I'm a huge cloth diaper fanatic. They're adorable, hold leaks better than disposables, and are a much cheaper option in the long term. When Maddie was born, I eagerly checked out all my options, purchased the cute little diapers, and happily went on my merry cloth-diapering way. We did switch to disposables when she was in day care, out of courtesy to the workers there.

Once we moved and I stayed at home with Maddie, I used them full time. We've saved so much on our grocery and toiletries budget by not having to buy diapers.

I originally purchased 18 Baby Kangas, a pocket cloth diaper, which I figured suited me the best. It is a style of diaper with a soft absorbent layer next to baby's skin, and an outer waterproof layer to prevent leaks. In the middle of these two layers goes an insert, which holds all the wetness. As well as the diapers, I purchased 18 inserts, wipes, 1 wetbag for the diaperbag, and 2 big wetbags for holding the diapers while they were waiting for the wash. I must say, that I love them. I had planned on ordering 12 more of the ever so cute Baby Kangas once we had another child. I was going to get some in Robin's Egg and Daisy, 2 colors I have not added to my collection.

I received a coupon this morning from Kelly's Closet, the website in which I purchased my lovely diapers. They were running an end-of-summer clearance, so I thought I'd check it out, just for fun.

They are discontinuing the Baby Kangas at their store.

I know I can probably find them elsewhere, but I never found any comparable price in any other online retailer. Baby Kangas are a bit pricey, and they don't even come with inserts when purchased alone. Once we're expecting the next baby, I'll have to decide whether to try to find a decent price on them, or (banish the thought) switch to something else.

I did see another pocket diaper that closely resembled the Baby Kanga, but it had no zipper. It's called the Smartipants, and it's really pretty cute as well--and they're cheaper than the Baby Kangas are. They even come with an insert! So yeah, major deciding to do someday.

Maddie and I just returned from a week and a half in Indiana and Northern Michigan. It was a beautiful trip, and it was so much fun to get away. The weather was in the mid-60s to lower-70s most of the week, so we actually needed to get Maddie and sweatshirt and pants for the time. One day during the week we went to a strawberry patch to pick some sweet berries for pie. I just carried Maddie with me, since she wasn't to enthused about the stroller. I set her down in the middle of the row of berries, and she snatched a huge one from the box I was filling. It was at least the size of her little fist. She began sucking on the thing (she can't yet chew) and dribbling strawberry juice down her new light pink onesie and white pants. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen, so I just let her continue even though she was a mess. I really wish now that we got a picture, but at least both my parents got to see the cuteness.

Maddie is having one of those days where she is getting into everything, and I'm having one of those days where I need her not to be. Her favorite place is the cat food, which we keep on the floor by the back door. At first she would simply tip over the water and food and let them spill all over the floor, but now she finds it fascinating to pick out individual pieces and try to put them in her mouth. At least it's less messy that way. She makes a bee-line for the bowls whenever I set her down. If she's not by the cat food, she's in the fireplace or in the cat box. Her real toys are just not that enthralling, I guess.

I never realized how messy she can be as well. She loves to crawl with her toys in her hand, so her toy animals from the living room will end up in the kitchen, spoons will end up in the living room, and my shoes somehow end up on a low bedroom table. Today she decided to knock over my full glass and watch it shatter all over the floor. At least we were outside on the back patio, so I didn't have to worry about cleaning all the liquid. Right now she's eating the springy door stop that she pulled off of the wall.

I've been working on my garden plan for next season the past few days. Although it feels weird to be thinking of starting now instead of next spring, when one usually begins. I figured I would ease into the process by planning one raised bed of fall veggies. I'm thinking of starting some lettuce, swiss chard, and maybe some rutabagas. This summer and fall I plan on doing a lot of work in the back to get the beds all ready to plant in the spring. I have a whole host of things I'm hoping to try then--hopefully I don't get to overwhelmed!

