Why I Shouldn't Make Diapers For YOU.

Ok, I'm going to make a list now of all the reasons you do not want my diapers.

First off, Pattern.
The pattern I make my dipes from is completely customized to fit my baby. It probably won't fit yours. Right now, I'm only making pocket fitteds, because that is what I need for overnights. I have customized it until I can stuff it full of what I need, so it's probably going to be too big for most babies. Oh, and it still needs a cover.

Next, Time.
We all know that time is money. I don't know how much my time is worth, but I do know that I don't have much of it to spare. I couldn't promise you X number of diapers by X date, because chances are, you'd be pissed I couldn't meet the deadline.

Next, Choices.
I don't have much to offer for prints. I usually only buy just enough to make one or maybe 2 diapers from each print that I have. I only have 4 snap colors, if you count the size 16 white ones. The others are red, black, and teal. I don't do AI2's, nor do I have materials for making them. I stuff my dipes with inserts from other dipes, and microfiber towels from the auto department. I just recently got some washcloths to use for this as well... So, yeah, no OBV or OBF or hempin' here.

Next, Quality.
If you've read any of my other posts, you'll know that I HATE my sewing machine, and it sucks. I just wouldn't feel comfortable making you shoddy dipes.
But... I've seen some WAHM dipes lately that made my skin crawl, and weren't worth the fabric that was abused to construct them. I wouldn't ever make mine that bad, but still, I don't want to end up on the "this WAHM suxxorz" list. And I don't want to go crazy, and start making things like nursing sombreros and "learning toys" out of junk. I don't want to ever have to tell someone that "all I can do is try".

Gifts = Success!

Kathy loved her scarf, and now insists that Alex gets a matching pair of pants. I'm not sure if I have enough of the Kermit fleece left for a full pair of pants, but I could probably appliqué a Kermit face to the butt or something. When Kathy opened her gift, Miranda looked really sad, she didn't have much to open right then. It was a good 20 minutes before she got to open her scarf, and it took a lot of willpower for me not to scream at Dawn "Just give her the damn present already!!!" So, when she finally got it, she never noticed her scarf was kind of wacky & twisted. How could she have noticed when it was either wrapped around her neck, or being rubbed on her face from the time she unwrapped it? So yeah, she liked it a lot, and seemed pretty thrilled that I would make something for her. Ryan got to open the goodie box, and immediately put one of the peanut butter bon-bons in his mouth. He tried to shove the box under his gifts, but he was caught, and was told they were to share.
Another good thing is that Ryan doesn't freak out as much anymore about me BF'ing Alex. I think he's figured out that I'm going to do it when it needs to be done, no matter where I am. Of course, this is getting more difficult, since Alex has figured out that *shock!* there is a world beyond the boob, and he wants to see it.

Alex got a book from Kathy, which he loves... And also his first taste of wrapping paper, which he also loves.

He was not so happy when I took it away, though...

So, he had to get a new present to nom.

We were supposed to go to Holly's Christmas party, but, when we got home, we decided to take a nap, and totally missed the party starting time. We didn't want to be there too late, and we had TJ for the weekend. After hearing Heather's recap of the party, it's a good thing we didn't bring TJ along. The Yankee swap was full of gifts that would have puzzled TJ to no end. Such as the inflatable sheep that was subsequently brutalized by most of the males at the party. Or the '1001 sex positions' book that Heather acquired. Or the fat squirrel statue (Which Heather said had no purpose other than to sit there, and look fat and cute. Everyone wanted it, of course, and much thefting took place.).
Now, we get to make dinner on Christmas for my mom & her Santa-boyfriend. This should be interesting.

More Sew Happiness!

Photo bomb in...
3...
2...
1!!!
Ok, sooo... First, Miranda's scarf.... I couldn't decide which side to use as the outer, the print side, or the super-fuzzy-stick-your-face-in-it-and-snuzzle-it side. So I made it 2 sided. Above, you can see where the print isn't as defined. That is the snuzzle side. It was a complete fucking pain in my ass to sew. I thought I was doing awesome, and that Priss agreed with me that minky was the best fabric ever invented. When I turned it over, it was a different story. Bird's nests, dropped stitches, and FUCK THIS FABRIC!!! So it is a leetle bit crooked, but I hope she won't notice.

Next, Kathy's scarf.... I totally effed up cutting the fringe... So, I faked it by cutting some of the fringey things shorter, to make it look like I did it on purpose. It works, yay!

Next, Bibbit next to our magic sparkle tree! Aww! That highchair, btw, is the same one that TJ used, which was given to me by my Grandma. It sat lonely for 11 years in my mom's attic....

Next up... Christmas Bites (fabric from Joann.) They're all out of it online, so when I was an idiot and washed it with my red Alova, I was totally depressed. Two hot washes with oxyclean and RnG fixed it right up. Santa's beard shouldn't be pink...

 And this is what I made with it! Alex's magic sparkle tree outfit!

We're going to the in-law's house for celebrating tomorrow (er... today) So I was glad I finally got to put this together. While I was making the appliqué, my boobs leaked, thinking about how cute this was going to be for pictures. Damn my boobs!

