New blog

I've decided to move my blog to wordpress and change my focus. Why Wordpress? I love blogger and it is simple to use but I decided I wanted more. Wordpress is a powerful application and my blog is in the beginning stages but I am a slowly organizing it and putting it together so bare with me for the moment. Right now most of my focus is my kids and what we do. I'll still post about my family but I will probably start posting about other things. I know I do it now but I am hoping that this will help me stay more focus and organized and accomplish some personal goals. I am having a hard time finding a concise way to explain all my reasons for moving to a new format but I hope my followers will follow me at my new blog: http://durtschibaby.wordpress.com/

My first dress

I bought a few dress patterns from etsy and I have been waiting or more like procrastinating to do it. I bought some really cute fabric for 1.99/yard so I could get some practice in without feeling too bad if I messed up. Anyway to my surprise Olivia likes to wear the same matching outfit as Hazel. I use to think it was cheesy but only because I use to have a cousin that would copy everything I would wear and I hated it. But now that I have two little girls I think it is so adorable so I am going to take advantage of it. I made Olivia's dress first and I made it a size 5 so she would have room to grow into it so it is pretty baggy. It was so much easier than I expected and I was able to finish it in one day. I would classify my sewing skills beginner/intermediate so I am really proud of myself. It isn't perfect but Olivia loves the fact that I made it for her. Now onto Hazel's dress and my big plan is to make a matching skirt.

Olivia and the camera

We bought a new camera. Even though it is really our camera I call it Mike's camera and the old camera is mine. A conversation from last month:

Olivia: Mom have you seen my camera.
Sandy: Uh. I don't think you have a camera.
Olivia: (Running to the kitchen counter). Oh there it is.
Sandy: Olivia that is mommy's camera.
Olivia: No mommy that is my camera.
Sandy: Actually that is my camera.
Mike: Oh I told Olivia the other day that she could have that camera.
Sandy: (To Mike) What? She is 2 years old and she doesn't need her own camera. Anyway that is my camera.
Sandy: (To Oliva) Olivia that really is mommy's camera. It wasn't for daddy to give to you.
Olivia: Mommy it is okay we can share it.

Great Olivia is teaching me about sharing. Anyway here are a couple of her photos.

Fat pants and such

So I am only 5 lbs away from my pre pregnancy weight and this is the same place I stopped after I had Olivia. The problem is there is a lot more jiggle in places I didn't have before. I really want to lose the weight but obviously not enough to exercise and watch what I eat. I'll admit I am being super lazy that way. It takes a lot of discipline and I am an emotional eater. When I get stress out or upset, I eat so I just don't have the willpower to do it right now. Since I have a job I can't live in sweats (which accommodate any weight) I had a really limited wardrobe. Side-note: Wearing maternity clothes when you aren't pregnant looks really weird especially the shirts. My opinion anyway.

My mission was to find dark jeans that I could dress up for work and dress down for weekends and evenings. My first complaint is I am not a fan of the skinny jean just because I feel like I am too big to wear them. I think they are cute on other people but not on me so that eliminates at least half of the racks. I suspect most women have a hard time shopping for jeans or it is just a story I tell myself to make me feel better. Dark wash, light wash, stretch, no stretch, high rise, low rise, flare, boot cute, straight fit, skinny, taper, boy cut. My shopping rule is I have to love it to buy it. There have been multiple occasions that I buy something that doesn't fit perfect but I loved the pattern or the style or bought something too small hoping I would lose weight but I hate wasting money and space having it sit in my closet. I also suffer from the problem of finding a perfect pair of jeans and wear them all the time until I get a hole that isn't fixable. It is pretty devastating. I still have 3 of those jeans in my craft bin waiting to be turned into a quilt. I am pretty dramatic when it comes to jeans just because I have such a hard time finding a pair that fit my body.

We went to Burlington Coat Factory and I tried on about 8 pairs and I found two that fit well. Fitting well means it doesn't give me muffin top and make my caboose look like it is 10 feet wide or like a sausage being stuffed into a casing. There are tradeoffs though. Usually all pants are too long and if I shop petite they are too short to wear with boots. I tried to wear them and it just wasn't happening. There is managing 1-2 inches too long versus 3-4 inches and I even wore boots those days. I finally pulled out my new sewing machine.

Remember my new sewing machine that I had big plans for when I was nesting and then life happened. I finally pulled it out and it worked like a dream from the get go. It was worth every single penny I saved and I can't wait to start on my other projects. Thank you for electronic sewing machines. I used this tutorial to hem my new jeans and it saved me so much time and it was super easy and it uses the original hem of the jeans. http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2011/08/altering-jeans-shorter-with-identical-hem.html

Thanks Olivia

Olivia: Mom what's that? (points to my chin)
Mom: Probably a pimple.
Olivia: Ewwww! Gross!
Mom: Hey. Thank you for pointing that out! (sarcastically)
Olivia: Your welcome Mom.

Durtschi Family happenings

My two sleepy bones who sleep in every chance they get. Olivia is my early riser no matter how late she gets to bed.





Olivia and her magnetic clips.



Our sweet score on buzz lightyear pajamas at a yard sale this summer.



Our homemade pizza days. BBQ chicken and the classic pepperoni. Pizza Dough freezes really well and it only takes about 8 minutes to cook.





Evidence that Olivia takes the cheese block and eats it as a cheese sandwich.

Product Review - Artistry Light Up Lip Gloss

Mike has started up a business and I am going to review the products I personally use just in case someone might be interested in trying it out. The first product is Artistry Light Up Lip Gloss. Artistry is one of the top five in sales for skincare and beauty products. The other companies are Clinique, Estee Lauder, Lancome and Chanel. Artistry is a Miss America pageant sponsor. In 2008 Sandra Bullock was announced as the "face" of Artistry luXury Creme.



I used the champagne color and it is neutral and it is sheer and shiny. It wasn't too sticky or thick. High quality. The highlight of this lip gloss is there is a led light on the applicator and a mirror on the side so you can apply it anywhere even in the dark and not miss a step in the application. I was quite impressed. I have used Bare minerals, Lancome and Clinique lip glosses in the past and the cost is similar. The lip gloss will last an estimated 200 applications.



I would like to offer a 15% discount until November 30 so the cost is $13.00 + S&H. They would make great Christmas presents or stocking stuffer. All Artistry products have a 180 day return policy so if you don't like any product you can return it for a full discount.

