June 30, 2008

Cloth Diapering

As of Sunday, we've officially switched to cloth diapers. So exciting! We had been using gDiapers until Eliot grew out of the small size very quickly (he's a chunky monkey) and then we used Seventh Generation and Nature Babycare disposables for a while. We really liked the gDiapers (very new and innovative) but found them to be a little bit expensive for us. You have to purchase both the 'little g' pants (at $16.99 - $18.99 each) and the liners ($14.49 for 32-40 liners) which together cost more than either disposables or cloth. We couldn't in good conscience keep using disposables, so we switched to cloth. Currently, we have a stash of bum genius 3.0 and Happy Heinys, as well as some different inserts, three PUL wetbags and about 30 cloth wipes. The whole shebang cost about $450 which would have been around 8 months of disposables, not including wipes. Considering that he will likely be in diapers for another year and a half to two years, it was completely worth it. *** Shameless Pitch: We purchased our diapers from Abby's Lane. They have fantastic customer service! ***


So far, I'm totally in love with them. Both the bum genius and the Happy Heinys work great ~ no leaks whatsoever! They're super soft and I imagine that they feel much better for Eliot than paper/plastic disposables. Washing them has been very easy - his first poopy diaper came completely clean with no stains after a cold rinse and a cold wash cycle with 1/4 the amount of detergent recommended. We used Purex Free and Clear for our first couple of loads but I have a huge order of Charlie's Soap on the way, which we plan on using regularly. We think we'll end up washing every other or every third day and we will definitely be line drying, rather than using our dryer. The cloth wipes are really nice, also. I made my own wipe solution (water, olive oil, 1/4 tsp. castile soap, 4-5 drops tea tree essential oil, 4-5 drops lavender essential oil and a splash of vinegar) and we just spray the wipe before we use it and toss it in the wet bag with the dirty diaper.

In terms of environmental impact, there is currently some debate whether cloth or disposables are better. A recent study by an advisory board to the UK Environment Agency came to the conclusion that cloth diapers had equal the impact of disposable diapers. (You can read the whole 200+ page report here.) They found that since cloth diapers are made primarily of cotton, (requiring pesticides, fertilizer and significant amounts of water) and they require both electricity and water to clean, they were not any better for the environment than disposables.

However, in my opinion, there are many things cloth diaper users can do to lessen their impact. For example, we wash our diapers in cold water rather than hot, we use an earth-friendly detergent, we wash them only when we have a full load, we will be line-drying our diapers and we will be purchasing Windsource® energy from Xcel Energy, which is clean wind-generated electricity. Did you know that washing cloth diapers at home uses about 70 gallons of water every three days, which is about the same as a toilet-trained child or adult flushing the toilet five to six times a day? Our additional laundry will equal about 3 extra loads per week.

Another advantage to cloth diapers is that they prevent vast amounts of waste (including human feces) from being deposited in our landfills. Mothering magazine proposed that there is a "...serious threat of contamination from disposable diapers, because of human sewage going into landfills. The disposal of human waste in residential garbage is technically prohibited, and instructions on disposable diaper packaging recommend that you shake out any fecal matter into the toilet before disposing of it; but in practice this is almost never done. Live viruses in the feces, such as the polio vaccine, can live in landfills for a long period, and if there were ever any leakage, could potentially contaminate a community's drinking water."

Over 18 billion disposable diapers are thrown in landfills each year, taking as many as 500 years to decompose. Disposable diapers make up the third largest source of solid waste in landfills, after newspapers and food & beverage containers. According to the Rhode Island Solid Waste Management Corporation, it takes nearly 82,000 tons of plastic and 1.3 million tons of wood pulp, or a quarter-million trees, to manufacture the disposable diapers that are used in the United States.

Lastly, there are huge benefits for babies being diapered in cloth versus disposables. As I discussed in a previous post, there are toxic chemicals in disposable diapers including traces of dioxin (an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process which is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals - banned in most countries but not the U.S.), tributyl-tin or TBT, (a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals) and sodium polyacrylate (a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet). In addition to limiting Eliot's exposure to these chemicals, cloth diapers also help him "feel" wet which should assist in potty training, they are gentler on his skin, they "breathe" better than disposables and they're cuter (that part is just my expert opinion).

We've decided that the best choice for our family is cloth - what about you?

