Recycling wool sweaters

I'm preparing for baby in a few months. I bought ten sweaters that are 100% wool at a thrift store last weekend for a total of $15.00! If I were to buy a brand new cloth diaper or diaper cover, it would cost at least that much for one!

So, I am going to recycle them into soakers! I got several different colors and patterns, and I should be able to make 2 out of each sweater. That will give me all the wool soakers I need in different sizes, and if I decide I have too many, I can always sell the extras.

This web site is really inspiring. She makes some really cute clothing from old wool sweaters. You can also see what a soaker looks like if you have no idea. This is such a great way to save money and recycle while being gentle on your baby's bum!

Homemade bouncy balls!!!

Click on the picture for a larger view so you can actually read the directions!

#1 - Jonathan's birth

I had my final Dr. appt. on May 3rd (fairly typical prenatal care). I was dilated to a 3, but had been dilating already for about 2 or 3 weeks. My doctor scheduled the induction for 6 AM on Friday morning the 5th. Myles and I planned to go on a date on Thursday night and just have some fun by ourselves before our little one invaded our privacy, but Thursday morning (the actual due date) my doc called me and asked, "How would you like to have your baby today?"! Well, I told her yes and about 4 hours later we were admitted into the hospital!

Of course Myles had to leave work early. We arrived at the hospital at around 11:30 AM. By 11:45 we had our room and an IV in. They started the pitocin at around 12:45 and I was considered in active labor by around 4:00. Soon after that the contractions started getting sharp, and fast. The doctor had an internal monitor put in, after I had been trying to tell the nurses that the contractions were hurting pretty bad, so that they could actually measure the intensity of each contraction. At around 6:15 I was given an epidural when they were finally convinced I was in much pain by that time. (Apparently I can take more pain than I thought. The nurses were expecting me to be crawling off the bed!) Once the nurses saw how intense they really were by inserting an internal monitor, they were quick to get me the epidural and backed way off on the pitocin!

The epidural was wonderful! I still had some feeling on my left side, but it was tolerable. I could feel all of my contractions, but they didn't hurt at all! By 8:00 I was still only dilated to a little more than a four. The nurse had me turn on my side to see if that would help. At this time everyone was expecting Jonathan to be born in the early hours of the morning.

About an hour later the nurse was about to go have some dinner and decided to check again before she left. We were glad she did. I had already dilated to an eight! Things began moving quickly after this. The nurse didn't even get to eat. Myles went out in the lobby to give everyone an update and while he was gone I reached a nine! I didn't think he'd make it back in time, and our moms were wondering why he even left in the first place! (He was just excited and wanted to share it with everyone else.) After a few more minutes went by, his mom went to get him and said he was watching TV! (He said he just happened to look at it for a second when she walked in the room! They give him a hard time about that now.)

I don't remember the exact times of everything, but by 11:15 I was at a 10 and pushing. By about 11:37 he was crowned and the doctor came in for the catch. She almost didn't get gowned in time! Everyone told me not to push, so I didn't, but he came out on his own on the next contraction! The doctor turned around just in time to catch him! Myles' mom told me later that she thought she was going to have to run over there and catch him before he hit the floor! It was pretty funny actually. :)

Jonathan David was born on May 4th at 11:39 PM weighing 9 lbs. 2 ozs. and was 21 3/4" long. He obviously had a great set of lungs and beautiful skin color! Everything went so well. We were so excited!

When Jonathan was about 5 days old it was very apparent that I had a UTI. I was able to get an antibiotic and recover fairly quickly, but that first day or two of it was horrible. It was around the time my milk came in and I was still having problems with breastfeeding (learning to use a nipple shield due to flat nipples), so it was not a good few days there for a little bit.

Skip ahead almost 7 years......Wow, I can't believe he is about to turn SEVEN!

As I look back on this account of his birth, I do have a totally different perspective now. First of all, I do NOT want to be induced any more! I really don't see any medical need for it, and it can put the mother and baby at risk, not to mention that the contractions are so much more painful than when you go into labor on your own! I would not want to be checked for dilation and effacement either. What's the point? I'm going to progress regardless, and it can only make things worse, not better.

I would refuse to be monitored, and I would not get an epidural. I remember the epidural not giving complete coverage, and when I think about that now, it's pretty scary! I remember being very uncomfortable on the bed. I had no option of getting up and walking around because of the monitors, pitocin and epidural. I was getting miserable just laying there. I remember changing to my left side, which helped me dilate more quickly, probably because I was able to change positions.

The UTI I know was from the catheter and internal monitors. They also had put some type of monitor on Jonathan's head, so he had one or two SCREWS in his head!!! It really is true that all they (medical professionals) want is a good outcome, and they don't care how it comes about. We were disillusioned into thinking that everything was great because I didn't have to have a c-section, I didn't feel any pain after the epidural, I didn't have to push very long and our first child was very healthy. If I remember correctly, I think he scored an 8 and 9 on his two apgar tests, so that was pretty good.

