I Don't Know wether to be Flattered or Pissed...

    So today i applied for an in home service aid... the lady said they'd have to review my resume, and she wasn't sure if i'd get the job bc i'm over qualified....i don't know wether to be flattered or pissed...its a little confusing bc im an EMT & can do everything that a CNA can do plus more but they have more job opportunities/ or more of a verity to choose from and get paid the same...

1 Samuel 1:19

    January 14th, my husband was at work, Janie was waking up from a nap still in her crib. I could hear her through the monitor. I had just finished eating my dinner and I was praying to God. I was praying for a lot of different things, my mind wondered and I last prayed that when my husband and I went to try to conceive our next child that God would give us a son. I also prayed that God would show me what to name him.  Now my husband and I had already picked out a name, "Tucker" and we both really liked that name, but as I was praying i just felt like I should ask God what he would want me to name him. I then ended my prayer, my Bible was sitting in front of me and I opened it. I just randomly opened it up and this verse popped out at me "and in due time she gave birth to a son. She named him Samuel, for she said, "I asked the LORD for him." (1 Samuel 1:19). I was shocked and started to cry.  Janie also started to cry, she was ready to get out of her crib, so I closed the Bible and went about my night. The next day on our way to my Grandmothers for Sunday dinner I told my husband about it and he said that he didn't like that name and that we had already picked out a name "Tucker" which we LOVE. At my Grandmothers house I wanted to read the rest of that chapter to see what it was about. I read it and my grandmother sat down at the table beside me. I was talking to her about how I really liked her Bible. Its a study Bible, really easy to understand, I told her about my praying and what had happened and how i just didn't know about it, and how we really didn't like the name Samuel, then my grandfather interrupted us and slid his study Bible down the table to me and told me to check it out. (Keep in mind that he interrupted me while i was talking about how i just wasn't sure about that name) I opened his Bible to the SAME EXACT place!!!! the book of Samuel!!! it was crazy!!! i was shocked again!!! then it really hit me! and my grandmother said, "You have to name him that, you don't disobey God." My grandfather just smiled at me, and my husband had a puzzled look on his face. when we left that day we talked about it on the way home and my husband still didn't like the name. We got home and he put the TV on "BVOV" its a christian channel. They were talking about Samuel!!! and thats when it hit him! He then agreed that when ever we conceive a son we have to name him Samuel...for i asked the LORD for him! =) and he gave  me the answer to my prayer!!
    It's no coincidence that these things happened, its not a coincidence that I prayed that prayer and then opened it to that exact part in the Bible that said that...i just can't explain it!! i'm amazed!! God is doing wonderful things in my life ever since i have been seeking him!

Ask, Believe, and You Will Receive!

   My whole pregnancy i got all the information i could on breast-feeding. I'd read books, online, magazines, talked to lactation consultants, you name it! I was determined to breast-feed my little Janie until she wanted to self ween herself.  But when the doctor broke my water it wasn't clear. Janie had meconium aspiration. There's a number of reasons why this could have happened, but we'll never know why it happened to her. Personally i think she was stressed because she was two weeks late!! yes, two weeks!! i was 42 weeks pregnant when i delivered her! Now why would this effect breast-feeding you ask??? Well when my doctor intubated her to suction out her lungs he scraped the back of her throat which helps with swallowing. This made it very difficult for her to breast-feed. 

    Now we didn't find out that this had happened to her throat until when went to her one week check up appointment where her pediatrician discovered it. I had no idea what breast-feeding was supposed to feel like, if so i would have known that she wasn't sucking properly.  Janie was also sweating when she ate. I was still determined for her to be breast-fed and never thought that she wouldn't be. I worked with three different lactation consultants, we tried nipple shields, supplemental nursing system, different positions, basically if it could be tried, we tried it. 

    I started pumping at around one month and giving her breast-milk in a bottle. I was still giving her the breast as well. when I first stared pumping i was getting a half and ounce on each side! Janie's poor sucking had effected my milk supply.(Also i forgot to mention that it took eight days for my milk to come in and I never felt engorgement.)  I tried everything to get my milk up! I drank Mothers Milk Tea religiously, i tried fenugreek(only lowered my milk and still does to this day), i would pump every hour for twenty minutes with a hospital grade pump, drank tons of water and ate a ton of food, and i would pray and stay in the word (which i need to start doing again!), and also eat foods that had low sodium( i find a BIG difference in my milk supply when i eat a lot of salt)

    Now i think that drinking a ton of water and eating a lot, and lowering my sodium intake helped a lot., but the thing that i believe with my whole heart that increased my milk greatly would have to be; praying, staying in  the word, and believing what i was praying would come true. I tried EVERYTHING!!! literally everything. 

    I was reading my BIble one morning before janie had woke up and i got an answer. Now i don't remember the exact verse or the exact words but the moral of what I read was "ask in Jesus name and it will be done" I believe what i read was God speaking to me in the word.  I prayed, and prayed, and then prayed some more! i prayed that some how I could feed Janie breast-milk for a year and my milk would increase so she wouldn't have to have any supplements. 

    Now I believed what i prayed would come true and it did, just not in the way i though it would. I thought that i would be providing Janie with breast-milk via the breast. Instead i pump every 3-4 hours and give her my milk in a bottle! I beat myself up over it for a loooong time! I wanted her to be breast-fed via the breast. But then I had to stop and think about it. Everything i had asked for or prayed for had been given to me.My milk supply is up, and  I can now feed Janie breast-milk for a year,! It took some time to realize that it doesn't matter if she's getting the breast-milk out of the breast or out of the bottle! Either way she is getting the same thing!