I'm also hoping to go peach and blueberry picking sometime in the next few weeks. I really miss my picking buddy (Hi Leslie!), so I'll either go by myself or ask one of my new friends here. I'm hoping to freeze a lot of the peaches and make freezer jam, and with the blueberries I'm not really sure yet what I'd like to do. Maybe I'll just freeze them all for smoothies and such. We had a blast picking strawberries over vacation, and I really wanted to bring some back with me. The only way I could think to do that was to get some dry ice to keep them frozen, but that wasn't going to happen. Next spring I'll have to find a place here in Alabama that grows them. There are U-pick cherry farms in Michigan, and I think next year we'll pick a whole bunch and I can take them home in a cooler, then make some jam or something at home. Hmmm, sounds like that might be a plan.

I've also been experimenting with pizza crust lately. I've never been able to find a recipe that I really love. The ones I've tried have been to think and doughy with not enough crisp to the bottom. I'm trying another recipe I found and have already prepped the dough, so I'm hoping to make the pizzas later this week. We'll see how that goes.

And that is all for now.

I honestly don't see how women can work full-time and take care of a baby. This is hard work. Maybe many working moms have a stronger desire to work and can organize a schedule way better than I can. I'm just not cut out for this. I can barely find the time to make dinner more than twice a week, let alone blog. (And my nights to cook are currently Saturday and Sunday.)

At least I'm having the time of my life being a mother. Remind me to post pictures sometime of my now 4-month-old and 12-and-a-half pound child. She's growing too fast. Blogging is still going to be light until I retire from the working world in May, but I will post our final residency programs decisions and such sometime in the next few days.

Maddie was up screaming her head off til about 12:30 last night, which was the worst night we've had with her so far. I caved yesterday and had a nice tall glass of frosty milk, and I just know that's what set her off.

I think I drank several glasses of milk a day during the last 2 months of pregnancy, partially because I needed to gain the weight, and partially because it just tasted so amazingly good. So it's been really, really hard to go cold turkey, especially since I have a whole half gallon still in my fridge, just tempting me to drink it.

So far I think other dairy products are okay, since Maddie hasn't had any trouble with the yogurt I tend to consume every morning. I also haven't noticed any trouble with the cheese in my turkey sandwiches. Anyway, I must move on and find another satisfying beverage to consume when I'm thirsty.

On a completely unrelated note, Maddie seems to be having issues keeping herself clean. Every single poopy diaper this little one has seems to explode all over the place. I'm still using disposables, since I have some left and I think she's still too small for the cloth ones I have. Anyway, is this normal? I think I might go ahead and try sticking her in the cloth diapers and see if they hold stuff in better.

Our Internet is still not working! It crashed last week as I was typing up this post. I'm at Chick-fil-A right now so I can finally put it up. Hopefully our internet will be up and running soon!

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Thank you all for your comments! We're doing very well here and are easing in to our new schedule. Maddie is nursing like a pro and sleeping for 2-3 hour stretches at a time so I can catnap, which I'm so grateful for! My mom is here, and both she and Stu have been so helpful.

So anyway, for those interested to know, here is the birth story. Let me preface this by saying please don't hate me! :-)

I went to work on Monday morning, just like any other day. At about 10 I started having mild contractions that were only slightly more intense than the ones I had been having frequently over the past few weeks. At this point I thought nothing of it and finished packing up the samples I was shipping to another lab. The contractions continued regularly, but didn't increase in intensity until around 1, when I began to finally believe that I might be in labor. At this point, I decide to wait for my midwife's appointment at 2:15, and then walked over to the other side of the hospital, since my coworker needed me to bring over some supplies. I hung out over there for a while, and we talked about whether I should come back to work after the appointment. She figured I really was in labor and told me to go home afterwards.

So I walked to my midwife's appointment (I live and work in the Texas Medical Center, so my midwife is close by.) and waited for a long while in the waiting room while the contractions came on stronger. They were painful, but not anything I couldn't handle. When the nurse called me back, I mentioned that I might be in labor, so when the midwife came in around 4, she went ahead and checked me and found that I was already 4 cm. dilated. Since I lived down the street, she let me go home for an hour or two to grab a bite to eat and take a nice bath. She would notify the hospital that I was on my way.

