tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16553282063519004162024-03-12T16:03:13.026-07:00this one's still kickingAmanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.comBlogger132125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-41897241740115321402017-03-06T04:45:00.002-08:002017-03-06T04:45:36.518-08:002 years 2 months 6 daysOh hello Blogger, it's been a while.<br />
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I just wanted to commemorate this development of M.: She went to nursery by herself without crying yesterday! It has literally been 8 months since she started nursery. Most weeks I have gone in with her. It's hard to believe that most of my time at church in this ward has been inside that nursery room with her.<br />
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I feel like this advent only became possible very recently. Maya as of recently has demonstrated that she is cognitively capable of verbalizing observations and concepts that do not relate to her immediate surroundings, including events occurring in the past or in the future. It's fun to have evidence of the workings of her little mind and to see her personality!<br /><br />Anyway, we just talked to her a bunch on Saturday as well as Sunday morning before church about going to nursery. Who was going to be there, how parents don't come with the kids in nursery and go to their own classes, how she would go by herself and play and there would be snack and a lesson, how we would come get her at the end. Then we kept asking her if she was going to go to nursery by herself. She wasn't sure, but Sunday morning she told us yes, and she kept to her word. I'm proud of her!<br />
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Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-80577832029447836362016-04-14T06:11:00.003-07:002016-04-14T06:13:42.369-07:004 years and 15.5 monthsShep had his 4th birthday yesterday! He's getting to be such a big kid now. He's really obsessed with building guns from blocks right now. He did that with Daddy almost every day of spring break a couple of weeks ago, and has carried that activity on his own nearly every day since. He likes wearing "short pants," regardless of the weather, with a shirt that's tucked in and a belt. He's recently got into superheroes and Star Wars, as well. With the new movie, <i>The Force Awakens</i>, that came out at the end of last year, there was a lot of advertising and merchandising, so I think his initial exposure came from that. This week he got to see some of the real movies though and although it may not have been the fulfillment of all his expectations ("Is this a people movie?" he asks, as opposed to a kid's movie), he still enjoys his birthday stormtrooper mask (he is happy to have one like his cousin Mason's finally) and "shooting." Guns make me uncomfortable, so this isn't my favorite phase, but it's still fun. He was pretty into balls for quite some time before this, but his interest in sports has worn down a little. Despite this, we did sign him up for soccer again this spring, which he seems to be enjoying.<br />
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Maya is 15.5 months. She loves to walk, but mostly she likes to do so with the support of mom or dad. She has been walking with us holding her hands for quite some time and has been able to take steps independently for a couple of months, but she is too cautious to forge out on her own. I recall Shep being the same way, and while this abundance of caution seems like a somewhat unusual baby trait, I suppose it helps them get fewer bumps and bruises! Maya is kind of a tease sometimes. She's still majorly uninterested in other babies and adults outside of her little sphere, but she's getting less upset about social interaction with the outside world. And sometimes with those who are a bit familiar to her but not necessarily in her comfort zone, she is a tease and a flirt. She seems more stoic than Shep was as a baby (I think I read something about how studies support that girl babies are less expressive than their male counterparts)? She's a good pal to always have around. I carry her around a lot. She's been fussy and clingy a lot the past couple months, but I think she's starting to feel a little better. She spends all her time with her brother, so they are buddies. We got her a little slide that she can climb up and slide down, which she loves. She still loves to eat pretty much anything although teething at times has made her uninterested in food. She's a really slow teether, like Shep, but she's been doing a little better about sleeping at night instead of waking up crying as she had been. Unlike Shep, she seems to like to color, but I don't often get stuff out because Shep is totally not entertained by it. She loves to be outside and wants to be playing in the dirt all the time. Perhaps most fun of all is that she's starting to talk! I'm pretty sure her first word was <i>poop</i> although she doesn't really use that one anymore. She is not super consistent about any of the words she really knows, but she says <i>hello </i>and <i>bye bye</i>, <i>apple</i>, <i>mama</i>, <i>daddy</i>, <i>bubble</i>, etc. She's constantly forming new words and mimicking us, so it's hard to think of all the words she knows.Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-75630472190861488922016-01-27T13:04:00.002-08:002016-01-27T13:04:36.398-08:00Maya 12 monthsMaya turned one! I can't believe it's been a year. And what a whirlwind year it was. Poor thing didn't get much of a birthday celebration because we were moving the day of her birthday, but she's changing all the time! I know I just posted about her, but I wanted to remember some other things about what she's doing right now:<br />
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<li>Interested in walking but only if her hands are being held. Daddy helped her walk up and down the stairs several times the other night, so she was in heaven.</li>
<li>Also sometimes when we're holding her hands, she'll bend her knees and start bouncing. She's into jumping and bouncing overall. </li>
<li>Not so interested in eating food lately, but super interested in feeding other people! It's funny and her favorite thing.</li>
<li>She really likes carrying around little objects like chapstick or toothpaste tubes or things like that.</li>
<li>4 teeth total have broken through on the top, and 3 on the bottom.</li>
<li>Maya HATES strangers! She really really doesn't like other people or other kids. This is kind of funny to me. She has deep, deep stranger anxiety. I don't know if I'm recalling incorrectly or not, but it seems worse even than Shep's stranger danger. Shep when he was a baby seemed okay with kids or other babies, but even if other kids or babies get in Maya's bubble when I'm not holding her, she will lose it. And sometimes even when she is in my arms. </li>
<li>Maya seems a little less chill than she used to be--she must be sensing all the changes that have gone down over here and the general limbo that we seem to be living in. She is rather clingy and doesn't like to play by herself or be put down a lot lately.</li>
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Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-19099964983894373682015-11-17T08:45:00.000-08:002015-11-18T15:00:05.353-08:00Maya 9.5 monthsWe wrote this post a bit ago, when Maya was actually closer to 9.5 months in age, but she is now nearly 11 months old! Time flies. This is how long it took me to get the photos off the real camera that I took.<br />
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Here's the actual post:<br />
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Little Maya has two little teeth on the bottom and is working on the top ones. She's not great at staying asleep when teething, and fevered once because of it, but otherwise it does not seem to bother her. She's been teething since the end of August.<br />
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She is crawling for reals and getting around quite proficiently. She started army crawling about two months ago, and for a moment she regressed because we only have hard floors in our current apartment here in North Carolina. Now she's overcoming that and she's entertaining herself by getting into ALL THE THINGS!<br />
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Speaking of things Shepherd never did (in addition to her interest in mobility and being entertained without parental attention), Maya wants to eat ALL THE FOOD! I'm fairly certain Shep had no added/refined sugar the first 12 months of his life. That's also because he had like zero table food and was quite content to nurse and never eat anything else. This girl. She grabs anything on your plate, in your hands, anywhere, and if it is food, it goes in her mouth. She also puts other things in her mouth but generally doesn't try to eat non-food items.<br />
