Waaaaay back When-sday!!!!!

It was exactly 1 year ago tomorrow that we found out little BBZ was a boy! This was the day he got the name, Baby Boy Z.

We did not decide what to name him until he was born, so Baby Boy Z was how we referred to him after this date. Graham, Jack, and the name we ended up picking were definitely our favorites, but toward the end we entertained the name Denver, which is still one of my favorites. I think that would be best for a little girl though, and we could call her Denny.

He always had his arms up near his face during the ultrasounds, and he still enjoys that. To this day he manages to scratch his face even when I am sure I got all of the ragged edges of his nails. It is so hard to believe that this is him, and now he is here and he is so perfect. It feels so long ago that this ultrasound was done and I was feeling him move inside my belly. Life with him is so surreal. It often feels like my life is happening to someone else! How can I have this healthy baby, who we created out of thin air who grew inside me and is now learning to crawl and explore the world. How is this possible? What did I do to deserve something so perfect and wonderful in my life? This has to be someone else's life that I am intruding on, for I cannot figure out what I did to deserve someone who loves me so much, and accepts my love in return. He has changed my life and made me a better person.

Crawling? Seriously?

So for about a week or so I have been giggling at (I mean sweetly encouraging) BBZ while he gets frustrated and aggravated when he tries ever so hard to reach out and grab whatever object is just out of his reach. He sees it, reaches out, puts all of his little energy into his arms and legs to do everything he can to get a little closer to the object, gets his arms up, his feet ready and GO! Then he crawls backwards. He gets even farther away from the object and gets so mad! We have been trying to get him to go forward, but until now he always ended up going the wrong way. Well tonight I was cooking some stuffed peppers (which by the way turned out pretty darn good for my first try) and N had BBZ on the island. BBZ leaned over to grab the fan remote and crawled forward to get it! We were both so surprised that N rushed him into the living room and laid him on the floor to see what would happen, and he crawled! He is still a little rusty, but it is clear that he knows what he is doing, and now that he has figured out the basics, I think he is well on his way to mastering this skill. We tried to videotape it, but our batteries were dead. We'll try again tomorrow!

Money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul. ~Henry David Thoreau

I've been thinking a lot about money this weekend. It has become the reason that I have contemplated and thought and worried and decided and undecided and rethought and reconsidered over and over this weekend to come to a final decision about what to do about work. I will soon be a part-time, 4-day work week employee with permanent 3-day weekends, paying for a 5th day of daycare that I don't need, and I am perfectly ok with this decision.

That feels so good.

So this weekend was full of all of this thinking I was talking about, and I went through a few scenarios before coming to the one I just mentioned. I think I mentioned one of the things I hate is that I don't have time to clean the house. So N suggested we hire someone to clean. This was met with immediate defense (from me) because I am the house cleaner! Why would I ever pay anyone to clean my house for me? That is MY JOB, along with all of the other jobs I have given myself since becoming a wife and a mom. So this idea spent some time in my mind and I started to entertain the idea. I spoke to my mom, who said that she and my dad had someone clean their house when we were little, something she also struggled with. She also felt that it was something she should be able to do. She said it was my dad who said that it was not failure on my mom's part, but rather a decision about how they wanted to spend their time. They would rather spend their free weekend time with their kids than cleaning the house. So then I realized that I have all of these expectations of myself, that I can no longer live up to. So then I thought about working a 4-day week every other week and hiring someone to clean the house. This was actually my final decision when I left for work this morning, which all changed when I turned my back to his room at daycare, and took that deep breath as I walked down the hall toward my car wishing I never had to leave him. If you remember, this was something I mentioned about my schedule, and it happens every single day. With all the talk about the house cleaning, I lost the main point of being off that extra day...to be with my baby!

