Cloth Diapering Venture

So some of you know that Josh and I decided while we were pregnant that to be cost effective and Eco-friendly we would do cloth diapers. When I thought of cloth diapers, I thought back to the old-school prefolds with the plastic pull-over cover and then having to do the dunk in the toilet, ewww, I just couldn't bring myself to do that. But after much research, we found that cloth diapers have come such a long way and many look just like a disposable diaper.

Josh and I calculated the cost of disposables and for 1year of pampers and it was going to be around $500-650. Where with cloth diapers we spent around $400-450 for 18 diapers that we can use up until Caleb is 35lbs and then use for future kids too. Yes there is a large up-front cost, but it sure bets running out of diapers at 3am! Right now we do diaper laundry every 3rd day, and man is it easy.

Here are somethings that we have found helpful to have and what our diaper stash looks like:

• we have 12 BumGenius 3.0 pocket diapers, each comes with 2 different size inserts and run about $18 apiece and are for infants 7-35lbs.
• we also have 3 Flip Day Packs; each pack includes 2 covers and 6 inserts. again these are for infants 7-35lbs. These run around $45 per day pack (the basis of these are that you just change the insert and continue to use the cover til soiled)
• Stainless Steal Kitchen trashcan with lid ($45 from walmart).
• 2 waterproof diaper pail liners ($13 each).
• Cloth wipes (we bought 24 baby washcloths from marshals $8)
• 1 medium wetbag (for when we are out, for wet/dirty diapers $15)
• Thirsties Booty Luster Spray (Just found this yesterday and love it, $11)
• Bummis Flushable Diaper Liners (put this in the diaper to catch all solids and then flush, 100 per roll for about $6, we go through 1 roll in 1 to 1 and 1/2 months)
• BumGenuis Odor Remover Spray ($6 per bottle, we put 1 spray on each diaper before it goes in the pail, this bottle will last us a little over 2 months).
• Charlies Soap (made in NC, this is a fantastic laundry soap that is safe for diapers. We ended up ordering a 40gallon bucket that will last us 2 years and now use it for all of our laundry!)

There are 3 different places we love to get our diapers and supplies from, 2 online and 1 store in Charlotte. The Milky Way is located in Dilworth, and they carry a wide range of diapers and accessories and hold a free cloth diapering class that go over all of the different types of diapers and options you have. JilliansDrawers.com is our next favorite, they have great prices and also do a trial run of diapers for 21days for $10. Cottenbabies.com is our other favorite online store. Also on both sites they sell gently used diapers for a reduce rate.

When it comes to washing, we do diapers every 3rd day. We take the diaper pail liner and empty the contents and liner in the washer, and do a cold water rinse. then a hot water wash with Charlies soap, and then a cold water rinse. All covers are hung to dry and inserts dried on hot.

That's what were are doing now, and will post new things as we continue our venture.

Caleb is now 4months

Well Caleb turned 4months (2months adjusted) this past Tuesday and is growing like a weed. He had a weight check on Monday and weighed in at 10lb 5oz.

We are still battling his reflux and had a really bad day last week, but it seems to come in waves. we will have 1-2 really bad days and then a few good. His medication was adjusted so hopefully we will see some changes.

Friday we had a follow-up appointment with the physical therapist that worked with Caleb in the NICU. And she did an evaluation to see how his development is going. There are somethings he scored on target with his adjusted age, and others he was either behind 1month or ahead. We have some stretches and different exercises to do a few times each day. We will go back in 4months for another follow-up, PT said that she would like to see Caleb roll-over by that point.

Caleb is now smiling on a more regular basis and babbling all the time.

Thats all for now. We go back to the doctor on Wednesday for his 4month appointment and will post new weight then!

What's REALLY in a Name?

So, I had a post earlier this year that explained Caleb's name.  That post was named "What's in a Name?".  In that post, I explained how we chose Caleb's name in part due to the correlation of Caleb to Joshua in the Old Testament.  I also explained how his middle, James name was chosen (practically) at random.  Well, so we thought at least.

I recently got into genealogy.  This was sparked by both the new show on NBC "Who do you think you are" and the birth of our first son.  I have been thinking a lot of legacy.  In case you didn't know, I am the only one bearing the Black name for some generations.  I was not sure how far back, but the idea of legacy caused me to begin tapping into the abundant resources online to find out about our family.  Pertaining to carrying on the Black name, I am the only one going back 4 generations at least.  I still have to trace distant cousins to see how many of us are carrying the torch.  As for my other discovery...  We thought Caleb's middle name of James was completely random.  However, I found that starting 5 generations ago, there were at least 4 generations of James' in my Black family lineage!  I have noticed in my family studies that it was very common for children to receive at least part of their name from a family name.  We thought this occurrence was intriguing.  We pray that Caleb carry the Black family legacy with pride.

Caleb is 3months Today

Caleb turned 3months old yesterday, 1month adjusted. It is amazing to see how far he has come in the past 3months. He has doubled in weight since birth, as of 4/1/10 he weighed in at 6lbs 4oz!!! We head back to the pediatrician this morning and will know what his current weight is. He had his first smile at mommy and daddy on the 9th! and oh does he have a cute little smile.

