Sunday randoms

Cause every once in a while you just need a random post. 

--Peytonn had orientation today for 1st grade. First grade people! He officially starts school on Tuesday. Bennett starts the following week. Where did summer go?!

--Avonlea is a holy terror at least 4 hours out of the day. Taking this child out in public isn't for the faint of heart. How early does reform school start?

--I'm 32 weeks pregnant today. And I feel every bit of it. I'm too the point where the panel of most of my pants is getting tight. I honestly would wear yoga pants for the remainder of this pregnancy if I could get away with it. It's probably going to be a lot of dresses from this point forward. That of which I only have 4. 

--climbing the stairs multiple times per day feels like hiking Grand Canyon. It's not even that I'm out of breath, my legs feel like they weight 100lbs each. They're just tired, sorry looking things these days. 

--hubby and my father in law built the kids a wooden swing set/play area yesterday. They love it. But I have yet to let them play out there today. I've already swept and mopped the floor 3 times since Friday night and I just want to enjoy it for a little while before they start tracking more grass and dirt in. 

--if one more child comes down these stairs to tattle on the other one while they should be having rest time....I may find myself a new home. 

--the mag/cal supplement that I started taking a little over a week ago has helped tremendously with my leg cramps and RLS! It's heavenly! Wish I would have started them sooner. 

--I need a nap. The end. 

Crafts and 31 weeks

II worked on some projects the other day during nap time. My first project was to dye some muslin blankets for the baby. I really wanted some bright colors, so I went with orange, blue, and purple. I also had some plain white onesies and I decided to dye those as well. 

 I let them soak for about an hour, agitating every 15 minutes or so. Then rinsed and washed on warm. Then I soaked them in cold water and vinegar to set the colors and hopefully prevent them from bleeding. 

Here is the first round where I dyed the blankets according to then package directions:

I love the bright, vibrant colors!! I need to finish sewing the raw edges of the purple and blue, but so far I love them. 

After I finished the blankets, I used the same dye and added another 2 cups of warm water to get different colors. 

I love them!!

After I was finished dying, I made a changing pad cover with some soft cotton fabric I found on clearance at Joann's. I used a tutorial that I found on Pinterest. It turned out pretty good and was rather easy to do. 

I've got some more fabric and projects in mind, but those will have to wait for another day. 

I had my doc appt today. I'm 31 weeks now. We did a fetal fibronectin swab (checks for labor in next 2 weeks) and she also did my group beta strep test. I've never made it to a 35 week appt to have it done, so they always give me the antibiotics via IV during labor. They are a b*tch and then my babies always have to have them after birth as well. They basically treat you as though you are positive, even though they don't know for sure. 

Everything looked good at my appt. I already got my results for the FFN test and it was negative, thank heavens! I have also started taking a probiotic and mag/cal supplements. 

The probiotics have really helped my tummy issues. The cal/mag can help with RLS, cramping, sleep, and irritable uterus. My doc agreed with me on taking both and I've already seen a difference. If they help me get even a little further, I will be a happy camper. I've even read the cal/mag can help reduce pain during labor. Now, that would be an awesome bonus!

I continue my shots until 36 weeks. Can't wait to be done with those, I'm not going to lie. I go back in two weeks for another appt and another FFN test. 

Bump pic @ 31 weeks:

  

Bare belly:

My baby is two!!

I can't even believe that Avonlea is two!! She has grown and changed so much from the 35 week 5lb 11oz baby.

She was such a sweet and chubby baby during her first year. Then from year 1-2, her personality has grown leaps and bounds! She is sassy, but super sweet to her baby dolls and any other child she meets. (minus her brothers!) She still has an awesome bond with her big brother Peytonn and calls him "her bubby." However, her relationship with Bennett is growing more and more each day. They still have a love/hate relationship. He will be all "let me help you girl" you minute, and the next he is stealing her baby stroller and she's all "count dracula" on him. But we're getting there.

She loves, loves, loves baby dolls and they usually go everywhere with us. She loves to push them in the stroller, feed them, attempt to put a prefold on them, dress them, and get them to sleep. She also loves to play with the Mega blocks and matchbox cars. She's definitely a girly tom boy, just like her mama was. Wearing dresses to play in the mud and dirt, while still loving and caring for her babies.