Stash Shots!

 When I took  my first "stash shot", it was cute and tiny... Well, Alex was tiny, too. I had to wash every night, and sometimes use the sposies I had to fill in, like if I knew he was going to poop, and it wouldn't be on him for more than 20 minutes.

I got burnt out staying up until 2 or 3 am every day to wash the diapers. Finally, I threw a fit of overtired rage at GW, and I got more diapers. As luck would have it, this was when Fuzzibunz perfect size went on sale, and GW said I could get 6 more. I got them from Fuzzibunzonline.com, because they had red. And I really wanted a red one. When comparing prices, I had added 6 to my cart at Kelly's Closet... They sent me an email saying I hadn't paid for my cart. Since they are the same company, I though "Oh no!! My diapers aren't on their way??" and I ordered them. The ones I had ordered before arrived that day. I hadn't read KC's policy about no cancellations, so after some frustrating emails, I told GW about my mistake. He said we could keep them, as he didn't want to pay shipping on them twice if I could use them. So, I got 6 more. Then, I got into making diapers, and bought a few WAHM dipes, too. 

Covers, stuffers, etc...

 These aren't all of them, though, I have more. Some were dirty, and I have made others, too. We don't really use the BumGenius diapers anymore, only as a last resort, because Alex's butt doesn't like the lining they use. The bat dipe I made is too small already, but the longies still fit.

Shopping Beats The Crap Out Of Me (and Alex, too)

We. Are. SO. DONE.
With the x-mas shopping.
I spoke to my mom earlier today on the phone, and asked her what she wanted for a gift. She said there was nothing she wanted. So I asked her if there was anything she needed. She said "food".
This makes me sad. I've been there. Things have been rough for her since she left my father several years ago. Her life has been a total mess ever since then.
I still feel partially responsible for it, but I know she's a big girl, and she can make her own mistakes choices. So anyways...
We decided that we should get her & my sister (they live together) gift cards to their usual grocery store, and some staples to go along with it, as well as a few things they would like, but would never buy because of the cost. We got them a few boxes of pasta, some sauce, soup, chocolates, a Ghirardelli brownie mix (mmmmm!), $75.00 to Hannaford, and $25.00 to WM. Oh, and a fruitcake, because that's one of my favorite things to call my sister. We also got Romeo a new jacket, and Bertha & Cleo a stocking full of kitteh goodies from WM. Which Romeo will probably steal. (He thinks he's a cat.) As I think about it, we left out Mishka, my sister's snake. DAMMIT! We should probably get her some frozen mice. Their gifts are going in a set of poinsettia boxes from WM. (One of my mom's favorite plants... She fell in love with them when she lived in Florida as a teen with my Aunt Kay.) We also fund some fuzzy minky socks for them, because my dad is a lazy ass, and doesn't fill their oil like he should, so the house is cold. I had originally planned to keep them, but when we got to the register, I decided that they would go to my mom & sisterface. Mom's are black, so they can still look professional if she wears them to work. Sisterface's are my favoritest color blue.

Since I know Holly & Heather don't read my blog, I can tell you what we got for them, too: $30 each to the movies and....
 For Heather's extras, we got  a bunch of movie candy boxes (she likes to feel naughty and smuggle in her own), as well as some little packages of rainbow Goldfish and a horse ornament for Rebecca.
For additions to Holly's gift, we got a couple of pretty tea mugs, some tea in festive flavors, and some cookies to go with it.
They both got coffee from a local maker that claims the "buzz lasts all day!" with a picture of a mosquito on it for LOL's. We found some AWESOME!!! top hat baskets that were 50% off at Michael's that we're putting their stuff in. They were every penny worth of the $10 each, and then some! We may have to go back and get one for ourselves, Paris would try to sleep in it, and it would be totally adorable!

We also decided my grandma needed a fuzzy minky bathrobe like the one I have. We found the perfect one at Reny's. It's all pink and flowery, like the room my grandma always wanted, and didn't get until after my grandfather got sick... He couldn't go upstairs to know what we were doing to that room. ;)


But...
Now we have all this crap all over our kitchen floor, and I don't want to deal with it.
Alex was miserable for most of the time. He didn't eat as often as he normally gets to, so when we finally got home, he pigged out, and then threw up all over the place. Three times. GW put him to sleep while I finished putting the snaps on the pirate & space fitteds. It kills me to listen to him cry, but if I hold him, he NEVER goes to sleep. And if I nurse him to sleep, he nurses all night long, and I wake up more tired than when I tried to go to bed.
So now, for de-stressing, GW is shooting people in an online game, and I am... Well, here. I keep thinking I should go sort out some of that crap we got, and pack things up, or make some more diapers, but meh, I just don't want to.

I made Miranda's (possibly future SIL) scarf, (a cute minky penguin print that I want to BURN!! because if I ever have to sew that shit again, it will be too soon) and I still need to make Kathy's (SIL), which will be a fleece Kermit. I'm thinking I will make it a wide scarf, so she can wrap it over her head or hang it on a wall or just hug it, or... whatever. She had mentioned her favorite character ever was Kermit when we showed he Alex's green fleece pants, and she wanted some. I don't have enough of the "Kermit Green" left for pants, but I do have enough to make it a 2-sided scarf, along with an awesome Kermit print remnant from Joann's. I think I can pseudo-quilt it, to make it more interesting. If Priss is agreeable.

