Saturday, August 30, 2008

Where has chilvary gone?

My mom and I drove out to east Texas to visit my grandparents. On the way home we had a flat. I mean my tired was shredded to bits. So starts the beginning of the rest of a miserable day. We noticed the tire pretty much right away. I mean how can you miss the sound of your rim hitting the asphalt right? So we pulled into a parking lot and proceeded to search for the doughnut tire. After pulling out the manual we found out where it was and to make a long story short, while my mom walked to find some help I pulled the tire out and got the jack ready. Well the jack turned out to be practially nothing, and it required turning a screw about a billion times to get it up and then of course back down. While I am very obviously changing a flat and its pretty obvious by the 2 strollers, diaper bags, and so on that I have kids, car after car passes me by. One was even as kind as to slow down and gawk at me. Not a single person offered to help me. Not one. Not even so much as a "hey can I give someone a call for you?". Luckily my mother managed to find help. Odly enough in the form of a woman. She looked like she had changed more than one tire in her life, and best of all she had a floor jack in her trunk! So she takes off the old tire, which neither my mother nor I had the body weight to get loose. Now mind you I do have all three of my children in the car, and THANK GOD I could leave the AC on, but at this point Luke was getting quite peeved over the fact that doors kept being opened and shut. Anyways, right as the lady gets the old tire off a man from the same office as her comes over to help and finishes the job. Awesome. The whole thing took about 30 min. Not so bad. So now we start the journey to the nearest Walmart to have a new tire put on. On the way we stop to feed Luke and as I opened the hatch the darn tire falls out. So this thing weighs quite abit and on top of it I am 3 weeks post c-section, and like a dummy rather than wait on mom to get out of the store I proceeded to put the tire back. All the while a man pumping his gas is just steadily staring at me, once again with no offer to help. I finally get the darn thing back in and we arrive at Walmart only to find out that they dont carry that tire. So he checks a few other Walmarts and still nothing. On the way home I call a few more and again nothing. All of the smaller tire places are closed for the weekend so we resign to the fact that I am going to have to wait until Tuesday. We get almost home when I see that the Forney NTB is open and after asking we find out that they do carry the tire!! That darn thing cost me $150!!!!

So the moral of the story, dont get a flat tire during Labor Day weekend and Dont expect help if you do!

On a side note, Brandies husband so sweetly was willing to drive all the way out to help us (my husband was in a test and I didnt even get ahold of him until we were almost home).

Friday, August 29, 2008

Quirk Off

Answering my tag by Brandie to list 6 quirks about myself. I hope I still have friends after this.



1. I am a picker. I pick at zits, dry skin, anything worth popping or picking, I am there. I do it to myself and my kids. I would do it to random strangers if they would let me. Now how creepy is that?


2. I cant stand to hear someone whistling out of their nose when they breathe. It will keep me awake at night to the point of me kicking or pinching a nose.

3. Certain shapes of trees freak me out. I totally wig out over knarled or really bumpy looking trees. Oh and definitely dont ask me to touch one! I can barely stand to look at them.

4. I have a unibrow. No seriously. If I do not pluck my eyebrows will actually grow into each other. I think I must be related to Burt in some way. I actually warned people at work when I let them grow to be waxed.

5. I am not a good house wife. Sure I love to stay home, but I would much rather be playing with my kids than doing laundry. I am lucky to have a husband who puts up with my half-attempts at keeping the house at least safe.

6. I am notorious for leaving things until the last minute. Hopefully, you dont actually realize it because I usually end up pretty organized but it is only because I was up until 2 am getting things together!

I would tag some more people but I dont have alot of blogger friends yet and Brandie already tagged Julie and Breanne.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

Moby Wrap and Cloth Dipes

So I finally made it out to Peppermint to get the x-small covers. Luke is officially a cloth diapered baby. Of course this is right after I spent $11 on sposies last night :S. He had a diaper rash pretty much the whole first two weeks of his life from those stinkin pampers. The covers are so cute on him. I got bright red, blue and orange and just layed liners into them. Ok so the model baby here is a girl but you can just see how cute they are!





The other thing I am totally loving is my Moby. I really needed to clean house today and of course little man was not having it. So I snuggled him into the wrap and he is now sound asleep and my house is now decent. This thing is going to be a life saver for sure.

Last but not least, I took Luke in for his first well baby visit today. Oh goodness can little one eat and it shows! He gained 10oz in 4 days to make him 5lbs 8oz! I guess that is what happens when you eat every 2 hours. He is looking great. He might have blocked tear ducts but the doctor said it should clear up within the month. I just can't get over his weight!

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

PS

Brianna tied her shoe all by herself today!!

