The Burp Rag Chronicles

The Difference

With your first child, we watch as the young parent sterilizes bottles every wash. Measures formula out exactly with each bottle. Never lets a bottle sit out for 30 minutes, let alone an hour. They change baby's diaper every hour, even if it's not been peed in. DON'T TOUCH THAT PACIFIER OH MY GOD IT'S TOUCHED THE FLOOR!! Baby naps at scheduled times, by golly. If they don't go down at 10:00 a.m.then the entire day is shot. Solid foods are given strictly, by the book, vegetables first in order from lightest to darkest to avoid allergies. Baby goes to bed promptly at 7:00 p.m. and has a bath nightly.

Second baby? Bottles go in the dishwasher mostly because it's less of a pain to do that than wash them. Formula is... well, it's measured close enough. Bottle sitting out? Well, it's not yet curdled, is it? Diaper changes happen when there is a break in daily life. Or a blow out. Whichever comes second. Paci on the floor? Well... Thirty Second Rule. Naps happen when there are no appointments, playgroups scheduled, or Lunch Dates with Daddy. Solids... whatever is on sale! Bedtime comes whenever baby rubs their eyes incessantly and complains at every movement they make. Bath? Well, she is smelling rather ripe, isn't she?

I suspect it just kind of get worse with subsequent kids, I'd need further input on that. ;-)

So, I've been job hunting. You'd think I am asking the world, but I just want an evening job so I don't have to put the girls in daycare. I'd like a job that doesn't totally suck, but really, that is optional.

In light of my birthday swiftly approaching, Jarrod asked me what I wanted for a gift. When did I become old? "I don't know, I really haven't thought about it." I honestly haven't. My mom bought me an iPhone as an early present. And then there is the obvious "lottery win" and "debt payoff" responses. I kind of want new gym shoes. My others are getting old, but maybe they just need a really good washing. Hardly seems "birthday present" worthy, ya know?

I am feeling kind of bah humbug about it, and I've never felt that way about my birthday. Usually it's a sort of 'everybody does what I want them to do" sort of day.

Pout.

Build Me Up, Buttercup

Finally, things are starting to look up. It only took... gosh, a month? Really? Because it pretty much felt like the entire year.

Let's breeze through all the updates.

• Hard Drive Problem: still in process. It will be involving sending it to a company to recover it.

• Cameron Puking: Meh, she has her good days. Unfortunately her bad days have ruined all my t-shirts. That formulas stinks and it stains.

• Accident in Van: My van is still in the shop, though they estimate that it will be done on the 27th. I have a Dodge Caliber rental, which isn't too bad. I'd probably never buy one, but it's decent enough for a rental. New car seats have been ordered, Sydney's is on back order at the moment (ugh) but Cameron's should be here about mid-week.

• Side Note on Accident: Progressive Insurance ROCKS. I can not thank them enough for their ease of use, their great rates, and their top-notch service. They've made this Infrequent Accident Causer a believer.

• The Focus is SOLD! A lovely family found it on Auto Trader, and the college-bound son needed a reliable car. Ironically, that is JUST the market I thought it would be perfect for. :-) And in another ironic twist, he's studying to be an artist... just like what Jarrod won the Emmy for. They were very nice people and we're happy to know the car is going to someone who will take care of it. And, we've been invited to West Texas to visit any time we want. :D There is something very serene about the desert out there.

• Sydney's birthday party went without a hitch. I think everyone had fun, and at the very least I know Sydney enjoyed herself.

I am now officially embarking on a new chapter in life, one that doesn't stink quite so badly. My birthday is next month, it's not allowed to suck!

So, Sydney's party was great - you can see pictures here. It kind of spans the weekend, so I put them all on there. The cake turned out adorable (thanks to Mel over at Just Baked! You get the horns, girl!). I think we celebrated her birthday in style! Now we're slowly getting to play with and wear all of our awesome gifts - thank you everyone! We'll be working on Thank You cards this week, check your mailboxes soon!

So yeah, things are heading in the right direction, finally. Yay!

