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Friday, June 28, 2013

Two Months

Our Lucy girl is two months old today! And how did we celebrate? We took her to the doctor to get her shots :(


She handled it like a champ, while I was huddled in a corner of the room, my eyes welling up with tears. Her little, whimpering cries broke my heart! But, as soon as it was over, she just stopped crying and started smiling at us. Shots? No big deal.

Lucy weighs 10 lbs. 5 oz. She is 21.5 inches long. I could have sworn she's longer than that, but apparently, she is only in the 50th percentile for height and weight. 



Tomorrow (3 a.m. to be exact), we will be leaving for our summer vacation, Lucy's first time on a plane. Thanks for all the advice and encouragement... I no longer start to hyperventilate when I think about it :) We're going to Georgia to see my brother, and then we're headed to Sanibel Island with M's family. I am so excited to see the ocean, drink my father-in-law's famous daiquiris, and eat real seafood. I promise a picture overload when we return! 

Saturday, June 22, 2013

Growth Spurt

Our Lucy girl is growing so quickly! Yesterday, I put away the last of her newborn clothes. It's hard to believe those little onesies ever fit her. 



I feel like Lucy has been doing mostly vertical growing. I measured her today, and she is about 22 inches long. It's difficult to get an exact measurement because she won't stay still! She loves to kick her little legs and wave her arms. 

She has also started smiling at us, which is just too cute for words. She has grown more aware of things around her, too. She has discovered the mirror that hangs on the back of the car seat, so that we can see her while we're driving. She has also discovered the mirror that hangs over her little swing. The other night, I took a video of her smiling up at her reflection...




Can you believe she is going to be two months old soon??? I can't. 

Friday, June 21, 2013

Lucy's First Overnight Trip

Lucy's first overnight trip was a huge success! This past week, we were up in the mountains for a conference with some of M's students. I was nervous about traveling with a newborn, so I definitely over-packed. I even brought Lucy's sound machine, which I think helped me more than it helped her :)

{M with Lucy in the Ergo... she looks unbelievably tiny in this picture!}

The conference was a lot of fun! I wasn't able to go mountain biking or horseback riding or hiking, but Lucy and I spent a lot of time just sitting outside and enjoying a beautiful view of the mountains. 


In a couple weeks, we are headed to the beach with M's family. I am honestly dreading the flight. I'm hoping Lucy will sleep through it, but there's no telling! Wish me luck. 

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Happy Father's Day Weekend!

Tomorrow, M will celebrate his first Father's Day. Actually, the celebration has already begun. We had waffles and bacon for breakfast this morning, and M opened his father's day presents...


Yesterday, while he was out having a beer with one of his friends, Lucy and I made him this little plaster footprint. The original plan was to get her hand prints, but she wanted to put her hands in her mouth, so that didn't really work out. I decided it might be easier to get a footprint, but she was still squirming all over the place. In the end, I had to nurse her while holding her foot in the plaster - it was the only way I could get her to be still! The end product is a little less than perfect, but I think that only adds to its charm and authenticity :)


Happy Father's Day, Dad and Tom! Your first Father's Day as grandpas... Hope that doesn't make you feel too old :) We love you!

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Cloth Diapering

Many people have been curious about our decision to use cloth diapers. I don't blame them! When I used to think about cloth diapers, I pictured the old-school kind that you had to pin and wear with those ridiculous plastic pants. Thankfully, cloth diapers have come a very long way since then. It's not nearly as difficult or inconvenient as you would imagine.



Here are a lot of the reactions I get...
- Cloth diapers are messy.
- You must spend all your time doing laundry!
- Cloth diapers are too much work.
- How do you use cloth diapers when you travel?
- How do you decide what kind of cloth diapers to get?

Even once I made the decision to use cloth diapers, I was a little intimidated. I wondered if we would actually be able to pull it off with our busy lifestyle. I had many of the same concerns listed above. But I realized that cloth diapers are actually completely do-able. We just had to develop a system that was right for our family and fine-tune that system over time. For example, we don't use cloth wipes. To me, that was just too gross, and I could stomach the cost of disposable wipes more easily than I could using cloth wipes. Also, I always keep a stash of disposable diapers on-hand. When we are out of the house all day, or when we are traveling, disposable diapers really are easier to deal with. But, whenever we are home or just running a quick errand, Lucy wears cloth diapers. This obviously saves us a lot of money, which is the main reason we decided to use cloth diapers in the first place.

- Cloth diapers are messy.
ALL diapers are messy. Diapers are just gross period, whether they are cloth or disposable. Lucy has had "blow-outs" in both, and actually, the cloth diapers contain the blowouts better than the disposables. I can see where people are coming from, though. With disposable diapers, all you have to do is throw them away, but with cloth diapers, you have to clean them. This process is actually not as disgusting as you might imagine. While babies are eating breast milk, you technically don't need to clean the poop out of the diaper before washing because it comes off so easily with detergent. Personally though, I prefer to wipe the poop off the diaper with a little toilet paper before putting it in the diaper pail. It sounds gross, but you'll be doing much grosser things than that as a parent!