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Tons of smiling and laughter all the time. She is such a happy baby now. She has always been fairly chill, but now she really emotes and it's fun to play with her. She never really concerned herself with her father but now she (finally!) loves attention from daddy, especially when he throws her and spins her and swings her upside down. She is into rough housing in general, or, given her limited mobility and developing motor control, being rough housed. Her older brother will jump on her, lay on her, push her, knock her over, and, in her mind (not ours), it is great. Though these sessions usually do end with her crying. Often, we tell him "Stop!" And his response is, "Maya likes it!" And, well, can't argue with that? But pretty much everything her brother does is funny. ALL OF IT! Unless she is hungry or tired, he is her clear favorite. She loves it when we chase him and hold her at his level so she thinks she is chasing him, and she has loved this ever since she was big enough to hold up her head, pretty much. She is much more content without parental attention probably because Brother's always around, and he's just so <i>interesting</i>. I've thought even from the time she was a newborn that she was just more content about life probably because she had him to watch. Poor Shep and the humans he had around. No wonder he cried all the time.<br />
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Maya is really into putting things into containers right now; it seems to be her thing. I also think she would really love one of those walker toys. She loves pulling herself up on Shep's trike. Unfortunately I got rid of the one we had for Shep and have yet to get one for her. She's getting pretty speedy with her crawling though!<br />
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Cheers, Maya. We love having you around.Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-46864155385669687142015-05-12T08:46:00.000-07:002015-11-17T08:47:07.127-08:00Maya 5 MonthsMaya is already five months old and I don't know how that happened. I hear a lot of parents say the first year of their second child's life goes by really fast. I get how that can be the case: you're kind of used to babies, so you're not wondering what's happening every second of every day and worrying about things, and you also have an older child on a different developmental level, so your attention is divided.<br />
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There are many ways in which our experience with baby Maya is very similar to our experience with baby Shep. She is like Shep: she nurses to sleep, she doesn't like to be set down, she does not like to be left alone (i.e., she is happier if she can see us when we're not carrying her in arms), and we carry her all the time. She's graduating from the Moby to the Ergo, and she is learning to like it. When dad is holding her, she likes to face out so she can see what is going on, just like Shep. Her way of being comfortable when carried by mom is to be nursing and sleeping and possibly also being outside. This girl likes to be outside quite a bit.<br />
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Maya's pretty distractible these days, and hyperaware of her surroundings, which makes daytime sleep a little harder. She won't nurse to sleep just anywhere anymore. She has to be covered up in a quiet-ish area now if I'm not wearing her or lying down with her, whereas before I could just drag her along and she'd sleep anywhere. Tim talks sometimes about how he used to hold Shep while he was sleeping a lot, but she never lets him hold her when she sleeps.<br />
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It's kind of interesting to compare. Maya is a much better sleeper than Shepherd ever was. She falls asleep quickly and stays asleep (as long as she is being held), but she probably falls asleep nursing even more than Shep did. I had forgotten that when Shep was a wee, colicky lad, Tim would strap him in the Moby and walk vigorously with him to give me a break, or bounce him, because Dude wouldn't sleep/stop crying. Maya is a non-colicky baby, so I have no urges to pawn her off to encourage sleep times. It's easier for me to just nurse her, usually, but if nursing by itself doesn't calm her effectively, bouncing on the ball while nursing or going for a car ride have been successful. Also Tim happens to just be gone a lot more often and isn't around as much as he was when Shep was a baby. Maya blessedly doesn't scream in the car seat very often. She usually falls asleep as long as the car is in motion, and these days she isn't even freaking out when we stop unless she is just mad about something else. It's a novel and liberating thing to be able to do the car with a baby.<br />
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Maya is rolling, more adeptly from back to stomach than the other way around, but can do both all the same. She started rolling a month or so ago and then quit for a while, but now she's back in the game. She likes to try and grab/reach for toys but her coordination and grasping skills are still developing. She's getting used to the world and doesn't freak out when we, say, put clothes on her.<br />
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She is starting to interact with her big brother which is delightful to watch. She thinks Shep is hilarious and laughs louder for him than anyone else, but I think she's alternately kind of worried/terrified by him. (Aren't we all.) It's fun to see their relationship grow. They'll be playing together without supervision in no time . . . every parent's dream, right?<br />
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Life is stressful with two kids and I'm not really sure we're completely sure what we're doing and how to meet everyone's needs, but Maya is just a peach and we're so much richer with her in our lives. Tim and I were talking about which stages of childhood are best, and I really enjoy the whole dependent infant stage, actually. It's really limiting (maybe even more so considering my style of parenting that I've adopted thus far) and pretty dang boring sometimes, but I like the simplicity and purity of love. Maya's pretty much always happy to see me, I'm almost always happy to see her. My frustration with her is always indirect and circumstantial--if she's crying, I don't hold her responsible for it. It's easy for me to see her as someone who needs me, and to feel good about fulfilling her pretty simple demands. I feel like it's just easier, I guess. As I'm discovering with Shep, that changes with growth: our relationship is getting a lot more complicated, and I'm not sure I'm negotiating that journey entirely well. I miss the good ol' days of pure friendship and harmony, but I guess there are advantages to kids growing up, too. I look forward to knowing what Maya becomes in the future.Timhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15766571795980787383noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-34409650260709191182015-04-20T08:19:00.000-07:002015-04-20T08:19:28.104-07:00Shep's Shibboleths (2)A couple of times, I have told Shep he can't have two items he requests at the same time. I say, "You can't have both right now, so choose one. Do you want <i>x</i> or <i>y</i>? Which one do you want?" He chooses <i>x</i>, but a couple times he's changed his mind after a few minutes. Instead of requesting <i>y </i>directly, though, he says, "Ask 'Which one?'!" That one took me a while to work out.Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-38029192904254011182015-04-16T08:40:00.000-07:002015-04-16T08:40:04.620-07:00Shep's shibbolethsShep is entering a phase of development where he says weird, hilarious things with a fair amount of frequency. This morning after crawling all over me, he said "Hi, Mom, happy to see you!"<br />
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He recently started repeating mild expletives that we use, such as <i>crap, shoot, dang it, </i>etc. Out of a newly-three-year-old's mouth, these words sound awful, so we've taken to telling him "Don't say that word." Last night while playing, he said "Dang it," and then a bit later, even without a remonstrance, he said, "That word."Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-13480840296746673632015-03-10T20:20:00.001-07:002015-03-10T20:20:54.816-07:00birth announcement<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-47099267250638553742015-03-10T12:10:00.000-07:002015-03-17T08:02:06.301-07:00Maya 10 weeks<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2/20/15</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2/05/15</td></tr>
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I was surprised at how natural the transition to two kids felt from one. I mean, it’s a bit more chaotic around here and I’m not the mom I was or want to be in some ways, but we’ve never wanted to send her back (even Shep). ;) We like her being a part of our family. Shepherd is always smiley and positive when he talks to her, even if he’s in the middle of a tantrum. At first he asked to hold her a lot but he doesn’t much anymore. Now he says “Hi, baby sister,” or "Hi, little girl" (which sounds a bit creepy) and gives her a kiss and a tickle. He’s not as soft as he ought to be with her yet, so the times where I’ve set her down and let him interact with her have been quite limited. Most of the time I’m carrying her. Lots of times she hangs out in the Moby wrap, and there she nurses and sleeps. She’s getting a little more resistant to being in there now and more particular about how she wants to be held and the positioning when she nurses. She likes to face out more now. If I bounce her on the ball while she’s in the Moby nursing, usually I can get her to be happy and stay in there for a couple of hours, though it's a bit unpredictable lately. She likes being set down sometimes and she likes it best when she can see someone in the room with her. I think I’m her favorite person right now. Sometimes I can see her staring and focusing on me and she smiles sometimes. She’s become lots more of a social smiler. More so in the morning, as was true with Shep, but also throughout the day. She smiles for Tim and me the most—she doesn’t seem to know what to think of her big brother. I think he’s gotten a smile out of her a couple of times maybe, but I think the largest association with his presence may be terror! He is very loud and sometimes he makes her uncomfortable. She sometimes still smiles involuntarily in her sleep. She’s pretty good at holding her head up. She’s rolled from her stomach to her back like twice I think! She’s pretty strong but she also seems delicate overall. I’m not sure how to explain that one, exactly. She’s sensitive but not especially particular, if that makes sense?<br />