Let's see... Cameron. Where do I start with that child? ;-)

She is happily eating solids really well - we're on to Sweet Potatoes, and next is the lovely green beans. Or peas, I haven't decided which one, yet. Rest assured we will have the video camera handy when we try them. ;-)

She is also happily rocking on her hands and knees, getting ready to crawl. I thought I had more time. Your time line gets so jacked up with the second kid, things seem to happen SO much quicker.

We have gotten rid of her diaper rash (yay!) with the help of my good friend Kim - she nailed it as an internal yeast problem. Much, much trickier. But I am, as I type, re-sanitizing her diapers in hopes of using them again. In the meantime we were using Sydney's old Fuzzi Bunz diapers, which have held up beautifully. They make me realize why they worked so well with Syd. Though I've heard their re-design sucks. I'd like to try one to see for myself, though.

I think that is all, really. We enjoyed having Uncle Tyson down for Syd's birthday, and we will enjoy a visit from Grandma Sandy this week as well. I am taking her to a trial gym class tomorrow, in hopes that it's just what she needs to get a little activity with a purpose. The girl needs some focus!

So, without further adieu... goon night, and thanks for the fish. :-)

The Middle Finger of God

Aimed right. At. My. Head. So far August 2009 has sucked in the following ways:

• My external hard drive has crapped out on me. Want to know what was on there? ALL of our digital pictures since December 2000. I have a backup, but nothing past May 2008. So... none of Cameron as an newborn infant on through six months. NONE.

• How much will it cost to possibly retrieve the data off there? Oh, roughly $1000. Give or take $200.

• We go to church yesterday, and being the great parents we are, we've moved Cameron to a Big Girl car seat, which means she can't sleep in her infant seat in church any more. So I put her in the Moby wrap. Awesome! She liked it, it's comfortable for me, sweet! Uh-oh, she is starting to crank up a little! I'll stand in the back of the church trying to calm her down. Aw, baby burped. Oh shoot, baby is throwing her entire 8 oz. bottle up on me. All over the front of my shirt. And the Moby wrap. At church.

• My mom bought a van! Yay! We traded her our Escape for the van because she wanted something ridiculously cool and we wanted more room to haul children around. Only now I am trying to sell the little Focus because the dealership tried to screw us over with a low ball offer. Same with Carmax. Yay, two car payments this month! We've had a lot of lookie-loos but no real offers, despite shelling out about $200 on "advertising" for the thing.

• Since my mom is the lien holder on the new van, she has to be the main insurer on it. I am the secondary driver. We have 30 days to activate insurance on it, and we got that taken care of yesterday. Good thing, I got into an accident today!

• After said accident (which was me rear-ending someone at a stop light - freaking anti-lock brakes - and then him rear-ending his wife/girlfriend right in front of him) the wife/girlfriend in the first car hops out and yells at me "My KIDS are in that car!" pointing at the middle car. To which I reply, "And my kids are in THIS car!" Later she apologized after realizing that I didn't wake up this morning seeking someone out to smash into. I really, really could have done without that, lady, thanks.

• The irony was that I was being a Good Daughter and taking my mom some Starbucks coffee at work, since she works Sundays and the cafeteria is closed. Now that triple venti latte is soaked into my passenger floor mat. It smells great, for now. I suspect the milk will start to ferment by tomorrow.

• Sydney was really great throughout the entire ordeal. Until she saw me crying. When we got back to my mom's house (she took the rest of the day off and will tomorrow as well), she was crying on the couch that she didn't want our new van to have a boo-boo.

• Now, my air conditioner in the van is busted (there was leakage at the site of the accident but it appears to not be the radiator) and in 100+ degree heat it kind of makes it really miserable to drive around. Cranky mom + cranky kids + lots of sweat = death for Dear Husband.

• Tonight I found out that my wonderful husband prayed at church last night for less stress for his lovely wife. I think next time he should keep his big, fat thoughts to himself.

• Sydney's birthday is next weekend and I have very little done for it. Granted I am not having it here at the house and the location we are having it at does a lot of the work for you. But I need to get goody bags made, a design for the cake made out, and wrap her gifts from us. These three things should take me another month to accomplish. I really hate planning birthday parties, though I have zero problem attending them. This is why out of Sydney's four birthdays, I have done two parties. I hate doing them. But she is getting to the age where she is starting to notice parties and if I didn't have one for her, she will ask me why none of her friends came over. No thanks, I don't need to make her cry.

