Cloth Diapers

Growing up the thought of cloth diapering would have grossed me out, but once I was pregnant with Baby G I started getting interested in them. I did a ton of research and saw that they would easily save us thousands of dollars and cloth diapers today are much easier and much cuter then the ones my mom used 30 years ago. Then there was the question of which brand do I buy. I didn't have a lot of money at the time to spend on the initial cost of the diapers, but I didn't want to buy something cheap that wouldn't hold up or that would leak every time Baby G went to the bathroom. So I did a lot more research. I looked at peoples blogs, I talked to moms who had cloth diapered, and I shopped around. Finally, I found the perfect diapers for me. They are called Sunbaby and they have been a dream. They aren't too bulky, they hold up really well, they weren't very expensive, and they hardly ever leak. The price was extremely good, plus my grandma paid for half of them, so Mr. G and I know that we have already started saving money on this deal. We have yet to buy diapers. We use disposable when we will be out of the house a while, but we haven't used very many so the diapers I received from friends and family at showers has been all we've needed so far. I was also amazed at how easy they were to use.

This is my dirty bin of diapers. It has a reusable/washable liner which is really nice. When I am ready to wash the diapers I take the bin into the washroom.
These are called "pocket" diapers so the next step is to take the inserts out so you can wash them separately then throw them both in the washer. You then want to wash your hands really good. I tried to take a picture of that step but it didn't work out very well.
You have to be careful what type of detergent you use because the wrong type will cause a build up in your diapers and your diaper will start to leak. I got this detergent at a Cotton Babies store over by St. Louis before Baby G was born. The good thing is you don't have to use much of the detergent so I am only about half way through the bottle. When you are ready to wash you first want to do a rinse cycle with no detergent in cold water to get all the gunk out of there. Then I wash with detergent and I will again finish with a rinse to make sure there is no residue left over so there will be less chance of them leaking.

When they are done I will take them outside to hang up on the clothes line.

On my way out there I saw a toad and snapped a quick picture. The lil fellow is hard to see. I think it's that camouflage thing he has going.
It doesn't take but just a minute to get them all hung up.

The neat thing about hanging them out in the sun is that the sun takes all the stains out.

It's kind of hard to see, but there are stains on both of these inserts.
But after they had been in the sun for a few hours the stains are gone. Amazing!
When they are dry I take them in and put the inserts back in the diapers so they are ready to use when Baby G needs them.
Then I put them in their basket under the changing table for easy access.
They come in all colors and designs. I tried to get colors that could work for a boy or a girl in hopes that I will be able to use these with any future kids God blesses us with.

And if you are curious whether this lil guy likes the cloth diapers or not...

Trust me when I say....He does. Here he is in one of the mint green diapers that is full and in need of a change. He seems to be perfectly content, though. In fact, I think he is playing superman.

This is after the change. We tried a brown one this time. He is still happy and ready to take on the day.

Even if that means a little tummy time.

Clay Picture Frame

Lately I have been trying to frame as many pictures of Baby G as I can and put them all over the house. You can tell that Mr. G and I are very proud parents of our lil one.

It's pictures like this that make me want to go out and buy another frame. There is one frame, though, that I have been trying to find time to put together and finally today Baby G and I got the job done.

It was a gift from Mr. G's boss and his wife. You are supposed to be able to put your lil one's picture in the middle and then put their hand print and foot print on either side in the clay. I didn't know how it was going to work out but I was excited to try.
First you take the clay out of one of the bags and knead it until it becomes soft.
Then you smash the clay into the frame and roll it out until it is flat and smooth. I found it much easier through trial-n-error to not use the lil roller they give you, but instead just use my hands.
Once you have it flat and smooth you can start the fun part.
Well, it maybe would be fun if I was doing this with a two year old, but a 12 week old baby just doesn't want to open his hand and that made things a lil tricky. The first step is to wash his hand. I usually do this periodically through out the day anyway because he somehow gets so much gunk between his fingers. After we washed him up I took his lil hand and pressed it into the soft clay.
It didn't turn out too bad, and Baby G was a good sport about putting his hand in the clay. He just kept his eyes on the fan above us the whole time.
Then you take out the other piece of clay, knead it, and smash it into the other frame. I honestly thought that it would be easier to put his foot print in then it was with his hand print but I was definitely wrong. I finally got it on the fourth try. It could be because Baby G has such a fat lil foot.
But I think it turned out okay.
Then when you are done with the prints you can put one of your favorite pictures in the frame in the middle. For some reason in the picture the right side looks tan, but in actuality it is white just like the left side. We had just got Baby G's 2 month pictures done by a friend from church and we used one of those pictures for the center frame. It took us a total of about 20 minutes to put this together and I think it turned out pretty good. I am so excited to show Mr. G when he gets home. He will be so surprised...unless, of course, he reads this post first.

Out of it

We took this picture right before bed time. Baby G loves to take about a 2 hour nap before bed time like it's his warm up before his big sleep. There is not much better in the world than a sleeping baby in your arms. Thank you, Lord!!!

Terrible Tummy Time

I have made mention before how much Baby G dislikes tummy time. His favorite is to lay on his side, he is fine with laying on his back, but hates laying on his tummy. Well, this last weekend Mr. G, Baby G, and I headed up north to visit Mr. G's family. My sister-in-law had just had a lil boy 8 weeks before Baby G so we got to talking about tummy time.

