They're Here!

FINALLY

     So I did what all the blogs, vlogs, and online shops told me NOT to do. I bought the same brand for the majority of my diapers. Honestly, I am starting later than most mamas and I didn't want to spend $30 for one diaper! So I did my research and found Kawaii Diapers. Kawaii has about 6 different Labels. They have the bambo minky, goodnight heavy wetter, newborn, One Size (OS) heavy wetter, OS snazzy minky, and OS snap closure. They have a premium label too BUT I am not sure if its included in another label or if it is its own. Obviously I didnt get a newborn diaper because Caroline is 1 but I did get a few of each labels. I ordered from theluvyourbaby because they're the ones who make the diapers and they are cheapest there.

What I Like:

1. The prices $$:

     I watch a cloth diaper blog on Youtube called obbsandlala and I am absolutely obsessed. This woman clearly knows what she is doing and shes so experienced and knowledgeable. Ive probably watched like all of her cloth diaper vlogs 2 or more times. 

Heres a direct link to the Kawaii review if any of you guys ares interested:

Obbsandlala Kawaii Cloth Diaper Review 

     Anyway, she did a Kawaii review and after watching that I was sold. Most of the Kawaii diapers average at about $8. I did get some premium label bamboo diapers and they were the most expensive of my whole order and they were about $10. So I got the MAJORITY of my cloth diaper stash, 21 diapers and a wet bag, for $168.73. I did order some bumgenius but I haven't gotten them in yet. I am sure I will get a few more here and there but shes 1.. I think that's plenty for now. I would like to have 30-35 diapers ultimately because I will be using them for my next child.

1. The prints and colors:

     Most of the brands, even the outrageously expensive ones, only had solid colors. I wanted a few cute prints for my stash. Kawaii has a large selection of precious prints for girls and boys. I just had fun deciding which diapers to order.

3. The materials:

I ABSOLUTELY ADORE THE BAMBOO DIAPERS AND INSERTS. They are soooo soft and fluffy. I cant wait to see how absorbent they are. The microfiber inserts and diapers are soft as well but I wish I ordered more bamboo diapers. I also loved that they give you 2 inserts for each diaper! So if you have a heavy wetter or you are putting your tot down for a nap or for the night you can just pop 2 in the diaper.

 What I Don't Like:

1. The site I ordered from-

I guess I was wrapped up in the excitement of ordering because I didn't realize I was ordering from Canada. So if you are impatient like me and you don't want to wait 10 days for your diapers, I would suggest ordering from another site like kellyscloset or sweetbottomsbaby. I have not personally ordered anything from these sites YET but I will defiantly us them in the future.

2. My wet bag-

The quality wasn't impressive at all. I noticed that it was double stitched which was cool, BUT it was all wobbly. Looked like the diaper pail liner I made a few days ago haha. I guess I got what I paid for! The actual diapers were made way better than the wet bag.

If anyone is interested in a diaper pail liner tutorial just comment or let me know!

Prepping:

There wasn't a whole lot of information with my diapers on how to get them ready for use. I Googled it, because that's my answer to all life's problems haha. I also looked  on several blogs and all the suggestions on how to prep your diapers were mostly contradicting to one another. I kind of just made up my own routine. This is what I decided on and we will see how it works..

     I removed all inserts from diapers and since I ordered so many diapers I separated them. All the bamboo diapers and inserts where washed separately because I read that the bamboo contained some oils that are washed away during prep BUT I didn't want to risk it getting on the microfiber diapers and insterts. So I washed the bamboo diapers twice with cold water to seal in the colors and then I washed them on warm one more time with an extra rinse. My next load was all of the microfiber inserts and light colored diapers and again I did two cold washes followed by a warm wash and an extra soak to get all the detergent out. Lastly I washed the remaining microfiber diapers the same way. I also want to add that the Bamboo diapers are prepped after the three washed I did BUT they will not reach their full absorbancy until after 10 washes. Does that makes since?

     After All that washing was done I hung up all of my diapers and tumble dried my inserts on low heat. You CAN dry your diapers on low heat too, but I am going to try to stay away from that so my diapers will last longer.

Also I was "bad" and used Tide detergent. You can buy Rock and Green or Charlie's Soap or whatever but I just used Tide. I used about 1/4 the amount I would use on a normal small load.

Oh and I have to throw this in here. War Eagle!

 Alrighty, That's it for tonight... thanks again for reading!

 

It's Fun To Be One!

     Happy 1st Birthday Caroline!