Stu picked me up from my appointment, and we drove over to Smoothie King. I called my mom to let her know what was going on, and then we headed back home. My contractions at this point were about 5 minutes apart, and still coming on stronger, but I really wanted to rest at home before going to the hospital.

At home, I drew a bath and hopped in, sipping my smoothie. The midwife on call called me to see how I was doing (There are 4 midwives in this practice, and I've met and really like all of them), and to get an idea as to when I would arrive. I told her I was planning on coming in within the hour, and that I just wanted to relax a bit. This was fine with her, so I hung up the phone and tried to get more comfortable.

With the next contraction my water broke, and suddenly I had the very surprising and painful urge to push. Stu was finishing up grabbing all my things and helped me my dry off. I told him I thought I might want an epidural after all, but he being a med student and all figured I was a little past that point. We rushed to the car, pausing to let me get over each contraction. We drove the 3 blocks to the hospital and decided to valet park, and Stu yelled for a wheelchair.

Stu was really so great through the whole thing--he practically ran me upstairs to the labor and delivery floor. At the check-in station, where the guy was asking for my information, another contraction hit, and one of the nurses grabbed me and took me into a room. She checked me and yelled that I was complete, and that I was ready to push. A doctor rushed in and guided me through the pushing, and Maddie was born at 5:46. The nurse commented that she had never delivered anyone without having time to at least start an IV. My midwife didn't even make it in time.

They let me hold Maddie for an hour or so while they stitched me up (I tore a bit) before they took her to be weighed and measured. It was such a wonderful feeling to be able to finally hold her and see what she looked like and just get to love on her.

So anyway, that's my story! I think I'm going to get back to my newborn now. :-)

Does anyone have any ideas on how to keep kitties out of bassinets?

Oh, and strollers, too.


She is cute, though.

This picture is a little harder to see than others I've posted, but I love the backdrop!

I just finished putting together a baby sling for the new little one, (it was a great was to spend a "hurricane day" off of work!) and I think it came out really well.

I chose a cotton fabric in pretty mossy green for the sling and specially ordered some rings in bronze. I love the combination together! Most of the slings I've seen online have had silver rings, which I think are pretty, too, but I think the mix of green and bronze is just striking. I've been practicing with it a little bit, trying to figure out the best way to adjust it while wearing it. It's definitely not as easy as it looks!

All in all, the project took only about 1 1/2 hours to put together, and it was very easy sewing too.

I'll post a picture of the sling in use as demonstrated by my test subject when I can, since Blogger is throwing a fit right now and won't post pictures. Grrr.

*Updated* Yay! Pictures are working. Here is the one I promised:

I just returned from my latest OB appointment, and am feeling rather ambivalent and frustrated by the whole thing. We spent a bit of time chatting about what to expect when labor and delivery comes around (in only 13 weeks. Yikes!), and I am just not feeling right about it. Part of it is that I've never clicked with this doctor; she's great, but I always seem to clam up around her, and she isn't very proactive, either. I'm also very scared of having a C-section (which I've heard is somewhere around 25 percent at this hospital) and am not feeling very reassured that she would do everything she could to prevent it. I would love to do things as naturally as possible, although I still haven't decided if I want an epidural yet or not.

At the same time, I'm not sure I want to go try to find another OB or a midwife in the area, mainly since I have no idea where to start the search, and I don't want to have to go way out of my way to go to the doctor. One great thing about my doctor is the convenience of her being just down the street. I also feel like it might be a mistake to switch this late in the game, for something I might just be irrationally panicking about. It didn't help that we mainly focused on what would happen if things went wrong.

I know it's not the end of the world if I do end up with a C-section or other complications, and I know that could happen with any care I get, and really, in the end, I just hope the baby is healthy. But I know I will really regret my decision if things don't go well with the doctor I have now. Anyway, I've got lots to think about.

