Baby MW's Birth

Here is a little backstory before I share about the birth of baby MW. With all 3 pregnancies, we waited to discover the gender of our babies after they were born. CW & BW were both born at the Women’s Center at Northwest Medical Center. This time around, Mr. GBE & I decided a home birth was the way to go. And I’m so glad we made this decision.

Like my other 2 boys, baby MW, took his sweet time to decide on what day to enter the world. He was born at home 5 days past his due date. But once he decided on the day, he wasted no time in making his arrival. Labor to delivery was just barely under 4 hours. Mix that with being able to labor and deliver at home, and this was by far the best experience ever!

A little after 4 am I couldn’t sleep. I had a couple of really long, hard contractions that woke me up. They literally brought me to my knees. At the time I was attempting to sleep in the recliner in my bedroom. These contractions were so intense that I kneeled in front of my chair to let my belly hang down towards the floor. After a few more of these, I went to wake up Mr. GBE. I wanted to let him know that I may be in labor, so I was going downstairs to watch TV. However, it took me about 3 strong contractions before I could tell him what was going on. For the first time ever, he believed that I was in labor, and he woke right away. During my two previous labors, he would mumble something and go back to bed while I would quietly labor in the dark, early morning hours. This time Mr. GBE got right to work. He double made the bed as we were instructed to do. He got dressed. And who knows what else he did. I was having CONTRACTIONS! And these weren’t normal beginning of labor contractions. These were every 2 minutes and were lasting about a minute or more each time. I was in denial that this was happening. I kept waiting for them to become more ‘regular’, as in not so intense and not so frequent. I was in such denial about it that I downloaded a contraction timer app for my phone. While timing them for about an hour, Mr. GBE kept asking me if he should call our midwife. ‘No, no, not yet. I’m fine.’ All the while I’m on my hands and knees or leaning over the reclining chair moaning. Looking back now, I’m such a nut.  I could barely stand up to brush my teeth, but I kept telling him to wait. He didn’t need to call, so about an hour of this went on. And after being ‘nagged to death’ I gave Mr. GBE the go ahead to call. It was time.

A lot of details are lost on me. I didn’t look at the clock anymore. And I can’t recall the comings and goings of everyone. I was too into what I had to do. I hardly remember when my midwife showed up, and as time went on I hardly remember when my other two midwives came as well. I do, however, remember BW coming into my room. He walked over to me and held my hand. I only patted his, not wanting to squeeze and hurt his little hand. I couldn’t even look at him during my contractions, but I loved knowing he was right there with me. He wasn’t scared that his Mama was on her knees moaning and breathing through contractions. Mr. GBE came in and took BW down to get his breakfast. It was the last time I ‘saw’ BW until his brother was born. CW never came to see me that morning, which was totally fine with me. He knew what was going on. I had prepped him on what was going to happen in the weeks leading up to this special day. CW & BW both spent the morning with their Grandpa. Once the two boys were gone, Mr. GBE was back at my side. And at that time, I was already in the tub.

The tub was relaxing, at first. Eventually, I couldn’t stay in it any longer. My legs kept ‘falling asleep’. Somehow my midwife and Mr. GBE convinced me to get out and go to the bed. But first, I made a pit stop. While relieving myself, I suddenly yelled, ‘I HAVE TO PUSH.’ And I should also mention that I have had my eyes closed for the majority of my labor. And at that moment, I happened to look at Mr. GBE. I saw panic. He was freaked that I could deliver this baby on the toilet. That freaked me out a little too. Thank goodness for my midwife. She was so calm, and she along with Mr. GBE moved me to the bed. I don’t know how I got there, but I did. It was show time.

I should disclose that with CW & BW I had epidurals. This time around, I could feel everything!! But the best feeling was reaching down and feeling MW’s head. It really made me feel like all my effort was really doing something. I got really excited to meet this baby, and specifically see if we were having a girl or a boy since we didn’t know that we were having a baby MW. It could have been a baby AM for all I knew at that time. After baby’s head was out, I did feel that my midwife was jockeying baby around a little. I knew the shoulders were stuck, but I’m so glad she didn’t verbalize this. Hearing it probably would have freaked me out a bit. And after the shoulders were worked loose, baby came right out.