My BIL Ryan (Miranda's mate) is getting a gift card to Sears, because he's started a new mechanic job where he needs his own tools. He's also getting a cheesecake, because it's his favorite dessert. He has to share it with Miranda, though. I think if we neglected to get him cheesecake, he'd cry. (Of course, he practically cries when I breastfeed in front of him, but again, whatever. He doesn't have to look if it bothers him.)

For GW's dad & stepmom (Dawn) we got a set of Budweiser BBQ sauces & a beer bread mix. Dawn is getting a pretty jar filled with hot chocolate.
GW's mom is a lot more difficult. She doesn't need anything, and he's been estranged from her for quite some time. I've tried to remedy this since we started dating, and I've done a pretty good job. But we still don't know WTF to get for her. She always gives us really weird crafty things. Like a magazine print of "American Gothic" by Grant Wood, mod-podged to a green painted board. (It used to be above my sink when I lived alone. When GW moved out of my apartment, I told him I was keeping it. It's hanging above our stove, for the OMG/My-MIL-Is-Cracked/LOL/WTF's.)
We decided that everyone's fambly is getting pictures of Alex on CD, so they can print whatever ones they want out of our vast collection. That was what Kathy had asked for, so we thought it would be a good gift for everyone, too. Plus, if we give them to everyone, there is no chance anyone will feel slighted. Kind of like how we did our wedding. We also plan to give Alex one of the butter cookies we are dipping in chocolate (before it's dipped), taking a picture, putting "Ha Ha! My Germs!" on the picture, and putting the picture under the cookies. And then we'll let the LOL/OMG/Which-Cookie-Was-It???'s begin. Of course, Alex will NOT be allowed to actually eat the cookie, but it will be funny just the same.

Oh, and speaking of Cookies... We got Alex some organic teething biscuits on our shopping extravaganza...
OMFG.
NASTY.
Not the cookies themselves, they smelled really tasty, but the mess he made was EPIC.
Note to self: baby needs to be nekkid for cookies. White is not appropriate.
We got Chinese for dinner, since we knew that once we finally made it home, we wouldn't want to make anything. I got mine with white rice, just in case Alex wanted to share in our dinner experience. (BLW... FTW!)
Alex really liked the magical rice, which disappeared when he tried to pick it up. In reality, it was sticking to his hand. And sleeper. And head. I'm not sure if he actually ate any, but with BLW, the whole point is exploration, not consumption. Then, he started using the (nasty, smushy, icky) cookie to pick up the rice. "Yay! Moms, I makes a spoon!" It was so cute, and so gross. I didn't take any pictures, because I had misplaced the Panda, where my cameras were. There were a couple of times when Alex dropped the cookie into his chair, and I had to retrieve it for him... EWWWWW!!!! I forgot just how gross these things really are. Eleven years tends to erase a lot of the bad stuff from your memory.

And the Bibbit wakes, and I must go....

ANOTHER WOOHOO!

I got my snap pilers in the mail today! AWESOME!! They're having a special right now, so I was able to convince GW I needed them, and he let me get some. I loooove them! Instead of making Snappi tabs for the most recent diaper, I just put a single snap on them, it looks so cute! I'd show you, but, Alex is wearing it right now. I also put some snaps on 2 other fitteds (my upcycles, not yet pictured, but they will be soon!). The pirate & space robot fitteds were dirty, so they'll have to wait until tomorrow.

KAMsnaps special: Pliers + 400 plastic snaps under $35. Over 20% off. Free US shipping. Limited time only. Order at http://bit.ly/guqbf3 

I Am Sew Happy!

WOOHOO! My experimental diaper is a success! I just need to add Snappi tabs, but I am soooo not waking Bibbit up for sizing...

I have also been reading about baby-led weaning (BLW). I'm not in any way ready to wean Alex, but he started refusing anything pureed. But he still wants our food. So I decided to give it a whirl. He loves to play with the food... Mostly. He gets angry pretty fast if he can't get as much as he wants in his mouth. But it sometimes keeps him happy enough that I can scarf a few bites of my own food. 

Cheese Ravioli

More Cheese Ravioli

Cous-Cous and green beans... Yes, it's on his head!

Also, we finally killed the yeast rash! After the EVCO, I got some nasty-ass-itin powder. But it STILL came back. So, we got some internal medication, because I was terrified it would develop into a systemic infection, which can be deadly. It seemed to work, but he's still a bit rashy everywhere, and I suspect he has eczema. We're trying a hazelwood necklace right now before I go to any steroids for it. He's only been wearing it for a few hours now, but I'll keep you all updated on if it works. I'm hoping it'll work for his reflux, too, if it works at all for anything. His appointment with the pediatric GI isn't until January 4th. 

A week of sickness!

