Category: Pregnancy

Why {& How} I Decided to Cloth Diaper

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Cloth diapers…I’m sure the first thing that comes to mind is ewww, gross, poop, pee!! It’s really not as bad as you’re imaging! IMG_2713_edited-2Once I was pregnant with baby #2  I knew that we would have a much tighter budget so one way I knew we could save money was by using cloth diapers. At first I thought it was going to be really gross and that I wouldn’t want to do it but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to do some research.

The more research I did the more I realized that there are A LOT of different kinds of diapers and first I would have to try to figure out what kind would work with our lifestyle. I settled on “hybrid” diapers. Hybrid diapers have a shell and then some sort of insert. Often they also have a disposable insert option. I liked the idea of hybrid diapers so then I started researching all the different brands.

I decided to try out Best Bottom Diapers, Flip Diapers, and Econobum Diapers. I settled on these after watching tons of You Tube videos and reading lots of reviews online. From what learned it’s best to try a few different brands on your child. Since all babies are built different one brand may fit better then another. Overall I think it’s just good to have options!

Here is some of my stash:

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My faves are the Best Bottom ones. They are the cutest – with lots of color options and they almost never leak! Second are Flip – overall I like them but I never have him nap in them – they always leak. I think this is mainly because they don’t have any elastic on the front to keep them tight to the belly while he sleep (he is a stomach sleeper). And Econobum – I don’t use them. I don’t like them at all – good thing I got them on sale and they only cost me $20!!

After using cloth for about 5 months here is what I have learned…

  1. I didn’t CD (cloth diaper) my newborn. Bry was 7lbs 10ounces and still WAY to small for the diapers I bought him. I started him around 3 months old. You can buy special newborn diapers but I chose to skip that.
  2. I mainly CD at home. It’s just easier to use a disposable when I’m on the run. I have friends that do it but I’ve just decided that using a few disposables here and there works for me.
  3. Buy a wet bag, diaper pail liner and diaper sprayer. These are a must when CDing.
  4. Decide how often you want to do laundry – then buy enough diapers. I didn’t want to do laundry every day or every other day (like most sites recommend) so I bought more diapers.  I do CD laundry every 3-4 days – some people say this causes your diapers to stink – I haven’t had any issues with that.
  5. I don’t CD at night. My son is a heavy wetter and pees through everything. I’ve actually had to start buying him special nighttime disposable diapers (which are A-MA-ZING!)
  6. Learn about diaper stripping
  7. Some pants won’t fit a baby in a CD. Weird – yes – just thought you should know 😉
  8. Do what works for you! Even if you CD 50% of the time that is a 50% savings over disposable.

I’m happy I decided to do it – do your research – and ask around. I think you’ll be surprised at how many people actually still cloth diaper!

I’m Back!

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Well it’s been a long time since I have posted anything and a lot has happened!! So I’ll just post some pictures to get you caught up!

First of all I had beautiful maternity photos taken by my wonderful friend Brea Bursch @ CYE Photography

She truly is talented because I looked at myself and though, “wow I look pretty good!” and I think that says a lot when your 9 months pregnant!!

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the shoot.

Then my sweet boy made his arrival into the world (very quickly!) at 39 weeks! Again my wonderful friend Brea was there to capture the moment! Here are a few pictures from his birth!

Bryson Thomas Ross, 7lbs, 10 ounces and 20 1/4 inches long.

Brea also did newborn photos for us so here are a few pictures from that session

I didn’t take a ton of pictures at the hospital but this is one of my favorites of Tay meeting her baby brother!

Now that you are all caught up on the last couple months of my life we can get back to the crafty things!!

Bryson’s Rustic Nursery

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Bryson’s nursery is complete…well mostly!! I decided since I’m getting close to my due date I wanted to post some finished picts of the nursery. There are a couple of small details that still aren’t done but it’s close enough. We are still waiting for the log to dry out for the end table so in the mean time we are using an extra TV tray that I had. Also Tom still needs to put up the blinds in his room…other then that we are pretty much good to go!

