Thursday, January 26, 2012

Stash Update

The ever changing diaper stash is at a stand still:


 For Luke:

AIO/Pockets: 22

2 Thirsties Duo Size 2
3 BG 3.0
8 Fuzzi Bunz (combo of Mediums & OS)
2 Alva Baby (day-time stuffing)
6 Alva Baby (overnight stuffing)
1 WAHM AIO

Fitteds: 5

1 SBish Snapless Multi
1 Butterfly Baby Snapless
3 Soggy Bottom Baby Mediums



For Vinnie:

AIOs/Pockets: 24

9 BG 3.0s Velcro
6 BG 3.0s Snap
3 BottomBumpers (OS)
2 Sunbaby
1 Swaddleebees
1 Grovia AIO
1 Haute Pocket
1 Blueberry

Fitteds: 9

4 BSRBs
3 Soggy Bottom Baby Smalls
1 WAHM
1 Wonderwrap

Luke's Wool:


Vinnie's Wool:


PUL/ Fleece:


Not in Rotation Wool:


All the diapers & wool in the organizer.


All the buckets laid out, so you can see what is in them.
The empty one is there to represent the 21 diapers that are coming!

I need to count up the wool & covers & then I'll add those.  There are a lot of diapers out for repair right now.  My friend JoAnna is repairing 8 BG 3.0s that my friend Jennifer gave us & 7 other diapers I sent her.  I also have 6 more Bottombumpers that are out for repair with them.  So, that will add another 21 diapers to our stash too.  Some of those diapers will be Luke's, some will be Vinnie's, so I will wait to add them to the list until I know who is getting what in their "stash".

Saturday, January 21, 2012

5 Month Birthday

How is it that my baby boy is 1 month away from being HALF A YEAR old????

It is crazy to think that Vinnie has been a part of our lives for so long! It seems like it was just yesterday that I was finding out & announcing the pregnancy...not more than a year ago.  Of course the pregnancy is long gone and having Vinnie in our family is just NORMAL....but still wow, five months old big boy!

So, Vinnie is rolling both ways, sits in a tripod and even unassisted for small bursts of time, and is a happy talkative baby.

He reaches for toys, puts toys into his mouth, laughs and giggles. He is so much fun.  He learns new things every day.  He enjoys Luke and bouncing on his exercise ball.

He has terrible excema and since the first of the year, I've been dairy free in an attempt to get that under control. We also suspect dogs with hair, cats, and fleece as possible allergens too, so we are avoiding all of those things as well.

Update

It's been a while since I had time to blog, I've been busy and the boys have been off and on again sick. :(

On January 2, we started our homeschooling journey! We are doing really well & I am pleased with Luke's success so far!

Both boy came down with RSV, upper respiratory infection, sinus infection, and Luke managed to get an ear infection too.  We basically just survived through that week with both of them feeling miserable.

Showing off how I wear Vinnie facing out in the Moby
On Saturday Jan. 7, Mandy took Luke (still sick and feverish!) to the movies to see Puss in Boots with Grayson & Spencer.  He LOVES his big "cousins" and had a blast!

Vinnie showing off the new shirt Mandy bought him...
On Sunday Jan. 8, Vinnie and I went on a date.  We went to Cinema Cafe to see "Breaking Dawn" and it was great.  Vinnie did really well.  He sat in my lap & watched the movie for the first hour or so, then played and coo'ed in my lap for a bit, before nursing and falling asleep.  Tim stayed at home with Luke.


On Monday, Jan. 9, Tim stayed home from work so that he could keep the boys while I went to the dentist.  It was the third time I'd left Vinnie.

The first time was when he was only 1 month old, for Luke's surgery on Sept. 13.  The 2nd time I don't even remember when it was, but I just ran to Food Lion & Subway for dinner while both boys slept at home with Tim.

This time was a lot more serious, since I knew I'd be gone a couple hours and that they'd both be AWAKE while I was gone.  I knew Tim could handle it, but that didn't make leaving them any easier!

The dentist had to give me the Novocaine twice so I was pretty drugged up when he finished filling my tooth. I ended up needing to walk around for about 20 minutes before I could even drive home!

As soon as I got home, it was time to get Tim & the boys & head to the eye doctor!

I had an eye exam & apparently my pregnancy with Vinnie CORRECTED my vision! So, the reason things have been so blurry while driving (the only time I wear my glasses) is because my lenses were too strong! :)  So, I do still need glasses for driving, but a much lower prescription.

Since the boys were sick we didn't do as well as we'd hoped the first week of homeschooling, so we extended A, Red, One, and Circle for a second week.  By the end of the second week Luke knew everything except for red.  He is really struggling with the concept of color.  We are taking him in February for an eye exam.