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She got her first shots ever yesterday (March 9) and it was a rough go of it for a while. Well, she slept at first for a couple hours, and then she was super unhappy/in pain when she woke up. I gave her a dose of Tylenol sort of grudgingly because I hate putting all these things (including vaccines, let’s be honest) in my perfect little baby’s body when she’s so little and has had never ingested anything but the nutrition I’ve given her from my own body, but alas, it helped after several minutes and she got back to nursing and then fell asleep again for another couple of hours. So that was a new experience. I feel like the only time Shep has ever been sleepier than normal is the one time he got sick, like a month ago. Weird. Anyway, I took a bath with Maya later. She only likes the bath if I’m supporting her whole body. She’s sometimes okay to sleep on her own if she’s in a deep sleep already, otherwise she prefers full-body contact. She also sometimes falls asleep rocking or bouncing instead of nursing, so that’s new too. She wakes up more easily if she’s sleeping on her own. We haven’t left her swaddled all that much like we did with Shep. She seems to prefer not to be swaddled for the most part, although sometimes it does help her to stay asleep better. I don’t even wake up much during the night when she wakes up, so I can’t really tell you how often she wakes up. She was getting a good 4 hour stretch at the beginning of the night a few weeks ago, but she might be waking up more now? Or maybe she’s sleeping through the night practically and I don’t even realize it. I couldn’t tell you because I’m just not that conscious for any of it. She still has her mullet; her hair hasn’t really changed much. She likes the car seat as long as we’re going fast enough for her. It’s actually way nicer to have an infant car seat, why didn’t we get one of those for Shep? But they are a huge pain to carry around, I will say that. The instant we slow down or stop in the car, she starts crying as if on cue, unless she's really out and doesn't notice. She hates getting in the car seat.<br />
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She is not colicky like Shep was, either. What a blessing that is! I am not sure how I could handle being mom to the semi-volatile toddler that Shepherd is with a volatile newborn as well. Instead, we have a rather predictable little girl. She is such a sweetheart. I’m getting used to dressing girls, too. I put a bow/headband on her for the first time last Thursday and Friday for Whitney’s viewing and funeral and felt like I could handle it. I had tried to do it once before and felt like I just couldn’t take her seriously when she was wearing it. I’d called her Shep several times and just felt like it was weird dressing her in girl clothes sometimes before. I am not sure if she’ll be dressed super femininely while I’m in charge, but at least I can handle more gendered items. I don’t know if it’s because I’m better at parenting babies or if Maya is just an easier baby to parent, but beyond those first 3 days of her life when my milk wasn’t in and she was generally discontent, she’s been fairly consistently happy. There have only been 2 or 3 times where she was crying and I didn’t know why and I couldn’t get her to stop easily. I don’t think I could count how many times Shep was crying for mysterious reasons and we would try everything to get him to stop and nothing seemed to help. In retrospect, I feel like there might have been more of an underlying issue than I realized at the time, but hindsight is hard. It also may have had something to do with the way he was born and the general stress and trauma associated with it. I wish I could have done more for him. It’s odd, kind of, because I have left Maya with Tim for all of 2 hours since she was born and I’ve never left her to anyone else’s care. Shep was a different story. I had him in the nursery at the hospital for a while when he was in the light box for his jaundice because I just felt like there was nothing I could do for him. And I left him with Tim because I felt at my wit’s end and like there was nothing I could do then too. So Tim took him on lots of walks and such. It’s good that it was at a time where Tim wasn’t working and he had finished school. He was around a lot more! He feels like he’s missing out on this fleeting and ephemeral phase of Maya’s life because he’s at work a lot and even when he’s home he doesn’t interact with her all that much. She just likes to nurse mainly and I haven’t even pumped at all this time around. Pumping is hard for me and I have a toddler to nurse off my oversupply (if oversupply is even a problem with me, which I really don’t know that it is) anyway. Boo to the toddler nursing thing, but let’s not get into that. Maya’s stats are remaining pretty much in the same range as they have been. She’s about 10.5 pounds now and has grown a couple of inches too. Her head circumference remains around the 50% percentile, her weight about 30% and height a bit higher, though I can't remember the range. She is such a cute baby too. She’s getting eyelashes now. She has a nice round head and such nice proportional features, imo.<br />
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We love our little girl and hope she sticks around for a long long time!Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-38058167168861542262014-12-02T20:18:00.002-08:002014-12-02T20:18:40.104-08:00round 2, 37 weeks37 weeks, round 1<br />
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37 weeks, round 2<br />
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Tim says my belly looks bigger this time around but I look skinnier everywhere else. I think that's a fair assessment of this pregnancy. I've gained less weight this time and it's been concentrated in my uterus more so than my first pregnancy. I'm starting to swell and retain fluid elsewhere in my body at this point, but I can still take my wedding ring on and off! I can still wear the same shoes! My face doesn't look super fat! All good things.<br />
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As a tangential side note, I hate due dates. I keep thinking of mine now that we are in the month of and it kind of makes me feel like I do when I lose something. The other day a piece to one of Shep's toys went missing and it was really bothering me. Puzzle pieces are the worst to lose because you can't ever forget that it's gone. The due date is a similar mystery. Baby's just going to show up whenever the heck Baby shows up and this number gives you a sense of some timing but it's only a tickle, a tease. I've been suspecting that I'll give birth early based on a couple of things: (a) this pregnancy is totally different from round 1 and round 1 ended after "40 weeks," and (b) I originally estimated my due date for December 5 based on my calculation of LMP and I just can't let go of that number. Eh, what's a couple more weeks at this point, anyway? Soon is soon.Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-16529771307832048252014-08-17T21:46:00.000-07:002014-08-17T21:46:20.958-07:00windowsShep likes to have his window down in the car lately. When he gets bored of being in the car, he takes off his shoes. Once he threw both shoes out the window. It was actually very close to home when he chucked them, but we hadn't seen. We drove around all along the route we had gone, but we couldn't find them because Tim's mom, who lives upstairs, found them first and recovered them. We've tried to keep our eyes out for other littering from the back window since.<br />
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The other day I went to Home Depot and left my brother and Shep in the car while I went inside. Later, I realized Shep had removed his shoes. I only found one sitting next to his car seat. I thought the other one might be in some stuff that was on the floor and didn't take the opportunity to search at the time. Two days later, I cleaned out the car and couldn't find it anywhere. I realized the other shoe must have gotten tossed out when we had gone to Home Depot. On the weekend at night, we were sort of driving in the same area, so I decided on a lark to see if the shoe was still there. It was right where Shep left it.Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-80617372011118901512014-07-30T12:21:00.003-07:002014-07-30T12:21:54.188-07:00toddler tyrannyShep seems to have entered into a stage of full-blown two-ness. As cute as he is, I'm actually struggling to be patient with this phase. It's like doing some backcountry snow sport when there's risk of avalanche. It's kind of fun until the avalanche happens and then you're fighting for your life. Except, I derive no thrill from the possibility of tantrums, as I imagine some people derive from the risk of danger. I don't know; bad analogy. The point is, it's really fun to see his personality and language and interests develop. But it's also invariably exhausting, and often infuriating. Tantrums, which up until a few weeks ago seemed to be an occasional anomaly, now seem inevitable if the scenario he's imagined doesn't pan out exactly as he hopes. I'm trying to walk the line between accommodating the terms he sets (as far as I can understand him--limited vocabulary only takes you so far, though) and thereby avoiding anger and frustration, and alternately trying to set limits and help him deal with his big feelings.<br />