Overall I love how it came together…I know I’ll tweak a few things here and there but for now it’s ready to go! I just need the little man to make an appearance so we can really enjoy the room!

35 Weeks and Counting!

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Well It’s been awhile since I posted a pregnancy update! I’m 35 weeks pregnant…only 29 days until my due date! I can’t believe it! I feel like it’s gone by quickly…I’ve been blessed with a very healthy pregnancy and at this point it’s just a waiting game. We want him to stay in until at least 37 weeks then he is free to come out anytime!

I’ve already been having a ton of Braxton Hicks contractions and real contractions so I’m wondering if he might make an early appearance into this world! We will just have to wait and see!!

When I was 31 weeks I had the opportunity to go get another 3D ultrasound and it was so amazing! He opened his eyes a couple of times, smiled and she was even able to tell that he already has some hair!! Our technology is beyond amazing these days and it’s been such a blessing to be able to see him doing well in there!

A couple of my favorite picts…

The other fun thing we did recently was some maternity photos with my great friend Brea from CYE Photography.

Here are a few from the sneak peek!! I’m so excited I love them so much…she has such an eye for posing and knows how to make you feel and look beautiful during a time where I really just felt like a buffalo!! LOL

Yesterday my friends at work threw me a baby shower…we got some amazing things and have truly been blessed!

29 Weeks…Almost 30…The End Is In Sight!

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So last Friday I hit 29 weeks…I can’t believe how close I’m getting to the end of this pregnancy! Things have been super busy with work so it’s making the weeks go by really fast!

I had the pleasure of going to Siemens Healthcare and getting a 3D ultrasound for free last week. It was fun to see that he is doing well and is a healthy baby. The U/S tech said he is measuring 1-2 weeks ahead of where he should be. He was almost a pound bigger then the average baby his age. She also told me that he has a “really big head”…um does she realize what she is saying to me?? I don’t think so, she just kept saying it over and over again! I mean I’m glad that he will have a lot of room for his brain but I don’t want his head to be too big!! Now I’m a bit worried! She said his head alone is in the 85th percentile!

Here is one of the amazing pictures from the U/S scan:

I can tell he has the same button nose as Taylin!

I also just wanted to share a couple of pictures of my sweet girl. I realized that I’ve been so busy and I haven’t taken any pictures of her lately so after she got ready for bed I snapped a couple of pictures.

She thought it was a lot of fun and I can’t believe how big she is getting!

This week I had 5…yes 5 friends have babies…I’m so excited for all of them but it’s making me really excited to meet our sweet boy!! He is going to be here before we know it and I can’t wait!

Nursery Decor Details

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The Nursery is coming together and I thought it would be fun to share some of the decor that I’ve got going on in his room. I’ve share a few things along the way but I’ve also completed a few other projects over the weekend that I wanted to share.

Chevron Pillow – This was made with the fabric I got in Portland last week. I didn’t do a tutorial for this but here is a great one I found online if you want instructions to make an envelope pillow case.

Fabric Pennant – Here is a great tutorial for making your own pennants!

Horse Pictures – I shared how I made these here

“B” for Bryson – not much to share here – I got the inspiration for this off Pinterest as well!  I’m thinking I’d like to add chicken wire to the back of the frame – like this

Faux Sheepskin Rug – here is the tutorial

I feel like everything is coming together really well. Once the weather get’s nicer I’ll be able to paint the dresser. We are also in the process of drying out a log round to use as an end table by the gilder!

 

Rustic Paint Stick Light

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I’ve been plugging away at all the little projects to make Bryson’s room come together. Today I’m going to share the light I made for his room out of paint sticks. I saw this idea in Pinterest and knew it would work perfect in his room!

