The Great Diaper Debate.

So.

Levi is now 7 weeks old and we are still testing out diapers to find what works best. We have three different kinds that we switch between and I just can't decide what I like best.

First off, we have Pampers. I like Pampers because of the "thin factor". They are thin and not bulky- even when filled. They are also mostly white, with the exception of a few cartoon characters at the waist line. This is great because when Levi wears white, you can't see Disney characters peeking through his clothes. Also, they have the yellow vertical line that turns green when wet. Genius! Something I do not like about Pampers is they seem to turn to cotton when worn for more than an hour. It's real weird. Pampers have a very good scent, and that is a definite plus.
Thumbs Up: Thin, Smell Good, White, Yellow/Green Line
Thumbs Down: Turn to cotton

Then we have Huggies. Huggies seem to absorb and hold the best and most, but they get very bulky when filled. It's kind of good that they get bulky because I can always tell when he's wet, though, and I don't have to unfasten everything to look for a line. They are thicker and fluffier so it makes me feel like they do a better job holding everything in. I've never had a leak with a Huggie (scratch that, Levi has never had a leak with a Huggie - ha!). Huggies don't smell the best. Actually, they smell like cardboard and as soon as Levi goes tinkle, I can smell it. Like immediately. Also, they have cartoon characters covering the entire diaper, so you can always see them through light colored clothing.
Thumbs Up: Super Absorbent, No Leakage, Easy To Know When Wet
Thumbs Down: Smell, Cartoon Characters, Bulky

Lastly, we have Luvs. I recently found a package of Luvs in my closet that someone had bought for me, so I tested them out on The Weebs. Luvs by FAR smell the BEST. Man, oh man, they smell like Heaven and even when he soaks them, they still smell good. They always make him smell like he has just hopped out of the tub. They are thin, white (with a blue inside), and they seem to be better designed for little boys. The straps don't seem as sturdy as Pampers or Huggies, but I've never had a problem with them. They aren't as "user friendly", because the little velcro-ey part is kind of hard to find. You can't find Luvs as easy as Pampers or Huggies. Places like Babies R Us do not even sell them (how very strange)! They are very absorbent even though they are thin. You never hear much about Luvs. Pampers and Huggies seem to outshine them. Poor Luvs. If only people knew how good they smell...
Thumbs Up: SMELL, Absorbent, White, Thin
Thumbs Down: Hard To Find, Not User-Friendly

So. There you have it. The Great Diaper Debate. What's a girl to do? Maybe I should just continue using all three like I've been doing. Who says you have to stick with one? You can call me The Mom of Many Diapers.

Thoughts? Experiences?

Technology is Crazy Awesome.

Chapter Three: Beans, Beans, A Wonderful Fruit

I sat there trying to act normal, and my excitement level had seriously tripled. I was so confused. Why was I instantly excited when she said that? Why on earth did my heart act that way when she said his name? I can’t even stand hearing his name – what on earth is this all about? A thousand thoughts went through my head - was he my age or Samantha's age? Would he be going to my school - a senior with us, or will he be going to college? I realized he was our age, and thought "How fun - we have a new boy to add to our friend group!" Oh man, oh man...what was this? I went from having a normal care-free day of drinking ice water and reading magazines to a gazillion thoughts whirling around in my mind. Is he as cute as everyone lets on? I sure hope so! He’s pretty darn cute in the pictures I’ve seen….I must admit. Maybe he'll have a crush on me...after all, I'm like the only girl from my town he's never met! What's he like? The legendary Darin Gatsby is possibly moving in to MY town?? Wow. This was definitely going to be interesting.

And then I stopped and mentally smacked myself.

WHERE were these thoughts coming from?

Whitney. You are not going to even let yourself like him, even if you think you might on down the road. He is going to come in and sweep every girl off their feet. I refuse to succumb to such ridiculousness. No matter what, under no circumstance whatsoever, are you to allow yourself to even be attracted to this boy. I will not be just another girl on his list.

I had myself worked up into quite a tizzy and they hadn't even called to offer the idea to Curt yet. I wanted so badly to tell all of my friends who fainted at the mere mention of Darin’s name, but I was sworn to secrecy, so I remained silent….and continued talking myself out of what I had felt when my Mom said he may be coming to town. After all, I'd met this kid when I was like 13 and we hadn't even spoken except for "hi", and he was nothin' special. Yeah, that's right....he's nothin' special. I told myself that all night.

For a week.

About a month later, they called Curt, (his dad) and he came to talk with the Church and try out. The entire family came. They were a great family and I could totally see them quickly becoming an integral part of our Church. After Curt preached, the family lined up at the end of the Sanctuary so that we could shake their hands on our way out. They lined up like this: Curt, Becky (mom), Casey (sister), Darin. I hugged Curt, I hugged Becky, I hugged Casey, and I stopped in front of Darin. I looked him in the eye and thought to myself, "so... this is THE Darin Gatsby, huh?", and I stretched out my hand to offer a handshake. I could hug the rest of his family, but a lady never hugs a boy she doesn’t even know. He smiled his famously huge smile and said, "Hi, you're Whitney, right? Jennifer talks about you all the time." (Jennifer = my friend that went to Truth and Peace and reported every happening to me). I shook his hand and nodded, "Yes, I'm Whitney. It's nice to finally meet you. I've heard a lot about you, as well." Yeah, more than you know, buddy.

