My love for the fluffy butt

We started using cloth diapers on Ty when he was about 6 months old.  Disposable diapers were EXPENSIVE, even buying the bulk boxes from Costco.  Steve and I decided to give it a go, and I ordered a diaper trial (there are many available-- just Google).  These are great for deciding which types of diapers work best for you.  For $110, we got to try prefolds, pockets, fitteds, and all-in-ones (for more info on what these terms mean, visit my Examiner article.)  The diapers that you don't like you just send back for a refund.  Once I knew what I liked, I slowly built my stash with a mix of new and used (mostly bought on Craigslist) diapers.

We've been cloth diapering Ty for almost 2 years, and Lily since about 2 weeks after she was born.  Unfortunately, we have some very heavy wetters, and have yet to find a cloth system for overnight, so both kids are in disposables then.  Ty sleeps through the night, and Lily only wakes up once for a bottle.  She just started soaking through her double stuffed pocket diapers, so I grabbed a cheap (smelly!) pack of disposables until we can maybe find an overnight system for her. 

While the start up cost can be a little scary, especially if you buy new, it's all worth it in the end.  You can Google the actual figures, but basically, you will save hundreds or thousands of dollars by using cloth.  You will also help keep diapers out of rapidly growing landfills.  Plus, let's face it-- cloth diaper butts are damned cute!

I am writing this post to illustrate not only how fun cloth diapering can be, but to also give a shout out to the KellyWels.com sweepstakes.  She is offering one winner a set of 18 BumGenius 4.0 One Size diapers, a diaper sprayer (essential, if you ask me), and a diaper pail liner.  This package is worth $340, and depending on the age of your child, those 18 diapers could be enough for you to cloth diaper full time, while washing every couple of days.  While yes, I would love to win this contest (I LOVE BumGenius diapers!) I also want to make it available to others.  Visit the KellyWels.com website for more information, as well as the official entry form.

If anyone wants more information on cloth diapering, just let me know!

Sleep, you elusive mistress

Yep, it's another post in which I bitch about my kids not sleeping.

Lily's  napping has improved somewhat.  At least 3-4 days a week, she takes a pretty good 1 1/2 hour afternoon nap.  Which is ironic, because at least 3-4 days a week, Ty boycotts his nap.  And that is NOT good for him.  He fights it Every.  Single.  Day.  Sometimes he eventually drifts off, others he does not.

It came to a head Saturday.  I got him up at 7 for the 5K that we were running walking.  Put him down for a nap around 1 (normal time) and he just would not sleep.  So we decided he could just go to bed early.  Around 5 he and I ran down the road to pick up a movie.  He wanted to keep riding around, so I took the long way home.  And he fell asleep-- HARD!  No matter what we did, he would not wake up.  He napped for about 30-45 minutes, and we had to wake him up about 6 to eat.  Hoo boy, that was not fun.  He sobbed and screamed and kicked and yelled and hit and whined...  He was so tired.  He screamed during his shower, screamed when we tried to hold him.  We tried putting him to bed.  I laid down with him, talked softly, until it escalated to me threatening him.  I finally broke down crying at about 9, because I was so mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted.  Steve convinced me to just let him hang out with us until we went to bed.  So Ty was released from his room, where he proceeded to play and watch "Iron Man 2" with us until we all went to bed at midnight.

So that's the shitty thing about having 2 young kids.  As soon as you get one figured out, the other one lobs something else at you.

**Montage Mondays have been temporarily discontinued, due to the fact that I am so busy just trying to keep the house from collapsing under piles of laundry that I have not had time to take many pictures.

Things I Love

With the theme of Valentine's Day obviously being "love," here are a few things I'm lovin' right now.

1. Coffee (though this is in no particular order, coffee is and will always be #1 on my list.  It allows me to function with a smile.)
2. Ty sitting on my lap and babbling, though I have no idea what he's saying.
3. Gummy grins from Lily.

 4. Date night.
5. Shrimp po boys; homemade is good, in New Orleans is better.
6. New Orleans.
7. Reminiscing with new friends about our shared love of Atlanta over a bottle (or two) of wine.
8. Velour crib sheets, organic mattress pads, an inclined mattress and laying on the tummy to sleep, which has given Lily some of the best sleep she has ever had.
9. Cool weather.
10. Skinny jeans and tall boots.  I feel more fashionable that I have in years!
11. The Coffeehouse music channel on Direct TV.  It reminds me of Organic X.
12. Bare baby feets.