It was easy to talk myself into thinking I really didn't need an extra day every week when I had my beautiful baby right next to me, but as soon as I walked away from him, that feeling came back, and I can't deny it. Money is important, but not as important as this special time that I will never get back. We are in a position where we can afford it, so why not enjoy that and take advantage? I was talking with some ladies at my friend's wedding shower this weekend who's children are my age about what it was like for them to return to work after having their kids. It was refreshing to be reminded that every working woman goes through this. One woman said that she went back to work after her first baby and struggled daily about the decision. So much so that she stayed home with her youngest for 4 years, and never regrets that decision for a minute. Regret. I know I will never look back and regret taking that extra day with BBZ, but I very well could regret not taking that extra day.

So there it is. I plan to still send BBZ to school for either a full day or a 1/2 day when I am off so I can do the deep cleaning that this house needs. So I remain that cleaning lady of our house! That way I can take advantage of that day still being his at school and maybe have a little time to myself. I actually used to like cleaning when it didn't take me away from BBZ, so maybe that will be some very useful me time! I also hope to improve the way I cook for my family and maybe even plan meals! Oh the possibilities!

I have to sneak a picture in of the beautiful reason I am making this difficult decision. How can this be hard? Look how precious he is!

Things are not as easy as they seem.

So I called BBZ's daycare and found out that they charge the same price for 4 days as they do for 5. We would have to drop to 3 days on order to save any money. I think I sort of knew that already, but I hoped that I was wrong. Now I have to decide if it is worth it to not only to work less and get less pay, but also pay (a lot) for daycare we don't need. N suggested I maybe try working a 4-day work week every other week, or in other words, take a day off without pay every other week. This wouldn't help with the daycare problem, but it would give me an extra couple of days a month at home and not take such a big chunk out of our money. I have some more thinking to do. I also looked at the cost effectiveness of working 3 days and dropping the daycare cost, but I still end up ahead keeping him in full time because if I went to 3 days/week I couldn't do my current job. I would have to change positions and no longer be a supervisor (I supervise too many people to be part-time), so that would lower my pay. Oh, why can't this just be easy? So we have more to think about, but I know it will all work out. Just entertaining the idea has kept that weight off of my shoulders. I just laid my sweet baby boy down for bed, and at first I was happy about having some time to myself, but now I miss him...like crazy! I can't wait for him to wake up tomorrow so we can laugh and play and have all kinds of fun. I'm so happy it's the weekend!

Baby Boy Z is 7 Months Old!!!

Look at the big boy!

At the beginning of the month he needed help sitting up.

Smiling at Daddy at the Zoo His newest favorite toy

Squeaky clean!

Doesn't he look mischievous in this picture?

This was a fun toy too!

Look how well they share!

You can really see his two teeth in this picture! And he sits up all by himself now!

"It's been a long, long time comin', but I know a change gonna come" ~Sam Cooke

Ahh, change. A past professor of mine taught me that change is constant. Change cannot cease to occur. Our lives are continually growing and changing, and to resist it is pointless. Change. People resist it, holding on as tight as possible to the way things have always been and the way they expect them to stay. But no matter how hard you hold on, change is inevitable, and it is constant. I have been doing some soul searching and, with the well wishes of many friends, and a lovely prayer from my friend and neighbor, have excepted that I cannot do all for my baby that I want to while keeping the work life I had before he was here. Before he was here I could work past 4:30pm, sleep a little late if I wanted, let things at home go if things at work needed more attention, but times have changed. I cannot work 40 hours a week and do what I need to for my family. I think that is one reason I have not been able to heal this infection. A very kind co-worker told me on my first day back from maternity leave to not try and do it all, because if I try I will get tired, and when I am tired I will get sick, and when I am sick, everyone will suffer...including (if not especially) the baby. Well that is exactly what has happened. I have tried to do way more than one person is able, and I need to change something, or rather adjust my life to the change that has already taken place. I asked my boss today, while trying to fight back tears of emotion, if the department could accommodate my working a 32 hour, 4-day week. I tried to stay professional, but as I am requesting something I would have never expected myself to want, and imagining being able to have 1 glorious extra day at home with my baby, I couldn't resist the emotion. She was so understanding and open to suggestions as we brainstormed what might work for me and for the company. She said she would run it by her boss, and she did, and they approved it! So starting soon, I will have my 1 extra day at home with my baby. I don't think I can express how this weight has been lifted off of me. I think I wanted to pretend that I could do it all, and now that I have refused to resist the change, welcoming it with open arms really, I feel like I can breathe, and maybe actually do some of the things I have been neglecting, like cleaning my house! No seriously, the ONLY part of my house that is clean is BBZ's area on the floor in the living room and the kitchen, the rest of the house is a dirty mess. And I don't just mean clutter, I mean pounds of dust on the furniture, dirty floors you wouldn't want to wear socks on, and cobwebs. My cleanliness has certainly taken the COMPLETE back seat to my other lists of things to do. I don't know how soon this will start, but I do know that I am on my way to something new and I think I will be a much better version of myself to my job, to my husband, and to my baby. Who happens to be exactly 7 months old today! I will send a post soon with his cute, updated photos.

