Balance

I feel so behind lately.  Just behind at life...

There seems to constantly been 10 things that I HAVE to get done and I only have time for about three.  

I just haven't found the balance yet, I guess.  

I am so busy being a wife, a mother, a daughter, and a friend that there is absolutely no time for myself.  I am plenty of other things as well but those are the main ones.  The only alone time I can get is when I take a shower...which is actually a pretty rare occurrence around here.  And about half of my showers are taken while Blakely is in the bouncer and I am singing to her the whole time..so that is definitely not time for me.  

Don't get me wrong.  I am enjoying every single minute of all of this.  It is just that I am realizing that I need to make time for myself....or I am going to go bonkers.  Seriously.  

I spend all day trying to do the best for B that I can and I still feel like I am failing at that some days.  For example, I really need to be giving her oatmeal every day so she will actually start eating it but I haven't been able to find the time.  I need to be consistent with it or we will probably end up how we were with giving her a bottle...NOT FUN!

I spend all day trying to get stuff done around the house so my husband doesn't have to worry about it.  I am not talking about cleaning or anything because that is just not happening.  We live in a total mess until Tuesdays, when Juanet comes over and cleans.  I would just shrivel up and die in this mess without her.  I'm talking about all the other crap.  Getting all of our tax stuff together, renewing our car registration, renewing the boat insurance and registration, getting the oil changed on our cars, paying all of the bills, etc.  You know, just the normal stuff that keeps a household running.  I feel like I can't ever get that stuff done on time.  

I spend a ton of time trying to be a good friend.  I love my friends and I love hanging out with them.  I am having another baby shower at my house this weekend.  I really enjoy hosting these showers for my friends but it does take up quite a bit of time.  I am excited about it but also ready for it to be over all at the same time.  

Since my mom has been living with us since the beginning of January, I have been spending a lot of time trying to be a good daughter.  She never asks me for anything...even in the beginning when she couldn't get around at all.  She doesn't want to be a burden and she doesn't expect anything from me.  Literally there would be days I forgot to feed her.  She never said anything until I realized at five o'clock that she hadn't eaten all day!  I know she is so ready to go home and get back to her normal routine.  I have really enjoyed having her here and I am going to miss her when she is gone :(

So after doing all of that every day, where is the time I spend on myself?  Yeah, it doesn't exist.  And I don't even have a job!  Well I do have a job...this stay at home mom thing IS my job but you know what I mean.  I think that is part of my problem though.  I look at this as my job and feel like I need to get a certain amount accomplished each day.  Like I need to have something to show my husband when he gets home.  "Look honey, this is what I did today!"  He works so hard every single second that he is at work and I just feel like I need to have something to show for my day.  I can't just be like, well, I went and got a mani/pedi for myself today.  Or I spent 2 hours reading blogs just for me.   

On Sunday night I told Lonnie that I was going to take a bath with a glass of wine and let him put Blake to bed.  Well once the time rolled around for me to do that I was so sleepy I just wanted to go to bed!!  UGH!  Maybe I should start getting up earlier than B so I can have an hour to myself?  But I am so not a morning person and at this very moment that would mean getting up at 4...that should be illegal.  

I guess it is just a constant struggle to find the balance in our lives.  Some days I feel like I have this mommy thing down and I am super woman and then other days I feel like I totally suck.  I am still learning...

How do y'all find the balance??? 

Five Months Old!

My sweet B turned five months old on the 13th!  I am a bit late in posting this but better late than never right??  

Dear Blake,
Your daddy and I love you so very much.  You change so much every day...it is amazing to watch!  I say to him every day, "When did she get this big?"  I feel like every time I come to get you out of your crib in the morning you are bigger than the night before!  You are showing more of your personality as well.  You are the sweetest thing and you LOVE your daddy so so much. You just light up when you see him.  It makes mommy so happy.  We are so proud to be your parents sweet girl!!

Firsts
Blakely tried rice cereal for the first time on 2-21-12..she's not really a fan..

We took B on her first vacation!  We drove to New Orleans and she did wonderful.  She was excited to get in the stroller every single day and go on an adventure!

She had her first Valentine's day!

