Tiny Sleeping Babies

I have a bassinet and a baby swing I haven't been able to let go of. Through the years, I have moved it from place to place. Even when there was no baby coming (that I knew of) I held on to them. I loaned out the bassinet once for a nephew to use but that was as far as it went.

The cribs have come and gone. I haven't developed an emotional attachment to them like these two items.

Our swing was a gift from some precious friends before B was born. It was a time of pure joy as we anticipated the birth of our long awaited child. That swing has logged countless hours rocking our babies back and forth. 

The bassinet I purchased used. I can't even remember where I got it. It rolls just right and the little canopy is so cute. It is the perfect height to have next to the bed. How many times did I pull that little bassinet close to me in the middle of the night? How many times did I scoop up a tiny, crying baby to feed and comfort back to sleep?

I sort of have a request of the Lord. I don't want to know when it is all over. I don't want to know when the babies will stop coming.

I intend to go out in a blaze of glory! 

Squishy baby glory! 

No sadness that this is my last one.

Always a little glimmer of hope that perhaps another baby blessing will come my way.

It has to come to an end at some point. I know that. 

When it does, I hope it comes quietly. 

Followed by grandbabies preferably. 

I looked at the bassinet and swing again recently. They had been in storage at our old house. When they arrived here, the old familiar thoughts came to my mind...

"We must keep them. I will find a place to store them. After all, ALL of my babies have used them. How would I feel if I had another baby and he or she didn't get to use them. I would be so sad!"

Then a small, gentle voice said to me, "That is not true anymore. Not ALL your babies have used them. It is time to let them go."

Suddenly images of Mei Mei (our 3 year old daughter waiting for us in China) flooded my mind. She never slept there. It is not true anymore.

Just like that, I knew it was time.

I heard that a friend had started a ministry out of her home called, "The Refuge." She is taking in young ladies who are pregnant and have no where else to go. This kind of ministry is near and dear to my heart. I contacted her to see if she wanted my bassinet and swing. Her answer was, "Yes!"

I told her in a message that, "I have cried some tears over these items. All my babies have used them. I haven't been able to let go. Recently I felt a push to bless someone else with them. Now that Mei Mei is coming home I need to release them. Now not all my babies have used them."

She wrote back, "What a blessed treasure we are receiving! I know the very fabric is permeated with love. We will not take this precious gift for granted. I know it will bless many mamas and babies."

Just days after the bassinet and swing were settled into their new home, the mama living there gave birth to her son. He now takes up residence in the bassinet. She pulls him close in the middle of the night. Oh the joy I feel knowing that her tiny bundle of love is in that bassinet.

The Lord allowed me to meet her and her sweet baby just a few nights ago. He didn't have to arrange that but He did. It was the sweetest love note He could have possibly given me.

I don't know the rest of the story for me. Will there be more newborns? I have no idea. God knows my story. He already has it written. I am having a blast turning each new page.

The current chapter I am on is titled, "Mei Mei" and it is getting really good! I can only imagine what these pages will hold.

The Super Girl Kinderpack!

I am an experienced baby wearer. I love to wear my babies in wraps and then later in a soft structure carrier. I find that I wear my babies less and less when they start walking. That means I don't have a lot of experience with toddler wearing. I've also never been skilled at wearing my little ones on my back.

In order to facilitate bonding with our new little princess I am going to become a skilled toddler wearer. I started asking questions in my China Adoption group. They lead me to the Kinderpack carrier. It comes in several sizes and they make them big enough to be comfortable for older toddlers.

I fell in love with the print called "Super Girl". Check out this picture and you will see why. 

(Photo from the Kindercarry website)

I thought I would go to the website and just buy this print. Turns out that is not how it works. Kinderpacks are so popular that their products sell out in minutes. They stock a certain print once a week. I have no idea when or if they will stock this super girl print again.

I was told that my best bet was to buy this carrier used on one of the swap sites. I joined several of these swap sites but could not find this carrier. I made "In Search Of" posts with no success. I decided to purchase a neutral carrier to try out with my toddlers and see if I really like it enough to continue to search for the super girl print.

My little models were good sports. I decided that I liked the carrier enough to continue to keep my eye out for the one I really wanted. 

I kept watching but had no success.

Then one magical day...

A fellow Momma posted this beauty on the swap page.

Yes, please!