And I held baby immediately. I was in love. While holding baby, Mr. GBE and I looked. I waited almost 41 weeks, so we looked immediately. We looked before counting fingers and toes. We looked, and we saw that we had a beautiful, baby boy.  My MW. He didn’t cry or scream. He was so calm. I was so calm. I talked to him, and loved on him. I told him about his brothers. I fell in love all over again.

 

It's not the most flattering of photos, but what do you expect after 4 hours of hard labor? I was lost in the moment of our first cuddle. <3

Grab 'n Go Giveaway!

Below is a partial repost from a couple of weeks ago for those of you that may have missed it.

‘At BW’s age {now 26 months}, I don’t always feel the need to take a diaper with us while running errands. Sometimes I remember and other times I don’t. And really, all I need to take is one diaper for emergencies. Even when BW was younger, 1 diaper was all I needed for short outings. Again, it was more for an emergency diaper change than a need for another diaper while we were out and about. Leslie’s Grab ‘N Go bags are perfect for holding 1 diaper plus a few wipes. They are small and fit in a large purse easily. I should also mention that their size is a plus since I’m not one for diaper bags. As soon as my babies outgrow the need for me to pack along everything plus the kitchen sink, I’m back to my regular bags.

As you can see in the following photo, I’ve placed a diaper in the outer pocket to show how a single diaper looks in the G‘nG bags. I think it’s safe to say that most diapers would fit well in the outer pocket. The yellow OS FuzziBunz is even double stuffed. There’s plenty of room for your bulky diapers and of course trim AIOs {All-in-Ones} will fit perfectly as well.

If you’re a cloth wipe user while away from the house, just put a few pre-moistened wipes inside the zippered wet pocket. You’ll be set to go for your short trip away from home.’

I can’t say enough nice things about Leslie’s Boutique wet bags. The prints are cute. They are made in the USA. The concept of a wet/dry bag with a pleated outer part that is found on the medium & large wet/dry bags are genius. This keeps the outside pocket from taking up room from the inside wet pocket. And the compact size of the Grab ‘n Go bag makes for easy storage for one diaper while on the go. And quite possibly eliminates the need for a diaper bag. Be brave & go run errands using your regular ‘non-mom’ bag.

Green Baby Elephant is happy to giveaway a Grab 'n Go bag in Disco Dots to one lucky fan!!  Good luck to everyone that enters the giveaway.

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Let's chat about newborn dipes

I have about 6 weeks until baby #3 arrives, and I’m starting to think about what kind of cloth diapers I am going to use. When BW was born, he was 9 lbs. and 23 in. Big boy! And I didn’t start cloth diapering him until he was a month old. We didn’t have a baby shower for him until then, and that is when I was gifted with my first cloth diapers. With this baby, I’m not planning on using newborn diapers for very long, but I do want to use them to have experience with them. Newborn diapers are the only thing I do not have personal experience using. While I take great pride in insuring that Green Baby Elephant sells high quality diapers that have been tested on my boys, my sister took over and cloth diapered her newborn boy. She did a great job using different diapers on my nephew, and you can read about her experiences in the archives{May 2011}. My sister also had to put up with me asking her a billion questions so that I could make sure that Green Baby Elephant carries great newborn diapers. And now that it’s my turn to try out newborn diapers, I have lots of ideas of what I’m going to try. Thanks to my sister and her baby, the following brands are all carried  and highly recommended in the Green Baby Elephant shop.

• Thirsties size 1: Duo Wraps, Hemp Prefolds, Stay Dry Inserts, Fab Fitteds, Duo All-In-Ones, & Duo Diapers
• GroVia Newborn All-In-Ones: the new style with hemp & stay dry liners
• BabyKicks OneSize Basic
• FuzziBunz X-Small
• bumGenius Newborn All-In-Ones
• Knickernappies Infant Prefolds {with Snappis & Thirsties Duo Wraps}

And I should also mention that I do feel that newborn diapers have their place. Not everyone makes big babies, and most one size diapers really don’t start to fit until 10 lbs. Even once one size diapers begin to fit, they are rather large and bulky on newborns. Size/bulk is the biggest complaint I get from parents that cloth diaper their newborns with one size diapers. The next most common complaint is leaking from the legs. Often newborns have the skinniest little chicken legs, and it’s difficult to get a good fit with a one size diaper on chicken legged babes. To get a nice trim fit, a newborn diaper is great. They also allow for all of those cute onesies to be worn by your baby, which is nice to not have to go out and get new clothes.