On Wednesday, the 11th, Vinnie has his follow up for the RSV and we were cleared to resume our normal activities.  So, that night we went to Central Baptist Church for the women's Bible study and for Puggles for Luke.  (Its the 2 year old class at Awana's.)

Friday the 13th we spent doing playdates!  In the morning we went to the monthly Babywearers of Hampton Roads meeting in Norfolk.  It was fun and I saw quite a few familiar faces.

From there we went to a McDonald's for lunch & the internet & then we headed to Casey T.'s house for a Cloth Diaper playdate and swap! I only made $9, but I got some stuff cleared out. :)

It was about 4 when we left there so it was definitely time to head home.

Sunday we went to church and then to Tom & Peggy's house.

On Monday the 16th, we started B, Blue, Two, and Square.  It's the end of the week and we never really covered square or the B sounds, so we will keep doing these skills next week.

Luke does know how to count to four all by himself.  He can also count to 10 with some help.  He can say all of the letters of the alphabet correctly & recognizes A & its sound.  When we say the alphabet he can say the "next" letter several times & always gets the Z which is "last".  He understands, first, next, and last and will tell you that he wants to do whatever it is FIRST, when you're trying to get him to do something!

He also learned to say excuse me, understands taking turns, and knows the emotions happy, sad, and mad.

We had Aaron on Martin Luther King Jr. Day and didn't really do much.  We went to Rock a Bye Baby in Va Beach and exchanged some stuff and drove around so the boys could nap.

I also visited the Vitamin Shoppe for some probiotics for Vinnie and went by the bank.  That night I went grocery shopping.

On Tuesday we ran errands all day.  We went to Luke's doctor's appointment, to find out that he has another really bad ear infection.  Then we went to Amy H.'s house to buy some diapers & covers.  From there we went by Jenna's house to pick up a few diapers and visit for a bit.  Then we went to Jene's house to borrow a wrap (but its too short for me).  From there we went to Heather's house to pick up the diapers she had repaired for me and visit.  After that we made a stop at Hilary's house to pick up some diapers I bought from her & then finally stopped at the pharmacy to drop off Luke's prescription.

Wednesday, Luke was super miserable so I wasn't able to go judge the Science Fair like I wanted to, so we just hung out at home.  Betti did babysit for an hour for me, which was awesome.  I got to run to the Post Office and Hardee's with no little boys.  I was okay with it, since they were both asleep.

Thursday Tim had to stay home from work again, so I could make an emergency trip to the dentist.  The filling he placed isn't working out & I need a root canal.  I am not looking forward to it, but I will be glad to not be in pain any more!

When I got home, I grabbed the boys and we drove all the way to the oceanfront for a playdate with Selena.

Yesterday, Friday the 20th, we hung out at home until it was time for our playdate at the Bounce House with Karen, Liz, and Hilary! We had fun!



Two crummy shots of Luke at the Bounce House...he just will NOT hold still. 

Today, Saturday 1/21, we hung out around the house all day. :)



Luke rocking his red FuzziBunz diaper. I am seriously loving the new colors in our diaper stash!






Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Overhauling!

My diaper stash that is....is getting overhauled!

Through several sales on Diaperswappers and in person, through the generosity of friends (both online & in real life) I've been able to get our diaper stash back in the green! :)

(Top Left-Vinnie's Pockets, Top Right-Luke's Pockets)
(2nd Row Left-Vinnie's Pockets, 2nd Row Right- Luke's PUL diapers, Luke's Fitted Diapers)
(3rd Row Left-Empty-waiting for the rest of Vinnie's stash to be back from repairs, 3rd Row Right-Luke's wool)
(Bottom Left-Vinnie's Fitteds, Vinnie's Wool, PUL/Fleece Covers, Outgrown/Not in use Wool)
Current Numbers:

PUL Diapers: 57

Large (Luke only): 2

Large BG 3.0 (out for repair)
Large Drybee AIO (out for repair)

One Size (shared): 42

27 BG 3.0 Pockets (18 in house, the rest out for repair)
4 Thirsties Duo Size 2 (picking 2 up today)
9 Bottombumpers (some are Mediums/some are OS) (3 OS in house, rest out for repair)
2 BG 1.0 Pockets (out for repair)

Medium (Luke only): 7

1 WAHM AIO
6 Medium FuzziBunz

Small (Vinnie only): 6

2 Sunbaby Pockets (out for repair)
Haute Pocket
Swaddlebee Pocket
Small BG (almost outgrown) (out for repair)
Sm Wonderwap (out for repair)

Fitted Diapers: 12

One Size  (shared): 2

1 SBish Snapless Multi
1 Butterfly Baby

Medium (Luke only): 3

3 Medium Soggy Bottom Baby

Small (Vinnie only): 7


3 Small Soggy Bottom Baby
1 Small Wonderwrap w/ shot PUL
2 Small Fuzzi Bunz with shot PUL
1 Small BG with shot PUL

OTW Diapers: 8

8 Alva Baby OS Pockets


---

When we have all of the diapers in the house & in action, we'll have a decent sized stash.  Until then, we're making do as best as we can.  I think with the new numbers we will be pretty well set.  I'm slowly selling off Vinnie's wool as he outgrows it, since we are using almost exclusively AIOs/Pockets.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Current Cloth Diaper Stash

