tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-51896036516516035322024-03-13T10:11:19.997-04:00Mr and Mrs MMr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.comBlogger230125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-9568372083594931382013-12-18T23:14:00.000-05:002013-12-18T23:14:16.884-05:00ChangesHello out there!<br />
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I don't know whether I still have any readers left after such a long blogger hiatus, but I thought I would post a little update, and let you know of some changes that are happening.<br />
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When I fist started blogging all those years ago I had no idea of the changes in store for Andre and I. This blog has been with us through all of them, and I am so incredibly grateful to everyone that followed us on our journey. Don't worry there is nothing drastic going on in our lives, but there are some big blog changes on the horizon.<br />
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When we got pregnant with Emilie we started a more public blog, something we could share with our friends and family, Our Little One. Over the last 3+ years I have struggled with the two blogs. With this blog I often felt like there was nothing "exciting" to blog about. With the other public blog I struggled with not enough to blog about since it was just a blog about Emilie. I found myself between a blog and a hard place so to speak.<br />
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Which lead me to one of my New Years Resolutions: Blog more!<br />
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How do I blog more if I don't know where to blog, and what to blog about? The short answer? Change.<br />
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This meant that I needed to combine my blogs, combine my blogging "lives" as it was. The easiest answer seemed to be to add some of what I would normally blog here, to my other blog. So my "new" blog <a href="http://mylifeorsomethinglikeittheblog.blogspot.ca/">My Life...or something like it</a> was born. It will be the new home for my life with Andre, Emilie, and everything else.<br />
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I have decided to keep this blog open. There are still people out there that find my blog entries when doing online searches and I don't want to take this blog away if someone out there finds something I wrote useful to them.<br />
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Hopefully one day we will be in a place to add to our family and this will once again become a home for me, but until then I don't think I will be adding any more new posts.<br />
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If you are interested in following what is going on with my life head on over to my new home.<br />
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<a href="http://mylifeorsomethinglikeittheblog.blogspot.ca/">My Life...or something like it</a><br />
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I hope to see you there.Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-52917117519390826212013-03-23T13:54:00.000-04:002013-03-23T13:54:51.476-04:00Winter 2012 (and 2013)Now winter was long and cold here in Canada. I know it's suppose to be cold here, but the last few years have been positively spring like, so it was kind of a shock to the system this year.<br />
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We started out December with the annual Breakfast with Santa at my
church. We had a great morning, and Emilie was soooo good for Santa (and
Olive the Reindeer). <br />
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Little did we know that Emilie was coming down with the dreaded stomach bug that almost everyone I know came down with that same December. That morning was the last time she was happy for about two weeks. It was a very rough month.<br />
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We started what I hope to be a Christmas Tradition with the arrival of
Emilie's own Elf on a Shelf. Emilie loves babies, so she named him
"Baby"<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our 21 month picture was delayed for her to get over the stomach bug, but then she came down with a fever that day. She was a trooper for her hair cut that morning though!</td></tr>
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Finally after what seemed like forever she was better! And back to her old tricks being silly and trying to bug her Papa while he tried to read the newspaper.<br />
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Finally it was Christmas! Santa arrived, and left Emilie a Fisher Price Farm. She loved it, and still loves to play with all the animals.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We even managed to get a picture of Mama and Emilie. She was one pooped little girl after all the Christmas Festivities, hence all the paci's!</td></tr>
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Boxing Day arrived with one of the biggest snowfalls we have had in years. Needless to say we bundled Emilie up and we went outside so her and her cousin Joshua could see all the snow!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mama and Emilie on a little walk.</td></tr>
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Andre and I didn't do anything for New Years, but we did manage to sneak out one afternoon shortly after Christmas for a swanky lunch out with friends.<br />
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January was a blur. Our little girl brought in the New Year with a new virus. She was not a happy camper when she turned 22 months old.</div>
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That virus ended up turning into Pneumonia (BOOOOOOOO!) I will have to say that taking her for a chest x-ray for a diagnosis was worse for me than it was for her. The good news is that the antibiotics cleared everything up very quickly. After an appointment with her Pediatrician for a regular heart murmur check up we got some good news. First, her lungs were clear and they could no longer hear her murmur (YAY!) We still have to take her back in September to double check that the holes in her heart have indeed closed, but it looks very promising.<br />
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The appointment ended with a flu shot for little Emilie. We had hoped that by Andre and I as well as her caregivers getting the shot she would have enough immunity, but after one round of pneumonia we weren't willing to take any chances. She was not happy about her needle, so Andre and I bought her some finger paints to cheer her up. She loved playing with her "colours".<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first painting!</td></tr>
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The rest of the month was the usual, with visits from her Nana and Grandpa, and trying to build up her immune system.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giving her bunny some juice.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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We finally turned a corner in February, and Emilie was once again her usual self just in time to turn 23 months old!!<br />
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We were healthy once again to enjoy some play dates with friends!<br />
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Then it was March. The end of the winter was approaching, as well as the end of having a one year old. Our little girl was TWO. No longer a little baby, or even a toddler. Every day she was getting closer and closer to big girl territory.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our little girl the day she was born, at one year and now at two years. Someone find a pause button!!</td></tr>
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We got Emilie the Fisher Price My First Dollhouse for her birthday. She loves her house so much.<br />
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Even though we were having a birthday party that weekend to celebrate, we decided to have some family over for her actual birthday. I made a cake while she was napping and we all gathered to sing to her. She was so excited for her "party cake" (every cake makes it a party right?).<br />
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Finally it was party day! I decided this year that I did not want to have everyone at the house, so we decided on an indoor playground. The one that we settled on did private parties, so for two hours the place was ours. So we invited all of her friends, and even with a couple unable to make it we still had 9 children, and all of our family and some close friends!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I even made an Elmo cake for the birthday girl!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not a birthday without a personalized Elmo shirt right?</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mama and Papa helping the birthday girl blow out her candles.</td></tr>
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I can't believe that it is now Spring! I can't wait to see what this season has in store for us!<br />
<br />Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-56332387949987016652012-11-18T23:35:00.001-05:002012-11-18T23:35:09.372-05:00Fall 2012 thus farLet me start by saying this year has been flying by much too quickly. I used to find myself kind of wishing time away before I had Emilie. Counting down till the summer, or the next big vacation. Now that I'm a mom, I find myself trying to savour every single moment. Even on the most frustrating of days I try not to wish away one second with my little girl. Life has other plans and I find that I blink and a week has passed. Okay, not really, but you get the picture.<br />
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So now we're into November, the mad dash to Christmas. The summer is over and we're trying to relish every day that it is above freezing so Emilie can spend just one more afternoon outside in the fresh air.<br />
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Here are some pictures from our Fall so far:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emilie and her cousin Joshua helping my dad celebrate his birthday.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QR5S13PkYuI/UKmwaPi7hVI/AAAAAAAAA_E/jk7SyYR3Zx4/s1600/IMG_1928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QR5S13PkYuI/UKmwaPi7hVI/AAAAAAAAA_E/jk7SyYR3Zx4/s320/IMG_1928.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pictures with her Grandpa and her Papa.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hamming it up with her Uncle at her Great Baba's birthday party.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emilie and Joshua in their matching Halloween PJ's. We called it "The Skeletwins".</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TE72TMO5J20/UKmyIDo2ZtI/AAAAAAAAA_o/lGchkBPhzs0/s1600/IMG_5238.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TE72TMO5J20/UKmyIDo2ZtI/AAAAAAAAA_o/lGchkBPhzs0/s320/IMG_5238.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying some reading.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k2jOZgXw8iU/UKmyaM8tPyI/AAAAAAAAA_0/dW-jWgFJXEM/s1600/IMG_5258.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k2jOZgXw8iU/UKmyaM8tPyI/AAAAAAAAA_0/dW-jWgFJXEM/s320/IMG_5258.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think she's seen Mama hang a bag on the back of the stroller a couple times!</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Doing some fun at the Pumpkin Patch.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dU0zS1BetLQ/UKmzDpuZE0I/AAAAAAAABAQ/oCjl7OPOzIs/s1600/IMG_5329.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dU0zS1BetLQ/UKmzDpuZE0I/AAAAAAAABAQ/oCjl7OPOzIs/s320/IMG_5329.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Off to find the perfect Pumpkin.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5QgeBUbkp9A/UKmzSN-8uYI/AAAAAAAABAY/EevX4Vf3a9s/s1600/IMG_5405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5QgeBUbkp9A/UKmzSN-8uYI/AAAAAAAABAY/EevX4Vf3a9s/s320/IMG_5405.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our very sick little girl having a little treat after trick or treating at a few houses.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">First experience with Play Doh</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JtfugQhWEpA/UKm1FyYcgVI/AAAAAAAABAs/4HWnfDfCw0k/s1600/IMG_5483.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JtfugQhWEpA/UKm1FyYcgVI/AAAAAAAABAs/4HWnfDfCw0k/s320/IMG_5483.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Having some fun in the leaves.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cJvDfofsxzw/UKm1TuY95xI/AAAAAAAABA4/BpuPRRLM2SM/s1600/IMG_5496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cJvDfofsxzw/UKm1TuY95xI/AAAAAAAABA4/BpuPRRLM2SM/s320/IMG_5496.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some fun with her Grandpa at the park on a warmer day.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swinging around with her Nana and Grandpa.</td></tr>
