1 Week Old

I can't believe Burke is already 8 days old today!! wow. So I have lots to say but not a lot of time to type (go figure) so I'll do bullets:

• The first week was rough. I didn't expect postpartum recovery to be so painful and intense.  Also because of the nature of my delivery (and all the stitches after) I didn't get a chance to breastfeed within that first hour.  We have been struggling with that majorly up until yesterday.
• Breastfeeding is going ok now that I am getting hour long breaks in between and am starting to get used to it! It also helps that my milk FINALLY came in yesterday.
• Burke is a strong baby! He already turns himself over onto his side to sleep since he doesn't like being on his back.
• Tommy and I have been doing really well. No fighting or anything, so that has been one really good thing that I didn't expect (everyone says you'll hate your husband haha)
• Today is Tommy's first day back to work and I think he is going to be happy to come home tonight!
• I am glad that I signed up for the formula samples through the mail because even though we aren't formula feeding and still haven't bought any, it was a lifesaver this week when he was so hungry he wanted to feed every 15 minutes.
• The pup is doing really well! We are trying really hard to give him attention too but for the most part he is pretty mellow around here. 
• I can't stop taking pictures of him! He is so sweet but the pictures never do it justice. :)
• Tommy is not a fan of our AMP diaper stash. I think the 2 part system annoys him. He does however really like the thirsties, so I am in the process of trading my AMPs for thirsties via kijiji.  This is ok too because I don't mind the AMP, so we'll just get a few extra all-in-ones for tommy to use and we have to buy large diapers anyway for when he outgrows the newborns.  So when we get large sizes, we'll probably just go with thirsties and bumgenius.
• We have been using disposable wipes (again Tommy preference, and if he is changing the diapers then I don't really care haha) and we ran out last night. It was funny because it was almost shocking how quickly that large tub went. Made me SO glad we have cloth diapers and not disposables!! 
• I have already lost 24 lbs!!!!! SO EXCITING :) I gained 32.5 overall, so only 8.5lbs from my original weight. Woohoo! Probably the hardest 8lbs but oh well :)
• One last note: If you are having a baby, never ever let anyone stay in your house.  The in-laws were here and granted it was the only way for them to see Burke, it was so much more stress than is necessary. We don't have a spare room so our living room was taken over and it was awkward breastfeeding around Tommy's brother, so I spent most of the weekend by myself in the bedroom. Not ideal. This plus having to think of meals and the massive sink of dishes I have to find time to do today from this weekend makes me very stabby lol.

Now some pictures from his first week:

More Cloth Diapering Stuff

I found a really great deal at G and L sales in Winnipeg on AMP diaper stuff.  It's a pretty random warehouse with some really good deals. I got some more of the hemp boosters (7 more) for $1.99 each.  I had paid $3.75 each for the same ones from the AMP store.

I also got another wet bag (yay!) with a cute owl print from Playful Peanut! It was $7.99 and the same size as the wet bag I got for $16 at AMP. Really happy about those deals :) Now I have enough hemp boosters to use those only for the newborn stage (to reduce the bulkiness).

Cloth Diaper Giveaways

I have been all about these lately. I really hope I win something!! Here is one from Abby's Lane:

http://www.cloththatcounts.com/?p=1330

I also entered one for an AMP swim diaper. Here's to hoping for some free stuff!

New Diaper Stuff :)

So I went to AMP last week to pick up a wet bag. I ended up getting this Bummis Fabulous Wet bag:

I also grabbed some Country Save detergent as well as 4 hemp boosters. I am hoping to try these out as a newborn insert, and as a night time booster:

I also ordered from Abby's Lane.  They were having a big Thirsties sale, so I thought I would order some cute prints:

These are the Thirsties all in ones, which will be good for babysitters, etc because it is more like a disposable. And I thought they were super cute!!

I also grabbed 2 packs of these cloth wipes because the reviews were really great, and I would like to try using cloth wipes (still unsure of how that will turn out I have also bought disposable ones too).

Cloth Diaper Prepping

I decided to begin the process of prepping my cloth diapers yesterday.  After tons of laundry I am happy to say they are done!

For the covers, all that was involved was washing once with 1/4 of the detergent, then air drying. This was the easiest part.

I chose to use Arm and Hammer Free Essentials detergent because it was the only 4 star detergent on the cloth diaper detergent chart that I could find in Stonewall.   Luckily it's not too expensive.

Prepping the hemp inserts was a little bit more involved.  I was supposed to wash them 4-8 times using hot water and 1/4 of the recommended detergent. Because they are a natural fibre they need to be washed this many times to remove the natural oils so that they don't coat the diaper covers and then in turn repel liquids.  To speed up this process I was told to boil them.

So first I washed and dried the inserts once.  This resulted in a lot of lint! I was not expecting that so was a bit worried I had ruined my inserts already.

They turned out to be ok though.  Next I boiled them with a little bit of detergent for 30 minutes.  I had to do 2 batches because I have 24 inserts and they wouldn't all fit into the pot.

I then washed and dried them twice more in a hot water wash. They are just drying right now and then they will be fully usable.  

I am really glad I decided to tackle this job today because now they are usable and it's one more thing off of my to-do list! While I was at it I also washed all the newborn clothes and sheets and blankets. I feel much more prepared now :)

Gifts from Jess

Jess went on a trip with her boyfriend Brett this week and brought me back some cute stuff from the states. The clothes are from Brett's mom which was super nice of her, and the diaper cover and husky are from Jess. :)

Cloth Diapers!

My mom and I went to the Baby and Kids show today and I got a lot of samples and info. I also took advantage of a really great deal that AMP diapers was having at the show and got a whole stash! Very excited. So here is what I ended up going with 8 Covers & 24 Hemp inserts.  The kit also included: 2 samples of detergent, a diaper pail liner and flushable biodegradable liners. Pretty much everything I will need to diaper up to 18lbs. After that I just need 6-8 larger covers.  I may buy a few more inserts (probably 12 more) but they are the cheap part so I am not too worried about that.

Tommy and I also have the crib put together. Once we repaint the dresser and add the knobs, it will be completely ready too. We are just adding a changing pad to the top of the dresser and then we'll be done with furniture!

The only expensive items we have left to purchase are the crib mattress, stroller, car seat, and possibly rocking chair.