I am so ready for September 2009, things can't possibly suck any more than they do. A friend of mine on Facebook said I am due for some good news. I suspect with the level of crappiness that has gone on this month I deserve to win the lottery. At least enough to pay off my credit cards, please. That's all I ask.

I know they say that God only gives you what you can handle, but why the heck is He choosing to test me all at once??

Fruits and Veggies!

Cameron loves her fruits and vegetables! Even if they are made of plastic!

Long Cat iz...

It seems like the days around this house fly by and before I know it, Cameron is embarking on Six Months On This Earth, and Sydney is almost four years old. I mean really, when did I start losing time? Can I claim that I have an alternate personality that is stealing time from me? That can't be, because hopefully that other personality would be a little more productive.

Let's see, what has happened recently?

Uh, well, we are in the process of selling my Focus (anyone need a great little fuel efficient car?) and we purchased a van. A little drama surrounding that, but I love it. Never thought I would be a "van person" but here I am and I probably won't go to anything else, at least until the kids are grown and out of my house. This baby is a 2005 Chrysler Town & Country Limited - it's got everything. And I mean that. DVD player, nay, CHANGER. CD, nav system (though I still like my Garmin better), Stow N' Go seating. automatic lift gate and doors. talk about riding in comfort!! And I love how smooth it drives, too. I liken it to driving an M1A1 Abrams. Because I've totally driven one of those.

Anyway, we've had interested parties but no takers yet. We've rented space on a highway For Sale lot not far from the house, I've done an Auto Trader ad, and I've put an ad for it in the credit union newspaper. It's stressing me out because I am just ready to be done with it. I don't need more stress, and it's been affecting my sleep. Well, not necessarily the car, but everything combined.

Cameron keeps trying to get up on her knees to crawl. Or I guess rocking usually comes first. But you can see her hoist her buns in the air, and then her legs collapse under the weight. It won't be long, that one.

She has been suffering a wicked rash, though. We finally got it figured out, I think. I think she has issues with internal yeast because she will clear up, and as soon as she goes #2, she turns bright red again and it takes me a day to clear up. You know, just in time for her to go again. So I think I will continue using the prescription cream the pediatrician gave us, and make an appointment to discuss internal treatment if she thinks that is the issue.

I want my damn cloth diapers back, people! I like the gDiapers but I don't love them. They are good when you have to put medicine on their nethers, but they suck at containing poop. I've said that before and I am becoming more and more a believer in that as the days/weeks wear on.

So aside from that, life's been peachy.

I've started working out at a local gym, which I am really enjoying. I need to get better at going (more consistent!) and aim for three or four times a week. I really liked it when I went that often before - maybe I can make a Saturday morning one. Then two or three more during the week. I know I would feel better. I was gaining a little weight after I'd gotten all my Cameron weight off, and I am proud to say that the little that I have been doing has gotten that back in check.

I am also looking at getting Sydney in to a gymnastics program. I was really leaning toward a Mom's Day Out, but I think she might need more sport-related physical activity. She's smart and I don't have issues getting her to learn. But I can't keep up with her in a sport fashion. I've never been a sports person. I don't really even know HOW to play soccer other than you kick a ball back and forth and you can't use your hands. And that people all over the world go berserker for their team. That's about it.

So, that's life right now. Oh, and my hard drive that had all of my digital pictures from May 2008 - present is fried. And yes, that would include Cameron's baby pictures. We have a friend looking at it but something tells me I am going to have to get it from a drive restoration place, costing a ridiculous amount of money. But I can't not get her pictures. :-(

*sigh*

Fluffy Cloth Diaper Butt Contest

Hey everyone - go vote for Sydney in the Biggest Fluffy Butt Cloth Diaper Contest! She's not the BIGGEST butt in the bunch, but she sure is cute. All you have to do is leave her a note in the Comment section saying you love #3 - that's it! Help us help, well... Cameron! I guess I could put a diaper on Syd, but that seems kind of mean since she is well out of them. ;-)

Go, tell your friends to vote for her, too!

