Wiener Dog Wednesday - Stuck

As every dachshund owner knows, the wieners love to be snuggled tight under covers.  They burrow constantly, and love it "piping hot" as my brother Matt always says.  My brother-in-law Houston sent us this video of a wiener stuck in a sweatshirt that made me laugh out loud the entire time.  Enjoy.  

Fisher's Birth Story

 Welcome to the world, Fisher Scott Eby.  We are so excited that you're here.  Our boy is 7 1/2 weeks old now, and we are getting the hang of parenting him a little more each day.  It has taken me a little while to be ready to tell this story.  I did not have the birth I planned or expected, and for some reason I needed to mourn the loss of that for a little while.  As my due date approached, everything was looking good.  I had been 3-4 cm dilated for weeks and almost completely effaced.  Because Fisher was measuring large, my doctor wanted to induce before my due date.  I wanted to wait until a few days after, and she respected that decision, but didn't want me to wait very long.  We negotiated for 3 days after the due date.
On May 31st we went in for our induction at 8 am.  They told me not to eat, but I've never been a rules kid so we hit Chick-fil-a on the way.  I researched eating during labor and saw that the only reason they tell you not to is because of the slim chance of an emergency c-section, and if in case of c-section the slim chance you will have to put under general anethesia.  Jed made me confess to the nurse that I had eaten (he is such a rules kid), and the only consequence was that I had to wait until noon to be eligible for an epidural.  So glad I ate those chicken minis.
I wanted to try to birth without meds, but knew it would be difficult with pitocin contractions.  When we arrived I was 4 cm dilated and totally effaced.  I started progressing well and held off the epidural until around 1.  The reason I went for it was that I had my sister and brother-in-law in the room (who are a nurse and doctor) reading the monitor and telling me the strength of the contractions.  I could handle them ok where they were, but knew they would be getting worse.  Once back labor started I was ready for some meds.
My doctor offices 2 floors below labor and delivery, so she was in and out all day which was unexpected and awesome.  Fisher was flipped sunny side up which makes for a difficult delivery, so she tried to turn him twice.  This was not fun.  Seriously not fun.
After laboring from 10 until 5:30, I was at 10 cm and ready to push.  Fisher was still facing up so I knew I had a hard road ahead.  My doctor, our awesome nurse, my mom, sister, and Jed were all in the room.  I pushed with everything I had for 2 hours without much progress.  Fisher moved only from a -2 to a -1.  My doctor was concerned but knew I wanted to avoid a c-section so she let me push a further 30 minutes.  I have never worked so hard in my whole life.  My epidural wore off for the most part after 1.5 hours of pushing, and the back labor was like no pain I've ever experienced.  My sweet sister was my doula and massaged my back throughout the pushing while Jed and our nurse held my legs.  My doctor allowed me to try several different positions (all fours, on my side, etc) but nothing worked.  After 2.5 hours of pushing and no movement, my doctor broke the news that I would have to have a c-section.  She didn't want to attempt to use forceps or a vacuum because he was stuck behind my pelvis and his shoulder would almost certainly break.  I agreed to a c-section and the wheels went into motion.  I was calm and had a peace about it, but it was pretty scary for Jed.
Because my epidural had stopped working a new had to be put in, but it didn't work either.  Finally after 45 minutes of trying to get me numb the doctor had to use local and light general anesthesia.  This freaked Jed out because I had eaten a few Luna bars throughout the day (so not a rules kid).  Thankfully Fisher was not in distress so they were able to wait for me to be numb.  The c-section went well and Jed was handed our beautiful baby boy at 8:56 pm, just 13 hours after arriving at the hospital.  He weighed 8 lbs 10 oz, and was 19 in long.

This is our first family photo.  I am totally out of it, but so relieved to have a healthy baby.  I just knew he was a boy the whole pregnancy.  :)

Our sweet friends and family were in the waiting room for hours so they could meet our boy.  They are awesome.

Fisher was a little bit angry to be out in the world.  