Sunday:
There's a tinge of soreness in my throat, and it looks a tad red. That won't stop me from trying to stay up until RnG goes on sale at 1! (fail: I fell asleep and woke up at 3. RnG's website was overloaded, and it took AN HOUR to get my order through.

Monday:
I can feel it getting worse. The tickle has turned into a cough. Time to bomb myself with vitamins, orange juice, and pickles. No fever, and only minor body aches, so it's not the flu. YAY!

Tuesday:
I HATE being sick. Everything in the house gets completely wrecked when I can't take care of it. The thing that bothers me most is the dinner situation.

GW: Did you have any plans for dinner?
Me: No, not really. Maybe throw some pasta in a pot and call it good.
GW: I can make dinner, hun
Me: What are you gonna make?
GW: How about I pick up some Webb's Mills?

What this means is: "I'm going to go get pizza." Nothing about that means he's made anything. Oh, except a trip down the road. He makes the trip to go get it. Does that even count? Anyway, I said sure to the pizza last night, because my mom had decided she needed to come up (late) and have me re-do her resume. Which actually only entailed adding a line to it, but whatever.
She mostly wanted to introduce her new boyfriend, Nick. (Yeah, another one.) He's a big fat biker dude with a Santa beard & long, white hair. I'm suspicious- I think he IS Santa. Nice, happy, fat guy with beard, glasses, and mane named "Nick"... I hope we were nice enough to him, and we don't get coal.
He's also "magikal".  (SEE??? He IS Santa!!!) Anyway, I said this was fine, as long as he doesn't get all Born-Again-Wiccan on us, like our friend Tom does. Mom said this wouldn't be an issue, he doesn't really talk about it much, and he's not into trying to convert everyone. Alex really enjoyed playing with his beard and glasses, which kept him occupied while GW and I tried to figure out the issues with my PC- it wasn't connecting to our home network, and generally being a bitch about everything. So GW & I got to be ALONE IN OUR BEDROOM! OMG! but, we were busy, and I'm sick anyway, so there was no making out. /sigh.
And the diapers still had to get done.

Wednesday:
I caved, and took some Robitussin for the cough, and some Motrin for the sore throat, because I was feeling like ass. The OJ and vitamins were just not doing it for me anymore. Went to WalMart to spread my sickness to the general public, because everyone needs to suffer like I am. (Just kidding, I'm very careful to keep my hands off stuff, and cough into my shoulder, not on my hands.) I also picked up some Sleepytime Throat Tamer tea, which helped a little, and I got some sleep, too.

Thursday:
I'm feeling a little better. Now when I cough, I can taste the sickness, and it's gross. But, that also means I'm getting better.
Had a major brain fart. I thought it was Friday. I cleaned out the fridge, and put the compost all together, because TJ takes it out on Friday as part of his chores.
I thought I was SOOO awesome. Look what I can do! And I'm sick! Go me!
You should have seen the look on TJ's face. It was a cross between: "Mom, you've lost it," and "Mom, you're the biggest idiot I've ever met". I was so sure it was Friday. But after checking my phone, it really wasn't. Doh! TJ was a sport, and took out the compost anyway. So now my kid thinks I'm a mentally deficient nutcase. Great.

Friday:
A little bit better than yesterday. I took some more Robitussin last night. This morning, I woke up with a really low milk supply. I think it's killing my boobs, so I need to avoid it. BOOO to decongestants! >:/
At least it really is Friday.

All I want for Christmas...

Is a Silhouette...

Well, not All, but I think one would come in handy. I mentioned having one a while back to GW. He wanted some more info (as always). First things first: price. And of course, I got shot down immediately. Then: what would I use it for anyway? Answer: EVERYTHING!!! ANYTHING!!! YES!!! He didn't like that much, either. I think he's having visions of me sticking fancy letters on everything, like "Light Switch", "Door", and "I Love Lamp". But he did concede that if I could find one super-cheap (i.e., free), then I could have it. And then I could make fancy, pretty things with cutouts and designs and all that jazzy stuff.

I can also see my mother drooling with envy. She used to make fancy cut out Christmas cards with a razor blade. It was hours of time-consuming work, and they were beautiful.

I had also had visions of super-cute stencils for Alex's plain onesies.

Thrifty Decor Chick: Silhouette Craft Cutter Giveaway!

Blame It On The Moon.

Waiting on diapers to finish washing. Listening to Jack scratch like a mad cat at the door.

My kittehs have full moon madness. Paris has been spending most of her time staring at the corner of the bathroom downstairs for no apparent reason. I picked her up to give her some love, and try to reassure her that all was right with the world, and she started to growl. Hella is hissing at EVERYTHING. Puff is meandering around telling everything how pretty she is. Scoot is following Jack, tearing at the carpets, and swiping at shadows. Jack has that wild look in his eyes that means some serious shit is about to go down, and he's going to be the one to cause it.

It's not just the cats, though.

Last night, we went to LL Bean to get GW a coat. (He needed one last year, but wouldn't do it. /sigh... men...) Alex was a perfect angel in the store. Everyone thought he was "So adorable!!" in his sling. There were quite a few comments about how alert he was. The man at the checkout said he was very bad at guessing ages, but let him try. The last one he'd been off by six months. He guessed four and a half. Not bad, since he's 5 (ish). And then we had to go home... Angel no more. He screamed. A lot...

