Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Mom's Birthday

August 21st was my birthday and this year it fell on a Sunday! Its always the best when your birthday is on a weekend isn't it?

We didn't have anything planned for the weekend but it ended up being a pretty busy one! It seems like all of our weekends are turning out like that lately. Saturday night Jeff had a customer going to the Texans vs Saints game at Reliant. He didn't realize until Saturday afternoon that there were 6 tickets instead of 4 and the customer was traveling in from Louisiana and could not use the extra 2 so we decided to take Maddox to his first NFL game. Lucky kid! I was in my 20's before I ever went to a NFL game!

You know, you never really realize how loud the stadium is until you have a baby with you! WHOA! It was loud. We stayed in for a few minutes and thankfully we were on club level so Maddox and I sat ourselves on a comfy couch and watched the game from the outside.


And yes, I do have regurgitated milk on my shirt. Maddox and I sported our Purdue gear in support of Drew Brees ;-)

On Sunday we all got up to go to church and then Maddox decided that instead of his usual 1 hour nap (he's a MAJOR cat napper!) that he would like to take a 3.5 hour nap! I guess the game wore him out! Needless to say we missed church...whoops! 

We decided to head to Kemah that afternoon. It is now a tradition in Jeff's words since we've done it two years in a row. I was pretty bummed that I didn't get to ride The Bullet, but I'm sure it would not have been as much fun anyways without Amanda Saylor. I did get to drink a very weak margarita and sit outside watching the boats come in.


Look at those red cheeks! It was a little hot outside...


And the best part of the day....



ICE CREAM!!! Although in both of these photos Maddox is the only one getting any dairy intake ;-)

My first birthday as a Mommy was fantastic, got to spend it with my two boys and that's all I could ever want.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Diaper Reviews

I know when I was looking at cloth diapers I really wanted to find a blog post or something that reviewed a few different diapers..so I thought I would be that blog post!

When Maddox was born we used disposable diapers until his umbilical cord fell off. Then we started using G Diapers. I had read a lot online about the all in ones being so big and bulky on newborns so I thought we would just start out with one kind and get more later, which worked out wonderfully.

We really like the G diapers. We had some problems with leaking, but they hardly ever leaked enough that anything got on his clothes. He might have a little wet spot on the leg and that was about it. So we had to change the G pants but not his entire outfit. They are a little more involved with getting them ready to go. There is a plastic liner you have to snap into the pants and then you put the cloth insert into that liner. It's nice because if nothing got on the pants you can reuse them by snapping in a new plastic liner and cloth insert. They are also really convenient because you can not only use cloth inserts but they have disposable as well so those are great to use at night. And they are SUPER cute and a lot more slim cut than normal cloth diapers.


He was in the small size so he eventually grew out of those, like one day they fit and the next they didn't! I wanted to try a few different brands so I ordered FuzziBunz, bumGenius, Charlie Banana, Cutey Baby and Trend Lab.  All of these diapers are available at Target or Babie R Us (thank you to ALL who gave us gift cards!!) We also still have a few G diapers that we got as a gift and he still wears those at night.

FuzziBunz. These were the ones I was most excited about! When I was pregnant these are the ones that I thought sounded the best and they are so adorable. I ordered two, one brown and one green. These are nice because you can adjust the legs and there are snaps to adjust the waist size, there is even a sizing chart included letting you know what adjustments to make for how big your baby is. They also come with one newborn insert and one regular. I put the newborn in first thinking that Maddox was still pretty little and the regular is supposed to work for up to 35 pounds. The newborn insert leaked pretty much immediately...bummer. But once I put the other insert in we haven't had a leak since. Unfortunately I've already had 4 snaps come off of one of the diapers and the snaps are pretty much a pain in the butt to deal with.



bumGenius. These are very similar to the FuzziBunz being an all in one, one size. I ordered two of these as well, both white (BORING! But that's all that was in stock!) For these I ordered the velcro closure. I made the same mistake with these by putting the newborn insert in first, but since switching to the regular insert I haven't had a leak since. I LOVE the velcro closure, its so easy and I feel like with the velcro the waist fits better. Also they have a little tab where you can fold over the velcro when you wash them so that diaper doesn't get connected to anything else.



Charlie Banana. These are also all in one diapers but not one size. They do come in one size and I would have ordered that had it been available. Maddox is still at the bottom of the weight recommendations for the Medium so these should last awhile. These diapers are ok, not anything to rave about in my opinion but they get the job done! These also close with snaps and you can make them a little snugger fit or a little looser. We have had a couple leaks (including a poopy leak, which was a first for us) but I think its mainly due to the fact that they are still a little bit big. The one size has adjustable leg closures which would solve that problem. I had to order this one in white also because it was my only option without ordering a whole pack of them. They have some super cute ones available though. Another good thing about these is that they have disposable inserts too, and you can actually use them with any diaper. I ran out of disposable inserts for my G diapers last week on our trip to Indiana so I put in a cloth insert and then the Charlie Banana disposable on top of that and just had to change the disposable at the airport. Very nice option to have.

