TWO MONTHS!!! (+5 days)

She just can't believe how time has flown!

(Mila is actually looking at the birds on her chair-- she loves when we tap them and they move)

I cannot believe we are already at two months!!!

The two month check up was...interesting.

Mila is perfectly healthy and growing normally, which is wonderful to hear.

Her hips show NO SIGN of hip dysplasia!!!

She enjoyed her appointment and was smiling at everyone who came in the room.

She had no idea what was to come.

Normally, six vaccines are given at this time, one oral and three shots 

(a couple vaccines are mixed into one)

BUT

they were out of the combined shots...

so our little lady had to have FIVE shots in her little legs!

I had Austin hold her because I knew I couldn't take it.

And I was right.

I've never heard her scream like that...it was the worst thing ever. EVER.

Each shot was a new scream.

After, I held her and she calmed down. She was fine for the rest of the night, mostly just really sleepy with a couple random wake-ups where she suddenly remembered the pain in her teeny legs.

Aside from that:

Mila smiles all the time! She also laughed once in her massage class and it was the most adorable sound I have ever heard, but has not laughed again since.

Nothing is more funny than massage, apparently.

A friend from the class recommended a book called The Happiest Baby on the Block  for tricks to use when she cries for no apparent reason.

We call this reason "It is now 6pm"

This pediatrician uses the Five S method

1.swaddle

2.side (hold baby on her side)

3. shhhh (I wasn't sure about this but it is magical)

4. jiggle (technically, the "s" is for shake, but it isn't a shake at all but a jiggle that she LOVES)

4. suck (she refuses a pacifier so we ignore this one)

Anyway, this has revolutionized our lives! We get to eat dinner, have breaks throughout the day... it is AMAZING!

Because of this, she now randomly loves her swing and will happily stay/nap in it for an hour or so!

Let's get down to the Mila specifics of our growing girl!

Mila Loves:

MUSIC and dancing, her cheeks being tickled, her swing, staring at the fireplace (this is not a joke), touching her toys that make noise or have different textures, riding in the car, getting her face massaged, bath time (she is just figuring out how to kick and splash), watching football on TV with her daddy (this is not a joke, she seriously loves it), watching the birds on her chair and the stars on her swing, sitting in her Bumbo chair ...

She talks all the time! She says "goo" and "aaboo" and loves watching our mouths move when we talk to her. It is super cute and I can't wait to hear what she has to say!

She has a perfect skullet (like a mullet, but more like a bald head in the front and long hair in the back)

The front is starting to fill in, but it is so blonde that it is hard to tell.

She likes to yell when she is pooping and then yells to celebrate a successful poop. 

It is hilarious.

Mila Doesn't Love:

bottles or pacifiers or any form of false nipple (she wants the real deal or nothing at all), the weather cooling down, too many kisses from Fernando (one is fine), not being able to see the fireplace, tummy time...

I am going to post a picture of her sitting in her Bumbo

HOWEVER, I just became aware of Fernando's perverted photo bomb.

Why he had to sit right there with that issue is beyond me.

Here is one from a few days later, sans perversion:

Splish Splash

It's cold outside...

It is getting cold here so we got Mila a comfy fleece suit to wear...

It is just a bit too big, but apparently VERY comfortable as she passed out almost immediately

(slept through her infant massage class and for a couple hours after)

This is how she slept:

Goodbye Sun!

Yesterday was the last day 

(in the foreseeable forecast) 

of sun and warm weather in Pullman for the rest of the year

(until June, really)

so we thought we would head to Lawson Gardens and enjoy the sun/flowers!

Here are some pics!

Happy Girl

Mila LOVES when Austin tickles her cheeks.

So we thought we might be able to capture a smile...

At first she was a little skeptical but was enjoying the tickling.

Then she started to get into it.

Then she showed her love with this big sloppy grin!

At some point, we will get a picture of a basic smile but this grin seemed like a great way to get things started.

Adventures in Cloth Diapering: The Journey Begins...

Yes, we are cloth diapering!

You might be asking yourself, WHY??? Here's why, you doubter of the delights of cloth:

1. Disposable diapers are insanely expensive. You go through so many so much faster than you would ever think. With cloth diapers, we have about 24 and can reuse them with all of our future babies. They are expensive in the short term (think $50 for 3) but so much cheaper in the long term. Seriously, that is how expensive disposable diapers are when you need to buy so many.

2. Disposable diapers are horrific for the environment

3. Cloth diapers are better for potty training because the baby can feel the moisture more

4. Cloth diapers are better for baby skin/tushies 

Anyway, we used disposable diapers until Mila was at least 8 pounds and until we were relatively familiar with her diaper-changing schedule. I think this also reinforced all of the benefits of using cloth as we got to see how quickly our diaper stash was depleting. 