For the last couple of days, it seems like every time we go somewhere in the car, there is someone riding our asses. On our way back, there was someone so close to our bumper that I couldn't see them in the rear-view, and every time I tried to turn around to calm Alex, I got blinded. I was finally so frustrated, I told GW to pull over.
"Now?"
"RIGHT NOW."
"Ok..." and he did.
The person tailgating us passed, with middle fingers waving high. I'm not sure why they flipped us off, as we were already going over the speed limit by at least 10. Should we have been going faster? I don't think so, the particular stretch of road we were on has a very high population of deer. And we don't feel like flipping a deer again, if we can help it. (I'll probably relate that story some other time.)
So anyway, we pulled over, and I got Alex out of his seat to feed him. My boobs hurt, and he decided after a few minutes that noms were good. Noms make everything better. And although I was livid at the idiots who thought we should have been going faster, well, noms make everything better. Then, we started making friends. A few people slowed as they passed by our stopped car. Then, a car slowed that had pretty blue lights on it. The officer who stopped asked us if we were in need of assistance. "To Protect And Serve" was boldly emblazoned on his car. We declined, and explained why we stopped. He went on his way, and Alex finished his comforting. (And still cried most of the way home, until he fell asleep.)

Today (er, Sunday, rather) we went to a turkey dinner at GW's dad's, because we won't be going to T-Day there (we're going to his mom's side of the family... maybe...). For some odd reason, we kept getting even more tailgaters. I was vastly annoyed. Blame it on the moon.

Does the spit-up ever end?

I'm guessing the answer is a big fat NO.
Alex's swallow study didn't go too well. He hated the stuff, even though he was absolutely starving. He drank less than 2 ounces of it. So of course, they didn't see any reflux going on. The doctor was a jackass, even after someone told him that GW is their IT guy, and to tone it down a little. The guy completely ignored me as if I was invisible. (I was livid, but was able to wait until we got back to the car a couple of hours later to flip out. That poor man I'm married to doesn't know what to do with me, or our miserable baby.) When the nurse called me, she said that there was nothing to do, Alex was fine, he was just going to be a spitter, it wouldn't hurt him, and there aren't any other medications they can use other than Zantac. All of which I know isn't true.  The poor kid is in fits half the time from silent reflux, and the rest of the time he either spends trying to make up for lost calories, or spitting sour milk all over me (and GW, and the floors, and the cats...).

The same nurse who said there was nothing wrong with him also told me that I should just "put him on formula and stop wasting my time" breastfeeding him. And that "formula is just as good, if not better" than breastmilk. WTF. What era is she from?? Does she not know that formula SUCKS?? And that there's no way it can ever be as good as mom noms? I'm not bashing the people who NEED to use formula, btw. There is a place for it, or it wouldn't exist. One of my cousins was both milk protein and lactose intolerant, so I know. And I know the pain her mother went through finding out that she couldn't breastfeed her daughter. It isn't always a choice of convenience.

On the same note... You may find this gross, but I convinced GW to taste some mom noms (and joked that he'd probably need one of his lactose pills). He said it was good, and it didn't bother him like cow's milk does. Not that he had a lot, just enough for a flavor. He said it was very sweet. We'd been debating about letting Alex have fruit purees, because of the sugar content. Tasting the mom noms & comparing them to the fruit has proved that mom noms are sweeter than fruit, so all is well...

And Alex can now have things with fruit. So far, he's tried pearsauce (like) and applesauce (dislike) in addition to his avocado. We also gave him some green beans (home made from freshly steamed beans), and he was not really impressed at first, but he got used to them. I have a freezer bag full of "green bean squares" now. They didn't really want to stay in circles like the nice, obedient avocado. I sort of put them in a pile, and smoothed them out to a relatively flat surface, and scored the top so that I could break it into smaller portions once it was frozen. It worked out pretty well, I think. I made some of the squares smaller for morning meals, and larger ones for evening.

I don't believe in "breakfast foods". I'm the freak who would get up in the morning and open a can of green beans instead of cereal. And eat them with my fingers, because I'm just that lazy. They were also one of the things I'd give TJ for a snack when I wanted to go back to sleep on the couch. They make great toddler snacks, really. Dump a bunch of them in a dish or on a plate, and let them go to town. Sure, you end up with mashed beans in the carpet, but it was easy and it saved me from having to make anything, or worry about him choking on crackers or other un-nutritious things. (canned baby carrots are also good... if you don't have light colored carpets).

I'm trying to remember all the things I did with TJ, and when. It's really hard, because that was 10 or so years ago. And he was a difficult kid in ways of food. I remember that he really liked plain yogurt with peaches (gross!), but for the life of me, I can't remember how old he was when I let him have that. The feeding guidelines have changed so much, that I really don't know what's "right" or "wrong".

A Post About A Boy

After catching hell from my Aunt Kay... "You NEVER write anything about TJ!" Here it is, a post all about him. 

