Mother's Day

I had a fabulous first Mother's Day. Instead of buying me a gift, Todd decided to do all of my work for the day so I could just hang out. So, he cleaned the house, made me breakfast and lunch, did my laundry, plus took care of Aubrey most the day. Then we went to his parents' house for a steak dinner. It was awesome to just be able to chill for a while and enjoy having a clean house I didn't work for. I hear so many mom's that say their husbands let them down for Mother's Day so I know I am very fortunate that Todd took care of me. It's still amazing to me that I am a mother now. It still seems surreal that I am responsible for another human being like that. But, I love every minute of it. I can't wait until she's older and can make me those wonderful handmade Mother's Day cards and pictures. Those are the best and I am sure I will cry when I get one. I remember how proud I was of the projects I made for my mom and I hope she enjoys it just as much.

Aubrey exercising her lungs

I have a lot of blogging to catch up on over the Memorial Day weekend. I have been so busy I haven't had a lot of time to sit at my computer for long periods of time. So, until I can get everything caught up, here is a video I took of Aubrey learning that she has control of her voice to hold you over.

Bath time

It amazes me how much about being a mom is trial-by-fire. For the past 3 months, Aubrey has hated the bath. I mean, full on turning-purple-in-the-face-screaming hated it. Evidence from her 1st bath at 5 days old.


We have the baby tub that has a shower bucket in it so the water showers over her. Normally, I started the bath by spraying her down all over starting at her belly and then wait 30 seconds to let the initial screaming end. Sunday, I started spraying the water on her feet first and waited for the screaming and then my jaw dropped in amazement because she didn't scream. I went on the with the bath and brushed off the no screaming as luck. We don't put her in the tub every night because it dries out her skin, so she gets sponge baths on the no tub nights. The next time I put her in the tub, I started with her feet again and was thrilled that there were no tears again. The proof:
That's actually a little bit of a smile. Next time I'll have to get video because she actually started splashing her feet in the water. It was actually fun to give her a bath.

It doesn't take much to amuse a sleep-deprived mom.

Cloth diapers

I made the decision while I was pregnant that I would use cloth diapers for Aubrey. And most people gave me the wide-eyed "Really?" comment. I knew what they were thinking. The old school fold up cloth diapers that use pins to hold them closed and a diaper service. Neither of which I planned to use. Cloth diapers have come a looong way since even I was a baby. Today there are so many styles to choose from it is mind boggling. When I first decided to use cloth diapers, I decided to use pocket diapers. These diapers are fleece on the inside and you stuff the pocket sewn inside with inserts that absorb the fluids. The outside is made of PUL, which is a waterproof material that holds everything in. These are the most like disposable diapers and are so easy to use because you just close it with snaps or velcro and go. But, once we determined that Aubrey is a munchkin and the pocket diapers don't fit well until 12 lbs, I decided to use fitted diapers. These are made out of different absorbent materials like fleece or bamboo and fit much more snugly. You have to use a cover with these to hold everything in because they have no outer cover sewn on. These are working great for us right now because they fit her little bottom the best. There are also the classic prefold diapers that are the traditional cloth diapers and all-in-one diapers that are a combination of fitteds and pockets, but I haven't tried either of those. We still use disposables for day care and trips, but hopefully we will be using them a lot more as she gets bigger. After she wears one, it gets thrown in a big bag and the entire bag goes in the wash when its time. And any poop just gets scraped into the toilet. It only creates 1 extra load of laundry for me right now which is not a major deal. It's so easy!

Bonuses of cloth diapers:
Much cheaper--the pocket diapers are one size fits all so they will last us hopefully until she's potty trained. One diaper is 18 dollars and we have 14 of those, so $250 for diapers that will last till she's 2-ish is not a bad deal.
Much better for the environment--less yucky diapers being thrown away.
Better for her tushie--less chemicals coming in contact with that sensitive bum
Cloth diapers are sooo much cuter than sposies

This is a fitted diaper


This is the cover over the diaper


See, so much cuter than a white sposie

3 months old

The past month has flown by. It seems like yesterday I was doing Aubrey's 2 month post and now she's 3 months. She's had quite a few firsts in the past month.
*First road trip
*Started sleeping in her crib
*Started sleeping unswaddled (April 22)
*First day of day care
*Consistently sleeping through the night (started April 20th)
*Finally hit double digits in weight (around April 19th or so)
*Moved to size 1 diapers (around April 11th)
*Moved from 4 ounces to 5 ounces of milk per bottle
*First time to church
*First Easter
*First cold
*She discovered her hands and how to consistently suck her thumb

Just in time for me to go back to work, Aubrey has become so much fun. Her little personality is starting to come out and it's so cute. I've really started to enjoy being a mommy now. Looking back, the first 2-ish months were so hard because of sleep deprivation and feeding issues. I know not to get too confident because the next challenge is just around the corner. But for right this minute, I am the happiest I've ever been in my life and I can't wait to see what's next.

Back to work

Monday was the day I had been dreading since I found out I was pregnant. My maternity leave was up and it was time for Aubrey to start day care. Sunday just seemed like it went so fast because I knew the next day I would be without my muchkin. The tears started Sunday night when Todd and I went to bed and I couldn't help it. I knew I had to go back to work but I just kept asking if we were sure we were doing the right thing. Somehow I managed to get a little bit of sleep before my alarm went off at 5:30. (Yeah, if you know me, you know how hard that was for me to do.) I managed to get us both ready and out the door only 5 minutes late, which is pretty good. We made it to the day care and it really hit me I had to leave her, but I was determined to be strong. After getting her and her things settled, I loved on her for a few more minutes before handing her over to the teacher. Luckily, the teacher started talking to her and got her to grin, so that made it a bit easier to leave. If she had been crying, I don't know if I would have ever left. Somehow, I made it to work tear free. I did go back to the day care during lunch to get my Aubrey fix and she just grinned at me the entire time. Her day care has cameras in the room so I can watch what is going on and that is very comforting. I can't really make out her face and if you don't know what she is wearing, you'll never know it's her. But, I have a good view of her crib so I can see her sleeping and that makes me feel good. She has done really well all week since she's been there. She did get a touch of a cold, but the doctor told us that would probably happen since she's exposed to so many new germs. She's drinking a ton of milk and sleeps A LOT, but she seems pretty happy when I get her, so I guess they are doing something right. The thing that makes me the most sad is that I really only get to spend about 2.5 hours with her a day, not counting the car ride to and from. We get up at 5:15 and leave at 7 AM. Then, we get home at 6:15 and she is out by 7:30. But, she has been sleeping through the night all week and that is amazing. I was in shock Tuesday morning when I woke up and realized I had to wake her up to eat. That never happens. Not that I am complaining. We are slowly getting settled into our routine and that always makes me feel good. I just hope things continue to go as smoothly as they have this week. All ready for her first day of day care

Happy Easter

Today was Aubrey's first Easter. The Easter bunny came to visit and brought her lots of goodies in her basket that we had to check out first thing.


Todd's friend's parents bought her a cute dress that we decided to use as her Easter dress. I was so excited to get to dress her up and take her to church with us for the first time. She sat in the sanctuary with us and did really well. She was fascinated with all the lights and loud music during the service.


And of course, I had to try out one of her Easter basket goodies on her. They are a little big but still ridiculously cute. She's just following the huge glasses trend, that's all!


Allie "had" to try the glasses, too!