Making Educated Choices

In light of recent revisions in the AAP's recommendations for child restraints, I have been involved in and seen some debates over this issue. I think the research is clear on what is better, the longer the child can stay rear-facing, the better. If you watch the crash tests on YouTube, the evidence clearly favors this stance. Some believe this is "impractical." Personally, I don't care how impractical it is if it keeps my baby safer. Another choice I believe in getting educated in is birth, specifically having labor induced. There are certainly reasons to be induced, but having a big baby is NOT one of them. Those estimates can be off by a lot, and for most, the risks outweigh the benefits. I know by 37/38 weeks you are tired of being pregnant and just want the baby out. Trust me I've been there. My doctor suggested inducing and I was all for it. I wanted him out, and I trusted my doctor. I shouldn't have. The pitocin made my contractions almost unbearable. They were very close together, with no breaks between them. Then she broke my water and shortly after Cooper's cord prolapsed and we were racing to save his life. Maybe if I had known that 40% of inductions end in c-sections I would have waited for him to come in his own time and I might not have been sliced open. Yes, the c-section saved him, and I am thankful for that. But one intervention leads to another and, in my case, ended in major surgery. Not to mention, if your cervix isn't ready no amount of pitocin-induced contractions is going to get it fully dilated, and they will wheel you off to surgery. I'm not saying inductions aren't useful, but I think its worth it to do a little bit of research and make an informed decision.

So the News is Out

We've made the big announcement. I'm pregnant! 6 weeks pregnant in fact. I've known for a couple weeks and went to the doctor for a blood test Thursday before last on the 10th. However, my doctor said my hCG was low because I was so early and she wanted me to retest in a week. So I went back the next Thursday, the 17th. I was scared, but I waited the week and went back. I knew the hCG should double every 2-3 days so as long as it had double twice in that 7 days I was comfortable making the announcement. It was 94 on the 10th. When I got back my levels from the 17th my hCG was almost 3000!! It doubled almost 5 times in 7 day!! So now everyone has it in my head that its twins. I'm trying not to freak out, because I don;t go back to the doctor for an ultrasound to see until the middle of March. That's a long time to freak out :)
As you probably know, hCG is not the only pregnancy hormone. Among the others is progesterone. Mine is a little on the low side so I'm having to take a supplement. But I know several people that have had to supplement and have had healthy pregnancies so I'm not too worried about it. Its not ideal, of course, but as long as I get a healthy baby in the end, that's fine.
I also have some other news that isn't as great. I had to drop my nursing class. I just can't do clinicals when I'm puking my guts out. So I dropped it. I hope to pick it up next spring and finish in 2013. I have a back up plan in the mean time that I will blog about later!
Big brother Cooper is very excited! He insists that he is having a little sister and too tell you the truth I hope he's right! Of course, I had be happy with either a boy or a girl, but it would be nice to have one of each!

Cooper has a Secret...

Cooper isn't great at keeping secrets, kinda like his mommy...

Can you guess what his secret is??

Don't worry; I won't make you wait...

That's right! Cooper is going to be a big brother! I'm pregnant with Baby #2!!!

Part 3: My Cloth Diaper Wash Routine

The hardest part of cloth diapering is getting the right wash routine. How do you know when you've found the right one? When your diapers smell like nothing when they are washed and dry. But the catch is, not every wash routine works for everyone. Your water has abig impact on what will get your diapers clean. Have you ever thought about whether you had hard or soft water? I sure hadn't, until I started cloth diapering. So here is what works for me. It might not work for you, but its a good place to start.

First, my detergent of choice is Rockin Green. I tried a different cloth diaper detergent a couple months ago and definitely learned my lesson. It left a residue on my diapers. They still had a smell, and they started to leak. Lesson learned: stick with what works. The container on the left is a "Shake it Up." It comes in the same scents as the detergent and makes the diaper pail smell much less like a diaper pail!

What do I use as a diaper pail? Glad you asked. A $10 trash can from Target that you step on to open with a Planet Wise pail liner. We have 2 that I can switch out while the dirty one is in the wash with the dirty diapers.

So when I take off a pee-pee diaper I just throw it in the pail and go on with my day. For a poopy diaper, its a little different. I shake off what will fall off into the toilet and spray the rest off with the diaper sprayer. Then it goes into the pail too.

On wash day, about every 2-3 days, I walk across the street to my nana's house because she has a top-loading washing machine and it gets the diapers cleaner than our front-loader. Its possible to get them clean with a front-loader, but go through the hassle when I have access to a top-loader? First I do a cold rinse with about a cup of vinegar. The vinegar neutralizes the urine and makes the diapers stink less. Next I fill up the washer with hot water and add a couple scoops of Rockin Green. I then soak the diapers for a bout 30 minutes, just to lure all the stinkies out. After about 30 minutes, I start the washer and let it go through its cycle. When that cycle is done, I do a whole other cycle with a hot wash and cold rinse. If its warm outside (which it hasn't been in quite awhile) I hang them outside to dry. During the winter, I just throw them in the dryer on low. After the PUL covers are dry, I take them out and finish drying the inserts and fitteds on medium. Yes, my diapers have stains in the winter from getting no sun but I will get them out this summer when its warm!