...I married my best friend & soul mate.
Happy Anniversary Mike!
I came across this picture and had to include it in the post. This must have been when we first started dating. We look soooo young!!!
Childbirth Classes
I knew I wanted Mike and I to take a few childbirth education classes before Baby Organ arrives. After doing some research we decided to take all our classes through The Women's Hospital at Centennial. I found a "First Time Parents" package of classes that included a 5 week labor & delivery series, a newborn care class, & an infant safety and CPR class.
This past Tuesday was our 5th and final labor & delivery class and we also attended our newborn care class on Thursday night. I am so thankful we took both of these classes. There were several things taught in the class that were common sense, but there was so much more to learn. Who knew having a baby could be so complicated? We had the same instructor for both classes and she was wonderful. I wish I could hire her to be my labor & delivery nurse, doula, & baby nanny:)
I learned 3 major lessons in the labor & delivery classes.:
1st: I learned just how important my birth partner/support person will be during L & D.
2nd: I realized that no matter what birth plan I choose or what plan I end up having to follow, there is no right or wrong way. It will be special no matter what.
3rd (most important): I learned that no matter how hard I try, there is no controlling the labor process. It is easier to go with the flow. Things may not go the way I want them to go or have planned them to go, and that is okay.
Overall, this class was great. Now I just hope we remember everything we learned once the panic sets in!
During the newborn care class we talked about the hospital protocol and procedures that will take place once the baby is born. This put me at ease knowing ahead of time what normally is done from the first moment after birth until we leave the hospital. We also learned how to bathe the baby, care for the umbilical cord, change a diaper, feed and burp & how to swaddle. I let Mike have all the hands on practice.
I couldn't end this post without sharing pictures from our labor & deliver class where Mike was very eager to try on the 30lb. "Empathy Belly"!
Diapers
So I technically have 9 weeks left until this little one makes an appearance. I had no idea that for someone who doesn't work and has no children that my life could be so busy. I feel like this pregnancy has gone by really quick. The first trimester was a little slow and I didn't help much that I was sick all the time, but I think the new excitement is what got me through those first 3 months. The 2nd trimester flew by since it happened over the Thanksgiving & Christmas Holidays. Now I am in the 3rd trimester and my schedule is completely full with childbirth classes, doctors appointments, baby showers, and consignment sales:) I am finally realizing that these last 9 weeks will be gone before I know it so it is time to get on the ball and finalize some things.
First thing on my list is to make a decision about what type of diaper we would be using in our house. I have always wanted to use cloth diapers. I feel that it is better for the earth & also cheaper especially if you have more than one child. But here lately I have been wavering on if I can really commit to the whole cloth diaper thing. I have spent the last few days doing extensive research on this subject and have finally come up with a decision!
Thanks to many conversations with friends and family and the huge amount of information on the internet it has been decided that the Organ household will be using cloth diapers. I am really excited about this decision. Even though dealing with dirty diapers & extra laundry doesn't sound like fun, I think this will be a decision that fits who our family is and what type of family we strive to be.
I am being brave and going with a newer brand of cloth diapers, Kawaii Diapers. It is a brand that none of my friends use, but has gotten great reviews and (depending on which style of diaper) is about 1/2 to 1/3 of the price of most other cloth diapers (which is really exciting!).
I tried to be as thorough as possible in doing the financial research for cloth vs. disposable and what I found (on the internet) is that most families spend about $40/month on disposable diapers. That is roughly $500/year. For the Kawaii diapers I will be spending a little less than $300 for everything I need, and that is if I buy the most expensive Kawaii diapers.
I know that is a lot of numbers, but it boils down to this. Lets say (for numbers sake) it typically takes a child 3 years to potty train:
Disposable diapers for 3 years: $1500
Kawaii Cloth diapers for 3 years: $300
And the best part about all this is that when we have our second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, etc. child we hypothetically won't have to spend another penny.
I know I haven't figured in electricity & water costs for washing and caring for the cloth diapers. That information was hard to come by, so to be fair cloth diapering will cost us a little more than $300 total. But I still think the savings in the long run is worth it.
I have nothing against disposable diapers, over the last month or two I honestly thought I didn't want to mess with cloth and I would be using disposable diapers, but after the last couple days I have finally made up my mind and I just hope I don't regret it after a week of cloth diapering:)
