June's Change Challenge - Frugally Green Baby Care

Wow, I cannot believe it is June already! My sweet baby boy turns one this month! This year has gone by so fast, but what a blessing it has been to get to know this sweet, funny, lovable little guy.  How can you resist that smile!

In honor of Brenden's first year of life, I wanted to cover frugally green baby care as this month's change challenge.  Whether you have 10 kiddos, or you are just thinking of starting a family, or having a family is not even on your radar right now, it always important to remember that babies and children are some of our most vulnerable, and most affected by toxins in their environment.  Let's work to make changes to make our world a safer place for our kids to live!

If you've read my story, you know that I started being concerned about going green around the time that my daughter was born.  It's amazing how having a little life entrusted to you can change your perspective.  It began with non-toxic cleaning and cloth diapering, and just continued to snowball from there.  While sometimes it can be overwhelming to think of all of the things that our kids are being exposed to and how it may be affecting them, I know that ultimately God is control and that He has called me to this journey, and that I need to be balanced in my approach.

I don't do this right or perfectly all the time, or, more accurately, ever.  I know there are others that do a much better job of limiting their kids exposure to toxic chemicals.  And yes, I do worry about the "what-abouts", as only a mother can. What about the lotion that we slathered on my daughter for the first year (or more) of her life?  What about some of the foods that she's eaten?  What if there's lead, or mold or worse, in the air in this older house that we live in?  What about the coffee I drink on almost a daily basis while nursing my son? Or what about the disposable (gasp!) diapers that my kiddos wear? But, I have learned that dwelling on those questions will not ultimately help anything.  Taking small steps, and making small changes as I am able, can and will make a big difference in the lives of my kids.  

So, let's focus on the positive changes that we can make in our environment at home, and in the environment as a whole, that will lead to fewer chemicals and less toxins in the lives of our little ones.  

If you're just beginning your frugally green journey - here's a look back at some of the past change challenges and posts I've written that would be a good place to start.

Homemade and Green Cleaning
Buying Pre-Owned 
Change Your Mind About Antibacterial Products

How do you limit the exposure to chemicals and toxins for the kids in your life?  Is this an area that you need to improve in? 

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This is the first post for June's Change Challenge - Frugally Green Baby Care. You can catch up on all the Change Challenge posts here.

Are you brand new to being frugally green? Be sure to check out my Frugally Green Fundamentals.

Change Challenge - Kids & Other Personal Care Products

When I started the change challenge this month, I had several other ideas for posts about making changes in your personal care products. Some of them, like the Oil Cleansing Method, I just don't feel like I can write about right now, and some of them I am right there with you - still needing to make changes and find better products or alternatives to the current products that we use.  But, there are a few other changes that I have already made that I wanted to pass along to you.

First of all, I have to recommend that you get yourself some castile soap. This is the just the best stuff.  It comes in lots of different scents, scented with essential oils, as well as an unscented baby mild version.  I have found castile soap at both Meijer and Target, although I just ordered the citrus scent online because I couldn't find it anywhere else, and it is my absolute favorite scent.  The thing that is so great about castile soap is that it is so multi-functional.  Because you can use it for so many different things, it's one more way to help you simplify your personal care products.  Here's what I use it for:

1. Body Wash - it just takes a little squirt on one of those bath poofs and you have tons of soapy lather in the shower.  And the citrus scent is so energizing - it's great for helping me wake up in the morning.  I've been using it full strength in the shower, but I think I'm going to try to dilute it because it's so concentrated and that will help it stretch even farther!
2. Shaving "cream" - I was never a big shaving cream user.  I would just use my regular body wash, so this isn't that big of a difference, but I do really like shaving with castile soap.  It has a lot of lather and because it's made out of oils, I feel like my razors slides better than when I was just using regular body wash.  Also, I feel like it's pretty moisturizing and haven't needed to use lotion much this winter. 
3. Hand Soap - Use a foaming soap dispenser and fill it up with water and then add a few squirts of castile soap. (Another great way to avoid triclosan!) I bought some rose scented castile soap on clearance at Target only to get it home and realize that I didn't really like the scent.  So, I've been using it this way for hand soap and because it's so diluted, the smell isn't as much of an issue. It's also great for kids because it makes a lot of fun bubbles to wash with, but without the nasty chemicals in popular kids' soaps like Kandoo.  
4. Baby Wips - I use castile soap and Tea Tree Oil mixed with water as a homeamde solution for my baby wipes.  These wipes are great for changing diapers, but also great just to use for wiping hands and faces after eating, for cleaning spots of spit-up or other stains off of clothing, just about anything you would use a disposable baby wipe for.
5. Homemade multipurpose cleaner - I talked about this last month, but one of my favorite multipurpose cleaners is castile soap and TTO mixed with water in a spray bottle.