Nothing like a good poop story to make everyone feel better!

So over the weekend I decided to try making carrots for BBZ...see!

The blue octopus helped too! I figured BBZ, or maybe I, was getting sick of avocados and sweet potatoes. I bought some carrots from Whole Foods and cooked 'em up. BBZ loved them! He's been eating nothing else since Sunday evening, and well, this morning it really showed...in his diaper! This was the orangest poop I have ever seen! It was like I dumped the orange carrots right in there. Maybe this was BBZ's way of really showing his orange support for Stellan!

So we have certainly been enjoying ourselves (I mean resting and trying to feel better) on our day off today. It is in the 70s and sunny and an absolutely perfect day! Look how cute he is in his little shorts! Meme bought him lots of summer clothes when they came in town for Easter, and he finally gets to wear them! Maybe we will even find some time today to rest and recover while lying in the sun in the back yard!

What a strange day.

I found it difficult to work today as visions of Stellan undergoing heart surgery filled my mind, which then made way for visions of BBZ and how I would feel if it were him going through such tremendous health issues. I have looked at BBZ's pictures all day, being ever so grateful that he is healthy, but I have also felt very sad. I am sad that I have to leave him everyday. Why is today so much harder? I think it's more than what's going on with Stellan since I have been wondering this for a while, but I think that is stirring it up for me. It's amazing how much you can empathize with someone you have never met when it has to do with their child. It's so easy to imagine it's my child. I have felt a lot of jealousy and envy lately (completely out of he norm for me) toward moms who work part time. I don't think I want to work part time, I think I am happy at my job, I think I am OK leaving BBZ at daycare... So why am I so envious of these women?

I have this underlying feeling that something has to change. I cannot keep on this way. What if it were him who was sick? What if this time I have with him is so precious and I am wasting it spending 5 days a week at work? But I want to work. I really do enjoy my job. Where is this all coming from? Why was I fine for 3 whole months and now I am struggling with working and daycare? I guess it's my attention to Stellan that is stirring this up, or maybe it's because there are woman at work who have chosen to go to part time since having their babies. That was something I considered when I first came back, but I was happy to be back full-time. I feel like being a brat and saying, it's just not fair! But I don't even know that I want what they have. I guess maybe I want more time. Maybe an 8 day work week. 5 days of work and 3 days with my baby. Can we squeeze in one more day in the week? Will that really throw off the calendar that much? I wonder who I would talk to about that...hmm.