June 28, 2008

35W Bridge

Today Kerri & I met up with some family (Tammy, Alysa, Angie, Dylan, Caleb, and Kaylee) and went downtown to look at the progress being made on the new 35W bridge. My nephew, Chris, is working on the bridge and it was pretty incredible to see him at the edge of the current bridge expanse. He's been working 12-hour days, seven days a week, for a few months and the progress being made to the new bridge is a testament to the hard work that is happening.

We viewed the the 35W construction from the 10th St. bridge near the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities campus. As we were walking across and taking in different perspectives of the new bridge, it struck me at how surreal and horrifying it would have been to be in the same position last August as the old bridge came down. At the same time, life just kept going - people adjusted to the bridge being gone and made their way to and fro without much of a hassle. It seems like we've been desensitized a bit - a trip to the bridge site puts a little perspective on the frailty of things we often take for granted.

On the other hand, there has been plenty of action being taken by state transportation officials. It's been interesting to see all of the bridge checks that have been taking place in MN since the 35W bridge fell last year. I'm wondering if similar checks have been taking place in other states/regions since last summer? We've had a number of bridges not fare so well in check-up's in MN, with a couple of closures in heavily traveled areas (St. Cloud, Winona). Here's to hoping people are open to ideas of what it will take to ensure the things we take for granted every day don't make us realize we're taking them for granted...


June 26, 2008

Summer Suppers

I love everything about summer...the heat, the long days, green grass and trees, sunshine and especially fresh, summer food. We had a very yummy summer supper tonight that only took a few minutes to throw together. First, we had a salad of green leaf lettuce, tomato, cucumber, green and yellow peppers, croutons and fresh grated parmesan cheese with garlic and parmesan dressing.


Then we had pizza made with a thin, whole wheat crust, turkey pepperoni, green and yellow peppers and baby portobello mushrooms topped with shredded provolone, parmesan and romano cheeses.


For dessert, we had homemade iced cappucinos made using our new stovetop espresso maker. It was fantastic!


June 25, 2008

AMA Home Birth Resolution

The American Medical Association (AMA) has recently adopted a frightening resolution (205) on home birth, which states,

"That our AMA support state legislation that helps ensure safe deliveries and healthy babies by acknowledging of the concept that the safest setting for labor, delivery and the immediate post-partum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex, that meets standards jointly outlined by the AAP and ACOG, or in a freestanding birthing center that meets the standards of the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care, The Joint Commission, or the American Association of Birth Centers."

While there may be much debate regarding the safety of home birth (I firmly believe home birth is at least as safe, if not safer than hospital birth), the real issue here is that the AMA is looking to strip women in this country of their right to make their own choices regarding their pregnancies and deliveries. We are already in a situation where choosing a home birth is far more difficult than a hospital birth. Most insurance plans will not cover home birth and in many states, midwives are prevented from practicing due to state law or because they cannot obtain insurance for themselves. Why are so many women in this country acquiescing to the wishes of a medical community which is coercing us into unnecessary and sometimes dangerous interventions? Reasonable evidence suggests that this is overwhelmingly what happens when we deliver our children in hospitals. We need to demand the right to birth our children where we want and in what manner is best for both us and our babies!

Dr. Andrew Kasota, a Canadian physician and researcher, issued this response to the AMA resolution:

I would invite ACOG to join the rest of us in the 21st century. Modern ethics does not equivocate: maternal autonomy takes precedence over medical recommendations based on beneficience, whether such recommendations are founded on sound scientific evidence or the pre-historic musings of dinosaurs. In the modern age, the locus of control has, appropriately, shifted to the patient/client in all areas of medicine, it seems, except obstetrics. We do not force patients to have life-saving operations, to receive blood transfusions, or to undergo chemotherapy against their will, even to avoid potential risks a hundred fold higher than any associated with home birth. In obstetrics, however, we routinely coerce women into intervention against their will by not “offering” VBAC, vaginal breech birth, or homebirth. Informed choice is the gold standard in decision making, and it trumps even the largest, cleanest, RCT (randomized controlled trials). Science supports homebirth as a reasonably safe option. Even if it didn’t, it still would be a woman’s choice. ACOG and the AMA are, by nature, conservative organizations; and they are entitled to their opinion about the safety of birth at home. As scientific evidence supporting its safety mounts, however, (to which BC’s prospective data is a compelling addition) they will be forced to accede or get left behind. The concerning part of this proposed AMA resolution is the “model legislation. ”

If ACOG and the AMA are passive-aggressively trying to coerce women into having hospital births by trying to legally prevent the option of homebirth, then their actions are a frontal assault on women’s autonomy and patient-centered care. Hopefully the public and lawmakers realize the primacy of informed choice enough to justify Deborah Simone’s words: “We don’t need to be angry or even react to these overtly hostile actions from the medical community. We just need to keep doing what we do best; the proof is always in the pudding.”