March 26th Caleb had to have 2 hernia's repaired, we had a awesome surgeon and thankfully he checked the other right side inguinal and he ended up having a hernia there too that just hadn't popped out yet. So he repaired that one too. Caleb did very well through the surgery, and we ended up spending the night there at the hospital due to his prematurity. Caleb was back to his happy self within a few days.

last week we had an appt with his GI dr. concerning his liver and then to talk about his reflux. labs were taken and came back very good, we will be on Actigall for 1 more month and then we are done. Follow-up isn't for 2months. Its a huge blessing to see the dr. appt's start to slow down. While we were with the GI dr. we talk about his reflux, and his current medication (zantac, his Pediatrician put him on it) has pretty much stopped working. His GI dr has put him on Nexium and we started that on Saturday, we have been told that it can take up to 3weeks for it to work. This is due to the medication working on the problem and not just masking the symptoms.

Over all Caleb is such a happy baby!!! he is now sleeping 4hrs straight through the night, and we couldn't be happier to let him sleep and not be on the strict 3hr schedule! God has truly blessed us with an amazing little boy!

Caleb is 2months today....Needs Surgery....and has reflux...

Caleb is 2 months old today, and 5days adjusted. He now weighs 4lb 11oz! He is such a blessing and we can't thank God enough for giving us this sweet little boy.

March has been the month of doctor appointments. So far we have been and had a HIDA scan on the 1st for Caleb's Liver, been to the eye Dr once to check for ROP (and get to go back on the 18th), the Pediatrician 3 times, and have to go back tomorrow and next week too. And the list keeps growing.

We went last Friday to the pediatrician because Caleb was spitting up quite a bit. They say he has reflux and it is very common in preemies to develop this. They gave us baby zantac to take twice a day. It seemed to be helping over the weekend but by Monday afternoon it was getting worse. Around the same time I noticed a rather large lump on Caleb's lower abdomen. I was able to press it back in and assumed it was a hernia. Tuesday morning called the Dr about his Reflux and this new spot. They called us in for an appointment that morning.

It was confirmed that he had another hernia (has an umbilical hernia as well) and we needed to see a urologist very soon to get it repaired. Yesterday we saw Dr. Perez and confirmed that he did have an inguinal hernia and that he would need surgery to repair it. 1 in 3 preemie boys develop this type of hernia and 1 in 4 will become strangulated prior to surgery. They don't know when that would happen but we would rather get the repair done now then wait for that to happen and have other complications with an emergency surgery.

So we are looking at the surgery happening in the next week to 2 weeks.

With the reflux, we cant add any other meds due to his immature liver so we thickening his formula with rice cereal.

Thats all the updates for now and will post when we know his surgery date.

What an AMAZING week!!!

We were thrown for a wild weekend and great week last friday, the 12th. I walked into the NICU to both the Baby Doctor and NNP asking if we were ready to room-in that weekend with Caleb. I was flooded with emotion, we were not ready for a baby at home and thought we had a few weeks to go. (just like Calebs entrance into the world, we weren't ready for that either). So the rest of Friday and Saturday was a mad rush on getting the house ready and making sure we had all of the many things for little Caleb at home. Sunday we had a nice morning at home, (again finishing the last few things), and headed out the door around lunch time to go and be with our little man. We made a much needed pit stop by Starbucks for an extra bit of energy. The nurse brought Caleb to our room, things came full circle because the room that we were in was the room that I was in when Caleb was born. (it is one of the nicer, bigger rooms!) The 1st night alone with him, was a little nerve racking. Trying to get use to his noises (we have been told that preemies make a lot more noises that a full-term baby), getting up and feeding him every 3 hours, and then the nurses calling to check in or just stopping in (we have been told by all of the staff that they have faught over him at shift changes). The plan was to room-in for 1 night and then go home on Monday mid-morning. Caleb's nurse came and got him at 4:30am Monday morning to do some final lab work. Around 10am the NNP came in and told us that one of the labs that was done on his liver came back abnormal, and that the Baby Doctor wanted to run some more tests, and they had a Pediactric GI Specialist downtown at the Childrens Hospital looking at the labs and he wanted them to do an Ultrasound and run more labs. So we ended up having to stay another night. The ultrasound came back normal, but the labs were still elvated. But were ok for us to still go home on Tuesday. So Tuesday at 2:30pm we were in the car and on the way home with Caleb. It was great to finally leave the Hospital with Caleb and know that we did not have to go back. Yesterday Caleb had a follow-up Appt with the GI Dr and ended up doing more labs, to help rule out a blockage in the liver. We just got the results and the were still high, so he is being put on 2 medications and he will have to have a HIDA scan on March 1st. Other than the many trips to all the different drs, Caleb has been doing great, a little fussy here and there. But Most nights sleeping 3hours straight, in between feedings. God has blessed us so much with the Little One and we can't wait to see what he has in store for him. Thank you for all of your prayers and support.

2.3.2010 Caleb Update!!!!

Well, last night Josh had his award ceremony at UNC Charlotte for passing his PE Exam. So we missed Caleb's 8pm feeding and weigh-in. We had called in to check in on him, but they were admitting another baby and could not talk with us.

So when Josh got in this morning, Caleb had a big surprise for us! He gained enough weight to be moved out of the isolate to a bassinet. He now weighs 3lbs 5.2oz!!!! His temp has been staying up which is good, because there is a nice draft by his bed.

Yesterday, he took 2 of his feedings by bottle and took the full amount!!! it was the first time he took the whole bottle for Josh, and he was thrilled!!!

Each day he is making changes and growing!!! He keeps amazing the Nurses, NNP and Doctors everyday.

We Thank God for blessing our little one!!!