7 Q U I C K T A K E S V O L . 2

//1//

 It's March Madness! I'm not referring to basketball.  I'm referring to how mad the weather is making everyone in Minnesota this time of year.  The days are starting to get longer.  Birds are starting to come back; I hear them chirping outside my window. The air feels warm and balmy on my face. It's even starting to smell a little like spring. And yet, there is still 4 feet of snow on the ground and sidewalks are sheer ice, making it impossible to indulge my desire for fresh air. The clothing stores are advertising their spring, nay, summer styles.  My west coast and southern state friends are posting pictures of themselves in t-shirts and sandals. And yet, I know I will be wearing boots and a jacket for at least 2 more months.  This, my friends, is March Madness.

//2//

To try to combat some of this madness Johnny and I took a trip to the Como Park Conservatory this week. Why have I not done this before?!? It was like a mini tropical vacation just a mere 10 minutes from my house.  The air was so warm and humid, I could just feel my skin becoming happier. Johnny really enjoyed looking at all the plants and fountains.  I'm sure he doesn't remember what the world looked like when it was summer, so all he knows so far is a land of ice and snow. It was a great little break. If you ever find yourself waist-deep in winter blues, I highly recommend it.

//3//

I'm going to take this opportunity to put out another plug for my new blog series: NICU Diaries. I'm looking for mothers (or fathers) who have had babies in the NICU to share their stories. It was so encouraging for us to hear from folks who had been in the NICU when we were there with Johnny, and I hope that by sharing stories as a community we could encourage and be a blessing to families all over who may be dealing with the hospitalization of a child. I have a few ladies who have graciously agreed to share their stories, but would love more! So if you or someone you know might be interested, drop me a line!

//4//

Sleep Update: Putting Johnny in his crib was probably the best decision we've have made so far in 2014.  Without doing any sort of "crying it out" he is doing much longer stretches of sleep, usually only waking up twice to nurse. We 're still a ways off from sleeping through the night, but going from 6 night feedings to 2 has be so great!

Johnny has been pulling himself up! So now we are going to have to lower his crib.  I am afraid this might throw a wrench in the process of lying him down in his crib.  Right now I give him lots of kisses and keep my face next to his when I put in the crib to keep him asleep.  But I won't be able to do that once it's lowered. I guess I'll have to figure out a new strategy.

//5//

Wednesday marked the beginning of lent.  I love lent, it's my favorite liturgical season. No, I'm not a glutton for punishment, I love the somber attitude and the paring down of distractions. But that's another post for another time. We went to mass on Ash Wednesday and Johnny received ashes on his forehead for the first time. Though it's somber moment, I couldn't help but smile to see my little guy marked with the ashy cross, and giving the priest a bewildered look.

Johnny's ashes had mostly rubbed off on my shirt by the time we got home, so you'll have to trust me when I say that he got them.

//6//

Speaking of Lent, does anyone have a good recommendation for some Lenten reading that is not too weighty? I'd love something that will challenge me, but that I can realistically finish before Easter.

//7//

Did you watch the Oscars? I did, seeing as it was before my TV fast went into affect.  Alex and I don't go see movies anymore, it just doesn't happen.  We are actually so far out of the pop-culture look that we had hardly even heard of the nominated films.  But we made a list of the ones that sounded interesting.  12 Years a Slave is at the top. When Lent is over I think we'll rent it. What about you? Any nominated films you'd like to see or recommend? 

have a great weekend!

{for more quick takes head over to Conversion Diary}

Announcement: // N E W S E R I E S //

I believe that setting goals and working towards them is an important part of life.  Even though blogging is just something I do for fun/cathartic experience, taking part in this 7 posts in 7 days challenge has been really good for me. Some days I didn't feeling like writing anything, but by the time I hit "publish" I was really glad that I had. And the best part is that this challenge has given me the momentum I needed to start a project I have been thinking a lot about for a long time but have been to scared/lazy to pursue.