TJ has some issues. He's got ADHD, and he's freakin' brilliant. However, these weren't the issues he started with. He cried constantly as a baby. After many tests, it was concluded that they didn't know what was wrong with him. He had a very rare case of true colic. Supposedly. Now that I think about it, it was probably his sensory issues. He didn't do things on a regular developmental timeline. He was almost retardedly (yup, made up word) delayed. I don't mean this as an offense, he really was nearly as off as some kids with Down's syndrome. He didn't put two words together in a phrase until he was 2 1/2. He refused to pick up anything, roll over, crawl, walk, etc. 

Solid foods were a trial, too. He wanted everything thick & chunky right from the start. If it was remotely "slimy", like most baby foods, he would spit it out and scream. He wanted everything to be practically paste. 

When when I put him in daycare (my parents said "get a job, or move out completely") they "suggested" that he see an occupational therapist, which was free through thier program. Fingerpaint was just not happening. Neither was the sand table. Any food that got on him would send him into fits, and he wouldn't eat half the stuff they offered for breakfast and lunch. She (the therapist) diagnosed him with an acute sensory disorder.

He didn't read until he was forced to. I was reading short books by the time I was 2 1/2, so this was really frustrating for me. When he was about 4-ish, I got him a Samurai Jack video game. There was lots of reading involved, but, they also narrated it. The proverbial shit hit the fan one night when I was making dinner, and could not read the text to him. I told him that if he wanted to know what it said, he was going to have to learn to read it himself. And he did. So, video games taught him to read, not me. Within a few months, he was reading to me, instead of the other way around. Things like Alice In Wonderland. He read it better than I could. My tongue always trips over the words in that one.

He hit more road bumps when he started real school. He would get out of control and sometimes become aggressive with his teachers. Ok, that's putting it mildly. He got sent home in K for punching the principal. 

>.<*

His father was extremely opposed to medication. This went on for years. PET after PET, no matter what, his father refused to recognize that TJ really did need something to help him get in control of his actions. After we moved to the Lake, a few months in to school, TJ had already been sent home several times for violence against his teachers and peers. He just did things without thinking about them. GW & I decided enough was enough. I let the doctor write a script for methlypenidate. And he is a different child now. We were cautious, and started with the lowest possible dose of Concerta. It (so far) has proved to be just enough to make it so that TJ can get through his day without flying off the handle and lashing out. When he gets home he takes a Ritalin, to get through his homework and chores. It's really been a blessing, a medicated miracle. I'm not advocating that everyone who has problems focusing to be medicated, but for us, this really has improved our home life, and TJ can actually function as a normal human being. Without being sent home from school every other day for kicking someone. 

Recently, there was an "episode" at school when he kicked in the door of his locker. After talking to TJ, I discovered that he hadn't taken his Concerta that morning. DOH!  /facepalm

The latest thing is that he's also been diagnosed with social phobia. Um... Big surprise there. I'm practically a hermit by choice. He doesn't have problems with crowds and such like I do, though. (He'll just wander off anywhere) His thing is perfectionism. He's afraid that if whatever he does isn't perfect, people will make fun of him and/or not like him. And I loooove his social worker. She is incredibly awesome!! She knows I have issues in unfamiliar settings, so if she has something to talk about, she comes to the house to visit. 

Also (bonus points for her) she has had a VBAC! She's the first woman I've ever met (in real life) that's attempted it. Her first was breech, too, and she couldn't find anyone that was willing to do a breech birth. And she's way crunchy, too. She's not all about "MEDICATE THIS CHILD!", she likes to exhaust every other avenue before it comes to that. She wanted to cloth diaper (desperately, as she put it), but her DH said no freakin' way. I told that was a good thing, there are way too many cute diapers out there, and she would be an addict like me. (She laughed, but she really has no idea.) So she & I get along really well. She said she sometimes lets her love for TJ get in the way of a medical diagnosis, and that he's really an easy kid to ♥. Which pretty much describes him to a tee.

Portland Head Light - GFAK 2007

He's soooo small! Watching a fencing demonstration @ GFAK. Dude with the pink hair was our Reverend. Blue hair is my Amy's DH.  

Spiderkid

JJ & TJ

TJ & GW

Candid! "Um, Mom, why did you take my picture just now?"

Why so serious? (GFAK 2009).

Next Fight: Yeast Vs. Coconut Oil

Nasty-ass-itin failed. Sanitizing my dipes FAILED. Then, this weekend... I gave up. Screw this, I said, and slathered the kiddo from head to toe in EVCO and olive oil, for some severe dry skin patches he was getting. I'd been reading posts that suggested using it to get rid of yeast, but I scoffed. That could never work, right?

I was wrong (again). The rash started clearing up. I kept putting the oil stuff on him everywhere at each diaper change. And it kept improving. Today, the rashyness (yup, I just made up a word) is almost ALL GONE in his diaper area. It looks almost like it did before this whole mess started almost a month ago. It looks beautiful. There are still some spots that aren't covered by his diaper that need some work, namely behind his knees and his belly, but, by and large, it's GONE!!!