     As many of you know our baby girl's 1st birthday was last Saturday! Hunter, Caroline and I had such a great time celebrating with close family! Caroline's Tia, Courtney, took some wonderful pictures of the party and I would just like to share a few of my favorites with y'all!

     Firstly, this is Tia! She is incredibly talented! Not only did she take these pics, she also made Caroline's party hat and shirt! Honey bought her cute britches (; Thanks Court!

Here is just a little family pic. Please excuse the ugly scar on my neck.

                           

PRESENT TIME!!

     Caroline was a pretty awesome present opener for a 1 year old...when she wasn't eating them.

     Then she got sleepy so mama got to open some!

Cake Time! 

 

Bath Time

 

Overall it was an amazing night! Thanks to everyone who came and helped out! Love y'all!

ESPECIALLY Caroline's Honey, Gran Gran, Tia, Grandad, and Papi!

Until Next Time!

Faith, A Little Experience, And A Whole Lot Of Optimism

     Since... well, yesterday I have had a handful of people ask me how I have gotten through this first year of motherhood with all the hurdles I have had to overcome. My answer is simple. I stay optimistic! Now I am not going to lie and say I haven't had my moments of pure frustration because, trust me, I have ... BUT for the most part when life throws another lemon at me I start making lemonade. I am writing this blog today to inform y'all of what has gone on in my life the past 12 months or so.

My Pregnancy

     November 1st 2012 I wasn't feeling too hot. Fortunately I have a mother-in-law who is a RN. At the time I was about one week shy of being 8 months pregnant with Caroline. I have had a time with my blood pressure for the majority of my pregnancy and for that reason I made the decision to stay at home for my health and the babies. My mother-in-law was coming by probably every other day to check on my blood pressure because it seamed to be getting worse. This time it was very elevated and she suggested we go straight to Triage. I wasn't too worried considering I had been in Triage TWO times already for the same thing. They take my blood monitor the baby and then I went home. I still think the elevation of my BP was a result of the Methimazole I was taking for my overactive thyroid. There is more information on that in my previous blog.
    Anyway, an IV and urine sample later I was told I was going to have Caroline 5 WEEKS EARLY. I was scared. Not scared for me so much but for Caroline. I cant even put into words the thoughts that were running through my mind. I prayed and prayed and prayed for acceptance and peace that I was going to have a premature child. I think at some point God took over because that night I began to feel more and more confident that she would be OK and she was! One night, about 4 pushes, and 7 minutes later I had a beautiful HEALTHY baby girl. She was 4 lbs and 5 weeks early so they took her to the NICU, but all her little parts where working and that was a HUGE relief. Now  I might be biased but I think she is the most beautiful baby on this planet. From then on I just knew that when scary things in life happen God is there. We HAVE to have FAITH and trust him.

Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.

-Hebrews 11:1 

     It also helps that I have a pretty amazing, hard-working husband. He keeps me sane, calm, and optimistic! God couldn't have given me a more perfect person to share my life with.

 

      I think throughout this whole year the hardest part has been seeing Caroline grow so FAST. Not grow because obviously I want my child to thrive, but how FAST the time goes by.  Caroline is one and it seams like just yesterday I was sitting in the NICU holding her. 

     I will say I think 12 months is my favorite age SO FAR. Caroline has so much personality for a little tot. Motherhood is so much fun!

The girl knows how to eat some cake

     Thanks again y'all for reading my blog!

My Journey With Graves' Disease Part 1

     Its been 2 weeks since my Total Thyroidectomy (TT). Let me tell you how I got here.

History

     My older sister, Jessica and I where checked annually for any abnormalities in thyroid function since we were little. The reason for this is because my mother suffers with HYPOactive thyroid. When I was 12 we found I was slightly HYPO as well. I took a low dosage of Synthroid and within a year I was off the synthroid. I then continued to have my TSH levels checked every year, then every other year and the results continued to say that I was completely healthy. After Jessica had her first baby, Tyson (now 3), she suffered with HYPERthyroidism. She was lucky enough to gain control of her thyroid with medicine, for now anyway. Shes about 4 month pregnant.