Finally I got to hold him in the recovery room where we tried to nurse and had a few minutes to bond.  I fell in love instantly and am so grateful to have him in my life.  I mourned the birth that I wanted and that was not expected.  It was really hard for me to get over the fact that I couldn't birth my son the way I wanted to.  Don't get me wrong, I am so grateful for modern medicine because without it my son and I might not be here.  Fisher was so stuck in my pelvis that the nurse had to push him back out so the doctor could pull him out.  Yikes.  There was no way he would have birthed vaginally.  I second guess the decision to induce and wonder if we had waited until he was ready if he would have flipped over to the correct position.  We will never know, and I have to come to terms with the birth I did have.  I was made to be Fisher's mama, and I am so thankful to the Lord for providing me with a beautiful, healthy son.    

 Did you have a birth plan?  Did your birth go according to plan?  

Winners...

Winner of the Surya Designs Baby Block Giveaway:

Caroline from Oh, Pickles!

Winner of The Operation Cloth Diaper Coupon Giveaway:

Sue

Winner of the StickersPlus Set of Monthly Onesie Stickers Giveaway:

AmyLynn from Heard It From The Hills

Congratulations ladies!  I'll be emailing you asap.  

If you didn't win this time, be sure to enter the Baby Penelope giveaway.  

Baby Penelope Etsy Shop Review & Giveaway {Set of Car Seat Strap Covers}

There is nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby.  In fact, I wish my babe was sleeping right now instead of fighting it off like a mad man.  Oh well.  He is learning.  Notice how the babe is sound asleep in his car seat in the above photo.  I'm convinced his strap covers are partially the cause.  He has a soft place to lay his little head when it gets tired.  I'm excited to tell you about another great Etsy shop, Baby Penelope, and give away a set of Baby Penelope Car Seat Strap Covers.  Faviola makes much more than just strap covers, so be sure to check out her shop.  She has many other baby items, as well as cosmetic bags and hair accessories for the ladies.    

I chose to review this red damask set of strap covers, because we didn't know Fisher's gender before he was born.  Apparently they are less gender neutral that I thought, but too late now.  We get tons of complements on them, but everyone thinks he is a girl.  My bad.  The strap covers arrived quickly, and Faviola even sent me a tracking number.  That is customer service, people.  The covers velcro easily around the straps and I folded them down to fit when he was a tiny newborn.  Now that he is a strapping 11+ pounds they are unfolded and still working well.  You might think that strap covers are far from a necessity, but I really like having them as drool catchers and car napping pillows for our sweet boy.  I threw them in the wash and they came out well.  Now I have a hankerin' for another set, probably the ones below.  They are a little more "boy" but still really cute, and would match his grey and yellow car seat tent.  At $7 for a set, why not?  They are handmade, high quality, cute, and practical.  I love supporting handmade.  

Baby Penelope is generously giving away a set of car seat strap covers of the winner's choice to one lucky reader.  It is super easy to enter and win.  Leave a comment for each entry separately.

Mandatory Entry: Visit the Baby Penelope Etsy Shop and come back here and tell me your favorite item.

Bonus Entries: 

Heart the Baby Penelope Etsy Shop and your favorite item. (1)

Like Baby Penelope on Facebook.  (1)

Share this giveaway on FB or Twitter. (1x daily)

Good luck! Someone will win, but it won't be you if you don't enter.

This giveaway will end at 11:59 pm on Friday, August 5th.  I received one set of strap covers to review but was not otherwise compensated for this post.  All opinions are my own.  

Frugal Friday - Baby Announcements: Important or Frivolous?

I'm working on our birth announcements for Fisher, with a goal of finishing before he reaches 2 months of age. You would think that with him napping 6 times a day it would be easy to knock them out. Not so. I've looked at a ton of different designs and debated the expense. I love the one above and have a code for 20 free ones. After that they cost over a dollar each and I have to pay for shipping. Yikes. Is it silly to spend money on birth announcements? I can't decide. I may print a picture on our home printer instead, or use the code for 50 free prints from Shutterfly. Am I being too cheap? Jed thinks it is a total waste of money, so it comes down to my opinion vs. his. What are your thoughts? I would love to hear some ideas for cheap birth announcements as the sleep deprivation is stunting my creativity.

