Silly Katya

Katya loves playing Peek-a-Boo as you can see from this picture series. She also likes putting things on her head (and the dogs heads) and saying "hat". Another favorite game is chasing Bentley around with her lion (her scooty toy, she mainly pushes him). Poor Bent! She really likes the wooden fish puzzle that Grandma and Baba T got her and I am so impressed at how good she is at it. It is rated 3yrs and up but she has already mastered "fishing" for the pieces with the magnetic fishing pool and she knows which fish goes in what space (which took ME a while to figure out). She is getting better at putting them in the space but still needs a little help. She is also getting really good at her shape sorting cube. With this toy she is better at putting them in the hole then recognizing which shape goes were although she is getting better at this. Some obvious ones she knows like the star and the oval.

She is really telling me it that she is ready to work on potty training which I have been putting off. I don't want to push and start her too early but she talks a lot about her elimination and is starting to predict it (by seconds). I am going to take it slow with her but I would like to get her a little potty and have her sit on it once a day or so. Once in a while I put her on the big toilet; she likes taking tissue and "wiping" her bum. I need to go by the second hand store, last time I was there they had a little potty for 7$.

I have been feeling poorly the last few days. Yesterday was terrible and I played with Katya from the couch most of the day. The one bad thing about being a stay at home parent is you can't call in sick! I am not sure if I am fighting off an illness or just so tired from the insomnia that it is making me feel sick. I am achy and extremely tired. I agree with Rena that even though the sleep deprivation of having a new baby is hard I prefer it over being pregnant and not sleeping. Last I took 1/2 a Unisom and feel asleep about 9:30 which was fantastic. I did get up 4 times to go to the bathroom though and I had some really upsetting dreams that I am having a hard time shaking. I won't go into the details but I was relieved after waking up and realizing that Scott is going to be out of the cockpit for the next year. I was also very happy to open Candace's blog this morning and see that they arrived in Newport yesterday! Unfortunately all their stuff, which was suppose to arrive this weekend via movers, is not getting there until next Sat!

I will finish off with a little message from Katya: "Home. Daddy, daddy, mama, daddy home. Bent home. Vi home. Hi Baba. All done. Down mom, down mom, down mom."

Projects and stuff

Thanks for all the support and words of encouragement after the last post. I am trying to take one day at a time and take the good with the bad. On Friday I surprised myself and finished painting the hallway! It was quite a lot of work. I had to wash the walls, tape and then do the 2 coats. I got everything prepped before Katya went down for her nap and did the 1st coat while she was asleep. I did the second coat after she went down for the night even though I was really tired. I am so glad I did and got it over with. That is one project down and only one more to go (steaming the carpets) before Reagan gets here!

After a bit of trouble I got the floating shelves up in Reagan's room. They look really cute. I also got her crib mattress which Grandma and Baba T supplied the funds for. Thank you! There is not a ton left to do in preparation. I still have to get crib sheets (I bought some but did not like the way they fit and I am going to take them back). I am waiting for a really cute crib sheet at Babies R Us to get stocked, not sure when that will be. We will move Katya's changing table to baby's room sometime in March and install Reagan's car seat.

Today we went on a tour of the maternity unit at Emmanuel hospital were I will be delivering. Grandma and Grandpa came over and watched Katya for us which was really nice. It was good to get the run down on Emmanuel even though it was all pretty standard and what I would expect (i.e. 24hr rooming-in, length of stay). The main reason we did the tour is to know were the unit is and the basic layout. The L & D rooms were big and nice; they looked a lot like the rooms at Kaiser Sunnyside were Patrick was born. The post partum rooms are tiny! They are newer though and will work just fine. Craig even got a tip how to extend his bed space by opening a drawer at the end of his sleeping area for his feet. Hopefully Reagan will go along with the plan and arrive when Sharon is here to watch Katya. That way Craig will get to stay with me more and it will be easier on Katya since she will get to remain at home in her own enviornment (and our girl is a home-body!) I sure am getting excited for our baby to be born! Love and prayers, Brenda

Woes and wonders

I know it is annoying to hear some one complain all the time. But it is so nice to vent about it now and then! So I apologize ahead of time and if you are not in the mood to listen to my woes, feel free to skip the next paragraph.

