Since these photos are not to scale I enlarged the bottom one so you can see how big she has gotten compared to the bear (who, of course, has not changed size). Wow!
3 weeks
14 months
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Thursday, May 10, 2012
The "Beyond" Part...
So, my blog title is "Baby Bump and Beyond"... but if anyone has noticed I did a great job maintaining my blog posts with the baby bump part... and the beyond part, well, I am sucking at. I always have what I think are great blog post ideas in my mind... and then Irie needs milk, or her diapers need to be thrown in the wash, or I need to write an IEP for the following day's meeting, or I need to make more food since I just fed Irie and I just realized I am STARVING. Anyway... excuses, excuses. This summer I plan to update this blog with fun happenings of gardening, cloth diapering, breast feeding, and my life with a one year-old.
Excited? I am!
Teacher Appreciation
This week is "Teacher Appreciation Week" and I feel very much appreciated. As a new teacher, a new mommy, and a pretty new wife, this year has been quite an adventure. All of my children (including both my students and my own little love) are so good to me. On a daily basis they show their appreciation for me in a number of ways. My students do a wonderful job of testing my patience. They make me realize more about myself as a person. They make me a better teacher, a better mother, and a better person. My job is to teach them... and they get to teach me, too. I am appreciative of every one of my students and every child who has made an imprint on my life. I have been told "you have your heart wrapped so tightly around each one of your students"... and I am starting to notice that as true. They make me crazy, but like Jimi Hendrix once said, "craziness is like heaven".
I also feel so much appreciation for every teacher I have had in my life (and that is A LOT of teachers)! If it wasn't for my positive experience with school I would not be in the profession I am. I love you, teachers. And I also love all the other "teachers" (aunties, grandmas, uncles, grandpas, daycare providers, paraeducators, etc.) Keep it up, teachers!
I also feel so much appreciation for every teacher I have had in my life (and that is A LOT of teachers)! If it wasn't for my positive experience with school I would not be in the profession I am. I love you, teachers. And I also love all the other "teachers" (aunties, grandmas, uncles, grandpas, daycare providers, paraeducators, etc.) Keep it up, teachers!
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Thursday, December 22, 2011
We Love Cloth Diapers!
We have been using cloth diapers with Irie since she was about a month old and we LOVE them! Here are some photos of some of the different kinds we have used and currently use with our baby. We like to use All-in-Twos (i.e. an insert inside of a diaper cover) the best.
To come... some tips, how to's, and pros & cons of diapers we've tried (+ more pictures!).
 |
| Kissaluvs |
 | |
| Kissaluvs |
 |
| Contour diaper (with a Snappi) |
 |
| gDiaper |
 |
| gDiaper |
 |
| Best Bottom |
 |
| Flip |
 | ||
| Flip |
 |
| Best Bottom |
 |
| Econobum |
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Friday, September 16, 2011
Yes Ma'am, Time Does Fly!
It was approximately a year ago to the day when I found out I was pregnant.
Wow.
To think about where I was sitting there and where I am now SO MUCH has happened! This has been a very eventful year, to say the least.
Wow.
To think about where I was sitting there and where I am now SO MUCH has happened! This has been a very eventful year, to say the least.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Friday, July 29, 2011
Read, Read, Read!!
Reading Tips for Parents of Babies
By: Reading Rockets (2008)
It's never too early to read to your baby. As soon as your baby is born, he or she starts learning. Just by talking to, playing with, and caring for your baby every day, you help your baby develop language skills necessary to become a reader. By reading with your baby, you foster a love of books and reading right from the start. The tips below offer some fun ways you can help your child become a happy and confident reader. Try a new tip each week. See what works best for your child.
Snuggle up with a book
When you hold your baby close and look at a book together, your baby will enjoy the snuggling and hearing your voice as well as the story. Feeling safe and secure with you while looking at a book builds your baby's confidence and love of reading.Choose baby-friendly books
Books with bright and bold or high-contrast illustrations are easier for young babies to see, and will grab their attention. Books made of cloth or soft plastic (for the bathtub) or "board books" with sturdy cardboard pages are easier for a baby to handle.Keep books where your baby can reach them
Make sure books are as easy to reach, hold, and look at as toys. Remember, a baby will do with a book what he does with everything else — put it in his mouth. And that's exactly what he's supposed to do, so you may only want to put chewable books within reach.Talk with your baby — all day long
Describe the weather or which apples you are choosing at the grocery. Talk about the pictures in a book or things you see on a walk. Ask questions. By listening, your child learns words, ideas, and how language works.Encourage your baby's coos, growls, and gurgles
They are your baby's way of communicating with you, and are important first steps toward speech. Encourage attempts to mimic you. The more your baby practices making sounds, the clearer they will become. Go ahead and moo, woof and honk!Give baby a hand!