Primary Pool Party

A family in our ward has an awesome pool so there is a primary, relief society and priesthood pool party every summer. It is really nice and she loves the diving board.

Happy October

We are getting ready for Halloween. Here is Olivia's scary eye:

Homeschool

I really wanted to enroll Olivia in preschool this year but the place I wanted to get her into has a strict policy with being 3 by September 1. Well her birthday is September 23 and Mike and I don't think that we should have to hold her back a whole year because she missed a deadline. I know that there are other preschools that don't have this strict cutoff but it does bother me that the school system has this cutoff date when really it should be based on the child's ability and maturity levels. I have also met a lot of people who homeschool in Boise so I have been reading a lot of books and blogs and checking out a lot of curriculums in the homeschool world.

Mike and I have discussed it before but I figured I might as well see what is out there. I found a lot of great information and I chose the Sonlight curriculum. There isn't much for the preschool years but I though it would be a good test run this year and next year to figure out if this is something we really want to do. I think I am a well rounded person in education but teaching little kids kind of freaks me out. Plus with our current situation Mike would be doing most of the teaching.

Things I like most about the Sonlight curriculum is it has a bible section where kids learn about bible stories and learn scriptures, it is literature based and it has everything planned for you. I am a firm believer that having good reading/writing and reading comprehension skills is essential to learning other subjects and that is what they focus on the first couple of years. The books on the reading list are classics and I checked the curriculum for middle school and high school and it was a meaty list. I also liked that even though the bible is a huge component they incorporate exposing kids to other religions and backgrounds. The curriculum incorporates other homeschool packages that have received awesome reviews like Break the Code to teach reading and Handwriting without Tears.

We already read to Olivia almost daily but this will be nice to expose her to more classics and give Mike and I the opportunity to spend some quality time with her. The preschool schedule only requires about 20 minutes a day. Plus money was another factor. Preschool would be a huge expense in our budget.

Wow time flies

I can't believe it has been so long since I have posted. I have been busy with some thing and lazy with others and the blog has fallen by the wayside. I thought I check in because I am suppose to be journaling all these memories about my family. Mike's parents have come to visit us several times which Olivia loves. We love it too and we were able to go to some awesome garage sales. Mike and I have been meeting lots of new people in Boise and hanging out which has been nice for Olivia to play with other kids. We have also found some fantastic babysitters. One girl is in our ward and she is 13 and she is just in the awkward stage of getting braces and going through puberty but she is the absolute sweetest. I was concerned about finding a sitter because Hazel is so young but this girl babysat for another couple over the summer and they have a set of twin boys that are only a few months older than Hazel so she has had a lot of experience. Plus her mom lives close by.

My working out has been non existent. Not surprised at all. As soon as things picked up at work that was the first thing to go. One day it will happen. Also Mike has a herniated disc so I don't have a workout partner anymore. :( He has been in a lot of pain so that has been hard in a lot of ways. He is at home with the kids all day and he is suppose to take it easy which is really hard for him. That means there is a lot of cleaning stuff that he can't help out with. The doctors have a fairly aggressive plan that I don't really agree with but that is a big story within itself.

I have been reading reading reading. I am trying to research all these things and I feel so overwhelmed so I end up wasting a lot of time on FB to give my brain a break. Then I started my pintrest account and boy is it fun but it surely can eat up a lot of time. Productive time. I have been researching homeschooling. I think I'll save that for another posts. I have also been researching some business ideas and then there are the parenting books. I have read them once but there is no way I can remember stuff from 3 years ago.

And then my rash comes and goes with my TOM and when I get stressed. So I got pretty stressed a few weeks ago and it broke out on my back, it crawled up my shoulder, up my neck and now is on my face. Makes me self conscious but Mike says it isn't noticeable but I don't believe him. The nice thing is I work with a bunch of guys and they probably don't notice. I can't take anything for fear of it crossing into my milk or affecting my milk supply. So I can't wait to stop pumping so I can do a detox.

I am going to end with my pumping woes. I never experience any of these things with Olivia but I know most nursing moms do have these problems. I got Mastitis in June. Wow that really sucked so I have been more aware about plugged ducts. I recently have dropped a pumping session so I now only pump 3 times a day which is so much more convenient than 4. Then I got a plugged duct on the left side and I was able to get it worked out. Then I took a nap on my belly the other day and have been battling this plugged duct on the right side. I thought I cleared it out 3 times before but it kept plugging up so I finally pop the milk blister and hopefully I am okay now. Lesson learned is I can only sleep on my back and popping the blister with a pin wasn't bad at all. And hear is my apology if that was TMI but being a mom of a new baby is a dirty job.

Video of Hazel learning how to talk

Thanks everyone!

I just wanted to thank you to everyone for their words of encouragement. I was pretty disappointed and angry and upset but that is life. We have no set plans but it is nice to know that we aren't the only ones that have struggled.

What's a blog post without picture? I pretty boring one. Here is a picture of Hazel and Olivia. Hazel is about 3 months and Olivia is 4 months. It is amazing how different they look. Overall Olivia does look a lot like me but if you look at the details she does have a lot of Mike's features. And overall Hazel looks a lot like Mike. Mike and I can't wait for Hazel to get bigger so we can really see her features but she does have quite the fiesty personality. I think as parents we underestimate how smart our kids are especially babies. Hazel gets so mad when she can hear us hanging out in the next room but she isn't there with us or if we are all on the bed and she is in her bassinet. And if she wants to be held or sat up don't even think about laying her down because she will scream bloody murder as soon as she is in a horizontal position. As long as the car is moving she is okay but when we get stopped at a light or stop sign the crying commences. She is definitely a lot pickier than Olivia ever was. In the morning she has to be laid in our bed for her morning nap. She loves to be swaddled still. She can't stand being in a wet or poopy diaper for even a few minutes. And she loves to watch Olivia play. Mike took her to get vaccinations and she is a screamer. Luckily for us our doctor is unbiased about vaccinations and he probably leans more towards not doing all vaccinations at once so we are following Dr. Sears schedule. Hazel is growing fast and I love this stage she is at. She coos and talks and she isn't mobile yet. There is only one thing I am waiting for her to learn how to do which is laugh. I let her have tummy time and she has rolled onto her back a few times but this time around I will probably be a little bit sad when she starts crawling and walking.