Whatever is going on, I have this feeling that something has got to change, but what? I've taken on a new project at work, maybe this will be enough of a change to make a difference...I guess we'll see. To add to all of this, I have been sick for about 2 weeks now. You have seen my schedule, I don't have time to be sick! No seriously, I really don't have time. I tried to schedule an appointment with my regular doc last week and we couldn't find a day and time that I could squeeze in (to my schedule). So I went to the Walgreen's clinic last Wednesday. The nurse practitioner was great, but she put me on Amoxicillin, which to date has not worked AT ALL! I left work early yesterday just to have some time to sit on the couch before picking up BBZ, and I have been on antibiotics for a week! I called my regular doc yesterday and am seeing him this afternoon. Hopefully it won't be a waste of money. I'd hate for him to tell me to wait out the 10 days on Amoxicillin before doing anything else. Who knows. Hopefully I will have some relief!
---------------------------------------------------

Umm, as soon as I finished typing that sentence, my phone rang and it was BBZ's teacher telling me he has something going on with his eye and I had to pick him up. Yes, I was blogging at work, but I promise it was the very first time (OK except for the earlier blog, but that really was the first time, and look how short it was!) I have never blogged at work 1. because I am too busy, and 2. I really think it's wrong to waste work time that way. But the way I have been feeling about working and being a mom and being torn about where to go from here, I HAD to get it out of my head, because I couldn't concentrate on work anyway. So anyway, I cancelled my doctor's appointment and took BBZ to his. They can't tell if it is pink eye because they "would have to do an eye swab with every kid" to determine that. Ok, so why they don't do that I don't know, so they treat every eye issue with an antibiotic eye drop that does not get absorbed into the system and effect the immune system at all...apparently. So I dropped off the prescription and brought the sick little guy home. N called me back at this point and I filled him in on what the doc said. He works so hard, it's pretty much impossible for him to drop everything like I did, so his help today was unfortunately not an option. He was able to pick up the prescription at Walgreen's on his way home so we didn't have to leave the house. That was a big help. So in the midst of this, the Walgreen's nurse called to do a follow-up. She asked if I was feeling better and I said no. She asked if I wanted to have her call in a Z-PAC and I said yes! Please! She was going to call it into the same Walgreen's N was going to so it would be perfect, right? Actually no, as we were hanging up I said "the Z-PAC is OK while breastfeeding, right?" She said hmm, let me check. Well my OB nurse called in a Z-PAC when BBZ was 3-4 days old because that was the last time I had a sinus infection and it was no problem with nursing. Granted I was also taking pain killers at the time, but whatever. So she came back to the phone and said no, it's not OK while breastfeeding and referred me to my doctor.

So here I am, right where I started. Sick and absolutely no time to go to the doctor. I do get to stay home tomorrow, but it's not like I am going to rest. But at least I get to sit at home and snuggle with my little boy all day long. He was very snuggly tonight and I'm taking all the snuggles I can get! To you moms out there, any suggestions on getting eye drops in a 7 month old baby's eyes? This has already proven to be a huge challenge... One more thing (maybe just one) I cannot smell or taste anything. Seriously. ANYTHING. I asked N the other day if we as humans didn't have taste buds, would we ever eat anything that wasn't good for us. I, myself, would be on a diet of field greens and brussel sprouts because it seems silly to eat anything that isn't good for you if you can't enjoy it anyway. I have had a craving for something sweet for 2 weeks and cannot satisfy it because I can't taste anything. The smell thing sucks too. This may not make sense, but it sucks not being able to smell when BBZ poops because I don't know ahead of time how prepared I need to be when going in for a diaper change. Do I need 1 wipe or 3? Do I need to have a change of clothes on hand? This morning I knew he pooped only because I caught the red face while he was hanging out in his exersaucer. This is important because I would hate to take him to daycare with something ripe in his diaper. So, those are 2 symptoms I am looking forward to losing quickly. Those and the ridiculous sinus pressure and pain. Oh well, at least I am also too busy to be too bothered by it. Maybe the day off will be good for me too. At least I will get all those snuggles I was talking about.

BBZ is in Orange for Stellan!

Pray today for Stellan, who is having risky heart surgery right now. Hug your babies a little bit tighter today and never take their health for granted.

A day in the life of...

