Skin Woes

Well, it's official, our little one has sensitive skin. We had hints that she might in the first few days that we had her with us as she seemed to develop pretty nasty diaper rashes. We thought she might have the diaper problem because along with myself, my siblings also had very sensitive skin and we were all allergic to regular diapers. What I didn't expect was the eczema! A couple of weeks ago I noticed a slight rash forming under Lo's arms and right under her hairline. We thought it was a heat rash and so I did things to help with that- kept her in cotton onesie's during the day and a cotton long sleeved shirt/diaper in the evenings. This didn't do anything for her. The rash actually got worse! After looking up a few things I have come to realize that she's got a mild case of baby eczema. No biggie, just have to find something that works for her. So coming from a diaper rash fighting, eczema treating mommy, what works for us?

Ahh! Don't be overwhelmed (this actually doesn't include several other items we use that just didn't happen to be within arms reach during the photo shoot), we just have realized that it takes more than one product to help with these different woes. For her eczema I've started using Gentle Natural's Baby Eczema Cream. It was a little pricey but it's all natural and just helps lock in her own body's natural moisture to help heal itself. It's worked very well. I started using it liberally about 3-4 times a day and the rash has lightened several shades. Along with the Gentle Natural's, I also give her a lukewarm bath every evening. I only use soap about every other day (other than in her hair--I have to wash that nightly to get rid of the spit up smell) and then I rotate between two different soaps: Aveeno Baby and Method Baby. Again, gotta go with the hypoallergenic, natural stuff with her or the skin problems persist. The bath and the different soaps seem to help with the diaper rash, too.

For the diaper rash I rotate what I use. During the day I rotate between the butt paste, desitin, and method baby (which, again, works the best--it's the natural stuff-- so I use that one every other changing). Then after her evening bath I load her up with A&D because it repels the dirty stuff during the night, so if I don't wake up right away to change her it keeps the stuff from sticking to her and making the rash worse.

HOWEVER, the thing that helps the most with her diaper rash?

Her Bum Genius cloth diapers! What a life-saver these gems have been. Not only do they come in fun colors, but they're very good for her sensitive little bottom. If we're not using these then we have to use super sensitive pampers. Since I've been home full time, I've started using these exclusively during the day and have not had ANY rash problems. I can't recommend these enough--they're easy to use, no pins, no folding. I have 24 of them and only do diaper loads about 2-3 times a week. And the stink that people worry about? I don't think it's any worse than a trash bag full of disposables. In fact, I tend to be MORE grossed out by the disposable smell. So...cloth diapering works for us! We'll see what I say about that after doing it for a couple of months exclusively...ha!

Logan feels good today. She spent the morning in her bumbo while mommy cleaned up (as seen in the picture up top and the one you'll see in a minute) and is now taking a nice morning nap before we run errands this afternoon.

Small milestone and big new toy

Told you I'd have more time to post! This is #3 for the day. :) Normally I wouldn't post this much but I've had several things to post and wanted to get it all done while I've got a fast internet connection. So, what's our small milestone that we hit today? Logan has enough hair to keep small bows clipped in all by themselves (no band necessary)! Yaaay! :) Her little hair is SO sweet and it's getting thicker and thicker by the day... she gets that from her mommy.

And our new big toy? The rainforest jumperoo! Logan LOVES this toy. She can literally spend an hour straight in it without fussing. She loves this thing. It's wonderful--several toys to play with, it's got lights and sounds (that can be turned off very easily and are not loud and obnoxious), it's got hanging toys so when she looks up she's got something fun to focus on, the seat spins so she has easy access to all of the toys (though she hasn't figured out how to do that on her own yet), AND the best part? She can JUMP JUMP JUMP! :) She's still kind of just bouncing a little but she's figured out that when she moves her feet it bounces and I'm sure the jumping will come with time. It wears her out really good, too. After an hour in it she's ready for a nap-- victory! Here's a better shot of it:

Yes, that's a book underneath her feet, she's not QUITE tall enough to reach the floor.

And here she is after she's played in it:

So Long, Farewell

Well, I am officially starting day 1 of my new job today. My duties? Let's see...

- Cleaning (EVERYTHING: kitchen, bathrooms, nursery, master bedroom, living room, closets)

- Making breakfast, lunch and dinner (I hate to admit this...but the last few weeks Mike and I have been living off of frozen meals because I've just been TOO tired to cook)

- Laundry, Laundry, and MORE Laundry! (I'm on load #3 for the day and have a few more to go through)

- Milk machine

- Keeper of the baby schedule

- Nurse (cleaning up spit up, working on getting rid of the baby eczema, and a few other things)

- Teacher (right now we're just working on fine motor skills :) I'm sure next week we'll be learning complex medical terms but we're taking things slow...ha!)

- Oh so many more things that I can't keep up with. The best part? Loving on my baby all day long and being rested and ready to take care of my wonderful husband at the end of the day. It's not easy by any stretch but I am SO SO SO passionate about it that I can't help but smile all day long.

