[fairfax, virginia]
babies
38 weeks!
It’s so crazy to think that I am a mere 2 weeks away from my Christmas Eve due date. Today I am 38 weeks! My baby is as long as a leek! Last evening at our midwife visit, Kathy said that it could happen anytime from now till the due date, or a little after. I certainly can feel that the baby has dropped because I’m going to the bathroom almost every hour and it’s getting harder to walk. Our bags (and the baby’s bag from Aunt Beth!) are packed, and the car seat is going in the car tonight. Exciting stuff.
“Your baby has really plumped up. She weighs about 7.5 pounds and she’s over 19 1/2 inches long. She has a firm grasp, which you’ll soon be able to test when you hold her hand for the first time! Her organs have matured and are ready for life outside the womb.
Wondering what color your baby’s eyes will be? You may not be able to tell right away. If she’s born with brown eyes, they’ll likely stay brown. If she’s born with steel gray or dark blue eyes, they may stay gray or blue or turn green, hazel, or brown by the time she’s 9 months old. That’s because a child’s irises (the colored part of the eye) may gain more pigment in the months after she’s born, but they usually won’t get “lighter” or more blue. (Green, hazel, and brown eyes have more pigment than gray or blue eyes.)”
svan high chair.
As some of you know from a previous post, we’ve been on the lookout for a high chair. Specifically the scandinavian svan high chair. Regularly priced — it is totally out of our price range. But craigslist priced, we can so do. And that we did!
I just picked up a svan for less than half the price! The neat thing about this high chair is that you get a lifetime of use out of it. It transitions from a baby high chair, to a toddler high chair, to a regular chair for an adult. Talk about efficient.
Talk about trusting too. The lady who sold the high chair to me had something unexpectedly come up, so she could not be home when I came by for the high chair. But she called me up and said that she would leave the high chair in front of her garage, and that I could leave the money in a cooler located near her front foor. I was very surprised by her level of trust. Very few people like that nowadays.
Below is a tutorial as to how the svan high chair works:
cloth diapering: prefolds + washing.
I am currently in the process of washing baby clothes. Greg smiled at me the other day as I was folding them and said, “you are really enjoying this, aren’t you?” I can honestly say that I am. : )
I started on the cloth diapers today. The cloth diapers get their own load because they are best washed with detergents that are free of enzymes, fabric softner, brightners, scents and dyes. After doing much research, I chose to go with a Canadian brand detergent called Country Save. It’s supposedly awesome for maintaining long lasting cloth diapers. Thanks Cynthia for your really helpful link on recommended detergents for cloth diapering!!!
As for my cloth diapering choice (there are many to choose from!), we are going simple with the prefold + diaper cover system. I purchased 3 dozen unbleached, infant sized, Indian prefolds from a company in Vermont called, Green Mountain Diapers. I found them to have quality goods and at an afforable price at 1 dozen prefolds for $21.00. We also purchased 6 gDiaper covers for our choice of covers (there are so many cover options as well, but we found a great deal on the gDiaper covers).
Brand new Indian prefolds have to be washed 4-6 times before they can be used. They are on their 3rd round right now. Two more to go!
[Indian newborn prefolds, from Green Mountain Diapers + Canadian brand detergent Country Save, from Amazon.]
36 weeks!
Last Thursday, Thanksgiving Day, marked 36 weeks for Baby Smith! My baby is comparable to a crenshaw melon in size!
“Your baby is still packing on the pounds — at the rate of about an ounce a day. She now weighs almost 7 pounds and is more than 18 1/2 inches long. She’s shedding most of the downy covering of hair that covered her body as well as the vernix caseosa, the waxy substance that covered and protected her skin during her nine-month amniotic bath.
At the end of this week, your baby will be considered full-term. (Full-term is 37 to 42 weeks; babies born before 37 weeks are pre-term and those born after 42 are post-term.) Most likely she’s in a head-down position.”
high chair.