She held her own bottle for the first time...

2-16-12 was the first time someone else put her to bed besides Lonnie or me.  She did ok and is getting better at it every time.  

first time wearing shoes ;)

first time wearing a hat ;)

Feeding:  We are still exclusively breastfeeding.  She gets one bottle of breast milk a day, sometimes every other day.  I pump in the morning and before I go to bed and that is enough for two bottles the next day.  If I only give her one then I freeze the rest.  I am estimating she takes about 4-5 ounces per feeding.  I'm not sure what my goal is with breastfeeding.  Will I do it for the whole first year?  I don't know.  I think my freezer stash is enough for about 6-8 weeks.  So will I stop around 10 months?  Not sure.  I am just enjoying doing it for now and will keep doing it as long as it keeps going well.  Weaning sounds horrible because the child loves the boob...  Oh, and I will keep doing it through the summer so I can FINALLY have big boobs in a bathing suit :)

Sleeping:  Weeeeeeellllll, this is ok.  I can't complain because she does sleep great.  But, she has been a little off the past few weeks.  She still sleeps good just not as long.  She will sleep until 5 in the morning and then wake up and want to eat.  I then put her in bed with me and we will sleep until 8ish.  So that is still really good, I know.  Mama was just getting used to no interrupted sleep so this has messed me up!  SInce I don't go to bed until 2 or 3 hours after her I am not getting a whole lot of sleep.  My own fault!  I think we are just in a transition period with her schedule.  I think she wants to go to bed a little earlier and then she will sleep longer, weird, I know.  But the few times that I have tried it it worked!  So we will see how this next month goes.  

Diapers:  We are doing cloth diapers all of the time except over night.  I am working on that one.  While we were on our trip we did disposables and it was fine.  I moved her up to a size 3 and we had fewer blowouts.  I think the three is a little big but since we really only use it overnight it works fine because it holds more pee!  And since it goes up higher in the back it did hold the poop better on vacation.  

Clothing:  She is in 6 month clothes or 6-9 month clothes.  Just depends on the brand.  The weather has been awesome here so we have been getting into our spring and summer dresses!  

Weight: On our home scale she weighed a little over 16 pounds.  

Height:  25 inches long.  

Eyes:  They are the most beautiful blue.  They are closer to Lonnie's blue than mine.  Mine are a little lighter than his.  

Hair:  Still rocking the bald spot in the back but it does seem to be trying to grow back in.  It is a light brown color and sometimes looks pretty red!

Daily Routine:  Our routine is pretty much the same as last month.  Vacation messed up our schedule a little bit.  Like I said before, we are kind of in transition so it is not the same every day.  She is still eating 7 times a day and I am trying to get down to 6.  We are up for the day around 730 and go down for the night at 9pm.  Still takes 2-3 naps a day but she has cut out the small catnap in the evening.  

Favorite toy:  She really loves all of her toys.  But I have to say her favorite thing in the whole world is her daddy!!  She smiles so big when he comes home from work and she wants all of his attention :)

She does love her Baby Dotty and her Baby Dolly too.  She usually wants to kiss on them when she is sleepy.  This is Dotty...

She does like "reading" her books now...

A few other things...

Blakely LOVES being naked.  She got a teeny diaper rash about a month ago so we let her be naked on the floor for a little bit.  She had so much fun!  We have been trying to do it once a day now since she likes it so much.  She gets all excited and moves her arms and legs around like crazy.

She is this close to rolling from back to front.  She can get her hips all the way over but she can't quite get her arm out from under her.  She will do it very soon though.  

She talks all the time.  I mean all.the.time.  It is adorable.  Any time we go to a restaurant she talks the entire time.  We can only go to places that are loud.  She and I just talk all day long.  

She loves her Grand Di (my mom).  Since she has been staying here they have totally bonded.  I can go put B on the bed with her and they just play while I get things done.  It.is.awesome.  In the beginning Blake would get fussy after a while and I would have to go get her.  Since mom couldn't stand up with her she couldn't be consoled.  Now Grand Di can console her, sing her to sleep, and play all day long.  I am sure going to miss her when she goes home and so will Blake!  