...a cloth diapering, breastfeeding, breastpumping, full-time working mama. When BBZ was 8 weeks old, I read a book called Hirkani's Daughters: Women Who Scale Modern Mountains to Combine Breastfeeding and Working. Here is an explanation of the book:

HIRKANI'S DAUGHTERS was inspired by an ancient tale from India about a young mother, Hirkani who lived in the mountain ranges of Western Ghats during the 1600’s. Legend has it that when she was accidentally locked behind the fort gates of the Kings palace, Hirkani scaled down a 1000-foot vertical cliff to breastfeed her baby. When the King heard of her courage, he was so impressed that he honored her by naming the village where she lived Hirkani Village. This village still exists today. HIRKANI’S DAUGHTERS is a compilation of inspirational stories written by mothers from around the world who have overcome various obstacles to continue breastfeeding and working. They too are finding their own ways around the gates people have shut before them. And they, too, are excited, scared and missing their children. Some of the stories share Hirkani’s drama; others speak with a quiet calm. At their core, they are all stories of women evaluating their options through trepidation and a beating heart, and in the end bravely taking the path that works best for their families. Hirkani knew well the difficulty of finding that balance with each and every step that she took as she climbed slowly down the mountain.

So I read this book and enjoyed hearing mothers' stories about their schedules and work days and wondered how I would possibly make do and have it all...a happy breastfed baby, a great job, great husby and happy home. Well here's a look into one of my days...

6:05am- Alarm goes off.

6:15am - Hopefully I am up by now and getting into the shower.

7am -Kiss N goodbye. Go downstairs, eat breakfast, make my lunch, pack up pre-stuffed diapers, filled bottles, baby food and changes of clothes to take to school. If it's Monday, I grab the pump too.

7:30am - Wake up BBZ, although lately he has been waking up while I am in the shower. That makes getting ready really fun. Get him dressed, downstairs, and feed him.

7:55am - Load up the car with BBZ and all of our stuff.

8am - Drop him off at daycare. Fill out the papers, unpack diapers and clothes, line the diaper pail, put bottles in the fridge, hug and kiss him 1,345,980 times before turning around and leaving. Take a deep breath as I walk down the hall to the car as I wish I never had to be away from him.

8:20am-10am - Work.

10-10:15am - Pump 8 ounces (on a good day) for BBZ's tomorrow bottles. Look at pictures to help the process. Maybe chat with Laura on facebook. Yes I can multi task while pumping!

11am - Go on a scheduled home visit (if needed). I have to plan these around the pumping, which can sometimes suck.

12-12:20pm - Pump if my supply is low, like today. I can't do this if I have an 11am appointment, so this is challenging.

2-2:20pm - Pump another 8 ounces (hopefully) for BBZ's tomorrow bottles.

3pm - Go on another scheduled home visit (if needed). Yes, this one can also cause trouble if I have to add extra pumps for low milk supply.

4:30pm - Leave work.

4:45pm - Pick up BBZ. Check out bottles to see how many he needs for tomorrow. Grab dirty diapers and read papers to see when he ate last and how he napped. Give another 1,768,345 kisses because I missed him so much.

5pm - Get home, drop everything, and feed BBZ. Even if he eats as much as 6 ounces right before I pick him up, he still nurses. This is probably the best part of my day. Well, the next part is pretty great too.

5:30pm - N gets home. He changes his clothes and swoops up BBZ. I get to sit and watch the love of my life play with his son. The way he holds him, and kisses him, and is so excited about spending those first minutes home with him makes me fall in love with him all over again. Every single day.

5:30-6:15pm - Cook and eat dinner. Sometimes BBZ sits in his high chair while I cook, other times N plays with him the whole time. Either way, for now he is happy to chill while I cook. I don't know how long this will last once he is moving around!

6:15-7pm - Bathtime, Pjs, dinner. BBZ is usually in bed by 7pm. This used to bother me because I really only get 2 hours with him once we get home, but it is nice to have the time with N in the evening and time to do everything else that needs to be done.