Hello Green Birth Announcement

Create beautiful birth announcements with Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Confessions and Coming Attractions

Y'all.  Oh my goodness.  I have officially been tossed into some kind of baby vortex where I can barely come up for air.  As a result, I have grossly neglected this here blog.  I have a million excuses. For example, our AC went out in the midst of a Texas triple digit heat wave and we had to vacate like gypsies on the run to a hotel and then to my parents' house in Arkansas while the thing got fixed.  Bright side: the hotel had a pool so this white girl got a little sunshine for the first time in 7 weeks.  I still look like a character from Twilight.  One would think since I'm on maternity leave and have nothing to do but take care of an infant that I would have all the time in the world to write and read all the blogs I can handle.  At least, that's what I thought would happen.  Not so, my friends.  I really enjoy being a blogger and reading the writings of other fabulous bloggers, so my goal is to get back into it asap.  In the mean time, I have 3 fabulous giveaways that I've been neglecting and 3 more coming up.  I still haven't told Fisher's birth story, which I need to do for my own healing process.  I have 2 craft projects completed that I haven't shared yet and a million parenting quandries to discuss.  I'm back, so stick around for some fun in the coming weeks.

The 3 giveaways on the right sidebar will remain open until this Friday, so go forth and enter.  Look for 3 more in the next few days.

What have you been meaning to do all summer?  Target has the school supplies out, so time is ticking.

Winners....

The Winner of The Plain Chachalaca Giveaway is:

Christy from The Domestic Princess

The Winner of the Chubby Baby Giveaway is:

Mandy Schloemer

Congratulations y'all!  If you didn't win, take a minute to enter the other giveaways listed on my left sidebar.  You don't have to have a blog to win and it is easy to enter. 

Baby Bliss - StickersPlus Review and Giveaway - Monthly Onesie Stickers

 Today's Baby Bliss review and giveaway comes to you from a specialized Etsy Shop, StickersPlus.  Angela and Rich at StickersPlus sent me a set of their Ocean Animals monthly onesie stickers to use as photo props and review.  They are also giving a way a set of monthly stickers to one lucky reader, and offering a discount for everyone.  The stickers run from $8.09 to $8.99 for single sets and $16.99 for twin sets.  There are designs for girls, boys, and a great selection of neutral designs.

 My interest in StickersPlus came when I was looking to find a great photo prop to record our future baby's milestones.  We didn't know the gender before Fisher was born, so I chose these neutral Ocean Animal stickers.  I love the look of them and I think they look super cute on our boy's onesie.  Here he is at one month (yesterday), weighing in at 10 pounds, 4 ounces, and 21.5 inches long, and so handsome.  I love that I'll be able to look back and see how he has grown each month.  StickersPlus also offers sets for 13-24 months for older bambinos.

Positives: high quality stickers, waterproof, fun designs and great selection, great photo prop, easy to use, very affordable
Negatives: did not do well with an outfit change (I didn't like the first onesie I chose, so when I stuck it on the green stripe it lost a bit of sticky.  You can see that it still works though.)
Overall I think this would be a perfect baby shower gift, and I plan to use the stickers every month to commemorate his milestones.  

 I would love for you to go shopping at StickersPlus, 

and use the code blog10 to receive 10% 

off your total order.  

If you want to win a set of monthly onesie stickers of your choice for yourself or a friend, it is super easy to enter.  Just leave a separate comment for each entry.  

Mandatory Entry: 

Visit the StickersPlus Etsy Shop and come back and tell me your favorite design.  (1)

Bonus Entries:

Add the StickersPlus Etsy Shop to your favorites. (1)

Add your favorite set of stickers to your favorites. (1)

Share this giveaway on FB or Twitter. (1 each)

Blog about this giveaway. (2 entries)

Follow me on Twitter, FB, GFC, email, or RSS. (1)

If you posted the event button early, don't forget to add your 5 extra entries.  

I received a set of stickers to review, but was not otherwise compensated.  All opinions are my own.  This giveaway will end at 11:59 pm on July 19th.  The winner will be chosen by a random number generator.  