The Beginning

     Naturally, when I became pregnant with Caroline I told my OBGYN that I would like to get my bloodwork drawn to check my thyroid. She agreed, and when I was 5 or 6 months pregnant with Caroline I got a call from Dr.Logan's office telling me that my thyroid was INSANELY overactive. Dr L put me on a low dosage of Methimazole and refered me to a specialist at UAB. Honestly, I do not remember the name of the Dr I saw.. or resident.. at the UAB high-risk pregnancy clinic, I just remember what I was told. Which was that my thyroid was out of whack because of my pregnancy and he believed that after I had the baby my thyroid issue would be resolved. He told me to continue the Methimazole. Now, Methimazole is a CLASS D drug so surely you can see where i could have my reservations. A class D drug, according the the FDA, is a drug that has shown evidence of human fetal risk.

The Doubt

     I struggled the first few weeks after I was prescribed this medication with taking it. I didnt want to harm my unborn baby. It wasn't until I talked to Dr.L at my next checkup until I started taking my medication like I was supposed to. She assured me that she would NOT put me on the medication unless she was sure it would help me and the baby. She also explained the medication was going to help Caroline grow and thrive. A few months later this sick momma had a healthy baby girl! I didn't follow up on thyroid blood work after my pregnancy right away. I was busy taking care of a newborn baby! Not to mention I am a first time momma! I wasn't as graceful and I am now as a mother of a 12 month old toddler. That's a joke bby the way.
     When I was pregnant I DID NOT feel like I had a HYPERthyroid problem. If anything I felt like I was HYPO. I was tired ALL the time...and eating ALL of the time.. and gaining 10lbs every month. YEAH. I lost 5 lbs my first trimester then gained 40 lbs my second and third trimester. It wasn't until about 3 months postpartum that I started to NOTICE hyperactive symptoms. I wasn't sleeping but about 5 hours a night. I know, new moms don't get sleep.. blah blah whine whine.. Please keep in mind that my baby has slept 10-12 hours a night since she was 3 months old. My hair was falling out, my b12 was low, joint pains, my heart always racing, my chest hurting, and my blood pressure was high. These are all symptoms of HYPERactive thyroid. Unfortunately I haven't experienced any weight loss (DARN haha).

The Diagnosis

     After my mom and mother-in-law begging me to see a specialist and one ER trip with what I think was a "Thyroid Storm" later...I gave in. That's when I decided to see a specialist. My primary physician refereed me to Dr.Tripp I have heard AWFUL things about Dr. Tripp's bedside manor, However; I have also heard he is the best. I read all these horror stories about people seeing 39857983475493 different specialist and never TRULY getting any answers about there thyroid so I wanted to skip all of that. I started seeing Dr. Trippe in September. Can I just tell you how impressed I am with how thorough he is? I absolutely love him as a doctor. I would recommend him to anyone who is serious about their thyroid disease and doing what is necessary to find comfort.
     It was at my first appointment that he dropped the bomb on me. I have Grave's disease. Not only do I have this disease that effects my overall state of being, but the only medicine that seams to be STABILIZING my levels(not helping) is also KILLING my liver. Radioactive treatment to kill my thyroid was not an option for me because I would have had to be of certain medications for a period of time before the treatment that I couldn't be without. I also wouldn't be able to be around Caroline for a hefty amount of time. So the only other option was a TT.
     At this point I didn't hesitate. It's almost like when you are in labor about 9 cm dilated and you want to scream GET THIS THING OUT OF ME, I had had it. I was ready to feel better and be able to play with Caroline more and go on walks and have ENERGY to perform everyday tasks!

Total Thyroidectomy

     Next thing you know I am at UAB Highlands having Dr.Peter's remove my whole entire thyroid. Which I was told, was as big as a closed fist. Your thyroid is supposed to be about 1/3 that size. Imagine trying to swallow with that big honking think in your throat. I wish I could have seen it.
     As I said earlier, having an overactive thyroid really affects several parts of your body. Because of this, I was not only taking methimazole to control my hormone levels, I was also taking propranolol for palpitations and high blood pressure, b12 for my b12 levels, potassium iodide for surgery prep, and ferrous sulfate for anemia. Now that I think of it, I was nervous about getting my thyroid taken out because I was going to have to take one pill once a day for the rest of my life but thats a heck of a lot better then taking 4 medications everyday 4 times a day. So after my surgery I take 1 synthroid once a day.
     Well, the actual surgery went awesome. I think the worst part was leaving this booger behind, even though I knew she was in WONDERFUL hands with my in-laws.

 

My Mother-in-law sent me this pic after we left. 