After a lot of research, we decided to use BumGenius 4.0

They are a one-size-fits-all diaper.  The snaps can adjust the diaper to fit from 8 pounds through potty training. Mila is pretty little and they fit her well. Though, to avoid any leakage that happens until she is a bit bigger, we place a tiny washcloth in the diaper and it works perfectly.

They work like this:

There is an insert that goes inside of a pocket on the interior of the diaper. There is an infant sized insert as well as an adjustable one that will fit at any size. 

 We are also placing a disposable liner between her and the diaper to catch thicker bits of poop (definitely helps for cleanup)

This is also helpful for those poops that happen the second you diaper the baby, the ones that normally waste the brand new diaper you just put on. The liner catches this perfectly before anything absorbs into the actual diaper.

When it is time to change her, we unsnap, throw away the liner, and remove the insert from the interior pocket (which has absorbed all of the liquid like a sponge).

The insert and the diaper require a cold rinse, which can be done in any sink if it was just pee. The now rinsed off items then go into a wet bag, which is exactly what it sounds like. It is a waterproof bag to hold all of the diaper stuff until you have time to wash them (we wash every couple days or so). 

Here is one of ours:

We have a large one for home and then a couple for traveling.

If there was poop, it needs to be removed before the diaper and/or insert can be washed.

Some poop WILL sneak past the liner. Baby poop is amazing like that. It gets everywhere.

Seriously.

Everywhere.

At first, we tried regular water pressure but that stuff hangs on for dear life. 

Then we had to use the sprayer in the kitchen sink:

disgusting and totally unsanitary.

We HIGHLY recommend getting a cloth diaper sprayer. This is the one we have:

It is also by BumGenius.

It was really easy to attach to the toilet and, sad to admit but very true, super fun to play with.

This thing BLASTS off any and all poop from the diaper. You would not believe the power!

BUT, with great power comes great responsibility...

This thing blasts poop off the diaper but it is so powerful that you cannot help but have some spray back. Onto you. Onto the wall. Everywhere.

The solution?

A Spray Pal!

I read about it online and users said it was a must-have for cloth diapering.

We completely agree!

Basically, it is  plastic folder type thing with a binder clip on the end to hold the diaper in place. You can then blast away and no poop ends up on the walls!! It is amazing! 

It can easily be made flat to tuck wherever.

Machine wash cold. Then dry the inserts in the dryer and hang dry the actual diapers. 
We wash the load at night and everything is ready to go in the morning. I then put the inserts back in and BAM, all of your diapers are ready to be used!

Everyone seems to recommend using disposable diapers at night to avoid the hassle of all this poop spraying. We are also using disposables while out to avoid having to transport poop all day (depends on how long you will be out).

Honestly, so far, it is much easier and much less disgusting than I had imagined.

Makes you wonder why anyone would spend so much money on disposable diapers.

Our journey began about a week ago. I will continue to document it here for all of your curious folks/ those who are contemplating taking the journey for themselves/ or for anyone who just loves talking about pee and poop.

6 weeks +

MILA UPDATES:

It's hard to believe that Mila is now 6 weeks and 3 days old!

We started our infant massage class on Tuesday at the hospital and she LOVED it! It was so nice to be around other moms (all of my friends here are academics who have little to no interest in ever having babies...so you can imagine how comfortable and happy they are to be around Mila). Mila was the star pupil! She was the only baby (of three, mind you) to not cry, scream, need her diaper changed, or need to eat. At the end of the class when the instructor asked all the babies if they had fun, Mila gave everyone a big, gummy smile! It was so cute!

Which brings me to the next update: MILA SMILES!! 
She has the most wonderful little grin and still the one adorable dimple! One thing that always makes her smile is when Austin plays with her cheeks. She loves it!

We had the follow-up ultrasound on Mila's hips and...drum roll... NO HIP DYSPLASIA! No brace for our little lady!! We will go back after a year just to make sure she is progressing correctly but I nearly cried when the doctor called to say that she did not need to come in!

We started cloth diapering... but I will save that for another post!

Mila now reaches out for her mama and daddy... melts my heart!

Mila got weighed today (so did I but I don't really want to talk about that). She now weighs 9 lbs and 14 oz!! BIG GIRL!!

She is a chatterbox and talks all the time--- even in her sleep. We often get woken up and think she is awake. I turn on the light and there she is, sound asleep and chatting/shouting away.

Here are some pictures of our growing girl!