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Sometimes his feelings are disturbingly big. The other day he had a serious breakdown that seemed to come out of nowhere. After waking from his nap (his nap was quite late that day and his schedule was totally offm so maybe that's why), he started crying and spiraled quickly into a demon-possessed two-year-old. He was so full of rage and anger, screaming and crying, flailing and hitting, refusing to be held, completely unresponsive, and going on for more than a half-hour. I had no idea what to do and I had no idea what was wrong with him.<br />
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Luckily most episodes are not this extreme and his anger a bit more short-lived and thus easier to ignore, but I still find myself quite annoyed and exhausted by his wildness. Taking him shopping is such an adventure. Any stair rails are for him monkey bars to hang and swing on. Any time we hold hands is a time for him to jump and hang. Any time he is set down on the ground, it's a time for him to run wherever his whims take him. For him, maybe shopping is a really grand adventure. But for me, not so much. Instead of holding his hand while we walk together in the store, I have to either follow him as he escapes around every corner or try to hold a squirmy thirty-something-pound child, which for my out-of-shape body, is no easy task. Suddenly, the whole purpose for my trip becomes something I don't care much about getting and can wait until later for.<br />
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Yesterday, we were at a store where I found a cute $2 t-shirt for him to wear. When I showed him and asked, "Do you like this shirt?" he got pretty excited about it. The excitement extended to him trying to take off the shirt he was wearing already and put on the one that belonged to the store, demanding I help him accomplish his task. I didn't want to do it, but I put it on. Then he wanted me to take off the tag, and I did that against my will, too. Later at the register, I apologetically gave the tag to the cashier saying "He liked it so much he wanted to wear it immediately!" In the same store, we got strawberries, which he was set on eating immediately as well. He would take one or two bites out of one strawberry, but if he got anywhere near the stem, he handed it to me. And I couldn't just set it back in the container. No, I had to eat it.<br />
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In retrospect, these things are mostly amusing, but in the moment I often feel like I'm nearly out of mind trying to figure out how to handle my wild child.<br />
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<br />Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-42168810332717279262014-06-25T14:14:00.000-07:002014-06-25T14:14:02.890-07:00stitchesApparently there is a reason that rotary cutters have guards on them. They are sharp and should not be left on the floor. Shep found that out by getting a rather deep cut that ended up with us in the Primary Children's emergency room last Saturday because the urgent care clinic doesn't offer any sedation when doing stitches. I felt like I deserved the mother of the year award for being awesome and facilitating the whole incident. So instead of the million other things it seemed like we had planned, we spent the morning with our little trooper in PCMC. But now the stitches are out and the wound is healing fine, and we can finally go swimming again.Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-44640644096649628312014-06-05T13:24:00.000-07:002014-06-05T13:26:46.009-07:00antics of our two-year-oldI wanted to document a few of Shepherd's antics lately. He seems kind of like a real person lately, someone I can kind of talk to, but nevertheless someone who is really bad at carrying on a conversation.<br />
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<li>A lot of times he'll do naughty things and my response will be, "Why did you ______, Shep?" He usually looks at me earnestly and seems to proffer a pretty substantial explanation, with his funny hand gestures and facial expressions, but I have no idea what he's saying.</li>
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<li>The other day, we went on a walk in the neighborhood. Shep has developed an attachment to the children in one particular neighborhood family, it seems. Recently, he saw one of them walking up the aisle at church and followed her to sit with their family for a solid portion of the meeting. On this particular walk we were on, we went past their house on the other side of the street. Shep was riding his trike, which we push because he doesn't pedal yet (we got <a href="http://www.target.com/p/radio-flyer-kid-s-steer-stroll-trike-red/-/A-12442724">this one</a> for him not too long ago, and he loves it), and suddenly he wanted to stop and get off. I accommodated and he proceeded to run across the street and up a little bit until he got to the right house. Then he knocked on the door. The kids whom he loves were home, luckily, and welcomed him to play with them. The whole thing was just so funny. I had no idea he knew exactly where they live!</li>
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<li>The other day I was working on an editing project in bed after waking up. Shep was hanging out in the bed with me watching <i>Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood</i>. (He's watched so much of that show lately, which I have used as a crutch in order to meet this editing deadline.) He decided he wanted to get up and play, but I stayed in bed editing and didn't follow him. Then a little while later, I heard a faint "mommy" through the window. Realizing he was outside unattended and imagining him running into the street into oncoming traffic (not an unreasonable fear--this kid likes to run into the street a lot), I bolted to get some clothes on and go after him. When I reached the door, he was trying to open it from the other side. Apparently it's time to childproof the door so he can't escape!</li>
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<br />Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-70117450365712690192014-05-03T10:19:00.000-07:002014-05-03T10:20:19.192-07:00ear tube surgeryIt's been nearly a month now since Shep had his surgery. It was on April 8 at Primary Children's Medical Center. I was quite nervous about him undergoing general anesthesia, as I had read there were some risks associated with it. Luckily, it was a short procedure and didn't seem to have any lasting effects. The surgery wasn't until the afternoon, so we spent a lot of time waiting. In the morning, we met with the ENT and an audiologist for some testing. We signed up to participate in a study to test an experimental antibiotic gel instead of the standard-issue ear drops. Shep would either get the gel during surgery or a sham, but we don't know which he got. So he's had some extra visits associated with the study. (He did end up getting a round of antibiotic ear drops anyway, though, because he had some drainage on one side, which was a bit of a bummer.)<br />
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It was hard because Shep wasn't allowed to eat anything, but he really behaved marvelously, considering. We parted ways when the anesthesiologist wheeled him away to surgery in a little wagon, and then we went into the waiting room. I wonder how he did once we weren't with him anymore. It was weird to part, and I sort of wished I could go to the OR. They called us back as he was waking up in the recovery room. Poor kid was not happy at all, and it was sad to see him so out of sorts. He was very disoriented and quite upset. I'm really glad Tim was able to take the day off work and be there, because he was actually the one who was able to comfort Shep the most as we waited to be discharged.<br />
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When we got home, we all took a long nap and Shep has seemed back to normal ever since. We haven't noticed a ton of developments with his expressive language skills, although he is saying "hi," "bye," and "uh-oh" much more often and at more appropriate times. We definitely have noticed that he can hear better and he seems to be understanding more. It's really nice to know that he can hear and not wonder if he's deaf when I talk to him. I'm glad we did it when we did, even though we didn't really know for sure how long he had fluid in his ears. I don't think it would have gone away on its own.<br />
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Now we're just trying to deal with getting reimbursed for self-pay and getting insurance billed. The insurance came through after the surgery and it's kind of annoying to jump through all these hoops. Ah well . . .<br />
