My belly sleeper

As much as her now full-time belly sleeping makes me a little nervous, Cam is awfully cute on her belly. I feel good knowing that she is more comfortable. I am a belly sleeper myself and when I was pregnant, sleeping on my side/back just didn't do it for me. I was uncomfortable every night and didn't sleep well. So if Cameron is taking after me at all, she's the same way and she must be relieved to finally be able to roll over on her belly. I still put her down on her back but within minutes she is on her stomach. Here she is during a nap!

Looks comfy :)

Ss

Cameron has a "chew toy" named Sophie. It is a teething toy that a lot of babies really love to chew on. You can tell by Cameron's face that she is ferociously enjoying Sophie!

Cloth diapering update

When I posted on Wednesday about our decision to cloth diaper we had only test run a few diapers and were still in the process of really switching over. Now we have been fully cloth diapering for a couple of days so I thought I would talk about my initial thoughts.

Overall, I absolutely love cloth diapering. We have most of our stash (still waiting on a couple more diapers to come in the mail) and I love all of the different diapers we have tried. I am mad that we didn't start sooner! I definitely do not regret switching so far.

The way most of the diapers are made is with a pocket that is made of fleece and then you stuff the pocket with an insert that absorbs all the pee. The insert wicks all the moisture away from the fleece and the fleece stays completely dry, hence Cameron's bottom stays completely dry. I love that part of it. I was worried she would feel wet when I changed her diapers but she is pretty much never wet. Even overnight she stays dry. This was my main concern as it would allow for more diaper rash to pop up if she was sitting in wetness all the time. Not only is she never wet, but the fleece is SO soft!! I can't imagine how much more comfortable Cameron is having a soft fleece diaper on her bottom and around her legs rather than a papery diaper!

We have had no leaks or poop blowouts to speak of. This was my other major concern, disposable diapers had always worked so well for us in that area that I was worried I would regret rocking the boat if we had an issue. I am happy to report though that cloth diapers are just as effective at retaining urine/poo as disposable diapers.

The diapers are so adorable on Cameron. I talked a little about this in my previous post but I am loving how cute the cloth diapers look on her more and more every day. This past week it got pretty hot in our house so I gave her lots of diaper time which I didn't mind at all. In a way I was still able to dress her up without even putting clothes on her! Cloth diapering is just fun. I know some people wouldn't agree with that statement but picking out which diaper she wears next makes diaper changes enjoyable. And I have to say that I kind of enjoy the cloth diaper laundry. If any of the chores in the house fall behind, it won't be cloth diaper laundry. I like having fresh, clean diapers and putting them all away knowing they are all ready for Cameron to wear again.

I had bought a bunch of disposable diapers in advance thinking that I would be saving myself the trouble for a while of having to go out and buy them. Well I was wrong about that but fortunately we were able to go and return them all this morning. We got $200 back which almost paid for my cloth diaper stash. Getting all that money back felt really good and now I can start saving money every month!!

So after just a few days of fully cloth diapering I can say I am a believer. We did keep a backup stash of disposable diapers for things like going on long trips where we won't want to deal with cloth diaper laundry or if Cam gets a yeast diaper rash again like she did while she was on antibiotics and we don't want to spread it throughout the diapers. And like I said in my last post, I will definitely do a picture post detailing what is in my cloth diaper stash but we're still waiting on a few things.

Cloth diapering

Yep, I said it, we're switching to cloth! Cloth diapering is something I had been considering since I was pregnant. But then life happened, Cameron came so early and I just had other things on my mind. When she was in the NICU I couldn't make the commitment because I was overwhelmed with other things. We also had the issue of her being so tiny that she wouldn't fit into cloth diapers for a while. Well, now she is bigger and life has calmed down so I got back to thinking about it. Finally I tried one out and decided I liked it enough to make the switch. Josh wasn't exactly thrilled about the idea because of the gross factor of reusing diapers, but honestly what do people think babies wore for all those years before disposables? Cloth! They have been used for ages!! Way longer than disposables!

Why am I cloth diapering? **Disclaimer: I am not saying that there is ANYTHING wrong with disposable diapers, this is just how I've come to feel about them**

First and foremost, I don't like the chemical smell when she pees. That is the main reason I'm switching. I know the UTI had nothing to do with what kind of diapers she wears but that is what brought the issue back to the front of my mind. She was put on antibiotics, got diarrhea, and got a bad diaper rash and I could only imagine that the chemicals weren't helping. Not saying disposable diaper chemicals cause diaper rash or anything like that, and who knows if the chemicals really even touch her skin, but every time she peed and I could smell the chemicals it would bother me. So anyways, that's reason number one. I'm sure Cameron would be just fine and the chemicals probably wouldn't even affect her, but for some reason I can't get past it anymore.