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Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-29239643313353612032012-11-18T22:58:00.002-05:002012-11-18T22:59:14.978-05:00Cloth Diapering: How to deal with yeastThis is probably the number one asked question on cloth diapering forums. For some reason this one issue, or the rash issue in general intimidates to many that cloth diaper. The good news is that it doesn't need to. Aside from a couple extra things that you need to add to your load of diaper laundry, it's no different than if you were using disposables.<br />
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We've had to deal with cloth over the almost two years that we've been using cloth. I've tried many different wash routines, done a ton of research, and come out with a routine that I have found has killed the yeast once and for all (for us).<br />
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First of all you are going to need this: <br />
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Yes I know what you're thinking "OMG the warranty on my diapers!". First of all if you have a stash consisting of more than one type of diaper, and have used any diaper rash cream on your diapers you've probably already voided the warranty. Secondly isn't your little ones tush more important? People are also incredibly worried about the bleach breaking down their diapers. A tiny amount of bleach a couple times a year is not going to break down your diapers.<br />
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So...yes, good old chlorine bleach. It doesn't necessarily have to be Clorox bleach, I usually use No Name stuff, it's cheaper.<br />
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Second on the must have list is:<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-McrJqzyjnWg/UKlUP84stlI/AAAAAAAAA-k/EeimxY-SqsY/s1600/tea-tree-oil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-McrJqzyjnWg/UKlUP84stlI/AAAAAAAAA-k/EeimxY-SqsY/s1600/tea-tree-oil.jpg" /></a></div>
and/or:<br />
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The bleach kills the yeast, but you need tea tree oil and/or grapefruit seed extract to kill the yeast spores.<br />
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You can find the tea tree oil and grapefruit seed extract at your local health food store, or the organic section of your grocery store.<br />
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Now this is where people have different suggestions about the order in which to use these products, I am going to share what has worked the best for me when I have had to treat Emilie's diapers.<br />
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First off you're going to add 20-30 drops of the tea tree oil and/or the grapefruit seed extract to either your rinse, or your pre wash. We do a pre wash, so that is when I add the oils. <br />
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Then after your rinse or pre wash is over you are going to do a hot wash with your detergent, and 1/4 cup of chlorine bleach. I follow this with my usual extra rinse. Some people find that they need to do a crazy amount of extra rinses to get the smell of bleach out of their diapers. I have a super sensitive nose, and find I only need one extra rinse, but do whatever you feel comfortable with.<br />
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**I will add that this wash routine should be followed for all of your cloth wipes, inserts, liners, doublers, wet bags, wash cloths and towels as well. Basically everything that has come into contact with your diapers and your little one's tush. I also clean out the plastic container that I hold my cloth wipes in with some bleach as well, followed by a good rinse.**<br />
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After all this is done I like to throw all of my inserts (ie. everything that does not contain elastics and PUL) in the dryer on HOT. Then if God willing it is a sunny day, everything with PUL and elastics goes outside in the sunshine for some extra yeast killing treatment.<br />
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If it's the dead of winter or super cloudy where you live, no need to worry, just line dry your items like you usually would.<br />
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Now comes your big decision, do you keep your little one in cloth while you treat their bottom with anti fungal cream, or do you switch to sposies? If you stay in cloth you need to follow that wash routine the entire time to make sure there is no risk of reinfection. If you switch into sposies then you do the wash once, put the diapers away, and then put your little one back into cloth once the rash has been clear for 3-4 days. On average this means about a week.<br />
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A yeast rash while in cloth is a pain, but it doesn't have to be a disaster.<br />
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<br />Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-14475307168038521002012-10-11T12:52:00.000-04:002012-10-11T12:53:02.332-04:00The question I hateIt's a question that most mothers/parents get asked when their first child reaches a certain age. Usually sometime after their first birthday.<br />
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"So when are you thinking of having #2?"<br />
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My heart usually sinks a little bit every single time I hear this question. I keep the smile on my face though, trying not to betray my true feelings to the other person. For most people I give a glib sort of answer and then change the subject.<br />
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You see, when you have suffered with infertility in the past, and don't have the resources to go through the whole battle of treatments again, it's a complicated question. One of finances, and logistics, and emotions. You see for us it's not as easy as just throwing caution to the wind and having unprotected sex.<br />
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I often wonder what it's like to be able to take your fertility for granted like that and just <i>know</i> that it will happen. Maybe sooner, or later, but it <i>will</i> happen. I think because so many do take their fertility for granted that most just assume that once people have one baby that they will just do it all over again. Then there are others that just think that because you went through treatments once, that it's a given that you will do it again.<br />
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I wish for us it was that easy, that simple a decision. But it's not. Right now we just don't have the resources to do it all again. Fertility treatments can be expensive. Not to mention time consuming, and physically and emotionally draining. I have thought lately about what if we did have the resources. Would we be in a place where we would be willing to go through it all again? I couldn't even answer the question.<br />
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So for now I guess I continue to slap on the too stiff smile and laugh it off.<br />
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<br />Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-18459875197716256452012-07-10T09:59:00.000-04:002012-07-10T09:59:37.478-04:00A sobering morning.It all started last week. Emilie was feeling under the weather and running a little bit of a fever. Our daycare provider would have taken her if we absolutely needed her too, but since Andre is home for the summer I called her and told her she was sick and asked Shirley if she wanted me to keep Emilie home. Since Emilie was really not herself that day Shirley asked if it was okay if we kept her home. Not a problem.<br />
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Later on that day a neighbour came outside and asked us if we had heard about a cab going through the front of a house on Cranbrook Dr. The same street as Emilie's home daycare. The news didn't mention the house number. We thought about it, but though, no, it couldn't possibly be the same house.<br />
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It was.<br />
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Sometime that afternoon a cab driver drove through the front downstairs window of the same home that houses our Emilie's daycare. It's the same room that is across the hallway from the same room that all the children play in. The room is totaled. Across the room from where the window and brick wall once was there are big holes in the drywall from flying bricks.<br />
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That same room is the tv room where the children will watch movies or hang out if one of the kids is under the weather. Emilie and the other children could have very well been in that room had she have gone to daycare that morning. The only thing that is left to remind anyone that was a tv room is the big screen tv mounted to the wall. It's the only thing left after the accident.<br />
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Thankfully all the children were outside playing in the backyard when everything happened. Seeing that room this morning confirmed my belief in God. Confirmed that miracles happen, and that there was something keeping everyone in that house safe that day.<br />
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Today I am thankful.<br />
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If you are interested there is a small article <a href="http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/754239--hamilton-cabbie-charged-with-careless-driving-after-crashing-into-house">here</a> about the accident that has a picture.Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-75047533368212027652012-04-25T12:24:00.003-04:002012-04-25T12:24:59.417-04:00Why we chose Cloth DiapersI am asked this a lot. I have been asked by friends, colleagues, family. If you're in the midst of cloth diapering you realize how popular it is, but if you've never been exposed to someone who does cloth diapering the idea sounds so messy, so time consuming...so hard!<br />
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I will start by saying I didn't always think that cloth was the way to go. In fact when a close friend of mine was pregnant with her daughter 4 years ago and wanted to cloth diaper I kind of thought she was nuts. I mean why cloth diaper when there are disposable diapers? Part of my thinking was that because I would never get the option of staying home for a year with my future children, would it be too much work to work and cloth diaper an infant? Even my mother who cloth diapered three babies told me that disposables would just be easier when my time came.<br />