I am tired of being pregnant already! I did not think I would feel this way this soon. I still have a little under 3 months to go! It is not all bad; I love feeling my baby kick and squirm and I love daydreaming about what she will look like and how wonderful it will be to hold her in my arms. But I am always tired. I have insomnia; reflux; hemorrhoids; backaches (could be much worse); mood swings; nausea; food aversions; crampy uterus and headaches. Over all I just feel like it is really hard work growing a baby. Will I really want to do this again? Maybe some day. Maybe not. I had such a bad day on Tuesday; felt like garbage all day and was feeling really negative. And I felt bad about feeling bad, I mean what to I have to complain about? I don't have to work, I have the best family, a great home and my life is perfect right now. Fortunatly I had more energy yesterday and although today is not as good I am feeling much more positive.

It is wonderful to have Katya to remind me of the love and joy to come after 9 long months. Despite her being at a challenging age she is so fun. She makes me laugh everyday and comes up to me and hugs my legs or gives me a kiss. Her "no's" are really funny lately; they are loud and long, "noooooo" and have a certain inflection that is pretty cute. Yesterday she signed change diaper but as soon as I confirm "lets go change your diaper" it was "Nooooo!" and she started running off. I picked her up and in her frustration she came at me with an open mouth as if to bit my face. Of course biting is not acceptable behavior but it was so funny I could not help laugh and open my mouth back at her, which got her laughing. Here is a picture of her 'silly face' which she does when she hears or sees certain things, in this case the dogs playing.


Our prayers are with the Smith's this week, as they journy east for a new chapter in their lives. Love, Brenda

18 month check up

Katya had a well-baby check on Monday. She is now 25lbs, 10oz and 32.5inches tall. Following along a good growth curve, just above the 50th percentile. Dr. Oller was impressed with Katya's communication skills and warned me that she will be getting more and more testy in months to come. She also warned me that Katya will likely take out her frustration with new baby on me and not to let it make me feel bad. She got her last DTap vaccine and her first Hep A. She is a bit cranky from her shots and I gave her some Motrin and she finally fell asleep for her nap. She is so cute sleeping with her monster stuffed animal and a chick that Candace got her for Easter last year ("Mon and Cheep-cheep"). I love how she snuggles up with them, too cute.

Cute pictures

I am behind on uploading my pictures to a Kodak photo album so here are some cute shots for the time being.


Katya playing in the front yard on a cold winter day.

Sporting her new down vest daddy bought her at a REI sale.

Playing with mom's sunglasses.

Extreme close up!

Playing with fish puzzle while mom takes a rest.

Our little diaper model

Katya sporting her Fuzzi Bunz

Playing with dad in her Bumgenius


We are now in cloth diapers full time and it is going really well. I ended up getting more of the Bumgenius brand which are the ones that grow with baby. I liked both brands for different reasons but went with the 'one-size' diaper which should be super cost effective. They come with two inserts, a full size one that has a few snaps to shorten it when using the diaper at a medium size and a newborn insert for when you use the diaper at the smallest size. We are able to use the diapers for night time too by stuffing 2 regular inserts and 1 newborn insert in the diapers pocket. It is super thick but she is sleeping 12-13hrs and waking up dry. I am so impressed at how the lining of the diaper that is next to baby's skin wicks the moisture to the center were the insert is. Craig did not even realize that it was time to change a diaper because the lining feels dry to the touch. Yet when you pull out the insert you will find it soaked with urine (both brands do this equally well).

I am getting use to laundering the diapers after a little trouble shooting. I do a cycle on cold, a cycle on hot and then an extra rinse. I also have been rinsing the diapers really well before storing them in a diaper pail to decrease the smell. You don't have to do this but I have found that if I just throw the wet ones in the pail the bathroom smells like urine after a day. I wash every other day and don't want to deal with a smelly bathroom. The wet ones just need the insert rinsed and the poopy ones need the lining rinsed too. Rinsing poop is a bit time consuming but right now I only have to deal with that once a day. That will be very different when Reagan is born! I think I will put a contraption called a Mini Sprayer on my birthday wish list. It connects to your toilets water source and you can just spray off the diapers into the toilet which might be really handy with brestfed baby poop.

I am loving the style of cloth diaper, the pocket diapers, which are so easy to use. They are really cute too and Katya has a great assortment of colors. She is going through about 5-6 a day (as oppose to 4-5 disposable) and with washing every other day I am finding 18 diapers to be more than enough. Never in a million years did I think I would be a cloth diaper user! So far the switch has been great.

Belly picture

Here is a belly picture at 28 weeks (7 months). That baby sure is growing! I have had terrible insomnia for about a month now. No matter how tired I am I have a terrible time falling asleep. I have taken half a Unisom a few times which really helps; I just hate to take medication too often. But I know it is safe and it is better than laying in bed until 2am every night.