It is sad to see the obstetrical community still trying to earn itself a wooden club as well as the wooden spoon; if the resolution passes, it is sad to see the politico-medical community helping them.

Andrew Kotaska
Yellowknife


When we were deciding where to have Eliot, cost was a significant factor for us and ultimately resulted in our having a hospital birth with a midwife and doula. We were extremely lucky that our care providers were so great and the hospital had a long history of natural birth. You can read our birth story in a previous post. However, it still really bothers me that my insurance would not pay for a home birth because both they and my employer believed it be dangerous. While I was pregnant, I wrote to the Executive Vice President of Human Resources at my company to ask that my homebirth be covered at the out-of-network level. While it was ultimately unsuccessful, I believe that we must be relentless in our efforts to bring about change in regard to home birth. If this resolution were be be made law, our already limited choices would shrink even further.

Here is a portion of my letter to my company, which contains some additional information regarding home birth:

...it grieves me that I do not have the option to choose a home birth over a hospital birth for the delivery of my child. Home birth is proven to be a low cost, extremely safe alternative to hospital birth. If we are truly concerned regarding the increased costs of health care, then it only makes sense that cheaper, yet safe alternatives would be made available to us as consumers and employees.

Being forced to birth at a hospital greatly increases the likelihood of interventions, such as use of forceps or a vacuum, episiotomy or Cesarean Section which also significantly increases the cost of a birth by tens of thousands of dollars. I believe that ** my company ** should be supporting home birth for healthy mothers like me because pregnancy is a normal physiologic condition and not a medical condition. If I were allowed to birth at home and our insurance plan provided coverage at the Out of Network Rate of 80%, it could save the company upwards of thousands of dollars. Below, I have compared the cost of a home birth in Minnesota to different types of hospital births in both Ramsey and Hennepin counties.


1. Home Birth in Minnesota ~ Average Charge with a qualified Midwife: $2000 - $3500

2. St. Joseph’s Hospital, St. Paul, MN
  • Average Charge for a Vaginal Delivery (without complications): $7,023 (Source: http://www.mnhospitalpricecheck.org/report1.aspx?FID=13&DRG=373&DRGGroup=11)
  • Average Charge for a Vaginal Delivery (with complications): $8,507 (Source: http://www.mnhospitalpricecheck.org/report1.aspx?FID=13&DRG=372&DRGGroup=11)
  • Average Charge for a Cesarean Section: $20,528 (Source: http://www.mnhospitalpricecheck.org/report1.aspx?FID=13&DRG=371&DRGGroup=11)

3. Hennepin County Medical Center, Minneapolis, MN

  • Average Charge for a Vaginal Delivery (without complications): $8,389 (Source: http://www.mnhospitalpricecheck.org/report1.aspx?FID=13&DRG=373&DRGGroup=11)
  • Charge for a Vaginal Delivery (with complications): $10,388 (Source: http://www.mnhospitalpricecheck.org/report1.aspx?FID=13&DRG=372&DRGGroup=11)
  • Average Charge for a Cesarean Section: $14,662 (Source: http://www.mnhospitalpricecheck.org/report1.aspx?FID=22&DRG=371&DRGGroup=11)

Keep in mind that the hospital's charge does not include professional fees such as for a physician's or surgeon's services, which can greatly increase the total cost of birth. While large insurance companies receive a discount from the hospital, the total cost of a hospital birth is still significantly higher than the cost of a home birth.

The attached 2005 study by the British Medical Journal concluded, “Planned home birth for low risk women in North America using certified professional midwives was associated with lower rates of medical intervention but similar intrapartum and neonatal mortality to that of low risk hospital births in the United States.” (Source: http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/330/7505/1416)

A 1997 meta-study of other statistical studies of home and hospital births concluded, “[N]o empirical evidence exists to support the view that it is less safe for most low-risk women to plan a home birth, provided that the pregnant woman is motivated and, furthermore, selected and assisted by an experienced home birth practitioner, and provided that the home birth practitioner, in turn, is backed up by a modern hospital system should a transfer be needed. It is further concluded that home birth as managed in the included studies may well have other advantages compared with standard hospital care.” (Source: Olsen, Ole. 1997. “Meta-analysis of the Safety of Home Birth.” Birth 24.1.)