Both of our doctors are wanting us to put our babies down for tummy time at least 15 minutes twice a day. We struggle with this because Baby G & his cousin will always start crying right away and we hate to just let them lay there and cry. So towards the end of our visit we decided to see how Baby G and his cousin would do with tummy time if they did it together. We laid them both down on their tummy on the floor and watched and waited hoping for a miracle where they both would suddenly love tummy time. You can watch the video and see for yourself how it turned out.

Terrible Tummy Time Video

Bumbo

For the first time the other day Mr. G and I put Baby G in his Bumbo, and I kid you not.... It was as if he was proud of himself.

He seems to know that he is now sitting up like the rest of us.

And he is just so happy about it. He is such a big boy that he doesn't even want his pacifier anymore..... He would rather smile for the camera.

"Look at me, Dad. I'm a big boy!!!"

Many Faces

I often catch myself just staring at the face of my lil boy. I am amazed at how much he changes each day and I don't want to miss it. He seems to be growing by the minute, his hair is lightning up and getting longer all the time, and his personality is coming out more and more each day.

I enjoy the times when we can cuddle up while he sleeps. One reason is because he is so dog-on cute while he sleeps but also because I know that there will be times in the future when I will be wishing for him to tire out and fall asleep.

He doesn't cry very often but when he does ..... this may sound crazy .... but it is adorable. He lets out the sweetest lil sounds of frustration and makes the cutest lil face...... unless he is REALLY mad and then you need ear plugs and his face turns bright red. (This happened when he got his first set of shots at the doctors office last week) But what we are getting to see more and more of is his beautiful smile.

Every time I see his grin my heart melts. I can't get enough of it and lately he has been smiling a lot. Every now and again we will also hear a lil giggle when he is really excited.

No matter what mood Baby G is in....sleepy, sad, or happy....I am one happy mama. Thank you, Lord!!!!

Baby G Talking About His Day

It has been so much fun watching Baby G reach milestone after milestone, and one of the recent milestones he has met has been talking. Now of course I don't mean talking English, but his baby talk has sky rocketed lately. Mr. G captured a video of Baby G in conversation with him talking about his day. It is priceless.

Video of Baby G talking about his day

Love

Being a first time mom and getting to stay home with my precious lil boy has been absolutely wonderful, but also a learning experience. I remember Baby G's first 3 weeks at home and how anal I was about getting everything done. I wanted all the clothes washed, the dishes done, and the house picked up by the time my hubby got home from work. I also wanted to make sure I was stimulating Baby G as much as possible through out the day. After 3 weeks I realized that I was not enjoying being a mom like I thought I would. I wasn't enjoying my baby like I should've been. During that time I was reading the Duggars new book, A Love That Multiplies, and I came across a poem that hit me square in the face. Needless to say, I changed my ways. I spend most of my day playing with Baby G. I do what I can around the house when Baby G is napping but I do not stress myself out about getting certain things done each day. I am way more laid back and I think Baby G is benefiting more from that then a stressed out mama with a spotless house. And praise God that my husband agrees. Here is the poem I was telling you about. It now hangs on my refrigerator as a reminder of what love is.

Love

If I live in a house of spotless beauty with everything in its place,

but have not love -- I am a housekeeper, not a homemaker.

If I have time for waxing, polishing, and decorative achievements,

but have not love -- my children learn of cleanliness, not godliness.

Love leaves the dust in search of a child's laugh.

Love smiles at the tiny fingerprints on a newly cleaned window.

Love wipes away the tears before it wipes up the spilled milk.

Love picks up the child before it picks up the toys.

Love is present through trials.

Love reprimands, reproves, and is responsive.

As a mother there is much I must teach my child,

but the greatest of all is ...LOVE.

Cardinal Bobble Head Doll

I must say that this is by far the cutest bobble head doll there is, and no.... it is not for sale.

Cardinal Bobble Head Doll Video

Sleep Your Life Away

Growing up my mom and dad would come in to wake me in the morning. Just like every kid I never wanted to get up but then I would hear my dad say, "You don't wanna sleep your life away." The funny thing was, at that point laying in bed, sleeping my life away didn't sound so bad. Well, Baby G has followed in my footsteps and enjoys sleeping the day away. The last few days I have been able to take pictures of him doing just that.Here's Gampa asleep with BabyG yesterday while mom and I went for a walk.

Here is Baby G with his aunt sound asleep right before my brothers wedding. What you can't see in this picture is the lil kids running around playing, and yet Baby G slept right through it.

Here is Mr. G and Baby G asleep the morning of my brothers wedding. Absolutely precious.

Baby G has realized lately that he has hands. I think since his pacifier fell out he was making due with his finger.

Not sure why this one is sideways, but you can see Baby G in one of his favorite sleeping positions. He has always loved having at least one arm up by his face.

And this is one of my favorites. He truly slept this way for about 30 minutes.
Baby G works hard at sleeping. In fact he is asleep right now in my arms as I write this. I will miss these days when he is older.

Grammy & Papa

It had been a few weeks since Mr. G's parents had seen Baby G so it was no surprise when they wanted to make the trip down Saturday to see their grandson. They could not believe how much he has grown. His Grammy even had to undress him just to see his tummy and what she calls his "tree trunk legs." His Papa kept joking that Baby G is going to grow up and be a swamp king wrestling alligators. It was a hoot. While they were here we were able to sit down to watch all of our home videos of Baby G going all the way back to the hospital.

They are so proud of Baby G and were getting so many big smiles from him.

He is definitely loved.