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<br />Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-29867448270753584762014-05-03T10:03:00.000-07:002014-05-03T10:03:00.324-07:00Zion's<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Tim had a week for Spring Break a couple of weeks ago, so we headed to Zion's for two days and one night. It was a quick trip, but I'm glad we went! (Even though Shep is passionately anti road trip.) He did marvelously on our six-hour hike, though. That long hike involved us trying to make it to Kolob Arch, but we only made it about 4 or 5 miles in, about, and the arch is 7 or 8 miles in. It was brutal carrying a very heavy pack (30-pound-baby + water + food), even though we switched off. It took us days to recover.<br /><br />The day before that, we rode the public transit up Zion's Canyon and did a short hike. Then we camped outside the park in our van. Is it just me, or is sleeping not in a bed always miserable? I always like the idea of camping, but I have a hard time liking it during the night when sleeping is turning out to be hard!<br />
<br />Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-59703594880964067252014-03-24T14:03:00.000-07:002014-03-24T14:05:19.539-07:00ear tubesI wrote in my last update about S. that I was concerned about his language development. Thank you, by the way, to those who commented with encouragement to pursue this issue further. As a parent, it's absolutely impossible not to compare your child to other children. And it's hard to see your child not behaving in ways that are as "advanced" as others' children. It somehow seems like some sort of reflection on your success as a parent. I liked something that I read recently that said something like, "Are you a good person who is a mother? Then you are a good mom." (Sorry, I don't remember the source!) And I try to remind myself of that, because there really isn't any way to measure.<br />
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Instead of resisting the idea that something was wrong with my child, I decided to pursue our concern. After being evaluated by early childhood professionals, Shep qualified for intervention services for his language development. He was also referred to an audiologist for hearing screenings. Over the course of the last couple of months, several visits to doctors and audiologists led to a diagnosis of fluid in both ears and resultant mild hearing loss. He's never shown any signs of having ear infections, though, so it was a complete mystery to me. In a few weeks, he'll be getting ear tubes.<br />
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It seems very likely that this could be the majority of the explanation for his language delay. I hope it helps! I keep telling myself that it's super common for kids to have tubes in their ears, but it is still kind of scary.Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-39845339464539976272014-01-08T15:01:00.000-08:002014-01-09T21:23:32.857-08:0021 monthsWe had a pretty good go documenting Shep's antics until he hit mobility, it seemed. I think part of the problem is that I feel that posting on the blog makes photo evidence requisite, and it's kind of a hassle to keep up the photography. Every single time I pull out a camera of any sort, Shep stops what he is doing and relentlessly pursues the new "toy." One time on the 4th of July, or maybe it was the 24th, he broke my point-and-shoot digital camera because I was stupid and said "You want my camera? Okay, here you go!"<br />
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But it is sad to think that his antics will be undocumented, and thus forgotten, so here are a few things that I want to remember about Shep right now. </div>
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It's funny how a lot of these things are alternately precious/drive me batty. I guess that means I'm the parent of a full-fledged toddler, not a baby!</div>
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<div>
<ul>
<li>He walks like a champ, and has the cute toddler run/waddle thing going on now, too. He actually has been walking for a while, but I don't think this blog has heard about it yet. He started taking steps independently when he was about 14 months, but it took him a good month or month and a half before he was comfortable with it.<br /><br />Despite being sure on his feet, he is still a cautious little guy. He doesn't really test his limits independently. We have to encourage him to do things he hasn't tried, such as walking on the snow (he still avoids that one), walking by himself in the shallow end of the pool, climbing up onto a step stool, etc. But he seems to pick things up quickly once he decides he's interested.</li>
<li>He's expressing all sorts of personality of late. For example, he gets really mad if things don't go his way when he plays with his blocks. He got Lego Duplo blocks for Christmas and some Mega Bloks from the Stoddards. I think he prefers the Duplos, but I actually took them away and hid them just today because he gets super frustrated playing with them by himself. I guess his motor skills are not quite developed enough to take them apart and put them back together effectively, so he needs someone to sit down and play with him.<br /><br />I guess this is regular toddler behavior, but he gets pretty fixed on certain things and it can be hard to distract him and redirect his attention in order to avoid tantrums. I have been the mother of <i>that </i>child who throws himself down on the floor and screams at the grocery store plenty of times now. Though I think we generally do a good job at tantrum avoidance. It happens.</li>
<li>He's not really talking much at all, but I can tell he understands several words. He says "hi" and "bye" inconsistently, but has just this week started using them more consistently at the right times. He also says "shoes" and will get his shoes when we ask him to. Sometimes he brings us his shoes when he wants to go outside, or brings us our shoes when he wants us to get going. He pushes our legs to move us to things, too. He knows a few body parts, like "nose" and "belly button." He knows "hot" and tries to say it, and I can tell he understands the meaning of the word, too, because he uses it when putting his hand close to hot food, hot water, hot stove, etc. He's known how to point to his belly button for like six months, but again, he's been pretty inconsistent. Sometimes I have wondered if his hearing is damaged, because I'll say his name or something and he doesn't respond at all. He is pretty selective at listening.<br /><br />I'm anxious for him to start talking more, especially as all of the recommendations say babies his age should be saying a lot of words. I think he knows he can communicate pretty well without words, so he isn't super motivated to learn English. He has a special dog-like pant when he wants something that we're eating or drinking, for example. There is a lot to be desired on the communication front, though. He seems to get particular scenarios in his mind that I don't telepathically understand, and it frustrates him to no end when they aren't carried out.</li>
<li>He seems to like wearing clothes, getting dressed, etc. Most of the time! Sometimes he hates it. But I'll find him trying to put on his own clothes, too. Sometimes he brings us the clothes he wants to wear (those within his reach), and he seems really into zippers. He thought the words "zip" and "zipper" were hilarious for like two days a while ago, but then gave up thinking they were funny, apparently.</li>
<li>He's been inconsistent with this one as well (I'm noting a theme here?), but he generally likes giving kisses. He is funny about his method: his kissy face is just opening his mouth in an O and then making sounds to get our attention. Almost inevitably, after giving one of us a kiss, he'll look for the other of us to kiss. Even if I'm alone with him, I'll ask him for a "kiss" and he'll give me one, but then look around for another source of affection.</li>
<li>He likes to organize similar objects, such as sorting colored pencils by color or lining them up. </li>
<li>He loves taking things out of containers and handing them to people, or moving them. He seems pretty good at sharing, in a general sense. He likes to try to feed me the food he's eating.</li>
<li>Maybe classic toddler behavior, but we have an inconsistent/picky eater.</li>
<li>I'm a lot less diligent about using the nursing cover to nurse him in public (it's a source of some inconvenience), but when I bring it along, if he wants to nurse, sometimes he'll get it out of the diaper bag and bring it to me. On the topic of nursing, which my blog readers may be sick of (but I most certainly am not!), yes, it's still happening with a fair amount of frequency. Shep nurses to fall asleep consistently. He's wakes about twice a night on average, and nurses back down. I'm not really sure, but for the most part it's really quite manageable. He also nurses a couple of other times throughout the day, but I don't really keep track. If he's bored and fussy, he does more. I do feel like I'm not as concerned about his fussy eating habits when I'm still nursing, because I feel like he's still getting decent nutrition through that.<br /><br />I could write a lot about nursing in general (like why I even feel the need to talk about it, for starters), but suffice it to say I don't think he's ready to wean anytime soon, and I'm not interested in forcing it on him. I never imagined breastfeeding a toddler, but we take it one day at a time. It is frustrating to me sometimes to nurse him, but for the most part, I'm happy to continue as long as it interests him. I do worry about weaning him sometimes, though. I don't know if he'll ever lose interest! Self-led weaning might not work for us, so if any moms have any advice about that, please let me know!</li>