Size wise I really need Mr. E to let me practice with him. He is the closest in size to little sister. She is 3 but she is very small. Miss Ruthie is much taller than little sister and Mr. D is much heavier than little sister.

So, Mr. E it is.

Except he doesn't love it just yet.

You know who does?

This handsome fella.

So, here we are.

Mr. D gets a ride and a snuggle while Momma home schools his siblings.

He loves it and I am learning how to carry a toddler.

Win. Win.

I haven't given up on Mr. E just yet. Every once in a while he thinks it might be okay. Why didn't I learn to do this when they were smaller? It would have helped me so much to back carry them.

I'm getting ready for you little sister! I'll keep you close and help you feel safe when everything feels so big and scary.

Plus we are going to look good in our super girl carrier!

Super Daddy!

He loaded up the two middles in our fancy stroller.

He got the two big boys set up on their bikes and away they went!

Fun was had by all (Pay no attention to the grumpy look on Lil' Ruthie's face.  She hates all pictures these days.)

Way to go Daddy!

It's happening...again

I finally pulled back out the 'ol cloth diapers.

I cloth diapered Q for over a year.

When life got crazy with a move to our new house in 2011 I stopped.

I have occasionally put lil' Ruthie in cloth hoping I would get back into it.

These days I have three in diapers and one who uses a pull up at night.

That is A LOT of diapers.

So I am giving it a whirl again.

I haven't decided if we are just going to do cloth at home or if we are going to jump in with both feet and do it all the time.

I shouldn't say all the time...we are using disposable diapers at night.

I have tried a few of my diapers on baby E but he is too small just yet.

I have some on order to try with him and he will be bigger before we know it.

So here we go again.

Wish me luck!

The new stroller is...

AMAZING!

 

 

We took it for a spin at the zoo today.  It is SO easy to push I could even maneuver it around while 9 months pregnant and with a cup of coffee in my hand.

 

Now that is a good stroller!

 

Miss Ruthie liked her view and baby D seemed content as long as we were moving.

 

Q is a bit jealous that he is officially too big for the stroller.  That little man always loved to ride.  Technically the stroller can handle him but we know he needs to work on his big boy skills.

 

We are a family that is used to getting looks when we are out and about for various reasons.  Sometimes it is the sheer number of little ones.  Sometimes it is the different colors of our skin.  Sometimes it is the bottle I use for baby D or the baby wrap I wear him in.  Sometimes it is my huge pregnant belly.  Today we added the totally amazing triple stroller.  We were the complete package.  I may need to have a pamphlet made to hand out addressing these various questions.  Hee hee.  You all know I actually love talking to people.

 

This is how we roll!

I pulled the trigger.

 

Meet the newest stroller in a long line of strollers owned by our family.

 

The Valco Baby Tri-mode with Joey seat.

 

 

Everyone thinks it is pretty cool. 

 

The Joey seat is removable when Miss Ruthie is big enough to be stroller free.

 

Time will tell if it is the stroller to beat all strollers!

The stroller search

I have an obsession with strollers.

I am pretty sure that the right one is going to change my life.

When I am stroller shopping I spend hours researching.

I think one of the reasons I am stroller obsessed is that I like to control the chaos. 

I much prefer to know that any of my little blessings that are not mature enough to handle freedom are safely buckled into a seat when we are out and about.

Miss Ruthie will be a big sister twice over before her 2nd birthday.  That means she has a lot more stroller riding to do along with her two baby brothers.

That means that three little people need places to sit.

The double stroller I have will no longer work.

So here are some of the options to seat three little ones...

I can only imagine how difficult this one is to push.  Also, only the kid in the front has a very good view.

 

This would work for wide open fields.  No doorways or people around.

 

I can only imagine how big this one folds up.

 

No.

 

 

Cool idea but the toddler seat in the back is a sit and stand.  Miss Ruthie still needs a real seat.  Plus she would hate the terrible view.

 

This one is very intriguing to me but it is twice the price of my other favorite.

 

The WINNER (I think)

The Valco Baby TriMode EX Twin with Joey seat

 

This one will allow the baby brothers to ride in the main part of the stroller and big sis can use the Joey seat and see the world.  The Joey seat is easily removed to fold the stroller.

 

So there you go. 

 

Now you know what is on my mind.

Lord knows my hubby is surely tired of hearing about it.

 

I'll let you know if this is indeed the stroller that will change my life.

 

Stay tuned.