My little chicken legged nephew wearing a GroVia Newborn AIO. <3 him to bits.

If you are concerned about spending money on newborn diapers in addition to a one size stash, I should mention from personal experience that you go through many, many, many diapers that are aren’t even used. My boys were notorious for peeing on diapers before they were even worn. And I can’t even count the number of times a fresh diaper was poo’ed in before even leaving the changing table. Now that I look back, we went through many bags of newborn and size 1 disposable diapers that weren’t worn for more than 2 minutes. And 2 minutes may be an exaggeration. It was probably more like 45 seconds. So, so wasteful on my part {and theirs as well! Little stinkers!}. Because newborn diapers are used for a limited time, the wear and tear on them are minimal. This means that they’ll be in great condition for multiple babies, either your own, nephews, nieces, cousins or to sell to other families.

Tell me what other brands do you think I should try? What brands have you used successfully? Since I may only have a short window of time to use a newborn diaper, I’m looking for suggestions now. I do a lot of research before adding products to Green Baby Elephant, and now is the time for and updated look at different newborn diapers that are available. Let me know either here on the blog or on the Facebook page what you think I should try that could be potentially added to the shop or what brands Green Baby Elephant already carries that you are anxious for me to try. I’ll do my best to accommodate requests, and answer any questions you may have. And be sure to let your expecting friends know about Green Baby Elephant. This is going to be a great time to learn about newborn diapers as I’ll be blogging and documenting my experiences.

BW's 1st CD. It was a one-size GroBaby. He was also a little over 1 month. No chicken legs here! When CW looked at this pic, he told me that BW looks so little with a BIG orange diaper. :)

Summer Travel Tips

This summer we’ll be homebound while awaiting Baby Elephant #3’s arrival, but that doesn’t mean I can’t dream of a vacay. Maybe this year it’ll be a stay-cation with a long day at Breakers Waterpark with the fam. But whatever your plans are this summer, I thought I’d give a list of a few helpful items to pack along for your travels, whether you cloth diaper, do a hybrid option, or use sposies while away from home.

Access to a washer & dryer, but not a diaper sprayer? Pack GroVia BioLiners to help make cleaning up messy diapers that much easier. These are flushable, and at most a quick swish in the toilet will be all you’ll need to do to rinse away any excess poo.

Don’t want to mess with cloth while away from home? GroVia BioSoakers make for a nice hybrid option. Use their OS Shells and a disposable {compostable, if you’re into it} BioSoaker for a green diapering system. GroVia shells wash up nicely in bathroom sinks, and they dry quickly. I even learned a great drying tip from a grandma at a diaper party. To help speed up the drying process if you are in a rush or a humid climate, use a dry towel to squeeze out excess water from the shell by rolling shell up tightly in the towel. This will help wick away even more water after an initial hand wringing. Another perk of traveling with BioSoakers is their compact size. A pack of 20 is smaller than a pack of 20 disposable diapers. And I normally travel with 4 shells, whether we’re gone for a weekend or a couple of weeks. You can read more about BioSoakers, and even see detailed pics of them on an older blog post. Warning! It was about a major tummy bug that was going through BW's system at the time. But the detailed pics showing how easy they are to use are good for those of you on the fence about whether to use these or not.

Let’s talk dirty clothes & diapers. Wet bags & pail liners are for more than just storing dirty diapers while away from home. I’ve used pail liners for keeping dirty clothes separate from clean clothes in suitcases. It makes unpacking and packing while on vacation a little more organized. And Lord knows I need help with keeping things organized, especially on vacation. Leslie’s Boutique Wet/Dry bags are great for keeping clean & dirty diapers or clothes together yet separate at the same time. So use them for days at the beach or resort pools. Stash sunscreen & hotel keys in the dry section too! Pack a few bags to ensure that you’ll always have a clean one when you need it. These can also be hand washed and line dried while on vacation.

