Too Hard to Resist....

That is what got me into this predicament to begin with...Brock, my French Bulldog, was too hard to resist. We only went to Petland to LOOK at puppies and then buy from a reputable breeder. Yeah right!! Once you see their puppy-dog eyes and smell their puppy-dog breath you are in deep doo-doo!

I've owned dogs before and I know better! Still...pregnant and living alone...I could not say no when my husband bought our little Frenchie to keep me company until the weekends. Aargh...just a year has passed and the vet bills and frustration has piled up. Our Brock has allergies beyond belief! The cost to maintain him at a manageable level of discomfort is more than $200 per month. I'm not sure I'm ready to give up frivolous spending to keep my dog somewhat happy. Maybe if he didn't smell from the yeast that wont leave his body or if he didn't scratch so much that he has no hair in a lot of places then I would consider growing my roots out and not picking up every cute dress/outfit in Avery's size at every store I walk into. I wish it wasn't so black and white. He's either unbearably sick or perfectly healthy. When he is perfectly healthy he is on medication that he can't be on long-term due to more side effects.

So we are faced with a few black and white decisions. Keep Brock-Don't Keep Brock, Give him to someone who will keep him medicated-Put him to sleep, Stop medication and live with it-Keep medicating him and hope he doesn't die from the side effects of the major meds he is on.

Then...when I went back to Petland to find out what they were going to do about his warranty I was told nothing could be done because the store owner was new. This makes sense in a tiny way but at the same time- Petland is still a corporation and they should uphold the warranty if the animal they sell is still alive.

Well today I was called and told that I could choose any replacement puppy I wanted. So I have to decide if I want another puppy to raise- and if so what kind? Do I want to stay with the Frenchie Breed or let my husband choose? I really only like Frenchies and Boston Terriers.... If we get a new pup will we really feel better about getting rid of Brock? Do we keep Brock and have the new pup as a back up in case Brock dies? There are too many scenarios and not enough guaranteed outcomes.

The biggest issue is that a replacement puppy is too hard to resist....OH MAN...there it is again...too hard to resist...

Time....

During pregnancy I was confused by the whole- 9 months but really it is 40 weeks-which is 10 months thing! That concept is nothing compared to me trying to figure out how old my daughter is. She was born 12/22 so on 6/22 that would be 6 months old. However, if you count the weeks she will be starting her 28th week of life tomorrow. So 28 weeks is 7 months. Ugh...I don't get it!

Today she was acting weird- she would be sitting totally happy with a toy and scream out in pain with tears. Well- Daddy stuck his finger in her mouth late in the day to see if she was teething and there was already a little tooth poking through! Wow! We can't believe it. I can't even imagine what she will look like with a little tooth in her smile. Awww...but she's changing so fast every day.

We are preparing for our first big trip away from home. We will be heading to Little Rock, AR (9 hours) and then to Keota, OK. I will be driving through the night so we don't change Avery's routine. YIKES! I'm normally not too afraid of crime or strangers but with Avery going to Little Rock I'm worried sick! We are staying near the River Market....

At least she got her tooth out of the way for now...

Made the Switch to Cloth Nappies!

So I'm not from England or any of the other places that seem to call diapers "nappies" but I've been aching to use the word..so I did! :) Nappies!

Let me define a few terms for those of you new to the cloth world

AIO- all in one (means the diaper looks and acts like disposable but its cloth)

Pocket- you have to stuff an absorbent liner into the diaper

One size- the diaper should grow with your child and you wont have to get a different size

Prefolds- are what you imagine when you think of old fashioned cloth diapers

For the past 21 days Avery and I have been trying cloth diapers out. Here is what we did and the results:

First we ordered a 21 day trial for a deposit of $121 (upon completion of the trial we return all items and get $111 back) from www.jilliansdrawers.com We received the following items:

Thirsties Fab Fitted $13.95

2 Chinese Prefolds $2.00 each

1 Fuzzi Bunz Pocket $17.95

1 bumGenius V3.0 Pocket One size $17.95

1 Thirsties Pocket AIO $16.95

1 Snappi Diaper Fastener (used in place of safety pins) $2.49

1 Thirsties Cover (used to go over the Thirsties Fab Fitted or Chinese prefolds) $10.95

1 bumGenius Organic AIO $24.95

Avery is long and lean so her "best picks" may be different from a chunkier kid. She is also a super soaker...day and night!

Thirsties Fab Fitted are bulky. They fit nice around the legs and belly but her bottom looks like J-Lo's! We sent this one back

Chinese prefolds- did not even try! I couldn't figure out how to fold them and I did not want to clean up any leaks. We also didn't use the Snappi...the directions were not easy to follow on that silly thing.