FYI - that is Sydney at about 10-11 months or so:

Rockin' It, Green Style

If you have ever met me, you know how big an advocate I am of cloth diapering. I love it, which seems really strange because I am not a crunchy granola hippie, at least I never considered myself one.

But recently, I began to doubt myself.

Cameron's bum has had some wicked diaper rash, so bad that her Diaper Area looked like she had a red diaper on even when it was off. It didn't seem to bother her, like the one time she'd cry when we put her in the bath tub (ack!). But for the life of me I couldn't figure out why she was getting it.

When we went to Oklahoma I was putting her in the semi-disposable gDiapers. She cleared up in the week that we were there. Now, I liked them enough, but they are not that great with milk-fed babies - the poo gets EVERYWHERE on the liner, which is a serious pain. Pee works GREAT. So I got to wondering what it was about the disposables, which are usually more likely to give babies a problem than cloth.

Initially I thought it was heat-rash related... we do live in south Texas, and we've been hitting 100-degrees pretty consistently lately.

My friend Kim gave me some pointers and things to try. I doused them all in Tea Tree Oil, with her suggestion that it might be a yeast infection. We did power of deduction, with no improved results. Then she'd mentioned something about a chemical burn caused by the detergent I've been using.

I was using Charlie's Soap, at first with no ill effects. We used it on our clothes, diapers, etc. and nothing was wrong for quite a while. Until the rash started developing. Then her tummy was starting to get rough and reddish, just the way the diaper area started.

Kim did some Googling (and probably knew about some of the issues before) and found that Charlies has a reputation in the diapering community for causing rashes. The company argues that we don't know how to do laundry (what a great way to argue with a bunch of mom's who probably do all the laundry in the household, and have for years!) and that their product doesn't affect babies like that.

But I can't get past the similarities of the posts I read. So many moms have seen their babies go from clean bottom to tomato bottom. Most of them think it's some sort of reaction wth the urine and the detergent. It claims to not leave any residue, but I am not sure I buy that 100%. I will agree that my clothes and diapers seemed soft and clean from it.

So, I bought some homebrew detergent from Kim's newest baby... Rockin' Green Detergent. I fully stripped the diapers of any Charlie's that might have remained in them, and kept Cam in the gDiapers, which seem to always clear her up, for the duration. When the diapers were done stripping, I hesitantly put Cameron in a cloth diaper and waited results.

Needless to say, Cameron's booty does not look like meatloaf any more. I got a tiny twinge of redness when I had left her in a diaper too long, but that cleared right up.

So, now I am a total convert to powdered detergent. Best of all, I am supporting my friend and her local business! :D Rockin' Green comes in some muy delicioso fregrances, too. They don't scent your clothes after washing (if they did, then it's leaving garbage behind coating your clothes, and those of us with sensitive skin don't want that!) but doing laundry is so yummy now. My current favorite is Cherry Lemonade, I'll have to peel myself away from it to give another scent an honest try.

So give it a try! It's not just for cloth diapers, but if it can get baby green poop out of a white diaper, I'm sure it can get your shirt clean. ;-)

Sleepover

Today is a huge day. The biggest, most bestest day in the girls life yet. Well, okay, last night was.

Cameron slept unswaddled, in her sleep sack. All night. ALL night.

You know what that teaches me? That maybe I was using the swaddling blanket as more of a crutch than she did. Shame on me.

With Sydney the week we decided that she didn't need to be swaddled anymore was pure Hell. That was where we learned Cry It Out (CIO) and while the results were beautiful, the first couple of night were one of the hardest things I have ever done.

Cameron continues to prove me wrong. She keeps showing me how not like Sydney she is. I think it's natural for parents of more than one child to compare their kids, but I'm really trying hard not to do that so often. Hopefully I will be better at that when she gets older and can comprehend more. ;-)

And in other news...

