Rockin' Green

So I have tried a new detergent on my diapers. And I love it. My diapers smell excellent every time I wash and they have never looked brighter! My only qualm is that it is advertised as a scented laundry detergent for diapers, but I haven't really noticed a scent...Maybe it is because my diapers were pretty funky before trying this. Anyhow, I'll let you know how they smell after I get my replacement diapers. To get your own Rockin' Green go here.

Furthermore, you did hear me correctly, I said "replacement diapers". It just so happens that Cotton Babies will replace your diapers if you have a problem with them. My BumGenius laundry tabs have bit the dust...therefore my Velcro is biting it too! So, I've read all the terms and conditions, it seems they will replace my diapers. My friend Megan got her's replaced, for the same reason. It also seems I have the old laundry tabs on my diapers. New diapers, new laundry tabs, happy Mama.

Cloth Diapers, Breast feeding and baby food

I recall back in the day when Liam was just a wee peanut inside of me...I told people I wanted to cloth diaper my child. The usual response was: "You will give it up after a month, it's disgusting." Well, I have to say, I don't really find it disgusting and we're going on 5 months of cloth diapers. I LOVE CLOTH! My reasons are myriad...

1. They are cute. This may sound superficial, but it's the truth, they are really really cute.

2. They are cost effective.

3. I never have to buy diapers at the store :-)

4. There are no chemicals in the diapers.

5. Less diaper rash.

6. I always have diapers on hand.

7. They don't stink up my house, if they are stinky, I wash them.

8. The amount of trash at my curbside is the same as pre-baby.

I'm sure I can think of more reasons but these will do. (Okay so my reasons really aren't myriad)

Breastfeeding is another thing that people questioned me about. Well, I love that too. Liam and I are super close. Maybe that's because I stay home all day with him and spend countless hours nurturing him (day and night). But I think one of the reasons is that I am his food source! We are bonded, because he is always hungry :-) Seriously though, a certain grandmother tried to give him a bottle before bed the other night and he was refusing it. My son was refusing food!!! This is unheard of.

Other things I like about breastfeeding are that it's convenient. I know I am feeding my son the food that God made specially for him. It's guaranteed snuggle time during the day. And, I am wearing the jeans I wore before I was pregnant.

Baby food. Liam is now eating fruits and veggies. I decided to make his food. Why is it that people think that just because Gerber manufactures something that means that ordinary people are unable to make that same thing? You can make baby food at home! I have made, peas, butternut squash, sweet potatoes, banana and pears. He has enjoyed every one of them. If you have a blender or a baby food mill you can do it. It's cost effective and convenient.

For more info on any of these topics:
http://www.theclothdiaperwhisperer.com/
http://www.wholesomebabyfood.com/index.htm
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T020100.asp

Where is the time going?

It's July. I haven't posted in what seems like FOR-EVER. Mostly this is because Facebook has become the coming online meeting place for just about everyone I know! Adventures with Liam have gotten a whole lot more predictable and he is just enmeshed into our everyday lives now. We have a great kiddo!

Super exciting things about Liam are as follows:
-His smile is a mile wide and he gives it freely to his Mama and Dadda.
-He goes to be with little to no fuss every night.
-He naps pretty regularly now and will nap at other peoples' houses, as long as he has a bed to lay on and is away from people.
-He's getting good at sitting up when propped.
-He's so big! He's between 16-17 lbs now :-)
-He no longer needs his little head support thing in his car seat.

There are many, many more...I just can't begin to name them all...

Scott and I have just recently started to get a little sad because he is growing so fast. We thought the beginning would never end, now we want everything to stop! I no longer care about interrupted sleep...I love picking him up and nursing the sleepy little guy and putting back into his crib to snuggle with his lovey. I tell Scott just about everyday..."I can't wait for the next one!"

All that to say that we are in L-O-V-E!

Much overdue update

I have been so remiss in blogging about our little guy! First of all, I have to say that God has given us incredible blessings that we obviously do not deserve. Liam is a great baby. There are challenges...namely sleeping and bedtime...and I'm sure there are plenty more in store for us. But thanks be to God that last night (after an hour of LOTS of crying) Liam went to sleep at 8:30 and did not wake up to eat until about 2 am and then did not wake up again until about 6:30. I am so thankful for the extra sleep!!! We have been working on Liam going to sleep in his crib without being rocked and nursed...sometimes he does it, sometimes he doesn't. The biggest deterent to him falling asleep on his own is if he is overly tired or cranky when we lay him down. If we lay him down happy then he's out with barely a peep!