Blakely loves to be startled!  She thinks it is hilarious!  She jumps and then laughs out loud.  It all started out with peek a boo and has turned into strait jumping out and scaring her.  Here is one of the many videos I have taken of this.  

The weather here has been beautiful this month.  Spring has definitely sprung and we have been taking full advantage.  Here are a few pics of our days at the park, walking downtown, and laying on a blanket in our yard.  

B is not a fan of the bumbo seat.  She acts really uncomfortable when she is in it.  She straightens her legs out so that makes butt pop up out of it.  We don't ever use it anymore.  I try it every so often just to see.  

Nicknames:  We have so many nicknames for our little princess.  We rarely call her Blakely!  
Blake
Blakes
Blakers
Blakey
Blakester
B
Sweet pea
Pea pod...this one is used a LOT

I love being your mommy, sweet girl.  Every day is better than the last and I can't believe how big you are getting.  You will soon be half of a year old!  I remember so vividly bringing you into this world and it seems like it was yesterday.  I am so proud of you baby girl.  

A few tips on cloth diapers...

I want to start this post off by saying that I am not even close to an expert when it comes to cloth diapers.  I am still learning!  But since so many people asked me to do a post about cloth I decided that I would just take this opportunity to document my cloth experience from the beginning.  I have now been doing it about 2 months.  


To start with I thought I would do a post that is just full of tips....sort of like a "things I'm glad I knew" and "things I wish I'd known" post.  Next up I will tell you all the things I like and don't like about each diaper I've tried.  I hope that someone who is thinking of doing cloth will find this informative but not overwhelming.  


1.  First of all, I highly recommend buying from a site that will send you free diapers.  I have ordered pretty much everything I have (except 3 diapers) from Kelly.scloset.com.  They usually have a coupon for a free diaper with purchase of a certain amount ($39 or $49).  I have gotten 4 free diapers this way!  How awesome is that???  It tells you that the free diaper will be a $17 or $19 value...so you aren't getting any cheap little thing.  I am sure there are other sites that do this, this is just the one I know about and have used.  This site also gives you one point per dollar you spend.  Then you get a gift card for a certain number of points you have.  Such a great incentive! 


2.  Do your research before buying.  Looking into cloth can be super overwhelming due to the multiple different types and brands of diapers.  Most of the sites that sell cloth diapers have a page with a bunch of information for people looking in to cloth.  Here are a couple of those...
kelly.scloset  lots of general information
jilli.ansdrawers (has a pull down menu at the top)


If you just go.ogle cloth diapers or how to wash cloth diapers, etc then you can find a ton of info! 


I also learned a lot from blogs that I read.  A few of them use cloth and I really enjoyed reading their posts about it.  I especially think Ashley at Stealing Baby Kisses has some great and informative posts


3.  If you are a beginner (and not diapering a newborn, because I don't know a thing about that since I started at four months old), I recommend starting out with pocket diapers and/or all-in-one diapers.  This is all I have right now.  All the others just seemed too complicated for me.  I am sure that I will try them out eventually but I wanted to keep it simple to start with.  All-in-ones are the easiest and the most like a disposable.  You just put it on (snap or velcro) and then take it off when soiled and put it in a diaper pail.  A pocket diaper is easy as well.  This type of diaper has a pocket that you stuff with an absorbent insert.  When you change the diaper you take the insert out and throw everything in the pail.  These are great because you can adjust the absorbency for over night use or for a heavy wetter.  After I wash all my diapers I stuff the pockets and then put them away.  That way they are ready to go.  All of the pockets come with inserts, by the way.  


4.  DO NOT order a bunch of one thing to start with.  Everyone likes a different diaper for a different reason.  Also, diapers fit all babies differently.  When I first started I ordered 4 different diapers. Once I got used to those I ordered four more to try.  Now I have a whole stash of things that I know I like.  Just because a diaper is popular doesn't mean you will like it.  You just have to find what works for you, your baby, and your family.  It would totally suck to order 25 of one type of diaper and then it doesn't fit your little one well!


