Updates, Updates

Bug is napping so I have a few minutes to update.

Bug has officially been walking for TWO WEEKS!!! She is no longer a baby, but a toddler :( But that is ok because her little face just lights up everytime she walks across the room. She has also added a few words to her vocabulary. She can say dada, mama!, gacie (gracie), woof woof (dog), and she thinks it is hilarious to call J by his first name! She is just getting so big, and it is amazing how much she loves her sister.

Had my first official appointment with my OB/GYN today. I am 11 weeks along. Everything looks good, except that I did lose 6 lbs in the last 4 weeks. I honestly have no idea how since I eat every two hours. The baby is doing well and I got to hear the heartbeat! It was just so reassuring. This pregnancy has been pretty easy except that I am sooooo tired all the time! I seriously pass out by 10:30pm every night and sleep until about 9am. Then I am exhausted all day long. I know you are supposed to be tired during pregnancy but I do not remember being this tired with the girls.

BooBoo is still as amazing as ever and hopefully she will have an update coming soon!

Breast Cancer Awareness and Scentsy

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. All month we will see color Pink everywhere, supporting everyone who has been touched by breast cancer. Women are reminded to give themselves self-exams. I have the hopes of attending the Susan G. Komen 3-day for the Cure either next year (or the year after, since Baby #3 will only be 3 months at the time next summer).

Now, what most of you do not know is that I am an Independent Scentsy Consultant. I love my job because I am able to stay home with my girls, and work when it is convenient for my schedule. Plus, Scentsy products are safe to use around children. All you need is a warmer, a couple scent cubes and you have a delicious smelling home. So, why am I telling you about my job when this post is discussing Breast Cancer Awareness? Because of this:

The Love, Life, Hope Breast Cancer Awareness Scentsy warmer. The owners of Scentsy worked with the National Breast Cancer Foundation (NCBF) to bring this warmer to the public. With each Love, Life, Hope warmer purchased, 100% of the net profits will be donated to the NCBF.

If you would like to purchase a Love, Life, Hope warmer or if you would like more information on Scentsy, please email me.

Softbums Mystery Diaper Event

**Giveaway is now CLOSED! All extra entries from my blog will be compiled with all extra entries from other participating blogs. 23 winners will then be chosen! GOOD LUCK!**

SoftBums Mystery Product Unveiling Blog Event
(and a chance to win a FREE iPad!)

*See the video online now @ http://www.loveclothdiapers.blogspot.com/




Everyone loves a good Mystery, and a little giveaway at the end is always good clean fun too!!



Steps for the Mystery Diaper EVENT:



#1. The SoftBums Blog will be linked with a list of over 100 bloggers who are all participating or reviewing the NEW SoftBums Mystery Diaper.


#2. On Oct 1st at 12pm CST SoftBums will reveal their newest SoftBums diaper on YouTube and…


#3. at the same time all the reviewing bloggers will post their reviews of the new diaper.


#4. Blogs are open early to begin taking comments


#5. After the entry period ends (Oct 18 @ 8pm CST) 23 winners will be chosen from all the compiled entries!


*Check Back Here on October 1st, I’ll post the video and more info on the NEW myster diaper!*




Come join the SoftBums Mystery Event and visit all the participating blogs for a chance to win these amazing prizes!



Grand Prize:A Brand New iPad (Entries on Life with BooBoo and Bug count for 1st prize and down)

First Prize: Complete Birth to Potty Package of SoftBums NEW Mystery Diapers!!


Second Prize: Win a gift certificate for $75 to http://www.softbums.com/


Third Prize: Amazon Gift Card worth $50PLUS: 1 SoftBums Mystery Diaper given out to winners #5-#20


PLUS: Baby Legs to winners #21-#23

You can choose to enter only one participating blog, or bounce around and enter on ALL the BLOGS!
Sound like fun?

Ready to Enter?
**Remember to include your email address in your comment if it is not visible on your profile or I will NOT be able to contact you!

Extra entries available for:

1 Entry - Follow the SoftBums “Love Cloth Diapers” Blog (Leave comment)

1 Entry - Follow SoftBums on Twitter (Leave comment)

1 Entry - Like SoftBums on Facebook (leave comment)

1 Entry - Tell why you are excited to try the new diaper! (leave comment)

1 Entry - Follow me on Twitter (Leave comment)

1 Entry per day - Tweet "Enter to WIN a new mystery #SoftBums #clothdiapers and more from @softbumsmama & @graceandbrynley! http://bit.ly/bQPw63 #giveaway" (leave a comment)

3 Entries - Follow me through Google Friend Connect (leave 3 separate comments)

3 Entries - Grab my blog button and post it to your blog. (leave 3 separate comments)

1 Entry - Leave a review on SoftBums (leave comment)

1 Entry - Blog about this giveaway, linking to both my blog and Softbums blog (leave comment with link)


**Giveaway ends October 18th 2010 at 8:00 p.m.(C.S.T.) I will notify the winner via e-mail. Winner to be drawn by the random number generator at Random.org. Winner has 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be drawn.Only open to US residents. Must be 18 years or older to win. Entries on Life with BooBoo and Bug will be counted towards the first prize level and down, not for the iPAD.

