Birthdays!

I've been coveting these diaper bags for MONTHS! She did a fun little giveaway last month for Valentine's Day and she's at it again for her sweet boy's birthdays.  Check out her blog post (http://thenessblog.com/2012/03/12/its-a-birthday-celebration/). Then I remembered I forgot to post photos about my own little miracle's first birthday! So this is a double birthday post!

We made some monogram crayon canvas art for all the cousins. 

I think this was her first exposure to sugar or chocolate. 

This face says it all!

And now for the fun giveaway stuff for "BRAY-DRAY"!

Here are your birthday cards!

And lastly your birthday cake and song! Sorry you couldn't eat some cake with us but feel free to watch the movie and sing along. I hope you and your family have very fun birthdays this wonderful month of March!

Another cloth diaper video

I've had a few more questions about cloth diapers. If you have more questions leave a comment and I'll try and make another (and shorter) video. I'd also like to talk about a great foundation called Giving Diapers Giving Hope. Since I one something in their big giveaway from their sponsor Go Green Baby Co. I am passing along 8 diapers, 10 pockets and 2 covers I don't use much anymore so they can be used by families that need them.

How to win "stuff"

OK I'm trying to think of all the things I've "won" through the years. I use to think I didn't have any luck. Then one of my professors said something that stuck with me. Something along the lines of lucky people see opportunities, and act upon them.  So I decided I should just try and eventually I won a few things here and there. That got addicting. I LOVE free stuff! You can get stuff a number of ways.

Here's a list of things I've won in the past 5 years . . .
* I once won $75 in gift certificates from my local mall on Black Friday. I was also luckily married to the grand prize winner of $1000! (first thing he ever won)
* I've won lots of stuff from local radio stations. Check out their websites and they do lots of raffles. So far I've gotten movie tickets, a wii game, and a 2 night "Staycation"!
* I've won a few things from Shari Criso's My Baby Experts TV show on Ustream. I won a set of her Nurturewear (which I'm currently wearing, SO COMFY) and I've recently won a parenting book from one of her recent guests. Her show is an awesome community of women and every weeks episode I learn something new.
* I won an awesome package of gifts from Mamma's Milk for winning a photo contest they were holding on their Facebook fan page. I got a sling, swipes holder and diaper clutch changing station. They are high quality and I love the diaper clutch changing station. What a great baby shower gift!
*Other Facebook fan things I have won are from Bumkins who have the cutest Dr. Seuss products. I've got a one fish two fish red fish blue fish diaper and tee shirt. I have also won a Thirsties diapers but I'm stil waiting to get that one, and can't wait to review it.
. . . and I'm sure there are a few I'm forgetting.

CLIFFNOTES:
- make a separate email for all those entries
- start liking a bunch of different fan pages
- just sign up for a bunch of "little" giveaways, they add up!

So if you want me to go into more detail please comment and I will take pictures and review them in more depth.  I know many friends have asked me how I've won so much stuff and I know many of you have questions about cloth diapering. Hopefully as you guys comment and get other people to follow my blog I can turn this into a blog that reviews and gives stuff away to my readers. Midnight Mommy is looking for a cloth diapering momma (like myself) to test, review and giveaway some products from Kebbie's Diaper Bag. If there is something I love more than getting things, it would be giving them away to others!

Diaper Giveaways.

Most of you know already, but I've been cloth diapering my daughter and I'm in love with it. Lots of people think I'm crazy to cloth diaper, but it really is great. This blog is great it features different little giveaways on their site. If you are thinking about cloth diapering this is a great way to build your stash. I think I've won 2 or 3 diapers over the past year and other prizes from different blogs and photo contests. I just can't believe I didn't know about this blog sooner. I'm already a BIG fan. The link below is a giveaway for BumGenius 3 pack. These were the fist diapers I purchased and they have not disappointed. I think my top 3 brands right now is Bumgenius, Bumkins, and Blueberry. There are so many brands out there and I'm sure they are all great I just haven't been able to try them all :)


http://change-diapers.com/2011/10/3-bumgenius-4-0-cloth-diapers-giveaway-1017-uscanada/

They come in so many fun prints and cute colors. Add babylegs and even cuter! 

They even have swim diapers! I loved this one!

I'm also a fan of just a classic white.





So yeah cloth is great! If you guys are interested in cloth diapering or have any questions feel free to ask me!

My Baby Experts

Let me tell you about a great community of women. I first was directed to My Baby Experts about 3 weeks ago through one of my online support groups for 2nd and 3rd trimester miscarriages/loss. Shari Crisco seems to be an expert in everything and has different guests on every week.

http://sharicriso.com/mybabyexperts/

Yes, I'm doing this post in secret hopes to win an ipad2, but these live Ustream shows and the group of women that tune in on the chat board every week have been quite helpful and supportive. Watching MBE has now become my "me time" and Chris has been very supportive helping out with Little E.