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It was always a little thought in the back of my mind though, so I started bookmarking websites and articles, saving them into a folder for safe keeping when my time came to have a baby. When I first got pregnant that's when the real fascination with cloth started. I started lurking on a forum devoted just to cloth diapering. Fast forward to today and I don't regret using cloth at all. In fact the only regret that I have is that I didn't use cloth from day one (or at least day three when we got home from the hospital). Maybe one day if God blesses us with another baby I will be able to buy <a href="http://www.sogreenbaby.com/product/rumparooz-lil-joey-newborn-preemie-all-one-diaper-2-pack">these</a> for my baby.<br />
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There are a lot of reasons why we chose cloth. I say we because Andre has been on board 110% with cloth diapering, and if you ask him will tell you that he prefers cloth over disposables! It started with me really wanting to make this parenting choice, but I always asked him if it was okay, and if he was on board too.<br />
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If you ask a lot of people why they chose cloth they will say for the financial savings. It's one of my reasons, but not the number one reason. It's like a bonus.<br />
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<b>My number one reason for choosing cloth diapers:</b> It makes me physically ill to think of my child creating literally 1 TON of toxic garbage in her diapering years. To top it off this garbage will sit in a landfill for approximately 500 years! I just can't do it. Now I do use disposables sometimes, but I do make the effort to plop the poop out first, so I'm at least reducing the toxic affect of those few disposable diapers we do use. <br />
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<b>My number two reason for choosing cloth diapers: </b>I hate the idea of my daughter sitting in a plastic, chemical laden diaper 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for years! Disposable diapers contain dioxin, which is a known carcinogen. Cloth diapers do not contain (as many) chemicals. I'm fully aware that there are some chemicals used in the bleaching process of some of the fabrics used in cloth diapers, but they are not nearly as bad as the ones used in disposable diapers.<br />
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<b>My number three reason for choosing cloth diapers:</b> The potential to save money. Will I save thousands of dollars cloth diapering? Maybe, maybe not. The point is that all the money that I spend on cloth diapers, are being spent on a <b>reusable</b> product. I get to use that one cloth diaper countless times. Then when I'm done with it I can sell it to someone else, recoup some of that money, and it can be used on another child. To me that is money well spent.<br />
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I will add that cloth diapering is a choice that my husband and my family because we felt it was the best parenting choice for<b><i> our</i></b> daughter. I know that there are many people out there that use disposable diapers. They are making the best parenting choice for <b><i>their</i></b> child.<br />
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Here are some resources that I used for this blog entry:<br />
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http://www.cheerfulcheeks.com/Earth<br />
http://www.realdiaperassociation.org/diaperfacts.phpMr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-4720188753503947372012-04-24T13:11:00.000-04:002012-04-24T13:11:33.407-04:00Cloth Diaper Myths...ExplainedI posted a little while ago that I wanted to do a series on cloth diapering. Since I find myself with a few spare minutes (and more importantly a quiet house) I decided to get started.<br />
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We have been cloth diapering Emilie since she was about 5 weeks old now. It started out slowly in the beginning as I only had enough diapers to last us about a day and a half before washing, and was unsure about cloth diapering at night. Then I discovered what types of diapers I liked, and my stash grew, then as we were more and more comfortable with cloth diapering during the day then began the overnight cloth diapering journey. Now unless she's suffering a duperdutyhorrible diaper rash (AKA the Yeast Monster) or in daycare, you will find her in a cloth diaper, or well in her bare bum.<br />
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I've found myself thinking about cloth a little more than usual lately as I have a friend that has been cloth diapering her 2 month old now for about a month and a half since she was so encouraged by my own cloth journey, and another friend that is expecting TWINS and is planning on cloth diapering her two little girls. I think it's absolutely great that I have been able to help out my amazing friends get started on something that I hope they will find as rewarding as I have. This is part of the reason that I have decided to do a little series on cloth diapering. It's so overwhelming when you're thinking about cloth diapering (CDing) and starting your research, so this series is aimed more towards those moms (or dads) out there who are kind of on the fence and looking for some more information. For those of you that are hard core disposable users, please don't get your panties in a twist if you read something that rubs you the wrong way, this really isn't a series of articles for you, and it's certainly not meant to make you feel like a bad parent, so please don't go shooting me a cranky comment.<br />
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So here we go with the Cloth Diaper Myths. These are all things that I have been told by my own dear family and friends.<br />
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<b>Myth #1: "You really don't save that much money cloth diapering!"</b><br />
I had to start with this one simply because anyone who has done ANY research into cloth diapering, will know that this is just not true. I mean if you ask seasoned cloth diaperers why they started I 100% guarantee that one of their reasons will be to save money. There are a million and one resources out there that will explain how much money you will save by cloth diapering. Most of these resources are even adding in the cost of washing the diapers in to the calculations.<br />
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The average disposable diapering parent will spend between $2800-$3500 buying disposable diapers for their baby. This is not including the cost of disposable wipes.<br />
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Cloth diaperers will spend somewhere between $400-$800 to cloth diaper their child. This varies according to type of diaper. Whether or not they are using prefolds and covers, or premium organic fitteds, or one-size pockets. This cost is from Birth to Potty Training!!! This is also not including the cost of wipes. But those can be free by cutting up some of the bajillion receiving blankets you receive and using them as cloth wipes.<br />
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The cost of cloth diapers also doesn't factor in the resale value of your diapers. You use your diapers for your kids, and then sell them to someone to use for their children. I don't see boxes of used Pampers on Kijiji...just sayin'.<br />
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<b>Myth #2: "I just don't have time to cloth diaper!"</b><br />
I really wish people would rephrase this to "I just don't want to <i>make</i> the time to cloth diaper" because that would be more accurate. At the end of the week I spend about a half hour to forty-five minutes of time spent just on cloth diaper laundry. That's two to three extra loads of laundry and the stuffing of my pocket diapers.<br />
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I would like a disposable diaper user to time how long they spend out shopping for diapers.<br />
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The bonus is I can spend that half hour a week at home in my jammies!<br />
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<b>Myth #3: "Cloth Diapers are just gross! You have to touch POOP!"</b><br />
Dirty diapers, cloth disposable, whatever, are gross. It's poop people, get over it!<br />
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I hate to break it all the disposable diaper users out there. I dare you to check the package of your diapers. There you should find in tiny writing the company telling you to plop and flush your poop! I know you don't, but you should. <br />
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<b> Myth #4: "Cloth diapers smell and they leak!"</b><br />
This one had to come from someone who clearly has never used any type of diaper to diaper an actual baby.<br />
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Yes, on wash day when I'm throwing my diapers into the washer they smell. But if I went over to my sisters house on garbage day as she's getting ready to throw out her little sausage of used disposable diapers if you opened that plastic liner, I bet the smell would knock you over. Clean cloth diapers do not smell. Ask me, or any CDer out there, we routinely sniff our clean diapers, they smell like nothing. <br />
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As for leaks my sister who uses the premium brand name disposable diapers, has experienced more leaks and blow outs than I have ever had using cloth. <br />
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These are just a few of the myths out there regarding cloth diapers, there are more. Here are some links to some references I used for this blog entry:<br />
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http://www.diaperpin.com/clothdiapers/article_howtosave.asp<br />
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http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/basics.htmMr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-36752665071213937002012-03-26T22:34:00.000-04:002012-03-26T22:34:10.435-04:00Our Winter!<span style="font-size: large;">Christmas!</span><br />
Our first Christmas as a family of three! It was an adventure. We usually combine our two families (much easier on us, and on Andre's parents since they don't have to cook), but this year Andre's parents decided they didn't want to travel. So I suggested that we go up and visit them for dinner on Christmas Eve. It ended up being a huge ordeal for us having to lug a bunch of crap for a half day there, but I felt is was important that Emilie get to experience her first Christmas with both of her grandparents.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8cgCRuxwax8/T3EdRyIS0-I/AAAAAAAAA6E/EzpxwG41o2k/s1600/IMG_4098.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-8cgCRuxwax8/T3EdRyIS0-I/AAAAAAAAA6E/EzpxwG41o2k/s320/IMG_4098.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emilie and her Nana</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1CfWSa75UDk/T3EdlGkrjKI/AAAAAAAAA6M/hfdqP0dJsp8/s1600/IMG_4104.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1CfWSa75UDk/T3EdlGkrjKI/AAAAAAAAA6M/hfdqP0dJsp8/s320/IMG_4104.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening her new jammies!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-igu-SDIW87Q/T3Ed4nVpGqI/AAAAAAAAA6U/Y9NyxbCY3QU/s1600/IMG_4107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-igu-SDIW87Q/T3Ed4nVpGqI/AAAAAAAAA6U/Y9NyxbCY3QU/s320/IMG_4107.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Giving her Grandpa his present.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bzv2rbwVQz4/T3Ee07ggZZI/AAAAAAAAA6c/swLsKqHyGZo/s1600/IMG_4113.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-bzv2rbwVQz4/T3Ee07ggZZI/AAAAAAAAA6c/swLsKqHyGZo/s320/IMG_4113.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa visited our house!!</td></tr>
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The next morning we spent the first part of the morning together just as
our little family. Listening to Christmas carols and opening presents.