Olivia is also growing very fast. She loves church. Actually she just loves nursery. She is getting much better during sacrament meeting but it might be because I am more prepared and we have a routine. I have my designated church bag with toys and games she can only play with at church. She even said the prayer in nursery which makes me feel good because that means she is actually learning something from home. Sometimes I feel guilty because I can't fit it all in but we always say our prayers. And Sundays aren't as hectic. There is still yelling on my part but it use to be a lot worse. I made this checklist of things we need to do and pack before we go to church and it has helped out a ton. And maybe one day we will make it to church before it starts.

Potty training. We have had a couple of poo accidents and that hasn't been very fun. Mike and I just throw the underwear away. I just don't have the patience to clean that whole mess up. All I know is if Olivia has to go, it has to be NOW. She has been potty trained during the day for a little over a month. We just started night training but it was initiated by Olivia. Last night was the first night without a diaper and she woke up dry. I suspect that she has been dry for several nights or maybe weeks but she always takes her diaper off in the morning and puts it in the garbage before Mike and I get to it. I was quite worried about potty training and it has been a lot easier than I expected. Granted we waited until she was almost 3 so that probably made a big difference.

Disappointments and now what

Mike had a job interview last week and we were super excited but he didn't get it. We knew the competition was tough but there are civil engineers with 4-5 years of experience that are taking entry level jobs at entry level pay. That is like me erasing 5 years of experience off my resume. That would be devastating. That was an eye opener of the job market for civil engineers.

The economy stinks right now for most people so I did some research and it isn't looking so hot for civil engineers. Even if the economy recovers there is a huge pool of civil engineers. There are atleast 150 civil engineer programs in the US and they have around 30 people graduate each year and between 2008 to 2011 that is a lot of engineers. That doesn't include the civil engineers that graduated before then that have been laid off and the students that will be graduating in the upcoming years.

I can't make any decisions for MIke. I guess he has to decide if he wants to change his career and will that include going back to school. I can't speak for Mike but I can imagine he is disappointed/frustrated because civil engineering was THE major. I am disappointed because I am tired of living in limbo waiting for Mike to find a job. And now it seems like it could be more waiting.

The big question for me is "Now What?" You go to college thinking you will find a job and boom the economy tanks. You wouldn't think it would be so hard to find a job with an engineering degree. Lot of questions loom ahead and there are no guarantees that anything will work out. That is where my thoughts are today. Then there is the economy which is a blog posting of its own...

Random summer happenings

We were in Utah for almost a month so here are some random pictures from our trip.


I thought this picture was pretty funny. I won't miss the saggy diaper bum plus her pjs are a little big.


Olivia and Grandma at Lagoon. I think the picture captures how excited Olivia is.


The face Olivia is making reminds me of a face I make. Kanika will know what I am talking about.





Olivia and Ashton waiting for the fireworks to start.

Nothing slows this girl down

Even with a broken leg Olivia didn't let it slow her down. She got her long cast off and wore this boot for the next couple of weeks. She still jumped on the tramp and played in the bouncy house.

Cousins

Last Thanksgiving Mike's parents came from Utah and picked us up in Boise and we headed to Portland to see Mike's brother and his family. It was a very long and snowy drive. Knowing myself I probably didn't post any pictures so here is a bit of catch up. Ava is about 3 weeks older than Olivia. Olivia loves the crib. It has been a long time since she has been in one and she uses it more as a jungle gym and trampoline. Even though Ava is a few inches taller than Olivia she wasn't able to climb in or out of the crib. It probably helps that Olivia is super flexible and uses her toes as hands.

My two girls

This picture is from the first week we were home from the hospital. Olivia loves being a big sister and she is really good with the baby.

Olivia and her broken leg

We have a pipe that runs under our driveway for the canal water. Olivia was running on the driveway and looking back and she was probably expecting the hillside but ran off where the pipe was and landed on her leg wrong. It was atleast a foot drop off but probably more and when your three that is quite a ways to fall.

Anyway she took it like a trooper and her leg has healed up very well. This picture is the week we brought the baby home from the hospital. We have come a long way since then. We got rid of her binky, got her cast taken off and finally potty trained her.

On a side note Olivia stopped taking naps and I only let her have her binky if she is napping or sleeping so it was just the right time to take it away. I let her cut her binky and she had done this a few weeks before with MIke to another binky so she was aware of how permanent it was. She was pretty sad for the first few days. She took the binky with her to bed and held it in her mouth but she got over it. I have caught her a few times trying to suck on Hazel's binky but overall it hasn't been bad at all.

Returning back to work

Going back to work hasn't been nearly as hard as it was with Olivia. I will admit that I was actually a little excited to start work. It has been nice to actually accomplish something without being interrupted. I love love my family and I would be a SAHM in a heartbeat but being at home with both kids and Mike was challenging to say the least. I am a schedule and task oriented person and Mike is a lot more laid back so I can get frustrated very easily.

It's tough being a working mom but I have to keep to my baby steps or I would go crazy. It was one thing to keep a house when Olivia was a baby because she was at the sitter's and Mike was at school all day then we would all come home. I could clean at night and come home to a clean house. Now Mike, Olivia and Hazel are at home all day and I rarely come home to a clean house. I wish my house could be clean but I have come to settle to having the kitchen clean every night. Not necessarily up to my standards but as long as I can get the dishwasher loaded and the counters and stovetop wiped down, I call it good. The family room is another story....

Olivia versus Hazel

I remember when we had Olivia and every check up we went too the doctor would ask how she was doing and I would say " Really good. She never cries." And he would say "Things will change and it will start to pick up.". It never did. Olivia rarely cried. I can count on two hands the number of times she cried before the age of 1. When we told other people, they said oh we got really lucky because that isn't normal. Every book I read and tried the technique work beautifully. Only took a few days to implement. Olivia is easy going, adapts to change very well, is a good eater and good sleeper and a pretty good listener (for her age at least).

Then along came Hazel. The pregnancy and postpartum recovery were totally different. Hazel cries. A lot more than Olivia. When she is hungry she is hungry right now. She can't stand a poopy diaper. When she was a newborn she wanted to be held always. It was a big adjustments and I now realize how easy of a baby Olivia was. Hazel isn't terrible by any means. I am told she is quite normal and actually a very good baby.

I kind of feel like a new mom again because I have had to try new techniques and reread some books I wasn't planning on rereading. I knew having two kids would be a big adjustment but wow it is hard work. Sometimes I feel bad because Olivia use to get all our attention and now she has to share. And then Hazel will never get as much attention as Olivia ever did. Then if we have another baby Hazel will definitely get the short stick when it comes to attention. I guess that is where middle child syndrome starts to form. J/k.