Here's some things that I have read that you can do with castile soap, but haven't tried myself:

• Use to wash your hair instead of shampoo
• Brush your teeth with (maybe the peppermint would be good for this?)
• Use for laundry
• The bottle also lists uses such as -  dentures, deodorant, aftershave, pets, silk, wool and car.  If you wanted to, you really could use it for just about anything and everything! :) 

I just really can't recommend castile soap enough.  It may be more expensive than regular soap or body wash up front, but because it's so concentrated and you can use so little it really lasts a long time, and because it has so many different uses, you can eliminate the need for buying multiple different products.

Also, after finding triclosan and sodium lauryl sulfate in my toothpaste, I switched to using Tom's of Maine.  It's okay and works fine, but I think I'm going to be on the lookout for a new brand once I'm done with this tube of toothpaste.  Any recommendations?

Photo by SaZeOd

Kids and Personal Care Products

Our children are probably more affected by the junk that is in most conventional personal care products than we are as adults, because their bodies are smaller and more vulnerable to exposure to chemicals.  So it is probably even more important to look at the products that we are using on our children than it is to look at our own.

I have to be honest, though, and say that this is an area that I am still working on making changes and finding balance.  We unfortunately stocked up on a lot of the well-known baby products a little over a year ago, before I really understood the effects of the ingredients in some of these products. I believed the marketing and the claims on the bottles that these products were safe, gentle and even natural. I have had a hard time deciding whether I should just throw them away and start over, or if I need to use the products that we have until they are gone and then find alternatives.

One thing that I have been meaning to do is looking up all of our baby products on the Skin Deep database.  If we have anything that falls into the high risk category, I will probably stop using that right away, but if we use products that fall under the low or moderate risk categories, I will probably just continue to use them until we run out and then find a new brand.

In the past, we have used and really like the California Baby line of products.  They are definitely more expensive than some of the name brand products, something that my hubby is quick to point out to me, but, I figure the amount of money I am saving us through the changes I have made more than makes up for the difference in cost. And I'm not sure that you can put a price on making sure you use safe products for your children.

I'm going to make a commitment here that I will look at our kids personal care products by next weekend and decide which ones we need to stop using right away and which ones we will use up 'til they're gone.  This way you all can hold me accoutable! :)

Okay, I think that's about it.  Like I said, I'm still working on my skin care routine, and I also need to find a good brand of lotion that's not too expensive.  Overall though, I'm really happy with the changes I have made so far and feel that I am taking positive small steps in the right direction.

I'd love to hear about changes you have made in your personal care products.  Anything that you want to recommend to the rest of us? 

Babywearing - 2nd Time Around- and Moby Wrap Review

I wrote my first babywearing post last August, not long after I started writing this blog, when Kaelyn was 10 months old. I wore her regularly from the time she was just a week or two old until she was about a year a and a half when my preggo belly was growing and she was getting a little heavy.

I loved wearing Kaelyn and was excited to get to do it again with our new baby. As with most things, every baby is different and I have had a different experience this time around with wearing Brenden. I love babywearing and am excited to share some new things I have learned with you!

