This is why my mom is awesome.

just wanted to AW my mom for making me some fantastic diapers! Seriously. These things are awesome. She made me some fitteds:

And some fleece covers:

The Details:
She used the Very Baby Snug Wrap diaper cover pattern. She made the covers out of regular old fleece from JoAnne's and I haven't had a single leak with them. She used the same pattern in a smaller size for the fitteds. In retrospect, they would probably be better if we used an actual fitted pattern. I find that they are rather wide in the crotch. Still, they work like a charm. Again, I've never had a leak. She used fold over elastic around the outside of the diaper.

In the future, I want snaps instead of hook and loop. I'm tired of pulling a diaper chain out of the washing machine every time I do laundry (which is an issue with all of my hook and loop diapers - not just these). The interior of the fitteds is made of 100% cotton velour. It is super soft and doesn't have that wet feeling that a lot of absorbent fabrics have. It feels similar to velvet. The exterior is made of hemp. The soaker is made of a combination of hemp, cotton velour, and microfiber. It's absorbent enough to easily use as a night time diaper with no extra doublers.

I love my doctor [--------------------] much

He isn't dismissive but he isn't paranoid either. Plus, he's cool with my hippie ways. He told me I'm doing everything right and that Thomas is perfect. That's just what I needed to hear. We chatted about the vaccination schedule that I picked. He thinks it's a good middle ground but that I should keep an open mind about it (if he doesn't do well he thinks I should try the original delayed vacs schedule but if he does well I might want to try the traditional schedule). We also talked about baby led weaning. My doctor had never heard of it before but he was really interested. He said it sounds like a great choice for some families. He even admitted he wished he'd heard of it with his last kid. See? I told you he's awesome.

I found out some very upsetting news at my appointment though. When Thomas was born the hospital gave him the Hepatitis B vaccine that I specifically told them NOT to give him. I even filled out paperwork to that effect. Still, when I was unconscious after they cut my baby out of me they did it anyway. They originally told me they don't even give the Hep B vaccine until the 2nd day of life. So why did they give it to my baby just minutes after he was born? I can't help but think it is because I opted out of it and that was their only opportunity.

In the grand scheme of things it's not a huge deal. He wasn't injured or scarred for life. I get that. But he was all alone when he was born. I wasn't there to comfort him. I trusted that they would do right by him and care for him but they violated that trust. I couldn't have made my wishes more clear. They didn't even tell C what they were doing (which is part of the reason I feel it may have been intentional).

You just... you don't mess with someones baby without their permission. Know what I mean? You just don't do it.

The Family Bed

This week my mom's group had a discussion on sleep. We all agreed that it what works for one kid might not work for another. It totally depends on the child and the family. While I'm a strong opponent of cry-it-out / Babywise / Ferberizing, etc. I think that each approach has some merit. We've primarily been doing the family bed. That's where you sleep with your baby in your bed. The baby is not in a co-sleeper. So, here's what I know and like about the family bed:

• Lower risk of SIDS. This is due to three things. First, family bed babies are more likely to sleep on their back or side than babies sleeping elsewhere. This in itself lowers the risk of SIDS. Second, mama and baby will sync their breathing up when in the family bed. This means that if baby stops breathing mom will naturally wake up to see what's wrong. Third, babies who sleep in the family bed breath better. Newborn babies who sleep outside of the family bed have relatively frequent dips in their breathing. Newborns who sleep in the family bed have few to no dips.
• Synced sleep patterns. Mom and baby will sync their sleeping patterns in the family bed. When baby stirs, mama stirs. Mama is naturally able to anticipate baby's needs and (usually) meet them without waking. You know what this means? I touch and feed Baby T when he needs me to without fully waking up. I get soooo much more rest.
• Better sleeping for both baby and mama. Since mama is more aware of baby's needs and baby's needs are address quickly both partners sleep for longer and more restful periods of time. When we do family bed Baby T falls immediately back to sleep after eating. When he's in his crib I don't hear him until he's upset and it takes 30-60 minutes to calm him back to sleep.
• Bonding. The more time you spend with your baby the more opportunities you have to bond. I love sleeping with Baby T. In the morning we cuddle for a few minutes before getting out of bed. He's always his happiest, smiling and cooing, during this time.