She adores her daddy and has him wrapped around her finger. Most days, she would prefer him over me. Her favorite words are "no", "stop", and "papa". She definitely loves her papas.

I have high hopes for she and her baby sister. She does so well with the baby at the babysitter, so I am hoping she is just as good with her own baby sister.

 She loves her cousin Evie and getting to FaceTime and play with her. I hope they continue to be best buds all through their childhood. 

I am so blessed to be this little girls mama! She has brought so much joy and laughter into our lives and family. 

Updates and things

I had my doc appt today and my 3 hour glucose test. It was torture. The test, not the doc appt. I don't handle really sugary things well anyways, and especially not on an empty stomach. I drank about 36 oz of water in those three hours just to keep from passing out or throwing up. At least it was something else in my stomach. 

Thankfully I had my last blood draw right before my doc appt and I was able to eat a Nutrigrain bar to tide me over until I could get some lunch. 

My appt went well. I'm 29 weeks now and feeling pretty darn good, uterus wise. I feel like my belly is smaller this time, so I made her measure it twice. I'm actually measuring a week ahead. Go figure. 

As for the kids, Peytonn starts school again the second week of August. That just totally crept up on me. I've spent the last week getting him uniforms, shoes, belt, backpack, etc. I was able to get everything on sale, which was nice. I was even able to get myself a pair of shoes for the Fall with a BOGO half off sale. I went with a charcoal gray madden girl "Toms" knock offs. They actually are roomier than the Toms I have and fit my high arch/high instep feet much better. 

I was also able to score some Fall clothing for Avonlea. Children's place had jeans for $10 and sleepers for $8, plus I had an extra 20% off coupon. I got her 18-24 month and they fit her great now. But I know they won't last all winter. So I went back and got all the same stuff but in 2T for later on.  At least someone in this house can wear skinny jeans and they look cute. 

 I love the stretchies without the feet in them! They are just thin, soft cotton jammies that are perfect for summer or Fall. 

Bennett starts school a week after Peytonn and will be going 5 afternoons a week this year. We have lots of school supplies to get in the next two weeks. This always seems like a hectic time of year for everyone! This baby better stay put until the middle of September when things start to settle down a bit and everyone is in the routine. 

It's about that time again folks

You know, when I get to that point in my pregnancies when all the 'fun' begins. Where I start to feel like a ticking time bomb. The anxiety and nervousness of 'when' and 'what ifs'. I'm 28 weeks this week and it was 29 weeks when I first got admitted to the hospital for pre-term labor with Peytonn. My water broke just 3 short weeks later and he spent 17 days in the NICU. 

I've learned a lot since those days, both about myself and pregnancy. I've come to terms over the past 6 years that I am not able to control when my body says 'I'm done!' And wants the baby out....now! I've learned to trust my mommy instinct when it comes to the care of my preemies and I'm not afraid to question the docs/nurses or voice my concerns. The relationship that I have with my doctor is much more than just a patient/doc one. She is my sound board, my comfort, and I completely trust her. She never makes me feel like I am forced to do anything and ultimately she leaves the decision up to me. Which I highly respect and love about her. Plus, we always laugh a ton during my appts which puts my nervousness to rest for a little while. 

This baby is growing beautifully and she reminds me each and everyday how active and alive she is. I am really praying to make it to 37 weeks this time, September 15th. Although, I've had in my head the date of 9/29/13 for a while now, 39 weeks. Could you imagine?! I would probably be the most miserable pregnant lady ever, but so extremely happy. 

I took my one hour glucose test this past week and failed by 2 points. So now I must take the 3 hour. Ugh. I've always passed the 3 hour so I hope I have the same results this time. 

Bending over and breathing no longer go in the same sentence together. My ankles are usually swollen by the end of the day. Not as bad as they were last Monday, but still noticeable. I'm exhausted all.the.time but still sleep like crap. Still doing weekly shots and I'm getting pretty good at finding a spot without any blood after. I've only reacted 3 times to my shots this pregnancy. Last time I had huge, itchy welts at the injection site for days after a shot. 

I'm not even going to talk about my weight gain. I think I'm around 15lbs now. Moving on.....

We received our crib from Ikea but they didn't send the mattress. Another one is on its way. Hoping to get that set up this week before Hubby leaves for AT. Still need to locate the newborn clothes and wash those. 