All in all everything is going well. I forgot how exhausting the first couple of months were but Hazel is finally starting to sleep a little bit longer. I will take waking up at 4:30 over 2. Hazel was a little high maintenance the first few weeks but she has become much easier. We finally have Olivia potty trained and it was a lot easier than I suspected. It is hard work but worth it. I am glad that Olivia will have a playmate. Will we have more kids? We would love to but Mike says we should take a little break. I totally agree. I am looking forward to forgetting the hard parts of pregnancy, labor, and the first few months.

Beachbody

I really love Beachbody workout videos. I tried Insanity last summer and I did it for about 1 month and I got in awesome shape. I don't know if I lost a ton of weight but in terms of doing aerobic and anaerobic activity, I totally could kick butt. Mike really wanted me to do P90X with him so we started that instead. ;( Mike wasn't a big fan of Shaun T so he wouldn't do Insanity plus it reminded him of football practices in high school. So we did P90X and what usually ends up happening is we plan to do the workouts in the morning and that goes well for about 2 days. Mike isn't a morning person so it is hard for him to wake up let alone wake up to work out right away. So I would work out in the morning and he would work out later that day. The program is awesome and I fully believe that if I stuck with it I could get awesome results. The problem is I think Tony Horton is so annoying. Mike would mute the program when he would work out. My other problem was it was too repetitive. It has variety but after a month it can be brutal.

Then I discovered Chalene Johnson who does ChaLEAN Extreme and TurboFire. I follow her on twitter and like her Facebook page. She is a motivational speaker as well. She also got me interested in the Bodybugg. I really like her. I have also done some ChaLEAN Extreme Workouts and they are awesome so I decided to ordered her TurboFire workout videos last fall before I found out I was pregnant. I love both of the workouts but I think the instructor makes a huge difference.

Now that I am 10 weeks postpartum I decided to workout and try to lose some weight. Well atleast get back to my prepregnancy weight because none of my clothes fit. Even though I may weigh the same my hips are definitely a lot wider than last time. With Olivia, I didn't really worry about exercising until she was 10 months and the only reason I started working out was because I started packing on the pounds after I stopped pumping. This time I am going to get a head start and my goal is to be at my prepregnancy weight by Thanksgiving time. I think it is doable. I am 10lbs away. I really can't diet but I can eat healthy but most of the weight loss will be from exercising.

I started doing TurboFire and I love it. The music is awesome, the workouts are intense and fun. There is a ton of choreography to learn so I still look uncoordinated and I haven't started the real schedule because it is way above my aerobic level. I am doing the modified schedule to help me get in shape to do TurboFire. That is how intense TurboFire is. TurboFire is straight cardio and I am always dripping in sweat after each workout. Some ladies post that they burn 600+ calories after a turbofire workout.

I use to workout at the gym. I loved my gym in Logan. I could easily spend 90 minutes doing cardio and lifting then tack on another 30 to swim or sit in the sauna. Then I had a baby and work got busy. And then we had another baby. While I would love to go to the gym it is easier to work out at home now. I can do it whenever and I don't have to find a sitter. Plus it saves us money.

And I probably seem obsessive with losing weight but really I love to exercise. I love to get the endorphin high after a workout. I hate being limited in my activities because I am too tired, too overweight or not strong enough to do it. Plus it helps my self-esteem even though I never really get super skinny or lose weight. I usually never have the time or will power to follow the eating plan. Plus I turned 30 this year and I know the metabolism slows down significantly. My goal is to be in the best health during my 30s. I am smarter and wiser so hopefully I can make better decisions.

Placental Encapsulation

After I had Hazel I got my placenta encapsulated. While I was pregnant, I was preparing myself to get post partum depression and accept the fact that I would probably have to take an antidepressant again. Even though I took one for 4 months with Olivia, I felt super guilty about it. Then I found out about placental encapsulation and I did some research and found someone in Boise that provided the service.

My personal experience has been I haven't had any post partum depression and I didn't experience any baby blues. Every time I did take my pills, I would get a huge surge of energy which is abnormal for me especially during the first few weeks the baby is home. It also help with the lochia going away faster.

I did stop taking them early because I wasn't sure if it was making my pregnancy rash worse. It wasn't. The pregnancy rash consumed the last two weeks of my pregnancy and it came back post partum and it has gone away and come back two more times. And I suspect that it will come back a few more times until I can detox my liver and get my hormones back to a normal level which means even after I am done pumping.

The lady who provided the service was very professional. She was quiet and respectful and I didn't even notice she was there. She was quick and clean and I never worried about ingesting the pills. If and when Mike and I decide to have more kids, I would definitely do it again and would highly recommend it to any mom.

Potty Training success

We started the potty training process last Wednesday and Olivia had done really well. Olivia does have her occasional accidents but for the most part she remembers to pee and poop by herself. Honestly she was probably ready a long time ago but I just wasn't ready to tackle the challenge while I was pregnant.

I still put a diaper on her at night but she woke up dry on a couple of occasions. Mike and I are more comfortable with getting the day training done for atleast 2-3 weeks before we try to tackle night training.

On a side note we have been cloth diapering Hazel. We didn't get to do it with Olivia because she was in her body harness for the first 3 months and I didn't want to risk getting it dirty with poop or pee. Also Mike wasn't too big into it either. I have actually enjoyed cloth diaper and we haven't had a blow out since we started. Even with the Huggies, Hazel was still having blow outs. Our hope is we can keep up with the cloth diapering and we will be able to potty train Hazel a lot earlier than we did with Olivia. We still use a disposable at night because it can hold so much urine especially when she starts sleeping 12 hours a night. We could use cloth but it would be a huge gigantic diaper.

Curly Q

When I was pregnant my hair started getting wavy and I was expecting it to go back. Now that I am 9 weeks post partum, my hair is wavier than it was when I was pregnant and it seems to be getting wavier as more weeks go by. Wavy hair is beautiful but I grew up with stick straight hair and honestly I finally grew into that and found haircuts that worked great and learned how to style it and what product to use in during my late 20s. Now I am back to square one and I am pretty upset about it because I don't have the time or patience to relearn but I guess I don't have a choice. My hope is it is as wavy in the back as it is in the front.