<li>He has the funniest dance moves whenever we play music for him: lifting his arms like a cactus and turning in circles, bouncing and sticking out his bum, bobbing his head, etc.</li>
<li>He loves pretending to talk on the phone and has been doing that for quite some time now. It's adorable. He also likes giving cell phones to their owners, and can identify ownership here.</li>
<li>Lately (past week or so) he's really been into "helping" me with the dishes. He likes to get up on a step stool so he can reach the sink and generally make a mess with the water. He's also really into drinking water that he plays with the last few days, despite disciplinary efforts to dissuade him.<br /><br />I find myself tending to err on the side of "Whatever makes you happy, I'll allow" rather than preventing destruction, chaos, or whatever craziness might ensue from giving him free reign. This tendency worries me a bit (Is discipline something I'm even capable of?), but perhaps self-awareness will help me keep it in check. It doesn't help that when I try to say "no," Shep just laughs and does that exact thing more. It doesn't make me feel particularly effective.</li>
<li>He's gone through several object fetishes. These don't seem to run the "normal" gamut of lovie objects, such as blankies and stuffed animals. For a while it was washcloths. He went through a snack cup (filled with Cheerios) phase. He also went through a phase where he was carrying pens. (Now I have to avoid giving him pens because he is dangerous with them!)<br /><br />I got a food processor on Black Friday and he got so much mileage out of playing with the packing Styrofoam that came in the box. I think it's because they were big and light, so he could carry them around and move them to different spots. (He also liked taking the meat thermometer and poking holes in the Styrofoam.) We also just got a new package of disposable diapers, and he was doing the same thing with the individual packs of 30 or so diapers. He'd just move them from place to place. I don't really get it, but it's funny.</li>
<li>He doesn't laugh a ton, but he seems to be trying out different laughs from time to time. He went through an evil laugh phase a few months ago. It was so extreme that I got pretty fed up with hearing it, but then he stopped fortuitously. It was hilarious, though. Now he has different laughs for different situations, it seems, though I might not be able to define them all.</li>
<li>The only time we really spend time apart from each other is when he goes to nursery. He does fairly well at going, though it took several weeks of us sitting in there for him to get comfortable. Now he's okay because he likes being around other kids and knows the leaders, for the most part, but it's still a bit hit and miss. I also have worries about him being bullied. Any other parents out there experienced this? Some of the more aggressive kids hit/grab/push/etc. Shep doesn't seem to mind, but this actually happens quite a lot, and I'm not sure how to respond. I don't want him to mimic this kind of behavior.</li>
<li>(POST-PUBLICATION UPDATE) I forgot to write another thing: I love when Shep comes and sits in my lap. He does so when I put his shoes on, and when we read together sometimes. He's a cute little guy.</li>
</ul>
</div>
Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-10688142288460978292014-01-07T07:38:00.003-08:002014-01-07T07:38:50.602-08:00noisy sleeperShep makes his presence known when he's asleep. Right now he is sleeping next to me, and he is sighing softly on almost every exhale. He snores regularly. He is often a loud mouth breather when he's concentrating. It's a little embarrassing, occasionally, when it attracts attention from other people.Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-69521509975847053202013-12-03T09:08:00.003-08:002013-12-03T09:08:31.424-08:00first snow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYFNrrGkVUh19RV26casAnLwyZ0lP7Fq-XJmWR7L6g0E-O_aA7t0lox4YDunpq8Y9nN7jjGGhDA5TWzusIfpHtQFGJpbs4OFXig76tjz1ls8AqOREptPZBucmQlozvykHAFTf49QoYfY/s1600/20131203_093936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzYFNrrGkVUh19RV26casAnLwyZ0lP7Fq-XJmWR7L6g0E-O_aA7t0lox4YDunpq8Y9nN7jjGGhDA5TWzusIfpHtQFGJpbs4OFXig76tjz1ls8AqOREptPZBucmQlozvykHAFTf49QoYfY/s640/20131203_093936.jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZ50mZOWF-mtyZjCI5CtQc_RhL4796yink81z2yHXa-FTSybf4I4XPw-RMxOqbGdRnw15YQTqow927VPRsqvNXYBAXA8kS5glozFP0EubtGIBXoxtIusbGZ9nVTPTRyO8TfiQyaZ4yMY/s1600/20131203_093940+(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTZ50mZOWF-mtyZjCI5CtQc_RhL4796yink81z2yHXa-FTSybf4I4XPw-RMxOqbGdRnw15YQTqow927VPRsqvNXYBAXA8kS5glozFP0EubtGIBXoxtIusbGZ9nVTPTRyO8TfiQyaZ4yMY/s640/20131203_093940+(1).jpg" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />Snow is sticking on the ground outside for the first time this winter and I thought it would be fun to take Shep outside to discover it.<br />
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I thought wrong.<br />
<br />He refused to touch it, walk in it, or otherwise marvel in it. Time to move to Florida, I guess!Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-64773866992075554522013-06-06T12:51:00.000-07:002013-06-06T13:09:15.100-07:00what I've learned about cloth diapers<div class="MsoNormal">
<h3>
Types</h3>
<ul>
<li><b>Prefolds</b>: flat cloth with more layering sewn into the middle<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiMkurcQREPduxUAjXIue2AjiN9e-xzsBtQbXEjNViA9IPLGbyPPEz5UD8wm98T5xKWY6RpypeM78zIRueMQBSwFm4ZAxO_zbR-RXtSTC5smhjSjIGZzDyA-sccjbaWWLT8mLhxWFyU8/s1600/prefold.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDiMkurcQREPduxUAjXIue2AjiN9e-xzsBtQbXEjNViA9IPLGbyPPEz5UD8wm98T5xKWY6RpypeM78zIRueMQBSwFm4ZAxO_zbR-RXtSTC5smhjSjIGZzDyA-sccjbaWWLT8mLhxWFyU8/s320/prefold.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">image from bumritediapers.com</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</li>
<li><b>Flats</b>: Um...just flat cloth. Flats and prefolds are time-consuming to put on, but they are the cheapest cloth diapering option.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYyS_-OmYJt_pyoKdfZFI7Ub0f6G4F6U-N4SwFX4kKET5d2P4_HIMWwmQ-V0hSUWAPoSQjTb_SenG2lru1TOYo1Z8v6fDUnfkmRkRqyXRFxs0hf6uYr-GMlMW8PH8SVGL7ZuWsjO8qj4/s1600/diaper-rite-flat-diapers-rolls-250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaYyS_-OmYJt_pyoKdfZFI7Ub0f6G4F6U-N4SwFX4kKET5d2P4_HIMWwmQ-V0hSUWAPoSQjTb_SenG2lru1TOYo1Z8v6fDUnfkmRkRqyXRFxs0hf6uYr-GMlMW8PH8SVGL7ZuWsjO8qj4/s1600/diaper-rite-flat-diapers-rolls-250.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">image from clothdiapergeek.com</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><b>Fitteds</b>: cloth that is pre-shaped and has snaps. Fitted diapers are absorbent and offer great coverage.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOgmTqfKd4h-WHnQYJ-5efi07diM-oA1ps8jCuz9wzNFmX5xW0UF5BzV9xjlQn_LUKaatiFYaL_50k95YnU7toh63DXLiLtEJ7mAl5OKUxiHhmALh3iPBQt4zyq7wJL2O1y6WzQ2JHsFw/s1600/kissaluvs-fitted-diaper-250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOgmTqfKd4h-WHnQYJ-5efi07diM-oA1ps8jCuz9wzNFmX5xW0UF5BzV9xjlQn_LUKaatiFYaL_50k95YnU7toh63DXLiLtEJ7mAl5OKUxiHhmALh3iPBQt4zyq7wJL2O1y6WzQ2JHsFw/s1600/kissaluvs-fitted-diaper-250.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">image from diaperjunction.com</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</li>
</ul>
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Prefolds, flats, and fitted diapers need covers because they are not waterproof. You can put the diaper inside your cover and then put it on the baby, or you can fasten the diaper to the baby with a fastener (pins or the non-pokey Snappis) for better coverage and then put the cover on. There is a bit of a learning curve; look up special folding instructions for prefolds and flats.<br />
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<br />
<ul>
<li><b>Pockets</b>: waterproof cover with cloth pocket in which you stuff a liner/insert for absorbency. Pocket diapers wick away moisture from baby's bum and have customizable absorbency based on the number and type of inserts.</li>
</ul>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgcvFEsdzD7u-l0dwYZF6LPZcbdsGGVO5SHtVtqJAiKfYZkO-uV-Bg-Uc_KkLIQzshCY0RFqVpYqqzpHSv3AMLLLd2ox8cfXwXWk7G3Lv-han2d9JM5YBVdCpO8nLXa-9aLWr4QeI9Lk/s1600/9899pocket.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRgcvFEsdzD7u-l0dwYZF6LPZcbdsGGVO5SHtVtqJAiKfYZkO-uV-Bg-Uc_KkLIQzshCY0RFqVpYqqzpHSv3AMLLLd2ox8cfXwXWk7G3Lv-han2d9JM5YBVdCpO8nLXa-9aLWr4QeI9Lk/s320/9899pocket.gif" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small; text-align: start;">image from blueberrydiapers.com</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>All-in-ones:</b> absorbent cloth is sewn into a waterproof cover. Sorry, AIOs, you don't get a picture. I guess these ones are the least effort because all components are combined.</li>
</ul>
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<br />
<h3>
Cost</h3>
<br />
<b>Total Cost: </b>Approximately $300, not including the newborn rental kit.<br />
<br />
I honestly have no idea how much money we've saved doing this because we've used a mix of both disposable and cloth, but I think we've probably spent as much on getting to this point in cloth diapering goods as we would've spent on the disposables we didn't buy doing cloth.<br />