Brenden was quite a fussy baby after birth. He was not a "sleep all the time" baby. And unfortunately, he didn't really like the pouch sling that I have. He just seemed to be uncomfortable in it. Fortunately though, I decided this time around to try a Moby Wrap (which I bought used online), and it was such a life saver those early weeks. A Moby Wrap is basically a really, really long piece of fabric that you wrap and tie around yourself and then can carry your baby in different ways. It is made out of super soft, comfortable, stretchy cotton. It is so supportive and comfortable to wear, it almost gives the feeling of being pregnant again. There are times I have been wearing Brenden in it and almost forgot that he was there - I was grocery shopping and unloaded my cart into the car and then got into the drivers seat and went to put on my seatbelt and oops - I was still wearing Brenden! It is that comfortable! :)

You can wear your baby in many different positions, and I'm sure I will use more of them as Brenden grows, but for now he mostly likes to be worn in the Hug Hold. I have used the Moby to wear Brenden anywhere and everywhere - from blueberry picking, to the farmer's market and the 4-H fair, at other's houses when he would get fussy, and just around our house when I needed to get things done or when he just needed some comforting. I love it because it is so secure, and Brenden loves being snuggled up with his mama. I have also nursed him in it a few times, and while it is a little tricky to get him in the right position, it is nice to have my two hands free to do other things while he nurses. The Moby Wrap has made my transition to 2 babes under 2 just a little bit easier and has saved my sanity on many days!

There are a few drawbacks to the Moby Wrap though. The first is that it definitely takes some time to figure out the best way to wrap it and tie it on to get it to fit well on your body and with the baby in it. Even after using it for 3 months, it still takes me time to make sure I wrap it well to get the right fit. It's not as easy to throw on and put the baby in as a sling is. And because of this, it's hard to use it when you're out running errands unless you put it on before you leave home and put the baby in when you get to your destination, which is what I usually do. The second is that, especially in the warm summer months, it's hot. There are 3 layers of fabric that cover the baby when you are wearing them, and although the fabric is nice breathable cotton, it is still very warm. The amount of time I could wear Brenden outside during the summer was limited by how hot both he and I would get. But, these two things have not stopped me from using the Moby often, and loving it!

Also, since B is not a big fan of the sling, I have been wearing him a lot in my Baby Hawk mei tai carrier. I didn't get this carrier until K was about 10 months old, but I am loving using it with a newborn. Once you get the hang of it, it is really easy to tie on quickly, which is important when you have a screaming baby! :) I use this a lot when grocery shopping or running errands because I can put it on easily when I'm out and about. It's not quite as comfortable or as secure as the Moby, but it's a little cooler because there's not as much fabric and it's more open on the sides, so you get some ventilation.

So far, between the Moby and the Baby Hawk, all of my baby wearing needs have pretty much been met. Every once and a while around the house, I'll put Brenden quickly into the sling facing out, even though he's still a little too young for that. He likes to look out at the world though and see what's going on. It's not very secure, but it works in a pinch when he wants to be held, but doesn't want to be snuggled up, and allows me to have both hands free.

I also recently tried wearing Kaelyn again since both the Moby and the Baby Hawk go up to 35 lbs. We went for a walk to the Farmer's Market one Saturday and Jer carried B in the Baby Bjorn (not a recommended carrier for baby wearing, but the only one Jer will use, and I guess that being carried in some way is better than not being carried at all) and I carried K on my back in the Baby Hawk. She did well, I think she liked it because she sees me wearing Brenden so much and wanted her turn too, but it did get quite heavy and she was ready to get out by the end. It was nice though to not have to worry about bringing a stroller to the market on a busy Saturday, and also knowing the K was safe with me and not running around on her own. I also tried her in the Moby on my back, but didn't feel very secure. It was my first time tying it on my back, so maybe with practice it would be better. I don't plan to wear Kaelyn very often, but I think it could be a good option in certain situations, like traveling in an airport.

Babywearing is such a great way to connect with your baby (or toddler), comfort them, and give them a better view of the world, while still moving through your life. I highly encourage all parents to give baby wearing a try and see how it can enhance their life and their relationship with their baby.

This post is linked to Works for Me Wednesday.

Eliminating Paper Waste

Image source

A few weeks ago in my Garbage Inventory, I realized how little paper waste our family creates. I have tried in many different areas to eliminate paper products from our home and replace them with reusable items. I think for those just getting started with going green, this is one of the easiest steps you could take, once you make one small change to not use paper, you will start thinking about how you can make changes in other areas too.