And so, without further ado, I give you my first series ever:

NICU Diaries

I think that everyone reading this probably knows that we spent 9 days in the NICU with Johnny after he was born.  It was, hands down, the hardest most awful 9 days of my life. But one of the things that gave me so much encouragement during those 9 days was hearing from other mothers who had been in the NICU with their own babies.  I think it's so important for mothers to encourage and support one another, because what we do is not easy.  I think it's especially important to encourage and support mothers who are going through extra difficult circumstances.  I believe that the Lord uses the difficult circumstances in our lives to help those around us. And I know that the Lord will and already has used our experience in the NICU with Johnny to encourage other mothers going through similar things. 

So with all these things in mind I am looking for mothers who have been the NICU, or special care untis, or had other hospitalizations with their babies to share their stories.  Not to relive or focus on hard times, but to encourage those who need encouraging, and to give a new perspective to those who have not had a child with health issues. I know that when Alex and I look back now on our NICU stay we are a little sad about everything Johnny has had to go through, but more than that we so thankful for the care he has received and so overjoyed at how well he is doing now! 

If you or someone you know is interested in sharing their story drop me a line: annagcoyne@gmail.com

//S A T U R D A Y//

Well, I have a officially failed the 7 posts in 7 days challenge. 12:01 Sunday morning. But we'll just pretend it's still Saturday.

Saturday morning is the best because you have the whole weekend ahead of you. So much possibility, so many projects to get done, so much enjoyment to be had. The husband is home. We can take our time in the morning and have breakfast together. I can take a shower and put on my makeup in peace all by myself. It's a magical time of the weekend. 

This particular Saturday we celebrated the birthdays of two pretty cool guys we know. 

This one:

And this one:

I always feel, but on days like today am hyper-attentive to the fact that we are incredibly blessed by our circle of friends. We truly have this communion with others that we can share our lives with, and laugh so hard, and be so refreshed. These are the people we celebrate birthdays with. 

And the boys have matching pajamas. 

//7 Q U I C K T A K E S//

As a part of my 7 posts in 7 days I decided to give 7 quick takes a try.

 Enjoy!

//1//

Johnny's been working on crawling lately.  He mostly only goes backwards. Yesterday while belly-scooting in reverse he figured out a new way to enjoy his play-gym.

He seemed pretty pleased with himself and stayed under there for about 15 minutes!    

//2//

Lent starts on Wednesday and this year, like the past couple of years, I will be giving up TV. It's the thing I want to give up least so that means it's the thing that I definitely should give up.  It's hard, but I see the fruit of that discipline almost instantly.  I get more done around the house. I take up other pastimes, like reading! Alex and I have more conversation when he's home in the evenings. (Yeah, my hubby gets roped into my sacrifices.) Then when lent is over I am able to be more temperate about my TV intake, for a while. Good thing lent comes around every year! Anyway, all this means that I have only 4 days to finish the last season of Friday Night Lights on Netflicks.  Can it be done? Absolutely. 

//3//

 I would like to do an entire post entitled "Things I've learned from Downton Abbey"  with all the good house keeping tips I picked up from the downstairs folks on that show. But the only thing I can actually think of (besides all the witty quips from the dowager countess) is this:  drop the cushions on the floor to fluff them up. (Anna to Ethel, season 2 episode 1.) (I tried to find a youtube clip of it but couldn't.) I do this all the time with my super squishy pillow that gets all the feathers stuck at one end. It's brilliant!

//4//

Tomorrow is March 1. That means I've kept my New Years resolution of not shopping for myself for two months now. I've done shopping fasts before but I think the longest I've gone is 6 months. I bought a very on-sale pair of pants for Johnny. But that's totally not shopping for myself. 

//5//

 Alex got an A on his first o-chem test of the semester. Great job honey! It's so hard to find the balance between having family time/me getting a little break when he is home in the evenings and making sure he gets enough studying done. And then when he is studying Johnny is always making either happy or sad sounds (very loudly) to distract him.  I often feel like we are keeping him from getting enough done.  So it's good to see that he is doing well in spite of us. 