Reason number two, money. It will save us quite a bit of money over the years that she is in diapers. Josh and I could always stand to save some money and this is a great method of doing so. We use about 8 diapers a day and at 18 cents a diaper that is about 525 dollars per year. It only cost me about 300 dollars to put together a diaper stash that will last the whole 3 years Cameron is in diaper. So it will save me about 200 dollars the first year and the full 525 the second and third years.

Reason number three is because they are super, duper cute and much easier than you think. The cloth diapers many people think of are the old fashioned kind that you have to fold and pin. Well, modern day cloth diapers are MUCH different (at least the kind I'm using). They act exactly like disposable diapers, there is no folding or pinning or anything, you simply put them on the baby and hold them shut with velcro just like a disposable diaper. Then you take it off and throw it in a wet bag, and when you have a full load you transfer all of the diapers into the wash. It really is that simple. If they poop you do have to shake the poop off into the toilet but I personally don't think that's that big of a deal. I will be washing them every other day and it is easier than normal laundry, no folding involved! Then there's the cuteness factor, they come in fun colors and patterns and Cameron looks darn adorable in them!

Reason number four is for the environment. I like to think I am environmentally conscious. While this isn't the main reason I'm switching it definitely is a plus. I can't feel bad about the fact that I am more green because of cloth diapering!

Here are a couple pictures of Cam in one of her cloth diapers. I will go more into the details of what my cloth diaper stash consists of in another post!

Checking herself out!

Qq and Rr

I am late on 'Q' simply because I couldn't think of anything. This photo was taken a couple months ago and Cam looks like she is getting annoyed with the photo shoot. In her head she is questioning me, saying "Mommy, why do we have to do these stupid photo shoots all the time?"

For 'R' I chose Ralph Lauren because she was wearing this little Ralph Lauren onesie which I love. You can see the logo. Cameron is quite the fashionista!

4 months (adjusted)

Here is Cameron's 4 month adjusted update!

Adjusted age: 4 months

Actual age: 7 months, 5 days

Weight: 12 lb, 6 oz

Height: Around 23 inches

Diaper size: 1

Clothing size: 3-6 months

Medications/medical concerns: Vitamin D daily. She did have a UTI and just finished antibiotics for that. Hopefully she doesn't have any recurrent UTIs but it is something we definitely have to watch out for, and if she does she will have further testing to see if there is a bladder/kidney issue.

Sleep: Bedtime is 8:30, usually she goes down without a fight but lately she has started having crying fits just before bed. Nothing I do consoles her so I just rock her and cuddle with her while she cries it out. It lasts maybe 10-20 minutes but I feel horrible not knowing what's wrong. She wakes up between 8 and 8:30 now, which is earlier than she used to. Still getting up twice every night to eat. She takes 3-4 naps during the day, with her long nap from 11-1. Sleeping on the angelcare monitor in her pack n play either on her back or her side.

Eating: Still exclusively nursing. Her weight gain has been steady and we go for a weight check the first week of May but I imagine they will be happy with it and will not want us to supplement with fortified milk at all. She eats every 2-3 hours all day. At night after she goes down for the first time she goes a 4-5 hour stretch. Then she goes another 4-5 hour stretch usually. She goes back down once more before getting up in the morning. It takes her about 10 minutes to nurse, sometimes only 5 if she's not that hungry.

Developmental milestones: Wow has there been a lot going on in this department. Her development has been explosive. She rolls over from belly to back and from back to belly. It took her longer to master back to belly as her arm would get in the way but she can do a complete roll now without her arm getting in the way. She is just a rolling machine, I can't put her down on the floor anymore without her traveling several feet, rolling over and over only for me to find her 4 or 5 feet away from where she started. She is starting to babble and squeal, every month her noises become much more diverse. She is very, very vocal these days and is starting to smile at people other than myself and Josh. She is just starting to develop a very early laugh, she chuckled a tiny bit a couple of times and squeals a little bit when she thinks something is exciting or funny but nothing consistent yet. I don't think it will be long before she is consistently laughing. Also blowing raspberries is just hilarious to her. She loves it so much when Josh and I do it and does it right back. She definitely has started imitating to an extent. Now she doesn't even blow raspberries just after Josh and I but she is doing it all the time. She sure does love blowing bubbles and spitting and sticking her tongue out. The phase of life where she wants everything in her mouth has begun. She is starting to grab onto toys which is very exciting!! She wants to grab them and immediately put them in her mouth. She loves to lay on her playmat and look at all the toys above her which she grabs onto and then quickly gets frustrated that she can't bring them down to her mouth. She is starting to get into teethers and loves to hold them and chew on them. She has also really figured out how much she enjoys her fingers. It's getting to the point where she is gagging herself all day every day because she wants to stick them so far back in her mouth. She is going longer stretches during the day without naps and has shortened the amount of time she sleeps at night. Some days she drops a nap but others she still needs it. Soon she will permanently be dropping one I think. It's safe to say I am really, really enjoying this age. She is so much more interactive and every day it is something new with her. I am loving all the new things she is learning and she just gets cuter and more fun to be around all the time. The newborn stage really did last a long time for us so it's very exciting to finally get lots of new development.