 13. When Ty hears a train and perks up, saying "Shoo shoo!"
14. Converse shoes.

 15. Mylicon gas drops.
16. Ikea.
17. Ty's three animal sounds: elephant, snake, and monkey.
18. Florence and the Machine.
19. Crockpot meals.
20. The love my kids have for one another.

What do you love today?

Of course they cried. Babies cry.

I can't stand to hear my kids cry.  Of course, I know that crying, especially as a baby, is a form of communication.  And that Lily is crying because she's: hungry, bored, has a dirty diaper, is overtired (the most common cry from her).  I know Ty, as a toddler/preschooler (whatever he is now) cries for a reason-- frustration, anger, hurt, tiredness, etc.  And it is inevitable that it happens.  Ty cried this morning because I made him put his clothes on-- sorry kid, but ya gotta do it.  And Lily cried because she couldn't fall back asleep after her nap (which are improving from 15-20 minutes at a time to 45 minutes-1 hour).

Of course, there are times in which I will take a picture before comforting.

That's not to say that I never let my children cry.  There are times when I'm caring for one child, and can't get to the other fast enough.  Or if I'm making a bottle for Lily.  Or if I've put Ty in time out for hitting.  But I've never been one to let my kids "cry it out."  I did it once with Ty (when he was about 21 months) during the month before Lily was born in which he would not go to sleep at night without a fight.  I hadn't eaten, and I finally left his room at 10:00 so I could eat dinner.  He cried for 20 minutes straight, and never fell asleep.  The dinner tasted like crap.

And I can't bring myself to let Lily cry it out, even when she is having such a hard time with her naps.  I've let her fuss a little in her crib, which has once or twice succeeded in her falling asleep, but never cry.  That's not to say that I won't (I'm slowly reaching the end of my rope when it comes to her naps), but she and I aren't ready yet.

Steve tells me to be patient and let her work it out herself.  He says that if I go rescue her whenever she makes a noise, she will never learn how to self-soothe.  I agree, to a certain extent-- I won't intervene if she's making her "sick cat" noises (screeching) but I will if she's crying (tears).  Steve has surmised that it must be a "mom thing"-- we can't stand to hear our babies cry.  Not that he's heartless!  He just doesn't get as stressed about the crying as I do.

What do you think?  Is it a mom thing not to let our children cry?

Monday Montage

It DID snow in South Texas last week!  The snow started overnight Thursday, stuck to the ground, and was melted by Friday afternoon.  I did manage to get a few pictures of the kids in the snow (although I couldn't find Ty's mittens, so he could only bear being outside for about 5 minutes).  Check out those pictures on my family blog.

Last week started out nice and warm.

Then turned cold the next day.

 

We got Ty a new bed!

And we also went to a Super Bowl party.  Ty could not have cared less about the game; he just wanted to play with his friends' toys.

And some cute pics from today to wrap things up.

Antarctica, and other random musings

Oh my god, it is SO COLD!  San Antonio has been hit by an "arctic freeze" this week, dropping temperatures from a balmy 75 on Monday to a cold and windy 30 on Tuesday.  Yesterday and today the temps were in the 20s, due to the cloud coverage, and tonight we may get snow.  But I'm skeptical.  In December of '09 the forecast called for freezing temperatures and snow one day.  Work was canceled.  So I stayed home, giddy with the anticipation of snow-- only to wake up and find glaring sunlight and maybe 2 flakes (though it did snow on the south side of town-- where my work was located.)  So when I hear a forecast of snow, I take it with a grain of salt.

To be expected, we've been spending a lot of our time bundled up inside.  I will barely open the back door to let the dogs out.  I think we're all going a little stir crazy, though.  Ty had a meltdown today because he couldn't open the glitter stickers he found.  I finally took them away from him, causing hysterics, which then set Lily off.  Is it 5:00 yet?  Can I crack open a beer? 

And then Lily, who has been barely spitting up and in much better spirits since her switch to soy formula, did not want to be put down.  I couldn't even sit down with her; she wanted me to be up and moving, while she took in the world from the view over my left shoulder.  I'm hoping it's a temporary mood shift.  Maybe it's because she refuses to nap more than 20-30 minutes at a time during the day (though she's been a rock star overnight!)  Maybe my expectations are too high, and that's just how she's going to nap.  And it wouldn't be such a big deal if she wasn't so cranky afterward.  So I know she didn't get all of her sleep out.  I would love for her to learn to soothe herself, but it just ain't happening.  And no, I will not allow my 4 month old to cry it out.  I guess I'll just have to suck it up and see what happens.  Any suggestions???

Yep, she's up again.