Cutey Baby. Not a fan of these. The diaper I ordered is adorable and I do like the fact that the insert is attached to the diaper. Instead of putting the insert into the back or the front of the diaper this one has a hole cut out in the middle of the diaper and the insert is permanently attached to the back which means you don't have to mess with a dirty insert, it just works itself out in the washer. These are a velcro closure which is nice and maybe its just because Maddox is still a little small for this size but I just can't even get the waist to go on tight enough for him. Instead of having tabs to connect the velcro to when you wash them these diapers have you take the velcro tabs off to wash them, which is fine, but I never remember to do it until I'm in the laundry room and then I forget to take the tabs back to Maddox's room and then I can't ever seem to actually use the diaper because I have no tabs for it. I can also see where it would be very easy to lose the tabs (they do give you an extra set)



Trend Lab. These are from Target, I'm not too sure of the brand, if its Target brand or what. I decided to give these a try because they are very inexpensive, at $12.99 I thought they were worth a shot! One thing I like about these before getting them was that they are made specifically for boys or girls. They are more absorbent in the front for boys and more absorbent in the middle for girls, awesome! Only when I got them though did I realize that more absorbent just meant thicker!! These things are BULKY! The insert just snaps onto the diaper which is nice, no stuffing required, they are also a snap closure. To be honest we have not had one leak with this diaper (I do use it a little less than my favorites though!) but with that being said this is for sure a hanging at home diaper, its just so bulky. It works, its just not cute :)

So to wrap it up (I'm sure you're ready for that!) Here is my list of favorite to least favorite

1. bumGenius - no leaks, easy to use
2. G Diapers - a little more involved in prep than the all in ones, easy to clean
3. FuzziBunz - no leaks, do not like the snaps
4. Charlie Banana - not too many leaks, easy to use
5. Trend Lab - no leaks, too bulky
6. Cutey Baby - can't get tight enough, velcro closure a hassle

In general the all in ones are more bulky, although I feel like the bumGenius and FuzziBunz do a great job of getting the slimmest fit possible.  Also, in general, the all in ones are more difficult to clean the poopy off. With the G diapers you just had an insert to clean off and then you had a plastic liner you could wrap the wet insert in to avoid getting dirty water all over the bathroom. The all in ones are more difficult to clean off just because you are cleaning a bigger area and they get full of water, and poopy water + dripping = YUCK. Oh, and we also have a toilet sprayer I don't know what we do without it! If you're thinking of cloth diapering I command you to get one. I was going to say highly suggest, but I feel more strongly about it than that!

So thats my experience and two cents about these brands. Cloth diapering is really not to difficult, I suggest that if you can, you at least give it a try. People think we're nuts for using cloth diapers, but I really think its all about what you're used to, if you've only ever used disposables then it might be a little hard to switch, but if you start out with cloth you won't even think about the difference. For me its just now part of my routine everyday to wash diapers and get them ready for the day and it saves me the time and money it takes to run out and get diapers every time we need them. Just something to think about :-)  

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

3 Months

3 months already! Wow! I think this will probably be the last month for the green onesie :-) its getting a little on the snug side!





Compare 1 Month, 2 Month

I have no idea how much he weighs, I'm guessing around 14 pounds? But I've lost every weight bet that Jeff and I have so I'm probably wrong! He's sleeping 10-12 hours a night which is awesome! I can still get things done after he goes to bed and still feel rested in the morning. 

We have the best time each day and he gets more fun and more interactive every single day. I just love to hear him squeal and laugh while he's playing. We try and get out at least once during the week, usually more, and do lunch with a friend or a play date. And of course its still nice to have Daddy home with us some days when he works from our home office.

I am enjoying every single minute of being a stay at home Mommy. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. This is what I was meant to do :-)

Check out some of Maddox's 3 month photos here.

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Doing it Hoosier style

It was Maddox's first trip to INDIANA!!! It was a very last minute trip and we owe it all to Granny for making it happen. Thank you Granny, we love you!


This past weekend was two bridal showers for Jackie. One with my crazy loving Aunts on my Mom's side. And the other was hosted by our home church on Sunday afternoon.

Maddox and I flew in late Friday night and Granny and Peepaw picked us up at the airport. Maddox was perfect on the plane. He got fussy when we first sat down but he was passed out before we even took off. He woke up a little bit later, I gave him a bottle and he was out again. I think it helped that we took off right about his bedtime so he was sleepy. Lucky for us we sat next to the sweetest girl who didn't mind sharing her row with a baby. I was very surprised at how helpful TSA staff and the flight crew were. Although I guess its easier to help a Mom out than have her hold up the crowds struggling by herself ;-) Either way I appreciated it!

Waiting for our flight

Saturday afternoon was Jackie's first bridal shower with my Mom's sisters. We met Jackie, Angie and Jackie's sister Michelle in Salem for that. Maddox was held by everyone and didn't mind a bit (good thing!). He was declared "well fed" by all. After the shower I went back to Indianapolis with the girls so we could see Uncle Mark and Uncle Randy. We hung out at Jackie and Mark's house for the night.



Sunday afternoon was Jackie's second shower at our home church. Angie and I were late (I know no one is surprised!) But considering the fact that she and I are always notoriously late and we had a baby with us I think we did pretty good! There Maddox got to meet most of my Aunt's from my Dad's side plus cousins and church family. After the shower we went back to my Mom's for dinner before Mark, Jackie and Michelle headed back to Indy.


Monday, what we thought would be a relaxing day, was not!! Maddox met my good friend Daniel and his wife Holly, my step grandmother Mabel, my Papaw Phillip and he also saw Papaw Thom and Mamaw Pam. He met them when he was just a few days old, so I'm not sure if he remembered them or not ;-)



It was a great weekend, I can't even count the number of people that held Maddox. He slept in 2 different houses, rode in 4 different cars, 2 different planes, saw his first cornfield, rode on his first country road (you know a REAL country road, one with no lines), experienced his first flight delay and we still made it back in one piece with HUGE smiles for Daddy at the airport I might add.

We can't wait to do it all over again next month!