Katya stuff

Katya's hair is just long enough to get into a ponytail. It looks so cute but it is too thin to stay in place.

Katya is pretending to talk on the phone now. It is so cute. She mainly says "Hi Baba" but also says "Hi Grandma." The other day I carried her a ways to the car and as I was buckling her in I was huffing and puffing a bit. All of a sudden she was blowing air, mimicking me; what a silly girl. Another thing I found funny: yesterday morning I was interrupted from eating my cereal to change a poopy diaper. While I was dumping and rinsing the diaper in the kid bathroom I noticed it was awfully quite upstairs (Katya usually stays on the same level as me). When I finished I came down stairs to find her on the couch, leaning over the arm to the end table were my bowl of cereal was. She had the spoon in her hand and was eating Honey Nut Cheerios, partly with the spoon and partly with her left hand.

27 weeks check up

Today I weighed in at 132lbs. I was quite surprised that I had only gained 3lbs in the past 5 weeks, espeically with the holiday grub, and I was a little concerned that this is not enough of a weight gain. But my tummy measured 30cm which indicates Reagan is growing just fine. The midwife was not at all concerned about my only gaining 3lbs so I guess I should not be either. I have gained 13lbs total and with 13 weeks to go I am sure to at least put on another 12lbs, meeting the minimum recommendation of 25lbs. Baby's heartbeat was strong (forgot to ask how fast) and everything else was normal. I did the glucose tolerance screen which involes drinking a sweet soda-like beverage and then getting my blood drawn 1 hr after finishing. They will also check my blood for antibodies and for anemia. I am not sure if they will call with the results so I may just find out next time. I am going to see them every 2 weeks now so I won't have to wait too long.

It is getting more and more straining to carry Katya and my back is starting to bother me although it is not nearly as bad as it would be if I was working. I am having a hard time working on any extra projects around the house and have decided I need to be okay with my limitations and take it easy. Keep the house clean, cooking and caring for Katya have me pretty tired which means my steam cleaning and painting projects will have to take the back burner. I do want to finish them before Reagan is born so I will just work on it a little at a time.

Katya's room

Here is a recent picture of Katya's room after I have rearranged it. She got the animals above her crib for Christmas. They are SO cute I could not resist. You can't tell from the pictures put they have glitter accenting parts of the animals. Katya loves them! Now that she is a big girl she sleeps with Grandma T's quilt which looks so great in her room.

Some of Katya's new words are 'dark,' 'meat,' and 'snack,' (_nack, she can't pronounce her s's)'remote' (mote) and 'grandma'. She learned 'grandma' yesterday and was so pleased with her self she said it all day long! She says it quite well and we were able to Skype Doug and Sharon so they could hear her. She is also starting to say her name better, with the a on the end. She is getting more attached to her binky and wants it a lot. We have to keep it out of sight and when we say it is night-night time she immediately asks for her bink. It will be interesting to see how she handles new baby having a binky...

She is down to one bottle a day, in the mornings. She was drinking so much milk in her AM and PM bottles that I was not able to offer her milk during the day. Now she gets cold milk in her sippy cup with lunch and dinner which she likes and then her warm AM bottle. She asked for the PM bottle the first few nights and again last night for Craig but has adjusted pretty well over all. The bottle is totally a comfort thing rather than her being thirsty. We are going to let her have the one bottle until after the baby is born. Love to all, Brenda

Our predictions

Craig has made a bold guess of March 31st as the date of our daughters arrival. I would be over 38weeks, thus full term so it would be okay but I really doubt I will go into labor that early. I am just not that lucky:0) My prediction is April 10th, which is the day after the full moon for that month; I think I will go into labor on the 9th and have her on the 10th. That is how I guessed Katya's b-day, the 29th was a full moon. Of course I was induced so who knows when she would have come on her own but I am sticking to my method! We shall see....

Reagan's room is coming along. It looks so cute! I painted her name letters and the canvas pictures over her crib (I drew the animals from the pattern of her curtain and bed skirt). I am going to put up a floating shelf or two and Great Grandma B's quilt to finish of the wall decore. Grandma T's quilt will be an accent on the bed.

Cloth Diaper Update

First another picture of my beautiful girl! This darling outfit is from the Kirklands.

So this is were I am at on the whole cloth diaper thing. Have bought 4 diapers, 2 different brands to try them out. Both brands are "all-in-one pocket diapers" which do not have a seperate cover. They have inserts that absorb the urine and you can put more than one insert in depending on the need (i.e. night time). This type of diaper is suppose to be the most like disposables and easy to use. This really appeals to me and plus you can spend up to 17$ on a really good diaper cover which makes using the old fashion method of cloth diaper and cover expensive too. I am waiting for 2 of the diapers to come in, hopefully I will get them this week.