It will all come together. Eventually. And if not, I've got diapers and boobs and that should get us through. 

Baby's cloth diaper stash

It's no secret that we've cloth diapered each one of our children. That's 6 years of diapering.Geesh! This baby would be no different. There is just something about a cloth covered bum that gets me every time. I just love it. Minus the poop, of course. 

I had a few newborn diapers left over from Avonlea that I never sold and those started out this stash. And then I built it from there, keeping in mind what I really liked with Avonlea. I wanted to keep it pretty simple this time, using mostly prefolds/fitteds and covers for home and AIO's for outings/diaper bag, etc. 

I'm still waiting on a few items that I've recently purchased, but this is the majority of her stash:

Nine newborn AIO made by Nana's bottoms. Loved these with Avonlea, a very nice fit right from birth. And super affordable!

One rainbow cover from Greenline diapers. This is a one size cover but adjusts down to a newborn size. I ordered the one on the right. I'm really loving the bright rainbow colors this go round. And they are pretty gender neutral. 

Two Imagine AIO. Size newborn. 

Three Grovia AIO size newborn. These have two rise settings for small newborn to larger newborn. 

Two newborn AIO bumgenius diapers. We used these with Avonlea once her cord fell off. The only thing I don't like with these diapers is they will fit in the waist before they fit tiny legs. So these are mostly daytime diapers for us. 

These are all the covers. A few are left over from Avonlea and the rest are new. From left to right, top to bottom:

-Nb Fluffy's cover, nb loveybums wool cover, xs thirsties cover

-xs bummis super brite, preemie prowrap, nb imagine cover (green), nb rumparooz cover

-both nb basic connection pull on covers (blue and pink)

Newborn grovia fitted and nb orange diaper co snapless fitted. I also have 6 newborn bamboo terry squares and two newborn terry loops fitteds coming from ODC as well. 

Prefolds: top left are red edge nb zabi prefolds, top right are preemie prefolds. Bottom left are cottonbabies unbleached Indian prefolds in infant size. Bottoms right are nb/xs imagine bamboo/cotton prefolds. She will start in preemie and xs prefolds and then move to infant once she outgrows those. The preemie, red edge nb, and infants are all left over from Avonlea. 

That pretty much rounds out her newborn stash. I also have two dozen flat diapers that the girls will share. Once she outgrows this stash, she and Avonlea will share the one size stash that we currently use of flats/covers and Bumgenius 4.0 pockets. 

I know it seems like a lot of diapers, but newborns pee and poop a lot and can go through about 12-18 diapers a day. This will allow me to wash every 2 days with diapers to use for wash day. 

We use either Tide pods or Country Save to wash our diapers. We've never had 

a problem using either. Then we dry on medium or line dry in the sun for any staining. 

There you have it. Cloth is simple and easy to use. Even with small, newborns. 

Sewing projects

A few months ago I purchased a bunch of jersey knit fabric from Girl Charlee's website. I had every intention of making some skirts/dresses for myself and the girls. And then life happened and here we are. 

But, my babysitter went on vacation this past week which forced me to take Thursday and Friday off. I told myself that I was going to get some projects done during nap time. And I did!

I started off by making a maxi dress for myself out of some chevron fabric. It's turned out great!

 

I had enough fabric left over that I decided to make Avonlea a dress as well. Although I made hers without attaching it to a tank or a tshirt. I figured that as she grew, she could wear it as a skirt and get more wear out of it. 

I then decided to make a baby gown out of the remaining fabric. It was super easy. I just attached it to a newborn long sleeved onesie that I cropped. Then added elastic to the bottom. 

I think these will be out coming home outfits. I just adore them! I even made a hat for the baby. I'm not sure that it will fit, but we will see. 

I used this tutorial for my dress:

http://diymaternity.com/pants-skirts/jersey-maxi-skirt/

I used the same concept for Avonlea's skirt and for the gown. However, I just pleated the top of the gown where it attaches to the onesie instead of using elastic. 

On Friday I decided to make a carseat canopy from some leftover fabric. It turned out pretty well and wasn't that difficult. I used this tutorial:

http://simplekids.net/four-simple-diy-baby-projects/

I still have some fabric waiting for dresses and skirts. I'd like to make at least one more for myself and a couple matching ones for the girls.