Swim party! Don’t bring along disposable swim diapers. Pack a reusable swim diaper or two for your water activities while on vacation. These will take up less room than a pack of diapers, and are super easy to wash in the sink. Why should you pack 2 reusable swim diapers? This way if one is becomes messy, the party doesn’t have to end. The second diaper can be waiting in the dry pouch of a wet/dry bag.

And don’t feel bad if you don’t think you can travel and use cloth at the same time. Do what if comfortable for you and your little one. But you may be pleasantly surprised by how easy it can be. Even on short weekend trips away from home I often alternate between using BioSoakers and taking cloth diapers with me. It all depends on my mood. So relax on your vacation, and wherever you go this summer, I wish you all safe travels and wonderful memories!

P.S. Since we don’t have travel plans, I’d love to hear where you’re planning on traveling. Visiting family? Theme parks? Camping? Maybe a weekend get away without the kiddos? {That sounds heavenly!}

Grab 'n Go

My 'diaper bag'

At BW’s age {now 26 months}, I don’t always feel the need to take a diaper with us while running errands. Sometimes I remember and other times I don’t. And really, all I need to take is one diaper for emergencies. Even when BW was younger, 1 diaper was all I needed for short outings. Again, it was more for an emergency diaper change than a need for another diaper while we were out and about. Leslie’s Grab ‘N Go bags are perfect for holding 1 diaper plus a few wipes. They are small and fit in a large purse easily. I should also mention that their size is a plus since I’m not one for diaper bags. As soon as my babies outgrow the need for me to pack along everything plus the kitchen sink, I’m back to my regular bags. 


 As you can see in the picture below, I’ve placed a diaper in the outer pocket to show how a single diaper looks in the G‘nG bags. I think it’s safe to say that most diapers would fit well in the outer pocket. The yellow OS FuzziBunz is even double stuffed. There’s plenty of room for your bulky diapers and of course trim AIOs {All-in-Ones} will fit perfectly as well. 

 If you’re a cloth wipe user while away from the house, just put a few pre-moistened wipes inside the zippered wet pocket. You’ll be set to go for your short trip away from home. 


This morning I spent some time reorganizing my laundry room. I have a cart that stores shoes in cubbies, shelves for miscellaneous items, a hamper, and a little side pouch for other necessities. I love keeping my wet bags stored right where I round up the kiddos to leave the house. All I need to do is grab a diaper. {Ok, that’s a fib. I make CW get a diaper for me. I can even be brand specific. He knows his cloth!} So while the boys are putting on their shoes, I put a clean diaper in the bag, throw it in my purse, and then I’m good to go. And often I keep a wet bag with a diaper stashed in the van. This is especially handy since I’ve been so forgetful lately now that I’m in the last few weeks of my pregnancy. And I highly recommend having several wet bags. This keeps down on the wear and tear of the PUL & fabric. And it ensures that you’ll always have a clean one ready to go when you are. Leslie’s Grab ‘N Go Bags are $12.99 and come in cute prints. Green Baby Elephant also carries a wide selection of larger wet bags, wet/dry bags, hanging pails, and pail liners for all of your cloth diaper storage needs.

A Little GroVia® AIO Love

I first became a fan of All In One diapers when I bought a few DreamEze diapers. The DreamEze were amazing, and fit in perfect with my then new stash of GroBaby Diapers. So, yes, I’m now dating myself in the cloth diapering world. In 2 short years, cloth diapers have drastically changed. I dug up a baby pic of BW sporting his first AIO, a DreamEze.

He had the cutest fluffy biscuits!

And here he is at 2, looking cute and trim in his GroVia OS AIO.

If you’re looking for a complete review about GroVia’s fabulous OS AIOs, you can read it here. BW was about 16 months in the photographs when that review was written. There are also great photos showing the details of the OS AIO on that post. I should also quickly mention that now that we're in the beginning stages of potty training, the side snaps make the diaper easy to pull on and off without unsnapping the diaper. They have been complementing the GroVia My Choice Trainers quite nicely in this process.

