayed with us all day.
Hubby felt like he was needed and useful in labor.
I got to decided where I wanted to labor and have the baby.
We never had to leave home.
Baby stayed in sight the whole time.
Enjoyed the alone time with Kevin during early labor would have never happened anywhere else but home.

Over all it was just a very long hard labor, but could have been a C-section if I was in a hospital, so glad they were skilled to know how to move his hand and come out perfectly healthy.

He has been to his first check up after a gagging episode and looking a little jaundice but nothing was found and the jaundice isn't bad enough to worry about. He is happy nursing every hour and snuggled close to mom or dad. JW is starting to warm up to him he gets concerned when he cries: "baby crying, want drink" we are waiting for his sippy cup to make it to Jace's mouth, LOL!

A Question of Color

So thanks to Mojavi for making me a blogger! I guess I just need an outlet to talk about my beliefs and opinions.

My first blog!! Oh boy I guess this should be a good one! Racial prejudices I really am annoyed that we are still talking about this I'm mean seriously aren't we all freaking tired of it. Everyone in this country is from a different country unless you are Native American! And lets be honest they are pretty freaking smart to set up casinos on their land!!! So every one will come and have a good ol time gambling away your money for them to have schools and pay their tribe. So why the hell does color still matter! My family is Mexican, German, Swedish, and Polish! Most of us "white" people are multiple races but we still have a problem with Asians or African Americans? I just don't get it! There are bad people in all races so why discriminate toward the whole race?

Here is a picture of my awesome Grandma Sally and my little guy JW. On my Grandmas side they are all Mexican but as you can tell or 'can't' tell we are very light skinned so just by talking to us you would never know but it just proves my point we are all from one culture or another just living in the same world.