Fuzzi Bunz- this diaper didn't leak and it was pretty soft. I felt like it was really bulky too but we kept it for night time. She wont be able to wear pants over this one but it has extra room for long nights of sleep.

bumGenius Pocket one size- overall this was the best one we tried in the bunch from this trial. It is supposedly pretty trim compared to other brands. I didn't have much trouble with leaking except once at night. The liner doesn't lay down correctly or maybe I don't put it on right so she leaks at the top of the diaper. These liners take forever to dry but it is worth it for their super-absorbency.

Thirsties Cover- hands down the best leak proof item I tried. However, it fits over the already bulky Thirsties Fab Fitted diaper so we sent these back. (We kept the Thirsties pocket diaper)

bumGenius Organic AIO- ok so I was torn on this one. It takes forever and then some to dry because of all the "all in one" parts. I also felt it smelled horrible when she peed in it. I washed it 10 times before using it and I washed it immediately after she soiled it. It came out clean and smelling fresh but within minutes of urinating...I could smell a terrible odor...and not of pee either! We did keep this one for nights because it is super soft, organic and it is very trim. I would not stock up on this one for the price.

During my trial I washed the heck out of these diapers. I washed them EVERY day! I wanted to see how they would hold up, plus I wanted to use them a lot and with only this small amount of diapers I had to wash often.

I was pretty sure I was switching to cloth so I started shopping around Des Moines to see who carried what.

I found bumGenius at Simply for Giggles. I bought one diaper and paid $21.99 plus tax. If I were to purchase 6 or more I would pay $17.99. This is a competitive price as long as I buy 6 or more. Online I can pay less but in most cases there is shipping. (Jillian's Drawers offers free shipping on your next order after the trial). So at this point I wont be buying 6 of the bumGenius diapers because they still aren't "perfect" for Avery.

I stopped at Little Padded Bottoms in Valley Junction. What a GREAT selection of products. I had no idea about this store and was in love the minute I walked in. I purchased the following items:

Wahmies Pail liner $16.50

Wahmies wet bag (regular size) $15.50

Grandma El's diaper cream (suitable for cloth diapers) $10.95

1 Swaddlebees Nappi (in super cute chocolate and pink!) $28.95

3 GAD Pocket Diapers $15.95 each

3 Knickernappies LoopyDo Inserts $6.95 each

I love the Wahmies pail liner and bag- I wash them every time I wash the diapers.

The diaper cream is nice but it doesn't compare to Desitin- which I can't use with a cloth diaper! :(

The Swaddlebees diaper is rather bulky but it is so cute that I just don't care! It is very absorbent but overnight, Avery woke up with wet skin and a slight diaper rash. The Velcro is extremely strong.

The GAD diapers are by far THE trimmest diapers I have tried. The inserts are great but my super soaker needs a little more. We will be heading down to the store again this week to add a second insert to her diaper. Even if we add another insert I think these diapers will continue to be super trim. The snaps hold well too.

Finally, I ordered a 3-pack from www.smartipants.com for a total of $45 including shipping. The features of these diapers make them my all time favorite. They hold well, they absorb exactly like the bumGenius diapers and they are extremely trim. The colors are pretty basic but they do have some added flair here and there. They are easy to wash because the liner comes out on its own in the wash!

Conclusion:

I'm going to order a few more bumGenius from Jillian's Drawers with my free shipping, a flushable liner that goes on top of the inside of the diaper (so you can just flush the liner with any poo!), and maybe a few extra absorbent inserts to "beef up" my other nappies.

I'm ordering another 3 pack from SmartiPants.com because so far I love these diapers.

Little Padded Seats is such a cute store...so once I get the inserts I need I will try to stay away from the store! :)

My total spent so far on diapers is just under $275 and I have enough for 1.5 days. (meaning I do laundry every day). My goal is to spend about $75 more and have enough for 2 days and a morning.

Crying Out Loud!

Oh man I am throwing in the towel! I've asked dozens- and I really mean dozens of mom's what they do to get their kid to sleep. I get an entirely different answer from each one. My poor girl used to do the same thing every night- sigh, yawn, look off into wonderland...I'd put her binky in and drop her in the crib. Within 5-10 minutes she was out for 9-12 hours.

Now...I spend no less than 3 hours per night listening to her cry. I find myself sitting at the bottom of the stairs or outside her room crying right along with her. I don't know what to do! I pick her up and she falls asleep right away so I know her needs are met. I put her back in the crib. She will either cry right then or sleep for 5 minutes and then wake. Well I have been trying to let her "cry it out". I let her go for 2 hours and 35 minutes tonight and she starting choking on whatever she started spitting up from crying. I felt soooooo horrible.

So this last time that I picked her up she clung to me as if she was fearing for her life. Then when I started talking to her- telling her she really needed to go to sleep- she started laughing at me. I just broke down. WHY!?!?!? This is just insane. I feel crazy. I go from laughing at her and thinking she is cute to crying. Am I letting her down? Why wont she sleep- what does she need from me?

The past 3 weeks have been so unproductive. I have so much to do and no time to do it because of my little munchkin. I love her to death but the crying is killing me!