5.  Quite a few sites have a diaper trial that you can order.  I didn't do this but it really sounds like a great way to try different types/brands of diapers.  You get to try them out for a while and then send them back if you don't like them.  Part of me wishes I would have done that because then I would have tried something other than all in ones and pockets.


6.  If there is a cloth diaper store near you, GO THERE!  We only have one in the entire state and it is 3 hours away so, needless to say, I wasn't able to make it there.  I would have loved to actually see a cloth diaper before I ordered.  I mean I had never seen one in my entire life until I bought my first four.  It would have been so helpful to see all the different types of diapers.  Also, a lot of those stores can  be very helpful if you have questions about how to get started.  I think some of them even have classes for newbies.  Definitely check those out!  


7.  Don't get overwhelmed.  When I got my first diapers I about freaked and sent them back before even washing them.  I was scared and I didn't think that I could do it.  I didn't feel like I knew how to put them on or how to wash them AT ALL.  I was afraid I was going to ruin them.    I told myself that I was going to try for at least 6 weeks and then if I felt like I couldn't do it then I would give up.  Well after only a few weeks I got the hang of it and fell in love.  I started out on a very part time basis but now we are in cloth all the time except for over night.  I am still working on that one :)


8.  Please know that everyone washes their diapers differently.  I worried more about the washing than anything else.  It seemed like there were different instructions on every website and every diaper.  You just have to pick a detergent (cloth friendly, of course) and give it a whirl.  The general guidelines for washing are a cold rinse, then a hot wash with cold rinse, then an extra rinse.  If you start with this you will be fine.  I tweaked it a little bit and my routine is this.  Cold rinse, cold pre wash with a teaspoon of detergent (I use Rockin.Gr.een), hot wash with a tablespoon and a half of detergent (sometimes 2 if I have a lot of diapers), cold rinse, and then an extra cold rinse.  I added the cold pre wash to just be sure to get the poop out before washing.  It's working for me so far.   


9.  If your baby is exclusively breastfed then you can just throw the poopy diapers strait into the washing machine.  I realize how crazy that sounds but the poop is water soluble so it is rinsed away in the first rinse cycle.  The first time I did diaper laundry I checked after the rinse and sure enough it was gone!  It seems Blakely poops 4534 times a day which is why I added the cold prewash to make sure to get all the poop out since most of the diapers were poopy.  If your baby is on formula or has started solids then you need to spray the poop off.  We haven't gotten to that point just yet so I'll have to let you know how that goes when we do!  I can't get the child to eat cereal!!  


10.  The resale value on cloth diapers is amazing.  I have yet to sell any on E.bay but I think I am going to try to sell a couple that just don't work for me.


11.  Visit the bab.ycenter cloth diaper forum.  I actually didn't do this until after I was in love with cloth.  I have learned a lot just reading the posts from there.  Just a warning though, it can overwhelm you big time.  Remember, people go there and write posts usually when something is WRONG with their diapers so they can get help to fix it.  So there are a lot of posts that can be very discouraging.  There is also a lot of cloth lingo that I totally didn't understand at first.  Sort of like all the infertility lingo :)  But, I feel like the more you read and research (anything really) the more you know!  


12.  Snaps vs. Velcro.  That is a big debate in cloth diapering.  Everything I read said that snaps were way better and lasted much longer than velcro, also called hook and loop or aplix.  So I ordered everything in snaps!  The first free diaper I was sent was velcro.  I loved it and my husband really loved it.  The velcro is easier for babysitters and grandparents to put on.  It is also great for those middle of the night, in the dark, changes or for when you are out and about.  Now my stash is about 70% snaps and 30% velcro.  I can tell that the velcro probably won't last until potty training like the snaps will but I feel like having a few velcro diapers is a good idea.  I think you can also get some people to replace your velcro, for a price of course ;) 


I think that is all I have for now!  If anyone has any questions you can always email me at southernprincesskelly at gmail dot com...I will be happy to answer any if I can!  Hope everyone has a great Monday!  

Big Day!

