My love letter to Huggies Pure and Natural

I have felt a little like Goldilocks lately as I've been searching and trying to find the diaper in Creighton's size that is "just right" for him...OK and "just right" for my tastes too! 
First I tried the Pampers kind, but they were too long and there was too much leakage. Creighton's body shape just didn't fit them correctly.  I know plenty of people who love them- and I LOVED the swaddlers for when he was a newborn, but the size 3 diapers left much to be desired for me.

Next I tried the Huggies little movers kind, but they were too advanced for Creighton's skill set- ie- they are for babies that are crawling and moving much more than he is.  They do have great contouring though, and I might go back to these when he really gets to crawling, we'll see.  They are like a 9 out of 10 on the leakage factor...it just doesn't happen easily in these diapers.  Their drawback though is that they really don't absorb the baby poo...it just kinda sits there in the diaper.  I mean, yuck. Enough said.

After that, I tried the Huggies Snug and Dry and they were the best I thought I could get, but they still were not absorbent enough. (see above comment about huggies little movers.) 

Then I tried the Huggies Pure and Natural...let me tell you, those were just right! 

I've been eyeing these diapers on shelves at Target and on shelves at HEB for the past few weeks.  Each time I would go down the baby isle I would stare at the package and wonder, could they really be so great?  Were they really worth the money? I also just knew they were targeting shoppers like me, who would think "Oooh, organic, it must be so soft..." I mean honestly, they sounded too good to be true/worth how much they cost!  Even the packaging was designed to lure me in....It's covered in leaves:

My curiosity got the better of me and today and I finally decided I would bite the $20 bullet and try them out...all the while worrying that I might like them so much that I would have a hard time going back to the cheaper diapers. (P&N are $20 for 66 diapers, and the others are about $20 for 96...We'll see how long I can keep this up!)

It's confirmed, now I can't go back to the "regular" diapers.  I took one of the pure and natural diapers out of the package this afternoon to let Creighton try it, and it seriously felt like it was a cloth diaper.  For those of you who have felt diapers before...they can get pretty plasticy feeling- these do not do that!  If I was Creighton's age, I would want these diapers wrapped around me!

I never really explored actual cloth diapers, I thought they would be too much of a hassle/had heard bad things about how much they leak, but now I'm kind of curious, after feeling how soft these "organic cotton" disposable ones are...I can only imagine how great (in theory) real cloth diapers would be!

Here's a comparison shot of the three diaper types I tried:

L-R: Pampers, Huggies Little Movers, and Huggies Pure and Natural

Thickness of the diapers: L-R: Pampers, Huggies Little Movers, and Huggies Pure and Natural

Another Thickness shot

My happy well diapered son!

So, my vote is in- Huggies Pure and Natural for my kiddo...unless of course I discover something even better!  I'm justifying the price by thinking of the diaper like his foundational wardrobe piece.  It's just like my foundational items...you kind of get what you pay for.  I'm sure many people do not feel this strongly about diaper choice, because after all you do throw them away after each use, but, man I just love these diapers!

It's been far too long!

Wow, how have I let the blog slide for soooo long?  Maybe it has a little something to do with this cute 4 month old baby boy I have?! I've made a resolution to blog at least once a month, although I would like it to be more, I've learned to start out with a reachable goal and work your way forward from there!

So many things have been going on!

Uno:

Creighton is growing like CRAZY!  He is so wonderful and his sweet little personality is really starting to come out more and more- love it! He's usually pretty happy and smiley when he wakes up in the morning, and I love the time we have together before I go into work at 11:30.  For the record, working half-days has really turned out to be lovely.  I had some apprehension about it all, but now that I'm doing it, I'm quite happy with it.  It just feels like Creighton is taking a long nap...and I just happen to be working during his long nap! Kelly is keeping him while I'm at work and she is so AWESOME with him, it really helps knowing that he is in great hands!

Creighton is also a bit of a night owl.  He likes to stay up until about 10 or 10:30 and he sleeps in until about 8 or so.  He is still waking up at least once in the night, but it really doesn't stress me out. It just is what it is :)  Creighton is working really hard on learning how to roll over and he is creeping around getting closer and closer to crawling! He's smiling and laughing lots lately and is pretty laid back as long as he isn't hungry or sporting a dirty diaper.

Here are some "watch me grow" shots of Creighton:

December- Creighton's first Christmas (Roughly a week old)

January- Hi, my name's Creighton and I sleep and eat a lot! (Roughly 1 month)

February- I love to smile! (Roughly 2 months)

March- Getting coffee with Carosa (Roughly 3 months)

April- Happy Easter! (Roughly 4 months)

Easter- Just talking away in his GG's arms :)

It is so much fun being a mom and I love it! Has our life changed a TON yes, but it is a great change and one I am so thankful we got/get to make!

More to follow...just ran out of time for more on this post! Upcoming: I'm running again and some thoughts on faith/what it means to hope!

Creighton is here!