Results (So Far)

     After surgery I woke up and was ready to go. It was outpatient surgery so they kept me for a few hours just to make sure i woke up and didn't vomit. The put me on a liquid diet for nausea but I never had that problem. We went to Cracker Barrel as soon as we left. I was feeling pretty good. See:

I didn't feel to different the day after but about three days after I felt subtle changes. Keep in mind I have been hyperactive for OVER a year. I think I forgot how good I was capable of feeling. I had more energy. My pulse started to stabilize. Since my pulse was normal I haven't had to take my propranolol. So I am taking Synthroid and B12. Ill followup with Dr. Tripp in a few weeks. Then Ill find out if we need to change my dosage of Synthroid and hopefully my b12 levels will have improved enough where I wont have to take it anymore!

I am so grateful to have such a great husband, in-laws, and parents to take care of me and support me through this crazy time in my life. Thanks guys! Love y'all.

Sorry this post is EVERYWHERE. Too much information to post at once. More later!

Making A Switch To Cloth Diapers

     I have recently become INFATUATED with cloth diapering. I have seen so many moms these days using cloth diapers. My initial question was WHY would anyone CHOOSE to use cloth diapers on their child? I understood that some children have allergies to to the materials in disposable diapers and also that some moms are cloth diapering to do what they can for the environment, but to be honest, I felt BADLY for the women who had to deal with the burdens of cloth diapering. It just wasn't a very attractive concept to me AT THE TIME.

     I am a very curious, open-minded person. So naturally I do some research. I was actually surprised to find that my original idea of cloth diapering was squashed. Not only did I not feel badly for the women who clothed diapered, I actually envied them.

     In this blog I will be covering, mostly on WHY I am starting to cloth diaper my child, I will also cover a few types of cloth diapers, not brands but styles.
   
     I want to start off by saying

I AM BY NO MEANS AN EXPERT!

     I am simply a curious, RESEARCHED mom.

     OK, now with that out of the way- Lets talk about WHY I am choosing to cloth diaper my child at 12 months. There are 3 BIG reasons.

Reason #1

HEALTH

     Disposable diapers contain a carcinogenic chemical called Dioxin. According to the EPA, Dioxin is THE MOST TOXIC OF ALL CANCER-LINKED CHEMICALS. I even read that it is band in most countries.

Disposable diapers also contain a super absorbent polymer called SAP which turns into a gel like substance when wet. I don't know about you guys but I have gotten Caroline out of bed and her diaper would have crystals on it. This is that wet SAP. This same polymer was used in tampons in the 1980's and removed when it revealed that it increased the risk of Toxic Shock Syndrome.

This information came from the link below. Check it out there is a ton of interesting facts.

Real Diaper Association

Reason #2

COST

     Yea, cloth diapers are expensive, but its more of an upfront cost. These diapers, if taken care of properly, WILL last through your child's diaper wearing years. There are even One size (OS) diapers that range from 7lbs-35lbs. The bigger the diaper stash the longer the diapers will last. Most moms spend $300 starting their stash with about 18 cloth diapers they will be able to use for 3 or more years. Caroline is 12 months old and we spend roughly $1,500 on diapers last year. If we started with cloth we would have saved roughly $1,200 on the first year AND THEN you have to think we can get at least two more years out of the cloth so if Caroline isnt potty trained until 3 that $4,500 dollars. I have 24 diapers in my BRAND NEW stash for under $200 by shopping for discounts. Nice pocket diapers!  It can be done but, even if you don't buy all your diapers on sale and you have a $400-$500 starter stash you are STILL better off than you are with disposable diaper costs.

Reason #3

Appearance and Simplicity

     This is what I immediately pictured in my mind when I first thought about cloth diapers:

     I was plesantly surprised when I saw diapers like this

     How cute is that? Notice the snaps that let you adjust to your baby's size. This is a one size pocket diaper. If you open it its has a pocket in the inside where you slide 1 or 2 inserts. After the baby goes in it you dump whatever in in there in the toilet, spray the diaper if you want, slide the insert out and throw it all in the diaper pail to be washed later. Not that complicated, right?
     Now you can still purchase diapers like the one in the picture above. They are called flats. But then you have to worry about pins and poking you baby and all. No thanks.
      There are also all in one diapers (AIO) which are basically like the pocket diapers except the inserts are sewn into the diaper, so you cannot remove them and you wash the whole diaper together. I chose pocket diapers because I assumed they would dry more quickly.
There are also all in two diapers (AI2), fitted, and other options to fit pretty much any moms needs if she decides to cloth diaper.

Well, that's its for now.
I'll be back in a week or so to talk about prepping my diapers, detergent, and cloth diapering accessories I think are necessary starting out.