I am amazed, and ashamed. I feel horrible that I hadn't done it sooner. How was I to know that the crazy crunchy mamas weren't all that crazy on this one? ;) 


In other news, we saw a different NP for our visit to the doctors yesterday. I hate her. She's an idiot. She didn't listen to a word I said regarding Alex's reflux. She thinks he has pyloric stenosis. I do not, especially since the Zantac was working, but stopped. We did not get a different kind of medication for his reflux. We got nothing, and a date for him to do a barium swallow. I'm not really comfortable with that (radiation IN MY BABY?? WHAT???), but it's the least invasive test they can do. I don't think it's going to help, or show anything I don't know. 


I've been giving him gripe water before he gets really fussy in the evenings, and it seems to help a little with the spitting up and screaming. Last night, he was almost normal. Tonight, he's going to be a monster, though, I already know. He's spent most of the day nursing and sleeping. So he's probably not going to want to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Or maybe he's having a growth spurt, and we will get to bed... And then he'll nurse, nurse, nurse, and drive me batty until I run screaming out of the room.

Christmas is already RUINED.

So, we had a really frustrating day. I woke, gave Alex his Zantac. He promptly barfed it all over the place. And continued to barf all damn day. I'm not talking a little bit of spit up. Barf. Projectile-style. It only got worse when I stepped in some I had missed. (Oh, yeah, it's all up in the bedroom carpet :P) So, the Zantac is officially NOT WORKING anymore. He was fussy and pissy all day.

And the yeast rash has come back. The nasty-ass-a-tin (my word for nystatin) isn't working anymore, either. It's spreading, instead of being made better. It's everywhere. All the way up his back & in his belly button. Possibly on the back of his head as well. I just don't know what else to do.
Disposables are not an option. We tested this yet again, as previously mentioned. I can put one on him overnight, but just ONE in 24 hours, or it's all over. Still gives his butt a horrible, bleeding, painful rash, on top of his yeast infection. For the other times, I have to layer liners & "rig up a system" so that as little of the ointment gets on the diapers as possible. Every time I wash my diapers, I'm basically stripping them to get that crap out, and this is just not working for me, or Alex.
So we're visiting the office on Monday.

So then, when GW comes home, he tells me, just before I'm getting ready to eat, that he's on call for Christmas. Alex's First Christmas. Don't they have someone else for this crap? The last 2 years, he's been on call for Thanksgiving, and spent most of the day traveling to Lewiston to fix their shit.

Lewiston is the only place that EVER calls in problems on a holiday, or even after hours, for that matter. And it's generally stuff that can wait. Nothing life-or-death-OMGZ!-NEED-IT-ASAP!!!-YESTERDAY!-OR-PATIENTS-WILL-DIE!. It's more like "Ummm... I spilled something in/on/around my keyboard, and the keys are sticky. Can you come clean it?". No. No, he CAN'T. HE'S BUSY WITH HIS FAMILY. Which is vastly more important than you spilling Diet Coke or yogurt (yes, that has happened) in your keyboard. You have been told numerous times by the IT staff NOT to eat & drink near your keyboards. SUFFER!!!
>>pant pant pant<<

So anyway, this was just the end. I went & shut myself in the bathroom for 5 minutes & cried. I try and tell myself "at least he has a job", but that doesn't help very much when everything piles up like it did today. And I still have to do the diapers.

Things I've Made (so far) PIC OBESE!

 Yet another atomic photobomb! Here goes... From beginning to now, and what I did wrong...

My first diaper...
I thought after seeing all the cute WAHM's dipes that it would be fairly easy to make a serviceable diaper myself. (haha!)
I decided to start with a hidden PUL pocket. (Cue laughter, for those who know.)
I traced the pattern I wanted to use, pinned (ow! ow ow ow! fingers!) and then cut out my layers. I used crushed panne for the outer, PUL, and some kind of fabric that I don't know what it is for the inner...
Ok, pause for digression.
I got this fabric at Wallyworld. The only thing it says is that it's 100% polyester, and it was in the el cheapo section- $2.00 a yard, and labeled "ROBEWEAR". ??? It's very soft, wicks like nobody's business, feels dry on top, and is slippery as all hell to sew. One side is suede-like, the other knit, it doesn't fray in the wash and makes excellent diaper liners because of this. It's an ugly toffee color. If anyone can tell me what to call it, I'd be sooo happy :D Ok, moving on.
Sewing this thing was a total pain in my ass. It slipped everywhere. Pinning it seemed to do no good. Priss ate up the panne and then choked on it, making this yet another time I was wishing for a bat to bash her (or maybe the diaper) with. I stopped halfway through and cried because it was coming out soooo awful. The seam allowance (the "standard" amount- to the edge of my presser foot) I'd left was a joke. Because of the slipperiness of the layers, I was "chasing" it everywhere to get them all sewn together. I also realized halfway through sewing that I'd messed up the effing layers, so I had to work around that, too. Then, since every tutorial has you sewing around the leg elastic casings, I did that. What was bad got worse. So it came out waaaay too small, crooked, un-stretchy and I hate it.  Blahhhh!! Waaaaah! UUGGHHH! (yep, made all of those noises + ARRRGGHHH!!! several times.)
So here it is:

 The only thing I got right was the back elastic. It came out beautifully! So there's not one, but two pictures of it!