I still love my flat iron but I recently invested in a curling iron and velcro rollers and will see how things go from there. My hair is super thick still but I expect that to change in the next few months. And my S-I-L who is a hair dresser informed me that with each subsequent child my hair will probably get curlier and curlier.

If anyone has any recommendations on hair product or styling tips for wavy hair, I would love to hear them.

Brain power. What brain power?

I had really bad pregnancy brain with Olivia. I read about it but I thought to myself "Really? Is that even possible?" And I learned that it is a serious side effect of pregnancy. Then I had Olivia and I slowly but surely regained all my brain power and going back to work definitely helped me get back to where I was. Then I got pregnant with Hazel but I was more prepared so it didn't seem so bad. I made lists and tried not to rely on my memory alone. Then I had Hazel and was ready to be my old self. I read that BF can be a brain sucker as well but I didn't experience this with Olivia but I am having a brain drain with Hazel. I am a lot dumber than I was when I was pregnant. Somedays I think "Can I get any dumber?" I am scared to find out.

My new best friend - My Medela Pump

When Hazel was born she was a natural latcher and breast feeding was so so much easier than it was with Olivia. I was so happy. But we ran into a few problems. She was having a problem gaining back to her birth weight. The doctor didn't seemed concerned but I was. Then I went to a breastfeeding support group at the hospital and that is when I realized that even though Hazel was a good latcher she was a lazy nurser. She just didn't suck hard enough to get all the milk. Plus I didn't have the patience to spend 1-1.5 hours nursing and burping. She was a spit-uppy baby.

Then I started to worry about her weight gain and my milk supply. So I started pumping between week 3-4. I was worried because I wasn't producing much milk yet. I started taking fenugreek and blessed thistle to increase my supply. It worked really well with Olivia. Bad news was Hazel was super sensitive and it made her gassy and super fussy. I got a prescription for Reglan but I started drinking Mother's Milk tea because my doula said the amount of fenugreek and blessed thistle were a lot less. I tried the tea with Olivia but I hated the taste. It has a black licorice flavor but since I feel so strongly about breastmilk the first few weeks/months I started drinking it and it helped a ton.

Since I exclusively pumped with Olivia, I knew what I was getting in to and I had a lot of mixed feelings. I wanted to give Hazel the benefits of BM but I didn't want to be tied down to the breast pump like I was before. I was pumping 8-10 times to build my supply. Luckily with technology and the iPhone I found the "What to Expect When Expecting" Ap and there was a group of ladies who were exclusively pumping and I learned a lot of new tips that has made it bearable. Almost everyday since I started pumping I considered quitting atleast once and it was probably because of my dumb pregnancy rash but things are going much better.

Things I learned from the Exclusively Pumping forum are: Pumping Pals are flanges that curve so it isn't painful to pump especially when I have to do it multiple times a day. And it has a hands free sling that I use every time I pump. I don't have to pump 8 times a day for the rest of the year. I have actually cut it down to 4 times a day. I have to spend a little bit more time pumping but atleast I have more freedom from the house and engorgement.

The bad things I have experienced this time is mastitis and I think I might have thrush. I don't have the classic signs but I am going to ask the doctor about it tomorrow.

Overall I have learned that the first six weeks of BF are rough. There are a lot of problems that moms can run into. Even though Hazel was a good latcher and I never had sore nipples, I didn't expect her to be a weak nurser. I do realize I could have nursed and pumped and supplemented and she could have outgrown the problem. She won't nurse now. The bottle is way to convenient for her. Burping a newborn can be a long process and based on Hazel and Olivia I have babies that spit up quite a bit. There are awesome lactation consultant services in Boise and BF support groups here and honestly if I wasn't coming back to work and planning to pump anyway I probably would have stuck with it. On a side note we did buy a new upright freezer to store my milk supply which is so nice because our freezer was packed so full it was a pain in the butt to get anything out.

Back to work means back to blogging

I am back to work atleast part time for the next couple of weeks then I will be working full time. Hopefully this means I will start blogging regularly because I will have some type of routine that involves me sitting at a computer.

I loved reading about everyone's happenings over the summer so thank you to those who still post. I spend a lot of time pumping so I need something to keep me entertained. There have been many times that I would like to comment but the RSS feeder app on my phone doesn't give me that option.

Olivia's broken leg

Olivia broke her leg in two places the Tuesday before Hazel was born. She got a soft cast the following Wednesday and had an appointment with the orthopedic pediatric surgeon on the Monday which is also the day I got out of the hospital. We had an appointment today and she gets her cast off in 10 days. Good thing kids heal fast.

She actually moves really well in her cast and whenever we ask her if she wants to take her cast off she says no. I am glad she gets it off sooner than later. I thought is was going to be 6 weeks. But she still gets to enjoy the summer and swimming.

Welcome Baby Hazel

1 week old

Hazel Jean Durtschi arrived Friday, May 14, 2011 at 8:46 pm via csection. She was 7 lbs 14 oz and 19.5 inches long. I started going into labor around noon, Mike took me to the birthing center around 4 pm. I'll admit it was painful. The Hypnobabies stuff wasn't working for me. Ever since I had the rash, I could never ever really get into a deep hypnosis when I practiced for the last two weeks. So anyone who does it naturally is awesome.

I finally got an internal exam because my contractions were getting really close together and they were about 2 minutes long. I was 100% effaced and only 1 cm. My doula thought I would have been atleast 5 cm based on my contractions. The midwife felt a bum instead of a head. They did an ultrasound to confirm and then we had to transfer to a hospital.

I had an appointment that Monday and she was head down and since week 28 she was head down. I am pretty sure that the next day when I was trying to sleep on the lazy boy that she flipped. I am shocked because she was so much bigger than Olivia and there wasn't much room left.

During the csection the OB said that my scar was pretty thin and deteriorating and she thought my uterus could have ruptured if I would have done a VBAC and she would recommend in the future to only have csections. So while I wanted to do a VBAC, I don't feel too disappointed that I didn't because 1. it hurt like hell 2. I think Hazel knew what was best and decided that she needed to be breech so I could have a csection.

The things I hate about csections is the anxiety during the surgery and the recovery. People talk about the miracle of birth, I think it is the miracle of recover. I hate being in the hospital for 3 days and being confined to a bed. I hate not being able to sit up by myself for days and moving like a slow old lady. I hate being on pain medication. I hate the constipation caused by the pain killers and the anxiety about finally having a bowel movement. One thing I had this time around were killer hemorrhoids.