Actually, another thing I just remembered is that right after he was born, they did all the routine things that hospitals do for babies; eye drops, shots, heel prick and then a bottle of formula for his FIRST feeding because his blood sugar was "borderline high"! I am so sad about that now, that I didn't get to nurse him for his very first feeding. :( Honestly, I don't even remember them asking me or giving me a choice, they just tested his blood sugar (because he was "big") and then gave him a bottle....right in front of me, but I didn't get to do it.

Another thing that scares me thinking back on all this is that Jonathan was seriously coming out on his own with each contraction. There were probably 20 people in the room (can you say "privacy"?), and NO ONE was moving to get him. I was on the bed where they break away the foot part and put my feet in stirrups, shine the lights right on that area and raise the bed up high, about to chest level. Now picture a baby being born from that height with no one to catch him and about 20 people standing there just watching! That is seriously what was happening, and my doctor had her back to me putting her gown, mask and gloves on! She literally turned around just in time! They were telling me not to push and to wait for the doctor, but HELLO, I couldn't stop him from coming out! Scary, scary, scary!

Also, I tore really bad and was sore (bruised) for a good 3 months. I wonder if this could have been avoided if I had not had such hard contractions and progressed at a more natural rate rather than them increasing the pitocin and making me go faster. I also couldn't feel anything when pushing, so I don't know if I was actually ready or if I pushed too hard, etc. The entire experience, really, was not fun looking back on it. And I hate to admit it, but this was probably the best experience of my 3 labors/births.

More science experiements!

We went to the science museum again yesterday with Chrysinda and her 5yo son. We went to a chemical demonstration. The lady showed us how to use every day household products for experiments. The main ingredients she used were water, baking soda, dish soap and food coloring.

One experiment also used a balloon. She put baking soda in a balloon, vinegar in a bottle, stretched the balloon to fit the opening of the bottle and then dumped the soda into the vinegar. You can probably guess what happens. :)

Another fun one was with warm water, an Alkaseltzer tablet and a film cannister. She filled the cannister almost half way with warm water and added half the Alkaseltzer tablet. She quickly put the lid on and gave it a quick shake. Try it and see what happens. Warning: stand back a few feet!

From what I can remember, the only other ones she did was mix vinegar and baking soda with nothing covering it, and then she added (new experiment) dish soap to the baking soda before adding vinegar and compared the results. This is also where she used the food coloring. I think you can pretty much use it with anything, just to add color.

Try other mixtures, and even include other household items! We're going to be trying more soon too. This is another great site for some really awesome science experiments! It is where the lava lamp experiment came from. Have fun!

Science experiement

We finally did this experiment I've been wanting to try. We took a 20 ounce bottle and filled it 3/4 full with oil and then to the top with water. We then put some food coloring in, which sank to the bottom just like the water and then mixed with the water. Once the new "lava lamp" was complete, we were ready to make it work!

We broke up an Alkaseltzer (but soon discovered it works better in larger chunks) and dropped it into the bottle. It also sank to the water in the bottom, and then it started making big bubbles and really did look like a lava lamp! It was really cool! I just wish we'd had a big light to put under it to make it look more like a real lava lamp.

The best thing about this one though is that it is non-toxic and the kids got to make it themselves. Jacob loved carrying one of the bottles around (lid screwed on tightly, of course). We also discovered that the lid needs to be loose or off for the Alkaseltzer to work....it needs air!

Random thoughts

Random thoughts before I get started I just want to write down my birth experiences for myself right now, but I may share them with others once I am done. This blog is about my journey to the kind of birth I greatly desire; a truly natural birth with no drugs or intervention of any kind and where I am completely comfortable and completely (or almost completely) pain-free. I know it is possible because I've read of other women having this "perfect" experience so many times, so why can't I?

Right now I am pregnant with baby #4 (after an unassisted miscarriage last year, which I will talk about later), and I plan on this one being unassisted/unattended. I am reading lots of books and birth stories and I feel like I am mentally ready. Now I just need to focus on a healthier diet and exercise so I can also be physically ready. I also need to work on the spiritual aspect, although I don't know that how close I am or feel to God actually reflects on how the birth will turn out. It's something I need to focus on anyway though, and it definitely couldn't hurt in relation to the labor and birth! I'm sure it does help in some aspects, now that I think about it.

So, as I get some time, I will write down from memory my experiences with my previous pregnancies and labor/deliveries. Enjoy the read, and I truly hope that my experiences will help someone someday as so many others have helped me!

Science museum

For Christmas my best friend Chrysinda got us a pass to the science museum, so we finally went there on Wednesday! I hadn’t been there since before the kids were born, and I didn’t remember most of it. Really about the only thing I remembered was the Earthquake simulator. The kids were actually bored with that pretty quickly because it was mostly an educational video to watch. They did like the vibrating floor though.

