Diapering and Dining

So, diapering and dining. That's pretty much all Drake's life consists of. The only two other ingredients are sleeping and playing, but that's another blog for another day. Drake is almost 7 months now (next WEDNESDAY!!!), which I just cannot believe.

He is on solids, and thoroughly enjoying them. There is an older post about why we started at 6 months, which you could search and find if you really want to know. And to add to that, I read in Parenting Magazine yesterday, that starting before 6 months also increases the chance your child will have problems with childhood obesity. Anyhow, so he's on solids and loves it. He starts veggies soon. That's gonna be lots of fun- I've heard it makes the poop smelly and all kinds of funky colors. I make his food with the Beaba food steamer/puree. It is a fabulous kitchen gadget~~~I highly recommend it. I don't make his cereals, because the store bought ones include iron. I buy them organic from Earthfare, rather than making my own and having to give him a vitamin. I think that's about it for dining. In another couple years, I'll probably finally get around to posting photos of him eating carrots for the first time.

Now, diapering. Our little family enjoys cloth diapering. No, it's not gross. I personally find disposables disgusting. Our cloth dipes don't stink anywhere close to a sposie. And if you could feel how soft they are, you just may be convinced too. Did you know that the main ingredient in sposies that is there for absorbency was made illegal in the 1980's? However, it's only illegal in tampons, not diapers. So it's okay for my child, but not for me? Yehhh.....right....

Anyhow, back on track here. Drake has some really cool diapers. Especially since I took all my prefolds to NY and Canada when we went to see Eric's family. Lindsay, Eric's sister, cloth diapers as well. She had the genius idea from this message board that we frequent, to tie-dye our prefolds. To give a brief synopsis on the types of CD, a prefold is an "old-school" diaper that wraps around the baby and requires a cover. We used Dylon, b/c it supposedly doesn't bleed as bad. It was SO much fun, and now our kiddos have cute prefolds as well as pocket diapers. Our SIL Dianna did her burp cloths, and they turned out really cute too. We're trying to convert Dianna to a CD user for her next kid:-) So, I've included some pics for your viewing pleasure below.

We asked for a clothesline, and voila.....a clothesline appeared. Thanks to Eric's dad Denny! We had to have a place for everything to dry. These are a bunch of the prefolds.

The red dye turned out to be hot pink. Lacey has lots of cool pink diapers, and Drake is getting in touch with his feminine side.
Lacey's onesie- too cute!
Some from the first day. That's a fitted diaper in the middle. And one of Gavin's burpcloths.
One of the keys to tie-dying is to wear old clothes and an apron. And gloves! That stuff gets everywhere. My dear husband requested a photo of me in an apron.
My stash from Peekaboo Bottoms. I LOVE that store. I will be going back there every summer. It's about 20 minutes from the cottage in Ontario Canada. They have a website you can order from too! If you become their friend on facebook, you can register for free diapers. I got some Blueberry velour/minky pocket diapers which are absolutely heavenly. Plus some containers for Drake's food that I make. Oooh- and a Thirsties Duo cover. These just came out, and I'm a big fan. I also got the big man an amber teething necklace, which works great. And,...........WOOL SHORTIES!!!!! I am very excited to be venturing into wool covers. Despite common misconceptions, wool is very soft, cool, and breathable.
The final product of my cooking, in the freezer. Something about seeing homemade, organic baby food beside breastmilk makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. And quite proud!!!!!!
The carrots, all done and ready for the freezer.
So, I got the wrong type of peas, so that was a no-go. But here are my carrots, squash, and zucchini~~~all ready to be steamed and pureed. Eric did the washing, peeling, and dicing. Only the carrots get peeled, because of their nitrates. The others keep their peel for the nutritious value. You wouldn't believe all the info out on the net about making your own babyfood. I'm apparently not the only mommy who has "gone granola".
Drake's first taste of rice cereal. He loves it. He's already moved on to oatmeal cereal. The veggies start Sunday!