Lost, confused and feeling like a failure

Bug's 12 month check up was Monday (even though she is now 13 1/2 months old). I am still a little emotional about the whole situation. Bug's weight is of MAJOR concern. She has always been tiny but between her 9 month checkup and now she has gain ONE pound!!! I feed her 3 meals a day plus 2 snacks and she eats nearly everything. When we met with the doctor in May he said Bug would be fine to switch to whole milk at 12 months. Just make sure a little at a time and monitor her. So about 2-3 weeks after her first birthday we started the switch to milk with what I thought were no problems. The doctor thinks that Bug either has a milk allergy, lactose intolerance or she might be allergic to gluten. Since she has been on milk for less time than the wheat, he told me to pull her off milk and switch her to soy formula for the next month to see if that helps her weight gain at all. I'm just so confused, depressed and guilty about everything. I feel like I did something wrong. Like I don't feed her enough, even though I KNOW she is well-fed. That my breastmilk didn't have enough calories for her little body (already a concern the doctor expressed in the past). I just want her to be healthy and I love her so much but it sucks not knowing what is causing her slow growth.

So remember when I said...

that J and I were done trying to make a baby until at least December or January? Well...




WE'RE PREGNANT!!!!!!




Yup. Apparently that's what happens when you quit trying. I see the doctor in a couple of weeks for my first appointment but as of right now Baby #3's due date is 4/27/2011. I plan on discussing my VBAC options with my doctor and if things do not go like I hope, then I will also be interviewing a few midwives about possible HBAC options. I'm just so excited right now!!!

Sometimes I think I regret the birth methods I chose...

I have been fighting some regret lately about both my girls births. While J and I have been working on baby #3, I have been researching everything I can about VBACs. I know in my heart that is what I want at the end of our next pregnancy (whenever that may be). I have gone through labor, been dilated to 10cm and even pushed but never had the chance to complete a vaginal birth. I feel like it is all my fault for the way BooBoo's birth turned out and while most days it does not bother me, others I feel like a failure.
With BooBoo, I was young and uneducated in the labor and delivery department. I had wanted to take birth classes but J felt that we did not need them and we did not have the money. As two college students this was slightly understandable. When I went into labor with BooBoo I had no idea what to expect. My water broke on it's own (with meconium present) and I remeber being given Pitocin when I got to the hospital. I vaguely remember the painful contractions (which I now know was the transition phase) and agreeing to the epidural; which I had wanted under no circumstances. When I started pushing, I had no clue what to do. The nurses were of no help, they offered no words of advice or encouragement. After 15 hours of labor and three hours of pushing, I was told I would be having an emergency cesarean for "failure to progress". The experience of the cesarean was awful. I remembering telling the anesthesiologist that I was going to throw up and her arguing with me until I had her running for a bowl. After BooBoo was pulled from me I got to see her for about two seconds after they cleaned her up. Then I was given drugs to knock me out and J said it seriously looked like I was dead. Back in the recovery room I did not want to wake up. It was so hard to come out of the fog of the drugs I was given. I don't even remember my family coming in to see me because I was so out of it. BooBoo was brought in about an hour after the birth to eat but I could not feed her. I just wanted to sleep. So I agreed to let the nurses give her a bottle. About two hours of rest and I was ready for my baby. We tried to breastfeed and after a couple of beginner's latch problems we were off and running. I know that J gave her a bottle at one point but she threw everything back up immediately so we stuck with breastfeeding only. I had a rough recovery and wish things had been different. I regret not taking birth classes or doing more research. But you cannot change the past.
When I first pregnant with Bug I was told by my OB that she would be a repeat cesarean. Which I was fine with except for the voice at the very dark corner of my mind telling me to ask about a VBAC. After my labor with BooBoo I did not think I could go through all of labor only to have to have a cesarean anyways. I set the date for Bug's birth (too early now that I reflect) and started preparing for my repeat c-section. When the day came I was prepped for surgery and given a spinal. When I felt like I would throw up the anesthesiologist explained to me why I felt like that, putting me a little at ease. I loved being able to see Bug's little face lifted over the dressings right after she was born. I was wide awake for recovery and able to nurse Bug almost immediately. I was up and walking the next day. I was constantly told by the nurses how amazed they were at my progress. One even asked "Are you sure you just had a c-section?" After we came home from the hospital I started to think about VBACs again. I thought about how perfect my pregnancy with Bug had been and how well I was recovering from the cesarean. I think that I could have had her vaginally if I had been allowed. Again, you cannot change the past.
I decided that if J and I had anymore children I would want VBACs. So before we even began trying to conceive I started researching. Because I will have my VBAC and not because of regrets or missed opportunities but because it is what I want. I want to be able to say that I did it, I succeeded. And now that I am even more into the trying to get pregnant and doing research area, I am slowly becoming more open to another birth option, homebirth.
I never thought I would say that homebirth is something I might want to try. I remeber wanting a water birth with BooBoo but it was not an option with my OB. The thought of using a midwife and giving birth in my own home freaked me out. I know that I watched an episode of TLC's A Baby Story where the homebirth had problems and 911 had to be called. It scared me that I would not have emergency services while delivering. But now I am researching homebirths and midwives in addition to VBACs. I still am deciding what I want but I know that when I finally am pregnant again I will be interviewing OB/GYNs and midwives and exploring all options. Because I don't want to regret a decision just to please a doctor. I love my girls and am so glad that they are here, no matter what birth method we used. I just wish things had started out differently is all.
J knows that I want a VBAC and I know that he will agree to it because he knows it is what I want. He will read whatever research I give him and he will educate himself. But I have NO idea how to bring up the possiblity of a homebirth to him. Maybe I will wait until we are actually pregant and are interviewing midwives. I don't know but I do know that we are taking a break from babymaking until at least December so I have plenty of time to talk.