    

Cloth Diapering (Basics)

    Most often when I tell people that we cloth diaper i get a negative reaction. People either think; gross, what do you do with the poop? Don't they leak? and its just too much money to get started ect.  But the biggest would have to be people still thinking that cloth diapers consist of a pre-fold, diaper pins(big safety pins), and some sort of waterproof pants/diaper cover/wrap. Although this method of cloth diapering can and still is used today, cloth diapers have come a long way!(Thank goodness!) Now there is variety!
    But first i want to talk about what you do with the "soiled" diaper! its really simple! You get a wet diaper, you simply take it off and place it in the diaper pail! You get a "soiled" diaper you can use the "old fashion method"... toilet dunking!! personally thats gross! You could use the shower hose, or buy a diaper sprayer. A diaper sprayer looks like the water sprayer that you have on your kitchen sink. It's attached to the toilet, and you simply just spray the soiled diaper over the toilet and then place the diaper in the diaper pail.
    Also, you will need at least twelve cloth diapers to get started!
    Now for the types of diapers! There's still the "old fashion diapering system" which would be a pre-fold and a diaper cover or waterproof pants or a warp, but instead of using a diaper pin you can use a "Snappi." Snappi's are awesome! A snappi is a stretchy diaper fastener that can't hurt the baby or you! You can get pre-folds in Birdseye flannel, cotton, hemp,or velour. This would be the cheapest way to cloth diaper! You can cloth diaper a child for about 200 bucks, birth to potty training with this method!!
    Next you have your All-in-ones (AIOs) There pretty much like a disposable! This diaper has an absorbent inner which a waterproof outer is a attached to. These can be fastened by hook and loop(velcro) or snaps. You can get this diapers in a One Size (OS) which means that, that particular diaper will fit your child from about 10lbs-35lbs on average. You can also get this diaper in different sizes; extra-small, small, medium, large, and sometimes extra-large.(XS, S, M, L, X-L). So once the child grows out of one size then you need to purchase the next size up. These are your more costly diapers.
    Now we have your all-in-twos(AI2s) also called hybrid diapers. These diapers have a waterproof "shell"(kind of like a diaper cover) that come with snap in liners or snap in soakers. So you have your shell, you snap in a soaker, then the baby soils the soaker and you just unsnap the soaker and place a new one in that same shell.( if that shell is not soiled as well) So technically with this diapering system you don't have to buy as may shells because they can be reused for multiple diaper changes if not soiled. Also this system gives you more room while on the go because you have less to pack or carry with you! You can also buy doublers to go with these diapers. a doubler is just an extra layer of material that is laid into the diaper to give it extra absorbency. You would use a doubler for heavy wetters, or if you child is sleeping threw the night to prevent leaks. These also can come in hook in loop, or snaps, OS or Sized.
    Next are pocket diapers! These diapers have an outer-layer of waterproof and then on the inside they have a lining of fabric(usually, micro fleece or suede-cloth), then usually in the back(but sometimes in the middle or front) of the diaper there's a pocket that is open where you can see the waterproof material and then above it the lining if you look in it. Now inside that pocket you would stuff a. insert into it. An insert is kind of like a doubler, except this diaper has to have this in order for it to be effective. You can also add a doubler in the pocket for extra absorbency. Once most pocket diapers have been soiled on you have to take out the insert, although there are a few brands out there  that have inserts that agate in the wash and come out on there own. This system is more time consuming because you have to prep each diaper or in other words stuff each diaper before use.These also can come in hook in loop, or snaps, OS or sized.
    Lastly we have fitted cloth diapers. The outer and inner layer of this diaper consist of fabric, so you have to use a cover, warp, or waterproof pants with these. A doubler can be used with this method if needed. Depending on the brand these can be fastened with velcro, snaps, or your choice of diaper pins or a snappi. these can be purchased in OS or sized.
    There are a few others that i did not mention, i was just trying to touch on the basics!
   A few accessories that are helpful for cloth diapers are;
a diaper sprayer, doublers and snappi's (talked about above),
     Two diaper pail liners, these are water proof liners that go into your diaper pail that can be reused! its nice to have two so when your doing one load of diapers there's something to put the soiled diapers in!
    A wet bag. These are waterproof bags that you take with you to put your soiled diapers in when you are out and about! There's also wet-dry bags which are the same thing as a wet bag but they have a pocket on them where you can store your clean diapers or what have you!
    Cloth diaper detergent!!! Very very important! Most cloth diapers can not be washed with regular detergent.( The kind we have can't be washed with anything that has; bleach, enzymes or fabric softeners) If you were to use the wrong detergent if could cause build up on the diapers and cause leaking! Then you would have to "strip" the diapers.
    Diaper rash cream! You can't use certain diaper rash creams on cloth diapers, they basically will do the same thing as using the wrong detergent and you will have to strip the diapers!
    Cloth wipes?? why not? might at well if your doing cloth diapers! just throw them in the pail and put in the wash along with the cloth diapers!
    Wipe solution. its a solution that you either spray on the baby when you go to wipe them or add into your wipe case with your cloth wipes. You can also make you own wipe solution that is very simple (water, baby wash, tea-tree oil)
    Over all cloth diapering is a great way to save money! Its said that it will cost about $1,600.00 to diaper a baby in disposables for 2.5 years!! Why not make it $200.00 with cloth(if you go the cheapest rout)!! Yes there is an up front cost but you don't have to buy them all at once!