An article written by David A. Andersen, RE concluded that, “As health care costs increase and a growing number of women are without insurance, the one health service that every family needs deserves further attention. Even for the 40% of births covered by Medicaid, safe birthing alternatives that permit a reduction in the $150 billion Medicaid burden would allow the United States to devote more resources to other urgent priorities. Informed birthing decisions cannot be made without information on costs, success rates, and any necessary tradeoffs between the two. This article provides the relevant information for hospital, home, and birth center births. The average uncomplicated vaginal birth costs 68% less in a home than in a hospital, and births initiated in the home offer a lower combined rate of intrapartum and neonatal mortality and a lower incidence of cesarean delivery.” (Source: J Nurse Midwifery. 1999 Jan-Feb;44(1):30-5.)

According to Mothering magazine, “Understanding the potential danger in the overuse of childbirth technology, the World Health Organization has repeatedly implored the U.S. medical authorities to return to a midwife-based system of maternity care as one way to help reduce our scandalously high mortality rates.” (Source: Mothering, Jan/Feb, 1990.

The World Health Organization also indicates, “Midwives are the most appropriate primary health care provider to be assigned to the care of normal birth.” (Source: Maternal and Newborn Health/Safe Motherhood Unit of the World Health Organization, Care in Normal Birth: A practical guide. World Health Organization, 1996.)

For additional information, you may also wish to refer to the following publications:

  • Planned Home Birth is Safe for Most Mothers and Babies (Source: http://www.cfmidwifery.org/pdf/safety.pdf)
  • Fighting for Access to Midwifery Care and Home Birth: The Minnesota Story (Source: http://www.hhh.umn.edu/img/assets/9681/midwifery_homebirth.pdf) Blais, Regis, et al. (2002)
  • Are home births safe? Canadian Medical Association Journal. The Association. 166(3):335-6. Janssen, Patricia, et al. (2002)
  • Outcomes of planned home births versus planned hospital births after regulation of midwifery in British Columbia. Canadian Medical Association Journal. The Association. 166(3):315-23. Janssen, Patricia, et al. (1994)
  • Licensed midwife-attended, out-of-hospital births in Washington state: are they safe? Birth. Blackwell Science, Inc. 21(3): 141-148. Johnson, Kenneth and Betty-Anne Daviss. (2005)
  • Outcomes of planned home births with certified professional midwives: large perspective study in North America. British Medical Journal 18;330:1416. Pang, Jenny, et al. (2002)
  • Outcomes of planned home birth in Washington State: 1989-1996. Obstetrics and Gynecology. Elsevier. 100(2):253-259. Vedam, Saraswathi. (2003)
  • Home birth versus hospital birth: questioning the quality of the evidence on safety. Blackwell Publishing, Inc. 30(1):57-63.

If this issue is important to you (and I hope that it is!), the easiest thing to do and a good place to start is to sign the petition to keep home birth legal. From there, I recommend that you educate yourself regarding home birth. In addition to the resources listed above, you will definitely want to read the book, Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care and view the documentary, The Business of Being Born. Once you have some knowledge under your belt, talk about this issue with every woman you know, write your politicians, blog - make your voice heard in whatever forum you can.

June 24, 2008

50 Ways to Help the Planet

While stumbling this evening, I came across this website, 50 Ways to Help the Planet by Wire & Twine. They believe that "going green" doesn't have to be a daunting task that means sweeping life changes. Simple things can make a big difference if we all participate. You're probably familiar with a lot of these ideas, but here's some of my favorites which I challenge you to incorporate into your life!

} Change your light by switching to CFL bulbs ~ I hope all of you have already done this. CFLs are a bit more expensive upfront, but they last far longer than a traditional bulb and you can even get dimmable CFLs (we currently have them in our dining room chandelier).

} Diaper with a conscience ~ Did you know that by the time a child is toilet trained, a parent will change between 5,000 and 8,000 diapers (it feels like I've already changed that many diapers!), adding up to approximately 3.5 million tons of waste in U.S. landfills each year?! Also, regular disposable diapers are toxic - no joke! They contain the following:

  • Traces of Dioxin, an extremely toxic by-product of the paper-bleaching process which is a carcinogenic chemical, listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals. It is banned in most countries, but not the U.S.. (1)
  • Tributyl-tin (TBT), a toxic pollutant known to cause hormonal problems in humans and animals. (2)
  • Sodium polyacrylate, a type of super absorbent polymer (SAP), which becomes a gel-like substance when wet. A similar substance had been used in super-absorbancy tampons until the early 1980s when it was revealed that the material increased the risk of toxic shock syndrome. (3) According to Mothering Magazine, no studies have been done on the long-term effects of this chemical being in contact with a baby's reproductive organs 24 hours a day for upwards of two years.