Luke's Diapers:

AIOs/Pockets: (16)
12 Bum Genius 3.0 Pockets
2 Thirsties Duo Size 2 Pockets
1 WAHM AIO
1 Yellow Bottombumpers OS AIO

Fitteds:  (11)
8 MamaGoetschCreations Pocket Fitteds
3 Soggy Bottom Baby Fitteds

Vinnie's Diapers:

AIOs/Pockets: (17)
11 BumGenius AIOs Size Sm
2 White Bottombumpers OS AIO
2 Sunbaby OS Pockets
1 Haute Pocket OS
1 Swaddlebees Snap Converted Pocket

Fitteds: (12)
3 Soggy Bottom Baby Fitteds
3 MamaGoetschCreations Pocket Fitteds
1 Sbish Snapless Fitted
1 Butterfly Baby Fitted
1 Wonderwrap (shot PUL)
2 FuzziBunz Size Sm (shot PUL)
1 BumGenius AIOs Size Sm (shot PUL)

On The Way Diapers: (20)
6 Bottombumpers AIOs (heading out for repair)
8 Alva Baby Pocket Diaper
6 Snap Converted BG 3.0 OS Pockets (from our stash)

Still Sick

Sat. Jan 7

The boys are still mega sick. Which means we aren't doing much of anything.

Luke now has an ear infection on top of the sinus infection, upper respiratory infection, and RSV that he is sharing with his brother.

We took him to the doctor yesterday because he had only 3 wet diapers between Thursday at noon & Friday at 10 am, but they weren't concerned.  They said with his energy level its obvious he's not dehydrated.

He did have another wet (a lot wet) diaper before bed last night & wet one during the night too.  So, since Thursday at noon (its now Saturday at 8:30am) he's had 5 wet diapers and one runny bowel movement.  He's definitely headed into dehydration territory.

His temperature is up to 104.4 this morning and he's not feeling well at all.

Vinnie's cough seems to be getting worse instead of better.  He definitely NEEDS the inhaler every 6 hours and it helps a lot.  His temperature has remained stable around 99.9*, but I've been giving him the Tylenol just to help with the yuckiness he is feeling.  It seems to help him rest better.

The biggest *joy* is that now I'm getting some sinus-y thing going on.  Its miserable and my head is killing me.  There is no room for a sick Mama when both babies are sick, so this needs to vamoose quickly!

I finally started working on laundry yesterday, after taking all week off to take care of the boys, and I have 11 loads to wash, fold, and put away!  :/  A couple of those are just linens that have been puked/poo'ed on. :(

Lots of friends have offered help, and while I KNOW we could USE help, I'm not sure HOW.  I mean, quite obviously I could use someone to cook, clean, and do laundry, so I can snuggle and love on my sick little boys...but I can't ask even our closest friends to come do my chores.  Its just part of being a parent...life goes on and you do what you can & what you can't do, just doesn't get done.  Oh well.

I'm doing a pretty good job of not stressing over the mess, dishes piling up, laundry all over the kitchen and laundry, and floors needing vacuumed/mopped, but it definitely takes focus.

All in all, this has to pass eventually.  We'll make it through & then we'll catch up on the housework.  My boys need me to snuggle and nurse and love on them, so that has to be my priority.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Arr Ess Vee

RSV--my boys have it and it sucks.

On Monday the 2nd they both developed coughs.  Tuesday we did the whole "wait & see" thing and they got steadily worse.

By Wednesday, I knew it was time to go to the doctor's.  Vinnie's RSV test came back positive immediately and was glaring....they said it was the fastest/brightest positive they'd seen!  :/

Luke was running a temperature of about 101* and Vinnie's was at about 99*.  Both boys also have sinus/upper respiratory infections and "gunky" ear/nose/throat canals/tubes.

Dr. G (the touchy one) prescribed antibiotics to both boys and an inhaler for Vinnie.  She also said to keep giving Luke his cough & cold strips & to give both boys Tylenol as needed for pain/fever management.

Luke's fever is raging today.  It got up to 103.3* and this mama was pretty upset.  Both boys just want to snuggle, nurse, and cuddle, and sleep.
Earlier we went from this (above) Both boys screaming & Mommy at her wit's end...

To this (below)  Both boys passed out & in a milk coma....


I'm worried about them.  We've been SOOOO sick since October and just can't seem to catch a break.

This is what the little sicklings look like now:

Luke, with cheeseball face.....but you can see the "sick" in his eyes