Emilie was a little overwhelmed by all the gifts though, so it ended up
taking us the entire day to get everything opened.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8MwofqQpjko/T3EfH_QZEEI/AAAAAAAAA6k/pPnAdB7Sitk/s1600/IMG_4117.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-8MwofqQpjko/T3EfH_QZEEI/AAAAAAAAA6k/pPnAdB7Sitk/s320/IMG_4117.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening her stocking.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WbDgrlUOcGA/T3EfVy-A6WI/AAAAAAAAA6s/xX0rWcn4rBk/s1600/IMG_4122.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WbDgrlUOcGA/T3EfVy-A6WI/AAAAAAAAA6s/xX0rWcn4rBk/s320/IMG_4122.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loved her new activity table.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zFmfAFkFBGk/T3EfpHMlwMI/AAAAAAAAA60/L0jYtykFWrQ/s1600/IMG_4128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zFmfAFkFBGk/T3EfpHMlwMI/AAAAAAAAA60/L0jYtykFWrQ/s320/IMG_4128.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Opening more presents!</td></tr>
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After a nap in the morning we went over to my parents house to open even more presents!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cROf1QCVBJ0/T3Ef6cujbTI/AAAAAAAAA68/UCvF691RN3Y/s1600/IMG_4140.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cROf1QCVBJ0/T3Ef6cujbTI/AAAAAAAAA68/UCvF691RN3Y/s320/IMG_4140.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emilie and I going through our stockings.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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Our day ended (after nap #2) with a turkey dinner at my parents house. I was a little nervous about how this was going to go down with a house full of people, and two active babies in my parents tiny house, but it all went really well, and Emilie did very well.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Swimming Lessons<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-size: small;">One thing that Andre and I felt was
really important was to have Emilie get comfortable with the water, and
one day be able to swim, so we started by enrolling her in a water
babies swim program at the local recreation centre.</span> </span>The best part was that Emilie was in the same class as her cousin Joshua!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0V7atWoIgy8/T3EiC91ZqeI/AAAAAAAAA7E/20HGyWbbDMc/s1600/IMG_1749.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0V7atWoIgy8/T3EiC91ZqeI/AAAAAAAAA7E/20HGyWbbDMc/s320/IMG_1749.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yay, swimming lessons!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UoZqPd2SRlc/T3EiT8M-d5I/AAAAAAAAA7M/CZhHAKxGdlk/s1600/DSC00230.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-UoZqPd2SRlc/T3EiT8M-d5I/AAAAAAAAA7M/CZhHAKxGdlk/s320/DSC00230.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Learning the back float with Mama.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hCGGDvt-pB4/T3EibpyFcLI/AAAAAAAAA7U/Cv0w0yDQ2yg/s1600/IMG_1795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hCGGDvt-pB4/T3EibpyFcLI/AAAAAAAAA7U/Cv0w0yDQ2yg/s320/IMG_1795.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing with Papa.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-size: large;">Fun in the snow</span><br />
You'd think that living in Canada that this would be an everyday
occurrence, but this year, not so much at least where we live. We did
however manage to get a few snapshots of Emilie having some fun in the
snow with her cousin.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">How can we forget...</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More on the BIG ONE later!</td></tr>
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<br />Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-62159281437165815992012-03-11T12:44:00.000-04:002012-03-11T12:44:54.553-04:00A New YearAnd hopefully a start to more regular blogging. To tell you the truth I have found having two blogs (this blog and the baby blog) to be a bit much to keep up along with work and home, and Emilie....you get the picture. But then I keep thinking about different blog post ideas, and then I think of how the people that read our baby blog may not be terribly interested in reviews of greener products, or recipe ideas, or my general rants about life in general. Sometimes it's nice to have a place that not everyone knows existed right?<br />
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I'm going to try to get back into doing little things for myself though. I really do want to get back to blogging, and back into scrapbooking as well. Two things that really do make me happy, but have fallen by the wayside first when Emilie was born, and then again when I went back to work in July. Just not enough hours in the day, and energy to get through those hours! But enough for the grumbling.<br />
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I really do want to catch you up on Christmas, what has been going on around here, the status of our marriage since I last posted about our transition into parenthood last year, and what we have been up to this winter. I also want to try out some new recipes (I found an awesome new Crock Pot recipe website!!), share with you some blogs that I love (maybe my readers will do the same?) and do a series on cloth diapering. My goal is to do a new blog entry every week, but I think a more realistic goal would be biweekly. We'll see how it goes!<br />
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<br />Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-58794828671783777402011-12-16T23:05:00.002-05:002011-12-16T23:05:36.254-05:00The holidays are here againWith all the stress that goes along with it!<br />
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I have to confess that I'm a little Scrooge when it comes to Christmas. I find the holidays stressful, too materialistic, too rushed, the list goes on and on. I hate that it takes sometimes MONTHS to get ready for Christmas for it all to be over in a matter of hours. It's just not fair I tell you! Never mind all the family stress that goes along with Christmas. <br />
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This year is a little different. I'm dying to see Emilie on Christmas morning open her presents and play with the wrapping paper. I think it will be so exciting. We have one present in particular that I know she will just love, and I think she is just at the perfect stage developmentally for it as well, so I think she will really get a lot of use out of it. At the same time I dread Christmas dinner at my parents small home. There will possibly be about 17 people in my parents townhouse. The entire main floor is going to be transformed into a huge dining room, and their basement is a giant storage area, so is absolutely unusable. Being that Emilie is now a lean, mean, crawling machine, I am super stressed about this.<br />
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To make matters even more stressful my mother-in-law has decided that she is allergic to our cat this year and will be unable to make it for Christmas dinner. Normally I would just say it's her loss and rejoice that I don't have to put up with her eccentricities overnight, we now have Emilie, and I feel it's important for her to see both sets of grandparents for the holidays. Sigh, so I'm being the bigger person, and I suggested to Andre that we pack up everything but the kitchen sink and drive to their place for dinner on Christmas Eve. It should be a gigantic pain in the ass, and I will no doubt spend the entire visit trying to make sure Emilie doesn't get into something she shouldn't, but that's what the holidays are for right?<br />
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We did do some fun things though, starting with a little photo shoot with a local photographer. Considering the price (only $40) I am happy with the images. They looked great on our photo Christmas card, so that is a plus. Emilie would not smile at.all the entire time we were with the photographer, and I felt really disappointed when we left, but I think they turned out well regardless. Here are some of the shots that we had taken:<br />
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Pictures two, three, and five were used on our Christmas cards this year, which are currently sitting on my dining room table waiting to be written out and mailed sometime this weekend. I am sooooo behind this year.<br />
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Last weekend we went to my church's annual Breakfast with Santa. I had helped as a server in the past, and it was something I always thought would be fun to do once I had a family of my own. It was, and we ended up getting some great shots with Santa with Emilie, and Emilie and Joshua. Here are a few:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emilie bored with breakfast, wanting to see Santa.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking him out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently very happy with her new story book.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emilie and Santa.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Emilie, Santa, and Josh</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making sure Josh realizes how cool this is.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Josh with Santa</td></tr>
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<br />Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-36467315933730266932011-11-29T21:26:00.001-05:002011-11-29T22:31:37.503-05:00The Working Mother DebateAnyone who is a mother has an opinion on this very subject. <br />
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I am no different. <br />
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Now I live in Canada, the home of hockey, and the one year maternity leave. That is for everyone that is not self-employed. (Now they do have maternity leave benefits for Self Employed people, but it started too late for me to benefit from this.) So Andre and I saved and built up a savings so I could stay home for four months full time with Emilie. Then when Andre was headed home for the summer from work I would head back to work since there was no way we could afford to stay home with half an income over the summer while Andre was off work!<br />