Do you really want to expose your baby to these toxins? We certainly don't and that's why we originally used gdiapers and now we're switching to cloth, for economic reasons. I'll let you know how our cloth diaper adventure goes. (If you aren't interested in cloth, there are better disposable alternatives, like Seventh Generation or Tushies.)

} Rethink bottled water ~ This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine, so I love this tip! Did you know that at least 25% of bottled water is actually just tap water, including Aquafina and Dasani!? Would you be willing to pay $1.25 for a glass of tap water? Did you know that according to the Container Recycling Institute, some 85% of used water bottles in the U.S. become garbage or litter? Additionally, incinerating used bottles produces toxic byproducts such as chlorine gas and ash containing heavy metals and buried water bottles can take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade! Finally, many people reuse their PET/PETE (polyethylene terephthalate) water bottles even though they are only meant for one-time use. More research is needed to determine whether these bottles leach toxic chemicals into your water after many uses and even if they don't, the bottles are difficult to wash properly which can make them susceptible to bacterial contamination. Yuck! If you want to have water with you at all times like me, invest in a reusable (and cool!) aluminum bottle like Sigg or a stainless steel bottle, like Klean Kanteen.

} Use your cruise control ~ Numerous studies have shown that maintaining a constant speed conserves gas and cruise control is an easy way to do this (as long as you're not driving through hilly terrain). With gas prices above $4/gallon, I can't imagine anyone not wanting to improve their gas mileage.

} Telecommute to save gas ~ I just like this tip because I get to telecommute two days a week, which means working in bed with my pajamas on all day. Can't you just picture it?

} Plastic bags suck ~ According to Worldwatch Institute, plastic bags start as crude oil, natural gas, or other petrochemical derivatives, which are transformed into chains of hydrogen and carbon molecules known as polymers or polymer resin. After being heated, shaped, and cooled, the plastic is ready to be flattened, sealed, punched, or printed on. Each year, Americans throw away some 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags and only 0.6 percent of plastic bags are recycled! That's disturbing but even more so is the existence of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a vast swath of ocean twice the size of Texas which is filled with a toxic plastic stew. Seriously...what are we doing!?

If you're interested in reading more, here's a great article, entitled Plastic Ocean from Best Life magazine (or you can just google it - there's a ton of info out there). There are so many alternatives to both plastic and paper bags that there's really no excuse for continuing to use them. However, I am guilty of this even though we own enough canvas bags for all our groceries/shopping. That's my new resolution, remembering my canvas bags when I go shopping. I'll start tomorrow by keeping them in my car. If you want some canvas bags of your own, check our these retailers: Eco-bags, Envirosax, Flip & Tumble and Baggu.

Because of what we know about plastic, we are trying to eliminate it from our lives in all aspects whenever possible. This subject warrants its own post(s) due to the amount of information, so stay tuned. Good Greening, everyone!

June 22, 2008

Our Little Vegetable Garden

Today, I finally planted our garden. It was a lot of work. It still contained the remnants of last year's garden, leaves from the fall and about a million weeds. I cleaned up all the dead stuff (perfect for our soon-to-be compost pile) and pulled all the weeds. Then I turned the soil with a pitchfork - that was a good workout! Here's what we'll be eating this summer: Tomatoes (5 different kinds - I'm a bit of a tomato junkie!), Cucumbers, Peppers, Beans, Lettuce, Basil, Dill, Chives and Lemon Balm (for tea). That completely filled the space we have - I'd love to create more space and have less lawn...I may need to talk Jason into that. Elaine, one of my good friends, was awesome and came over to help me plant. Thanks Elaine! I can't wait to eat veggies that we planted, raised and harvested. Our hope is that by growing some of the food we eat, we're becoming a little bit more self-sustaining. Every little bit counts, right? We'll update you on the status of our little garden as the summer progresses.

June 20, 2008

Candle Night

This is a fantastic idea and we are going to participate - I think we'll have supper by candlelight and spend time cuddling our boy! So yummy!
_____________________________________

On the evening of Summer solstice, June 21st, for two hours from 8 to 10 p.m, turn out your lights and take it slow. Do something special. Read a book with your child by candlelight. Enjoy a quiet dinner with a special person. This night can mean many things for many people. A time to save energy, to think about peace and to think about people in distant lands who share your planet.