So, what did we do last week to celebrate? Friday afternoon we went out to lunch with the kinder/first grade team to say goodbye. They were so sweet and full of encouragement as we get ready to embark on our new adventures. They bought me lunch, gave me a few sweet gifts and gave me a card I will treasure forever. It was such a great time. While I am so happy to be at home now, I know I will miss my colleagues very much.

Lunch at Samuri. Logan was very entranced by the chef and all he was able to do in front of her. She was quite entertained the entire time.
Lo and I with the kinder teachers.

And with the first grade team.
Big group shot.

The One Thing...

As we were registering in anticipation for Logan's arrival I was adamant about one thing: we didn't need a mobile. I couldn't find one to match the decor and I just thought it would be useless to have. I've babysat several children and none of them ever liked mobiles and so I figured it was just some big sales thing: all nursery pictures had them so the big stores made it seem like every parent needed one. Not me! I did NOT need a mobile for my child, I was going to prove them wrong. What's the one thing that keeps Lo quiet in her bassinet, though?

...her wind up mobile. I was proven wrong. (mark your calendars, I don't admit defeat regularly) Unfortunately, the wind up mobile goes for about...oh...90 seconds before stopping and screaming commences.

So a few weeks ago (I know, updates have been very sporadic) I marched myself into target and got a battery operated mobile:

It's wonderful! It plays music/nature sounds/heartbeats, it moves ON IT'S OWN, and it's got a really adorable lights show for Lo to watch in the dark. It's a very great product for us. Here it is in action:

The result?

Sweet dreams!

4 months old today

Logan is 4 months old today! It's crazy to think that 4 months ago tonight we were sitting in the hospital watching the Cav's game and tonight we're sitting here watching them in the playoffs from our own bed. Yes, that is indeed what Logan has chosen to do for her 4 month old birthday (or it was chosen for her...however you want to look at it), watching LeBron (or Bron Bron as she so fondly refers to him :) ) play the Magic.

So, sweet girl...you are FOUR months old! What are some things you are doing this month?

- You have become quite the roller. You can roll quickly from your tummy to your back but you are still very hesitant to try to roll back to tummy. We'll get there soon!

- I'd love to say that you are sleeping better....but it just depends on the night. Last night you almost gave me a full night but two nights ago you were up every 2 hours, so like I said, depends on the night.

- You have figured out how to use your hands. You are grabbing at EVERYTHING. You love love love to bat at the toy that hangs from your carseat and you get the CUTEST little accomplished look when you do it.

- You are kicking your legs like crazy. When you get excited you kick them like you're on a bike. Sometimes it hits mommy or daddy and we realize just how strong your little legs are.

- You love to TALK TALK TALK. This is actually a very recent development (within the last two days). You seem to have something to say about everything. It's much more than the cooing, you're actually trying to communicate something to us. You'll look at us as you do it and expect us to answer back--if only we knew what you were saying! (it's adorable all the same)

- You laugh out loud! Last month your giggles were more of a sucking in air sound. They definitely have come out this month. Random things make you laugh and usually those things will make you laugh for hours at a time but if tried again at a different sitting they don't work at all. We are really working hard to find something that will always make you laugh so we can video it. It's super entertaining.

- You are definitely our little blessing and we love you more with every passing second. We can't imagine life without you.

Ok, here are the comparison pictures!!

1 month

2 months

3 months

4 months

Has it been a week already?

Another week down, TWO MORE to go! Only 8 more days of school :) I've been doing a countdown to summer with my kids in class to help teach them subtraction and the whole counting backwards skill and when we went into single digits this week one of them stood up and loudly declared:

"WAIT! So that means only NINE more days until you're not my teacher?! I think we need to start counting up tomorrow." :) Gotta love the mind of a first grader.

Speaking of, let me give you another quick conversation I had this week with a little girl. To preface this, since I got back from my maternity leave I had to talk to the kids about building each other up as opposed to tearing each other down--while I was gone they had taken to insulting each other to the point that they'd go home crying. We've been going over nice phrases to say to each other and when we need to keep our words to ourselves, etc, etc. So I've started a rule in the classroom: every time someone says something mean to someone else, they MUST come up with two nice things to say to them (usually the first nice thing is sorry, though some of my more creative kids actually do come up with two complements). Anyway, a few days ago I had a sweet little boy come up to me in throws of tears telling me that the little girl who sits next to him had just called him a dirty dog. UGH. Here's how the conversation went (names are changed to protect the kids):

Sammy: "Mrs. Kayle, Jamie just called me a dirty dog." sob sob.

Me: "Jamie, did you call Sammy a dirty dog?"

Jamie: "Yes, I did."

Me: "Does that build Sammy up?"

Jamie: "No"

Me: "Ok, well since you tore him down you need to build him back up."