Roseola? Oh No!

My beautiful little Bug has Roseola.

*For those who do not know what Roseola is, it's a virus whose characteristics are a super high fever for 3-5 days and then after the fever breaks, a rash that starts on the trunk then spreads.

Bug woke up Wednesday very cranky and feverish. I figured she had finally caught the cold that was going around. Since we had managed to purchase our first woven wrap recently (a Neobulle Noah 3.6), I wrapped Bug up nice and snug to me. She fell asleep within minutes and slept most of the day. Thursday and Friday were more of the same. Babywearing really came to the rescue during those few days. By Saturday, Bug's fever had broken and her irritablilty had become even worse (just in time for our friend's wedding). She only had one screeching fit before the ceremony and slept through the entire ceremony. By the time we made it home Saturday night Bug had developed a rash on her back and chest. I thought it was heat rash from being in the wrap for so long but it was even worse Sunday. Bug has a rash on her back, chest, neck and face. Her face is actually the worst. I was very worried so after a trip to the ER, we found out it was Roseola.

The rash is the end of the virus and can last a few days to a few months! I am hoping Bug's is only for a few days. We were told to keep an eye on her and to let our friends with small children know only if Bug had been in contact with them. Roseola is contagious from a few days before the fever starts until a couple days after the fever breaks. The good news they told is that Roseola is similar to Chickenpox. Once you've had it once, you are likely to be immune to it for the rest of your life.

The 1st Birthday Party

We held Bug's first birthday party at Delaware State Park in Delaware, OH on Saturday. We did not have over the top decorations and I made the cupcakes. We had close friends and family attend because Bug is still at the iffy stage with people. It was a great party and here's how it went down.

2:00am the night before the party, I am up finishing cupcakes because I insisted on making them myself. I wanted to cupcakes to look like a ladybug but we did not use red or black frosting (little kids and coloring = no bueno). So I used strawberry and chocolate frosting instead. The cupcakes would have turned out fine at the party if the pink frosting had not come off half the cucakes :*( I was so devastated but J said it would be fine. Nobody even noticed that the cake looked like a ladybug so whatever.

J's mom got us 10lbs of Arby's roast beef and a case of buns for the party. We had sandwiches, chips, pasta salad and drinks. Nothing major, just enough to fill our bellies. Poor Bug was getting tired so we went ahead and sang Happy Birthday to her after lunch. She got about half way through the cupcake and then started bawling.

We took a break so I could nurse her and of course she passed out. Knowing that she normally takes an hour nap, we went ahead and let BooBoo open Bug's presents kind of as a proxy. She was given quite a few outfits and a couple toys.

The nice thing about having the party at the park was that the big kids could play on the playground while everyone was eating. After the party, a few of us went to the other side of the park to go swimming in the lake. The girls love to go swimming so they were very disappointed when we got out to dry off and head home. It's nice to be able to have an outdoor party. With BooBoo's birthday being in March we never know what the weather will be like. We had to cancel her 2nd birthday party (an indoor pool party at the local Y) because we ended up under a Level 3 snow emergency for 3 days. For those who don't know a Level 3 means no one on the road other than emergency personnel.

WW: Year of Bug (WARNING: Picture Heavy!!!)

(I'll post all about Bug's Birthday party tomorrow)