So much has happened since my last post! Creighton has arrived! What an experience! We are so thankful and happy to announce his arrive on December 14, 1009 at 2:47 pm. Creighton weighed 6 pounds and 13 ounces and measured 19.5 inches! He weighs a bit more now (7 pounds and 8.5 ounces) and is laying on my chest as I type at a funny angle so that he can stay there!

Creighton right after he was born!

I am just overwhelmed with thankfulness and gratitude for the gift of Creighton. God is so faithful- It is amazing to look at how he has been with us through this journey, and what a beautiful start to the rest of this journey of raising Creighton we have had. I feel so privileged to be entrusted with raising him to love God and others deeply. I don't think I can adequately describe the immense sense of joy, awe and thanksgiving that I feel in this time with Creighton and Brian.

This pregnancy was not an easy one emotionally for me, but I would do it again in a heartbeat! I am so thankful for all of the support I experienced from friends and family. My doctor, Russ, was an amazing support- through all of my visits and phone calls, he was always so patient and encouraging with me. I am very thankful that we went through this process with him.

When I delivered John there was a wonderful resident named Dr. Larson who stayed past her shift to finish everything with us and then returned the next morning before her shift started to check on us. She was an awesome support. When I was admitted to the hospital in labor with Creighton, Dr. Larson was there again and she was able to help deliver Creighton! She was able to stay with us while Russ was running back and forth between the clinic and us. It was such an amazing full circle experience to have her there for Creighton's delivery! God is so neat!

So, the delivery... I went into labor on my own (which I was really excited about!) and made good progress. I tried to get admitted to the hospital around 8:30 pm, but they told me I needed to wait until I wasn't laughing as I walked through the exam room doors to get my progress checked. Apparently, you are not supposed to be able to talk through the contractions- which everyone, including Russ, told me, but for some reason I didn't really believe that the pain would get so bad that I wouldn't want to talk. After I was home for a few more hours, low and behold the pain did get that bad! We went back up around 3:15 am and I had made great progress, so Dr. Day made me so happy and told me that I could stay and did I want an epidural! YOU BET! I mean, I must have looked like such a dork- I was smiling at EVERYONE I walked past on the way to get settled in my labor room...I think I even told a few random nurses how excited I was that I got to stay and wasn't sent home...

I got settled in my room and very quickly had an epidural, which helped me to rest some which was important since I had decided to stay up the night before finishing a quilt for Creighton until 2:30 am, then did not nap on Sunday afternoon b/c I was too excited about my consistent contractions!

Russ came to check on me early in the morning, sometime after 7 and checked my progress. Then it was just a waiting game while I made progress. I ended up stalling out at 6 cm and so I got some pitossin (sp?) to help me along and things really kicked into gear once I had that medicine. Creighton was in the correct position, except his head was facing up, so Russ had to turn his head to face down. Creighton was not too thrilled about this, and kept trying to turn his face back up. This meant I was in a bit of pain while Russ tried to get him to turn, but eventually Creighton did turn! Russ left to take care of his other duties and soon after he left, we realized that my epidural had somehow come out! (I was wondering why I was feeling more pain...) After some tense discussion about whether or not it could be reconnected, the anesthesiologist let me know that they could take the first epidural out and insert a new one, if I could roll on my side. Let me tell you- I was HAPPY to roll on my side...even though it hurt a lot b/c I was at the point of being ready to push, and being on my side I wasn't supposed to be pushing. Thankfully they were able to get me hooked up again. Since it would take about 20 minutes to feel the effects of the epidural, the nurse asked me if I wanted to push through the contractions or just wait...THAT was an easy answer- of course push! So, since I could feel everything, I made some great progress during that pushing phase, and I think it helped to speed up my delivery time (YAY!)

During the active labor/pushing phase I was surprised that I really pulled into myself and didn't want to talk a bunch or hear much else other than the nurse counting for me and telling me to breathe and Brian, My mom and Erin telling me that I was doing a good job! Verbal encouragement has always gone a long way for me- so anytime they told me good push, I was ready to do it again! During this stage, Dr. Allen stopped by to say hi and check on our progress. Dr. Allen is the doc who was able to see all the problems with John and helped us look at all the information and know what was going on and who also did our ultrasound to check Creighton for his health during this pregnancy, so it was pretty cool that he would take the time to come by and visit us. He was encouraging. It was funny, when the doctors would stop by, I really felt like I needed to put my A game on and push with everything I had so that they would know I had been working really hard...hi, I was definitely a teacher pleaser growing up...

So, continued with more pushing and more breathing and more pushing then...

Before I knew it, Russ and Dr. Larson were suiting up in these funny looking blue jump suits and pull on cloth knee high boots. This meant Creighton was about to be born! I was so excited! And, while I wasn't in a ton of pain, I could tell that I was going to be sore later! (Thank you re-inserted epidural!)

