Scrubbing Bubbles or Why I Love My Wife

I have a few confessions to make. First, I’m not the cleanest guy in the world. When I lived with a few roommates, our bathroom may have gone an entire year without actually being cleaned. Second, I’ve never scrubbed a bathroom until it was totally clean. I know some would say this makes me a bad husband, but I’ve just never done it. I would if I was asked, but Kristen has always taken care of it. Third, because of my first two confessions, I realized a few weeks ago how amazing my wife is.

Kristen’s parents were coming into town for a few days to see us, so naturally there was cleaning to do. I had to talk Kristen out of cleaning the bathroom; she insisted she would only use cleaners that were non-toxic, but I was not going to let her kneel down to clean the tub, and I knew that something good and toxic would be required to get our tub clean, so I told her I was going to do it.

Our tub seems to be constructed of some material that collects and preserves dirt and grime for all eternity. I’m fairly sure someone should look into this technology, as I am sure those who preserve dirt (Oscar the Grouch?) would love to understand exactly how this works. All I know is, the tub is hard to get clean. Really hard.

Before going to work on the car, I left a few inches of bleach water in the tub in hopes of loosening up the grime. Returning two hours later, I drained the tub to find it relatively unchanged. It took almost an entire can of Scrubbing Bubbles, some Kaboom Shower Cleaner and multiple scrubbings with a brush that I normally use to clean road tar off my car tires, and the tub looked pretty good. But I still had to give it another once-over to make it look presentable. All this took, well, I don’t really know how long, but it was a long time…and I hadn’t even started on the rest of the bathroom.

My wife has tirelessly cleaned the tub and bathroom since we were first married (and, actually, she did most of the bathroom cleaning when I moved out of my bachelor apartment with those roommates) and I am fully convinced that she, pregnant belly and all, would have scrubbed the shower all day if I had not intervened. That’s the kind of servant heart she has, and that’s how lucky I am to have her. So, what does this have to do with our baby? Well, I can't help but thank God that he has given me Kristen as a wife and mother to our baby. Her selfless love and determined patience will certainly will be tested by this little one, but as they grow up, they'll see their mother living out Proverbs 31 each and every day.

I don’t think that I ever realized how big of a deal cleaning a shower is, but it reminded me how blessed I am to be married to and having a baby with my wonderful wife.

Pregnancy Survey

(These pictures were taken on Mother's Day so they are a good couple of weeks old. I'll work on posting more recent ones soon.)

How far along? 24 weeks and 5 days

Total Weight Gain/Loss: 13 lbs or so (I was weighed at my last appointment a couple of weeks ago and I haven't hopped on a scale since)

How Big is Baby? Our little one weighs in somewhere around 1.2 pounds and is 8 1/2 inches in length.

Maternity Clothes? Yep!! However there is one pair of Capri pants I can still wear with the belly band but all of my other pants are maternity. I've also been able to get away wearing long t-shirts that aren't necessarily maternity but they certainly are cheaper!

Stretch Marks? Not yet but I'm sure they are on their way.

Sleep? Some days are better than others. Honestly after working nights for 4 years I am kind of use to not sleeping well so it doesn't seem much different than normal. However on Saturday I woke up EVERY HOUR! Ah well I guess I am gearing up for motherhood.

Best Moment This Week: Feeling our little peanut roll around like crazy! My parents were in town this past week and my mom got to feel the baby kick, which was so fun to share with her.

Food Cravings? Nothing crazy. I was craving a Dairy Queen blizzard the other week and my wonderful hubby surprised me with an ice cream run after our birthing class. Yummm.

Gender: It's a surprise! We are not going to find out until delivery day.

Labor Signs? Geez, I sure hope not. I've been having braxton hicks contractions for months now but that's all.

Belly Button in or out? An outie, it's not much of one but definitely an outie.

What I miss: Being able to wear my favorite summer clothes and enjoying a nice cup of regular coffee.

What I am looking forward to: Traveling to Florida to spend time with my husband's family. I'm excited to share this pregnancy with them!

Milestones: We are past the halfway mark!! Fun fact for the day: Baby Groves is practicing breathing by inhaling amniotic fluid into its developing lungs.

Weeks 21-24: Papaya

You're Going To Do What?!?

That is the statement I would use to most accurately describe the horrified look on people's faces when they hear that Jon and I have decided to use cloth diapers with our little one. Now if you would have told me a year ago that I would use cloth diapers, I probably would give you the same look I've been getting lately. It wasn't until I met a few people (one good friend in particular) who swear by them that I began to think about the idea. After plenty of talk and research, we've decided we're all for it!

Now, when most people think of cloth diapers this is the picture they envision:

An ill-fitting diaper secured with diaper pins that must be a bear to scramble around with when trying to change a newborn. Well, that was then and this...

...is now.

So, now that you have the first picture out of your head, let's talk about why Jon and I decided to go the cloth diaper route. The main reason it first appealed to me was the fact that it saves money. Comparison studies indicate that diapering costs for the first year of a baby's life are $1000 to $1500 less with cloth diapers. Since cloth diapers are reusable they can be passed on from child to child as long as they are well taken care of, cutting even further the cost of diapering the following children. Aside from the money, research I have done indicates that cloth diapers help to cut down if not completely eliminate diaper rash and aid in speeding up potty training. One other fairly obvious aspect of cloth as opposed to disposable is that they are more environmentally friendly, although Jon rolls his eyes a bit at this. :-)

One of the first comments people say when they get over the shock of our cloth diaper usage in the 21st century is "Gross!" Now maybe my idea of gross is a little different from most people due to the fact that we've been picking up after our Great Dane for 2 years now. I honestly don't think we can be phased by whatever sized blow-out this little one decides to dish out. As a side note, we're not planning on using cloth diapers until we have gotten a little more use to the chaos of having a baby around. Somewhere around the third month or so I think we may switch over, but we'll start out with disposables. See, we're not TOO crazy.

Now I know that plenty of people will still think we are nuts and that's fine with me. To each his own in the diapering world. However I can't help but think in this convenience based, throw away society that maybe a little extra work and invested time is worth the payoff. I suppose we'll find out firsthand soon!

Welcome!

Welcome to our baby blog! We decided that instead of posting various baby-related pictures, information and thoughts on our respective blogs and facebook, we could make this the one stop for all of you who are interested in how the pregnancy is progressing. We'll have ultrasound pictures, updates and probably some hilarious first-time parent tales to tell.

We're glad you have taken the time to come and see what's here...check back often, and we'll try to update with something new at least once a week. And please keep both of us in your prayers over these next few months. There is so much still up in the air, and frankly, we still don't have much of an idea where we will be living when the baby is born, or how we're going to get everything together that we need. Pray for us as we continue to trust that the Lord has a purpose and plan in what seems like uncertainly right now, and we'll keep you updated on his faithfulness. Thanks for stopping by!

"For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."
- Psalm 139:13-14