Winding down on the traveling

We are finally done with all of our summer trips. And it's a good thing, because Drake's napping and sleeping through the night is seriously screwed up. We are going to start letting him cry a little when he wakes up in the middle of the night, and try to go back to sleep on his own. Fun times around our house, right? Eric slept about 16 hours a day while we were in buffalo and Canada, to the point where he thought he was sick. (The excessive sleepiness was accompanied by a sore throat.) He went to the doctor today and got a clean bill of health. The doctors prescription? Let our kid cry it out, and he'll be sleeping through the night again soon. We'll see if we are capable of that or not......

We have our friends Gen and Rob's wedding reception this weekend, and we are really pumped about that. They were married in Bermuda in June. Our friend Emily will be here from Cali, and we can't wait to see her again.

We are looking at moving in September. The date is still up in the air, but we hope to get our plans firmed up soon. We have to look at houses and apartments next week. And interview movers. Oh the joys of relocating!

I have alot of really cute photos of Drake and his cousins Gavin and Lacey, from our NY trip. They are still on the camera though, but I hope to find time to work on that soon.

I bought sweet peas, squash, zucchini, and carrots today- all organic and fresh. Tonight after I get Drake into bed, I'm breaking out the Beaba food maker and make all his veggies. I'm excited! Pictures to follow.....

So little time

Drake has been at my parents since Monday, and I am having SERIOUS withdrawals. Eric should be home within half an hour with him. He was only supposed to be gone 2 days, and that ended up dragging out. I can't wait to get my hands on my sweet baby boy. I will say though, I have accomplished a great deal since then. Tuesday we got our entire house cleaned out and staged. Wednesday I worked, but I also got a lot of paperwork done while there, related to my new job. Today, I have also done a lot of paperwork related to changing jobs. To make it as easy to understand as possible for all you non medical people, I have to get a new nursing license and CRNA "approval" with the state of South Carolina. It's actually called an APRN license. (Advanced Practice Registered Nurse). If all that wasn't enough, I have to complete a credentialing packet to obtain priviledges at the new hospital. Did I mention an application for malpractice insurance. Oh, and there is the small detail of fine tuning my actual employee contract, so that it's something I can approve of and sign. I will do a dance of joy when all of these things are FINISHED!!!

We are headed to Buffalo and Canada next week for a long visit with Eric's family. We are really excited, but need to find Eric and Drake's passports. They've been misplaced since we got home. I know where I saw them last, but they aren't there anymore. Wanna come help us look for them? There is a natural living baby store with cloth diapers among other things, in Canada near his family's cottage. Me and Lindsay have very similar ideas and ways of thinking as far as raising our children, so we are going there to empty the bank accounts.

After our trip next week, we don't have anymore trips planned. Unless, of course, you count the one down to Florence to MOVE! I'm excited despite my reservations. I just tell myself that we can always move back in 5 years, if we are miserable. One of my bigger concerns is a care provider for when I'm preggo again. That's an entirely different blog post though.

Well, I gotta go stand in the driveway and wait for my Drakey.

Punta Cana, Domincan Republic

Okay, Punta Cana pictures. I wish I had time to post more, but the wine bar and good friends are calling my name...........

Kim and Mike's wedding.....BEAUTIFUL!

The gorgeous bride.
Swim hat, swim shirt, swim diaper. He loves to swim!
I could just eat this little man up.
Giggling in daddy's lap.

My husband is quite hot, if I do say so myself.

What a view on our beach. Amazing!
Swimming in the caribbean with his daddy. He wasn't too fond of the water temperature; the pool was warmer.
Family portrait (again). I love this photo, it may be a framer.
I sure love this little busto.
My boys getting a nap in.