While we were at Home Depot picking everything up for the bathroom remodel I asked the paint counter if they sold bulk paint sticks. They told me no, but I could help myself to free paint sticks. I proceeded to explain that I wanted about 50 paint sticks for a project…I’m pretty sure they thought I was crazy but they were happy to give me all those paint sticks.

Next up I needed a lamp shade to use as the form for my paint sticks – I ran to Goodwill and found one that was the right size but was ugly camouflage! I put two quick coats of spray paint on so that it would blend in better (I forgot to take picts of this part of the process…fail!!)

Supplies:

  • Lamp Shade
  • 40-50 paint sticks – depending on your lamp shade size…you’ll just have to estimate
  • Stain – I used Minawax Jacobean
  • Tons of hot glue

I stained one paint stick to see if I the color was what I wanted. I started my first paint stick on the seam of the shade to make sure it was covered up.Then just keep gluing them all on. This probably took me 15-20 minutes.

The finished shade – now it was time to stain it.

Make sure you do the staining outside…it has a really strong smell. I just painted it on and the wiped it off with a rag.

Here is the finished product!! It turned our really well and was a super cheap project. It probably cost me about $6-$8. We did have to buy a kit to hang the light, which my husband wired in. That was an additional $15 but you may not need that if you are just making a lamp shade or if you can modify the current light to fit the new shade.

Nursery Art – DIY Photo Canvas

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I’ve been trying to come up with something to put on one of the walls in Bryson’s nursery and as I was cleaning out some excess home decor I came across two canvas paintings I use to have hanging in my living room. I almost gave them to Goodwill and then it hit me…I could turn them into a photo canvas!

So the other day I edited a couple of pictures I had taken while we were in Colorado for Christmas. Once I was done editing them I had them printed off at Costco (8.99 a piece). I spray painted the outer rim of the canvas black, then cut the picture to fit the canvas and mounted it with Mod Podge.

I’d say they turned out pretty well and you could do the same thing with a canvas from Michael’s and a family picture or a favorite picture of your kids.

Not to bad for $18.00!!!

 

25 Weeks…Yep I’m Pregnant!

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So I wanted to post a quick pregnancy update! My last update was at 21 weeks and I feel like my belly has grown quite a bit in the last few weeks! To me it’s pretty obvious that I’m pregnant but I still get people saying “Oh, your pregnant, I can’t even tell”. Um…I think it’s pretty obvious that there is a baby in there and that I’m not just getting fat!! LOL!!

At my last appointment I had gained a couple more pounds for a total of 8 pounds so far! I can’t complain about that!!

At my next appointment I’ll be having my test for gestational diabetes – I’m hoping that all comes back normal.  They will also be following up on my thyroid to make sure it’s still functioning ok.

I’m definitely not experience morning sickness anymore but I am having a hard time sleeping so that is really frustrating!

The last couple weeks have been great we have made awesome progress on the babies room and we are also in the middle of a bathroom remodel (more to come on that later)!!

Faux Sheepskin Rug {Tutorial}

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So I really wanted a faux sheepskin rug for Bryson’s room but when I started looking around for them they were pretty expensive or really small. Ikea has a couple real sheepskin rugs for pretty inexpensive but they aren’t very big.

My friend told me about the Fabric Depot website. She had ordered Mongolian Fur from them and she said it was really soft and a nice quality. I ordered 1 1/4 yards from them. It was on sale plus I found a coupon code I could use for 20% off!! I spent a total of $37.25 for a decent sized piece of fur.

I knew once I got it I wanted to cut the piece into an animal shape but it took me a couple of weeks to actually do it! I was so nervous that I would ruin it!
Here is what it looked like when I received the fabric

The first thing I did was draw the shape I wanted with a sharpie

After I cut out the rug I used Fray Check around the edges to help stop it from fraying.

After letting the Fray Check dry for about 20 minutes I flipped the rug over and here is my finished product!!

I must say that I love how it turned out and it’s fun to think I made it myself!