Encourage your baby to pick up crackers or peas, touch noses and toes, point to pictures and grab toys. The muscles in those little hands will grow strong, agile, and ready to turn pages.Develop a daily routine (and make reading a part of it)
Routines can soothe a baby, and let a baby learn to predict what will happen next. The ability to predict is important when your child is older and is reading independently.Sing, Read, Repeat
Read favorite stories and sing favorite songs over and over again. Repeated fun with books will strengthen language development and positive feelings about reading."Read" your baby
Pay attention to how your baby reacts to the book you are reading. Stop if your baby isn't enjoying the story and try another book or another timeThursday, July 28, 2011
Cloth Diapering
I am LOVING using cloth diapers on my little Irie bean. I am currently using Kissaluvs size 0 (quickly getting too small!) with a Flip diaper cover. So far so good! I'm about to send back my Kissaluvs rentals and since I LOVE the all-in-two's/hybrid diapering systems I am looking into buying some Best Bottom or Weehuggers, which are similar to the Flip system and have such cute prints!
Check out this adorable video I stumbled upon this morning.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Irie
'Peace with the Universe'
'I Respect I Eternally'
'To be at total peace with your current state of being.
The way you feel when you have no worries.'
'Everything Be Irie Mon!'
'I Respect I Eternally'
'To be at total peace with your current state of being.
The way you feel when you have no worries.'
'Everything Be Irie Mon!'
Baby's Firsts
"When the first baby laughed for the first time, the laugh broke into a thousand pieces and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy. So there ought to be."
-- James Matthew Barrie First time in mama's arms
First car ride
First night at home
First night at home
First time meeting Addyson
First tummy time
First time being held by a Jamaican
First family photo with the Ashbaughs
First trip to the mall
First softball game
First time wearing sunglasses
First bottle
First frowny face
First graduation
First cloth diaper
First smile (happy to be in cloth!)
First smile (in swing)
First staring contest
First Mariners game
First time hanging out in diapers with Addy
First fireworks show
First wedding
First cloth diaper
First smile (happy to be in cloth!)
First smile (in swing)
First staring contest
First Mariners game
First time hanging out in diapers with Addy
First fireworks show
First wedding
Thursday, May 5, 2011
My Mary Poppins Birth
It was "practically perfect in every way.."
On Friday, April 29th, we went camping. Why we went camping when I was about to pop I do not know. Okay, okay... so I do know why. Chad insisted on going camping even though it was an HOUR further away from our hospital. After all, I was only pregnant; it still seemed out of this world that we would have a baby soon. Why not do the normal stuff we'd be doing anyway?
So we went camping in Clearwood (Yelm-ish area) on Friday night and we were planning on staying Saturday night as well. My father-in-law gave up his nice, large, comfy bed in the motor home the first night so it wouldn't be bad to sleep in it just one more night, right? After a nice day of fishing a weird glob of goo came out of me. "I lost my mucus plug," I thought. Then I took a nap.
Upon waking up from my nice nap an odd, childish argument took place... and I thank Chad and Clay for having this silly fight because this is perhaps what sent me into labor and what sent us home that night. After shouting, tears and a confused beagle and pregnant lady, we were locked out of the motor home and the sun was setting.
I passed the hint a few times that it would probably be better to go home than to figure out where to sleep. So we got in the car and headed home!
Let's keep this part short: We arrived home around 11 pm, we were all showered and ready for bed by midnight, I squirmed around in bed feeling antsy thinking about what my baby looked like and feeling kind of sick to my stomach until about 3 am, I got up and made myself a bagel and put a movie in, I heard a "pop!" sound inside of me, I walked into the bathroom... nothing. So I laid back in bed and watched some more of the movie, when I had a sudden urge to go potty (gross!), so I ran into the bathroom. As I stepped foot on the tile my waters went everywhere. I exclaimed "OH SHIT!", Chad came running in frantically asking what was the matter, I pointed to the wet floor, his eyes grew huge, he gave me a high five, he ran to pack the bags, and I sat on the toilet crying.