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Now I will start by saying that I am incredibly fortunate that I am self employed in that I have a flexible schedule and can bed my schedule. Most people with a traditional job do not have this option. One con to my specific field is that my income relies on the availability of people, ie. working evenings and weekends. My dream would be an 8am-4pm or 9am-5pm work day, but unless the work day of everyone else changes, this just isn't my reality.<br />
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I thought I was prepared for being a working mother*. I knew it would be difficult and not without challenges...I had no idea how difficult. I had no clue how isolated I would feel. Aside from one woman I know (also an RMT) no one knows what it is like. It is an incredibly blessing to get to be home with your child for an entire year. I will freely admit that I am envious of everyone who has the opportunity to do so.<br />
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There are a lot of women out there that will tell you that it is easier to be a working mother*. I do not agree. <b><u>For me</u></b> it is harder, much harder. I cannot be the best mother, the best wife, the best employee all at the same time. Something has to suffer. If someone has figured out how to do everything perfectly I would like to know their secret. I feel like I'm being pulled in every direction at the same time. I have no time for myself. I will admit that this is of my own accord. If I have free time I want to spend it with my daughter. I will never ever get this precious time back. You can't get back their first word, their first laugh, their first crawl, their first anything. Maybe when she is older it will be easier to leave her, until then I don't want to miss anymore firsts than I have to.<br />
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I found it easier to get things done when I was at home. When my daughter napped I would tidy the kitchen, throw in a load of laundry, clean the living room. I can't do that when I'm at work. So now my evenings weekends are spent playing catch up. Those days that Emilie would be up screaming for whatever reason throughout the night, I would :gasp: sleep when she was sleeping. Yet another thing that is hard to do when I am at work. I find out about a work function and the first thing I think is "I'll miss more time with Emilie". <br />
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I feel overwhelmed all the time. I feel like I'm playing catch up all the time. <br />
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<b><u>For me</u></b>, being a working mother* is harder, much harder.<br />
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*Please note that every time I use the term "working mother" I refer to a mother who works outside of the home. I don't want any nasty comments about how stay at home mothers work too. I am aware of that.<br />
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<br />Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-4859804295209641592011-11-29T21:15:00.001-05:002011-11-29T21:25:16.831-05:00Here I am.There have been many moments over the last few months where I have sat where I am sitting at this exact moment, thinking, to myself about how I should get back to blogging. I've found myself craving that release of thoughts like I used to when I was journaling years ago. I even found myself tempted to grab a pen and notebook and start scribbling down thoughts, but then reminded myself that I have a BLOG.<br />
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So here I am, again.<br />
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I think part of the reason I have resisted blogging is my fear that maybe people will find what I have to say boring, but then I remind myself that I started blogging for me, so I shall continue blogging for me. Hopefully the occasional entry will strike a chord with someone out there along the way.<br />
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So here, I am. I hope you'll have me back.Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-72434119228487900822011-09-22T16:55:00.000-04:002011-11-29T21:22:51.719-05:00Time keeps slipping awayI was going through my blog entries, and found that I had done some blogging on my hiatus. This is part of the reason that I have been away from you all....work. It's sucking the life out of me I tell you! So here is my lost blog entry, written originally on September 22nd. <br />
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Time seemed to be slipping away quickly before, but now with both of us back to work and the madness now in full swing, each day is passing more quickly than the last. Never enough time for us, never enough time for myself, and never enough time for Emilie, or at least that is how it seems. I find myself in a bit of a funk. Stuck in this limbo that I'm sure all working Mama's can appreciate. How do I make sure that I'm at my best at work? How do I make sure that my little girl is getting all of me at home? How do I make sure that I'm giving my husband enough attention and affection? Right now housekeeping doesn't even figure on the list. Someday it will get on there, but not right now!<br />
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Like everything that has to do with parenting it seems I knew it would be hard, but I didn't know how hard. I was a driven career woman for so long, over a decade before I had Emilie. I would joke that my practice was my first baby. Emilie was my second. Now that I have Emilie things have changed, my mindset has changed. I no longer want to stay at work, attend after hours work functions. I want to get my butt out of the clinic as quickly as I can, so I can scoop up my little girl and give her the biggest hug. I feel like I miss out on so much while I am at work.<br />
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I've already missed her first drink out of the sippy cup. She tried to get her little legs underneath her in the crawling position for my mother, I was at work for that too. I know it is inevitable, that I'm going to miss things, but it doesn't make it any easier. It doesn't make my heart hurt any less that I missed out on something because I was at work.<br />
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Now don't get me wrong. I love my job. I love what I get to do. I get to do two things that I love doing, I get to talk all.day.long, and I get to make people feel better. Can you get any better than that? So I can only imagine how I would feel if I didn't like my job, or worse, hated my job. I know that there are many of you out there in that exact situation. So I count myself lucky in that respect. I have a job that I love, at least once I get here I enjoy myself. It's just getting here.Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-4778145123561904482011-08-04T16:27:00.000-04:002011-08-04T16:27:54.520-04:00I think my Boobies are closing up shopI think my short and arduous journey into the land of breast feeding is coming to an end. Emilie has been outright refusing the breast during feedings over this last week. I've been meaning to write about my breast feeding experience for so long now. Wanting to share my journey, hoping that maybe it will bring comfort to someone out there. Now that everything is most likely coming to an end, I think now is the time.<br />
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I grew up in a home of three girls. My mother exclusively breastfed all three of us. My youngest sister is 8 years younger than me, so as a young girl I learned that babies weren't fed from a bottle, that's what boobies were for. My mother even shared a story of me as a 9 year old sitting outside our home freaking a neighbour right out when I lifted my shirt and put my baby doll to my chest so she could "eat". It just seemed natural. You have a baby, you breastfeed said baby. Easy peasy right?<br />
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NO!!!! A million times no!<br />
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I heard stories of friends, beautiful stories of their beautiful wrinkly, little newborns being placed on their chest and starting to suckle on their own scootching up to their breast so they can have that first little meal. That was not my reality. My reality was a sleepy, lazy, satisfied little girl who was so full of the fluid they (the doctors) had pumped me full of during my delivery, that she was in no way wanting another meal. All she was interested in was snuggling on my chest for a nice little nap. The closest we got those first few hours was her flicking my nipple around with her tongue, trying to push it away.<br />
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::Le Sigh::<br />
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Little Emilie was not interested in eating those first few days. Our second night in the hospital she went a full seven, S-E-V-E-N hours between feedings. Not from our lack of trying either. I swear that night I met almost every single nurse on shift. Each one trying their own little trick for trying to wake a sleepy baby to feed. I ended up hand expressing colostrum, squeezing the drops of liquid gold into her mouth, letting her swallow, then starting again. That was a meal for her. The nurses had me strip her down, lay her on my chest, tickle her toes, tickle under her chin, move her arms, move her legs, finally they had me wipe her down with a cold damp cloth. Mean I know, but desperate times called for desperate measures. Even the damp cloth didn't work after awhile. She was not interested in the boob juice.<br />