Liam has no problems with eating...he's a champ in that area and his size proves it. At his 2 month check-up he was 13lbs and 24.5 inches (Birth was 8.10oz and 21.5 inches). He is now wearing 3-6 and 6 mo. clothes and is rocking his cloth diapers :-) We flew through 0-3 and 3 month clothes and now I have to pack up clothes that he wore maybe once! Now I'm trying to put him in something new everyday because I'm afraid he won't get to wear something that someone gave to him.

Liam's favorite things to do right now are play on his baby gym...he totally digs the classical music that plays from this sun that lights up with the music. Scott calls it a seizure light...but Liam just smiles and smiles at it. He loves to suck on his fingers and fist and to squirm all the time. He loves riding in the car and sitting in his swing, listening to his Daddy's voice and staring at his beautiful Mama :-)

Our love for him just grows and grows.

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Scott's letter to our birthing class

I really liked what Scott wrote to our birthing class so I thought I'd share it with you all...

Hey All, This is Scott writing on behalf of our family of three! Becca's water broke Saturday (4/11) morning at 12.30am. 13 hours later, we were holding our son, William ("Liam") Isaiah Pearce. He has a mother to be proud of, and they are both very well.

After Becca's water broke, she was trying to get me to time the contractions that soon came on. I, being the studious birthing class student that I was, remembered that "No, honey...we shouldn't get too excited too soon. Just go back to sleep--it's 12.30 in the morning." Twenty minutes later, Becca nudged me in the ribs and insisted that I time them. Sure enough, they were a minute long and almost two minutes apart! We called the midwives at 3.30am; Lisa was on call, and without hesitation told us we could come to the hospital.

The floor was almost empty, so we got one of the VIP rooms in the back corner. Becca was fully effaced and 5cm dilated (she had been 2cm and fully effaced at her checkup just five days prior) when Lisa checked her, and was 9.5cm not too much later. Her contractions grew in intensity, and she got into the tub a few hours after arrival. Anything good you've heard about laboring in a 95 degree tub was not an exaggeration--Becca loved it and was close to falling asleep between contractions.

Proverbs 16:9 says, "In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." As well as we had prepared for a vaginal birth, as many "good people" we had placed around us (the midwives, Teresa, the Hackettstown nurses, etc), it was not the Lord's will that Liam be born according to our birth plan. After Becca had pushed for a couple hours (and what pushing it was!), Lisa sadly reported that Liam's head had not made any progress and that Becca was still stuck at 9.5cm.

Becca was pretty well drained at this point, and Lisa said that her contractions weren't "packing a punch" since she was so tired. Becca went on a very mild dose of patocin, which helped to regulate and strengthen her contractions. She pushed in five different positions (in the tub and out of the tub), but after four hours (four!) of rigourous pushing, Liam had not moved an inch. Lisa and the nurses said that a C-section was necessary if another half hour didn't bring on miracle progress.

Liam's head had been down all of the last months of Becca's pregnancy, but apparently, he was not rotated to face the correct way ("sunny side up" is what the nurses called it). So all the pushing she did was just trying to push a square peg through a round hole. Lisa said that it was possible for babies to be born that way, but when we finally met our son and his big head, it confirmed that a C-section was absolutely necessary (his head was rather bruised at the top from the pushing).

The birthing classes were of such a great help in many ways, but the jewel of greatest worth was when Teresa told us "If your midwife says you need a C-section, don't question it--you need one." How true, and how much this counsel helped bring peace to Becca as we made the decision to have a C-section. When approached with the decision, she just breathed deeply and said, "I just want to meet my son." Dr. Smith did the section, and Liam was nursing within an hour or so (for 40 minutes, first try!).

Mothers, if you are anything like my wife--and I believe that you are--you have what it takes. Becca had not eaten any solid food for hours and hours. She had only slept two hours before her water broke. Yet she pushed for four hours with the strength of ten men despite multiple disappointments. I have hardly been as inspired by the resolve or selflessness of another man, woman, or child in my 27 years on earth. I am confident that each of you can rise to whatever the Lord brings to you when your time comes. Take heart!

Liam was 8lbs-10oz and measured 21.5 inches long. I attached a few pictures, too. Can't wait to hear all your stories!

Scott, Becca, and Liam

We are so thankful to the Lord for our precious gift, our little baby Liam...

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