GroVia has very recently added new prints to their line, so there are even more adorable options to choose from. Personally, I love how they don’t fall in the trap of using baby-ish prints. The Owls & Planes are a fave of mine, and while I’m sad to see them go I am starting to gravitate towards the new Woodlands & Bicycle prints. Since I don’t know the gender of baby #3, I love that I have 2 gender neutral prints to add to my stash. {But if Baby is a girl, I’ll be putting a Peacocks on her in a millisecond!}

So what is your favorite Grovia new or discontinued print? You can see and purchase the discontinued and new prints in OS AIOs, OS AI2 Shells, and Newborn AIOs at www.greenbabyelephant.com.

And to celebrate the brand new GroVia® prints, Green Baby Elephant is happy to giveaway 1 One Size All In One in the fabulous Bicycle print! 

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GroVia® My Choice Trainer Meets BW

So there are tons of potty training methods. My method is to wing it. It takes longer than those 3 day or weekend methods, may cost me more in terms of sanity, and it definitely has its ups and downs. But that’s how I roll. This is my second go around with potty training. My first born, CW, was out of diapers at about 28 months. And that was 1 month after his little brother was born. This time around, I’m attempting a fully potty trained boy before baby #3 arrives this July. Call me ‘Crazy’. I don’t mind. Really.

As of right now, it has been adventurous. With BW, he’s either hit or miss when it comes to sitting on the potty. And to be completely honest, he doesn’t always sit. He has to stand while making an attempt. Cute, but messy. And I’m totally taking advantage of his big brother worship by encouraging him to go when brother goes. Poor big brother. His ‘shadow’ now follows him to the bathroom. And it’s enforced by mommy. As the oldest child in my family, I feel his pain! 

Anyways, this time around I’m not using disposable training pants, and the experience has been wonderful!! I used to freak out every time CW had an ‘accident’ in his pull-up. I could just about hear the ‘clink-clink’ of 50 cents being thrown in the garbage can. Since we’re in the early stages of potty training, I’ve started using GroVia® My Choice Trainers. I love them. I’m not throwing my money away every time BW doesn’t make it to the potty in time. I also love that it doesn’t feel like a cloth diaper inside. No cotton & no fleece. The inner layer is silky smooth and feels similar to that of soft basketball/athletic shorts, which GroVia® calls GroCool. The difference in the material makes a difference to BW. I’ve been using side snapping diapers as trainers. But to him he knows they are diapers, and realizes that he can use them as such. So I really love how the inner GroCool layer does not have that cloth diaper feel! He really does much better staying dry when wearing a My Choice Trainer, and I think it is because it doesn’t have that ‘diaper feel’. The trainers also have snaps, so I can easily change him like a diaper if I need to. And I have needed to do that, but for the most part it’s easier to just pull the trainer off and on him. I’ve also been line drying the trainers, as I do with all of my cloth diapers. And while they are quite stiff when air dried due to the cotton/hemp inner layer, they are still soft on the inside since they are lined with that soft GroCool lining. They also air dry very quickly, especially here in the hot desert sun. There is also a pocket opening to allow you to add more absorbency to the trainers if need be. Think naps, nights, longer trips out of the house. There are also one set of rise snaps in the front of the trainer. BW has it snapped down at this point. It’s nice that there is sizing flexibility in the trainer as far as the rise. It really helps to get a good fit. The flexible side panels also come in a larger size to accommodate bigger kiddos. They are sold separately. And I didn’t take any pictures, but CW {4 years & 40+ lbs} fits in the trainer. He does need the larger side panels. I should also mention that BW is 2 years & 25 lbs. He’s a tall and lanky kid.

I’m sure we’ll be working on potty learning for quite some time, and the GroVia® My Choice Trainers are super handy. I’ve been thinking about why trainers should be used instead of going straight from cloth diapers to underwear. For me, I need that added protection that my carpets and furniture are safe when I can’t watch BW like a hawk. At times he wears underwear around the house, but it still makes me nervous since accidents are a common occurrence. Trainers can make for a cleaner transition from diapers to underwear. Also since another baby is on the way, using trainers is giving my stash a chance to ‘rest’ before being used again. It helps to keep additional wear and tear at bay while using trainers, and I know I’ll be using trainers when baby #3 is ready for them.

As the adventures in potty training continue, I’ll do my best to let you all know about them. I really, really hope to have BW as close to potty trained as possible before July. Here goes nothin’…