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After about 36 hours of that whole routine to get her to eat, her weight had dropped below the dreaded 10% loss. The midwife gave us two options; either rent a breast pump like that minute, or start supplementing with formula via a tube to get us through until that magic moment when my milk would come in. We happened to have some sample cans of formula in our pantry, so we opted for supplementing. I also booked an appointment for my fourth day post partum with a lactation consultant. We supplemented, and she gained, and the lactation consultant fixed our shallow latch issues, and I bought myself a pump.<br />
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I started pumping for 10 minutes after each feeding in the hopes of increasing my supply. The next day (5 days post partum) I had another visit from my midwife. She delivered the dreaded news: I had a low supply. I thought the 20mL I was pumping after each feeding was great, true, it wasn't enough to even supplement the next feeding, but it was okay right? Wrong. She gave me two options, herbs, or Domperidone. I opted for Domperidone. Made an appointment with my family doctor and started that very day. <br />
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All I have to say is THANK GOD Andre was home those first three weeks. I honestly would have lost it, seriously lost my mind if it wasn't for him. Feedings were suppose to be this serene time with mom and baby, snuggling. Hahahaha. Not in our house, it was a huge production of stripping Emilie down, changing her bum in the hopes of waking her up a little bit, then trying to get her latched on. And really that was the last thing Emilie wanted to do. My boobies couldn't give her what she wanted so why try right? Once we got her latched it was a rush to get the feeding tube in her mouth so she could down the formula while on the breast. That was assuming she would latch. Sometimes after about 10 minutes of struggling, we would give up and finger feed her. I do not miss those days. Then after the whole production of feeding her I would have to relinquish my little snugly baby who just wanted to be cuddled in favour of my cold, unforgiving breast pump so I would watch Andre get to snuggle Emilie while I sat (crying) in my glider pumping away.<br />
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By this point the post partum blues were beginning to set in. The stress of everything was becoming a little bit too much for me. Andre was about to go back to work, and I knew that our routine was not something that I could continue on my own when my late night partner in crime was asleep. I made the decision to drop my after feeding pump sessions overnight, and just supplement with formula what she needed. This was probably the beginning of the end, but when your sanity is hanging by a thread, you choose your sanity.<br />
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This lead to a phase of exclusively pumping and supplementing with formula. In the evenings in an effort to calm Emilie I would put her on the breast and she would calm herself by having a little snack. After about a month of pumping, I had enough, my nipples were killing me and I was miserable being stuck to a pump all the time instead of spending time with my daughter, or sleeping, or eating, or well anything.<br />
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I was on the verge of giving up all together when Emilie decided that she would actually latch on well and take a little feeding. So in a last ditch effort to continue giving Emilie some breast milk I started offering the breast before each feeding. She would nurse for about 10-15 minutes then finish off with her bottle. Let me just say my beloved daughter has no issue with the dreaded nipple confusion. We have continued with this for about 3 months or so. I think the final blow came with my return to work. Things were going so well, but I have noticed a drop in my lack lustre supply since I've been back to work. This has led to our little Miss outright refusing to nurse the last few days. I see the writing on the wall. I know what is coming. She's had enough. I can't give her what she wants when she wants it. The bottle can.<br />
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I found myself crying today while trying to feed her. My nipple leaking and her refusing to nurse because she knows a bottle is coming. At that moment I knew what is to come. I'm still taking Domperidone, but I will probably stop taking it after today. There is no need if she refuses to nurse. I refuse to go back to the pump for the dismal amount of breast milk I can pump. It's not worth the time I have to take away from her. She's thriving. She's happy. She's healthy. I can't complain.<br />
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If she will nurse tonight before bed I will savour those last little moments. Just her and I. Something only I can give her. PCOS robbed me of my ability to breast feed exclusively, but it can't take that away from me.Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-82651869277511528142011-07-30T22:31:00.000-04:002011-07-30T22:31:56.886-04:00I am an Auntie!You may all call me Auntie Jenna.<br />
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My little nephew was born via emergency c-section on June 29th, 2011. My sister Carrie went into preterm labour at 33 weeks, and the medication they gave her to stop labour ended up causing her blood pressure to drop dangerously low, thus causing his heart rate to drop dangerously low. It was a very tense day, but little Joshua Joseph was born a full 7 weeks early at exactly 5lbs. He was small, but perfect.<br />
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He spent the next 2 and a half weeks in the NICU, and got to come home. It was a great day to finally get to see him, and hold him for the first time.<br />
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He has been thriving since he arrived home. At his last weigh in with the family doctor he was a whopping 6lbs, 8ozs. He gained a full pound in his first week home! He has been such a good little boy for his mommy and daddy (oh how jealous!) as well.<br />
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So blog land, here is my nephew Joshua Joseph:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6O0inPY3J8Y/TjS8ohgp2gI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/-b94fCl27Y8/s1600/josh2Picnik+collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="161" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6O0inPY3J8Y/TjS8ohgp2gI/AAAAAAAAA4Q/-b94fCl27Y8/s320/josh2Picnik+collage.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little collage I made for Carrie to celebrate Josh's 2 week birthday. It reads "What a difference two weeks makes. Joshua then and now."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dKGLVzkeR2Y/TjS89Bp2T8I/AAAAAAAAA4U/aF9Hyq963tU/s1600/July6+014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-dKGLVzkeR2Y/TjS89Bp2T8I/AAAAAAAAA4U/aF9Hyq963tU/s320/July6+014.JPG" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Their brave little man, finally home!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8mLN5x3BrVs/TjS9Nmi2LhI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/ASTxjN7X_lQ/s1600/July6+020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-8mLN5x3BrVs/TjS9Nmi2LhI/AAAAAAAAA4Y/ASTxjN7X_lQ/s320/July6+020.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My first snuggle time with Josh!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JTTmMiaKAxk/TjS9jfkyHFI/AAAAAAAAA4c/gKNVTeQPLD0/s1600/July8+002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JTTmMiaKAxk/TjS9jfkyHFI/AAAAAAAAA4c/gKNVTeQPLD0/s320/July8+002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We call this one "Big and Little". Their first picture together.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-34683633984823241122011-07-10T11:28:00.000-04:002011-07-10T11:28:36.133-04:00Our Sunday morning in pictures<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7PD4VH6jVfg/ThnED7fXa4I/AAAAAAAAA3Y/j6V0z34-_aM/s1600/July4+010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7PD4VH6jVfg/ThnED7fXa4I/AAAAAAAAA3Y/j6V0z34-_aM/s320/July4+010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Morning load of diaper laundry</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jIANDQkOu_I/ThnEThe3fBI/AAAAAAAAA3c/u-68MjJ86lo/s1600/July4+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-jIANDQkOu_I/ThnEThe3fBI/AAAAAAAAA3c/u-68MjJ86lo/s320/July4+011.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some time in the garden. Look what bloomed!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G-5o3o-Bt5E/ThnEkSkwkhI/AAAAAAAAA3g/UNuICBs4ujQ/s1600/July4+016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-G-5o3o-Bt5E/ThnEkSkwkhI/AAAAAAAAA3g/UNuICBs4ujQ/s320/July4+016.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleepy little girl napping.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-65480390505387782972011-07-10T11:21:00.000-04:002011-07-10T11:21:31.763-04:004 Months!Our little girl just recently turned 4 months old. Time is passing by much too quickly. For a more detailed entry into what our little girl has been up to you can go to our <a href="http://ourlittleonemcg.blogspot.com/">Baby Blog</a>. Here's the nitty gritty from her 4 month appointment:<br />
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Weight: 13lbs. That's a one pound gain from her 3 month appointment.<br />
Height: 24 inches. That's a one inch increase from a month ago.<br />
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This puts her just under the 50th percentile for her weight according to the doctor. I still have to do the calculations for her height.<br />