Unfortunately my PUPPP rash came back and I got super paranoid and that is all I have been able to think about the last week. It was torture and I don't want to go through that again but I started my routine and hopefully I have it under control meaning not spreading but itches like crazy. I have a lot of things to blog about but not much time.

On the bright side the thing I struggled with most with Olivia came really easy with Hazel. It was the nursing. Hazel was a natural and latched on like a pro. It also helped that I had some idea what I was doing. With Olivia I always did the football hold because of the csection and her body harness but the lactation consultant taught me how to do the cradle hold. I only feel comfortable nursing with the boppy pillow but hopefully I can get comfortable enough without it. My nipples did bleed a bit for 2 days but I caught it fast and it healed itself thankfully. And I can honestly say that BF doesn't hurt which I never experienced with Olivia. We have our bad days where I have a hard time getting her to latch properly but hopefully we will have more good days than bad.

PUPPPS aka pregnancy rash

So I broke out in a rash that is pregnancy related. I thought no big deal. I have had eczema before, I can handle this. Boy oh boy I was wrong. First of all I should have known better to not scratch it. But I did and it felt so good and it spread. It started out in my new stretch marks. And yes my belly is bigger than last time and I have gotten new stretch marks. I was using lavender oil but then it got really bad and it kept me up at night and I had to google it.

I am pretty sure my liver is being overloaded with the pregnancy and it is trying to detox through my skin. So I have been taking dandelion root to help support my liver and flax seed oil for the omega-3s. I have fish oil pills but sometimes they give me fishy burps so I stopped taking those a long time ago i.e first trimester. I have also been rubbing vinegar on the rash and it burns so bad but after it evaporates it brings me a lot of relief from the itch. I also went to the Boise coop yesterday and bought some Grandpa's pine tar soap which was highly recommended by many other pregnant women.

The weird thing about this rash is there is no one catch all solution. Different things work for different women. Even prescription medication doesn't work for all women. Most pregnant women get the rash at the end of the pregnancy but some also get it after they have the baby. My hope is I can get my rash to heal and manage the itch and hopefully it will clear up after I have the baby.

I know I have to do a liver detox. I can tell by the way my foot looks from foot zoning. I did a liver detox before I conceived Olivia and Hazel. Unfortunately I can't do a detox until I am done nursing. Anyway that is my complaint for the week and by far the rash has been the worst thing I have experienced while pregnant. Even worse than morning sickness.

Happy Easter

I have photos but that would require more work than I am prepared to do right now to download the photos and resize them for the blog. Our original plans were to spend Easter weekend in Boise but I had to attend a funeral in Logan so we spent Easter with Mike's family. Both of my sisters came for the funeral from California so it was nice to see them.

Mike's family had a big Easter party with their neighborhood and Olivia had a great time playing with all the kids. She also enjoyed the Easter egg hunt but I think she liked playing with the flashlight more. Hopefully I can get some pictures uploaded this week.

Pregnancy update

So close yet so far away. Things are going really well other than I am uncomfortable. I broke out in a pregnancy rash which is just annoying but nothing serious. I started taking dandelion root yesterday so hopefully my flare ups will die down a bit. I have my bag packed and the babies stuff ready. I have been listening to my hypnobabies CDs. The only thing I have left to do is find a sitter for Olivia for when we go to the birthing center.

I got a pregnancy massage today and I have to say that I was super impressed. The massage therapist shares office space with my chiropractor and it was nice to go to someone who obviously has worked on a lot of pregnant women.

I don't have much motivation at this point to keep updating my blog because nothing is really going on so this might be one of my few entries until the baby comes.

Happy Birthday

It was my birthday yesterday. 30 years old. Didn't do anything spectacular but Mike did take me to lunch and we went to the park and ate some junk food. Today I had a chiropractor appointment thankfully. Tomorrow is Mike's birthday and hopefully we can get some nice weather and do something fun. It is hard to plan stuff to do when I am super pregnant. Hopefully my 30s will be just as exciting if not more than my 20s.

Pregnancy update

I had my 34 week appointment today and everything is going really well. I have been measuring a week bigger than my due date. My due date was based on the first day of my last period but when I had my ultrasound at 22 weeks the baby's measurements had my due date 5 days earlier. The birthing center left my due date later just in case I went over 40 weeks but my midwife said I have been measuring 1 week bigger which is exciting.

I am excited because hopefully the baby will come around her new due date which is almost a week earlier and if anyone has been pregnant knows time moves like molasses during the last month. So 5 days is a huge deal. It makes me a little nervous because that means I have less time to get my stuff ready for the baby. Really the only thing I am worried about is packing my hospital bag.

The midwife also asked me if this baby has felt different than my pregnancy with Olivia. I guess another mom who had a breech baby at first and a head down baby this time said she was in a lot more pain. I said exactly the same thing. I never ever had any discomfort in my hips with Olivia toward the end and this baby has been really uncomfortable. I figured it was because she is head down.

Another good thing is the baby is head down and she is sitting low enough the chances of her flipping are very very slim.

Placenta Encapsulation

Sounds weird but it is exactly what it sounds like. Putting the placenta into capsules. I am going to do it. My last prenatal I was asking about postpartum depression. I had it with Olivia. I didn't ever talk about it but it really sucked. I had to get on an antidepressant and I felt really guilty about it but it did make me feel a lot better. So my plan was to get on an antidepressant sooner than later with baby 2. I am pretty sure I wouldn't have given up on nursing if I wasn't so frustrated.

My midwife gave me a brochure on placenta encapsulation. She said it is quite popular in Boise. I did a lot of research and I know it sounds gross but based on what I knew already about other cultures the placenta is a really sacred organ. If it can help me avoid postpartum depression and recover quicker and it is all natural, it is definitely worth a try. I was going to wait to share but I though just maybe there might be someone out there that might consider it too. Here is the website of the person I am going through: http://synergybirthservices.com/PlacentaEncapsulation.aspx Here is a website with a lot of information and testimonialshttp://placentabenefits.info/:

Olivia does that too

This is in response to one of the comments on a previous post about Olivia and her telling me where to go when I drive. She is also very picky about the music. Most of the time she tells us to turn off the radio. She also tells us when to close the window and when to roll it down. She has actually become very very bossy.