7-8pm - Is it Tuesday or Wednesday? If so, it's American Idol. If not, I probably blog or poke around on facebook. This is the best time just for me. If my milk supply is low, like today, I drink a beer. Mmmm.

8-9pm - Get things ready for tomorrow. I do laundry every single day. I rotate doing clothes one night and diapers the next. On diaper nights I spray off the poopy ones and get started earlier since washing them has lots of tricks and takes lots of time. Totally worth it though! Defrost baby food and wash bottles. I only have 6 bottles, so I have to wash these every other day too.

9-10pm - More quiet time. I honestly can't remember watching a show besides American Idol and Wheel of Fortune, besides our Sunday night shows. I don't even watch Grey's Anatomy anymore. I use this time to spend with N, check emails, play on facebook, or blog.

10pm - Crash in bed. Reflect on how thankful I am for all of the wonderful things in my life. Even if I am so exhausted I can only think of 2.

So there it is. A day in my life. What's nice about this, is BBZ is so flexible, we can easily go visit a friend, or go out to dinner, and shake up this whole routine and he just rolls with it. It might make for a much later night for me, but everything finds a way to get done. I know it might look like I do everything, but N does all the things that are behind the scenes. He cleans up after dinner, empties the dishwasher (my all-time least favorite chore) takes Delilah for walks, and keeps me sane. I defininately have bad days and barely get this done, but it has to...eventually. Besides, doesn't this little cutie pie make it all worth it? Absolutely.

6 Month Photos!

Thank you Debbie DeClue!

I think it is fair to say that BBZ is the cutest baby on the face of the Earth!

Waaaaay back When-sday!!

I stole this method of posting on Wednesdays from Gina, who often gives me great ideas for blogging. This is also my 40th post! So in celebration I have posted the following picture... This was me at exactly 40 weeks pregnant! Besides the day BBZ was born, I don't think I have ever been happier to no longer be pregnant than I am right now remembering how miserable I was the day this picture was taken. I LOVED being pregnant, but at this time I was just D-O-N-E. I loved feeling the little man move around in there and imagining what he would be like. I loved sitting in the rocking chair (the same rocking chair my dad rocked me to sleep in) and imagining what it would be like when he is here, and I loved that I was growing a real human being inside me. I discovered why I was here on this Earth...to meet N and create BBZ. I sit in that rocker now and am so grateful that he is here, he is happy and he is healthy. It made those 41 weeks (yes I went a full week AFTER this picture was taken!) worth every minute.

Weekend with Daddy

What a great weekend! On Friday, N picked BBZ up from school early and took him to the Zoo! I was a little bummed that I couldn't go, but also really excited for the boys to have some much needed daddy-son time. I had to take my Certified Case Manager exam while they were partying at the Zoo, and I think it went pretty well. I won't find out for 8 weeks, which may seem like a long time, but an actual person reviews the test. Case Management is so different based on what type of agency you work in, some of the questions were really subjective and at the end I had the opportunity to explain and even question some of the questions. Here's an example...one question asked something like, when a child acquires a disability, parents often A. react with extreme grief and the adjust well B. continue to grieve at each missed developmental milestone C. and D. were definitely wrong. That is such a hard question! Parents could easily grieve at first, then adjust well, and STILL grieve when their child misses those milestones. So I was able to explain this at the end and I guess a real person will look at it and decide if my explanation warrants a correct answer. I had about 9-10 questions I commented on out of 180 questions. We'll see!