//6//

 I saw this video floating around Facebook a few months ago and I can't stop thinking about it. 

//7//

Johnny and I went to Whole Foods this week to pick up some Peace Coffee.  We usually do most of our shopping at Aldi, so on the rare occasion we go to a fancy grocery store like Whole Foods it's like a mini vacation.  There's so many interesting things to look at.  There's samples.  They bag your groceries for you! And oddly enough the staff there are so much more pleasant than at Aldi.  I made it out with only a couple of impulse buys.  Essential oils for my sugar scrub, and this flower to help me at least pretend that spring is coming.

For more quick takes visit Conversion Diary

C O C O N U T O I L~ S U G A R S C R U B

I think everyone in the mid-west can agree that this has been one of the Worst Winters Ever.  Tons of snow and record lows. I know we have all had enough, enough of being cooped up, enough of the terrible roads, and if you're like me, enough of the dry skin and chapped lips.

Over Christmas I made a whipped coconut oil body butter to give as gifts. You can find tons of recipes for something like that on Pinterest. It's great, and I love it as a moisturizer. But the other day I was thinking that I would love it even more in the form of an exfoliant to combat my chronic chapped lips. And so I give you:

Coconut Oil Sugar Scrub

You will need:

coconut oil

sugar

vitamin E oil (if you want)

your favorite essential oil (also if you want)

A stand mixer with whisk attachment (I've read that it doesn't work as well with a hand mixer. Don't have a stand mixer but still want to make it? Come over and use mine!) 

We got our coconut oil at Costco.  Alex is very interested in coconut oil and did a lot of looking into who has the best deals on it and Costco came in #1. I found vitamin E oil and Trader Joe's and whole foods has a great selection of essential oils. 

To make the sugar scrub just put equals parts coconut oil and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer along with a 1/2 teaspoon of vitamin E oil and several drops of your favorite essential oil (I used sweet orange). Just note that the coconut oil should be solid when you start out, if its liquid it will not whip. My kitchen is freezing in the winter so my coconut oil was rock hard and took forever to chip out, but it whipped up great!

Beat on high with the whisk attachment until it looks like cream cheese frosting. About 5 minutes.

Then put in a mason jar or some other container. Use your hands to clean out the bowl of the stand mixer for a little sample of what you're about to enjoy! Also, you may have figured this out, but if you'd rather make the body butter just leave out the sugar.  Super easy! Super nice!

// M O M C O N F E S S I O N V O L 3 //

After I posted my last mom confession I received so much encouragement that I was so normal for feeling frustrated at times. And also encouragement to take a break whenever I could get one, and to not feel guilty for wanting and taking a little "me time". I've realized that I do feel guilty when I take time to myself, or when I go out without Johnny, because he's literally such a big part of me. To almost quote Jim Gaffigan: I grew him in my body, I delivered him with my body and I feed him with my body. For the 9 months he was inside me he relied on me 100% for everything, and for the 9 months he's been out here it's been almost the same story. I'm sure some of the "guilt" I feel is just hormones, but I think that it's a real thing for moms to feel like they can't or shouldn't leave their babies.

(Just a little aside: I don't want to give the impression that I want to get away from Johnny.  I like being with him. A lot. I knew what I was signing up for when I became pregnant and being a mom is the best job that I have had to date.)

But Johnny is getting bigger now, and though he still refuses to take a bottle he does really well with Alex. So I've decided I need to do a little self-care once a week to stay fresh and rested. It's like when you fly on a plane and the flight attendants are telling you what to do if the cabin loses pressure and the oxygen masks come shooting out. You get your own mask securely in place before you go help someone else. You need to breath, or you're no good to anyone. I need to breath, to be a better mom and a better wife. 

So once a week I am going to do something on my own. Last week it was as simple as going in a different room, putting on head phones, and knitting uninterrupted for one hour. This week my self-care took the form of meeting a friend at the Liffey for a big ginger. A little self care can go a long way. When I am done I always feel more than ready to meet the needs of my family.