She has also become super super independent i.e. she has to do it herself or her way. I figure that is the 3's rolling around a little early. But on the bright side yesterday she ran into the bathroom, took her pants off, took her diaper off and moved her step stool to the toilet and went to the bathroom. She remembered to wipe and flush and wash her hands without any reminders. I was thoroughly impressed so I let her wear panties and she made it until early afternoon before she had an accident. I told her that morning that if she peed in her panties she would have to wear a diaper. So after she had her accident she took her panties off and got a diaper and took it to Mike. Maybe if we are lucky she will potty train herself. That would be great but it is okay if it doesn't happen though.

Yes, yes and yes

I had my 32 week appointment on Monday and YES I gained 10lbs in the last month. I guess that makes up for the 2 months I didn't gain anything. I know I am pregnant and all but it is pretty embarrassing to realize I gained that much weight. I didn't think my diet had changed that much. We did make a trip to Utah and we ate more fast food than usual and that is when the weight started to pack on. Oh well.

And YES, the baby is head down. The midwife is pretty sure the baby won't be turning anymore because there is no room left. Basically my tummy is growing outward. I am pretty happy about that. I have been visiting the chiropractor regularly since February and I am happy to report that the chiropractor has been able to relieve a slew of pregnancy discomforts. I have been during pelvic tilts and what not. I'll admit I was pretty paranoid between 18-28 weeks about having a breech baby.

And YES, I have been having a pregnancy pity party for myself lately so basically this whole paragraph is a long vent or list of complaints. I am starting to run out of clothing options and it isn't so fun to try to do laundry every few days. Most of the time I feel like a big parachute. Getting ready for work is exhausting but I feel so unattractive if I don't blow dry my hair and straighten it and wear makeup. I pull my hair up into a pony tail most of the time but the days I am swelling in the face I just can't bare to look in the mirror. If I stand up too long, I get a backache because gravity just pulls on my tummy. My muscles are getting so tight and I try to stretch but it isn't enjoyable. Exercise - I rarely do that. Walking back and forth on campus is exercise enough. I have been a big forgetful spree. I lost my office keys but Mike found those in the laundry. I lost the remote so we had to buy a new universal remote on Monday. I misplaced my work laptop charger. Hopefully one day everything will turn up.

Go that way

We already have a back seat driver on our hands. I knew it would eventually happened but not at this age. Whenever we are in the car/van she is always trying to tell us "Go that way" with her finger pointing in that direction. Usually she is trying to direct us to the park.

Random pics of Olivia

Olivia with her new bike from my mom last weekend. She is freezing but refuses to put her jacket back on.



Olivia on moving day last fall. She found all this stuff and decided to dress herself. I think it is funny how her hat makes it look like she is wearing pasties.



Olivia being silly last spring.

Getting ready for the baby

I know that most books suggest getting ready for the baby later in pregnancy but I am realistic that I am probably going to be too big and miserable to do much of anything by the time I am 36 weeks. So I have a running list of things to do from now until the baby comes i.e. wash the baby's clothes, make freezer meals, do one last deep cleaning, pack the birth center bag, get the pack-n-play and cloth diapers out. Hopefully I will be ready to roll by 38 weeks.

Last night I brought out the baby's clothes to wash and Olivia was so so excited. Olivia was a tiny baby so newborn clothes were way too big so I am expecting that this baby will be on the small side (6 lbs). I have a decent selection of preemie clothes but whenever I pull them out Olivia thinks they are clothes for her dolls. I guess I can't blame her since they do fit her dolls perfectly.

Then I pulled out the summer newborn and 0-3 month clothes and Olivia seem to think they were her clothes to wear right now. Instead of stopping her I let her try on one of the sleepers. I figured that it would be too small and uncomfortable and she would want to take it off. She was pretty excited wearing the sleeper and the bib but 10 minutes later it was off. I didn't get any pictures of her backside but since she wears a cloth diaper and the sleeper was skin tight it made her look like she had a bubble butt. :)

BTW - Olivia's favorite color is pink. The hotter the pink the better. Grandma bought a new fleece blanket for baby #2 which happen to be pink with hot pink trim but Olivia found in the pile of clothes to be washed and she has decided it is her blanket now. Oh well.

Olivia

Olivia helping me make pancakes this morning. She was suppose to be mixing the batter only but she decided the griddle was ready. I must admit she has become very helpful with loading the dishwasher with silverware and putting the silverware away in the drawer.

She is also sporting a cloth diaper. I think she looks adorable in cloth diapers even though they make her booty look huge.



Olivia helping me pick up toys right before bedtime. She is quite a character. That is the bowl that goes in her potty training toilet that never gets used. She prefers sitting on the big toilet



I guess this is what happens when toddlers skip their naps. They fall asleep on the carpet while they are whining right before dinnertime.

Pregnancy and such

I am 31 weeks today. We finished our last hypnobabies class and it is basically maintenance of my hypnoscripts until the baby comes. I have been really packing on the pounds lately and I saw a picture that Mike took of me and I was shocked how fat/swollen I looked already. I know it comes with the territory. Yes I would love the baby to come after her guess date because it is best but let's face it pregnancy can get really uncomfortable towards the end. Thankfully the chiropractor has been able to help alleviate a lot of discomfort but I still have to deal with the gigantic huge belly, not being able to bend over and just the limited mobility.

The countdown continues to my 30th birthday, springtime and 40 weeks.

Owl project

I found this cute owl tutorial and I thought it might be fun to make for Olivia and the baby. It was on my long long list of things to do but I actually got to it a lot sooner than I expected. We took a trip to Utah last weekend and my MIL has a great stash of fabric and since I only needed small pieces of fabric I was able to find almost everything I needed. I was slightly worried about making the owl because I thought it might be a little advanced for my sewing skills but I was able to sew majority of the owls in one day. I can't find the blog I got the pattern from but if anyone wants it I can send you the pattern.

Here is a picture of the owls. They are still missing the beaks and one owl is missing the eyeballs.

Boppy Pillow cover

Since my nesting thing is sewing projects I decided to make a boppy pillow cover. So I searched the internet for a free pattern and I actually found one that was quite easy. I was slightly worried because it has been a very long time since I did a zipper by myself. Anyway it was quite easy and I ended up making two boppy pillow covers. If you can find material that is on sale you can actually save a ton of money. Here is the tutorial that I followed: http://aloadofcraft.blogspot.com/2010/07/tutorial-how-to-make-boppy-slip-cover.html

Pillowcase

The pillowcase I made for Olivia's memory foam pillow. My MIL's sewing machine does embroidery so I actually put Olivia's name around the edge of the pillowcase. I know it is overkill but I thought Olivia might appreciate it when she is older.

