Happy Holidays

Blogs are tough to keep up with anymore! I kept one in high school and seriously updated at least once, if not more, every day!

Things is Toledo are going well. We got quite a bit of snow last night. It started out at rain and then turned to snow and then froze. Jon couldn't get his truck doors open this morning at 6:30-something this morning so he had to take my car. Liam and I have been cooped up all snuggly and warm today.

This is a picture of Liam and his cousins. :)



Liam has been running a low fever these past few days. Last night was the worst at 102* but it broke shortly after we gave him a little Ibuprofen. I'm wondering if it is his teeth or what his deal is. I've busted out the humidifier in his room because of how dry the air feels. He is really growing quickly despite his "not-feeling-so-good" mood. He has been army crawling around the house and getting into everything. Jon did an experiment of putting something he is allowed to have and something he isn't allowed to have in front of him and he always goes for the more dangerous thing. Last week, he started pulling himself up on the furniture. I walked into his room one morning and he was standing in his crib so we had to put the mattress down a bit. He is going to run me ragged. I'm a nervous wreck as I try to prevent bumps and bruises but he's quick! Jon encourages his advancements but I'd rather him stay a baby. :)



Jon and I have been trying to decide when #2 should come. We will need to plan for this one more financially since our insurance is different and doesn't cover all the stuff our old plan did. He thinks it would be awesome to have our kids close together because they could be on the same little league team and we wouldn't have to worry about taking different kids to different activities. Sadly, he thinks all of our kids will be boys and athletic boys at that. And of course, the convenience of not having to drive a few extra miles is totally worth it, right?! I'm not completely sold on the idea as I don't think I could handle multiple little little ones at once. Plus, I'd really like to move out of the house we are in before we have another baby. This one is not child friendly at all. I'm not looking forward to potty training due to the fact we only have one bathroom and it is on the 2nd floor. That's how all the houses are in our neighborhood unless they have renovated and added one. We might just have to put a bucket in the dining room. ;)

This semester is winding down to a close. Actually, tomorrow is my last day. January 10th will be the first day of my last semester ever! I can hardly believe it! It will only have taken be 6 years to obtain a 4 year degree. I guess that's what I get for getting married early and starting a family, right? It's okay though. It will be a HUGE weight off my shoulders! May 8th is my graduation date! :) I can almost taste it! A delicious piece of paper that is worth thousands and thousands of dollars. Yummy.

Be safe in this snow and have a Happy Holidays! :)
Remember that Christ is the reason for the season!!

Liam and I went to the park for the first time by ourselves today. We have many different parks here in Toledo and I have yet to go to all of them but I'm sure that will change as he gets older. This one is just down the road from us. There are a few different playgrounds and many awesome trails. Most times, you are able to see deer passing through. It's quite amazing to find deer in the middle of the city. I took the opportunity to take my camera with me to see if I could get a few cute pictures of Liam. Photography has always been an interest of mine and I'm kind of disappointed in myself for not doing this sooner. I was very please with the results! :)





Until next time....

2 months have flown by!

HOLY SMOKES! It is amazing how fast time goes after having a child. Liam is such a little stinker! I learn more and more about him every day. He has so many little quirks. Examples - smiling almost every time he spits up on me. When I make a "motorcycle sound" by blowing air through my lips, his eyes get really really wide. And no matter what time of day it is, if I lay with him all nestled in my arm as we lay in my bed, he WILL take a nap. I just love him. Best of all, he isn't a clingy or whiny baby. He is perfectly content laying on the floor. He loves looking around and taking in the sites around him. He doesn't cry unless something is wrong. Although, it sometimes takes mom and dad a while to figure it out. I love my boy... but what mother doesn't?!

Majority of my friends and family have called me crazy for this but I've been doing some research on cloth diapering and I must say.. I've been flirting with the idea for weeks. The mothers that I have talked to have been so helpful and positive about the subject that most flat out said that they would never go back. There are so many reasons to go to cloth! They are better for your pocketbook. They are better for the environment. They are better for your baby! Yes, they are a pain in the butt to have to wash but once you get into a routine of washing your diapers, it will be easy-peasy! Listen to me, I'm talking like I've done it for years. Here's the scoop..

FINANCIALLY:

Did you know that if I were to put Liam in a store-brand diaper such as Target brand Up&up diapers, within 3 years, I would spend about $1400 on something that he pees/poops in and I throw it in the garbage? The cost would be about $1800 if I used a name brand like Pampers. I'm not even going to do the math if I would use a "Green" brand. That would be over $2000 in diapers alone! Not to mention wipes, powders, and creams! Now multiply that number by how many children you have/plan to have! GAH! Luckily, cloth diapers can be passed down through siblings. Money saver!!

Sorry Liam, but I don't want to put a pile of $20 bills on the ground and let you do your biznass all over them.

Now, when it comes to cloth diapers, they can get a little expensive. I'm planning to use BumGenius 3.0 One-Size diapers. The brand just release a "4.0" version so the 3.0s are now cheaper! :) The initial cost of a diaper supply is a bit high. You must pay one large lump sum but then you can have them forever. And the nice thing is, if you keep good care of your diapers, you can usually sell them on ebay for 50% of what you paid for them. Once I have all the diapers I need, I plan to have spent around $250 - $300.

What would you rather pay? $300 or $1400 - $2000?!

ENVIRONMENTALLY:

I'm not an environmental freak but I do think it is an added bonus that the thousands of diapers I would use aren't going into a landfill. I hear baby poop gets quite smelly in direct sunlight.. I feel bad for the people living near one of those! I did a quick google search and an estimated 27.4 BILLION disposable diapers are used each year in the United States alone. That is a possible 3.4 MILLION TONS of dirty diapers in landfills across the country. SICK!