Post Partum Break Outs and Coupon Clipping

So what is up with the breakouts on my chin?! It's like I am 13 again. Every time one goes the next one pops up. It's really getting old. I am sure it's hormonal. I did it even worse with Brianna and Keira.


We had a fun day today clipping coupons over at Brandie's house. I was so behind! I still have a bit to do but it really helped to get so much done today. Now I just have to spend the next few days filing them LOL. Speaking of I guess I better get it together since I am meeting Kim at Kroger tonight!

Sunday, August 24, 2008

Rockin Walmart

So normally I really hate shopping at Walmart. Its expensive and they are not usually welcoming of coupon users. Especially if we are really getting a great deal. This time I got a great cashier and even when the CS manager had to come approve my use of so many coupons (I exceeded the $ amount allowed?) it was painless. Here is what I got:


3 Wheat Thins Crackers- FREE
3 Oscar Meyer Franks- FREE
3 Sarah Lee Breads- FREE
3 Kraft Dressings- FREE
3 Kraft Singles- FREE
3 Crystal Light Lemonaids- FREE
45 Single Packs of Koolaid- $9.00
2 Double Packs News Papers- $9.00
8 Glade Plugins- $.96
3 Johnsons Cotton Swabs- $1.74
1 NB Outfit- $2.00
1 5 Pack of bibs- $6.88
1 6 Pack Socks- $5.88
1 Huggies Wash Cloths- $1.62

Total Before Coupons $114 +tax
Total After Coupons $38.04 +tax

Savings of 67% before tax!!!

The only reason my total was even that high was because I just had to have sock and bibs for Luke.

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Luke is home!!

Yes, our little man is home! We were discharged this afternoon around 1:30pm. We didn't tell the girls so they got a big surprise when they came in from the back yard to find baby brother home. He is settling in. It was a bit crazy for a while. The girls were "helping" and just wanted to come kiss him every few minutes (CUTE!). Poor guy was all confused. Now that it is evening he is settling. I hope he is this good of a sleeper during the night! I wouldn't mind a good 3 hour stretch of sleep haha.

Friday, August 22, 2008

5 bottles and a boobie

Ok how many of you hate the word boobie? I actually dont like it that much myself LOL. I am not even sure if that is how you spell it.

To the point, last night Luke took 5 bottles and did a 20 nursing session on mommy! I talked to the nurse this morning and apparently they had him on a nipple/gavage/nipple/gavage schedule and his orders are now nipple/nipple/gavage/nipple/nipple/gavage. I dont really understand why he is being gavaged at all at this point, but since I am rooming in tonight havent asked about it. Hopefully it will be moot anyways. Now I am waiting on the nurse to call me back with the official room in order and a room number that Luke and I will be in tonight.

I cant wait until I can nurse him constantly. I am doing good with pumping but it sure does get old. Its not nearly as relaxing as actually having Luke do the job!

I wish Karl could be with me up there, but I am trying to keep things as stable as possible for my princesses. They are already so confused, even if they dont know it. I have noticed that Keira has been extra whiney the last few days and Bri seems to be very tired. I feel so bad that I have had to disrupt them so much. They are very excited about the prospect of bringing baby brother home. I cant wait to see how the house dynamic changes with little one home.

Lastly, I am trying to finish up my schedules for school. I have to admit that I wonder how smart I am being going back to work with Luke so small. At least he will be with me and of course I have lots of help from all the wonderful ladies at work.

Well its that time again...

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Birth Announcement in England

This is the birth announcement put in the Preston paper over in Karl's homeland. It is actually online and in the paper version.

Announcing Luke Andres Molder

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Rooming in

So the last step before getting to take Luke home is to room in with him. So today I am going to talk to the charge nurse about doing our rooming in this weekend. Luke HATES the bottle but nurses very well at the breast so I need to be there for a full 24-48 hours to "prove" to them that he is able to eat efficently. Hopefully this weekend will be the last he is there! We are so ready to have him home. I cant believe its been 8 days since he was born.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Soggy Bread

I hate soggy bread. It drives me crazy and makes me physically ill to see bread in the sink. It's so gross! I don't know how anyone can use bread to sop up gravy either. The texture in your mouth is so slimey. GAG! I also have a similar problem with wet toilet paper. Today I walked into the bathroom and found that my daughter had soaked some in order to wipe her arm off and then left it there on the counter. It was just discusting looking. I had to close my eyes while I got rid of it.

Sunday, August 17, 2008

What do I chose?