We’re looking for a high chair. Although maybe not so high, Greg. Anyone, any thoughts?
34 weeks!
Today I am 34 weeks! My baby weighs a little more than a large cantaloupe!
“Your baby now weighs about 5 3/4 pounds and is almost 18 inches long. Her fat layers — which will help regulate her body temperature once she’s born — are filling her out, making her rounder. Her skin is also smoother than ever. Her central nervous system is maturing and her lungs are continuing to mature as well.”
cloth diapering.
So, we’ve decided to take the plunge! We want to cloth diaper right off the bat. Everyone I spoke to has something to say about the issue, but I thought I would give it a try and form my own opinion. Knowing myself, if I begin on disposable diapers, I may just stick with them for convenience sake.
Since we will be newbies in this area of life, we decided that we will take small steps when it comes to cloth diapering. We will start off using infant sizes — which means a few months of cloth diapering, and if cloth diapers don’t fit our lifestyle in that time period, trust me, the whole idea will be chucked! 🙂 After talking, we also decided that we will use disposable diapers while we’re out of the house running errands, going to church, or visiting people. But most of our time will be spent in-house for the first couple years, so cloth diapering seemed beneficial to me. Why? Well after all the research I’ve done for the past several months, cloth diapering is:
1. Cost-Effective: Cloth diapers can save one over $1000 in diapers. “On average, you will spend $2000 on disposable diapers per child. Compare that to an average of $700 (that includes laundering expenses) for your first child’s diapering years using cloth diapers. A second and third child will cost much less, as many of the diapers can be re-used. Depending on the diaper system you use you can spend a little less or more than the above mentioned amount for your first child.”
2. Comfort: Cloth diapers are so much more comfortable on a baby’s bum. It really makes me chuckle when I hear Ohio Becky say, “imagine yourself wearing a disposable diaper — how comfortable would that be?” Cloth diapers apparently also reduce diaper rash — it’s a more healthy alternative.
3. Environmentally Friendly: I know I won’t feel bad throwing diaper after diaper after diaper away in the trash, because I will be washing and reusing them instead.
4. Simply Adorable: Enough said. Cloth diapers are the cutest things!
5. User-Friendly: Cloth diapering is not what it used to be 20 years ago. “The new styles of cloth diapers now available are as easy to use as a disposable. Plus by using the flushable liners (a soft, tissue like piece that you flush down the toilet with all the solids), you won’t have to deal with a messy cloth diaper.”
6. Potty Trained Faster: “On average cloth diapered children potty train 6 months earlier than children wearing disposable diapers because cloth diapers do not mask the sensation of wetness.”
To start off, Greg and I plan on using the prefold + diaper cover system with our newborn. And to my delight, the gDiaper covers were on sale today on www.babysteals.com! For more information on cloth diapering, here are some diaper facts.
32 weeks!
Today I am 32 weeks! My baby weighs a little more than a large jicama!
“By now, your baby weighs over 3.75 pounds and is about 16.7 inches long, taking up a lot of space in your uterus. You’re gaining about a pound a week and roughly half of that goes right to your baby. In fact, she’ll gain a third to half of her birth weight during the next 7 weeks as she fattens up for survival outside the womb. She now has toenails, fingernails, and real hair (or at least respectable peach fuzz). Her skin is becoming soft and smooth as she plumps up in preparation for birth.”
30 weeks!
Today I am 30 weeks! My baby weighs a little more than a head of cabbage!
“Your baby’s about 15.7 inches long now, and she weighs a little over 3 pounds. A pint and a half of amniotic fluid surrounds her, but that volume will decrease as she gets bigger and takes up more room in your uterus. Her eyesight continues to develop, though it’s not very keen; even after she’s born, she’ll keep her eyes closed for a good part of the day. When she does open them, she’ll respond to changes in light but will have 20/400 vision — which means she can only make out objects a few inches from her face. (Normal adult vision is 20/20.)”
susie mey 