I pushed a few more times and pretty soon we heard a little cry, I saw Brian cut the cord and then I had baby Creighton on my chest! HOW AMAZING! I teared up a little bit, but I was more in awe that Creighton was actually here! I got to cuddle him a bit before they took him to the warmer to get him all cleaned off, etc. Brian went with him (right next to my bed) while Dr. Larson and Dr. Fothergill (Russ) got me taken care of. Brian watched a bit of the stitching and he is convinced that Dr. Larson would be really good at fishing as she was able to tie knots in her stitching very quickly!

Creighton at 1 week old!

Nothing compared to finally holding Creighton in my arms and the massive feelings of love and thanksgiving that Brian and I felt! We are SO thankful he is here- and quite aware that God is the one who brought us through this whole process!

Christmas Day!

So Thankful! (Again...)

Just so very thankful to be in the 38th week of this pregnancy with Creighton.  What an amazing gift from God!  I'm doing some serious thinking about all that has led up to this point, and I can genuinely say that everything that has happened, I am thankful for experiencing.  What anticipation I am feeling right now!  I can't wait to blog more about what I'm processing, but I've got to process a bit more before I can get it out right. I just know that God is so completely love- so good and faithful- in the midst of being filled over to the brim with joy and in the midst of extreme pain. I am so thankful that I get to serve God, and want to be more concious of my endeavors toward that end.

More to come...

"This is how I see you, in the snow on Christmas morning..." -Sarah McLachlan

So, I will follow on Borrego's cue of sharing her holiday decorating. I was inspired by her blog this morning to share what I have accomplished this past weekend!

This year, we opted for a more artistic tree (skinny 7.5 ft) as the nine-footer, full, pineconed tree we usually use was going to be a bit big for me to manage (Think of me climbing on a ladder 37 weeks pregnant= probably will fall, not to mention when would either Brian or I want to think about taking it down with Creighton here by then?!) So, I bought this little tree back in October when they went on sale and I am happy with it.  I will say that it can't really support many heavy ornaments, so it has become more of a woodland animal styled tree this year, and I think I will be looking for a few more lightweight bird ornaments to add to it!

Our little tree!

The squirrel I got from a sweet first grader named Halle years ago.  I LOVE this ornament!

Super cute pinecone hedgehog!

A little bitty cardinal

A pheasant for Brian b/c he loves to hunt them...

And my hooty owl up at the top!

I also put up the nativity set in the entryway:

I also put out the advent calendar that I finally found last season (I had been searching for a good one for a few years!)

And of course I had to add the Chirstmas Wreath to my wreath stand.  I did not make this holiday's wreath, instead, I purchased it at 40% off in early November from Michael's!

I really like the leaves!

So that's about it on holiday decorating at our house! I will do a centerpiece for the dining room table soon and I did add a sweet welcoming angel to the front porch, but it is too cold to go out and take a pic this morning!  I will have to update that at a later date!

The Belly!

So, I went with my great friend Kelly, who I teach with and who is also starting her own photography business to get some maternity shots.  We had such a great time!  Her sister-in-law Erin came along and helped (thank you for taking control of my clothing/hair when it was being funky!)  Brian came toward the end of the session and got in on a few shots!  All in all fabulous experience!  I highly reccomend using Kelly for your photography needs!  Here's her info: http://kellyrhodes2005.blogspot.com/ and her blog is on my list to the right as well!

Here's a few of the pics! (And you can see just how red my hair looked after the trip to the salon a few weeks ago!)  I'm 36 weeks pregnant in these pics!

I'm awake...again

Well, I am up at 4:00 am...again. I usually wake up about four as my hips cannot take being laid on anymore at that point...as of 3 or 4 nights ago!  I have been waking up at four to use the restroom (thank you pressure on bladder), but now it's like I have walk around a bit and get a drink or eat some oatmeal with pb.  I just read everything online about being in your 37th week of pregnancy b/c I officially am now!  Those sites make it sound like labor is just around the corner.  I mean, maybe in relation to the total amount of time spent pregnant it is, but, it sure doesn't feel like it!  I also read that you can expect to be 2 days to two weeks later than your due date! NOT what I wanted to hear!  One site said, "don't be surprised if you have a burst of energy, that's just your nesting kicking in...really- I've had that burst I'd say...I seriously was contemplating if I should go wrap Christmas gifts right now...really at 4:37 am? Maybe not!  I have done a TON of stuff around the house, and my to do list is getting shorter and shorter.  Brian really wanted me to pack my "go bag" last night, but alas it did not happen. I don't know what my hold up is, but I am just not inspired to pack it.  I will try to get there tonight...

Speaking of tonight, my Mom is coming to help me start to get ready for Thanksgiving!  I am so excited that my extended family is coming to our house this year!  Brian has almost finished the deck- read no stairs, but the rest is prettymuch done, and I have started to think of writing a list to the grocery store as well! I'm so glad we will get to see everyone so soon! I thought Thanksgiving would never come!  I'm also really looking forward to having my mom around for a few extra days! So great!

Ok, time to go attempt to sleep again.  From this point on, I usually wake up pretty frequently until I finally decide to give it up and just get ready for the day...perhaps this is prepping me for when Creighton needs to be fed...we'll see!