Little Luke has been nursing like a trooper. The thing is that I only get up there for 1 or 2 meals a day. The rest of the time I pump. So today he nursed for 10 min. Awesome! However, for some reason they are not counting the time he nurses in with how much he is eating. So even if he nurses for 10 min if he doesnt eat the full 40cc's out of the bottle they count it as a failed attempt at nippling. To me that makes no sense! If he nurses for 10 min he may actually only be hungry for 25cc's or whatever. So here is my dilema, if I nurse him he gets tired (or full) and cant finish the bottle, but my only other choice is to just to let him eat the BM out of the bottle every time instead of attempting to nurse because the nurses arent couting his time at the breast as eating. I mean I guess the good thing is that either way he is getting the breast milk but I have really been looking forward to nursing! So do I give up nursing at least for now?

Saturday, August 16, 2008

A little toot on my own horn

Alright I am going to give myself a little pat on the back for a minute. If you have ever breast fed you know that in itself is hard. It hurts at least for a while, and you never get a break, and well it's just hard! So the fact that I have managed to pump for almost a week is just amazing to me. Luke has tried to nurse a few times but I still pump every 2 hours, even through the night. The fact that I have a c-seciton incision healing makes it even more amazing, because it still hurts quite a bit to sit up and pumping requires that I sit up, pump, put the milk in the fridge and then wash all of my equipment to get ready for the next session. Anyways, like I said just a toot of my own horn. Now lets pray that Luke can start nursing at the breast soon and I can cut down the pumping sessions to a few times a day!

Some Pictures of My Little Man







Its really hard to believe that this little peanut inside my tummy at 10 weeks is now this beautiful little boy. How can you just not be amazed by what God has given us the ability to create?! How can I even be close to being worthy of having this privilege?

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Baby Luke

I finally remembered my password (I blame it on those oh so good pain killers) and have pictures to share! So here is our birth story:


Wednesday August 6th after much encouragement from my friends at work I went to the doctors office to see about contractions coming pretty close together. I wasn't showing any signs of progressing into labor in his office but he sent me to L&D triage to get the first in a set of two steroid shots. While I was there they routinely admitted me and hooked me up to monitors. Turns out I was contracting as fast at 1 minute apart! After about 2 hours of that I was given Terbutaline (muscle relaxer to stop contractions) and since things calmed down I was sent home with orders to keep it easy and to take oral terb as needed. I went back in on Thurday to get the second shot and didnt realize until I got there that my daughter had taken my Rx out of my purse, so I saw the doctor and he told me just to hold on a few more days. I made it until Monday before I had to go back because the terb just wasnt doing anything. When the doctor checked me he said that I was still closed but that Luke's head was very low. He went ahead and sent me over to triage again to be monitored. Again I was contracting very fast, up to once every 2 minutes. I got the first Terb injection and it helped for about 20 min and they were back. I did two more terbs and the second steroid before they admitted me in for 24 hour observation. During that time I started getting hard contractions, efacing and Luke dropped even further down. When my doctor came in he decided that since my contractions were coming so hard and so fast that it was better to go ahead and do a c-section to prevent a uterine rupture. I had hoped to avoid a c-section but considering what was going on I decided to go ahead.

So I call Karl and tell him that they are going to do the c-section in about 20 min and that he needed to drive up to the hospital(about 15 min from where he was). The nurse comes in to tell me that I am set up for 2pm. This gives Karl plenty of time to get up to the hospital (almost an hour). After about 45 minutes I called Karl because I was afraid he wasnt going to make it. Turns out that he stopped at McDonalds and ate there on his way to the hospital!! I am about to give birth and he stops at McDonalds! I can laugh about it now but it sure didnt do much for me at the time.

Back to Luke. I am taken back for the c-section and it goes as planned. Luke had a moment where he needed to be stimulated to breathe but after a few seconds was screaming in full protest. I was pretty drugged so only have vague memories of what happened after they showed him to me.

Luke Andres
Born August 12th 2008
4lbs 14 oz and 18in

He will be in the NICU, he is trying to nurse but until he can eat all of his feeds by himself. In the mean time I am pumping. We should have him home early next week!

Saturday, August 9, 2008

Dr. Suess

Dr Suess


I got a kick out of how profound children's books can be. These are quotes from Dr. Seuss

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams."

"Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind."

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!"

"A person's a person, no matter how small."

Fun is good."

""I'm sorry to say
so but, sadly it's true
that bang-ups and hang-ups
can happen to you""

Just tell yourself, Duckie, you're really quite lucky!"

10 myths about cloth diapering

I didnt write this but its good :)

Ten Myths About Cloth Diapering

1. You have to toilet-dunk.

This was the 1 reason I went with disposables (yes, I confess!) with my daughter when she was first born. The belief that you must dunk your diapers in the toilet and flush repeatedly or use a "diaper duck" to clean them is simply not true. Toilet dunking is for the birds! Diaper services don't require you to dunk your diapers, so why should you? Let your machine do the work for you -- most moms these days do. If your baby or toddler has well-formed solid poops, sure, you can toss the solids into the toilet -- but for messy jobs, don't fret it. If we can do it, so can you!