After he convinced me to get up I called the hospital, they said to take my time, I walked around crying, my mom came over, we did not take our time (good thing), and we got in the truck...
Around 5:25 am we arrived at the UW Medical Center. Not until THEN did my body start hurting. So that's what contractions feel like... I was told to lie on a stupid bed and the last thing I wanted to do was lie down, I was checked how far dilated I was (for the first time ever) by some doctor who said "about a 3... and I see hair!"... HAIR?! Yeah, that was more than a 3. Slowly but surely I was moved into the special room with a yoga ball, a jacuzzi tub, and all the lovely luxuries I was excited about. I bounced on the ball a bit, a stinky-breathed anesthesiologist came in and I was very rude to him as I told him I wanted nothing to do with him, I was checked again and was an 8 or something, and then I was asked if it felt like I could have a bowel movement. It did, so I said "yes".
"CALL HER MIDWIFE NOW!!!" Apparently when the feeling of needing to have a bowel movement occurs that means it's time to push. I didn't know that so I was just casual.
The midwife came in the room just in time... push, push, push... and then my perfect newborn baby was in my arms at 7:34 am. A perfect morning. I pulled my darling baby up to my chest (her color had already changed from purple to beautiful baby color) and she nursed within the first thirty minutes of life. After about an hour everyone was eager to know how big she was and they all wanted to hold her so I decided to let others hold my happy, healthy, beautiful girl.
So we went camping in Clearwood (Yelm-ish area) on Friday night and we were planning on staying Saturday night as well. My father-in-law gave up his nice, large, comfy bed in the motor home the first night so it wouldn't be bad to sleep in it just one more night, right? After a nice day of fishing a weird glob of goo came out of me. "I lost my mucus plug," I thought. Then I took a nap.
Upon waking up from my nice nap an odd, childish argument took place... and I thank Chad and Clay for having this silly fight because this is perhaps what sent me into labor and what sent us home that night. After shouting, tears and a confused beagle and pregnant lady, we were locked out of the motor home and the sun was setting.
I passed the hint a few times that it would probably be better to go home than to figure out where to sleep. So we got in the car and headed home!
Let's keep this part short: We arrived home around 11 pm, we were all showered and ready for bed by midnight, I squirmed around in bed feeling antsy thinking about what my baby looked like and feeling kind of sick to my stomach until about 3 am, I got up and made myself a bagel and put a movie in, I heard a "pop!" sound inside of me, I walked into the bathroom... nothing. So I laid back in bed and watched some more of the movie, when I had a sudden urge to go potty (gross!), so I ran into the bathroom. As I stepped foot on the tile my waters went everywhere. I exclaimed "OH SHIT!", Chad came running in frantically asking what was the matter, I pointed to the wet floor, his eyes grew huge, he gave me a high five, he ran to pack the bags, and I sat on the toilet crying.
After he convinced me to get up I called the hospital, they said to take my time, I walked around crying, my mom came over, we did not take our time (good thing), and we got in the truck...
Around 5:25 am we arrived at the UW Medical Center. Not until THEN did my body start hurting. So that's what contractions feel like... I was told to lie on a stupid bed and the last thing I wanted to do was lie down, I was checked how far dilated I was (for the first time ever) by some doctor who said "about a 3... and I see hair!"... HAIR?! Yeah, that was more than a 3. Slowly but surely I was moved into the special room with a yoga ball, a jacuzzi tub, and all the lovely luxuries I was excited about. I bounced on the ball a bit, a stinky-breathed anesthesiologist came in and I was very rude to him as I told him I wanted nothing to do with him, I was checked again and was an 8 or something, and then I was asked if it felt like I could have a bowel movement. It did, so I said "yes".
"CALL HER MIDWIFE NOW!!!" Apparently when the feeling of needing to have a bowel movement occurs that means it's time to push. I didn't know that so I was just casual.