Best moment this month: I think when she rolled from belly to back. She hated tummy time and I thought she would never roll over. But then one day she popped her head up and just pushed herself over. Tummy time no longer exists because the second you put her down on her belly she just rolls over :)

New sleeping arrangement

Since the beginning of January Cameron has been sleeping in her rock n' play every night, which is basically a bassinet that is on an incline. She had a little bit of a reflux/spit up issue and having her sleep on an incline seemed to help. Plus it was nice because we could rock her to sleep in it. My plan was to let her sleep in it until I had a reason not to anymore, and one night a week or two ago I woke up to that reason. She had rolled completely onto her belly in the rock n' play. Her arm was stuck underneath her and her head was cocked all the way back with her face kind of smothered into the side of the rock n' play. I fell just short of having a heart attack as it looked like she could barely breathe. It was clear at that moment that if she is going to be rolling on her belly during her sleep she needs to be on a flat surface. Enter pack n' play. There is no way Cameron is going into her own nursery quite yet, I'm simply too neurotic and I still need her right next to me so instead of sleeping next to me in her rock n' play, she will be sleeping next to me in her pack n' play for the foreseeable future. Now, as far as the rolling goes, with belly sleepers being at a higher risk for SIDS I was not looking forward to this day but it's just something I'm going to have to deal with. I would much prefer Cam not sleep on her belly but if she's going to roll on her belly then I really can't stop her unless I quit sleeping myself. Luckily she's not a total pro at rolling onto her belly yet but no matter what I do this is what I wake up to:

So for now Cameron is a certified side sleeper. I am dreading the day when she becomes completely skilled at rolling over and I wake up every day to her on her belly. And if she's anything like her mother, she will be a belly sleeper for sure.

But with the switch to the pack n' play I was able to start using her angelcare monitor! The angelcare is a movement sensor pad that you place underneath the mattress pad and it can sense every breath she takes. If it were to stop sensing any movements/breaths for a full 20 seconds an alarm would sound alerting me that she is not breathing. I'm so used to her being on an apnea monitor so this is not a new thing whatsoever but something that I need for peace of mind, I can't imagine her not sleeping on a monitor since she has yet to sleep a night in her life without one. For the record, she was also on a breathing monitor in her rock n' play, it was just a different kind since the angelcare has to go under a flat mattress pad. The one I put her on after her hospital monitor was discontinued was called a snuza, which is a little egg shaped thing that clipps onto the front of her diaper and could sense any breaths on her belly. Now that she's on a flat mattress though I have the ability to use the angelcare which I'm excited about. I couldn't wait to not have to clip this little monitor onto her diaper. It didn't really bother her but she must be more comfortable without it. The one she came home from the hospital on was even worse, it was a big strap that went all the way around her abdomen so that one I was really excited to get rid of and the snuza was definitely an upgrade! But this angelcare monitor will last for a long time. When I do finally switch her to her crib in her own room she will definitely still be on her angelcare. I'm really not sure when I'll be able to let her go monitor free and while some people may find my paranoia to be excessive, I bet if they had to watch their baby stop breathing long enough to turn blue in the face countless times in the NICU I think they would be willing to reconsider.

She's doing great with the switch. In fact, I don't even think she realizes that there was even a change. And other than all the technical stuff sleep is still going really well! Cam is a great sleeper and goes down at about 8:30, gets up to eat twice and then is up for the day at about 9:30. Lately she has been giving us a little bit of trouble when she goes to bed but not for too long and it's just her being cranky from a long day. Overall, everyone is getting more than enough sleep!! That makes me and Josh VERY happy parents!

*** I wrote this post a couple of days ago but hadn't gotten around to posting it yet. This morning however, I woke up to Cameron completely on her belly at around 5 in the morning, not stuck on her arm or anything, she had completely rolled. I got up to feed her and put her back to sleep, when I woke back up again at around 8:30, she was still on her back so I thought maybe it was just a fluke. Later in the day I put her on her playmat and took a quick shower, when I got out she had rolled again completely onto her belly. So we may have a belly sleeper already after all. ***