Jamie: *stands deep in concentration and then begins to get tearful* "I'm really sorry Sammy. Next time I will call you a clean dog."

I did have to get up and walk out of the room to laugh with another teacher. I will miss little moments like this when I'm at home.

Ok...back to the subject of this blog. :) Can't get away from her too long. Just a few things from the week. Logan has started kicking her legs very vigorously this week. We're getting ready for mobility (though it will probably be several months). She has started routinely flipping from her tummy to her back. She has a hard time going back to tummy, though. We're working on that! Here she is in one of my favorite onesies (you can't see the whole thing but it says: "Mommy and I think that daddy is charming." Way true.)

And again.
For those of you who know my family, you know that we are die hard Alabama fans. Actually of us only my mom and I didn't attend the University. Carolyn brought home this cute little onesie with a houndstooth elephant on it so I had to make a bow to go with it. :) She wore it to my cousins' birthday party where she could show it off.
The last one is from this morning on the way to church. My childhood friend, Val, bought her this really cute dress that I've been crazy dying to put on her but it didn't fit until this week so here it is! It's got little yellow ducks on the border and is simply adorable. (Sorry for the picture quality, my camera batteries died and instead of running out to get new ones we've been using the iphone).

Time for a Post

Only three more weeks until my posts will probably be a bit more frequent!!! That's right, three weeks (1 full week, two short weeks...13 days...78ish hours...) until I'm DONE DONE DONE with work! Woohooo! I think I mentioned this in the past post but last week I told my boss that I wasn't returning so that was a huge weight off of my shoulders. She was very supportive and excited that I'd be able to stay home with Logan. I've been VERY busy with work the last several weeks. The end of the year brings a lot of paperwork so when I get home I am completely and utterly exhausted and all I want to do is spend time with my husband and baby so I don't get a whole lot of anything done. In fact, this week I was so tired that I'm doing a weeks worth of laundry today (UGH! Not sure I'll let that happen again). Those of you who know me know how tired I really must have been to let a mess pile up for that long--usually I go nuts every couple days and I HAVE to get the laundry done (kitchen clean, floors swept/mopped, etc.). Neat freak much? Absolutely.

So, what have we been up to this week? Well, Logan has been with Carolyn this week (and will be until I'm done with school) and I'm so happy to announce that she's officially back on the schedule I had her on when I was at home (with a little bit of modification...come on people, she is about a month older :) ). She's taking two great naps during the day and then going to bed sometime in the 8:30-9pm time frame at night. Her feedings are on a nice schedule and she's finally back to nursing without a struggle after several weeks of having to really work at it (Praise the Lord, didn't know if that one was ever going to end!). So, it's been nice to come home to a sleeping baby and have her wake up happy and alert for me. I get about an hour of downtime when I get home before she wakes up, which is really nice, especially if Mike is home since our time alone is very little these days, it gives us a chance to really catch up on life.

Like I said before, I've been working hard to finish out the year. Packing things up in the classroom, figuring out which teachers want my stuff (since I don't have use for it at home right now) and just getting ready to say my goodbyes there. Mike has been working a lot and subbing some to make some extra cash as we prepare for the move in July. Still haven't heard from seminary but we've decided we'll probably head to Tallahassee if the answer from them is no. We know that area well, have good connections, and know the cost of living is a lot less and that we'd still be able to pull of me staying at home there.

I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to being back home with the baby. I feel like I lose so much time with her being at work all day. I come home sometimes and she looks so much more grown up than when I left her. I've also faced the problem of being so tired when I come home from work that I just don't feel like I get solid quality time with her. I just get a general feeling of guilt when I leave. God is really blessing us by allowing me to be at home with her (oops...almost said them and then realized I only have ONE! No...I am most definitely NOT pregnant again--need a little more time) I've been very convicted about it and feel like we can make it on what Mike makes at work (not in Miami) and so the only reason I'd continue to work is to keep a higher standard of living and that just is not a reason to work. I need to be at home raising my family. I told a co-worker of mine this week that I'd live in a little shack and grow my own food and be completely content if I was at home working as mom and wife. :)

**Stepping down from my soap box**

Remember this little creation? I made it for Logan about a month after she was born and she just drowned in the thing. It's been hanging from one of the arms of the changing table decorating the room while we waited for her to fill it out.

Well, she fills it out now! Mike is at a workshop today so Lo and I spent the morning playing and as we passed the changing table she grabbed hold of the tutu and so I decided to put it on her and see how much she's grown.
You can't see her little legs because as soon as the tutu was on she curled them up under it. She's been very interested in her feet and she couldn't really figure out why she couldn't see them. She kept trying to lift them above the tutu but just couldn't quite make it.

We went to my school's spring dance show this week and Logan was just completely enamored with the little ballerinas that danced first. She kept trying leaning forward to get a better look and she just cooed the entire time! I think we have a little ballerina in the making!

I'll leave you with another cute Lo picture. Do I have to have a reason? :) Until next time!!