I love my dear hubbie- he's the best!
Somebody has found his feet! And he has rolls galore. Just a note about that. Despite all the rolls, Drake has only gained 12 ounces in 2 months- not nearly enough. He is in the 5th -10th percentile for height, weight, and head circumference. Our pediatrician isn't worried about the total weight, but rather that he gained so little in the last 2 months. My milk supply has continued to decrease, but since Drake doesn't act hungry, I haven't been too extremely worried. But now I am, so I (we) are making sure he gets around at least 30 ounces a day. He still nurses anytime he wants, but are offering him a lot more bottles. They are, unfortunately, mostly formula.....but some breast milk as well. I'm suppose I should just be happy we've made it this far. Oh well....
My baby boy was sleepy by the pool.
ANY resort that puts the bottles of champagne RIGHT beside the mimosas can't be that bad.
Our friends Kim and Mike, the couple that was married in Punta Cana.
Family portrait:-) Drake was laughing at our friend Brian being silly.
Family portrait. Drake was sleeping in the stroller:-)
Beautiful sunset
Our new mei tai carrier by babyhawk. I love it, although the front carry doesn't work. It apparently cuts off Drake's circulation to his legs and his feet turn purple. I realized that right after this photo was taken. Now he only rides facing me!

MIA

Just wanted everyone to know that I may be MIA for a while. I have so much to do with changing homes, jobs, cities, etc., etc., that I won't have much time to blog. Punta Cana was gorgeous, and our friend's wedding was beautiful. Hopefully I'll at least get a few pictures up from that.

Nikki

Big News, just in case you haven't heard.....

We are moving. Officially, as in my notice has been given at work. As in, I've officially accepted another job offer. As in, we've already started to pack/stage our house to put it on the market. This time, it's for real.

Months ago, my husband started on this kick that we needed to be near family. He didn't care which family, he just thought we needed to be near one of our family's. Well, I didn't agree. I could never survive the weather in western New York, and I had no desire to move back to Florence. Well, then there was the day we were headed out of Florence after visiting with my new niece (and other assorted family). I got kinda sad that Drake wouldn't be growing up with any cousins, like Eric and I both did. That's when the soul searching began. We had serious talks about moving to Buffalo, Rochester, and Florence. This southern girl actually considered moving to the snow. But alas, my Yankee husband did not want to live in the snow. Interestingly enough, he wants to live in the country and plant an orchard. WTH? An orchard? Seriously? And an organic garden......go figure........

We talked a little more about moving to Florence. I had, and still have, some serious reservations about it. But one thing tipped me over the edge.....the job. As it turns out, the CRNA's at McLeod practice in a way that is very desirable to me. The practice there is one I couldn't have designed better myself. It's very independent and autonomous, and the CRNA's seem to be very respected. It is, in a nutshell, fabulous. I will be working five days a week (YUCK), but have every 6th week off as a comp week. Plus 6 weeks of vacation. Plus a week off for continuing education. That's right folks, count it up. I'll only be working 39 weeks a year!!!!! I'm kinda happy about that. And as much as I hate getting up early, it will be nice to cook dinner for my family and have a normal family routine.

So, that's our big news. We hope to move in August. But I have to wait for all my SC nursing crap to be official, plus get credentialed with the hospital. I hate this paperwork with a passion! Hopefully Eric will have an official job offer in the next few weeks.

I'm not even going to get started on the housing situation. We'll probably just rent a house until ours sells. Stressful....

So, next summer we'll hopefully be settled into a house with a nice backyard and pool. Come visit us!

A great day

I just wanted to quickly say what a good morning I had yesterday. First, a trip to the local breastfeeding support group. It's a great thing to be surrounded by like minded women.

Then, I went across the street to a new store! It's called Miss Monkey's Boutique, and it is the second location in Charlotte. But the other one is a good 45 minutes away, completely across town. It has cloth diapers and a ton of other really natural and organic stuff. I LOVE THIS STORE! I managed to get out with only one new diaper ( a green acre design with tractor embroidered), a pair of baby legs (too cute with skull and cross bones), and kleen kanteen sippy cup (you know how neurotic I am about plastic), and some mosquito patches that are essential oils instead of chemicals like deet (to keep my sweet baby from being bitten). I was proud I didn't go too beserk!

I work tonight, and tomorrow we finish up all our packing for PUNTA CANA!!! I am really excited, but also nervous about taking our little man with us. It will be a good time, just not the type of vacation I'm used to at an all inclusive. I might as well toss relaxation out the window. Oh well, I can take my daily nap with the Drakester, instead of by the pool. Be prepared for photo overload when we return! And speaking of that, I need a good website to upload photos to. One that's easy to order prints from, and easy to share. Suggestions?