So then Saturday morning I volunteered for something for work and gave N and BBZ even more daddy-son time. After that I came home and fed the little man and had to turn around and leave again for a funeral. One of my past participants passed away. She was the sweetest lady. I met her when she lived in a nursing home and wanted to move into her own apartment. She had sustained a stroke and was paralyzed. by the time I met her she was walking and physically healed from the stroke, but had a bit of brain damage that made it hard for her to keep track of her bills, etc. She had this sweet little high pitched voice and I remember thinking I was talking to a young girl when we first spoke. She had cancer, but either didn't know it, or chose not to acknowledge that she was as sick as she was. She called me once and said that she was happy because a nurse started to come to her house a few times a week. When I asked the name of the agency she said "something Hospice", well hospice means a person has a terminal illness and has approximately 6 months to live. She didn't seem to know that, so I didn't tell her. She seemed happy enough not knowing.

One thing I must mention about her is the love she felt for her son. She talked about him as though he was a god, and to her I'm sure he was. He was her payee and helped with most of her finances. He loved her dearly, and it was a joy being around the two of them. He spoke so eloquently at the funeral about his mom, who clearly mean so much to him. I found myself wondering what she did to teach him to be such a strong, loving and caring man? Am I instilling those traits in my son? Will BBZ take care of me as I grow old and thank God for the time he had with me as he says goodbye? I can only hope so. It's so amazing how much I learn from the people I work with. She was more to me that a participant, she was my friend. She, as many people with disabilities do, lived on a very fixed income, but still found money to buy BBZ some cute flashing Christmas socks since I returned to work right before Christmas. She was a very sweet and thoughtful woman and I will really miss her.

On a lighter note, I sold the cloth diapers! For the same money I paid for them! And I was completely honest about their condition. As she left from picking them up, I said that I hope they work for her, and she said if they don't, I'll probably see them on Craig's List for someone else to try! That's funny...they will be floating around until they fall into the hands of someone who either knows what's wrong with them or has a baby that fits them. Oh well, at least I gave them a try!The gdiapers worked great all weekend with the cloth inserts I made. It's funny, each time I made a batch (because I had to do it in shifts while watching a little boy) I changed them up a bit and they got progressively better. The last ones I made are by far the best, so I finally have the system down. We start them at school tomorrow! I'm still going to use disposable at night, at least for now, because I hate changing a soaking wet baby in the middle of the night when he would usually sleep straight through. Maybe as he gets older we can go to cloth at night too. This is a great start! As you can see in the picture, BBZ was a really great helper!

Ahhh, another weekend done. I was so busy I barely got to enjoy it! My boss comes back from maternity leave tomorrow and I am pretty pumped about it. I have been crazy stressed doing half of her job and mine, so it will be back to normal tomorrow. Thank god. Goodnight everyone!

BBZ has 2 teeth!

He was kind of cranky yesterday and has been ridiculously drooly the last week or so, so I figured something was moving around in there. Then when I picked him up from school his teacher said she could feel it and so could I! The bottom 2 are definitely poking through, but you can feel the one on his right side more than the other. He's growing up so fast! To help his sore little gums, I put a frozen banana in the fruit thingy my office mate got for him for my work shower. At first he wanted nothing to do with it, but once he got the hang of it, he loved it!

I also bought this bath ring from a lady on Craig's List for $5 and gave it a try tonight. He was able to sit up pretty well, but not well enough. He got kind of slippery and it made me nervous. I think we will wait a couple more weeks just so he will be a little bit better at sitting up on his own. But look how cute he looked in the tub!

Ok, I am off to start sewing those cloth diaper inserts. Tomorrow I am taking the Certified Case Manager Exam...wish me luck! I planned to study tonight, but the exam says that it is practice-based, so if you work in a case management position you should already know the information. Hopefully that is true because besides reading the glossary of terms from the website, I am going in pretty blind. I think it will go well though. I won;t find out for 8 weeks, but I will let everyone know when I get the test score!

By the way, a lady contacted me about the bumgenius diapers I am seling on Craig's List and I think she might buy them! And I was honest about their condition! Hopefully they will work for her and it is a fit issue rather than a diaper issue.