So, here are some of the ways I have eliminated paper waste in our household.

In the Kitchen:

• Hand towels and kitchen washcloths - somewhat obvious, and something that most people use in some form anyway. Use them to dry your hands, or dishes after washing, wipe down counters and the table, light cleaning, etc. Just the normal stuff that you might otherwise have used a paper towel for.
• Washcloths - instead of using paper towels to wipe off Kaelyn after she eats, or clean or wipe down her high chair I now use baby washcloths. I bought 2 packs of 12, so I have 24 washcloths and either use one throughout the day, or grab a new one whenever it gets too gross to keep on using.
• Bar Mop Cloths- I use towels like these that I got from Meijer for most cleaning type of jobs in the kitchen that I would have used a paper towel for. They are for messy cleaning, like wiping a spill up off the floor. Because they are white, I can bleach them if they get too dirty. And I think they actually do a better job than a paper towel would anyway.
• Cloth napkins - We used to use paper towels for napkins, but we had cloth napkins that we received as wedding presents that we never used. So I pulled those out and we use those instead of wasting paper towels as napkins.
• Dishcloths - this isn't something that you would necessarily use paper for, but I use cotton knitted (either by me or by my mother-in-law) dishcloths for washing dishes. I have read so many disgusting things about sponges and the bacteria that live in them that I refuse to use them or have them in our house.
  

Cleaning:

• Microfiber Cleaning Cloths- I use microfiber cloths that I got in the automotive section at Target (thicker and cheaper than the ones you find in the cleaning section) for most of my cleaning around the house. They are great for dusting without any harmful cleaners. They scrub and clean without scratching surfaces and they are lint-free and super absorbent.
  
• Rags - I have a wide variety of rags that I use for cleaning as well. I use old t-shirts and socks, old hand towels, thin white cloths that I got from Sam's, Gerber Prefold Cloth Diapers, etc. I just think you can never have too many rags for cleaning - then you will never run out and have to grap for a paper towel because they are all dirty.
• Swiffer mops - I use Gerber Prefold Cloth Diapers that I cut down and hemmed to fit onto the Swiffer for light cleaning and mopping. The diapers are so great for this because they are thicker and more absorbent in the middle, which is the part that does the actual mopping, and they are thinner on the outside, so they fit well into the Swiffer notches. I either spray the floor with my vinegar and water cleaner before mopping, or just wet the cloth with water before I put it on the mop, or use it dry for more "dusting"/picking up dog hair type of jobs. Better for the environment, and MUCH cheaper than buying Swiffer replacement cloths!

With all of the different types of cloths above, when they are dirty and ready to be washed, I just throw them down our stairs into a laundry hamper by the washer and dryer. I try to wash cloths and rags about once a week, and have built up a large enough stash that I don't run out before I've had time to do the wash.

Diapers and Wipes

• Cloth Diapers - we use cloth diapers on both Kaelyn and Brenden. (Although I do have to confess that K wears a disosable for naps and bedtime - she got used to them when we went through a period where we were not using cloth.) This really requires a whole separate post - one that I plan to write in the near future.
  
• Cloth Wipes - I use cheap gerber baby washcloths as well as some homemade flannel wipes from unused receiving blankets. I use a disposable wipes tube and fold the washcloths in half and lay them in. I mix up water with a squirt of baby soap and a few drops of Tea Tree Oil and pour it over the wipes. With two babies in diapers now, I go through a tub of my cloth wipes a day. I usually make up a new tub of wipes first thing every morning.
  

I think that's most of the ways that we have replaced paper products with cloth in our house. Sometimes though, I forget what we used to use paper for because I am just so use to using cloth for everything now!

What are some ways that you have reduced or eliminated paper waste in your house? Are there any paper products that you would like to stop using, but just haven't found a good replacement for yet?

