Counting Down to Baby Cinco

We are 39 days out from Baby Cinco's due date (that's what we are calling the baby, for lack of a better cutesy in utero baby name, since this will be our fifth baby).  When we were expecting Chaucer, I had the idea of making a paper chain to help the kids visualize the number of days left and as a fun way to mark the days until the newest addition to our family.  The five days remaining on Chaucer's chain have been lovingly pasted into his baby book.

I thought it would be fun to do again.  I printed the dates (only for the last 40 days, and the chain is still ridiculously long) and my girls colored each link.  Every day one of the children can tear off a date and we can watch the chain dwindle as we inch (second by second it seems at this point) closer to meeting our baby.

In addition to making the chain, I've organized my home birth supplies into baskets.  Have I mentioned I'm having a home birth?  Chaucer was born at home and so will Baby Cinco.  It's the right decision for our family and that's all I'm going to say about it for today.  My midwife may (and probably will and that's okay) rearrange my stash, but for now, here's my collection of stuff for my birth.  Well...almost all of it.  My birth tub isn't in the picture.  [Note to me:  Inflate that thing to make sure it still holds air before going into labor!]

Pregnancy Checklist - Printable, Downloadable, and FREE!

I thought I would post a sample page of the Pregnancy Checklist I made just so you can see what you will be downloading.  This is the Week 34 page:

So... that's a sampling of what you get if you download the 8.5 x 11 version.  The 5.5 x 8.5 is similar...just smaller.  Remember, it's mine - you can print and use it, but don't copy it, link it without credit, or pawn it off as your own.  Thanks!

Pregnancy Checklist - Printable, Downloadabe, and FREE!

A few months prior to my current pregnancy (I'm 33 weeks now), I was pregnant for a few weeks but miscarried.  As soon as I found out I was pregnant, I started researching checklists.  I LOVE a good list!  Unfortunately, I couldn't find one that I really wanted.  I didn't want something to tell me, medically or developmentally, what was going on in my pregnancy - I have plenty of books that do that.  I just wanted something that would help me keep track of taking vitamins, weighing myself, taking weekly photos.  Nothing fit the bill.  So, me being me, I made one.  Sadly, I didn't get to use it during that pregnancy, but I have been using it during my current pregnancy.

I've decided to make my checklist public so I'm putting my Pregnancy Checklist here - for FREE!!! - for any expectant mom to download and print.  There are two options available:

• the 8 X 11 version
• the  5.5 X 8 version (prints 2 pages on 8X11 which can then be cut in two)

Again, this is my work and, while I don't mind you printing and using it, I do seriously mind if you pawn it off as your own.  Please don't abuse the privilege!  Thanks.

What about the toddler?

I have (as have legions of other homeschooling mommies) been asked, "What do you do with your toddler while you are homeschooling your other children?" I could give some lofty, intellectual answer that shows exactly how wonderful a mother-teacher-multitasker I am. I could say, I bounce him on my knee as we are studying Victorian Britain or he watches patiently as the kids are doing Spanish. Reality is this - during our first day of homeschool, Chaucer (19 months old):

Played in the dog's water
Put the dog's food in the dog's water
Colored on Casey's worksheets
Scribbled on a white bookshelf
Knocked a picture off the wall
Used Fisher Pri€e Little People to destroy the living room

The FIRST DAY!

Baby Stuff - Gear and Wear

Wow! It's been a while since I've blogged! I've been meaning to pop online and write a blog on this topic for a while. The reason for my delay? I had to put pictures on my computer, but before I could do that, I had to archive the old stuff. And now that those tasks are done...

I have tried all sorts of carriers and slings, but I decided I wanted to try something new this go-around. I researched and researched, and found myself with my heart set on getting a mei-tai carrier. A mei-tai carrier (pronounced "may tie" I believe) was, traditionally, a Chinese carrier made of a square of cloth with straps coming off each corner. The modern version features padded straps and reversible sides (for two fashionable views). The baby can be worn on the front, side, or back, and is AWESOME for wearing a breastfeeding baby! If you're interested in how the mei-tai carrier works, there are many "how to" videos on YouTube.

There are some great makers of mei-tai carriers out there, but I settled on Dittany Baby. Dittany Baby stocks a number of baby items - from sling carriers to nursing covers! I found a beautiful mei-tai carrier in the fabric pattern Enchanted.

The baby and I LOVE this carrier. It's very easy on the back and shoulders - I've worn him for hours without pain. The trick is to wear the shoulder straps on the balls of your shoulders. Because there are no buckles or plastic attachments, this type of carrier is tied on. Naturally, knots adjust and become tighter with weight and time, so some adjustment (in the form of retying) may be necessary. However, it's very easy to retie.

While I was perusing the Dittany Baby site, I also found Skid Pants. Maybe you've heard of Baby Legs? Essentially Skid Pants are the same thing... leggings for babies and children. For babies, simply put the baby in a onesie then slide each legging on a leg. Too cute!

Thanks, Dittany Baby, for beautiful, quality baby items!

Milk Alternatives

I have discovered, during the course of breastfeeding my babies, that they don't appreciate my love of cow's milk. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE milk - the thick, creamy, 4% milk fat (i.e., whole) milk. I love it in my cereal, I love it with meals, I love it with cookies. I love it in a 12 ounce glass, 34 degrees Fahrenheit, on a hot day or a freezing day. I love the stuff - you get my point!

I usually notice by my baby's second week of life that dairy is going to be an issue for a while. The baby starts passing a lot of gas, then starts crying, screaming, straining while passing that gas. Some people would call it colic. I recognize it as a milk intolerance - from what I understand, a baby's intestines aren't mature enough to process certain proteins found in dairy products until the baby is about 4 months old.