Happy Half Birthday!

My own darling daughter is 6 months old today. I cannot believe it. Everyone tries to warn you how fast it goes by (and it can get annoying at times) but you cannot fully understand it until you witness those developments and growths day by day. She started not even on the growth percentile chart to now in the 30th percentile. She has gorgeous blue eyes accompanied by long dark eyelashes. I love every detail about her.

Things she likes . . .

• Hanging upside down
• Water bottles
• Mirrors
• Getting a new nappy
• Waking up
• Singing and dancing
• Angry birds
• Grabbing my nose, glasses, and lips
• Blowing raspberries

Things she doesn't like . . .

• When I don't switch sides fast enough when breastfeeding
• When mom and dad don't share what they are eating or drinking
• Nasal aspirators
• Teething
• Gas

My Baby Shower

 I had one of the BEST baby showers! I never got one with the twins so I had this long built-up expectation of what mine would be like. It exceeded all my wildest dreams. My sister did a great job and had to put up with a lot from me. I had a folder on my computer dedicated to all my inspirations and thoughts and ended up emailing my sister ALL of it. I was very picky about not having a theme because I didn't want it to be cheesy, but I thought it was very mod, tasteful, beautiful and unique. So big thanks again to my sister (who was 3 days behind me pregnancy wise) and all my other family members and friends that helped prepare, set up, and those who showed up and spoiled me rotten!

 

 

 

 

 

It was one of the best days that I can remember. 

Birth Story!

First family photo

On Friday January 21st in the evening I started having contractions 8 minutes apart. I thankfully got them to stop, but the following morning I noticed some blood and was worried because I wasn’t scheduled to get my cerclage removed until February 1st because I would be past 36 weeks and considered full term. Saturday the 22nd I didn’t have any more contractions but decided to go into L&D to make sure I wasn’t dilating with the cerclage in and permanently damage my cervix. I was having contractions when they monitored me but I didn’t feel any of them and there wasn’t any pattern or consistency to them. The perinatologist felt comfortable to remove the cerclage even though I was 35 weeks and then said I would be on strict bed rest for the next 2 weeks. I was so nervous to get it removed because I thought it would be very painful, but at the same time I was so excited to be one step closer to bringing a baby home. Getting the cerclage out was extremely uncomfortable. Luckily I didn’t have any growth or scar tissue over it. The perinatologist had such a hard time getting back to my cervix because it was just under the baby’s head (which I wonder might be why I had a high tear later). After the third time trying to get back to the cervix she finally got the stitches out. I was quite uncomfortable as she was trying to unscrew the speculum but it was stuck. It hurting so bad by then and I was done mentally and emotionally. She tried changing gloves, didn’t work. The nurse tried, wouldn’t budge. Finally Chris went to the end of the table and was able to loosen it. I have the best husband in the world :)

After I was discharged I made a permanent camp out on the couch. (Video above is the only thing I have documented between my baby shower and the birth) I stayed there all Sunday and Monday. I was still having discharge and just told myself that I was just gradually losing my mucus plug and it was because of all the stuff that went down with getting the cerclage out. Monday I noticed the discharge was becoming more watery and I thought nothing of it until that evening when I went to the bathroom and it felt like I peed myself. It was enough to raise suspicions but not enough to make me think my water broke. All evening Chris and I went back and forth on wether to go to the hospital or not. Looking back I wish I had slept in my own bed that night but decided to play it safe. It took forever to check in and the hospital’s birthing center was busy that night. They tested to see if it was my water that was broken and YEP! It was.

It's GO time!

Then the countdown started. They wanted to start me on pitocin right away and I asked if they could wait and let me walk the halls for a couple hours to get labour started on my own. It did start it just wasn’t fast enough for them and they were scared of infection due to my PROM (Pre Rupture Of Membranes). Every time they monitored me and my baby’s heart beats they were perfectly fine. Then the midwife came in and said we had to do pitocin. I told her that I didn’t want an epidural and that I still wanted to move and walk around through labour. We came to an agreement that they can monitor me every hour and they would start the pitocin drip at a 2 then build on that like every hour. Then I agreed. I was upset the midwife lied to me to get me on those drugs because when you are on pitocin they have to continually monitor me.

