2 Under 2

I have been really blessed not to have the baby blues that impact many moms. However, every time I bring a baby home from the hospital (ok, the 2 times in my life I have done it) I cry. About nothing. And about everything.

With Trey the first night I came home I started crying because he was so beautiful, I was so happy to be a mom, and yet I was so tired I could barely function. This time I cried because I have 2 kids. In the midst of trying to make sure Charlotte was happy and Trey had something to eat that first night I started to tear up. I didn't want Trey to see my crying because 1. he never has seen his mommy cry and 2. he already had enough upsetting his life with a new sister.

The whole time evening I kept thinking.. how can I take care of 2 kids under 2? I will tell you what I have learned- you can do it with whole lot of help and 2 great kids!

Jay took off a week of work and helped me. He did laundry, dishes, and pretty much anything you can't do when you are constantly nursing an infant! Then this past week my mom came and stayed with me. She helped with cleaning, laundry, and loving on my kids. Yes you read that right- kids, plural. Sometimes I forget I have 2 kids.

Trey has been so sweet to his sister. He likes to give her hugs, rub her back and bring her a paci if she is fussy (which she hardly ever is). So far Charlotte has been content sleeping or just looking around whenever Trey needs to eat a meal or get ready for naptime or bedtime. I am not sure how she knows these are times she needs to be really good, but she is. Whenever Charlotte needs to eat Trey plays on his own or brings me toys to play with him while I sit.

So no longer do I worry about taking care of two kids. Most moms have 2 kids and they survive. Besides, have you ever seen sweeter kids?

It's a Girl!

Charlotte Rose Hipes was born on Saturday, January 8th at 7:51 pm. She weighed 8 lbs 2 1/2 oz and was 19 1/4 inches long. Here is her birth story told from the perspective of her mom:

I have spent a large amount of my time at the doctor's office in the last 9 months and have probably read every back issue of Pregnancy Magazine in the last 2 years. One of the issues had an article about your birth plan and it said instead of some long written out birth plan (which I have never done anyways) to have 2 or 3 goals for your labor/delivery that are easy to communicate with the nurses. My two goals were-

1. Deliver a healthy, full-term baby.

2. Have a natural labor with no medication.

My contractions started at 4 am on Sat morning. Around 8 they were every 5-6 min apart so we dropped Trey off at Jay's parents and came over to Roanoke to be closer to town. It was also snowing at our house and we didn't know what the weather was going to do that day.

The contractions got to 4 min apart around noon so we called the doctor and went to the hospital. I was only at 3 1/2 cm so they gave us a room and let us walk around until I was admitted at 3:00 pm. Because I wasn't technically a patient yet I got a lot more freedom and could walk the halls and didn't have to be hooked up to an IV. At 3:00 my contractions were every 2-3 min and I was at 4 cm. At 5:30 my contractions were really picking up but I wasn't making any progress so I let the doctor break my water. They had offered to do that at 3:00 but I really didn't want any medical interventions. At 6:15ish or so the baby's heatrate kept dropping so the gave me a shot to slow down my contractions so the baby could recover and gave me oxygen through a mask. They also pumped my uterus with fluids and put a heart rate monitor on her head. I was really worried it was going to be a lot longer and then they would do more interventions.

Luckily, Charlotte's heartrate picked up and I continued to make progress. At 7:45 I was at 10 cm and they let me push. Charlotte was born at 7:51 pm. She was awake during the whole labor and kicking and moving as if she didn't want to get out. Despite a few scary moments with her heart rate, I was able to deliver naturally without any pain meds and the whole thing was only 16 hours long.

When the doctor found out we didn't know if the baby was a boy or girl he said he would hold the baby up and let Jay say if it was a boy or girl. It was so exciting to find out she was a girl and then get to hold her right away. The surprise made the delivery so much more special.

Husband Hunting?

I know all moms think their sons are great, but my toddler already possesses many qualities that will make him a great husband in say, 25 years.

1. He likes to follow behind you and close drawers and doors, so your house will always be neat and orderly.

2. He can often be found picking up small crumbs or tiny pieces of trash off the floor and putting them straight into the trash can.

3. He is very adept at putting clothes from the washer into the dryer and emptying the dishwasher.

4. The first thing he wants to do in the morning is sit with his Bible and read to himself, so he will be a great spiritual leader.

5. He likes a routine to his day, but can be flexible if needed.

6. His favorite place to be is outside, so he will enjoy going for hikes and strolls along the beach.

7. While outside, one if his favorite toys is the tractor, so your lawn will always be immaculate.

8. He likes to be near you, so you will never feel abandoned or lonely.

9. He has highly advanced skills in solving puzzles and matching shapes, so he will be a great Mr. Fix-it for around the house.

10. Plus he comes with a great set of in-laws :)

Happy Halloween!!