Today is my 30th birthday!  Woo hoo!!  It is a beautiful day to turn the big 3-0.  I am currently sitting outside on my deck watching my sweet girl try oh so hard to roll over.  I have a feeling that is going to be her birthday present for me :)  My husband made me a fantastic brunch and we are just enjoying this great day!  We have a babysitter for a few hours tonight so we can go downtown to the St. Patrick's Day parade.  Then we are coming home and Lonnie is going to cook me a great dinner.  This girl is excited!  I could not be any happier than I am right now...

Someone is excited for mommy's birthday :)

Sorry I have been absent for a bit...it's been busy!  We went on vacation to New Orleans this week and had such a great time.  We drove (about 9 hours) and Blakely did wonderful!  I'll have a post all about that coming up this week.  I must say that I am so glad to be back home though.  

I didn't take my laptop so I was reading all your blogs from my phone.  But the stupid thing wouldn't let me comment!  UGH...so very frustrating!!  I have quite a bit of catching up to do.

Hope y'all have a great weekend!!!  
  

TVT

• First of all, can someone please OH PLEASE tell me how to turn off the word verification on my comments.  I can't seem to figure it out???!@?#?$?!?@  It's driving me nuts...
• Quite a few of you asked me to do a post about cloth diapers.  I am working on it but it will be another week or so before I get it up.  I'm crazy busy right now and I want the post to be detailed and very informative so it is taking me a while!  But I am still absolutely loving it so far.  It is easier than I even thought!  I actually look forward to doing diaper laundry...
• My 30th birthday is in 9 days, St. Patrick's Day.  I am super looking forward to it, actually.  I think I am going to be getting a pretty sweet gift from the hubs...not sure though.  I hope so!  He is not really a gift giving kind of guy but I told him he had to get me at least SOMETHING for this one...didn't have to be big...just something.  We have a parade here in town and we will probably go to that.  We are trying to decide if we want to take B and have a low key family type of evening or if we want to meet up with some friends and go listen to our friends band after the parade.  I'm not sure yet...not sure I can get a babysitter.  And I kind of want to hang out with my girl on my birthday :)
• Blakely is still eating 7 times a day.  I feel like this is so much.  Is it??  How many times a day do your little ones eat?  She will be five months old next week.  A couple of times I tweaked her schedule and she only had 6 feedings and she still slept through the night.  But she still wants to eat 7 most days.  I will be so happy when we cut it down to 6...
• We are headed to New Orleans soon with Blakely and I am getting very excited.  It is hard to decide what all I need to pack for her.  Winter stuff?  Spring stuff?  The weather is different here every day and the forecast in NO looks about the same.  I will probably just pack her entire wardrobe....
• I took my mom to the doctor for her 8 week checkup on her ankle fracture.  They told her she could FINALLY start putting a little weight on it....Thank goodness!  She is so tired of hopping!  
• I seriously can't believe that my girl is about to be 5 months...I mean doesn't that sound so old???
• We started Blake on some cereal recently.  That was super fun and I can't wait to make some baby food for her!  
• Happy Thursday and I hope everyone has a great weekend!!!

Wordless Wednesday

reading daddy's newspaper....

and trying to drink daddy's beer....

Uh oh....

Top Ten

I've seen a few of these posts on other blogs and I've been wanting to do one of my own.  
Here are the top ten things that I don't think we could have survived without since having Blakely.  Some were great just for those first few months or weeks and some we still use all the time.  

1.  Boobies.  Honestly, this girl loves her some boob.  It is like magic and I don't know how I am ever going to wean her.  I might still be doing it when she's 5...I'm totally kidding.  I was so lucky that almost everything went smoothly with breastfeeding and now we are in a groove.  I don't know what I would do without these miracle baby feeders....

2.  Bouncer.  I didn't have this until a few weeks after she was born.  I ordered it because her swing was too upright and I needed something that was reclined but not too reclined because of her reflux.  She loves it.  I got one that you can turn on to bounce or to vibrate, so it doesn't just bounce when the baby moves.  Miracle I tell you.  This is also what we have been using when we give her cereal now.  And an added bonus of it these days is that she poops every time I put her in it...very sweet.  This is the poop face....

