The Third Trimester and Beyond.....

So.
Here we are,  31 weeks into this thing. 
Some things are falling into place though. 
That's both unnerving and comforting at the same time. I'm unnerved because I'm not in control.  I'm comforted because I'm confident that we will be just fine. We will be taken care of.

However, there are still lots of unknowns.
We don't know if our baby #2 is a he, or a she and I'm okay with that.
We don't know how Emery will respond to a new sibling, but he seems to be getting excited about it. 
We don't know Where Owen will be working or how long, if at all, he'll be able to stay home when the babe arrives.
We don't know how long my Maternity leave will be.
We don't know if I'm returning to work after my Maternity leave.
We don't know how we will afford childcare for two kids.
We don't know where we feel comfortable leaving our 6 (or 8) week old infant. or if we feel comfortable doing that at all.
We don't know where we will be living once our lease is up here....but we HAVE to move. We're not happy here, and its soooo tiny.

So needless to say, I have a lot on my mind these days.

Some decisions seem to be making themselves, but its hard for me to trust that they are the right thing for our family right now. It's a waiting game.

If you happen to know of any places for rent, or any awesome caretakers that you would trust your newborn with, or how I can start trusting that things will be okay, please......pass them my way! Thanks!

-Erin

My heart has a skinned knee

I got a new job. That will pay me m re and I'll be working the same hours, if not more, and it's a lot closer to the house, like blocks away. It's working in the healthy living department of a grocery store. I'm familiar with this stuff cause I did it for two years at Ozark Natural Foods. I'm excited! Bring on the healthy stuff!

Emery turned 17 months old on the 15th. Technically speaking I don't think he's considered a toddler until he's 18 months old. PSHAW! Have you seen my son? Have you had a conversation with him? He's a genius, and so very advanced for his age. He's been doing very toddler like things.

First, he went to the park today with Grandma. She said he went down the really big tall twisty slide all by himself. He rode on the merry-go-round and climbed the rock wall. She said she was really impressed with all the things he could do. She said it was like he had grown up a bit since last time at the park.

Then, the other day he put a roll-on bottle of pain-relieving capsacin in his mouth.......without the cap. I called poison control and they told me to give him yogurt and milk. His lips and mouth turned bright red and they swelled. He only cried for a few seconds and then he was fine. I felt so awful! I literally had just taken a mascara tube from him (that he had taken the lid off and was trying to put it in his mouth) seconds before.

Finally, he also fell and scraped his knee. It was one of the scrapes that break the skin, but only slightly. Just enough for the blood to peek through but not really go anywhere. It's like the top layer of skin gets removed. It hurts. I remember. It hurts even more when it's your baby, and they've never experienced anything like that before. He didn't cry. He whimpered and whined and grabbed his leg and said "Knee! Knee!" over and over again. I kissed it.
Owen says he's tough. I think so too. I guess I need to get tough too. He truly is "a piece of my heart walking around in the world."

Valentine's Day the G(diaper)reen way

So next weekend, Valentine's Day to be exact, Emery and I have a date.

We will two of the newest gDiaper unofficial spokespeople. The Everything Green Oregon Expo will be hosting a gDiaper booth. Emery and I will volunteering at this booth.

I'm now a gMum.

I figured that since we've used gDiapers from Day 1, (seriously, that was the first type of diaper that Emery wore, see the picture?) it's about time I started giving back a bit. Admittedly we aren't exclusive gDiaper users, but that's all the more reason to shout to the world the greatness of them!




Since we EC we use mostly an EC belt and a prefold. When we go out however, the majority of the time we are using a newborn prefold stuffed inside a gDiaper 'little g' pants. This works really well for us.

On our recent trip we used gDiapers the way they were intended to be used about 90% of the time (and a combo of cloth and a cornbased disposable the rest). I loved it! There was no guilt about throwing away the used ones. Thanks to the fact thatat they are a Cradle to Cradle certified company, I knew that they wouldn't be hanging around in a landfill for the next 500 years.


Enough about diapers, just come see us on Valentine's Day okay?! It's free!


It's the stuff like this that I'll miss when we move to Spring. I guess I'll just have to plug in there huh?

(This one is cloth filled......)

So, I've been terrible about updating lately.....

So this update will be a long one.....sorry.

Our trip was lovely, but not long enough.

It was also challenging. It was difficult to keep up with EC while on the go so much. We resorted to using eco friendly disposables for most of the trip. G-diapers were so useful! Then, while in Houston we found some diapers made out of corn! We still have some of those ledt over and are using them at night time. AP style parenting was the same, maybe even more convenient.