<br />
We now have a stash of 19-ish diapers, which I feel is a perfectly adequate number with changes every 3-ish hours during the day.<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>12 Alva pocket diapers ($5 per diaper from <a href="http://superstash.net/">superstash.net</a>. This site was such a find for me. Bonus, she gives you a sample of CJ's butter, a cloth-diaper-safe diaper cream!)</li>
<li>5 BumGenius 4.0 pocket diaper (approximately $20 per diaper, which is so expensive, but I do really like them!)</li>
<li>1 CharlieBanana pocket diaper (approximately $20 and not worth the cost, in my opine, but does have adjustable leg elastics, which is cool.)</li>
<li>1 Kawaii Snazzy Minky pocket diaper ($9)</li>
<li>1 Kawaii original diaper (approximately $7, but came free with a certain-size order at <a href="http://www.kellyscloset.com/">kellyscloset.com/</a>)</li>
<li>2 Thirsties covers (approximately $13 per cover)</li>
<li>3 Gerber prefolds that we received as a hand-me-down</li>
</ul>
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<h4>
Accessories</h4>
<br />
<ul>
<li>Reusable wipes ($12)—This expense is unnecessary, probably, because you could make your own easily or just use washcloths. We have used like one pack of store-bought baby wipes over the past 14 months for out-of-house diaper changes.</li>
<li>Pail liner ($15)—Nice to have, but you could probably just use a pail without a liner.</li>
<li>Pail ($6 for a garbage pail with a lid)</li>
<li>Diaper sprayer ($30)—Very nice to have for solid poop that doesn't knock off into the toilet easily. Also doubles as a bidet, which saves on toilet paper! Too much information?</li>
</ul>
<br />
<br />
<h3>
Cloth diapering a newborn</h3>
<br />
If you're interested in diapering your baby from the outset, you'll probably need a set of diapers specifically for the newborn phase (which is why I think rental kits are a cool idea). Most one-size diapers don't work amazingly well with tiny legs and bodies, but I've heard a few do. Fitted and prefold diapers are good options for newborn diapers, from what I can tell, because they contain explosive (read: exclusive breast-fed) newborn poop really well. Make sure to use a cover with leg gussets in order to get maximum containment!<br />
<br />
<h4>
Newborn cloth diaper rental</h4>
We did a newborn cloth diaper rental from a lady in SLC who runs Cloth Diaper Utah. I did not love the cloth diaper rental from her. First of all, the newborn AIOs that she gave us didn't actually fit Shepherd until he was 3 months old. It was a trial package of used diapers, 24 AIOs, and the fee was $100, only $25 of which was refundable. There are rental packages with better diaper options and better refund options available from cloth diaper stores online. (If you want a specific list for ideas about rental options, request it in the comments and I can e-mail you mine!)<br />
<br />
<h3>
Velcro (hook and loop) vs snap closures</h3>
<br />
I didn't love the velcro, which we used on our AIO rental and one of the Thirsties covers, because it gets worn easily and is scratchy/snaggy, and is harder to maintain. (If you do go with velcro, remember to close it/attach it in the wash to keep it nicer.)<br />
<br />
<h3>
Rashes and diaper cream</h3>
<br />
Haven't had a problem with rashes using pocket diapers, though Shep's skin is not overly sensitive. In fact, I've heard some people have fewer problems with cloth diapers because there are not as many chemicals in contact with baby's bottom, assuming you're using some good detergent. You should not use most rash creams with cloth diapers, though, because they don't wash out easily and can thus cause absorbency issues.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Type of inserts</h3>
<br />
I've heard that more natural fiber inserts (e.g., organic cotton, bamboo, and hemp) are more absorbent than microfiber, which is the type of insert that came with all of the pocket diapers we own. You can also use prefolds and flats as inserts.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Using both disposables and cloth </h3>
We use disposables at night and sometimes if we have a diaper change while we're out and about. The next step in my cloth diapering progression is to use cloth diapers at night. I'm hoping to get a few more inserts to double up before I try this.<br />
<br />
<h3>
Laundry</h3>
Cloth diapers do require rather special laundry care. If doing laundry more often for you is a major problem, this may be a deal-breaker for you. Most detergents are not ideal for cloth diapers because they leave some residue on the diapers that make them less absorbent. I've heard some people say they use Tide Original without problems, but this seems specious to me. More environmentally friendly detergents that don't contain harsh soaps are usually a better idea, but they are also harder to find in stores and more expensive. (You really should not need to use much soap in your wash cycle, though.) You should also have at least one extra rinse cycle to get them really clean.<br />
<br />
Hard water leaves mineral deposits and sometimes you'll need to "strip" your diapers to get rid of these residual deposits. RLR is a popular laundry additive used for stripping diapers, but like many detergents, it can be hard to get your hands on. I've also heard of stripping methods using Dawn, vinegar, hot water alone, boiling, and washing soda or baking soda. Boiling can harm the fibers of different inserts and ruin waterproof fabrics; hot water may not be incredibly effective; and RLR is basically the same thing as washing soda/baking soda, but in a more concentrated form. I really have a lot of faith in the power of stripping to increase the absorbency of diapers.<br />
<br />
Make sure to follow the manufacturer's instructions on the diapers.<br />
<br />
I never put my diapers in the dryer. I either hang them inside or outside to dry on a line. Hanging outside is nice because the sun does wonders on stains!<br />
<br />
<h3>
Getting used diapers</h3>
I wouldn't have any qualms about getting a rental kit of used diapers, especially from sellers that have care guidelines that renters agree to. Also because you only use rental diapers for a short time. I'd be careful about buying used diapers for a permanent stash, though, because you don't necessarily know how they've been treated, and many cloth diapers need a pretty assiduous wash routine in order to stay nice, absorbent, and functional. There are plenty of people who do not follow these recommendations and eventually it degrades the diaper. So that's why I would be wary of buying used. But if you have good, reliable information about the diaper's history before buying, why not?<br />
<br />
<h3>
Making your own cloth diapers</h3>
I actually know nothing about this, only that it's possible.<br />
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Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-79640005007161828372013-04-17T12:50:00.002-07:002013-04-17T12:54:40.680-07:0012 monthsShepherd had his first birthday on the 13th of this month. It's hard to believe it's already been a year since that one time when he was born. We are so grateful he's healthy and happy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-ya93ylmC1D86gyU5P1sINKtsjx1xmNzynKQuJCSfVvrcAD6HELJFOfp_DmIn6aYU8wc-tQfYTqet1456uQCKQbcyMZ2DfdmmBj9heC7NKlDBXTRj9ibw-32PDHmJBCd3Z2AdsGM2P8/s1600/DSC_0047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-ya93ylmC1D86gyU5P1sINKtsjx1xmNzynKQuJCSfVvrcAD6HELJFOfp_DmIn6aYU8wc-tQfYTqet1456uQCKQbcyMZ2DfdmmBj9heC7NKlDBXTRj9ibw-32PDHmJBCd3Z2AdsGM2P8/s1600/DSC_0047.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1wih1d3ln9aTWWdPhMRaKPhnLq8IQ42j1CbrpropRv9tOz3fyExCkOobqkUHmZxUTbD9MU3rtLQBpY2SUjQc_qmOeWi3IpOMefwePv_TgMT18_KvCYLPT_oK3eQiUMt4OWZ5mLZS13Y/s1600/DSC_0050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW1wih1d3ln9aTWWdPhMRaKPhnLq8IQ42j1CbrpropRv9tOz3fyExCkOobqkUHmZxUTbD9MU3rtLQBpY2SUjQc_qmOeWi3IpOMefwePv_TgMT18_KvCYLPT_oK3eQiUMt4OWZ5mLZS13Y/s1600/DSC_0050.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zzlLKpmjK3q-vliIvDBeUwFacUzqVCnZBym0x2UH6rzgOPs_MM2cOnMzRvCkxujcUN6-79D6Qd7IDP50-VvW7wwkat5Eg0M8R55VI6mHvO7_G39D4tLI5ePfjSTlMlBovXqEJnhyphenhyphenOZ8/s1600/DSC_0063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2zzlLKpmjK3q-vliIvDBeUwFacUzqVCnZBym0x2UH6rzgOPs_MM2cOnMzRvCkxujcUN6-79D6Qd7IDP50-VvW7wwkat5Eg0M8R55VI6mHvO7_G39D4tLI5ePfjSTlMlBovXqEJnhyphenhyphenOZ8/s1600/DSC_0063.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
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These days, Shepherd . . .<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Loves washcloths. I hear some kids have "loveys" and washcloths must be Shep's? He carries them around with him as he crawls around and waves them like flags and wipes stuff down with them. Is he mimicking my sometimes hyperactive cleaning habits? </li>
</ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4r_sbz74h1yDeDeWjxTbm3hE3q6073daAVHX7AlBtsli-qagIajplES1Z9Jio9KxNjhcnMNrGQaTQ3C_q06Q3fKHvHxJdqmU9ASY3T9QthHjDLB-19CU8ekvFTkWrk94_sPLm6PpLa1I/s1600/DSC_0077.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="608" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4r_sbz74h1yDeDeWjxTbm3hE3q6073daAVHX7AlBtsli-qagIajplES1Z9Jio9KxNjhcnMNrGQaTQ3C_q06Q3fKHvHxJdqmU9ASY3T9QthHjDLB-19CU8ekvFTkWrk94_sPLm6PpLa1I/s640/DSC_0077.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<ul>
<li>Can stand on his own but is too much of a wimp to do so.