The midwife came in the room just in time... push, push, push... and then my perfect newborn baby was in my arms at 7:34 am. A perfect morning. I pulled my darling baby up to my chest (her color had already changed from purple to beautiful baby color) and she nursed within the first thirty minutes of life. After about an hour everyone was eager to know how big she was and they all wanted to hold her so I decided to let others hold my happy, healthy, beautiful girl.
Born May 1, 2011 at 7:34 am
6 pounds 11 1/2 ounces
20 1/2 inches long
And there you have it... my "Mary Poppins" birth.
6 pounds 11 1/2 ounces
20 1/2 inches long
And there you have it... my "Mary Poppins" birth.
Week 39 - A VERY Eventful Week
Tuesday - Irie's cousin Addy was born.
Wednesday - I worked my ass off on my Capstone project... 9 1/2 hours later it was ALMOST done.
Thursday - I finished and submitted my Capstone, and that was a very good thing.
Photo taken on Thursday... three days before Irie's arrival.
Following two photos taken on Friday... two days before Irie's arrival.
We took these pictures right before we left for camping. Why we went camping when I had a really strong gut feeling that I was going to go into labor I do not know. But we did, and I went into labor that weekend. :)
Sunday - Welcome baby girl!
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Welcome Niece Addy!
Last night baby Addyson Kay was born! On Monday Tiffany got her membranes stripped and then it all began!!! I am so proud of my sister. She did amazing (no drugs... go sister!) and she kept saying, "I can't believe I just did that!" I love her and I love that baby girl. I'm excited to have another beautiful niece.
7 lbs and 20 inches... only moments after birth (about 30 minutes)
Proud mama!
Happy uncle!Sunday, April 24, 2011
Easter, Baby Bellies, and Kidlets
Easter was weird this year. It started out with Chad and I taking Leo for a walk. It seems to not much matter what we try... basically our dog sucks at going on walks. Whatever. We still try.
We were both going to to go Chad's mom and dad's house in the early afternoon, but it ended up not working out timing-wise so Chad went over there before he played a show and I went to my grandma's and the two of us drove together to Cheryl's. It was a lot of fun once we got to Cheryl's and it felt nice and normal except for Chad not being there and my dad not being there. The family man is in North Carolina with his work guys doing clean-up after the tornado disasters, which I think is absolutely wonderful! I'm thankful that there are people like my dad who are willing to go help people in need. Though he will miss the births of his daughter's baby girls I don't think it really matters because he will always be in their lives and it is an amazing thing what he is doing. Plus, he gets to see the country! So far he has a shot glass and a magnet from every state they've crossed through, which is about ten!
The votes are in! Three people are calling April 28th, one says April 29th, and a couple of people think the first few days of May. I also think it is going to be sometime this coming week, and I think Thursday (the 28th) would be great! Let's see what this baby thinks.
We were both going to to go Chad's mom and dad's house in the early afternoon, but it ended up not working out timing-wise so Chad went over there before he played a show and I went to my grandma's and the two of us drove together to Cheryl's. It was a lot of fun once we got to Cheryl's and it felt nice and normal except for Chad not being there and my dad not being there. The family man is in North Carolina with his work guys doing clean-up after the tornado disasters, which I think is absolutely wonderful! I'm thankful that there are people like my dad who are willing to go help people in need. Though he will miss the births of his daughter's baby girls I don't think it really matters because he will always be in their lives and it is an amazing thing what he is doing. Plus, he gets to see the country! So far he has a shot glass and a magnet from every state they've crossed through, which is about ten!
The kids had fun hunting for eggs, and the sun even made a little appearance!
We managed to get some belly photos in before the end of the evening. I like this one of us girls and the colors we're wearing are super Springy.
Though Chad wasn't there to join me in the photos I was finally able to get in some good belly photos with Cheryl, and I am SO GLAD! I have a feeling this baby is coming within the week, so I'm glad I was able to get some photos in.
Though Chad wasn't there to join me in the photos I was finally able to get in some good belly photos with Cheryl, and I am SO GLAD! I have a feeling this baby is coming within the week, so I'm glad I was able to get some photos in.
The votes are in! Three people are calling April 28th, one says April 29th, and a couple of people think the first few days of May. I also think it is going to be sometime this coming week, and I think Thursday (the 28th) would be great! Let's see what this baby thinks.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)