We had an all-church lunch to get to know the family afterward and I don't remember a thing about the actual lunch. I do remember the beans, though. Baked beans.

My Mom is known for being the last one to leave a party/dinner/get-together, because she feels like it is her sole responsibility to clean up the last speck of anything. I rode with her, so I was stuck there too. I do recall Darin sitting at my table with our group of friends, but he was pretty quiet. “Geeze, for being the schmoozer that he must be, this boy sure does keep quiet a lot”, I thought to myself. “This must have been how he was at the Country Cottage.” Lunch was over and everyone started scattering home and there were only a handful of us left. I walked over to the food to try and help speed up the clean-up process. It was Sunday afternoon…we needed to be home napping and watching movies, not cleaning up at Church. As I was reaching for a pan of stale baked beans, I looked up. It was Darin.

"Hey Whitney", he said.

I said hey back and we stood there, on either side of the baked beans, and talked for probably twenty minutes or so. I don't remember what we talked about, but it was our first actual one-on-one conversation that was more than just the hey/hi business. There was a spoon still in the baked beans remnants and I nervously stirred it around. Why was I nervous? This guy was easy to talk to....he was actually very fun to talk to. I think we could be friends. Good friends, actually. I tucked that thought away; they still had a full summer to decide what to do. We wouldn't know their decision until the end of summer/beginning Fall. Darin and I continued talking and then as if we were on the exact brain wavelength, we looked down at the beans in unison and began to laugh. I had been stirring them the whole time...and they stunk. And they were cold. And we laughed. We both made a few lame jokes about the beans, said our goodbyes/nice-to-meet-you's and parted ways.

“This guy wasn't so bad after all,” I thought to myself on my way home. “I don’t think I will have to worry about ever liking him, either. In fact, I think we are going to make great friends. I really hope they move here”. I needed something new to throw in the mix for our Senior year. I needed a new friend. A new guy friend. “Yeah…he’s not so bad after all”, I said to myself.

---
*For the previous chapters, look here: http://ourlifelonglovesong.blogspot.com/

Losing It.

Today I was totally off my game.

I spilled formula all over Levi. Twice.

I poured my Diet Coke into my ice too fast and it overflowed.

I ran into a wall.

I left the refrigerator door open on accident. For like 5 minutes.

I left a little bit of the wrapper on the portion of the stick of butter that I put in the mashed potatoes. Husby found it.

I stubbed my toe.

And the biggest mistake of the day...

You know those big containers of black pepper? Like this:



Well, you know how there is a large side for spoons and a small side for shaking? Well, Genius here opened the large side, thought it was the small side and DUMPED nearly half of the contents onto the roast that I was preparing. Needless to say, our dinner was a little on the hot side.

I screamed, "OH CRUD" so loud that I startled The Weebs.

I am glad the day is nearing it's end. It has left me with a headache, exhaustion and....girly cramps. Pregnancy definitely has it's perks, and there is a certain one I'm missing tonight.

Time for a bubble bath and the fast lane to Sleepy Town. Ga'night! :)

Double Shots & Curtain Call.

Well, today was one for the record books. Whew, what a whirlwind. I had three scheduled appointments today, all of which were pretty big things.

First, let's discuss the double shots.

Levi had his first round of immunizations today at his 6 week check up. Let me tell you right now, it is a horrible and horrific thing to watch your innocent little baby get needles shoved into this thighs. It will rip your heart clear out of your chest and break into a bazillion little pieces. Poor baby didn't know what was coming, but Glamma was there to preface the blow with some good lovins.



(My wrinkly little fella...LOVE it!)

He screamed pretty good at the mean nurse and quickly nestled into my neck when I scooped him up and saved the day. It was pitiful and so sad. On a happier note, he is just growing like crazy and weighs in at 11 lb. 15 oz! He is 23.5 inches long. He is in the 75th percentile in head circumference and weight and in the 90th percentile in height! He is definitely going to be built like his daddy. Long and lean - this little baby is wearing 0-3 month shirts and newborn pants!!! He is all torso and his little waist is just so tiny! We have to cinch everything so tight with a little belt to keep them on. What a cutie.

After everything was said and done at the Doc's office, we gave him some cherry tylenol and he was a happy camper again.



Next stop - Curtain Call # 1

I enlisted Glamma's help since my day was so jam-packed and there was no time for stops. She toted me and Levi around all day and helped tremendously. Phew - thank you, Glamma. After the Doc appointment, she dropped me off at my job. I submitted my letter of resignation and as hard as it was to leave such a wonderful place of employment, I knew it was the best decision for me and my family. I absolutely love many of the people I worked with and so it was very hard to say goodbye. I am so thankful the Lord provided this job for these past two years - it was just perfect in more ways than I can explain. However, He also blessed me with the most precious little boy, and I felt He wants me to invest my life and time in him. And so, that's what I'm doing.