</li>
<li>Is much more confident crawling and has developed a real crawl rather than his earlier army crawl--so he comfortably gets around on his own now. He still wants us to pick him up and be interacting with him most of the time, but occasionally he will go exploring on his own.</li>
<li>Still loves for us to walk with him by holding his hands.</li>
<li>Can understand some phrases we repeat often. </li>
<li>Has started throwing tantrums a bit. Watch out for the terrible twos! Sometimes, when we make him do something he doesn't like, he screams and thrashes about. It's a little bit unsettling.</li>
<li>Plays with toys and things way more often and is much better about doing so by himself. He particularly loves putting things in containers and pulling things out of containers. He is also keen on passing items back and forth with us and of course inserting items, including his hands, in our mouths. He also likes taking lids on and off when no twisting is required.</li>
<li>Loves finger food and eating by himself, but he's a picky eater. His favorites are fruit and bread. We're making some effort to keep him away from added sugar as long as we have control over what goes into his mouth, so he had a bran muffin for his birthday cake. Awesome, right? I figure one-year-olds don't actually care about cake anyway.</li>
<li>Speaking of controlling what goes into his mouth, he was eating a used wipe one day and some used cloth diapers another day. Constant vigilance is necessary and my vigilance hasn't been amazingly constant.</li>
<li>With some prompting, Shep can blow into a recorder. He also does this funny thing where he hums through his nose while we pinch it for him. It is so funny!</li>
<li>Claps and waves (though he doesn't wave consistently, he understands its functional purpose, I believe), and likes to get us to clap our hands.</li>
<li>Has 4 teeth (his two front and bottom) and the cutest developing tooth gap on top.</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU79FAhe9o-qFLt7CEnzvQhtqvOLrYF7a7OLW28w39d1RUEM3qtHnVBz8C0yq0r9bCD_AEVMxy2SJqCLlm1imzCh9P9I_nOj2L7z9W1eyDh0fYuIk4SOAVKRYhyphenhyphenRH6iU28UzBKL3X-p8s/s1600/DSC_0017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhU79FAhe9o-qFLt7CEnzvQhtqvOLrYF7a7OLW28w39d1RUEM3qtHnVBz8C0yq0r9bCD_AEVMxy2SJqCLlm1imzCh9P9I_nOj2L7z9W1eyDh0fYuIk4SOAVKRYhyphenhyphenRH6iU28UzBKL3X-p8s/s640/DSC_0017.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<ul>
<li>Helps us when we're dressing him by sticking his arms and legs through the proper holes. He knows how to do it.</li>
<li>Diversifying his babbling repertoire with new sounds. He is becoming quite long-winded.</li>
<li>Still hates his car seat and still wakes up 3-4 times a night, sadly. He is back on a good schedule with naps, though! </li>
<li>When he's not a grumpy pants, he is very smiley and happy to laugh at pretty much any moment. His sense of humor is developing, too, and that's fun to watch.</li>
</ul>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZ-cmBFgoxmyg_XCJ6bihh4SHHdxDq5Sb2CXKXxw3q1XGLOcgrDvgkYsqqRTtC01vv2PdL0zjjfmcs4PF_V0tULlBHUS8IsFmFuDZE483mS4xMtyweFwLy-J2en2kfkC8mId7nx-sUic/s1600/DSC_0035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUZ-cmBFgoxmyg_XCJ6bihh4SHHdxDq5Sb2CXKXxw3q1XGLOcgrDvgkYsqqRTtC01vv2PdL0zjjfmcs4PF_V0tULlBHUS8IsFmFuDZE483mS4xMtyweFwLy-J2en2kfkC8mId7nx-sUic/s640/DSC_0035.JPG" width="640" /></a><br />
<ul>
</ul>
Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-71410165477263553862013-04-05T20:24:00.004-07:002013-04-08T15:16:42.514-07:00baby's first year in dollarsShep is turning one-year-old next week (crazy, right?). To commemorate his birthday, I thought I'd tally up just how much he's cost us.<br />
<br />
Total cost: <b>$4497.67</b><br />
<br />
<table border="1" cellpadding="10" style="text-align: center;">
<tbody>
<tr><td><b>clothing</b></td><td><b>toys</b></td><td><b>diapering</b></td><td><b>healthcare</b></td><td><b>miscellaneous</b></td></tr>
<tr><td>$615.62</td><td>$73.04</td><td>$554.11</td><td>$2289.65</td><td>$965.25</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Just a few notes about these figures:<br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>We've spent a pretty decent portion of the diapering portion on cloth diapers, which we started doing gradually after Shep was bigger. I think the savings by using cloth diapers are going to start factoring in more in the future, since it was a large upfront cost. We use a mix of cloth and disposables, so we do have some disposable diaper expenses still.</li>
<li>We purchased most of Shep's clothes and toys second-hand.</li>
<li>There is no "feeding" category because Shep hasn't needed formula or specifically formulated baby food. He's just breastfed and/or eaten real people food.</li>
<li>We received several things as gifts both before he was born and since. These gifts aren't totally accounted for here, but I estimate the value of everything we received to be probably somewhere around $500.</li>
<li>The "healthcare" category includes our coinsurance responsibility for the hospital birth and a (partially subsidized by insurance) breast pump. That's all the expenses in that category.</li>
<li>The miscellaneous includes a lot of the big things: a crib (which we don't use! argh!), glider/rocking chair, car seat, stroller, 2 Ergo baby carriers (I lost one, sadly), a bike trailer, and 7 nursing covers. (Seriously, I have purchased 7 nursing covers. I lost 2, bought one I didn't like, and then bought 4 more that were being sold in a bundle. I figure I'll use them!)</li>
</ul>
Has anyone else tried to estimate the cost of their child in the first year? How do we compare? We've tried to be frugal, but I'm not sure if we've succeeded.<br />
<br />Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-12339602821064230632013-03-19T10:16:00.000-07:002013-03-19T10:16:11.981-07:00half-baked mobilityOccasionally I'll turn my attention away from the baby for a few moments and hear him start whining. When I investigate, I realize the cause is that he's pulled himself into a standing position somewhere (the last occurrence, it was on the door frame in the bedroom), then feels stuck and doesn't know what to do next.Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1655328206351900416.post-63937457044223196782013-03-15T08:34:00.000-07:002013-03-15T08:34:00.796-07:00His Cuteness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7aVBjXO2zbm5MhoPRBhFtBLoYQtWCGe4Sen-Mnwwhyn46AQAbt2d4b9xh_W3697y7Pz2bTU9c6hlH9S4IVluS61TtpYonGhyphenhyphenwIfsseKA-avm972N6wQLkKaRwrMvBfH6LDSS83rKAwI/s1600/DSC_0160.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="428" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht7aVBjXO2zbm5MhoPRBhFtBLoYQtWCGe4Sen-Mnwwhyn46AQAbt2d4b9xh_W3697y7Pz2bTU9c6hlH9S4IVluS61TtpYonGhyphenhyphenwIfsseKA-avm972N6wQLkKaRwrMvBfH6LDSS83rKAwI/s1600/DSC_0160.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
. . . in his Sunday clothes.Amanda S.http://www.blogger.com/profile/11252666997988047431noreply@blogger.com0