Fluffy bum

Today is our 41st day of cloth diapering. In the last 41 days, we have used maybe 6 disposible diapers. Hurray for us! I have a massive addiction to and obsession with cloth diapers. I could read about them all day long. I love them. What I love most; the fact that we don't fill our green bin with diapers. I had thought all along that I would want to do cloth diapers. After the first month of bag after heavy bag of disposible diapers being carted out to the bins, I knew there was no way I would/could keep that up.

Today I took a trip to the great cloth diaper store on Bloor west, Diaperezz. First, it's very good that this store is not within walking distance. I might be there every day! We bought 12 prefolds and two more diaper covers. 12 prefold diapers cost $30. That's $2.50 each. And they have a ridiculous life span. So I'm saving money on diapers, and I'm saving money on my garbage bin size. Here in Toronto if you can't fit all your garbage in your bin, you have to pay for additional bags. And the bin is not big, I have no idea where we put all the diapers!

But Momma, what about all the laundry? Well, we don't use detergent with cloth diapers, usually just a bit of baking soda. And the laundry's being done anyway! I can't wait for the warm weather so I can start drying everything outside.

www.diaper-eez.com

Also, I may have solved my never ending baby sock problem today....

http://www.sockons.co.uk/

I really wanted these bad boys but since they were made in the UK I wasn't sure if they would have them in Canada. Sure enough they had them at Diaperezz. A-mazing.

Finally, I must have this doll....

http://www.liveandlearn.com/dolls/babystella.html

Overall a very fun outing. Now that we've gotten past this 10 week growth spurt, and seem to have medications in order, Kirsten & Stella are on the move!

January so far

So we've had a very eventful month!

On January 4th we finally got the results of Stella's December blood work back and they were still "borderline", so we went in for more bloodwork and a thyroid scan. My little wonder was a trouper. Tuesday morning we went in to Sick kids to get everything done right away. She cried during the bloodwork, but we had a good phlebotomist and they got it done quick. From there we went on to nuclear medicine where she had to first have her contrast injection then her scan. The injection was pretty brutal. Now, I know the hospital is a teaching hospital, but they put the tourniquet on and checked all her poor little limbs so the student could practice and my poor baby screamed bloody murder. But of course she was a dream for the scan, even when they had to bring the scanner right down to her nose.

Her thyroid scan results show that she was an enlarged thyroid which is not producing enough T4 hormone. That, along with her bloodwork results showed we had to start synthroid, a synthetic hormone substitute. Within the first day I saw a difference, she was more alert, sleeping less. By the end of the weekend she was a mess, she could barely breastfeed without crying. But she wanted to feed all day long. And no naps at all, she would be awake for 8 hours at a time.

While we are new parents, it just didn't feel right. And we knew from our experiences with jaundice that it was best to trust our instincts. Jeff called our contact nurse Lori at the endocrine clinic and she thought we should come in to check Stella's thyroid levels again. I felt horrible about putting her through more bloodwork, potentially just to make myself feel reassured. But the next day she started sweating while she was feeding and that seemed to be just another reason to go into the hospital. We were so glad we went in, her T4 level had jumped from 12 to 41. We took a day of rest and started back on a lower dose which seems much better. She's still not a great napper, but the fussy inconsolable period seems to be limited to the 45 minutes before bedtime.

On Wednesday we went in for her 2 month check up and first round of immunizations. Yet another reason to be fussy! However, she slept from 830-730 that night. How good does 8 hours of sleep feel!

What new things have we learned this month? She's chatting a lot more and can entertain herself much longer on her mat or in her swing. She's development a huge hatred for tummy time, but Mommy pushes her so she can build up her arms.

We've gotten the bedtime routine down now which goes a little something like this...
645 - head up to the bath, hang out on change pad and pick out jammies for the night.
700 - Bath time! We spend 10 minutes chilling in the tub. Stella likes to stick her little feet out of the bath and scootch her bum down so that she's all in the water. We use the nice smelling lavender body wash so that when you lean into her crib in the middle of the night it smells soooo good!
715 - back to Stella's room, we do the rub down with moisturizer and talk about our day. Then we sing Stella's bedtime song and if she's not too fussy then we might read Good night Moon and Runaway Bunny.
730 - Daddy comes upstairs with the bottle and Mommy says good night!
Usually by 8 she's out for the count, though sometimes, it might take a couple extra trips upstairs to rock and cuddle. This weekend we made the transition to the crib. We've had a couple set backs, but I think it's good to keep at it.

Big question... what is a baby sleeping about when she laughs in her sleep?
Answer - boobies and puppies.

And the new year begins...

Welcome to 2010. This year is going to bring a lot of firsts for our little bambino and so much to look forward to. But first... my resolutions:

1. Of course lose this damn baby weight. I think I say this every year.
2. Learn to refinish some furniture ie a dresser for the guestroom and a table for the front hall.
3. Figure out if I want to go back to school.

Those aren't too hard, other than that I'm going to enjoy this year with Princess Stella.

And here's some motivation!

Merry Christmas to all....

And to all a good night.

10 days until Stella's first Christmas!

Today we braved Yorkdale mall today and I've realized I've lost my love of shopping! I didn't look at a single thing for me and only went in 4 stores, 2 of which were just children's clothes! One reason is that It's pretty difficult to manuver a stroller through clothes racks, but also all I wear anymore are tshirts and jeans. And of course, I'm not completely ready to invest in clothes as I'm hoping to lose some more weight. If only I could get out for a run... but a little SOMEONE seems to be getting in the way of that. As of tomorrow though my gym membership is reactivated and they have child minding so I'll be able to get back to the gym. I'm also going to get back to ballet starting in January.

Speaking of which, I can't wait until Stella Bella can start her little ballet lessons!

Baby bean sprout

This baby is growing like a weed! Today at the doctors, eventhough the appointment was for me, I asked if they could weigh Stella. She's up to 3.84kg. She doesn't look any chubbier, but she's definitely getting longer. Her pajamas are getting too short!

Today was also our first day of cloth diapering which is quite challenging. I've only got 12 prefolds right now which are a bit bulky on her. There's another system out there as well called "Flip" which seems to be a trimmer fit. So we might pick up some of those to try as well.

Finally my victory for the day... I've managed to get Stella down for bedtime all by myself! Jeff is at his infant first aid class so I'm home alone tonight.

Stella is super excited to breakfast with her Nanna and Poppy tomorrow morning.

How quickly time goes...

How time goes by quickly. It seems so little time ago I was waiting not so patiently for the bump to appear. Now my little baby is more than a month old and I'm waiting (not so patiently) for those first little smiles and coos!
She is more beautiful and incredible than I ever imagined.