Brenden's Birth Story

I think that birth stories are so important to write down, remember and share. I wrote Kaelyn's birth story a while after she was born, but I still remembered it like it was just a few days afterward. This time around, I have the feeling that with two kids, I may forget more quickly, so I want to get it written as quickly as possible. This may be a long post - please bare with me - it's more for my benefit than for yours! :)

Thursday afternoon, June 18th, around 5:30 I started having some fairly regular contractions about 10 minutes apart. They lasted throughout the evening, but didn't really get closer together or stronger. I didn't really think I was in "true" labor yet, but I was very ready to have our baby and meet our little boy. We went to bed on Thursday night hoping to get some rest because we thought that things would really pick up on Friday. Friday morning I woke up around 9:30 (last morning to sleep in!!) with some mild contractions, so we decided to do what we could to get things moving. My sister Rachel had come down on Thursday night, she was going to be in the labor room with us, and also help with K in the meantime. We went for a walk to the Farmer's Market and then over to a field with a track around it and I walked a mile! (I think that's more than I walked my entire pregnancy!) But, instead of increasing and intensifying my contractions, all the walking seemed to make them just go away.

From about noon until 4, I had no contractions and was starting to get really discouraged and frustrated. I didn't know how long this labor was going to take, but I just felt really really ready. I was able to take a nap during that time, and when I woke up, I decided to try some at home ways to get my contractions going. By 5:00 I was again having regular contractions, and they were starting to get a little stronger, but still really manageable. By 9:30 that night, they were still regular, getting a little closer together, about 5 or 6 minutes, but not really getting a lot stronger. I decided to lie down and try to rest for a while, still unsure of how long this was actually going to last.

At 10:45, things started to get a little more serious, my contractions were about a minute long, but I still felt they were manageable. I wasn't in a lot of pain. We started timing my contractions and by midnight they were around 3 minutes apart, so we started getting ready to head to the hospital. We headed out around 12:45 and arrived and checked in at the hospital around 1:00. My contractions were still about 3 minutes apart, and I was staying on top of them fairly easily. I questioned whether or not we had gone to the hospital too soon, but my intuition told me that it was time, and I was ready to have this baby!

Finally, the resident came in to check me after about 20 minutes. She said that I was 90% effaced and about 8 or 9 centimeters dilated and that they better get me moved over to a birthing room. I was shocked!! I had absolutely no idea that I was that far along. I thought that things would move really quickly from then on. One of the most awesome parts of the night was when my nurse, Kris, came to take me over to labor and delivery. When she walked into the triage room she came up and patted my on the shoulder and said, "I'm so excited you are going to do this naturally, we don't get enough people doing that any more." That made me feel better and more confident that my nurse believed in natural labor and would help me have the kind of labor and birth that I desired.

We moved over to the birthing room, and I was ready, but it seemed that going to the hospital stalled my labor. Things didn't progress. Although I wasn't in a lot of pain, I was managing my contactions without any trouble, again I was getting frustrated and very tired. At 3:00 my midwife offered to break my water to get things moving, and I gladly agreed. The contractions got more intense after that and around 3:20 I felt ready to push. My midwife said I could go ahead and push as I needed to, but that I wasn't fully dilated. I still had a small lip on one side of my cervix that the baby's head had to get past. The pushing was super painful and I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere, the baby was not coming down, I was starting to get a little worried about the baby. Jer, my sister, my nurse and midwife were so great and just kept encouraging me. The midwife let me push in whatever way I felt my body needed to as I tried to get the baby down. I was so tired and so ready to be done. I pushed and pushed through the pain and finally he was down and ready to come out! About 3 pushes and 10 minutes later, Brenden David was born at 4:01 am and Jer helped to catch him as he made his entrance into this world!!

Overall, my labor was super long, but not very intense. Up until it was time for me to push I felt completely in control and able to handle and manage my contractions. Even though the pushing this time around was much more painful, the reality is that it only lasted for 40 minutes of my entire labor. Again, I was able to give birth to our baby naturally, this time without any pain medications at all, and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life! Meeting baby Brenden for the first time was beyond amazing, I am so humbled and so proud to be the mother of such a beautiful little boy!

Baby Brenden!!

Baby Brenden was born on Saturday, June 20th at 4:01 am! We were so excited to meet this little guy, and I am spending my time getting to know my sweet little boy. So, posts may be a little sparse over the next few weeks, but I still have so many things on my mind that I want to share, I'm sure I won't be able to stay away too much for too long!

