Why did no one tell me?

When I was pregnant with my son I was told by many people, friends and strangers alike, that I was in for a lot of fun, a lot of love and a full heart of love when talking about my future son. The one thing no one honestly told me, was just HOW different raising a boy would be to raising a girl.

First of all, the clothes are harder to find and nothing's as cute for little boys as it is for little girls! I felt lost in the boy's department after shopping for pink for the last 4.5 years!

Secondly, no one told me that the nausea he gave me while I was pregnant wouldn't stop when he was born! Since birth the boy has kept me on my toes and I am constantly worrying about him in one aspect or another...the heartburn and indigestion stayed, too.

And how about finding a name!! You have to be so careful it's not too pretty, can't be mistaken for being feminine...I wanted something strong but not burly. The arguments over names ranked with WW2. And to this day, I'm still not 100% sure about what we picked!

And when you're pregnant with a girl, how many times do you and your husband fight over the cosmetic surgeries she may or may not have after birth? There were no major discussions before with the two girls but throw a boy in the mix and now not only is name picking harder but you have to pick a penis, too!

I could probably go on, but I'll spare you all. If you're a mom of girls and then had a boy, you totally know what I'm talking about! But then all moms of boys know this: that a boy fills your heart with a kind of love that you can only have for your son. Something about how they are constantly creating near death experiences for themselves (and you) brings you closer together. Something about this rough and tumble little kiddo giving you hugs and cuddles pulls at your heart strings so differently.

I always worried, after having my first that I could never give as much love to another child as I had given to her, and yet, two kids later, I've learned that your heart grows and grows, and gives and gives, even after you think it's at capacity.

Was there ever a time in your pregnancy/pregnancies that you wondered what you had gotten in to? How did that change after having your baby?

A day in the life...

Sometimes I imagine I'm something else instead of "mom". I will sit back, close my eyes and drift to a place where I can be anything, anywhere in the world. I quite enjoy these daydreams, but I think that the fantasy could never replace my reality. I'm just so darn happy, even though I find myself stressed or stretched thin many times. I can truly and honestly say I love these kids so darn much and cannot imagine myself any place better!!

Not long ago I started on a new mom adventure and entered the world of cloth diapers. I think we've been CDing for about 2 months now, not quite sure. So far, it's going really well. I need to purchase more covers, but I knew when I started I didn't have the recommended amount, so of course, that's made it a little harder on me. All in all though, it's very possible to do, even with 3 kids and off site laundry, and I feel more than ever there's no excuse to NOT cloth diaper. I wanted to make a list of the pros and cons that I personally have compiled. This is not everything, but this is most that I can think of.

PROS

• Cost. The savings are amazing. Even when you factor in detergent and water/heating energy, you save a load (no pun intended!).
• Ease. It is only slightly more difficult when using prefolds, and when using AIOs (all-in-ones, just like sposies but made of cloth) it is no harder. You can also find WAHM (work at home mom) businesses that make very affordable diapers and there are so many varying colors and brands to fit YOUR life.
• Better on babe. Alexander was suffering from chronic red butt, and ever since the cloth, we've had no problems!! I'm REALLY happy that his cute little bum is protected.
• Environmentally friendly. Anytime I feel like "Oh, it's so much easier to use disposables" I think about how great the CDs are for the environment and how they are reusable AND made of natural materials. I like that, unlike sposies, they don't take up to 500 years to decompose!
  

CONS:

• Require more planning. Now, I know you have to keep on top of your disposables and make sure you don't run out, but you can buy them 200 at a time. With the cloth, I have to make sure I plan to do laundry before I'm pushing it. I have only "run out" one time, and it was, of course, my fault (slacked on laundry that week) but nonetheless, I had to buy some sposies for the day because of it. I have, however, now learned to keep some on hand just in case.
• Time. They take time not in the sense that I don't have any, or even when it comes to actually changing him, but I do have to factor in the extra 2-3 loads per week. Now, if I had a washer and dryer here, that'd be no problem...but I don't. I have to go to my mom's house, and so it does tap into my time a little more. The plus is that I (aside from that one time) can't really slack on laundry. If I'm going to go do a load of diapers, I may as well bring a load of something else, also!
• Comments. Not that I let anyone else's opinion bother me, but I do sort of get sick of hearing "Oh, really? People still do that?" or "Why?!?!?! That's so GROSS!!" when they have absolutely NO clue what CDs are like.

That's probably it. All in all, I highly recommend trying them. Quite a few different sites offer starter packs. If someone wants to try cloth that's the most like sposies, they should try BumGenius or Gdiapers.

There really isn't much new in my life. My husband is taking vacation starting tomorrow, and we've been so excited for this!! We have quite a few things planned for the family and we just plan to enjoy every moment of it! He's been working so hard and really deserves this break. I am so anxious to just spend time with my lovely family.

A day in the life of "mom" may not be as exciting as my "dream" jobs and I don't always get to look forward to vacations, but no matter what, the good outweighs the bad. No matter what, there is just no place I'd rather be. No matter what, I am mom...and it's not that bad.