I bet you're just dying to know how the second leg of the journey went huh?
We flew into Tulsa and were met by Nana. Emery slept all the way to West Siloam/Watts/Flint Ridge. We stopped and he met aunt Amy while she was working. We arrived at Nana's just in time for the extended family to start arriving. There was a houseful! We had food and paseed babies around. Barrick (one of the nephews) showed up (from Texas) and had his own little belated Christmas. Finally everyone filtered out and we settled in for the night. The next morning we rushed around trying to get breakfast and have all the little ones ready for pictures. Mass confusion followed with musical carseats (not as fun as musical chairs), and shuffling around of who is riding with who. We all met up at Wal-Mart and orceeded to cram all 10 (yes ten!) of the grandkids into a portrait. (Poor camera man) The rest of the day was a bit more relaxing. Tasha and I tried for hours to get the photo printer to work, only to realize that ...hmmmm. the USB wasn't connected. Sheesh. What a genius am I?!

Sunday night Owen, Emery and I headed over to Fayetteville to spend some time with the Lingelbach's. Owen and I were there when Zoe was born, and then we moved away.....now she's a walking, talking, little sweetie!
It was great to get to spend some time with my best friend! We opted to stay the night which was awesome! :) The next day we went out to breakfast at the Rolling Pin cafe. I had hoped to get some chocolate gravy.....but I was out of luck. After breakfast we headed over to Ozark Natural Foods and made our rounds saying hello to old co-workers and showing off our handsome little dude.
Then, it started to rain, and then it started to freeze. We headed back to Dawn's in hopes of seeing a few more old friends. The weather had other plans so we went back over to my mom's house earlier than expected and started checking on our flight's back home.
The next day we left my mom's hours before we should have just in order to make it in time to catch our flight which was still scheduled to leave.
We arrived safely at the airport, and then the waiting began.
First the flight before ours was cancelled, then our flight was delayed, then, finally we were sitting on the TARMAC waiting for a break in the weather to get us airborn. We waited, and we waited, and we waited.
Then we were taxiig down the runway. Then we were airborn.
We arrived in Houston with 15 minutes before our connecting flight was leaving.
We ran. With Emery strapped to me in the Ergo. I ran.
We made it, and Emery stayed awake for the entire 5 hour flight!!!!! We touched down in Portland. Grabbed our bags, and were in our car headed home by 12:30 am our time.

It was so nice to be sleeping in our own bed.
It's so nice to be back in Gresham, but I still wish we had had more time.

Owen really liked the Culinary school.
We're beginning the transition process right now.
We're looking for an affordable storage unit. Most of our earthly possessions will be placed there. Everything else is coming with us to Spring, TX. Once Owen finishes school and we are confident enough to make the move across country again, we'll be coming back to the Great Northwest. Next time around we'll more than likely be closer to Portland, and closer to Birthingway. Maybe we'll even buy a house. Maybe. :)

I would post some pictures, but I can't seem to find the camera cord. Grrrr.

It's almost my birthday. Usually I have so many ideas of what I want, but his year, I'm void. I can't really think of anything I want, well within reason. I mean who wouldn't want a new Electra Amsterdam bicycle (that's way too expensive and just something else for us to move), or a cabinet table just perfect for sewing on. My needs are met as well, so what do I ask for?

More time with my family? Who can give that to me?

The Croup

Yuck. Mommy does not like it!

Four days ago (Monday, the day after the snow came and canclled church) Emery woke up with a hoarse throat. I figured he just slept with his mouth open like I do and that was all. That night he was sooooo congested. Owen and I used the tag team method to administer saline drops and a rubber bulb syringe to try to offer the babe some relief. Nothing worked. He struggled all night to breathe. Tuesday he was more hoarse, and more congested. For the life of me I couldn't get any of that dang old mucus to come out of his nose. I figured he was having some post nasal drip issues. (sorry son, you look like Daddy but you ended up with mommy's post nasal drip issues, I hope you don't get my eyesight, impatience, stubborness or wisdom teeth either!) I called his pediatrician who couldn't see him right away, so I made an appointment (and we paid out of pocket!) with a Naturopathic Doctor who squeezed us in that afternoon. She was terrific! She told Emery exactly what she was doing before she did it, and was so helpful and reassuring. We left with herbs and homeopathics and a few tricks to try.

That night we took two long steamy showers with our little guy to try and help him breathe better. We burned some essential oil of thyme in a duiffuser. I couldn't sleep because I thought he was going to stop breathing in the night.

All of this led to much more nursing on Emery's part. That's basically all he's done since he got sick. No solid foods for him.

Yesterday Emery had a dentist appointment to follow up on the knocked out front tooth, and his pediatrician could fit him in (she's paid for by the state) so after grocery shopping we headed that way. Dr. Toledo heard Emery breathing for about 30 seconds and she said. "Poor baby, you've got Croup!" After a thorough examination (which he had already received the day before from Dr. Zeiman) we were told to keep him comfortable, offer him some steam, go for a walk outside in the cold air and all should be well. Also, Dr. Toledo suggested a dose of steroids, which would relax the trachea making breathing easier for Emery. They didn't have the oral, so our poor little guy got his first shot, ever. I cried, Emery cried, and then he breathed better. Last night he slept so well. I rested, finally.

Today he is breathing better, he's not as hoarse, and he's actually smiling a bit. He's still not 100% better, but he's definitely on his way back.