"Candle Night" started in Japan in 2003. The Voluntary Blackout movement in Canada was the inspiration. This movement, launched in 2001, was started to show opposition to the Bush administration's energy policy. We started Candle Night to show we believe the true sense of "peaceful life" can be realized in everyday life. Instead of constantly crying out against nuclear power, we want everyone to feel the importance of quality time. We choose the summer and winter solstices because they are the Earth's time, not days chosen for our convenience. Since 2003, several million people joined in Japan, and the movement is spreading to the world.

Information taken from: http://www.candle-night.org/english/

June 18, 2008

We're back...

After a long and sometimes sad and difficult month, we're back. Here's a quick rundown on what's happened since we last posted.

Mother's Day ~ It was a great first Mother's Day. Jason and Eliot make me breakfast burritos (so yummy!) and gave me a pedicure (much needed!) We also visited with Jason's mom who didn't really comprehend that it was Mother's Day due to her Alzheimer's, which has now progressed to a point where she occasionally doesn't remember people. It was nice to see her and spend time with her, nonetheless. The China earthquake happened one day after Mother's Day and it was really difficult for me to watch the mothers of the children who died in the school that collapsed. I cannot fathom losing a child and my heart goes out to them.

Mandy's Injury ~ Somehow our dalmatian, Mandy, injured herself in our yard and ended up with a large cut on one of her spots. We didn't notice it until a day or two later at which time it had become infected and granulated. She needed emergency surgery (Ouch! says our bank account) but she's completely recovered and back to her crazy, hyper self.

Visit from Jen, Tom & Paige ~ Our good friends from Seattle spent a week at our house while they were visiting family and friends in Minnesota. We got to meet Paige (6 weeks old) for the first time and spend some great quality time with all of them.

Memorial Day ~ We spent a very stormy weekend at my parent's house in Roberts, Wisconsin. The night before we went, Tucker, one of our Llasa Apso's (yes, we have 3 dogs!) barked all night long and threw up periodically. We couldn't figure out what was wrong with him and we were extremely frustrated as it made for a night of little sleep. He continued to be sick the next day while we were at my parent's and at one point he appeared to vomit fecal matter - sorry for the graphic details! We took him to an emergency vet, which is difficult to find on a holiday weekend and he required IV antibiotics overnight after being diagnosed with pancreatitis. (Ouch! Ouch! says our bank account.) Thankfully, he also recovered.

Uncle Jake ~ At the beginning of June, my uncle Jake (my dad's sister's husband) passed away suddenly after having a heart attack. This was completely unexpected and terribly difficult for our entire family. We drove to Canada on Monday as the wake was on Tuesday and the funeral was on Thursday. This was the first person that I've been quite close to that has passed away and I have found it very hard. I read the obituary and eulogy at the funeral. I still can't really believe that he's gone and whenever I think about my aunt or my cousin and his family, my heart hurts. It doesn't feel real to me and I don't know when it will... Barb - if you're reading this, we love you and we're always available for anything you need!!


Grandpa's pacemaker surgery & 60th Wedding Anniversary ~ We drove to Canada the next weekend for my grandparents 6oth wedding anniversary. A couple of days prior, my grandpa had a syncopal episode (passed out) and was taken to the hospital. His heart had stopped and they determined that he needed a pacemaker. It was implanted on Wednesday and he was home by Friday in time for their anniversary celebration on Sunday. Our entire family (my mom's side) was there and it was great to catch up with everyone.

Daycare ~ Eliot has adjusted to daycare and now loves it. He loves playing with Claire (1 year today - Happy Birthday!) and watching Jude (3+ years). This is a huge weight off my shoulders. I find it really difficult to be away from him every day and not having to worry about him makes it a lot easier. At his four month appointment, he weighed 16 lbs, 5 oz! He's a big boy! We just recently had new pictures taken of him which we'll share as soon as we get them back.

I can say that our lives are still a little bit out of control, but maybe this is just how it will be from now on...I tried to create a schedule for cleaning the house and doing laundry, but that's been a huge failure to this point. We've also been negligent in updating the blog, exercising (this a HUGE problem), working on Eliot's baby book, planting our garden, working on our yard, etc., etc. Maybe we'll make a new attempt at all of it again next week. I'm going to end this post here as it's past midnight as I finish this post and we all have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.