Each year for Halloween our church holds a "trunk or treat" event where kids go from car to car and get candy and play games. Trey enjoyed picking out a piece of candy to put in his bag. He also loved the games, especially any that involved throwing a ball or bean bag! I had to hold his bag and help him during the games, thus no pictures. Jay is part of the committee that puts this event on, but he was able to break away from his responsibilities to help Trey trick or treat.

Trey is taking in all the craziness going on around him. Everyone loved the chef costume his Nana made for him.


While at first we kept saying, go get a piece of candy and Trey had no clue what "candy" was, he quickly learned whatever it is goes into the bag. He had 1 m & m for his Halloween candy this year.





Towards the end Trey decided it was more fun to play with rocks in the parking lot than to collect more candy :)

After we got home the chef decided to make a yummy meal! Don't all great chefs stir with their mouths' wide open?
Happy Halloween!

Lazy Saturday Mornings

This is my favorite time all week.

Apples Galore!

This past Saturday Trey and I went to the farmer's marker. We stocked up on local eggs, butter, soap and tons of apples! Trying to carry two bags full of apples and have a toddler follow you to the car (when he wants to go to the playground) makes for an interesting trip! I had wanted to go to the apple orchard to pick apples one Saturday, but I didn't know if that would line up with our busy fall schedule, and I was not attempting to take Trey by myself. This was the perfect solution- fresh, local apples, way cheaper than the grocery store, and it took less than 5 minutes to purchase them!



I have many plans for the bags of apples! I bought 1/2 bushel of golden delicious and 1/4 bushel of gala apples. Gala apples are usually my favorite to the eat, but the golden delicious taste even better than the gala ones this time. So far I have made apple cinnamon muffins and am in the process of canning 6 jars of apple pie filling.




I have also used this as a great excuse to buy that food processor I have been wanting forever. Hopefully once that is purchased I can get more apples to make applesauce.


Trey loves to just walk by the bag, pull out an apple and start eating it. They are his favorite snack. One time he decided he needed an apple in each hand to snack on and took one bite out of each one. We are working on that...


After we got home from the farmer's market Trey wanted to eat some apple pieces. At first he walked around holding the piece while he wandered. Apparently this caused him too much difficulty with playing, so he decided to free up his hands and put the whole piece in his mouth, well at least all that fit into his mouth.

Fluffy Bum!

I absolutely love Trey's cloth diapers! We had never known anyone who had used the "modern" cloth diapers so after a lot of internet research we went out on a limb and bought 2 dozen Bum Genius 3.0 one size diapers before Trey was born. We got a lot skeptical responses when we told people we were planning to use cloth. We have used these same diapers since Trey was 3 weeks old! Here is a picture of Trey in his green diaper for Earth Day last year. Isn't he so cute and little!! Despite his lineage Trey has always had very skinny legs- thus making the diaper look a little big, but it was a perfect fit with no leeks!



Originally the idea for cloth diapers was Jay's and not my own. I told him I didn't mind, but that it would be hard with us both working to keep up with the laundry. 17 months later and it has not been a problem at all. Plus Jay is always willing to stay up late to put the diapers in the dryer for the next day. No you read that correctly, he has never complained if I forget to start the diapers until 8 and he has to stay up. I know- I am very lucky!



This picture was taken last October when Trey was six months old. The diapers are on the medium setting. I love all the colors! So much cuter than big bird or elmo in plastic!

I have no walking, toddler pics of the Trey in his diapers because sadly, he can take them off by himself (such a clever little one!) and so we quickly have to pull up his pants or snap his top when we do diaper changes.

This past week we have had a bit of a problem with a rash on T's bottom. This has never happened before this summer. I prided myself on choosing cloth because my child has always had a rash-free bottom! Well- no longer. I thought it was just the heat for a long time and during his 15 month appointment in July the pediatrician said diaper rash was common during teething and Trey has been cutting new teeth whenever the rash appeared (off and on all summer). However, after doing lots of research on what can cause a rash with cloth diapers I realized we had a detergent buildup and that my detergent (which I thought was free of everything!) actually had enzymes in it, causing the rash on my child's bum.

I bought new detergent and have spent all day washing my diapers in REALLY hot water over and over again until all the suds are gone and the diapers are completely free of any build up. Despite the rash and the whole day of diaper stripping (that is the word for this in the cloth diaper world) I still love my cloth and can't wait to go back.

We have been using disposables since Wednesday so I could figure out the best way to strip these diapers and get them ready for wear again. I cannot stand disposables! They stink for one thing. I don't want to smell the diaper before I even put it on my child. They hold an insane amount of liquid, which constantly reminds me of the amount of chemicals on my child's bum that are holding in the liquid. They make Trey's room stinky (even in a diaper pail!) way worse than used cloth diapers before they are washed.

To all those people who told me we were crazy for using cloth or that we would never stick with it- I would never go back to disposables! And you bet we are using cloth for baby number 2!