Pitocin :(

So over the next 10 hours I gradually built up the pitocin drip to a 20 and I had to deal with fussy nurses and a busy midwife. I would do squats or walk around or find some way to relieve some of the discomfort and they would rush in and put me back in bed to monitor me. So annoying. I was also on antibiotics but decided to drink a bunch of water because it made me have to pee every 30 minutes so I would go to the bathroom pee for a minute and then do whatever I wanted until the nurse came back in. Later I found out that night there were like 15 births and half of them ended up being a C-section. Whenever my doula would walk out to get a nurse to check on me they were always like  “OK we’ll check her but if she hasn’t progressed we’re doing a C section” very scary and annoying. I was in transition for about 2 hours and I wanted to cave and get an epidural. I use to go to the bathroom call for Chris and cry to him and try to get him to agree with me that I need an epidural. He let me cry then he would get me through that contraction.  Finally I had that urge to push and the nurse didn’t believe me but I finally got the midwife to check me. She was in shock and disbelief when she felt my baby girl’s head. Then all the lights flip on and a bunch of nurses rush in. It was like a mad house. I had focused so much on the labour and contractions that when it came time to push I forgot everything. Luckily I only had to push for a couple minutes and all I remember is screaming. My throat hurt the following day but screaming while pushing seamed to be the only thing that helped. I remember everyone yelling at me to push. SO ANNOYING. Next time I do this I will slap anyone who yells PUSH at me. The midwife asked me if I wanted to feel my babies head. I really didn’t want to I just wanted to keep pushing until she was out and in my arms. I kind of snipped at her and said no and kept pushing! First was the head and next was the shoulders. Finally she was out I felt great and opened my eyes and  . . . she was already cut and across the room. I was so upset and disappointed. I know I couldn’t have a lot of the natural things I wanted on my birth plan but really the most important thing to me was being able to hold her right away. I had built up that fantasy in my head for so many years that when that was taken away from me I was furious. The the midwife kept tugging on my cord to get my placenta. Thats when I got really rude with her and told her to stop touching me and I wouldn’t deliver my placenta until I was holding my baby. It seemed like forever but I had Chris go over with the camera and take pictures. We only got one little video but I love it so much. She has this cute little wail. It’s funny how they get older it gets more annoying.

We did it!

It was an amazing birth with a lot of doubt from the medical professionals but a lot of love and support from my birth team. I decided to just have my husband and doula there. I have a very large family and I was having a hard time trying to decide who I wanted to be there and I know some feeling may have gotten hurt but I ultimately decided that I just wanted it to be my husband there. We hired the doula because we trusted her and knew she supported our more holistic approach to birth. We also did it because I wanted someone to be there to help my husband. Husbands don’t have all the physical pain but they do do a lot during labour and get exhausted as well (At leats when it’s a husband coached childbirth like in the Bradley Method). Another reason why I decided this, is an emotional reason. My birth story with the twins was obviously devastating. I wanted this birth to be everything opposite from that. I had all the parents and siblings at the hospital waiting hours for me to deliver the twins. I felt so guilty having them all there just waiting for me to deliver the twins so we could all see them and say goodbye. They sat in uncomfortable chairs and on the hallway floor for hours and hours. They would try to come in and visit me and try to be helpful, but it’s such a heartbreaking event that as you watch it happen and you are part of it; there’s nothing you can really do or say to comfort the ones you love other than to just be there for them. I know I had many family members and friends that wanted to be there on this more joyous occasion for this birth but I felt like this was an emotional thing I had to endure myself and be able to be proud of it and enjoy it myself (at least for the first hour or two) I want our little family to be in this happy bubble and thats how I wanted to remember it. I did get what I wanted and then immediately called the family right after midnight when she was born. Many were surprised and didn’t even know I was in labour for the past 36-48 hours or even in the hospital.

Photo I posted on facebook

So that’s my birth story with all its gory details and raw emotions. I love my little girl so much and so glad she’s finally here. I would definitely do things differently next time but wouldn’t trade her for anything. Things I would do next time . . .

I would of slept in my own bed and waited for morning or until active labour started. Having those extra couple hours of sleep were much needed in this labour.

I probably wont get a cerclage put in with this next pregnancy. I had u/s every 2 weeks and there was no change in my cervical length. I think that it was just with the twins. I do know the signs of labour now and other things to look for that if I was ever worried I would go get checked out. I’m glad I did it with this pregnancy because of anxiety issues but I don’t know if it was 100% needed. So if I do need it I don’t know if I could be on bed rest from 12 weeks and beyond, especially if I have to take care of another child.


If I ever do get the blessing to fall pregnant again I want to have a water birth. It’s always been my dream and I would go to a birthing center or have a baby at home. I know it’s not for everyone and most of you think I’m crazy, but I don’t care. I might have more family members there next time as well just depends on the space and timing.