 The leg elastic fail: Comparing the 1st dipe to the 2nd

Closeup: On the top is the second diaper I made, with the elastic threaded through like any sane person would do, because it's easier, and it comes out better.

Failure... Errr... Diaper # 2....

This wouldn't have been half bad if I'd just used velcro. But, I unknowingly got the wrong kind- adhesive, not sew on. I tried to use one of those little snap-kits with the metal snaps. DO NOT EVER BUY ONE!! It's $2.49 of CRAP and STUPID. The first snap went on great. The next time, it mis-aligned, so I pried it out... Took me 20 minutes. :P Tried again with the same result. Couldn't get the good snap out for the life of me, so it's still there. I keep this diaper in my sewing bin to remind me NEVER TO DO THAT EVER AGAIN.

 The damaged PUL from taking out 2 snaps:

Next Adventure: BABYLEGS!!! OMG CUTE!!

I convinced GW to let me buy some knee socks from Target to make babylegs with. I got 3 pairs in boyish designs, which also happened to match the onesies and other things I'd dyed for Alex. (I had accidentally washed one of my dip-dyed skirts, thinking it had been washed before... WRONG! I dyed an entire load of Alex's clothes a girly pinkish purple, and it had to be fixed...) Towards the end of sewing the first pair (the aqua & argyle) I stuck my finger in to help push the fabric through, and I sewed my freakin' finger. Blood was everywhere. My first thought was "OMG! Did I get blood on the babylegs???" Not "Oh crap! I could need stitches for this!" Meh... go me...

Damaged finger...

 I decided to take a break from sewing diapers, obviously. Eff those things. I found a cute pattern and decided to make shoes instead. Can't be that hard, right?  For my first attempt, they came out pretty good. I enlarged the pattern slightly, but not enough for Alex's big feet. They're still too small, but dammit, they're sooo freakin' cute!! This is also when I got smart, and decided to test sew some of the fabric before actually sewing the shoes together. And I also discovered that Priss has a serger-like overcasting stitch. And she likes to use it! And sewing many layers is also ok with her! And she also likes to eat fleece.

 Third & 4th diapers:
Bolstered by the success of my babylegs and the cutest little shoes EVER, I decided to try a diaper again. I looked up the easiest thing I could possibly make, and came up with something that BBC CD making mommas call the RRP- otherwise known as Rita's Rump Pocket. They're fitteds, which means they need a cover, but I had one, so I thought I'd give it a whirl. It was a hell of a lot easier than trying to figure out PUL and all that crap. Slap two pieces of fabric together, and presto! It's a diaper! :D Well, it's almost that easy. It needs elastic and stuff. Then Fishnoodles was having a seconds sale, and I got two more covers, so now I have plenty... Anyway... This is the diaper I threw at GW because I was so pleased with how it turned out, and he wasn't paying attention. Both of these have the same inner lining as my failures. The first picture also has a few of the diaper liners that I cut from the same material.

2nd RRP- Pirates

After I cut this out, I did a /facepalm. The back would be upside-down. :( So, I decided to add a patch from the scraps, and fray the edges of it to make it look more piratey. 

Inner 

Back Detail

All folded up

Next up... Re-Attempting Hidden PUL...

Physics are pretty cool. The same properties can be tested over and over again with a fairly consistent result.

 However, I decided that I could ignore diaper making physics. I could put flannel on the outside of a diaper, and it wouldn't wick. I was wrong. /facepalm again. But, it's still cute... I didn't make the same mistake I made with the pirate RRP. I carefully placed the pattern over the parts of the design I wanted showing, and I just love the result! Isn't it adorable?!?!? It needs a cover, but, I can still use it. The lining is black Alova suedecloth, which is fairly common and blah, so no pics of that. 

Hidden PUL AGAIN...

After the wicking fail, I decided I couldn't ignore physics, because I am really not all that special. At first, I was just going to use the green fleece and the bat fabric for a blanket (what I made the shoes from). I tested out the fleece to find out if it was the wicking or repelling kind in a half-assed way. I was sewing up the shoes when I started thinking about how freakin' cute they were going to be, and my boobs started to leak. So, I grabbed one of my practice scraps, and shoved it in my nursing tank. Since my tank didn't get wet, I thought it would need further testing... Water rolled right off it, so it was perfect for a hidden PUL! YAY! And so, the bat diaper was born, along with a matching pair of longies. Which Alex really likes. To eat.

Do you see my sock? SEE IT! SEE IT NOW!

I love my pants! Sing a song of pants!!

HEY! Woman, where are you taking my pants? They are MINE!

Oh, such lovely pants!

I also sewed up the Halloween babylegs I mentioned previously, here they are! Awww!

I still have to finish up these wipes, and I was allowed to get some new fabric, which will go on fleecies like the bats did. I also got some more of the pirate patch fabric, because I love it, and there was only a yard left at our Joann's. I also still have to finish up those other upcycled fitteds. I hate elastic.