The brands are Fuzzi Bunz and Bum Genius. They both have advantages and disadvantages. The Fuzzi Bunz are the ones Angie loves and they have snaps which are easy to care for. I would have to buy 2 different sizes, smalls for Reagan and meduims for Katya. I did not realize when I made my first cloth diaper post that the mediums go to 30lbs so I may not have to buy the large size. But this all depends on how big Katya is before she is potty trained. Buying the large size would be another 300$. The other potential problem is when Reagan grows out of the smalls (18lbs), Katya may still be in the mediums and so I would need another 18 mediums. I may just use disposables or some sort of training pants at this point. Hopefully Reagan's growth rate will be similar to Katya's who did not reach 18lbs until 7.5 months old.

The Bum Genius is a brand that grows with baby from 7-35lbs. The good thing about these is I could buy 36 diapers and use them for both kids interchangeably and they would hopefully fit through potty training. They have Velcro closures which might wear more with such frequent laundering. They are a bit more bulky than the Fuzzi Bunz but both are so much bulkier than disposables I think this is something I am just going to have to get use to. They are not quite as soft inside as the Fuzzi Bunz but if they absorb as well I won't care. Bum Genius is not a brand that Angie has tried but it is sold by a company she uses and trusts; a local company only sells tried and true brands. I am hoping to really like these because they would avoid some of the problems mentioned above with the Fuzzi Bunz.

So either way I go I will be spending a bit over 600$ on 36 diapers (at least for the time being); much better than the $900 I originally calculated (for 54 diapers). I should come out ahead of disposable costs with Katya and Reagan and will save a lot more if we have a thrid child. I am going to try and keep track of everything I spend on cloth diapers, including the disposables I keep on hand to see what the end cost is. It is a lot of money to spend up front but will save us in the long run. Craig and I are using our Christmas cash from Grandma and Grandpa Faulkner towards the first 18 diapers. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa! I will wait a few months to buy Reagan's set.

Katya and Teddy

Katya loves her Teddy Ruxbin from Grandma and Grandpa Faulkner. She is very interested in his mouth moving and likes to push his buttons on his back. I have heard the tape he came with about 10x's already! Craig had a Teddy Ruxbin when he was little. Sharon still has his Teddy but the tape player no longer works. They have re-issued Teddy, with upgraded technology and that is what she bought for Katya. She also gave her all of Craig's Teddy clothes which include a Santa suit, a Tuxedo and more. They are a bit big on the new Teddy but still cute. I have him in his PJ's and robe right now, very cute.

Deceptively Delicious

Here is another picture of Katya in a new Christmas present outfit. So cute!

Craig's Aunt Joan and Uncle Don gave me Deceptively Delicious, a cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld for Christmas. The whole stick is using vegetable purees in recipes for an extra boast of nutrition. I made a chicken salad this week that had 1/2 cup of cauliflower puree in it. It also had grapes, yogurt, celery and more; it was very good! I am really excited about this cookbook! I am especially excited for when Reagan is eating solids; I will be making purees for her and can also throw them into meals for Katya, Craig and I. Very fun.

Third Trimester!

Today begins week 26, and my final trimester of this pregnancy. I can't believe I am already to this point and that the "easy" trimester is now behind me, damn! It can't be worse than the first 4 months of misery but I do know that there are challenges to come, especially in the last month. I am really enjoying this stage of things with 95% of the nausea/vomiting behind me, my lovely growing belly and more and more kicks from my little girl. I do feel her move WAY more consistently now which makes me happy. I love when I see the movements, it is so alien like but cool.

I am having Braxton Hicks contractions and I am up more at night to pee. I am continuing to have cramping off and on which I have been told is due to an "irritable uterus." It feels like menstrual cramps; constant pain in my pelvic and lower back areas but my belly remains soft so I know I am not contracting (thank goodness). It is not terrible pain but any pain sucks and I do get tired of it. One of the benefits of being pregnant is suppose to be not having a period and the associated discomforts! I had this with Katya too and I remember it did take a toll on me by the end of the 9 months. I have to be careful to drink 3L of water a day, especially if I am feeling crampy. I feel like all I do is drink and pee but it is super important to stay well hydrated (dehydration is a common cause of premature contractions). I literally have to plan my outings with bathrooms in mind and I cannot take long walks.

I will get Craig to take a current belly picture and post that soon. Love to all, Brenda