It was kind of surreal walking out the door (with Lindsey so she could come see Levi and Mom) and knowing that my working days are over - that I am officially a stay at home mom. What a journey the work force has been for me for the past four years. It was hard, but great and helped form the person I am today. I have waited my entire life to be a mommy, and now that it is here, it is easy and totally fulfilling to close the curtain on that chapter of my life.

So. Now I need a blog make over. My "journey towards" is over and I am officially there. Wow.

Final stop - Curtain Call # 2

I sighed heavily and grabbed a breathe of fresh air as I jumped back into the car and said to Mom, "I am so glad that's over" (I just hate letting people down and I always feel that way while quitting a job). We grabbed a couple large ice teas with lime and headed to our final destination - My Last Doctor's Appointment.

Again, it felt a little surreal walking into my Doc's office for the last time knowing that after today, it is over - my pregnancy is over, and I will no longer grace those medical grounds any longer to get a glimpse of Levi or to get my blasted blood pressure checked. The long journey is over and my baby is tucked away safely in my arms instead of my tummy.

The appointment wasn't nearly as exciting as all the others. I glanced into the ultrasound room as I walked to my examination room and I must admit, I was a little disappointed that my days of laying on that table looking at my baby are over (well, until my next pregnancy, but you know what I mean...). It was good to see my Doctor again, say my goodbyes and brag on my little bebe. I left the office not with a new ultrasound pic of Weebs, but with a sense of accomplishment and finality. The journey of pregnancy is over and the journey of parenthood encompassed me. The curtain dropped and maybe we will see an encore in a few years.

It was a bittersweet day in many ways. A mentally and emotionally exhausting day, but one that brought closure and excitement of what lies ahead.

Here we go, friends - I am living my dream!!

The Glamorous Life of a Housewife.



;)

What Day Is It?

At supper tonight, Husby asked me, "do your days run together since you are home taking care of Levi all the time?" I sat there and thought for a minute and realized that I couldn't immediately think of what day it was, let alone the date! I smiled and responded, "Yes, yes they do".

Levi is a great baby. He is very content and super easy to care for. He is awake more and more during the day time and we have so much fun playing and discovering. I am the type of Momma who does not read books on parenting. I believe each baby is unique and different and no book can tell me how my baby will be and what will work for him. During my pregnancy, I decided that when he got here, I would spend a lot of time being with him, learning his needs and doing my best to meet them. For us, this has worked like magic! He eats every 3 hours during the day and every 3-4 at night. He has never gone longer than that without eating and I doubt he will until we start him on rice cereal in a few months (when he goes 4 hours at night, it's like Heaven!). He naps when he's tired and plays when he's awake. I never force a feeding or a nap. He's a newborn - he has 4 basic needs: Feed Me, Burp Me, Change Me, Hold Me. Only he knows when he needs these things, and he does a great job of letting me know.

(*I'm sure not all babies are so structured, so self-help books may come in handy for you, and if they do that is great! Not bashing them, just saying they're not for me.)

We have a pretty good schedule of our own down now. If we are not out running around, we are usually at home doing the same thing around the same time each day. If Levi is awake, I like to give him my attention and stimulate him. We have tummy time, play mat time, swing time, story time etc., and all the while I'm talking in goofy voices and making up songs. When Levi does fall asleep, I jump up and try to do house work as fast as I can so I can cram in as much as possible during that nap time. This routine leaves me dead tired around 8:30 each night, but of course I don't go to bed. It's my time with Husby!

When Husby gets home, he immediately takes Levi and they have Father/Son bonding time (as he calls it). I love this time of day because I can finish any unfinished house work, check my e-mail, crash on the couch, or do anything else I please. It gives me time to let my mind relax and not constantly be checking on what my Bebe is doing. What would I do without Husby?

He told me last weekend that he was going to start making Friday nights "All Night Daddy Nights" and that he would put Weebs on his side of the bed and wake up for the feedings. Are you kidding me!? I've been looking forward to Friday night all week!!!! To get a full nights sleep and actually have some REM sounds too good to be true at this point.

I'm sure Levi will appreciate the change, since every night is "All Night Mommy Nights". Oh, and days. Ha! I swear his face lights up when Daddy comes home. I think he gets sick of me oohing and aahhing over his every move 24/7.

So, some weeks my days do run together, but I can guarantee you that I'll always know when it's Friday! :)

Weebie's Song.

Weebie does the funniest thing when he sleeps! He doesn't do it all the time, but when he does, he goes all out and it's just hilarious. He is totally talking to us in his sleep. One morning, I picked him up and put him in bed with me and he did this as I fell asleep and when I woke up an hour later, he was still doing it! It's just precious.

This clip is when we were at my parents last weekend and as Mom held him, he just talked and talked and talked. So sweet.

Turn up your volume and enjoy the Sleeping Lamb! :)