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Here is our little girl from her 4 month photo shoot:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MlDkv1rwLaI/ThnDGQrYFlI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/KqJ3GetEVzM/s1600/4+months.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MlDkv1rwLaI/ThnDGQrYFlI/AAAAAAAAA3Q/KqJ3GetEVzM/s320/4+months.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0CL2qxgPP0w/ThnDWuI1VkI/AAAAAAAAA3U/hzte_j0ukCk/s1600/July3+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-0CL2qxgPP0w/ThnDWuI1VkI/AAAAAAAAA3U/hzte_j0ukCk/s320/July3+011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-54276121163328911392011-07-01T23:40:00.000-04:002011-07-01T23:40:54.566-04:00Then and now, the difference a year makes<div style="text-align: center;">July 1st 2010</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UuapT3hZBN4/Tg6SsLfNAUI/AAAAAAAAA3I/3rm3FD38K-o/s1600/preg_test.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-UuapT3hZBN4/Tg6SsLfNAUI/AAAAAAAAA3I/3rm3FD38K-o/s320/preg_test.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">July 1st 2011</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kMed2TcVBSE/Tg6S8E0mUiI/AAAAAAAAA3M/g1s40oI2c1M/s1600/July+pics+022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kMed2TcVBSE/Tg6S8E0mUiI/AAAAAAAAA3M/g1s40oI2c1M/s320/July+pics+022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">God bless modern technology.</div>Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-74779384465855915462011-06-28T08:59:00.000-04:002011-06-28T08:59:14.255-04:00Then and NowI've found myself thinking about last year a lot lately. Random moments when I've been feeding Emilie I'll say to Andre, "remember what we would have been doing around this time last year? I probably had a visit to Dr. C's office this morning". That was no different last weekend. I talked about Father's Day weekend last year <a href="http://mrandmrsm2.blogspot.com/2010/06/now-we-wait.html">here</a>. It was the weekend of our IUI.<br />
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This year, we celebrated Father's Day a little differently:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-evpyY3-Nbes/TgnNuPu-WOI/AAAAAAAAA2g/O1XBXhxTdl4/s1600/IMG_2371.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-evpyY3-Nbes/TgnNuPu-WOI/AAAAAAAAA2g/O1XBXhxTdl4/s320/IMG_2371.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mN0GVqehR30/TgnN_CyfwJI/AAAAAAAAA2k/Ou8a_Ejm-GE/s1600/IMG_2372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mN0GVqehR30/TgnN_CyfwJI/AAAAAAAAA2k/Ou8a_Ejm-GE/s320/IMG_2372.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qm3vHlrGjKg/TgnOSmH-zKI/AAAAAAAAA2o/vkSt_qmAKX0/s1600/IMG_2379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qm3vHlrGjKg/TgnOSmH-zKI/AAAAAAAAA2o/vkSt_qmAKX0/s320/IMG_2379.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EbTh9S4UQpo/TgnOkx7NebI/AAAAAAAAA2s/9ta2JVa4pUk/s1600/IMG_2384.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EbTh9S4UQpo/TgnOkx7NebI/AAAAAAAAA2s/9ta2JVa4pUk/s320/IMG_2384.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T4NTUcGcBuo/TgnO15NjfSI/AAAAAAAAA2w/Ima8Vo5oP9E/s1600/IMG_2394.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T4NTUcGcBuo/TgnO15NjfSI/AAAAAAAAA2w/Ima8Vo5oP9E/s320/IMG_2394.JPG" width="213" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IA-hjIPxX4Y/TgnO70MaSDI/AAAAAAAAA20/5B2aCFECGj4/s1600/Thank+you+card+picture.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IA-hjIPxX4Y/TgnO70MaSDI/AAAAAAAAA20/5B2aCFECGj4/s320/Thank+you+card+picture.jpg" width="255" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div align="left" class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>It was the day of our little Emilie's Baptism. Whenever I thought about the significance of that day tears would come to my eyes. It was so fitting that she was Baptised on that day. Last year we left it up to God. Then a year later we made a promise to Him for our precious little girl.Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-48607651998138644142011-06-28T08:42:00.000-04:002011-06-28T08:42:19.368-04:00Thank YouI would just like to send a huge thank you to everyone who responded to my last post, either by posting a comment, or getting in touch privately. It was great to know that I am indeed not the only one going through this. <br />
This parent business is very hard, and I think sometimes we don't want to talk about the not so fun things, or feel like they're taboo. One of the hardest things about being a parent is that feeling of isolation sometimes, so thank you to everyone who was able to talk about those not so fun parts of parenthood, and helping me to feel not so isolated.Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-105694423615011152011-05-22T17:37:00.000-04:002011-05-22T17:37:29.193-04:00Redifining usWhat is a blog if not for being completely honest right? So I'm putting it out there, I'm unhappy. No, I'm not unhappy that I'm a mother. I love being a mother, I love Emilie. I love everything about her and being her mother, not to say that there haven't been some rough bits getting to this moment, but this post isn't about that.<br />
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I'm unhappy about the status of my marriage. If I was to be completely honest, my marriage has suffered since Andre and I have become parents. I think we have both struggled to try and find the balance of being Jenna and Andre, while adjusting to being mom and dad at the same time. We haven't hit our stride, and at moments like this it makes me wonder if we ever will. <br />
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It's hard to talk to my close friends that have children because I don't want them to hate my husband, and think that everything is 100% his fault, because it takes two people to make a relationship work or reversely fail, so 50% of the problems are because of me. You get the advice from people from my parents generation, the "you marry your first child and give birth to the rest" or "It doesn't get any better you know.", generation. Then I feel like screaming back that I refuse to live like this for the next 35 years. I don't want to wake up 35 years from now hating and resenting my husband because that's what marriage is suppose to be like. Then you get the advice from my generation, the in-touch-get-your-feelings-out generation. "You need to tell him how you feel" "You need to tell him what you need" "You need to tell him what to do", generation. Well sometimes I would like to go 24 hours without feeling like a nag, his mother, or just a bitch. Just 24 hours.<br />
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The entire time you know that your mother is thinking that I should just get over it and then I'll just be happy, and then my friends are thinking that they are so thankful that they're marriage doesn't suck as much as mine. At least that's what I think they're thinking.<br />
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It just seemed so easy before we were parents. We'd been together for almost 8 years, we had <em>us</em> figured out. We knew the ins and outs of <em>us</em>. Then we decided to change everything, add a new role into the mix, add the role of mom and dad to all the other hats that we wear. <br />
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In our case I know that the transition to mom was an easier one for me. It's been easier for me to just put Jenna aside and be "Mom". With Andre, I feel that he has struggled with the transition. I feel Andre doesn't want, or isn't ready to just put Andre aside and concentrate on being "Dad". I've tried quite a few times to discuss this with him, but it gets so exhausting trying to explain everything, trying to explain my feelings. I'm just so <em>tired</em>. <br />
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I would love one day not having to tell him how to do something, or asking him for help when I feel like he should just know by now when I'm going crazy and stressed out trying to do 5 things at once, that maybe, just maybe checking his e-mail or calling his father might not be a good idea, and he should help me with the baby instead. Why can't he just "get it"?<br />
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Le Sigh<br />
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I don't know what the point of this is. I feel alone, like no one else in my circle has felt this way. Like we're the only ones to go through this. Ever. Even though I know realistically that can't be the case.Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-43739659109896455282011-05-16T09:30:00.000-04:002011-05-16T09:30:04.702-04:00Cloth Diaper InvestmentI think that the biggest reason that people decide to cloth diaper their little one, aside from the environmental reasons of course, is the cost savings. This can be a little difficult to get your head around for some people when you're spending hundreds of dollars in most cases to build up a good stash of diapers. To cloth diaper one child, and wash diapers every other day most companies will recommend at least 24 diapers. Some can make due with only 12, we have about 20 diapers. <br />
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I'll break down what I have spent so far on diapers to give you and idea of what an average (or what I think is average) diaper stash would cost.<br />
Best Bottom Diapers:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TLKulu3XZdo/TdBD9LiOUeI/AAAAAAAAA2M/Beg3NcsQdck/s1600/nursery+pictures+006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TLKulu3XZdo/TdBD9LiOUeI/AAAAAAAAA2M/Beg3NcsQdck/s320/nursery+pictures+006.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4 covers, 12 stay dry inserts<br />
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</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;">The cost of the Best Bottom Diapers was: 4 shells @ $16.95 each = $67.80</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">12 stay dry inserts @ 3.95 each = $47.40</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Total Investment: $115.20</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">BumGenius 4.0 Diapers:</div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O7f0jkdZgMM/TdEffrZ_ulI/AAAAAAAAA2c/6F7iFX1dEqU/s1600/nursery+pictures+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-O7f0jkdZgMM/TdEffrZ_ulI/AAAAAAAAA2c/6F7iFX1dEqU/s320/nursery+pictures+004.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">8 BumGenius 4.0</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">The cost of 8 BumGenius 4.0: $23.95 each = $191.60, minus buy 5 get 1 free promotion = $167.65</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: left;">Happy Heiny's Diapers:</div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GrjolY_S9Ec/TdEfMz3yxUI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/QTVXFYjyMtc/s1600/nursery+pictures+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GrjolY_S9Ec/TdEfMz3yxUI/AAAAAAAAA2Y/QTVXFYjyMtc/s320/nursery+pictures+005.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2 one size diapers, 4 sized diapers<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Cost of Happy Heiny's: <br />