Yes, cloth diapers means more laundry and more water being used but washing your diapers every 3 days is about the equivalent of 5 extra toilet flushes a day.

HEALTHY:

There are so many things in disposable diapers that I can't pronounce the majority of them! Pampers Dry Max has been under attack because they are responsible for blistering and leaving severe rashes on thousands of babies. A chemical in the diaper reacted with the babies skin and a rash began and continued to get worse. That is scary! Liam is currently in Pampers but I got rid of all the Dry Max ones we received as gifts. Cloth diapers are made from natural and safe materials like cotton, fleece, hemp, and wool. They can be used in all kinds of combos to create the amount of absorbency for your baby. With natural fibers such as these, it makes diaper rash a lot less frequent. I've talked to mothers who CD and their baby has never had a single sign of a rash. One pointed out that many of her friends had made the change to "safe and natural" cleaning products but then continued to put the same types of chemicals around their children's most sensitive area 24 hours a day.

If anyone is interested in the knowledge about CDing I have acquired over the last few weeks, let me know! It can get a little overwhelming if you research with no idea what you are looking for!

TRUST ME!

Has it really been 5 weeks?!

Without a doubt, being a mother is the most exhausting, emotional, exciting, awesome, and rewarding thing I've ever done. I love my son with such intensity I never knew existed. Liam is such a good baby! :) He eats 3 oz. of formula every 3-4 hours and sleeps in 2 hour blocks during the day and 4 hour blocks at night. I will be so excited when he starts sleeping through the night. I started out breastfeeding while supplementing with formula due to my milk taking a few days to come in and then it went well for about a week then I started pumping to make night-feedings going quicker. Sadly, my supply was enough in the beginning but little piglet wanted more than what I could give. I had some nights where we would nurse for an hour and he'd cry for more. It broke my heart because I felt like I wasn't doing something right but we did start giving him formula. I tried pumping so he'd get a little breast milk but I'd only get 1/2 oz combined so I don't even bother.

As for Liam, he is holding his head up so well and follows things with his eyes. I swear I saw him flash a smile at me today. And he definitely has Jon wrapped around his little itty bitty finger.

I love my new family of three.

Here he is!

Liam Rocson Lockie

May 18th, 2010
10:42 pm
7 lbs 7 oz
20 inches

He is my world.

The Day Before It Happens!

WOW! I don't think I've ever felt this many emotions all at once!

I had my final OB appt today! Everything looks great and I'm progressing but my blood pressure was a little high so I am scheduled to be induced sometime tomorrow! I know there are risks with being induced. I've been over them a thousand times but my OB thinks that this is what would be best for my situation and she's the professional. I'm not sure what time exactly I'm supposed to be there but the hospital should be calling me within the next few hours. I can hardly contain myself!

I can't believe I am going to a mother or even yet, Jon is going to be a father. God has trusted Jon and I to take care of this new life for the rest of ours. It is unreal. I know women have children every day but I just can't wrap my head around the fact that I am going to be one of those women. Granted, I am incredibly nervous about delivery but I know I will make it through. I have so many friends and family lending their support so I know we aren't doing this alone. I am so blessed.

I can't hardly stand to sit in front of this computer anymore.

I'm going to go try to do some of the last minute things I've been putting off..

The Waiting Game - 39w 2d

After being TKO'd for the last few days from a sinus infection, things are looking up! I ended up having to go to the emergency room Thursday night because the medicines I was taking weren't really helping at all. God must have arranged that visit because the normally packed waiting room was completely empty! I pretty much walked in, was admitted and back in an exam room within 20 minutes (a record in my experience). Poor Jon though. I woke him up at 3am and told him I really needed to go to the hospital and I'm pretty sure the first thing he thought was "OMG! SHE'S GONNA HAVE THE BABY!" but I made it clear that I wanted to go to the ER because I thought my head was going to implode on itself. After the hospital and a quick trip to the pharmacy, we were back home and in bed by 5am. About 2 1/2 hours later, Jon was up and leaving for work. He was so tired. :( Bless his heart. The doctor gave me instructions to take the antibiotic Augmentin, Sudefed PE, Vicoden, and Afrin. I was really nervous about taking so much but if I would have gone into labor during this sickness, I don't think I would have made it. So, thank you Dr. Bobbi Jean @ Toledo Hospital!

This morning has been beautiful. It is pretty chilly at 48* but the sun is shining and we are supposed to have a high of 70. Jon has a project that is due first thing Monday morning and it didn't get all the way finished this past week so he had to go in for a few hours. From what I understand, his team is designing a fire-water system for the Marathon oil refinery in Detroit. Sounds fancy, right? His company was just signed onto a job in St. Croix in the Virgin Islands. I will be so jealous when he gets to go away but we aren't sure when that will be. Maybe Baby Lockie and I will sneak on the plane and join him..? ;)

This pregnancy has flown by............. up until about a week ago. Now it's moving at a snail's pace. I've grown tired of people calling to ask if he's here yet or telling me when I should have him. I'm pretty sure the whole world would hear me yelling from the rooftops that my son has finally arrived and if I had it MY way, he'd totally be in my arms already! If he doesn't come by Monday, my doctor suggested an induction on Tuesday. We had been offered an induction this past Thursday (due to my OB being on call at the hospital) but Jon and I both decided it's probably better to wait for things to happen naturally. In regards to the induction option on Tuesday, I really want my OB to be the one to deliver my baby. She is awesome and has seen me through this entire process so far. So, either way, Jon and I will be "daddy" and "mommy" by Wednesday at the latest.

This picture is me at 33w 3d. I should really get a more updated picture before it's too late!

Well, I'm sure that is enough for now. I have a million things to do around the house since I haven't really left my bedroom for the past 3 days.