Why didn't anyone tell us how hard it is when little one's are sick?! You want so badly to make them feel better, but there isn't anything that you can do.

Now, here are some pictures for your viewing pleasure. Sorry they're so tiny, they were taken with the cell phone. Enjoy!

Six months just flew by....

Can you believe it? Emery is Six months old! His fifth tooth broke through two days after the last one. FIVE teeth! Wow. Three on bottom, and the two front teeth.
We went to his six month well baby check up this morning. Just as I suspected, he's very tall (surprise, surprise). The nurse had to measure him twice to make sure she got it right, the first time she said he was off the charts. He's 28 inches long and weighs 20 pounds 8 ounces. He still has 2 pounds and 2 inches to go before he's too big for his car seat. Dr. Toledo seems to think that his weight gain will level off now and he'll continue to keep getting taller. She also mentioned that he may be a walker before he crawls since he enjoys pulling and standing so much.

I guess that being an 'Attachment Parent' isn't very common at The East County Health clinic. I walked in wearing Emery in a sling on my hip and everyone just stared at me. I guess they were trying to figure out how the thing worked, I don't know. Then when they asked if I brought his shot records their eyes conveyed disbelief when I said we weren't doing shots. Finally, after the nurse had finished the weigh in she told me I could put his diaper back on. I proceeded to put one of my homemade wool diaper covers on Emery and she said, "No, no don't get him dressed!" I responded with, "This is just a diaper a cover."
Are we just completely alone in the way that we're parenting Emery? I don't get it. All of these things make perfect sense to me, it's like second nature, so the fact that I come into contact with people who have no clue as to why or how we do the things we do, it baffles me.

Now that Emery has reached the 'magical' six month marker, I feel like I just need to give him as much food as possible. He enjoys eating very much. Dr. Toledo suggested that since he has a mouthful of teeth that he could 'do more' than other little ones his age. I agree. He shocks me sometimes. Yesterday he grabbed lettuce from Owen's plate, I gave him a slice of cucumber and he sucked a hole in the middle of it so at dinner, we gave him a few asparagus spears which he loved!

I don't like giving him food when Owen isn't home because I'm terrified that when he does that gagging thing that he's really choking. Owen is really calm about it and is so good at scooping whatever it is out of Emery's mouth (I'm afraid I'll shove it in further). I guess I just need to get over it.

I would just stick with the jarred baby food that we have but there doesn't seem to be enough texture for him. I hesitate to thicken it with rice cereal because I read somewhere that the iron fortified cereal hinders the absorption of the naturally occurring iron in breast milk. Can anyone confirm this for me?

We got Emery's Halloween costume yesterday. His Grandmommy Young made it for him, and it is sooooo stinkin' adorable. I would post some pictures but we haven't had a chance to put it on him yet, and I can't find the USB cord for the camera. I still need to make my costume, but Owen's cowboy costume is good to go. I'm excited!

Three teeth and pee in the sink

October 15th is the halfway mark. Six months of being Emery's mom and dad.
Through these past months I've come to realize that I consider myself an Attachment Parent. This has opened up a whole new world of attire, which has led to us collecting a large array of baby-wearing paraphernalia. (3 slings, 1 front carrier, 1 mei-tai, and I want more...check out my wishlist!) This fits in so well with the way we live our lives, it really just makes sense. However, parenting itself really has had it's ups and downs.

First was the breastfeeding fiasco. Emery is a champ when it comes to nursing, however, two weeks into our breastfeeding relationship, I developed what I thought was thrush. After self-treating myself with every natural remedy you could think of, I took myself to the doctor. I was sent to a Lactation Consultant who confirmed for me that it was indeed thrush. Unfortunately, I had to go back to the Doctor to get the prescribed APNO. After another three weeks of excruciating pain, I went back to the doctor and had a culture done of my nipple and milk. Horror of horrors! It wasn't thrush but a nasty staph infection, ie: mastitis. Three doses of antibiotics later, I'm good as new, and our breastfeeding relationship has never been better.

Next came the EC adventure! EC: Elimination Communication, Natural Infant Hygiene, Diaper free

We started with Emery at around three months. I saw a potty at Ikea and bought it on a whim. Emery peed on it the very first time I sat him on it. We haven't looked back since. Nearly three months later we have had a few problems caused by teething and learning how to roll over and push up for crawling, but now he signals pretty clearly, and prefers to pee in the sink as opposed to the potty. (It's totally normal and expected in the EC culture) Really, it's the only way to get him to go otherwise. ;)

Teething, ah the teething. He started around 2 months. By the 5th month he had worked his first little tooth through. Two weeks later out popped number 2, and literally overnight he sprung number 3. I think he may actually be working on number 4 as I type.

This brings us to solid foods. I've already given Mr. Emery rice cereal, strained carrots, and strained peas. Then I read about baby led feeding . Now he's had bananas, pear, apple, and pluot.


Anyway, I just wanted to give everyone who's reading this a primer on how we got to the point we're at now. Hope that you're caught up now, happy reading! Do you have any questions?