They have a really cool play area with swings and slides among other things. I think Jonathan’s favorite thing there was the 24-foot spiral slide! Jayla wanted to go down it with someone, but Daddy was playing with Jacob, and I did not feel like climbing all the way up there and then get dizzy coming down! She had lots of fun on the different swings though.

The first thing we did when we got there was go to a class for preschoolers. The theme was “green”, so the kids got to make some green slime! They got to mix the ingredients, which included blue and yellow food coloring. Then they got to make some 3-leaf clovers. The teacher was really nice, but she kind of talked down to the kids. Grant it, it was a preschool class, but some of the things she talked about were very easy for Jayla…..things like, “Are bananas green? Is broccoli green?” She was eating it up though. :) Jonathan, on the other hand, while he did enjoy it, could only take so much. Close to the end of the class, he finally said, “Oh, come on! I’m 6 years old!” LOL! I think he was referring to the way she was talking to him, but I just told her “This stuff is easy for him.” The lady was very nice though. We saw her later in the preschool play area, and she gave us a sheet with instructions on how to make our own bouncy balls! Yea!!! (I'll post directions soon.)

There is so much more to say about the science museum, but I’ll let the pictures do the talking. Let’s just say that, while the day was very fun, I was so tired of experiments and brain teasers by the end of the day! LOL!

In these pictures here with the blocks, the kids were sitting opposite each other and were supposed to follow instructions on how to build each other's creations. Here Jonathan went first and gave directions for Jayla....

....and this is what she ended up with. :)

Not too bad, really! I probably would have done the same with the way he gave instructions, but it helped us all to give *better* instructions with more details. They both did very well for their first time!

We played this game for quite a while, each of us taking turns, and Jacob finally got tired of waiting for us.

Here, if you look in the monitor on the right, you can see each of them while they took a turn in the Mercury capsule (I can't remember the exact name of it). Jayla looks so young here! This actually moved and the operator was flipping switches and communicating with them the entire time. We were concerned that Jayla might freak out a little, but she loved it and wanted to go again!

There is so much more I did not even get pictures of, and we only saw maybe half the museum in the SEVEN HOURS we were there!!!

Homemade playdough and a "VERY 2" little boy!

Don't ya just love little ones? :) Oh the joys of having a 2-year-old!

Last week we had a sugar incident, and that same day Jonathan had asked why I put "very" in front of Jacob's age in my email signature (very 2). I used that incident as an example, and he was able to understand what it meant. LOL!

Well, today I have another perfect example!

We went to a local craft store and decided to get more icing coloring for some play-dough (I'm sure you can see where this is going). It colors much better than regular food coloring. We didn't have any red, so I decided to get one. We were walking through the store when, probably about 10 minutes later, I looked down in the basket where Jacob was sitting (he likes to sit in the big part) and, more out of shock than anger, I gasped "JACOB DANIEL!!!" just as a lady was coming toward us. She didn't even try to hide the fact that she was gauking at us, obviously curious what "Jacob Daniel" did. As she passed by, she gave a sympathetic laugh and said "I feel sorry for you!"

Jacob had managed to get the lid off of the icing color! I thought they had seals on them, and I seriously thought he couldn't get into it! But he did! He had red everywhere, but mostly in and around his mouth. He was EATING it! Fortunately we were right by the bathroom, so I picked him up while keeping hold of his arm that was covered with red and walked him into the bathroom. I got it cleaned up as much as possible while trying to keep it from getting on the other kids and the things in the basket.....it got on me in the process. (sigh)

So here are the after shots....after we got all cleaned up!


I have a picture of me too, but you'll just have to trust me when I say it was all over my shirt and hands. :)

Jacob and I made some play-dough for him tonight (betcha can't guess what color!), but I didn't get any pictures of him playing with it. Jonathan and Jayla though were playing with theirs outside earlier in the day, so I did get pictures of them. They each helped make their own too. Daddy even played with it tonight and made a log cabin. :)


This is the best homemade play-dough ever! It is AT LEAST as good as the name brand Play-dough. It looks, feels, smells and probably tastes just like the real thing! Here's the recipe:

In a pan, combine 1 Cup flour, 2 tsp Cream of Tarter and 1/2 Cup of salt.

In a liquid measuring cup (or bowl), combine 1 Cup water with 1 TBSP oil.

Mix the two together and add food coloring (or icing color). Place on stove and cook on high while continuing to stir. Don't let it burn! When it clumps together and pulls away from the side, you can remove it from the heat. It should only take 2 or 3 minutes...very quick! Dump on counter and knead until it is all mixed together thoroughly and cool enough to play with. That's it! Very quick and easy! Thank you Laura for that awesome recipe! :)