Look at all that gorgeous hair!!! :)

For more pictures, please check out our other blog: McClements Family.

Hand-Me-Downs

A little while ago I wrote about buying things pre-owned, or used, and how it saves both monetary resources and earthly resources and helps to reduce waste. Even better than buying things pre-owned is getting them for FREE!!!

Hand-me-downs, especially for children's clothing, are such a great thing! They are a way for the person giving the hand-me-downs to bless someone else, and they allow the receiver to not have to spend money buying used or new items.

In preparation for our baby boy (who is due to arrive any day!) we basically needed a whole new wardrobe. Not many babies clothes are gender neutral these days, so most of the clothes we had for Kaelyn would not work for a boy. Thanks to some AMAZINGLY generous friends of ours we are set for clothes for this little boy. They passed along the clothes to us that they had for their little boys who are 4 and 1. I now have a closet full of gently used baby boy's clothes and two more boxes of clothes for him to grow into. If it were not for these hand-me-downs that we received we would have had to spend a lot of time and money finding clothes for him, even if we were to buy most of his clothing used. Here is a picture of his fully stocked closet, just waiting for him to arrive.

We also recently received some great hand-me-downs from Kaelyn's cousins. They are mostly a size up from what she wears now, but it is so great to know that we have some clothes for K to grow into and that we don't have to worry about buying much for the next size/season.
Here's K showing off her "new" clothes.
So whether you are the giver or the receiver of hand-me-downs, they are such a blessing. If you have clothes that you are not using anymore, or won't be using for a while, I urge you to seriously consider passing them along to someone who would appreciate and use them. If you are the blessed recipient of hand-me-downs be thankful for the opportunity to save both money and the planet's resources. And take good care of them, so you can pass them along and bless someone else!

For more frugal tips check out Tightwad Tuesday at beingfrugal.net

Meal Plan Monday

I'm having a hard time being motivated to plan meals this week. My baby boy is due on Friday, and I am hoping and praying that he makes his entrance into the world before then, but I'm not exactly counting on it, as my daughter was a week late. Anyway, I'm don't have the energy to think about planning and cooking this week. I'm going to try to use the crockpot and make easy, no fuss meals this week. We'll see how it goes.

Oh, and I'm definitely not planning breakfasts and lunches like I talked about last week. I guess I was feeling ambitious last week, not so much this week!! That will have to wait 'til after the baby arrives! (Like I will have more energy then, than I do now?!? What am I thinking??)

Meatless Monday - Red Beans and Rice, corn on the cob.

Tuesday - Spaghetti

Wednesday - BBQ chicken sandwiches in the crockpot

Thursday - another crockpot meal

Friday - My due date - I'm thinking we'll go out to eat or order something so I don't have to cook. You definitely shouldn't have to cook on the day your baby is due if he or she hasn't arrived yet! (Just my humble opinion) :)

Saturday - I don't know - any ideas? Or anyone want to invite us over for dinner?!? (I am shameless at this point!)

Sunday - Burgers on the grill - Jer will be in charge of this one!

Hopefully before next Monday we'll have an update about our newest member of the family - stay tuned!!

For more menu plans visit Organizing Junkie!

Great News!!

We made an offer on a house on Thursday and over the weekend, after a little bit of back and forth, our offer was accepted! We have a "new to us" house! Here's a picture from the listing.


It is actually an older house, built in 1939. It's in a great area with lots of cute older houses, close to parks and the zoo. We are very excited!

We will close probably sometime in May, no later than May 15th. We are hoping it will be as soon as possible so we can get in and get all settled before the new baby comes. I am just so excited that we know where we are going to be, and where we will be bringing this baby home to. I am ready to nest!

Wow!

The past two weeks for us have been a little crazy, so I have some catching up to do.

To begin with, last week we finally SOLD OUR HOUSE!!! I'll have to write the whole story later, but we have a contract with a buyer to close around mid-March/early April. God is good!