Cheeky the horse

This is the rocking horse Olivia got for Christmas. We named him Cheeky. Earlier this week she was kneeling next to Cheeky and I overheard her talking to him. She said "You take me to Grandma's house?" I thought it was adorable.

My awesome husband

Being in Boise has resulted in no regular footzones. I guess Mike had been monitoring my feet especially my lymph system and offered to give me a foot rub which actually resulted in him giving me a couple of footzones with a lot of direction. It felt pretty good. I can't complain because at this point I will take what I can get.

Another awesome thing Mike did was bake bread and it turned out great. He didn't have to measure everything because I keep batches of the dry ingredients in the freezer he did take the initiative to proof the yeast, mix everything in the bosch, roll the dough into the pan and bake it. So one day when this baby gets here I won't be the only person responsible for making bread.

I probably don't tell him enough in multiple ways but I love and appreciate everything Mike does for me and our family.

29 weeks pregnant

I am so excited to finally be reaching the 30 week point this Saturday. I'll be elated when it is finally 38 weeks but that feels like too far away. Overall I think I look pretty good but I could be packing on some major pounds the last few weeks. But honestly my eating habits are a lot better this time with a lot of education of what I have to eat. With Olivia my weight gain was crazy the last few weeks but that could have been due too the summer heat and I was eating way to much sugar. My belly is huge and sometimes Mike can't believe how big it is and how fast it can grow.

While I am thankful it is still cool in Boise, I am really looking forward to spring and some sunshine. The gloomy, cloudy weather can get really depressing after awhile. I am starting to get uncomfortably hot at night when I sleep. My sleep is decent for being pregnant. I have to use my body pillow. I feel like I am starving all the time but after a few bites I feel absolutely full. I can't wait for the baby to drop down so my stomach can get some room. I am honestly tired all the time like I can't get enough sleep. I visit the chiropractor twice a week for now to help get my hips into alignment and help with lower back pain, indigestion, stress carried in the neck and hemorrhoids. I am nesting like a maniac and can't wait for my sewing machine to get here. I am pretty sure I trimmed and painted my toes by myself for the last time this week. Dried figs and dark truffle chocolates are some of my favorite snacks.

I experienced my first charlie horse two weeks ago and it was as an pleasant as I remember. I haven't been taking my prenatals regularly. They made me super constipated but I also realize what I am not supplementing back into my body the baby is going to take from my body anyways so I need to do it for myself. In addition to the prenatal, I am taking additional calcium and eating bananas regularly and I haven't had one in a long time.

Olivia is growing so fast. I just can't believe that I had her 2.5 years ago. Sometimes I wish I could just bottle her up and stop her from growing. This age has it ups and downs and I can't imagine what the threes will be like but she is definitely an independent girl. She loves to pick her own clothes which are usually pink, frilly or a dress. She only likes to have shoes she can put on herself. She prefers to have her hair down instead of pull back into any type of style. She loves nursery. She will and tries to climb everything. The best way of teaching her is to model that behavior and being consistent. Thankfully she sleeps in her own bed. Unfortunately it is hit and miss on the naps. Our bedtime routine consists of pj change, brushing teeth, family prayer, picking up her room, reading books and singing songs. Making her help me pick up her room has resulted in her not dumping her toys every single day which I am thankful for. She loves breakfast and her favorite is eggs. And she loves to eat most fruits.

One of my favorite things is how she imitates Mike and I. It is crazy how much she picks up from observations. Every parents does the best they can but I can't help but feel a little guilty that I am not doing enough or teaching her enough.

A new present to myself

Sometimes I hoard my money from birthdays and Christmas and doing side jobs. I have a huge wish list of things I would love to buy but I usually don't until just recently. I am glad that Jenny suggested that I was nesting because I didn't know what has gotten into me lately. So I am just going with the flow so I can get as much done as possible before I loose all my energy.

My mother in law has the nicest sewing machine I have ever used. It is electronic and I have never had problems with tension and it is so easy to set up and clean up and runs like a dream. I usually save all my sewing projects to complete at her house. I have a huge list of sewing projects to do and I was thinking to myself, I would love to get a new sewing machine but I wonder how much it would be. I have a mechanical one but I think the last time I used it I just couldn't get the tension right.

Wow! Bernina sewing machines are expensive but I know that they are worth every penny but that was out of my budget. I googled around for reviews on sewing machines. Then I read reviews for a brothers electronic sewing machine and I found it at overstock for an amazing price plus it got amazing reviews. So I took the plunge and bought it and hopefully it will be here really soon.

Not the prettiest machine but if it runs like all the reviews say it does I should have some projects complete before the baby comes. My hope is this sewing bug doesn't fade after the baby comes because I really do love to sew.

To quilt or not to quilt

So I have been bouncing back and forth about making Olivia a quilt. Making quilts now a days isn't cheaper than buying one from a store. Actually it is quite expensive after purchasing the materials and all the time spent putting it together. But I thought it would be nice to make something for Olivia. After talking to Mike about it he encouraged me to make one for her.

I took a couple of sewing classes in high school and have made two quilts. I am a decent sewer but I would love to learn how to make more things. I have been following a few sewing blogs and I am very intrigued with repurposing clothes, alternating and making kids clothes.

I went out and invested in quilting/sewing supplies which can be quite pricey but most of the items were 40% off at JoAnn's. Mike couldn't believe how much some of that stuff sells for. I would have loved to get the biggest and best but I didn't have the budget for it so hopefully I bought everything I needed.



This is the material I picked out for Olivia's quilt. I love love love that flower material. I made Olivia a pillow case a couple of weeks ago out of the same material. I've prewashed and ironed everything. My next task will be to cut out all the pieces and sew it all together. I'll be happy if I can get that done by Christmas this year.

Crafty projects

I made folder activities for Olivia to play with during church. I am thankful the website I used gave me the option to print color so all I had to do is laminate and cut and a lot of cutting I did. I bought an awesome home laminator from Amazon for $20 and it worked great. I also bought a book from Desseret book that has a Book of Mormon folder games and activities that have similar items.



I also made lacing cards which might be a little advanced for Olivia but I figured it would be a good challenge and activity to work on her fine motor skills.

Babybook finished