Got another car seat

A few weeks ago, I wrote about our monster car seat -- the very good, safe, highly rated Britax car seat that pushes our front seat up so much, no one can sit up there.

So I bit the bullet and got an infant car seat this past week. At least the baby can use it for a while, I can sit in the front seat (or have a 3rd person in the car), and when it's time to be front facing we'll have our Britax model all ready.

I ended up buying a floor model Graco car seat -- with the floor model discount and coupons, I got it for $70. I was really pleased with that. I got the floor model because it was on sale to begin with and they were all sold out. If I bought it online, I would have had to pay full price. Now we haven't used it yet, it still needs to be installed. And Wes loves his car seat, so I hope this one works as well.

He may end up only sing this for a few months -- I have a feeling he will grow out of this seat fast -- but then when Wes moves into his big car seat, we'll hopefully have another little one to put in this infant car seat.

Cloth diaper review

It's been 1 month since we've been using cloth diapers. So far, Matt and I couldn't be more pleased with this decision. On occasion, we've had to use some disposables, and every time we do, we're even more positive we made the right decision.

We've got a good system going. In our dresser is where we keep all the diapers sorted by covers, prefolds, inserts, and pockets. And next to the dresser is the pail with the liner for all the dirty diapers. Pee-only diapers go into the laundry basket with the other dirty baby clothes. So far, I'm doing diaper washings every other day and I don't feel like I'm washing clothes more often since we have more to wash in general with his stuff (he gets everything dirty so fast). Washing the diapers is easy -- a short cold rinse, followed by an extra sanitary hot wash.

Here are some of my reviews and notes on the different types of diapers I'm using so far ...

At night:
Our preference is to use the all in Pocket diapers like BumGenius. We double up the inserts and they last through his 3-hour + sleep sessions. The material really absorbs the wetness!

During the day:
With the numerous diaper changes, the chinese prefolds and covers are what we're using with success. The Thirsties covers fit him better than the Bummis cover, and they have less wear on them with the same amount of washings. Right now I have Thirsties with velcro, but I may switch to snaps when I get the next size up.

Don't like:
The Flips, made by BumGenius are not working. The covers are fine with a prefold (but even they are too big for my 8-lber), but with their insert they don't seem to work at all. Maybe I'm not doing it right, but I can't figure it out and it should be easy.

And the other Pocket Diapers I have (FuzziBunz, Happy Heinys, Katydids, etc) are all fine, but I think they'll work better when Wes gets bigger. Right now they are huge on him.

Tracheomalicia, perhaps

The last 2 weeks, Wesley has started breathing funny especially when he's feeding. He makes these high pitched noises that sound like he's gasping for air, even though his mouth is closed. At night, his noises keep us up with concern so we both agreed to take him to the doctor, even if that meant looking like crazy first-time parents.

Of course Wes didn't make the noise for the doctor, but we recorded it just in case. When I played it to her, she said it sounded like Tracheomalacia -- or floppy trachea. A lot of newborns are born with trachea that are not fully developed and the cartilage moves and makes noises. It's important to diagnose this even though, from what I understand, it's not very serious.

So we went to the Ears, Nose & Throat specialist on Thursday where they stuck a tube down the little guys nose and found him to be perfect. So the noise is just that, a noise. And he should grow out of it as times goes on.

Just the first of many crazy doctor visits, I'm sure.

Quiet Contemplation on the Changing Table

Energy Audit

Our city got some grant money from the government to provide its residents with energy audits, and with that you can get up to $1000 back on any energy improvements you make (this is in addition to the tax credit).

So I quickly signed us up (which I was lucky I acted so quickly), and we had our energy audit yesterday.

Improvements they recommend:

1. Insulate the attics **
2. Replace the furnace and water heater
3. If we don't replace windows (not a lot of ROI on window replacement), then we should upgrade our storm windows.

** If we can only afford one thing on this list, this is their recommendation. It's the best ROI, and where you lose the most heat from your house.

Home improvement is never done! Now I need to start calling for quotes on getting this all done before the end of the year.

Also before the end of the year, we hope to finish the bedroom floors (only the baby's room got replaced), and replace the family room carpet with hardwood. This will make us so much closer to getting the house almost done (well the INSIDE!).

We made it! 1 Month!

We're celebrating our 1 month anniversary with our baby boy! (like a new relationship, these small steps must be celebrated!)

August 25th @ 1 month old

Like they say, your life will never be the same again. And at 3 in the morning, when a crying baby wakes me up for the umpteenth time hungry and stinky, do I wish for that old life back. Like I told Matt, if I knew that Friday, July 23rd was going to be our last night of continuous, good sleep, I would have brought a bottle of vodka in bed with us!

That said, our first month with Wes has been non-stop. Even though I'm home (a prisoner in my own house, save for the walks in the stroller), the days have flown by and I can't believe he's already 1 month and I'm in my 5th week of maternity leave (of 12 weeks). Every day, I feel better physically, and I feel like I'm getting to know Wesley better even though there are those days when Matt and I can't figure out what he wants (and you can only shove so many bo.obs and bottles in his mouth).

August 23 -- looking a little sad in the Lamb

Everytime we think he's developing a sleeping pattern at night, he throws us a curve ball. On a good night, though, he'll sleep for 3 hours, up to feed/change for 1-2 hours, and back to bed for another 3 hours. Although last night he was up a lot and I'm running on fumes today.

This past weekend was Wesley's first visit to Lake Geneva where we spent 2 nights at my parents place. He was very good -- we had a good 1st night sleep, went on walks to the lake/art fair, went out for dinner (where he slept in the Moby), and he even went to his first Venetian Night/fireworks where I nursed him under the stars. My mom bought a pack-n-play for her house and Wes loved it, sleeping in it so well that by the 2nd night he didn't need to sleep anymore... he cried constantly, and we got about 2 full hours of sleep all night.

In Lake Geneva

The last 2 nights, we've let him sleep in our bed -- which is hit or miss too. But it's much easier to nurse... all I have to do is roll over. Matt, who originally was against co-sleeping, heard from friends that sometimes it's necessary when they are this young and you need some serious sleep. He's just still nervous he'll roll over on to the baby, but I have him protected with my arm.

In bed with daddy

In the middle of the night, I decided to give up breastfeeding ... after all it's been a month (longer than most of the women have done this in my family.) This morning, over a bottle, I'm back on the wagon. Even if I only breastfeed 2 times a day, I just can't seem to give it up.

Wesley with all his grandparents

Photo gallery of Wesley and his grandparents (and great grandparents):

Wesley with nonno --his namesake

With Grandma

In July, Matt's parents took a whirlwind trip to see us and the new baby (he only just forwarded me the photos).It was a short trip that everyone wished could have been longer, but Wesley will never be that small again (5 days old) - so it was well worth it! The next time they come up, Wes will be over a month old and they will be amazed at how much he has changed.

With Gagi -- rocking Wes in the same rocker she rocked Matt

With Pop

With Great-Grandpa

And with Great-GrandmaI'm so happy that my grandparents are here to get to know Wesley, and my grandmother in Italy we hope will meet him when we visit (probably in another year or two).