2 one size diapers @ $24.00 each = $48.00<br />
2 sized diapers @ 15.00 each = 60.00<br />
Total of: $108.00<br />
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Grand Total Cloth Diaper Investment: $390.85<br />
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Now for some people out there they may be saying "See, she spent $400 on diapers! That's ridiculous!!" Well to compare what I would have spent on using disposables 100% of the time since her birth I did a quick calculation. Now this calculation would be based on 10 diaper changes/day for 106 days, since she's 106 days old today. This calculation is conservative since for about a month she was getting changed at least 12 times/day. This calculation is also based on a 96 count box of Huggies ON SALE for $24.99. Anyone who has a baby knows when you run out you run out, you don't go searching for sales at 9pm at night, you drive to the nearest store and pay full price on a bag of diapers.<br />
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So taking all that into account I could have conservatively spent $274.89 on disposable diapers, so far! I figure that in another month or so I will have saved enough in cloth diapers to have paid off my cloth diaper investment. In three months!<br />
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<div style="text-align: left;">Now some of you out there (those same people!) will be saying "She's probably paying a ton more in hydro and gas, and she's probably buying some expensive special detergent to wash those diapers! Ha!" Ummm, no. I use the same detergent that I use for all of our clothing to wash her cloth diapers, Purex Free and Clear. No expensive special detergent here. It's even cloth diaper friendly, so there! As for our utility bills, our hydro bill is exactly the same (minus the huge amount we pay for HST), our gas bill is a little bit more, but we are also doing more dishes washing bottles by hand (which uses more hot water than using a dishwasher), and we are doing more laundry in general with her stuff, and all of our stuff. So we can't blame the slight increase just on diapers.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: left;">So there you have it. The actual cost of cloth diapering!</div>Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-70845319375730671602011-05-15T17:09:00.000-04:002011-05-15T17:09:08.172-04:00Cloth Diaper Review Continued...BumGenius 4.0AKA my favourite cloth diaper.<br />
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If you've done any research at all out there on cloth diapering BumGenius will most likely pop up quite a bit during your research. They have been around for years, and they make an awesome diaper. They are a pocket diaper just like the Happy Heiny's but they are just....better. The PUL is super soft, they adjust great around the waist without the same overlap thickness at the waist like the HH's. They have a flap a the back of the diaper to prevent having to fiddle with the back waist band to prevent the wet band at the back if you don't keep the fleece down far enough. The list goes on and on.<br />
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I started out with two of the snap versions of this diaper.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kzZfcxiJbPE/TdA9KrnsQtI/AAAAAAAAA2I/rlsXtuyYliI/s1600/nursery+pictures+004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-kzZfcxiJbPE/TdA9KrnsQtI/AAAAAAAAA2I/rlsXtuyYliI/s320/nursery+pictures+004.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="font-family: inherit;">I really don't know how to start with these diapers. They are my favourite, they are also my mother's favourite. Andre really hasn't expressed a favourite, he just uses what cloth diapers are there and changes Emilie's bum. They are super absorbent. I have used these diapers for both daytime, and nighttime, with no leaks.</span> This is really good since Emilie will routinely sleep for 8-10 hour stretches at night.<br />
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Out of all three of the diapers, the BG insterts are the thinnest, making this the trimmest diaper out of all three that I have chosen. This is also great when they are in the dryer since it takes less time for them to dry. Maybe in the summer I will line dry them and see if they don't get too crunchy drying that way.<br />
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Since my initial purchase of two diapers I have purchased an additional 6 diapers, three with aplix (velcro) closure, and 3 more with snaps. The laundry tabs on the aplix diapers are great and not once have they come undone in the wash which is more than I can say for the HH's laundry tabs. I do plan on purchasing some more BG diapers, to hopefully bring my stash of these diapers up to 18 or so. I just have to decide whether or not I am going to keep, or sell the BB diapers.<br />
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<strong>Bottom Line for BumGenius 4.0: </strong>Awesome diaper! Well worth the investment. I do not have one complaint about these diapers. They are great for daytime and nighttime use, with no leaks or blow outs. They are trim, soft, and look so cute on our little girl! I just wish I had more of these diapers!Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5189603651651603532.post-69093958167897396252011-05-15T16:38:00.000-04:002011-05-15T16:38:16.797-04:00Cloth Diaper Review Continued...Happy Heiny's<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">It's been a little longer than I thought getting back to my review, but well, life got in the way!</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Second on my list of cloth diapers in my stash is <a href="http://www.happyheinys.com/">Happy Heiny's</a>. These are also great diapers. Actually, all of the diapers in my stash are great diapers for the most part, I've been very lucky. These diapers are a different type of diapers than the Best Bottom Diapers. These are a pocket diaper. Just like it says, you stuff the insert into the pocket in the diaper. This is how you control the absorbency of the diapers.</div> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m_Eh9ApWGc8/TdA4EwXfu0I/AAAAAAAAA2E/e18YBe83fLI/s1600/nursery+pictures+005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" j8="true" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m_Eh9ApWGc8/TdA4EwXfu0I/AAAAAAAAA2E/e18YBe83fLI/s320/nursery+pictures+005.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Happy Heiny's diapers. One size on left, sized diapers on right.</td></tr>
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</div>I have two different types of Happy Heiny's diapers. First their original Happy Heiny's sized diapers. Meaning they come in sizes. I had two size small, one size medium, and one size large. I got them half price on a bargain website.<br />
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These sized diapers have been the <strong><u>only </u></strong>cloth diaper from the stash that has leaked. I just cannot get them small enough on our little girl. They differ from the one size diapers in that they do not have tabs that cross over in the front to make them just that little bit smaller. Because of this I just don't use these diapers anymore, I just hate the leaking. Now, on their website you can request (for no additional charge) the cross over tabs to solve this leaking problem. If you were to buy the sized diapers I would opt for that for the added size adjustments. But why go for sized diapers when you can buy One Size?!<br />
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I also had two One Size Pocket Diapers from Happy Heiny's. They are my second favourite diaper in the stash. The PUL is soft, they are less bulky than the Best Bottom Diapers, and they adjust really well in the waist. They come in a bunch of solid colours and absolutely adorable prints. I have one in their hook and loop closure, and one in snaps. I don't like their hook and loop. I always remember to fasten the laundry tabs, and it never fails it always comes undone, and has snagged another one of my diapers. For this reason I have catches on my Best Bottom shells. The snaps solves this problem.<br />
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One of the unique things about the HH's diapers is how their tabs cross over. The plus is that they are uber adjustable, and get nice and snug around E's waist. The downside is that when it's crossed over there's an extra layer of fabric across E's belly that sticks out and looks odd. You win some, you lose some. Another thing with the HH's diapers is that you have to make sure when you're done putting on the diaper that none of the fleece inside cover is sticking up over the PUL at the back, if it is when your LO goes for a pee you will get a wet line across their back from the moisture. Small detail, but if you don't remember you will be changing more clothes than you need to. This happens more to Andre than to me.<br />
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<strong>Bottom Line for Happy Heiny's: </strong>Great diaper for the money. They are a little more reasonable than the BumGenius Diapers. The inside fleece lining is super soft, they are easy to stuff. They are a trim diaper, and they adjust very easily for sizing. This definitely comes in handy with a leaner baby. The snaps are better since the laundry tabs on the velcro ones are crap.Mr and Mrs Mhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07864103417615363575noreply@blogger.com0