With my oldest child, I gave up milk for 4 months. I tried lactose-free milk (not realizing at the time that this intolerance had nothing to do with lactose). Lactose-free milk was a horrible substitute - not only did it not solve the problem, but milk with the milk sugars removed and other sugars added is not tasty to a whole-milk addict such as myself.

With my oldest son, I had to give up milk again. Again, for 4 months. I tried goat's milk. I kept having visions of that scene in "Monsters, Inc." where the Abominable Snowman tells Sully and Mike that he has fresh yak's milk - and it's not too bad after you pick the hairs out. Needless to say, I couldn't drink the stuff.

When Tricky was breastfeeding, I didn't try any substitutes. I gave up milk for 3 1/2 months and slowly reintroduced it into my diet.

I've again given up milk for Chaucer. However, I had to find a substitute. I tried soy milk, but his fitful gassiness didn't disappear. [I read that, while some mothers can substitute soy, there are babies with an intolerance to the soy proteins.] A friend suggested I try almond milk.


THAT'S IT!!! The original is fabulous! A slight almond taste (very slight), no aftertaste, thick (albeit, not quite as thick as whole milk), fewer calories, great in cereal or with a meal. The vanilla flavor is tasty, too, but only with certain things... I drink it with cookies or put it in my oatmeal.

Yes, almond milk... a viable substitute for a milkaholic.

The only problem... Starbucks doesn't have it. I have discovered that a white chocolate mocha with soy isn't too bad!


EDITED TO ADD: Fortunately, none of my children have milk/dairy allergies. For my kids, this milk intolerance seems to last only for the first 3-4 months of life, just long enough for their intestines to mature enough to properly digest the milk enzymes.

This is why my house is a wreck...

Song for a Fifth Child

Mother, oh mother, come shake out your cloth!

Empty the dustpan, poison the moth,

Hang out the washing and butter the bread,

Sew on a button and make up a bed.

Where is the mother whose house is so shocking?

She’s up in the nursery, blissfully rocking!

Oh, I’ve grown as shiftless as Little Boy Blue

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Dishes are waiting and bills are past due

(Pat- a- cake, darling and peek, peekaboo).

The shopping’s not done and there’s nothing for stew

And out in the yard and there’s a hullabaloo

But I’m playing Kanga and this is my Roo.

Look! Aren’t his eyes the most wonderful hue?

(Lullaby, rockaby, lullaby loo).

Oh, cleaning and scrubbing will wait till tomorrow,

But children grow up, as I’ve learned to my sorrow.

So quiet down, cobwebs. Dust go to sleep.

I’m rocking my baby and babies don’t keep.

by Ruth Hulburt Hamilton

What's in YOUR bag?

We're venturing out as a family of 6 tomorrow. (Actually, we've already taken 2 trips as a family of 6 already, but both were to the pediatrician's office.) I've spent the better part of the last hour making sure my diaper bag has the things I probably shouldn't be without. So, I decided that I would post the items in my diaper bag. [A little useless information never hurt anyone, right?]

Here we go...

Contents of My Diaper Bag

[First of all, let me begin by stating that all of my diaper bags - I suppose I'm up to 4 or 5 by now - are backpacks. Backpacks allow me to stash everything on my back, Sherpa-style, and have my hands and arms free to wrangle children while not whapping them in the head with a shoulder-strap-style diaper bag.]

Black leather backpack
Weight: 10.6 lbs when loaded with the following contents:

* 3 Size 4 diapers for Tricky (we decided to wait until she's used to Chaucer before potty training)
* 5 newborn diapers
* diaper holder (the small floral bag in the picture)
* Kirkland wipes (love these wipes; love the packaging even more)
* changing pad
* dirty diaper duck (contains a roll of bags for stinky ds)
* Benadryl (that's for me, if I spontaneously break out into hives, which happens)
* snacks (2 fruit strips and 3 bags of gummies; you never know)
* 1 bottle of water
* ziplock bag with extra clothes for the baby: sleeper, onesie, socks, blanket) can put the dirties back in the ziplock bag. Nice, neat.
* small black bag: hand sanitizer, Lansinoh cream, Carmex, infant Tylenol, Boudreaux's Butt Paste, spray on first aid antiseptic, and bandaids
* gum
* pen
* notepad
* iPhone
* mp3 player
* wallet
* keys

I got a baby for Christmas!

Despite my fears of going into labor over Christmas Eve...

Richard and I were wrapping Christmas presents, when the mild contractions I'd been having off and on all day suddenly became more intense. It was about 1 a.m.

At 2 a.m., I decided to go to bed, but couldn't sleep through the contractions, so I started timing them. I called my midwife at 3:30 and told her THIS TIME I was 100% I was in labor (I'd called her with 3 bouts of false labor in the two weeks prior).

Richard and I woke the kids at 4:00 so they could see Santa had paid them a visit and play with their toys before being shuttled off to Nonnie's house. My midwives showed up around 4:30.

I had the birth experience I had hoped for, but not exactly according to plan. I didn't have a water birth - I utilized my tub for pain management (getting in and out a few times), but at one point I fell asleep during contractions. Because I felt the tub was slowing my progress, I got out.

After roughly 11 hours of labor and 45 minutes of pushing, I gave birth in my bed to our son, Thomas Becket. He weighs 8 lbs. 2 oz. (a big baby for me considering my others only weighed around 6 1/2 lbs) and 20 1/2 inches long. He has brown-black hair and looks a lot like my youngest daughter when she was born.

Speaking of the kids - we waited until they came home to tell them that they had a new baby brother! I wanted them to see him for themselves!!

By the way, I feel absolutely FABULOUS! Sore and tired, but fabulous!!!