*Update* Thanks so much for the kind advice! My thoughts were very rambly, since I wrote the post right after my visit and my emotions were running high. Here is what I do know after talking with my doctor yesterday.

C-sections: As I mentioned before, the C-section rate at this hospital is around 25 percent. While I don't know my doctor's personal philosophy on C-sections, I do know that she would perform one if the baby is breech, large (9-10 lbs or more), or if I fail to progress. Even if I had a better understanding of her thoughts, it probably won't matter, as she is in a practice with about 7 other physicians, and the chance of her being the one to deliver me are actually very small.

Epidurals: She mentioned to me that the epidural rate at the hospital is 95 percent, so they probably don't accommodate well to women who don't receive one. I asked her what I could expect if I didn't get one, and she mentioned that I would still have to have an IV and a fetal monitor, thus limiting my movement. I also know that I would have to be on my back when pushing.

Episiotomy: While my doctor doesn't routinely perform them herself, she said that she does them sometimes if it appears tearing will be bad. She mentioned that other doctors in her practice routinely perform them, and I would have to let them know beforehand that I don't want one. I mentioned to her that I'd like to avoid it if possible, and she just kind of laughed and said that it really was hard to prevent tearing. (This comment is what really frustrated me.)

While I don't know my doctor's opinion on some things, like induction, or what happens to the baby after birth, etc, I feel like I have a decent idea what to expect. If I stay with her and everything runs smoothly, then that would be wonderful. When I said above that I felt my fears were irrational, it wasn't that I was worried from not knowing what to expect, but more because I'm worried things won't go smoothly when they could have if I had a more natural delivery.

Oh, and by the way.

I did a little research and found an OB/midwife practice right down the street. So my convenience rational is shot. It's a little farther walk from home, but closer to work. I haven't contacted them, but from the snippet on their website, they mentioned their philosophy on labor and delivery: letting labor occur naturally and only intervening when necessary. They are there to make labor go as smoothly and as comfortably as possible, and have a variety of ways to do that (and they do epidurals if I go that route.) Plus, they deliver in two of the best hospitals in the Texas Medical Center, so if an emergency does arise, I would still have wonderful care.

I'm still on the fence about the whole thing, but I'm going to give myself the weekend to think and pray about it with my hubby.

A pregnant friend of mine sent me a picture of her the other day, so we could all see how far along she is. At 37 weeks, she's counting the days! I've been reflecting on that and realizing that that will be me in 15, no, make that 14 weeks. Yikes! I began skimming websites with baby stuff and feeling way more than slightly overwhelmed. So I'm going to ask for advice, starting near the beginning, one thing at a time. I've already decided on a crib and car seat, so here's my first question:

I'm adamant about cloth diapering, but feel utterly lost when looking at all the products available. What all does a new mother need? I also want diapers that can grow with the baby, so I'm not constantly having to buy new ones. And since we plan on having more kids (someday), I would like something that is durable. Any thoughts?

For more Meet and Greet, visit The Natural Mommy.

I had not one, but two people ask me today if I was pregnant, (That would have been way awkward if I wasn't, but I digress) so I figure that means my baby bump is probably big enough to post a picture. It still doesn't really seem that big yet, especially since it's really hard to tell when I'm wearing my scrubs. But I'll have Stu take a few shots this weekend, and post them up then.

I'm just starting to work my way through some baby names, because I am still so completely undecided. I created some loose criteria in which to follow, just to make it a little easier. It should be 2 or more syllables, not start with B, and I would like something that sounds a bit old-fashioned. And of course, Hubby has to like it. I've seen several names that I really, really like, but nothing really seems to fit. Every name I see is something cute for someone else's child. Growing up, I never had any names that I just had to use for my own kids, so I guess that's why everything fits awkwardly.

Suggestions would be appreciated. :-)

Yep, it's a girl! Didn't I say I thought it was a girl? :-) We're so excited, but now comes the hard part of actually picking a name. Eek! Poor Stu will be in a house with four ladies (two having tails). Maybe we should get him a beta?