3.  Boppy pillow.  Get one of these, people.  I have used it damn near every single time I feed this child.  The few times I haven't used it (covers were dirty, too lazy to walk downstairs to get it, etc.) my back killed me a few minutes in and I wanted to kick myself.  This thing also has a million uses besides feeding.  You can lay your reflux baby on it to help prop her up after feedings.  She can sleep on it when she will NOT nap anywhere else.  (I was always watching, don't freak).  She can do a little tummy time on it.  You can put it around her waist when she is learning to sit up and it will help her balance and if she falls over it is a cushioned fall.  This is the one thing I have used every single day since she was born.  Except the boobies, of course.

4.  First Years Steam Sterilizer.  I love this thing.  I use it to sterilize bottles, nipples, and all of my pump parts.  In the beginning I was washing all the pump parts by hand and then sterilizing them in the Med.ela microwave sterilizer bags (which I like, just not for every day use) or in the dishwasher.  The microwave bags took too long because they would only hold 2 bottles at a time or two pumps sets at a time.  And the dishwasher....well obviously it took forever.  I saw on another blog this sterilizer and ordered it immediately.  This is very easy to use.  It holds 5 bottles at a time and has another tray for all the accessories.  I can usually do 5 bottles and 3 pump sets and a few bottle caps and nipples at a time.  I just put water in it and it takes about 10 minutes to sterilize.  Totally worth the money.  Heart it...

5.  Med.ela Pum.p in St.yle breast pump.  As you know from my previous post I have been pretty attached to my pump for the past 4 1/2 months.  We have a love/hate relaysh.  I love it because it has allowed me to store a bunch of milk.  I hate it because it isn't comfortable and who wants to spend all that time attached to a pump???  For like the first 8 weeks B would only eat off of one side and I was scared that my supply would go down so I would pump the other after EVERY feeding.  Boy was I glad when she started doing both sides!  

6.  Swing.  This is a newer love.  She hated the swing in the beginning.  I could only put her in it if she was pretty much asleep.  Now I put her in it and turn the vibrate on and she will play for a bit but eventually fall asleep.  This is pretty much the only way I can get her to take and afternoon nap most days.  Yay for the swing.

7.  "The Ball".  Obviously, we could live without toys but this is a favorite around here.  This was the first thing she could grab on to and play with.  She loved it.  Anytime she would get fussy I could give her the ball and she would be happy for a good 20-30 minutes.  She can chew on it which she loves.  She isn't as interested in it now because she can play with a bunch of other toys but for a long time this was my go to toy. 

8.  Video monitor.  I love this thing.  I love that I can see her during the night.  When she makes a noise I don't have to wonder what is going on, I can see.  Every time I wake up in the night (like 4011 times usually) I can peek over and see her breathing, feel better, and go back to sleep.  I also really enjoy watching her play by herself in the mornings.  It is frickin' adorable.

9.  Pandora radio on my iphone.  I never had this until someone on Face.book that had a new baby mentioned it.  I downloaded it and I have used it endlessly.  We listen to the lullaby station or Adele radio and she loves it.  She loves any kind of music so we listen to the stereo upstairs a lot too.  But having this on my phone is great for when we are downstairs, or when I am trying to put her to sleep and she just won't quite give up. This and the bouncer are the only way I have gotten a shower in the past 4 months.  Meltdown saver...

10.  Pam.pers Swad.dlers diapers with the wetness indicator.  I know this sounds crazy.  In those first two weeks of breastfeeding, before I got confirmation that she was gaining weight properly, I was so worried about her having enough wet diapers.  These dang disposables are so freakin' absorbent that sometimes it was hard to tell if she had peed or not.  Even when she did pee it wasn't very much.  These diapers that have the yellow line that turns blue when there is pee made me feel so so so much better.  Thinking back now I realize I was way too worried but I couldn't help it.  If we hadn't had those diapers I would have been sniffing those things like a crazy person and more than likely cutting them open to see if there was pee.  Insane.  **sidenote** I am not a huge fan of these now because her poo shoots out the back every.single.time (of all different brands of disposables) but in the beginning I would have probably lost my mind without them :)

So there you have it.  There are plenty of other things that we love, like the jumparoo, her play mat, her light up toy that we use for tummy time, etc.  But the above things have just been total lifesavers for me up to this point.