Sydney has taken to playing games on Nick Jr.'s website, and, just as she should be genetically, she is a natural with the computer. She is really liking Wow Wow, Wubzy too. Which is a nice change from Spongebob. ;-)

You'll have to turn your speakers up a bit to hear her, but here is a video of her singing the theme song. :-)

Check out that head-banging action. It appears she takes after her mom's hard rock roots. *lol* All right, now turn your speakers down a little. ;-)

We also are starting to get things ready for Sydney's birthday party - the poor girl got jipped with a Family Party last year, so this year Grandma Elsie is helping us throw a good, fun party at a local kid bouncy place. We've been to a party there before and it was AWESOME, just what she needed (to get exhausted!) It's going to be a crazy day if everyone RSVPs that they are coming, but it will be fun and the place can certainly hold a lot. She's excited, she's chosen Wall-E as her "character" so we made a Wall-E eVite for our friends, and I plan to have some more Wall-E goodness. She is SO excited to be turning "four 'ears' old!"

Let's see, Cameron is unstoppable at rolling now. She is an absolute professional at going both ways, which I think has probably helped her sleeping unswaddled. I haven't a clue if she rolled in bed, but I can imagine her using it to get more comfortable.

So, there is my update on the girls! I will have one hopefully later today discussing how crappy of a soap I think Charlie's Detergent is and how it causes a WICKED diaper rash on Cameron - it almost made me switch from cloth to the gDiapers on a permanent basis.

Almost. Thank goodness for my friend Kim and my friends here in the Internet. Thank you for the intervention, everyone! ;-)

Shake It

Pampered Chef

Item #1695 - Flour/Sugar Shaker - $6.00

Dust on some powdered sugar, cinnamon or flour.* Features area to label contents. 

*Can also be used to lightly coat your youngest child's behind with cornstarch when experiencing diaper rash.

Pampered Chef, we at the Davis House salute you. No more are the Corn Starch Encrusted Under-the-Fingernails of Doom a problem. The neighbors don't look at us all crazy-like because they think we are on cocaine from the dusty, white powder on our shirts. My daughter looks thoroughly Ajax-Free.

Salute, indeed.

5 Months

Cameron is five months old today - and what a big girl she is! She's now rolling from front to back and back to front. Mostly she likes going from front to back, maybe because it's a challenge to get over her shoulder. Maybe she just really likes a struggle. Great, another one of those girls. ;-)

Drooling like a crazy person, though I can't feel any teeth budding in her mouth. She is getting great at intentionally reaching and grabbing for things, and is now talking up a storm when the mood strikes her. And that mood is often. She is now eating about 8 oz.of milk at a time, though she spits up a bit. Well, a lot. But not like Sydney. Hooooo, not like Sydney. No one could beat that girl in spit ups.

Loo-oook at that cutie!


(Just for comparison!)

Today we had my friend from high school Kim over - she's in town visiting so I tempted her to come over with the kids and eat doughnuts and play on the water slide. Worked like a charm, I got her to go to bed early, and the kids were all tuckered out. Mission: accomplished! And only one Bakugan critter lost!

We came back from vacation on Wednesday. It was a good one, one of the best ones yet! I love going there for the Fourth of July - the dinky city of Covington has some pretty awesome fireworks. And my mother-in-law has pretty awesome seats for the viewing of them! AND (yes, it does get better!) people bought some pretty cool ones to set off on the street, so couple that with the neighbors down in the cul-de-sac, our street was the place to be.

Sydney proceeds to crack us all up with the things she says and do. Though I do wish she had a 5- or 10-second delay on her for censorship. I mean, she's three, some things are going to just come out.

For example.

She likes to make observations. Ones that us, as adults, see and don't mention because of the ability to sense the other person's potential feelings and/or embarrassment. Or maybe they are ones that are so blatantly obvious, there is clearly no need to bring them up.

Sydney does not have that ability to put herself in someone elses shoes yet. So she looks at everyone sitting out in the yard/driveway, observing differences. Then, she opens her mouth...

"Everyone has hair. Except...... that guy," pointing at one of our cousins, who is getting a little sparse up top.

Quick, hit that mute button!! I'm glad some people found it funny because had I been over there my face would have been glowing with embarrassment.

To make note, he is the only male member of the family that Cameron didn't instantly cry at when he held her. I think the facial hair freaks her out at first, but since he doesn't have any... maybe that was the winner? ;-)