No Hospital?

SO.....with that last post, the one Friday......I told you that my fourth son was delievered by a midwife, at least I think I told you that....well, he was!  He also was NOT born in a hospital!

When we found out we were pregnant with our fourth child, we knew we wanted things to be a bit different this time.  We had a bit a drama that seemed, well, unneccissary with our two middle kids, and so, we wanted things to be different.  We also did NOT want to be in the hospital for any amount of time.  We had three other kids who we wanted to be with and we did not want to have our time divided.

So we started looking for other options and found that the Birth Center was our best option.  They offered the care that we wanted/needed and they didn't require us to stay any longer than six hours after the birth of our baby!  It was GREAT!  We had a wonderful experience at the Birth Center.  We feel confident that had our fourth son been born in a traditional OB/GYN's care he would have been a c-section and that our midwives care is what spared us from that!

I truly could type for hours and hours about this topic.  I am SO thankful for the Birth Center and that God placed us less than an hour away from the ONLY ONE in the state of NC.  

Midwife?

So, in the last post I mentioned that my midwife was the one who gave me some pointers as to what to do about my health issue.  And I am sure that raised an eyebrow or two.  I totally see midwives for my annual check up.  It was actually midwives who delivered my fourth child!  I have chosen to see midwives as my healthcare provider because I feel like they listen to me and understand a womans body better than most.  They are quick to offer solutions that don't require medication and surgery and they listen to my concerns better than any doctor I've ever been to.....except maybe my children's pediatrician!

SO, for that reason I drive an hour once a year to see my midwife.  I enjoy my two hours alone in the car AND I am thankful for the time and care I get! 

One more cloth......

I can't imagine why any guy would read this blog.  I really can't imagine why anyone would read it, but anyway.  IF YOU ARE A GUY.....DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.

There.  You have been warned.  This is a very girlie post.  But one I am pretty excited to share.  This has REALLY changed things for me....in a VERY good way!

So....another thing that I no longer buy to throw away is...are you ready for this?  It's kinda gross.....feminine products.  Yes, I reuse my feminine products.....no, not my Always and Playtex, my Diva cup and my "Party In My Pants" pads.  Yes, I have PIMP pads....LOL!  I can't help but laugh everytime I say it.  I am so glad I wrote this post this morning.  I needed the laugh!

So, I know you are wondering why.....and fair enough.  This is another item that I thought I'd NEVER even try.  Just too far over the edge.  I mean we're crazy, frugal, a bit different, but this is just too much, or so I thought.  So the back story......

I have always had very heavy monthly cycles.  To the point that since our fourth was born, it's really been bad.  Like stop the world, change the schedule for the next two days, mom has to stay home kinda bad.  My hubby couldn't stand it.  It was really taking a toll on us and how active we are and he sent me to my midwives (we'll get back to that).  They gave me some suggestions (magnesium and ibuprofen) and said they really didn't think it would help and that I would likely need surgery. 

I don't jive with surgery.  That wasn't (isn't) on my radar and I really was not thrilled.  So I started to do some homework.  I found out that many traditional feminie products contain chemicals that actually encourage heavier bleeding.  You knowthat way you buy more products.  So, I decided I needed to get away from that as much as possible.

That's when I found my Diva Cup.  I LOVE it.  I have some friends that still struggle with it, but overall I love it.  It took me a few months to figure it out and get good at it, but once I did, I fell in love.  It is super easy to use....anywhere.  I was still using traditional pads as back up and overnight and such.  And I decided that too had to stop....and I found PARTY IN MY PANTS.

For the past two months I've been using these, with NO traditional products at all, as well as taking my "meds"....and guess what?  My cycles have been VERY managable!  :D  YAY!

I also have to tell you it's really nice when there is NOTHING to throw away.  Nothing to hide in the trash so the kids don't find it.....and.......they are really cute & comfy!

By the way, I bought my Diva cup from Vitacost.  If you are interested in one, you can buy it through this link and get $10 off (and I'll get $10 off my next purchase too!)!!

Now feel free to ask me any/all questions.....I totally am expecting it :)

Cloth napkins.......

My guess is by now you have come to expect this.....but yes, we use cloth napkins!  I m not sure exactly  when/how this got started but it seems to fall into line with how we roll.  The most common argument I have heard for not using cloth is the extra laundry.  Welll friends, I have four kids...we have a LOT of laundry.  A few cloth napkins ain't gonna change a thing.  They don't even add an extra load a month.  And as for folding them......that's what the four kids are for ;)

Cloth WIpes

Now, I must say that there are a lot of things I never really thought I would do.  But cloth wipes is RIGHT UP THERE with the top few.  (I can only think of one other thing, which we'll get to later!)  It just seems like the GROSSEST thing ever to use cloth wipes.  GROSS!  However, when we started with cloth diapers, cloth wipes was just the most logical thing to follow!  Seriously, think about it with me......you wipe babies bottom, you stick the wipe in the diaper and throw it all away.  If you have a cloth diaper and a disposable wipe, you have one item going to the trash and one going to the wash.  As lazy as this sounds that is MORE WORK!  Once you have cloth diapers, it just makse sense to go to cloth wipes.  Now you can get all fancy and BUY specific cloth wipes, or like us, you can just use baby wash rags.  They are a bit cheaper!

We cloth diaper.......

Do you see that orange diaper?  :D

I always LOVED seeing my diapers on the line!

When my oldest (who is now ALMOST 8!) was about 18 months we switched to cloth diapers!  We were expecting our second child and knew that we would have two in diapers.....for a while!  I hosted an informational party where a lady came and told us all about cloth diapers and one of my BFFs and I started in on researching.  We both decided on and bought cloth.  One of the main reasons I decided to go cloth was cost.  I sat down and did the math and back then, when there weren't near as many options, it would cost the same price to cloth a baby from birth to potty training as it did to put them in sposies!  Since we knew that we would have at least two (we were for sure hoping for more) we went for it and have LOVED it!

Truth told we don't cloth diaper now, as sad as that is :(  But we have enjoyed it and LOVED it with all four!  We gave it up for MANY reasons, and occasionally we go back to it, but the baby is thinking about potty training, so we may.....just may be done with diapers soon.....  :O

TRASH BAGS.....

Another strange thing about us.....we don't buy trash bags.  Why would we?  We get them free at target :) 

When we moved to NC, a few years ago (really more like 10!), that was one thing we realized right away we didn't need.  We've always lived in small spaces and so a trash can seemed like a waste of space.  Therefore we've just been using Target bags.

The benefits-

it's small and easy for the littles to take out.
it doesn't take up much room
it's FREE
it never stinks, it fills up and gets taken out LONG before that

the downside-
it fills up fast (esp when you have company)