After the last post, I figured it was my turn to write
something a little more light and fun! So get ready for some details of my life
as a mommy to the sweetest 11 week-old boy in the world. Has it really already
been 11 weeks?!
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| Knox at 1 month old |
Knox FINALLY arrived on May 28, 2012, and our life has
changed drastically...for the better. We can’t imagine our life without him
now. Billy was able to stay home for 2 weeks or so which really helped us
figure out this parenting-a-newborn thing. We watched MANY movies on Netflix
while I figured out how to breastfeed, and Billy became a PRO at changing poop
diapers. We were so very blessed to have dinner brought to us by our River Stone family for most days of the first
month we were home. I don’t know how anyone brings home an infant and manages
cooking/cleaning at the same time! We were pretty spoiled. However, our house
DID look like that of a family with a new baby. I swear it took weeks for me to find places for things and
clear clutter off the coffee table. Things finally started to calm down once
Billy went back to work, we overcame engorgement and pre-mastitis, I was able
to start working out again, and Knox SORTA KINDA figured out the difference
between nighttime and daytime. Oh yeah, and we had to start making dinner
again...bummer!
When Knox was around 3 weeks old, we decided to take the
plunge into the world of CLOTH DIAPERS!!!
We had planned to use them all along, but wanted to wait for Knox to get the
meconium out of his system and grow into our one-sized diapers a little better.
So many people have asked me about cloth diapers and our routine, so I figured
now was as good a time as ever to share!
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| 2 month old Knox rocking his BumGenius dipey. |
Why we chose to use
cloth diapers: Despite many opinions, we did NOT choose the cloth route
just to make our lives more difficult or to appear more
natural/granola/crunchy/hippy/San Martian/fill-in-the-blank. We mainly wanted to
save money in the long run. Since the diapers we chose were one-size-fits-all
(8-35 lbs), he should never need other diapers as long as he is in them. There are other benefits you can read
about in the link above such as the material being better for his skin, less
diaper rashes in most babies, and helps them potty train earlier. Knox actually
had a small rash from being in disposables for 3 weeks, which vanished after 2
days in the cloths. But our decision was mainly selfish...to save money. Oh,
and it is better for the Earth...but we don’t really care about that as much.
hehe
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| Our pale aka trash can with planetwise liner. |
How it works: Cloth
diapers have come a long way since the time when our parents or grandparents
may have used them. They are super cute and durable. We use two kinds of
BumGenius diapers, some with
built in flaps to absorb liquid and some with an insert you have to stuff into
it to absorb liquid. It’s really simple. You put the diaper on, the baby poops
or pees in it, and then you stick it in a pale with a lid. Once the pale is
full, you dump them in the wash and then hang to dry. We change Knox every 2-3
hours unless we know he pooped...and there’s no mistaking that! What about that
poop you may ask? Well, since Knox’s only form of nutrition is breast milk, his
poop dissolves in water, so you don’t have to clean it off before throwing it
into the washer! Once he decides he is ready for solids, sometime after 6
months, then we will have to use a sprayer to knock off the poop into the
toilet. But we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.
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| Wet bag in our super cool diaper bag. |
What about when we’re
out and about: We use cloth exclusively, so when we change him while we are
out, we just put the dirty diaper in this cute zippered wet bag and dump it in
the pale when we get home. No harm done.
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| Cloth wipes aka washcloths rolled up. |
What about wipes:
We cheat a little here and use regular wipes when we are out or travelling to
see our parents. Technically we could just bring some rags and a spray bottle,
which we may switch to once we run out of these wipes. At home, we wet about 20
baby washcloths from Target, fold and roll them up, then place them in the wipe
warmer. I use one per diaper and toss it in the pale with the diapers. They are
washed with the diapers and dried with the inserts in the dryer.
All in all, our system works for us. It’s all we know. It doesn’t seem hard or time-consuming.
I actually enjoy it for some reason. Maybe because of how cute they look on his
fat butt.
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| Cloths drying & sun bleaching outside! Photo credit: Savannah Menchaca Photography via iPhone |
This brings me to another new Wells family decision. I am
now a full time stay-at-home wife & mommy. This decision was made very
recently. I was planning on returning to work as a physical therapist 2 days a
week on August 20th. As
the date quickly approached, both Billy and I did not feel at peace about our
past decision. I would have been working 8am-6pm on those 2 days, having to be
away from Knox, and pumping multiple times to keep up my supply. Knox would
have had to go with Billy to work which means running errands and being in an
office while B made phone calls, etc. At the time it seemed like that would
work, but then we met Knox. He eats when he wants, which is not a scheduled
event. He takes naps, but not at certain times yet. And when he is awake for
1-2 hours at a time, we want to be stimulating him, talking, singing and
playing. Thus we began praying for God to lead us to where He wanted me to be.
After specifically praying this, I read through Titus. I came across Titus 2:4,
“...and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, to be
self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own
husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled”. There are a lot of things
in this verse that I am constantly needing the grace of God to work towards,
then there is the obvious answer to my recent prayer. Billy and I both decided
that God currently wants me to be with Knox. After much
investigation/budgeting, we decided that it was possible and we would MAKE it
work. There will be sacrifices that have to be made, but it is worth it for us
to follow where He leads us.
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| Me & My Boy |
People may think, why did you put yourself through 6 years
of college/grad school, get your doctorate and license JUST to be a
stay-at-home mom. Well, there will come a time when I WILL go back to doing PT.
I will probably never work full-time again, but maybe part-time or PRN. That’s
the great thing about my degree. Hey, at least I have 11 months of experience! Ha-ha
So that is where we are. Billy will continue working full
time for River Stone and part time for Links USA. I will be with our son. It
really feels too good to be true. My day consists of waking up to a sweet baby
boy, feeding him off and on ALL day, catching every smile he decides to give
me, and trying to make sure he feels loved. I love that I am able to clean and
organize the house like I have wanted to for so long. I am learning new recipes
and actually cooking for Billy!! He used to be the one who cooked. Also, I am
able to spend time with local mommies who can teach me from their experience. I
am so thankful for all they have taught me so far via demonstration, books,
etc.
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| 2 month old pretty blue eyes. |
I pray that God gives me the wisdom to excel in this new
position of mommy. I pray that I can love him even a fraction of the amount
that God does. I pray that our little boy grows up knowing who Jesus is because
we tell him and show him in the way we live our life. And most importantly, I
pray that God leads Him to himself by the Holy Spirit so that Knox can
experience true love and true life.
Jessica