What about you, other mamas out there? What do you do to stay fresh and sane so that you can continue to be a great mother? I'd love to hear!

T H E /B E A S T/ C A L L E D/ S L E E P

If you are a parent you know that one of the most fascinating subjects on earth is your child's sleep patterns. (Or lack thereof).  If all goes well, it can make the day, but more often it breaks the day. Alex and I have had entire phone conversations just about Johnny's sleep. And now I'm doing an entire blog post about Johnny's sleep.

I know that sleep and sleep training methods are hot button topics. I think you just have to do what works best for you and your baby.  I didn't intend to co-sleep, but co-sleeping just made sense. (If you are interested in co-sleeping but feel uneasy about it, Dr. Sears' safe co-sleeping tips were really helpful for me.) I also never intended to do any sort of sleep training. I thought if we let Johnny lead the way, everything would just fall into place. But now, to a degree, we are doing some sleep training. It's was needed to be done

When Johnny was a brand new infant and we were just home from the hospital I really felt like co-sleeping helped us make up for all the hours Johnny was confined to an incubator. And being able to nurse him so easily helped all three of us to get more sleep at night. When Johnny was around 4 months old he started sleeping longer stretches through the night, only waking up once or twice to eat. That was co-sleeping heaven,  I had my baby near me and still felt well rested in the morning. Then around six month, when he started getting some major teeth and started sitting up, he started waking up more and more.  The past month he has been waking up almost every hour.  I have been so sleep deprived I knew something had to change.

Last week we started working on transferring Johnny to his crib.  I've been putting him in his crib for naps for  a while now, knowing that some day we would be making the switch. It's been hard to get him used to it, but it's been harder to get me used to it. I love co-sleeping with him, even though it can be hard.  It's really special to do some much snuggling and it gives me a peace of mind to have him so close. I wasn't planning on transitioning him to his crib until he was a year old, but I know that now is the right time.

I have often felt how blessed I am to have had 6 of my friends have babies the same year I had Johnny.  I always have someone who is going through, or has just gone through, the same developmental stage Johnny is going through. There's always someone to commiserate with, and to share ideas with. Last week a friend was telling me about her strategy to get her baby into his crib, and it was just the push I needed.

That night Alex and I decided we would start Johnny in his crib when it was bedtime, and try to keep him in there for 2 hours before coming into our bed.  The plan being that if he woke up during those two hours Alex would go in and soothe him back to sleep. We want to slowly teach him to fall asleep without nursing. Well, Johnny slept for 3 HOURS STRAIGHT! He hasn't done that in bed with us for months! And he has done that every night since we started this. Sometimes after that first stretch of sleep I feed him and put him back in his crib and he'll do another 3 hours. Sometimes we bring him back into bed with us, and then we wakes up more often.

It's hard for me to not have him in bed.  I wake up often and have to check to make sure he's ok before I can go back to sleep. But I'm thankful that it has been so apparent that he's sleeping better by himself, otherwise this transition would be much harder.

This is what's been working for us.  What's been working for you?

C L O T H D I A P E R S: H O W & W H Y

I was inspired by Jacqui over at Mexican Domestic Goddess to share our take on cloth diapering. If you really want to know about cloth diapering you should definitely check out her post because most of what I know I learned from her. Some people are very good at researching things and finding out all there is to know.  That's Jacqui. Other people are good at letting their friends do the research and then learning from them. That's me!

First off, let me tell you why we chose to cloth diaper.  The first reason is that it is very cost effective.  You'll have to spend more money up front but in the long run they are much cheaper than disposable diapers. And if you plan ahead and put them on a baby registry then other people will buy them for you.  Or be like Johnny and ask for them for Christmas! 

