My baby shower!

Almost two weeks ago, on April 18th, a very precious friend of mine - Amanda Rupert - hosted a fabulous baby shower for me.

Amanda decorated her house in browns, blues and elephants, but more importantly she opened up her home to many wonderful ladies to celebrate!!! As I have mentioned, my parents drove down for the weekend so that my Mom (Gram-to-be) could attend.

The food was tasty, and the green sherbet punch was refreshing and VERY yummy. All the friends and family that came were extremely generous in their gifts for the baby. The stories shared made me realize how 'real' this is. More importantly, I was able to conclude that I will be able to handle everything/anything that comes my way with the support and love I have from all my friends and family!

Baby Movement...

WOW...This week has been crazy-busy AND full of FUN feelings! The baby is moving SO much. His movements are often so strong that Melissa's belly moves on the outside. So much so, that people have started to notice when it moves! Including Clint, who thinks it is really neat to see/feel and wonders what is actually poking Melissa (a hand, a foot, a head, a butt?). :)

We used to think sugar or food 'activated' him...but this week it didn't matter what time of day or night it was...the baby is active at a wide variety of times. It is a really neat feeling.

Will write more this weekend, as we still want to document last weekend's activities!

Fill-in post

With Easter, work and school we were really busy at the beginning of April and we neglected to write about our visit with the McReynolds grandparents-to-be. Jay and Paula came over to Alabama the first Friday in April. We stood around our kitchen island as they showed us many keepsakes from when Clint was a baby. Including the outfit he went home from the hospital in! Here is a picture. How sweet!






Paula also lovingly made the baby a beautiful "Miracle Blanket" (http://www.miracleblanket.com/video.htm) and a sling for us. Hand-made gifts are the best and we can't wait to use them.













On Saturday April 4th, we headed up to Loretto Tennessee to celebrate Aunt Opel's 97th birthday. We can now say that we had the youngest celebrator with us! We enjoyed a very nice lunch with over 35 family members and sat outside in the beautiful spring weather for most of the day (even got a little sun)!

Jay and Paula headed back to Texas on the first flight on Sunday morning in order to be home to celebrate our nephew's third birthday. Lots of celebrations lately! And more to come!!!

28-week appointment

Once again...Melissa had a flawless check-up this morning at the doctor's office. This was the appointment where Melissa had to drink the prescribed bottle of syrup for a glucose tolerance test. The solution went down easier than anticipated at home in the presence of her departing parents. A few minutes after arriving at the doctor's office (an hour after drinking the solution) her blood was tested and she passed, as expected.

The fundal length is still on track - 28cm. And his little heart rate was 147 bpm - loud and strong! :)

Not much to report...but that's a good thing! Our next appointment is in four weeks, and then the appointments will switch to being every two weeks. We thought we could get another look at the little guy next time, but apparently according to our insurance, it is not standard to have one at 32 weeks :( Oh well...we'll meet and greet him in person soon enough!

Melissa will post more later about some other great events that have occurred lately (visit from the Lloyd grandparents-to-be, baby shower, etc.).

Cloth Diaper Care and Washing Instructions

First - apologies for not writing in over two weeks. Things have been busy. As promised, we are going to post wash and care instructions for cloth diapers. These instructions are authored by Melissa's Dad, Carmen Lloyd and edited by the diaper maker herself (Melissa's Mom), Sue Lloyd. If you have any questions, please leave a comment and we'll get you some answers from the experts!!! Also...if you are interested in cloth diapers, let us know as the diaper factory at the Lloyd household is open for business!!!

Also - we know a few of the blog followers already use cloth diapers. If you have any ideas or suggestions, please leave a comment! Thanks!

Diaper care and washing
Before you use –
1. Pocket diapers, covers, inserts and items made from micro-terry or bamboo need a quick wash. Warm or hot water with detergent (see below for recommended detergents).
2. Organic/unbleached cotton and hemp products require several washes before they will be absorbent. 5-6 hot water washes (or more). If possible, hot water for wash and warm water for rinse.

Ongoing maintenance –
1. 10-12 diapers per wash
2. 1 short cycle cold water wash with detergent (you can also use 1-2 tablespoons of baking soda in place of detergent to neutralize acid and odors). Add 2 gallons of water with a bucket after it fills.
3. 1 long/heavy duty cycle hot water wash with detergent. Add 2 gallons of water with a bucket after it fills.
4. 1 additional rinse (warm water rinse if you have that option). You can also use ¼ cup vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser to break down residue, restore ph, reduce lint and eliminate static cling.

Detergents – Use ¼ recommended amount for front loaders, ½ for top loaders
1. Diaper friendly – “Charlie’s soap”, “Allen’s Naturally”, “Vaska” (available on-line at diapershops.com) or “Country save” or “Planet”.
2. Not recommended – free & clear detergents, baby detergents, any detergent with fabric softeners, whiteners/brighteners, enzymes, fragrances and/or bleach.

Periodic maintenance –
1. Stripping – if diapers are leaking/repelling often or you have smells when they become wet, then it is time for a stripping with several (4-6) hot water washes (no detergent) to get rid of residues. You may consider adding ¼ cup of vinegar to the first cycle or two (optional).
2. Or, use “RLR” laundry treatment once or twice a month. Wash on hot, then wash 2 or 3 times more on hot with no soap or anything.
3. Or, use a couple of tablespoons of dawn dish soap in the diapers once or twice a month, then wash 2 more times on hot without soap

Do you have hard water ?
Use a water softener (ex calgon), never a fabric softener.
Calgon can also be used to strip diapers by washing clean diapers 3-4 times with hot water and Calgon (no detergent).

How about bowel movements ?
The best recommendation is to use “rice paper flushable-biodegradable liners” – remove the soiled liner and flush or throw in trash.
You can also use a “diaper sprayer” to remove the solids right into the toilet.

How about pre-soaking ?
If you wash often enough, you should not need to pre-soak. However, if you go long on washings, pre-soaking will reduce the amount of staining. To do so, fill diaper pail with water and if especially soiled, add a small amount of baking soda to the pail

How should I dry the diapers ?
Dry on warm to hot cycle - make sure to close the loop & hook (velcro) closures. To further shorten drying time, a dry towel can be thrown in to draw moisture.

The Nursery!!!

We are SO pleased with the nursery furniture! Clint and Paul (Clint's co-worker) brought it home from Birmingham on Thursday. By the time Melissa got home from work, all the boxes were unloaded from the truck and in the baby's room. After Paul got something to drink to re-hydrate himself, he headed home with many of thanks and much appreciation from us.

Clint was unaware of what the night's events were going to be....as Melissa had already decided that the furniture would be assembled on Thursday! Other than helping get the furniture pieces out of the boxes....Melissa was not a part of the assembly process. It turned into Clint's project and what a fine job he did!!!




According to Melissa, the crib is not yet in its place....but we are going to try out some different configurations before settling on its location. Now all that is left to do in there is to buy a glider and decorate the walls. The glider will be purchased sometime this month, so we'll have it no later than mid-May. The ideas for the walls have been generated and the materials purchased....now it is just a matter of finding time to get it done!