Little known fact: Did you know that you aren't supposed to dispose of human waste from any diaper, disposables included? It says so right on the package.

2. Cloth diapers don't keep your baby dry.

Disposable diapers have helped proliferate the myth that "a dry baby is a clean baby". Disposables use the super-absorbing chemical polyacrylate (why disposables often feel like a squishy "gel" inside the inner panels), which makes the diaper "a wearable toilet" of sorts. Parents are supposed to change their baby's diaper when they soil themselves, however with the advent of these super-absorbent and many times dry feeling chemical-laden disposable diapers, they get changed, typically, much less frequently. I have actually heard of parents who feel changing a baby five times a day is adequate! Sad, but true. With cloth, not only is it easy to tell when your baby is due for a change, they also potty train much sooner because toddlers can actually feel when they wet themselves (imagine that!). The gel in disposables also will draw moisture from your baby's skin! I remember when my daughter was in disposables (yes, I confess, I was a disposable user!), I would actually find these gel "beads" on her diaper area.

3. You have to change cloth diapers more often.

With disposables, babies sadly don't always get changed when they soil themselves (because they "feel" dry, see myth 2, above). However the American Academy of Pediatrics states, "Regardless of which type of diaper you use, diaper rash occurs less often and is less severe when you change diapers often." Changing your baby's diaper when they wet themselves seems an easy and common sense enough approach for all parents to be able to adhere to.

4. Cloth diapers, and diaper pails, smell.

Cloth diapers smell no worse than disposables, in fact many new-to-cloth moms have told me that their disposables smelled far worse than their new cloth diapers do (I guess that's why the Diaper Genie was invented...). And a good air-tight diaper pail that uses non-toxic deodorizer disks like "Deodisks ®" keeps an unwanted odors at bay.

5. Cloth diapering is more difficult.

Doing my diaper laundry one or two times a week is much less trouble than having to get dressed, get the baby ready and make a run to the store for disposables when I suddenly realize I am out. In a pinch, you can even use doublers as a diaper subsitute while you do your laundry. You are truly never out of diapers. Imagine never having to leave your living room for diapers in the middle of the night!

6. Cloth diapering is more time consuming.

I can get my diapers washed and dried while me and my daughter eat our lunch and play around the house. There is .. --> img src="http://www.CuddleBunsdiapers.com/images/time.gif" width=75 height=57 border=0 align="right" alt="clock" -->no need to run out to the store or waste time in the car when we could be playing or learning! Folding diapers, while not necessary (many people use a decorative basket in the nursery for this purpose), is a fun activity for me and my 17 month old to do together. It makes her feel important as she helps Mama with the folding, and we practice her numbers by counting as we stack the diapers.

7. You have to use diaper pins.

While some moms still love the art of pinning with the quaint appearance and snug fit it provides, others, including me, were frightened by it! If you are scared of pins or simply don't even want to try, fear not, CuddleBuns™ has your answer! Snap and velcro fitted diapers are as easy to put on as disposables, and prefolds folded in thirds and then layed down the middle of a snug velcro wrap are as easy as 1-2-3! There are also clips and other fasteners available as diaper pin subsitutes.

8. You have to use a diaper service.

...and aren't they expensive? Yes, they can be. In fact in some geographical areas, they are more expensive than disposables! Though this is rare, you can still save significantly over disposables and cloth diaper services by home laundering your own premium quality cloth diapers. Diaper services for the most part only offer prefolds, and not the attractive and convenient fitted diapers that many moms today have grown to love, and some can't do without! Home laundering is simple and easy, just wash the CuddleBuns™ way!

9. Cloth diapering is more expensive (after factoring the cost of detegerent, water and electricity).

Not even close. Disposables cost an average of $1000-$2000 (depending on brand and geographical area) over the course of one child's diapering years. Cloth diapers not only cost an average of only $150-$300 , but they can be used over and over on subsequent children with only a handful of replacements from wear and tear. The water usage equals the same amount they would use as a potty trained child who was toilet trained, and the electricity usage is minimal. Add to all this that it takes more water, per diaper, to produce a disposable diaper than a cloth one!

10. Cloth diapers are bulky.

Snug fitting wraps and covers with a prefold folded in thirds down the middle, a dense flannel or interlock ("t-shirt") fitted diaper (flannel tends to be trimmer than terry, with interlock being the very trimmest) can actually be quite thin -- and rival even the trimmest disposable!

Reviving the blog

Ok since I now have blogger friends I decided to come back to this blog and post here instead of on MySpace where I had been blogging. I have to figure this site out so once I do I will link my friends pages up to mine :) In the mean time I am moving all of my other blogs over here shortly!