Beautiful baby girl, 5lbs 10.5oz and 18 inches long!

Do one thing every day that scares you.

"Do one thing every day that scares you." - - Eleanor Roosevelt

OK so I'm guilty of not doing something EVERY day but today I did something that terrified me. 

The past week my husband, daughter and I have all suffered from colds and allergies. I have not been able to breathe out of my left nostril in a week. I know it might not be  a big deal to everyone else but I am terrified of using a netti pot . . .

Terrifying right? 

Anyways it's not as bad as I thought it would be but it's got me thinking about things I'm scared to try. I remember a few weeks back I bought an artichoke and was scared to try one, but who knows maybe I will now instead of letting it rot in my fridge. So do you guys have any good ideas on what do do with an artichoke or have any fears you'd like to get out of the way?

Thanks Elenore, I can now breathe! 

P.S. I am still working on my birth story I have not forgotten the requests. I just got to the pushing part! Oh and enjoy this clip Cougar Town fans!

Kate

Getting to Know Me

My name is Kate and even though I'm young, I like to think the life experiences I have had so far help me relate to woman on all levels. I got married young, but that's only because I have one of the most amazing and supportive husbands. So glad I have him in my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm also a student about to finish her undergrad. I eventually want to get my license in Marriage and Family Therapy. Shortly into my marriage I discovered I had something called Polycycstic Ovarian Syndrom (PCOS). I was so devastated because all I have ever wanted was to have children. While growing up I took a liking to the nursery rhyme about the lady that lived in the shoe. It took about two years but that miraculous BFP (BIG FAT Positive) finally showed up. The next week the ultrasound showed 2 babies! I couldn't believe it! All that waiting and faith testing, and I received twice the blessings. At 19 weeks I had an ultrasound that showed I was having a boy and a girl! I was so happy and that week we put together the cribs, bought some clothes and I started nesting like crazy! It was only one week later when I caught the flu, blew my nose, and started to deliver my son (twin A). We rushed to the hospital and was given no hope. I delivered my babies the next day. The hospital was nasty and the doctors were cold. I was told that I was young and could have other babies. Even though they each weighed 9 oz I witnessed their tiny hearts beat through their chests and their lungs expanding. I know according to the doctors and the government that these were not babies but failed pregnancies. To me this was my son and my daughter and I cherished every second I had with them. 

BFP!

A few days before I knew my life would change forever.

One of the only family shots we have.

My son's handprint

My son's foot prints

My daughter's footprints

My daughter's handprint

Life after a loss is a blur. You go through the motions and put a smile on your face just so your loved ones around you will stop asking "is there anything I can do?" with pity in their eyes. You know they mean well and truly hurt for you but you don't need the constant reminder of the gaping hole in your heart. Eventually the daily pain of living lessens until you adapt and create a new dream. For me I went to school a week after I gave birth to the twins. I was so thankful for the compassionate professors at my university that helped me pass with As and Bs and not drop out of school.  The next semester I really excelled in school but that desire to have a baby (that I could bring home from the hospital) never dimmed. After that semester was over I discovered I was pregnant and couldn't be more excited and terrified at the same time. I had lots of anxiety because I had the same due date as the twins. It felt like de ja vu and I couldn't help shake the feeling that the same nightmare was in my future. At 12 weeks of the pregnancy I got a minor surgery done that placed a cerclage in my cervix and was on pretty strict bed rest. Seeing all these high risk doctors and strict bed rest made me have even more panic and anxiety, just waiting for the next shoe to drop.


During my pregnancy I saw the documentary The Business of Being Born (streaming on Netflix) and desired to have as much of a natural childbirth as I was allowed. Then I came across the Bradley Method book. Chris would read it to me every night and we both fell in love with it and decided to take the 12 week course together. It was so great for the both of us to realize that we had the control over how things went and my instructor engraved the phrase "Your body. Your baby. Your birth." into my brain. Just a few weeks before I delivered I hired my teacher to be my doula, switched from my double billing perinatologist to a midwife and never looked back. I think I'll type my birth story in a later post but delivering a healthy baby girl really empowered me in a way I can't even begin to describe. She saved me from my depressed self and reminds me daily of my potential to be a better person. 


Currently I am enjoying my time at home this summer to be a mommy, blog, craft, and do whatever I want. When the fall semester starts I will be going to school for 15 credits instead of the 6 I took right after I gave birth. I also have a part time job that I'm thankful to be able to bring her along with. Well that's my story for now and I look forward to creating some more fun posts in the future. What would you guys like to know. Crafts? Birth story? My choice to start cloth diapering? Whatever you are interested in just let me know and I'll get back to you.


Kate