Also, we found out yesterday that we are having a baby BOY!!! Jer and I both thought that this baby was a boy, and we were right. And the best part is that he is a healthy boy! It was so amazing to see him on the ultrasound screen, to watch him move and see his little hands, arms, legs, heart and brain. Wow, just wow! It's unbelievable to me that I have a little person growing inside me. Thank you God!!!

Here's a pic of our little boy. We are so excited to meet him in around 4 months.

It's late, I'm tired, but I just had to share all of our good news! More to come soon!

Baby Beat

I had another maternity/pre-natal check-up today. I saw the nurse practitioner, who shares patients with the midwife. I will see both during my pregnancy, but the midwife will be the one who actually delivers the baby. Jer went along this time, and we got to hear the baby's heartbeat, and everything is going well. It is always such a joy to hear that wonderful sound of your baby's heartbeat. There is no other sound like it in the world, and it is so amazing to listen to the beat, and know that the baby's heart is beating inside of you - it's kind of strange actually, but so, so wonderful.

And we scheduled an ultrasound for the next appointment on Feb. 4th, so that is when we will find out the sex of the baby. We are excited for that.

So far, I have really enjoyed going to this practice and seeing the midwife and NP. There is such a comfortableness and genuineness about them that is comforting and lets you know that they really care about you and your baby. The NP took lots of time to talk to us, answer questions, ask questions about things that we didn't bring up to talk about, etc. I also really like that they are both women (not that I have anything against male doctors) but for this, I definitely feel like I can relate better to a woman. The care that I am receiving this time around feels more personal and caring, than the care I received at the OB/GYN practice that I went to with Kaelyn. Just my thoughts on seeing a midwife this time around.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year!, and Belly Pics

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!
I have enjoyed the last few weeks celebrating the birth of Jesus, spending lots of time with family, and eating lots of GREAT food! My mom is an AMAZING cook and every time I come back from visiting them, I swear, I gain at least 5 pounds. This time though I don't really have to worry about losing it. For once I don't have to make a New Year's Resolution to work out, get in shape and loose a little weight - in fact, being pregnant, I need to be gaining weight to have a strong and healthy baby! Woo-Hoo!! Not that I am going to go crazy and gain tons of weight, that's not good for us either.

Anyway, here is my first baby belly pic, taken on Christmas Eve. I was basically 15 weeks along (on Christmas).

Jer was talking to a friend of his last night and said, "I already feel bad for this baby because we don't even think about it. Every few days I'll say to Em, 'Oh yeah, you're pregnant.'" :) I, of course, remember that I am pregnant every day - but already this baby is falling prey to second child syndrome. I was taking belly pics at 10, 12, 13 & 14 weeks when I was pregnant with K, and now here is my first pic, at 15 weeks with Baby #2. Well, I guess some belly pics are better than none at all, right?

I hope everyone has a very Happy New Year!! I am not one to make resolutions. I have tried in the past, and they never last very long, so I have just kind of given up on that. I am going to try my best though to blog more often than I have been lately. I would love to look back at the end of 2009 and be able to read about my thoughts and feelings and happenings in my life over the next year!

Baby on Board

For those of you who haven't seen my other blog to hear the news, we are expecting baby #2 in June!! We are really thankful for this new addition to our family and excited that Kaelyn and her baby brother or sister will be so close in age - about 20 months apart.

I am just starting my second trimester and starting to feel more like myself again. I was fortunate enough to not be too nauseous during the first trimester, but I was extremely tired. I'm not really starting to show yet, but I'll be taking belly pictures along the way and posting them to show how I'm progressing along.

I have chosen to see a midwife for this pregnancy that works as a part of an OB/GYN practice and delivers at the local hospital. So far, I feel really good about it and will let you know more about my experience with seeing a midwife as this pregnancy progresses. I can tell you already that I really appreciate her approach to the labor and delivery process. She seems to be much more accommodating to what the mother wants to do during labor and delivery as far as moving around and not being monitored and being able to push and birth the baby in whatever position you desire. She also is a strong advocate for water birth, and the hospital I will be at has birthing tubs in each labor and delivery room. I'm not sure how I feel about that idea yet, we'll see once it gets closer to the time. I am looking forward though to having another natural delivery and excited to welcome this new little life into the world to join our family!!