- You must spend all your time doing laundry!
With a newborn, you spend all your time doing laundry no matter what! Honestly, we spend more time washing our sheets because Lucy has spit up all over them than we do washing diapers. While Lucy was a brand new baby, we used disposable diapers 1) because she would not fit into her cloth diapers yet, and 2) because she was flying through diapers so fast that we could hardly keep up! We started using cloth diapers around the time that she was one month old. By then, she was not producing nearly as many dirty diapers, which means we don't have to wash them as frequently. Also, washing cloth diapers doesn't take up much time - all you do is throw them in the wash and then hang them on a drying rack to dry. For me, it's easier than washing clothes because you don't have to fold anything!

- Cloth diapers are too much work.
Cloth diapers can be a lot of work, but they don't have to be. Once we made the decision to use cloth diapers, we had to decide on a system that would work best for us. Would we use cloth wipes or disposable? Would we use cloth diapers ONLY, or would we use disposables for things like travel? What kind of cloth diapers would we use, the kind with inserts built in or the kind you have to stuff? You have to make these decisions based on your lifestyle and priorities. I have friends who insist that using cloth wipes is simple when you are already using cloth diapers, but for me, I knew that disposable wipes would just be easier. Some of my friends think stuffing inserts into the diapers is easy, but I would rather use diapers that have inserts built in. It just depends on your preferences. Once you have your system, cloth diapers are no more work than disposables.

- How do you use cloth diapers when you travel?
We don't! We plan to use disposable diapers when we travel, but like I said, that's what is easiest for us. I have friends who use only cloth diapers, including when they travel. Honestly, I don't know how they do it. You should ask them sometime.

- How do you decide what kind of cloth diapers to get?
This is probably one of the hardest parts of using cloth diapers because there are so many options available. I did so much research on cloth diapers before Lucy was born. I read so many reviews, and each brand of cloth diapers has people who love it and people who hate it. Ultimately, I think you have to try a few different brands and types of diapers before you settle on your favorites. I used to babysit a little girl who wore Bum Genius brand cloth diapers, so I already knew that I liked and trusted that particular brand. At my baby shower, we got a few other brands (Rumperooz and Fuzzibunz), and so far, we like them all. Personally, I don't think brand matters so much. What matters more to us is that the diapers are one-size, so that we don't have to keep buying them as Lucy grows. If you want to use cloth diapers but you don't know what kind you want to use, I recommend trying out a few different brands. Don't be overwhelmed by the opinions of others because you won't really know what you like until you try it.



We made the decision to use cloth diapers because it would, in the long run, be more cost-effective and practical for our family. Of course, our decision might have looked different if I was having multiples, or if we knew that Lucy would be in daycare for much of the week. There are so many factors that go into the decision, and I am not advocating that everyone should use cloth diapers! I just wanted to debunk some of the common misconceptions and show how cloth diapering works for the average, busy family :)

Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Nap Time


We are officially back to taking daytime naps! Hooray!


This week, we are so busy getting ready for RYM, a big conference we have with our students every summer up in Estes Park, Colorado. This will be our first "trip" with Lucy, and even though we won't be going very far, it's a little daunting. I am already having nightmares that I won't pack enough diapers and we'll run out! Wish me luck.

Sunday, June 9, 2013

Taste of Fort Collins

Every summer, our city has an outdoor festival called Taste of Fort Collins. There are concerts (this year, AWOL Nation is playing... Not my favorite, but I think they are pretty popular), and some of the streets are blocked off so that local vendors and restaurants can offer up their goodies. This year, we brought Lucy along with us...

{Lucy and I watching the concert...}

{She was obviously really into it.} 

{M navigating through the crowds...} 

{Enjoying some waffles from the Waffle Lab}

We had so much fun, but by the end of the day, I think Lucy was pretty exhausted. We are still learning how much she can put up with. Sometimes I forget that she is still so little. 


Our Lucy girl is just coming off of her six-week growth spurt. Apparently, around six weeks, babies go through a  period of mental and social maturation. She has started smiling at us, which is just too incredible for words. But, all this growing means that she is a little fussier and a lot hungrier. She has been eating more frequently, and she doesn't nap as easily as she used to. Fortunately, she has been doing much better the past couple of days. Hallelujah. 

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Visitors

Since Lucy was born, we have been blessed with some great visitors. My family was here in early May, and then M's parents came out to Colorado shortly thereafter. This past weekend, we had a visit from my friend Leanna...


{Lucy loves her Aunt Leanna!}



Lucy is almost six weeks old, which apparently means that she is at her peak fussiness. I'm sure this looks different for all babies, but for Lucy it means that she doesn't like daytime naps. (She is still sleeping great at night - two nights ago, she didn't wake up once! - so we feel like we can't complain about her not taking naps during the day...) M and I are very well-rested, but I am having trouble finding the time to get things done during the day, including keeping up with this blog. If she does go down for an hour here and there, I am able to do some housework or take a shower. I am trying to learn to use my time wisely! Just know that blogging may take a backseat for the next couple of weeks. I will post as often as I can :)