Bela Fleck, MckMama, cloth diapers, 6 month photos and chocolate cake

Wow, that's a lot for one post, huh? I can't believe I haven't blogged in almost a full week! I've got lots to catch up on. First, we went to The Sheldon tonight to see Bela Fleck and it was really fantastic! Apparently, Bela became curious about the origin of the banjo and started tracking it back to Africa. He wrote lots of songs and made a documentary and brought many of the incredible artists back to the states to perform and tour with him. 4 of them were with him tonight. They absolutely BLEW ME AWAY. These are not just musicians, they are artists. They are such masters at their instruments I cannot describe it. And, of course, Bela is in this category as well. Luckily, YESTERDAY we were able to talk our brother-in-law into sitting here while BBZ slept so we could go to the show at all. This was one small detail we did not plan until the very very last minute (aka last night). Give us a break, we are new to this whole babysitter thing! Next is MckMama. I have so much to say about this it really should be it's own blog. If you don't already know about her and her many small children, check out her blog and come back...this will make more sense if you do. It started for me when I was complaining about those cloth diapers in one of my blogs. Gina left a comment that one of her blog friends suggested I sign up for this cloth diaper give away that MckMama was hosting. I went over to her blog and signed up. This blog had thousands of followers and I was very intrigued. The next day I went on the blog to see who won the contest and she had posted the beginning of a sad story that is continuing as I type this. Her son is 5 months old and has a heart condition that was diagnosed when she was pregnant but showed no symptoms until that day. He is now in the children's hospital in Minneapolis and lots and lots of bloggers are following her story and hoping and praying for her son, Stellan. I am so moved by their story and check every day to see how little Stellan is doing. It makes me more grateful than I can express to have a health baby boy at home. Each time I read her blog I think of her baby, and what I would feel if it were BBZ in that hospital. I am so grateful for his health, and mine, and that of those we love. I think of her and her family everyday and hope that their story has a happy ending. Ok, so next we have an update on the cloth diaper situation. I am trying to sell the old ones on Craig's List with an honest description of their condition. One woman offered me half of what I paid, but to me it's almost worth holding onto them to see if they fit better when he is older rather than losing $100. I offered them for $150 but she said no thanks. Another lady emailed about them so we will see! I am pretty happy with the gdiapers so far. They have an optional disposable liner, but I have preferred the cloth liners we've tried. I bought some inexpensive material and plan to sew my little butt off this weekend and try to get enough liners done for him to start the cloth diapers full time at daycare on Monday. I have a crazy weekend, so who knows when I will have time, but I am hoping! Sunday we got BBZ's 6 month photos taken! He is able to sit up on his own (at least enough for photos), so we got some really cute poses! I'll be sure to post them when we get them. Hopefully we will get them in a week or 2. Check out Debbie DeClue's website...she's pretty good! Lastly, a few weeks ago in the midst of my cloth diaper saga, we were taking BBZ and Delilah for a walk and stopped to talk to our neighbor. I noticed she had a drying rack on her porch and we started to talk about diapers and babies (she has a 2 month old) and breastfeeding and all that fun new mom talk. I had lots of questions about the cloth diapers and she lent me a newborn insert, also used as a doubler, to see if BBZ's leaking problem was related to his being a heavy wetter. I week or so later we ran into she and her husby on a walk and chatted some more about babies and breastfeeding and Le Leche League and traded emails. So yesterday she emailed me and invited us over to share a delicious chocolate cake her husby baked! How wonderfully neighborly! It was so nice to walk domn the street and hang out with some fun and like-minded people. I haven't made new friends in a long time, so it was really nice! She is a photographer, so check out her website. Well, that was a lot for one post. Maybe I'll try to blog more often this weekend to spread out the topics. I have A LOT going on this weekend including a funeral for one of my participants, friends in from Chi-town, a fundraiser at work, BBQ at another friend's house, celebrating Melissa Rae and Penny Rae Vintage's fabulous talent for fashion designing and sewing a ton of cloth diaper liners. Where will I find the time?????