Baby Bliss - The Operation Cloth Diaper Review & Giveaway

Today I'm bringing you a review and giveaway from The Operation Etsy Shop, run by cloth diapering WAHM Sara.  She was kind enough to send me one of her Bunzuke AI2 diapers and Convertabunz insert/prefolds to review.  We are obviously brand new to the world of cloth diapers, and are trying to figure out what kind of diaper fits our needs best.  We have several gdiapers and big brand pocket diapers and AI2s, but this was my first WAHM diaper.  I'm hooked.  The quality and customer service are fabulous, and her selection of fabrics are fun and unique.  She even has a dark denim diaper on her Etsy site right now.  Wouldn't you rather pay $12 for a denim diaper your baby can use from birth to potty training instead of buying those lame disposable "jean" diapers that just go in the trash?  I would.

Please look at the belly on this kid.  Isn't he the cutest?

The Operation has a You Tube channel with tons of informational videos on cloth diapering in general and Sara's diapers in particular.  Here is one that explains the Convertabunz insert/prefolds.  

 From Sara:

I started making diapers for my daughter when she was 3 months old and became hooked! I still make each diaper as if I was making it just for her. The materials are prewashed and sewn using a size 9 ballpoint needle and polyester thread. Each snap is hand applied using a Kam snap press and tested for proper function. Every seam is checked and every loose thread snipped. I don’t sell a diaper that I wouldn’t buy myself! Bunzuke cloth diapers are designed to be used as a pocket diaper or all in two diaper. Here are some Bunzuke stats:

Style: Pocket (see photo) / AI2 ( 2 back snap sockets, 3” apart)

Size: One size fits most (8lbs-35lbs), snap down rise

Materials: Inner - polyester microchamois
Middle - PUL (waterproof polyurethane laminate), 
Outer - cotton woven

Measurements: 10 ½” long rise on smallest snap setting 
13” long relaxed
18” long fully stretched
~5 ½” at narrowest width

Prices: Bunzuke diaper shell (as listed) $12.00 and up
Bunzuke diaper with Convertabunz TM 1.0 Snapping Prefold and Insert $18.00 and up
(choose the $6.00 prefold/insert listing when purchasing a diaper)

 Right now Fisher weighs 10 pounds 4 ounces, and the AI2 is fitting on the smallest setting.  It fits snuggly, but doesn't squeeze his chub.  I use the Convertabunz as an insert, and it was so absorbent that no moisture touched the diaper itself and it could be used again.  Jed was nervous the first time we used it, but now trusts in the power of the cloth diaper.

We have mainly used disposables and gdiapers up to this point, so I will use those for comparison.  We are gradually making the switch to all cloth and learning as we go. The diaper fits better than the gdiaper and is more absorbent.  It was easy to fit and the liner snaps in quickly.   

Positives: No leaks, super cute design, supports a WAHM, high quality materials, comfy for baby, easy to use after you get used to them, dries quickly, fits well at 10 pounds, great customer service, great price

Negatives: can't get it at the grocery store, bulky fluffy butt

The positives far out weigh the negatives, which are common to all cloth diapers.  

 The Operation has a ton of designs listed, most for $12, or $18 with an insert included.  That is far cheaper than a lot of major cloth diaper brands.  I'm excited to buy more diapers from The Operation at $18 that will last through the next several years and not contribute to landfill waste, instead of a box of 'sposies for the same price that will last 4 days.

 This boy wants to roll over so badly!

Sara is generously giving away a 50% off coupon to anything in her shop.  That is up to a $15 value. Want to go shopping for some very affordable cloth diapers?  It is easy to win.  All you have to do is leave a comment for each entry.  

Mandatory Entry: Like The Operation Facebook Page.  (1 entry)

Bonus Entries: 

Leave a comment on her FB page saying that I sent you.  (1)

Leave a comment or like your favorite diaper on FB and/or Etsy.  (1 each)

Share this giveaway on FB and Twitter.  (1 each)

Add The Operation Etsy Shop to your favorites. (1)

Follow me through GFC, Twitter, FB, email, or RSS. (1)

Don't forget to add your bonus entries if you posted the event button early.

This giveaway will end Sunday, July 17th at 11:59 pm.  The winner will be chosen by a random number generator.  I received a cloth diaper to review but was not in any way compensated for this review.  All opinions are my own.