It's the end of the vaccination reprieve

Baby T was given a vaccine reprieve. His shots were rescheduled not once, not twice, but three times. The first two were my fault. First I took him to Las Vegas and then my appointment interfered with a play date. The most recent time was because my doctor was feeling under the weather and didn't want to risk getting Baby T sick (have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE my doctor?).

But that all comes to an end tomorrow. I opted out of the newborn one/s so this will be his first vaccine. He's already pretty ticked off about getting teeth. I'm a little weary of how he's going to be when he gets jabbed in the leg with a giant needle. He's gotten significantly louder at the whole screaming thing since we first brought him home.

Sunscreen v. Sunblock

Since summer is in full swing I figure I should post about sunblock and sunscreen. Anyone who knows me in real life knows that I NEED sunblock. I burn to a crisp in a matter of minutes. As a kid I got several sunburns that caused blisters. Ouch! I think it's safe to assume that Baby T inherited at least some of my skin type. He needs sun protection even more than I do. So I did some research.

Sunscreen is NOT safe for infants. It's a mix of chemicals that are absorbed into the skin. Those chemicals prevent the sun from penetrating the skin. Do you really want to cover your baby in harsh chemicals? Because I sure don't. Pretty much everyone will tell you not to use sunscreen on your baby.

But what about sunblock? I bet you didn't even know there was a difference (I didn't). Sunblock is a barrier to the sun. It essentially does the same thing as a tee shirt does and blocks the sun from burning your skin. This is safe for basically everyone - even newborns.

As someone who recently bought sunblock I noticed that companies don't seem to understand the difference between sunblock and sunscreen. You'd think someone would force them to correctly label their products but apparently not. So check the ingredients before you buy. If it has titanium dioxide or zinc oxide it is sunblock. Anything else is sunscreen.

I found a fantastic website that rates sunscreens and sunblocks. Check it out before you head to the store to pick something up.

Cry It Out: The Flipside

If you have a free minute you should read this. It's called "Just Let Her Cry" by Woman Uncensored. It sums up my feelings about letting a baby cry it out perfectly. I think it's cold, unfeeling, and frequently abusive. Just because you dress it up in a nice new name (ie: sleep training) does not change the fact that you are ignoring your child's needs by letting him or her cry it out. Why? Because it's night time? Does you child suddenly not have needs because it is no longer daytime?

You asked, I answered

Baby T and I are home now. The diagnoses is a viral respiratory infection that should clear up on his own. He just needed a bit of an assist in fighting off the infection. I'll update more later.

Sick Baby

Baby T has been a little under the weather for the last week. He checked out fine on Thursday but I knew something was wrong when he woke up yesterday morning wheezing with a very fast respiratory rate. Luckily my doctors office has someone working all weekend so I took him in. They thought it was RSV - Respiratory syncytial virus (a viral infection of the lungs) so they admitted Baby T to the hospital last night. He's been on oxygen and got a couple breathing treatments. The RSV test came back negative. It's probably a random viral infection. They weaned him off the oxygen so he's on room air now. We're just waiting for our doctor to swing by and let us know what the plan is.

In other news, this is the first time I've been 100% alone with Baby T as C is out of town for work. Nice timing, right? I stayed at the hospital last night in what can possibly be considered the most uncomfortable reclining chair bed thing ever. At least I get fed while I'm here (since I'm breastfeeding Baby T).

Baby T in his stylish hospital gown.

My car was broken into

Er, well, if you can call it breaking. Technically I didn't actually lock my car. After all, it was sitting in my driveway. Luckily I didn't have anything of value in it (except my ERGO Baby Carrier which was left untouched). The thief made off with $1-2 in change (but he left all my pennies. As if he's too good for my pennies!), 4 disposable diapers (my emergency car stash), my registration and proof of insurance, some index cards I had attached to a ring, and the headphones that came with my iPhone. What a jerk! He left: my extra baby stuff, stroller, new Ergo (and those things aren't cheap), chocolate, iPod car radio adapter thingy, iPhone charger, and cloth grocery bags. How strange.