The second reason we cloth diaper is a part of a larger desire to live simply, cut down on waste and buy only what we need.  It's the same reason we don't want Johnny to have a lot of toys. Just a few intentionally picked, good quality toys that all fit in one bin. It's the same reason my new years resolution is to to do no clothing shopping during 2014. Live simply, live intentionally. Yes, cloth diapers take more time and work, but I believe that faster and easier is often not better. I like the idea of working with my hands. And in the warmer weather when I hang the diapers out on the clothes line I like to think that I am connecting with women from past generations.

The third reason is that the cloth diapers of today are super duper cute! And who doesn't want to see a cute baby in a cute diaper?

Clothes diapers generally fall into two categories: all-in-ones and covers and liners.  We do a combination of both. An all-in-one is exactly what is sounds like, it's all one piece, and can only be used once before washing.  They are very easy to use, but tend to be kind of expensive.   The bumGenius Freetime diaper is the best diaper we have ever used.  Hands down.  At $20 a pop we can't afford to use them for every diaper change.  We purchased 4 on our own, and Johnny got a bunch for Christmas. We use them for over night (yes, one diaper lasts the whole night) or if we are out and about and don't want to have to change diapers as often.  

We also have some Thirsties all-in-ones that are not as good as the bumGenius, but they're nice to have on hand for babysitters who may not feel quite adept at finagling a cover and liner. 

Speaking of covers and liners, these are ours:

We use Thirsties Duo Wrap covers, which, unlike their sister all-in-ones, are great. I don't remember the last time Johnny had a leak in one of them. For liners we just use a basic pre-fold. We have gotten all of our all-in-ones off of Amazon. I know that a lot of people like Green Mountain Diapers. Peapods in Como Park also has a lot of cloth diapering gear as well as a weekly information session on going cloth. They carry used diapers too, and that's where we got all our pre-folds.  It sounds kind of gross to buy used diapers, but they've been professionally cleaned, they don't require any breaking in (new ones would) and they're cheap, I think I paid about $15 for a dozen. 

This is how we do liners and covers.  

Then you just button them up! 

. 

We have five covers.  We use two a day, switching back and forth and letting them dry between uses, unless they get reeeally dirty, then it goes in the wet bag. We have a couple of Planetwise wet bags that we keep in the bathroom (plus a small one for in the diaper bag) and when a bag fills up we go dump it in the washing machine.  First a rinse cycle, then a wash on hot, we put vinegar in as a fabric softener. I'm currently in the market for a good free and clear detergent that won't break the bank. Any suggestions?

Our cloth diapering has changed a little bit since Johnny has had his colostomy taken down.  While he had his ostomy bag we were only changing wet diapers, so our beginning with cloth diapers was pretty easy. We didn't have to worry about diaper rash at all and all the reusable wipes we had bought largely went unused. For a while though, we didn't think cloth diapering would be compatible with an ostomy bag. The NICU nurses taught us the empty the bag into Johnny's diapers a few times a day.  When we made the switch to cloth we couldn't figure out where we were going to dump the poop.  It made no sense to wash poopy diapers when we could just be washing wet ones. For a while we saved a stash of disposable diapers specifically for emptying Johnny's bag, but eventually we just started holding him over the toilet and flushing it all away. 

We also thought for a while that the cloth diapers were pushing on the seal of Johnny's ostomy bag, causing leaks.  We had so many bag leaks around the time we started using cloth.  We tried putting the bag on at different angles, and tucking it into his diaper instead of having it stick out on top.  In the end I think that's what helped the most. 

Now the ostomy is gone, and all our diapers, once so white and pristine, are well used and stained.  Because of Johnny's very frequent poops we're going through more diapers and I've been washing a load of them often every day. His diaper rash has presented some problems, as diaper rash creams can cause fabric to become repellent. Especially the bumGenius' which are microfiber. At the recommendation of my cloth diaper guru I purchased some simple fleece liners, also made by bumGenius, to put on top of the all-in-ones to catch all the diaper cream and save the diapers.  It has been a difficult adjustment, but I prefer this much more to changing ostomy bags! 

Speaking of diaper rash creams, we know a lot about those now! So if you ever are looking for a good one this one is my favorite, and this one is a close second.